Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 10:34:37PM +0200, Sven Luther wrote: > On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 03:35:17PM -0400, Rick Thomas wrote: > > > > On Sep 16, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Sven Luther wrote: > > > > >On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 09:50:03AM +0200, Frans Pop wrote: > > >>On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: > > >>>Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel > > >>>that > > >>>boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) > > >>>machine? > > >> > > >>I'd like to see that happen. > > >> > > >>>If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from > > >>>the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. > > >> > > >>Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel > > >>outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this > > >>does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc > > >>kernel > > >>or kernel configuration issue. > > > > > >Its actually a problem with the ramdisk generators and/or > > >bootloaders, not the > > >kernel proper. > > > > Actually, from the symptoms I'm seeing, it may not be getting far > > enough to encounter ramdisk problems. (Not to say there are no such > > ramdisk problems, just that what I'm seeing is not diagnostic for > > them.) I gave fairly detailed notes in the previous bug report, > > Bug#382129. Let me know if you want more information. > > > > If Sven is right, that leaves bootloaders. > > Are you using quik or bootx ? > > This patch : > > > http://kernel.org/git/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=6cdd2bdfb9e2449f1c8a0f729cdf9cfd733dd63f > > [POWERPC] Fix BootX booting with an initrd > > The bootx_init.c trampoline didn't properly add the ramdisk to the > "reserve map" (list of reserved areas of memory), thus causing all sorts > of failures when using BootX with an initrd. Also fixes a possible > problem if the ramdisk is located before the device-tree passed by > BootX. > > Might be of interest to solve this problem, which is why i suggested trying > the latest 2.6.18-rc kernel before. Please try and provide feedback. Actually, there was a new patch needed for quik, thanks to Christian and Ben for investigating and fixing this. A kernel .deb including the fix is available at : http://people.debian.org/~luther/linux-image-2.6.18-rc7-powerpc_2.6.17+2.6.18-rc7-0experimental.1_powerpc.deb Please test it and provide feedback to see if it solves your issue. (not, that this is a second version, with benh's patch, instead of the first i uploaded yesterday with Christian's tentative patch, please make sure to test the new one (check the changelog to be sure :). Friendly, Sven Luther -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 03:35:17PM -0400, Rick Thomas wrote: > > On Sep 16, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Sven Luther wrote: > > >On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 09:50:03AM +0200, Frans Pop wrote: > >>On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: > >>>Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel > >>>that > >>>boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) > >>>machine? > >> > >>I'd like to see that happen. > >> > >>>If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from > >>>the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. > >> > >>Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel > >>outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this > >>does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc > >>kernel > >>or kernel configuration issue. > > > >Its actually a problem with the ramdisk generators and/or > >bootloaders, not the > >kernel proper. > > Actually, from the symptoms I'm seeing, it may not be getting far > enough to encounter ramdisk problems. (Not to say there are no such > ramdisk problems, just that what I'm seeing is not diagnostic for > them.) I gave fairly detailed notes in the previous bug report, > Bug#382129. Let me know if you want more information. > > If Sven is right, that leaves bootloaders. Are you using quik or bootx ? This patch : http://kernel.org/git/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=6cdd2bdfb9e2449f1c8a0f729cdf9cfd733dd63f [POWERPC] Fix BootX booting with an initrd The bootx_init.c trampoline didn't properly add the ramdisk to the "reserve map" (list of reserved areas of memory), thus causing all sorts of failures when using BootX with an initrd. Also fixes a possible problem if the ramdisk is located before the device-tree passed by BootX. Might be of interest to solve this problem, which is why i suggested trying the latest 2.6.18-rc kernel before. Please try and provide feedback. Friendly, Sven Luther -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 03:35:17PM -0400, Rick Thomas wrote: > > On Sep 16, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Sven Luther wrote: > > >On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 09:50:03AM +0200, Frans Pop wrote: > >>On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: > >>>Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel > >>>that > >>>boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) > >>>machine? > >> > >>I'd like to see that happen. > >> > >>>If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from > >>>the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. > >> > >>Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel > >>outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this > >>does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc > >>kernel > >>or kernel configuration issue. > > > >Its actually a problem with the ramdisk generators and/or > >bootloaders, not the > >kernel proper. > > Actually, from the symptoms I'm seeing, it may not be getting far > enough to encounter ramdisk problems. (Not to say there are no such > ramdisk problems, just that what I'm seeing is not diagnostic for > them.) I gave fairly detailed notes in the previous bug report, > Bug#382129. Let me know if you want more information. Did you try 2.6.18-rc6 from : http://kernel-archive.buildserver.net/debian-kernel/trunk Which contains a workaround for the bootx bug ? > If Sven is right, that leaves bootloaders. Indeed, maybe you could try the miboot-on-a-disk solution Aurelien proposed you ? > However, I'm not completely convinced yet that it's not a kernel > configuration problem. My evidence for this is that the miboot > floppy with a 2.6.16 kernel on it will boot and read it's ramdisk > floppy. From this I conclude that it is *possible* to build a 2.6.16 > kernel (and by inference, a 2.6.17 kernel) that will boot an OldWorld > machine. If so, the only question is whether such a configuration is > acceptable as a general-purpose kernel for PowerMac machines, > including NewWorld? The problem is that for some obscure reason, the ramdisk is not read, and thus the modules placed there by the ramdisk generator not loaded. This is the bug, and building-in this module will pave the way to go back to the bloated 2.4 kernels we used to have, with world+dog builtin. Friendly, Sven Luther -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Sep 16, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Sven Luther wrote: On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 09:50:03AM +0200, Frans Pop wrote: On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel that boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) machine? I'd like to see that happen. If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc kernel or kernel configuration issue. Its actually a problem with the ramdisk generators and/or bootloaders, not the kernel proper. Actually, from the symptoms I'm seeing, it may not be getting far enough to encounter ramdisk problems. (Not to say there are no such ramdisk problems, just that what I'm seeing is not diagnostic for them.) I gave fairly detailed notes in the previous bug report, Bug#382129. Let me know if you want more information. If Sven is right, that leaves bootloaders. However, I'm not completely convinced yet that it's not a kernel configuration problem. My evidence for this is that the miboot floppy with a 2.6.16 kernel on it will boot and read it's ramdisk floppy. From this I conclude that it is *possible* to build a 2.6.16 kernel (and by inference, a 2.6.17 kernel) that will boot an OldWorld machine. If so, the only question is whether such a configuration is acceptable as a general-purpose kernel for PowerMac machines, including NewWorld? Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 09:50:03AM +0200, Frans Pop wrote: > On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: > > Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel that > > boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) > > machine? > > I'd like to see that happen. > > > If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from > > the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. > > Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel > outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this > does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc kernel > or kernel configuration issue. Its actually a problem with the ramdisk generators and/or bootloaders, not the kernel proper. Friendly, Sven Luther -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
On Saturday 16 September 2006 09:09, Rick Thomas wrote: > Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel that > boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) > machine? I'd like to see that happen. > If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from > the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. Note that as I understand there are also problems booting the kernel outside the installer (i.e. just upgrading an installed system), this does not seem to be a Debian Installer issue, but rather a powerpc kernel or kernel configuration issue. This of course means that the debian-boot team can do very little about it and that you need help from the kernel maintainer. My expectation is that the installer will work just fine again once the kernel issue is solved. See also bug #366620 that is currently being discussed on the debian-kernel list. Cheers, FJP pgpUpZdqHbMxC.pgp Description: PGP signature
Bug#382129: Is now a good time to revisit installer not booting on OldWorld PowerMac beige G3?
Is there someone out there who will work with me to get a kernel that boots to run debian-installer on my beige G3 PowerMac (OldWorld) machine? As I reported in Bug#382129 regarding the Linux-powerpc 2.6.16 kernel not booting on my OldWorld test machine, I now find that the 2.6.17 kernel in the latest daily d-i ISOs also will not boot on OldWorld. The console messages are essentially the same as in Bug#382129. As expected, It boots OK on my G4 NewWorld test machine. Recently, there was an email from someone who managed to configure a 2.6.16 (I think it was) kernel that would boot on his OldWorld machine. It involved making the ide disk driver resident, I think. I'm not a kernel hacker, so I can't do that part myself. But I've got hardware I can test things on, and I'd be willing to give someone who knows what they are doing an account on one of those machines if they will work with me on solving this problem. Any takers? If not, I think it may be time to withdraw OldWorld PowerMacs from the list of hardware supported by the Debian Installer. Rick -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
