Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

>You'd need to look into what pbltool is seeking and not finding.
>But as long as you're still getting PBL printing out its banner, it's
>there and willing to alter the main flash memory for you.

I don’t know what I need to do next and how to find out what pbltool is looking 
for..?
I don’t know anything about pbltool,I only run it in the V2 release of E3 Linux 
to install it.
Can you please help.
Thanks.

Spanner..

From: Ralph Corderoy
Sent: ‎Sunday‎, ‎14‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎09‎:‎50
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Hi Nick,

> On Putty it just comes up with this and that's it..
> “Amstrad Delta - PBL V4.9 Build:1311 Assert Debug ICE
> PBL 32MB NAND
> 0MB.-->MEMv01.00.002,CopyLim=0022h,CodeEnd=0140h-->PBL..1MB...2MB*”
> Dam have to buy another one now.

I agree with David; PBL survives, by design, and you can try again.

You later write:
> Its lights flash when you plug it in and thats it pbltool says
> probbing and nothing else...?

You'd need to look into what pbltool is seeking and not finding.
But as long as you're still getting PBL printing out its banner, it's
there and willing to alter the main flash memory for you.

--
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Nick,

> On Putty it just comes up with this and that's it..
> “Amstrad Delta - PBL V4.9 Build:1311 Assert Debug ICE
> PBL 32MB NAND
> 0MB.-->MEMv01.00.002,CopyLim=0022h,CodeEnd=0140h-->PBL..1MB...2MB*”
> Dam have to buy another one now.

I agree with David; PBL survives, by design, and you can try again.

You later write:
> Its lights flash when you plug it in and thats it pbltool says
> probbing and nothing else...?

You'd need to look into what pbltool is seeking and not finding.
But as long as you're still getting PBL printing out its banner, it's
there and willing to alter the main flash memory for you.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Nick,

> root@amsdelta:~# cat /proc/mtd
> dev:  size erasesize  name
> mtd0: 0038 4000 "Kernel"
> mtd1: 0004 4000 "u-boot"
> mtd2: 0004 4000 "u-boot params"
> mtd3: 0004 4000 "Amstrad LDR"
> mtd4: 01b0 4000 "File system"
> mtd5: 000c 4000 "PBL reserved"
> Just realised there are all the same Block size, look at the erasesize.

Yes, all 16 KiB.

> “flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16” whats the 16 for at the end of the line,
> is it what block size to  erase, ( can’t work out what number to put
> there)could I just erase the whole partition(mtd0) with “flash_erase
> /dev/mtd0 0 0”..? I don’t want to made a mistake..??

See https://github.com/vamanea/mtd-utils/blob/master/flash_erase.c#L60

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Its lights flash when you plug it in and thats it pbltool says probbing and 
nothing else...?



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


 Original message 
From: David Given 
Date: 13/04/2019 22:58 (GMT+00:00)
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer hardware/software 
Subject: Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

It's pretty hard to brick them --- PBL's in a different ROM chip to the main 
flash (and I think you can't reflash it anyway?), so even if you've trashed the 
main flash PBL runs. So, you should be able to connect pbltool or pblq to it 
and read and reflash, even if it doesn't boot.


On Sat, 13 Apr 2019 at 21:47, Nick Griffin 
mailto:span1...@live.com>> wrote:
Dam..Just tried to flash the E3 and now it don’t boot, ah well..☹
With that's code and it starred coming up with “Flashing Data to NAND Flash 
without EEC in not recommended”

On Putty it just comes up with this and that's it..
“Amstrad Delta - PBL V4.9 Build:1311 Assert Debug ICE
PBL 32MB NAND
0MB.-->MEMv01.00.002,CopyLim=0022h,CodeEnd=0140h-->PBL..1MB...2MB*”
Dam have to buy another one now. Ah well if you don’t try you’ll never learn.. 

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin<mailto:span1...@live.com>
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎46
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software<mailto:e3-hacking@earth.li>

root@amsdelta<mailto:root@amsdelta>:~#  cat /proc/mtd
dev:  size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 0038 4000 "Kernel"
mtd1: 0004 4000 "u-boot"
mtd2: 0004 4000 "u-boot params"
mtd3: 0004 4000 "Amstrad LDR"
mtd4: 01b0 4000 "File system"
mtd5: 000c 4000 "PBL reserved"
 Just realised there are all the same Block size, look at the erasesize.
“flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16” whats the 16 for at the end of the line, is it 
what block size to  erase, ( can’t work out what number to put there)could I 
just erase the whole partition(mtd0) with “flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0”..? I 
don’t want to made a mistake..??

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin<mailto:span1...@live.com>
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎24
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software<mailto:e3-hacking@earth.li>

mtd0
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0038...*
mtd1
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd2
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...
mtd3
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd4
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0...*
mtd5
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c...

Why are there saying all the same block size..?

Only need to restore mtd0, mtd1, mtd3 and mtd4 so ones with a star(*) on.mtd2, 
mtd5 are not flashed over.

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin<mailto:span1...@live.com>
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software<mailto:e3-hacking@earth.li>

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one wit

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[David Given]

It's pretty hard to brick them --- PBL's in a different ROM chip to the
main flash (and I think you can't reflash it anyway?), so even if you've
trashed the main flash PBL runs. So, you should be able to connect pbltool
or pblq to it and read and reflash, even if it doesn't boot.


On Sat, 13 Apr 2019 at 21:47, Nick Griffin  wrote:

> Dam..Just tried to flash the E3 and now it don’t boot, ah well..☹
> With that's code and it starred coming up with “Flashing Data to NAND
> Flash without EEC in not recommended”
>
> On Putty it just comes up with this and that's it..
> “Amstrad Delta - PBL V4.9 Build:1311 Assert Debug ICE
> PBL 32MB NAND
>
> 0MB.-->MEMv01.00.002,CopyLim=0022h,CodeEnd=0140h-->PBL..1MB...2MB*”
> Dam have to buy another one now. Ah well if you don’t try you’ll never
> learn.. 
>
> Spanner..
>
> *From:* Nick Griffin 
> *Sent:* ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎46
> *To:* Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer hardware/software
> 
>
> root@amsdelta:~#  cat /proc/mtd
> dev:  size   erasesize  name
> mtd0: 0038 4000 "Kernel"
> mtd1: 0004 4000 "u-boot"
> mtd2: 0004 4000 "u-boot params"
> mtd3: 0004 4000 "Amstrad LDR"
> mtd4: 01b0 4000 "File system"
> mtd5: 000c 4000 "PBL reserved"
>  Just realised there are all the same Block size, look at the erasesize.
> “flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16” whats the 16 for at the end of the line, is
> it what block size to  erase, ( can’t work out what number to put
> there)could I just erase the whole partition(mtd0) with “flash_erase
> /dev/mtd0 0 0”..? I don’t want to made a mistake..??
>
> Spanner..
>
> *From:* Nick Griffin 
> *Sent:* ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎24
> *To:* Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer hardware/software
> 
>
> mtd0
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0038...*
> mtd1
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
> mtd2
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...
> mtd3
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
> mtd4
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0...*
> mtd5
> Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c...
>
> Why are there saying all the same block size..?
>
> Only need to restore mtd0, mtd1, mtd3 and mtd4 so ones with a star(*)
> on.mtd2, mtd5 are not flashed over.
>
> Spanner..
>
> *From:* Nick Griffin 
> *Sent:* ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
> *To:* Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer hardware/software
> 
>
> Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so
> now I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to
> boot, it took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each
> file a copy of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get
> flashed with the new system, so if the backups are complete copies then
> they could be flash back the same way, maybe something like this, taking
> the code for mdt0..
>
> ”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
>  echo Found Amstrad kernel.
>  echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
>  flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
>  echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
> nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
> fi”
>
> Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
> mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
> mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
> mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
> mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
> mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
> mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
> I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each
> partition..?
> So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited
> it.
> This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who
> knows about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it
> works then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one
> with the config change on it.
>
> There is info here how to flash to mtd ..
> https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800
> 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

mtd0
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0038...*
mtd1
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd2
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...
mtd3
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd4
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0...*
mtd5
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c...

Why are there saying all the same block size..?

Only need to restore mtd0, mtd1, mtd3 and mtd4 so ones with a star(*) on.mtd2, 
mtd5 are not flashed over.

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 
formatted to copy the 6 files over to it,it don’t say in the Readme..?

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎02
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install Script running in a Ramdisk..??
You have 2 Uboot images the same, one for flashing the other on for the install 
so you made it a bit like FEL mode where you hold down the FEL Button and can 
boot into Uboot +ramdisk  from you PC thought its usb cable that powers it then 
you can mount the system partition to get into files and folders, that's on 
TheC64 Mini.
Most Developing Boards now have the FEL button.

Just trying to find out more ,it dumps the firmware into 6 partitions, when it 
dumps them, can they be put back the way they are or do they need to be 
converted, so what I am say, are they raw files so they can’t be used the way 
they are at the moment…?

You can backup your firmware with this script without installing Linux on the 
E3,you can say no to installing it, right..?? if so I will try and see if I can 
back the E3 up to get the 6 backup files.

P.S Have not done anything with my E2Plus yet, if I can backup its firmware and 
then flash it back then I can fix the dead E2s out there, but I need help.
If I can 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Dam..Just tried to flash the E3 and now it don’t boot, ah well..☹
With that's code and it starred coming up with “Flashing Data to NAND Flash 
without EEC in not recommended”

On Putty it just comes up with this and that's it..
“Amstrad Delta - PBL V4.9 Build:1311 Assert Debug ICE
PBL 32MB NAND
0MB.-->MEMv01.00.002,CopyLim=0022h,CodeEnd=0140h-->PBL..1MB...2MB*”
Dam have to buy another one now. Ah well if you don’t try you’ll never learn.. 

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎46
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

root@amsdelta:~#  cat /proc/mtd
dev:  size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 0038 4000 "Kernel"
mtd1: 0004 4000 "u-boot"
mtd2: 0004 4000 "u-boot params"
mtd3: 0004 4000 "Amstrad LDR"
mtd4: 01b0 4000 "File system"
mtd5: 000c 4000 "PBL reserved"
 Just realised there are all the same Block size, look at the erasesize.
“flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16” whats the 16 for at the end of the line, is it 
what block size to  erase, ( can’t work out what number to put there)could I 
just erase the whole partition(mtd0) with “flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0”..? I 
don’t want to made a mistake..??

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎24
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

mtd0
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0038...*
mtd1
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd2
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...
mtd3
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd4
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0...*
mtd5
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c...

Why are there saying all the same block size..?

Only need to restore mtd0, mtd1, mtd3 and mtd4 so ones with a star(*) on.mtd2, 
mtd5 are not flashed over.

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

root@amsdelta:~#  cat /proc/mtd
dev:  size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 0038 4000 "Kernel"
mtd1: 0004 4000 "u-boot"
mtd2: 0004 4000 "u-boot params"
mtd3: 0004 4000 "Amstrad LDR"
mtd4: 01b0 4000 "File system"
mtd5: 000c 4000 "PBL reserved"
 Just realised there are all the same Block size, look at the erasesize.
“flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16” whats the 16 for at the end of the line, is it 
what block size to  erase, ( can’t work out what number to put there)could I 
just erase the whole partition(mtd0) with “flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0”..? I 
don’t want to made a mistake..??

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎16‎:‎24
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

mtd0
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0038...*
mtd1
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd2
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...
mtd3
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004...*
mtd4
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0...*
mtd5
Block Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
Dumping data starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c...

Why are there saying all the same block size..?

Only need to restore mtd0, mtd1, mtd3 and mtd4 so ones with a star(*) on.mtd2, 
mtd5 are not flashed over.

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 
formatted to copy the 6 files over to it,it don’t say in the Readme..?

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎02
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install Script running in a Ramdisk..??
You have 2 Uboot images the same, one for flashing the other on for the install 
so you made it a bit like FEL mode where you hold down the FEL Button 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Its Cliff Lawson not Clive,who is Clive.. What Clive Sinclair … 

“Aren't PBL and Uboot two distinct separate things?”
Yes I know they are but mtd0 is where boot (like the bios on a PC) would be so 
PBL or Uboot would be there.

Example..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

device nand0 , # parts = 5
 #: namesizeoffset  mask_flags
 0: u-boot  0x0020  0x  0
 1: uImage  0x0030  0x0020  0
 2: uImage2 0x0030  0x0050  0
 3: failsafe0x0080  0x0080  0
 4: root0x0700  0x0100  0

active partition: nand0,2 - (uImage2) 0x0030 @ 0x0050

defaults:
mtdids  : none
mtdparts: none

I videoed the install but I shorting it so its like 22 minutes long. Its took 
about a hour and a half to do, the backing up of the E3 took the longest, 
flashing Linux took about 2 to 3 minutes because the OS is not very big. but if 
you want Linux on your E3 you don’t need to install it, the Installer is a 
ramdisk so you can test it on that. Its like FEL mode. I just want to record it 
for my channel on You Tube and false me to have to restore it.

Its say on that website.. “If you need to restore mtd1 to mtd4, then calculate 
the number of blocks for each mtd (i.e. a block is 128K, 1M is 8 blocks)”

 Erase mtd0:

#flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16
Erase Total 16 Units
Performing Flash Erase of length 131072 at offset 0x1e done

flash _erase line I got from this site but it will not delete the right amount 
of blocks.
So 16 units make the block size 131072 so what is the unit for block size 
16384,mtd0 to 5 are all the same block size..?? I am not great at maths…lol

Thank for the help Ralph.. Once I get this working again I move on to the 
E2(Amstrad E-M@iler Plus)..

Spanner..

From: Ralph Corderoy
Sent: ‎Saturday‎, ‎13‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎10‎:‎03
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Hi Nick,

> mtd0 - kernel
> mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)

Aren't PBL and Uboot two distinct separate things?  PBL was written by
Clive at Amstrad.  On the E2, it's the sole occupant of the small 64 KiB
flash so it isn't at risk of corruption when it writes to the main 8 MiB
flash.
https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Finputplus.co.uk%2Fralph%2Femailer%2Femailerplus.html%23hardware-icsdata=02%7C01%7C%7C98de71a5da4c439d992708d6bfeeecbb%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636907430224288747sdata=LqkjcsSy62DcL04jS5U0mhtqVbReqh9NVioinst3eyk%3Dreserved=0

> What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??
> Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

If you have extracted the contents of those partitions then start poking
around their contents.  file(1), hexdump(1), etc.  And Google some
resources on reverse-engineering flash blobs to identify their contents.

> One of the problem with the E2 is it don’t run Linux
...
> The E3 had a different CPU because it need a MMU for the Colour LCD
> screen so need to be more powerful than the E1,E2.

I think Clive wanted to take advantage of Linux for the E3, given its
higher, more complex, workload and thus needed the MMU.

--
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Nick,

> if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
>  echo Found e3-nand-backup.0
>  echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
>  flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16
>  echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.0 to /dev/mtd0"
>  nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
> fi

Parameterise the code to extract the error-prone repetition,
and avoid the reader having lots of versions to compare.

perhaps_write_flash()
{
p=${1?} erase=${2?}
f=/media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.$p
dev=/dev/mtd$p

test -e $f || return

echo found $f
echo erasing $erase on $dev
flash_erase $dev 0 $erase
echo writing flash
nandwrite -on $dev $f
}

perhaps_write_flash 0 16
perhaps_write_flash 1 ...

Untested, obviously.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Nick,

> Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
> only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
> mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
> mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
> mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
> mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
> mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
> mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
>
> I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each
> partition..?

I don't quite understand the question.  Those `ending' values suggest
the size of each partition given all the `starting' are zero?  You need
to find out what that first line of information means.  I suspect `Size'
is the number of pages and `Page Size' is in bytes.  That would mean
8 MiB in total.

Depending on the flash device, the smallest erasable amount might be a
block of pages.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Nick,

> mtd0 - kernel
> mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)

Aren't PBL and Uboot two distinct separate things?  PBL was written by
Clive at Amstrad.  On the E2, it's the sole occupant of the small 64 KiB
flash so it isn't at risk of corruption when it writes to the main 8 MiB
flash.
https://inputplus.co.uk/ralph/emailer/emailerplus.html#hardware-ics

> What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??
> Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

If you have extracted the contents of those partitions then start poking
around their contents.  file(1), hexdump(1), etc.  And Google some
resources on reverse-engineering flash blobs to identify their contents.

> One of the problem with the E2 is it don’t run Linux
...
> The E3 had a different CPU because it need a MMU for the Colour LCD
> screen so need to be more powerful than the E1,E2.

I think Clive wanted to take advantage of Linux for the E3, given its
higher, more complex, workload and thus needed the MMU.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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e3-hacking@earth.li
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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Made a mistake.. ..☹
This at the end of the code e3-nand-backup.4, its says ” nandwrite -on 
/dev/mtd3  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3” what it should be mtd4 and 4 at the 
end of this code “nandwrite -on /dev/mtd4  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.4”

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.4 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.4
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd4"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd4 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.4 to /dev/mtd4"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd4  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.4
fi


echo "Done.
“

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎22‎:‎04
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Can someone look at this…
Just edited the ams-delta-install script and renamed it to 
ams-delta-restore-e3-install

I can do all the work and tests, Just need a expert to look at the code and see 
if it OK because I am just reading up on MTD NAND write and dumping stuff on 
the net. This is how you learn you ask someone to help you and they help you 
and if you are wrong then you will remember how to do it next time… 

”#!/bin/sh

if (! grep -q /dev/sda1 /proc/mounts); then
 echo "No install media mounted; couldn't find /dev/sda in /proc/mounts"
 exit 1;
fi

echo

echo "This process will completely restore your E3's NAND."
echo This will try and restore The Amstrad firmware on the device. Are you
echo -n "sure you wish to continue? [y/N]: "

read i

if [ ! "x$i" = "xy" -a ! "x$i" = "xY" ]; then
 echo
 echo Aborting.
 exit 1
fi

echo
echo Starting restore...

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.0
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.0 to /dev/mtd0"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.1 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.1
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd1"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd1 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.1 to /dev/mtd1"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd1 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.1
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.3
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd3"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd3 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.3 to /dev/mtd3"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd3  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.4 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.4
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd4"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd4 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.4 to /dev/mtd4"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd3  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3
fi


echo "Done."

What do you think… Would this work…?


Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Can someone look at this…
Just edited the ams-delta-install script and renamed it to 
ams-delta-restore-e3-install

I can do all the work and tests, Just need a expert to look at the code and see 
if it OK because I am just reading up on MTD NAND write and dumping stuff on 
the net. This is how you learn you ask someone to help you and they help you 
and if you are wrong then you will remember how to do it next time… 

”#!/bin/sh

if (! grep -q /dev/sda1 /proc/mounts); then
 echo "No install media mounted; couldn't find /dev/sda in /proc/mounts"
 exit 1;
fi

echo

echo "This process will completely restore your E3's NAND."
echo This will try and restore The Amstrad firmware on the device. Are you
echo -n "sure you wish to continue? [y/N]: "

read i

if [ ! "x$i" = "xy" -a ! "x$i" = "xY" ]; then
 echo
 echo Aborting.
 exit 1
fi

echo
echo Starting restore...

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.0
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.0 to /dev/mtd0"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.1 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.1
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd1"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd1 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.1 to /dev/mtd1"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd1 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.1
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.3
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd3"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd3 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.3 to /dev/mtd3"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd3  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3
fi

if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.4 ]; then
 echo Found e3-nand-backup.4
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd4"
 flash_erase /dev/mtd4 0 16
 echo "  Writing e3-nand-backup.4 to /dev/mtd4"
 nandwrite -on /dev/mtd3  /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.3
fi


echo "Done."

What do you think… Would this work…?


Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎19‎:‎32
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 
formatted to copy the 6 files over to it,it don’t say in the Readme..?

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎02
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install 

Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Just copy the Amstrad Firmware to USB and as well flash Linux on the E3 so now 
I have to find a way to flash it back..  wow its takes a long time to boot, it 
took about a hour to copy the Amstrad Firmware over to USB.Is each file a copy 
of the partition(mtd0,1,2,3,4,5,) only mtd0,1,3 and 4 get flashed with the new 
system, so if the backups are complete copies then they could be flash back the 
same way, maybe something like this, taking the code for mdt0..

”if [ -e /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0 ]; then
 echo Found Amstrad kernel.
 echo "  Erasing /dev/mtd0"
 flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
 echo "  Writing Amstrad kernel to /dev/mtd0"
nandwrite -on /dev/mtd0 /media/sda1/e3-nand-backup.0
fi”

Mtd0,2,3,4,5 Size 16384,Page Size 512, 00B Size 16
only need to restore mtd0,1,3 and 4 so ones with a * on.
mtd0: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0030*
mtd1: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd2: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004
mtd3: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x0004*
mtd4: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x01b0*
mtd5: Dumping Data Starting at 0x and ending at 0x000c
I don’t know how much of the Nand you would need to erase for each partition..?
So lucky I recored the install.. I be uploading soon once I have edited it.
This is just guess work don’t know if it would work, need someone who knows 
about the code. If I manage to flash the Amstrad Firmware back and it works 
then you be able to flash any E3 firmware this way so even with one with the 
config change on it.

There is info here how to flash to mtd ..  
https://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,16789,16800

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎10
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 
formatted to copy the 6 files over to it,it don’t say in the Readme..?

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎02
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install Script running in a Ramdisk..??
You have 2 Uboot images the same, one for flashing the other on for the install 
so you made it a bit like FEL mode where you hold down the FEL Button and can 
boot into Uboot +ramdisk  from you PC thought its usb cable that powers it then 
you can mount the system partition to get into files and folders, that's on 
TheC64 Mini.
Most Developing Boards now have the FEL button.

Just trying to find out more ,it dumps the firmware into 6 partitions, when it 
dumps them, can they be put back the way they are or do they need to be 
converted, so what I am say, are they raw files so they can’t be used the way 
they are at the moment…?

You can backup your firmware with this script without installing Linux on the 
E3,you can say no to installing it, right..?? if so I will try and see if I can 
back the E3 up to get the 6 backup files.

P.S Have not done anything with my E2Plus yet, if I can backup its firmware and 
then flash it back then I can fix the dead E2s out there, but I need help.
If I can backup its firmware I am willing to share it.But don’t worry my E2Plus 
is going no where..  Just been looking at you page Ralph,One of the problem 
with the E2 is it don’t run Linux, I am trying to find out more about its 
firmware at the moment.
The E1 and E2 use the same Firmware and same CPU Sharp LH79531 ARM (L136 00B), 
the only difference in them is the Plus had ZX Spectrum games. So I might be 
able to use the firmware from the E2 on the E1. The E3 had a different CPU 
because it need a MMU for the Colour LCD screen so need to be more powerful 
than the E1,E2.

Spanner..

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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

Oh one more thing.. the USB memory stick,does it matter if its fat or fat32 
formatted to copy the 6 files over to it,it don’t say in the Readme..?

Spanner..

From: Nick Griffin
Sent: ‎Friday‎, ‎12‎ ‎April‎ ‎2019 ‎14‎:‎02
To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer 
hardware/software

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install Script running in a Ramdisk..??
You have 2 Uboot images the same, one for flashing the other on for the install 
so you made it a bit like FEL mode where you hold down the FEL Button and can 
boot into Uboot +ramdisk  from you PC thought its usb cable that powers it then 
you can mount the system partition to get into files and folders, that's on 
TheC64 Mini.
Most Developing Boards now have the FEL button.

Just trying to find out more ,it dumps the firmware into 6 partitions, when it 
dumps them, can they be put back the way they are or do they need to be 
converted, so what I am say, are they raw files so they can’t be used the way 
they are at the moment…?

You can backup your firmware with this script without installing Linux on the 
E3,you can say no to installing it, right..?? if so I will try and see if I can 
back the E3 up to get the 6 backup files.

P.S Have not done anything with my E2Plus yet, if I can backup its firmware and 
then flash it back then I can fix the dead E2s out there, but I need help.
If I can backup its firmware I am willing to share it.But don’t worry my E2Plus 
is going no where..  Just been looking at you page Ralph,One of the problem 
with the E2 is it don’t run Linux, I am trying to find out more about its 
firmware at the moment.
The E1 and E2 use the same Firmware and same CPU Sharp LH79531 ARM (L136 00B), 
the only difference in them is the Plus had ZX Spectrum games. So I might be 
able to use the firmware from the E2 on the E1. The E3 had a different CPU 
because it need a MMU for the Colour LCD screen so need to be more powerful 
than the E1,E2.

Spanner..

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e3-hacking mailing list
e3-hacking@earth.li
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Re: [E3-hacking] Understanding the E3s Partitions

[Nick Griffin]

“When it flash's Linux to the E3 it only uses partitions mtd0,mtd1,mtd3 and 
mtd4, so mtd2 and mtd3 is not used.”

mtd0 - kernel
mtd1 - PBL ( Maybe, I say this because Uboot is flashed there.)
mtd3 - ldr ( File System..? uses mtdblock3 of mtd3)
mtd4 - Root( Root File System,maybe ?? uses mtdblock4 of mtd4)

What are mtd2 and mtd5 used for..??

Trying to find out what each Partition is used for?

Is the Amstrad Install Script running in a Ramdisk..??
You have 2 Uboot images the same, one for flashing the other on for the install 
so you made it a bit like FEL mode where you hold down the FEL Button and can 
boot into Uboot +ramdisk  from you PC thought its usb cable that powers it then 
you can mount the system partition to get into files and folders, that's on 
TheC64 Mini.
Most Developing Boards now have the FEL button.

Just trying to find out more ,it dumps the firmware into 6 partitions, when it 
dumps them, can they be put back the way they are or do they need to be 
converted, so what I am say, are they raw files so they can’t be used the way 
they are at the moment…?

You can backup your firmware with this script without installing Linux on the 
E3,you can say no to installing it, right..?? if so I will try and see if I can 
back the E3 up to get the 6 backup files.

P.S Have not done anything with my E2Plus yet, if I can backup its firmware and 
then flash it back then I can fix the dead E2s out there, but I need help.
If I can backup its firmware I am willing to share it.But don’t worry my E2Plus 
is going no where..  Just been looking at you page Ralph,One of the problem 
with the E2 is it don’t run Linux, I am trying to find out more about its 
firmware at the moment.
The E1 and E2 use the same Firmware and same CPU Sharp LH79531 ARM (L136 00B), 
the only difference in them is the Plus had ZX Spectrum games. So I might be 
able to use the firmware from the E2 on the E1. The E3 had a different CPU 
because it need a MMU for the Colour LCD screen so need to be more powerful 
than the E1,E2.

Spanner..

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e3-hacking mailing list
e3-hacking@earth.li
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