Author Topic: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM  (Read 4460 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« on: November 18, 2021, 03:29:26 am »
What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM, are there anyway to write or put config(LILO) on the SD card root directory for it's to load?

 

Online Whales

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2042
  • Country: au
    • Halestrom
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2021, 12:03:23 pm »
I do not understand your question at all, it is really vague.  Early boot, bootloaders and first-stage linux loading are complex topics that are very different on certain platforms (eg ARM boards like Raspberry Pis). 

Can you please provide more information?

What platform/board/device?
What do you mean "won't load NAND to RAM"?  Vmlinuz loading?  Initramfs loading? ISO to RAM + disk-emulation?
Why are you using LILO?  Is this a very old/legacy environment, ie 15-20 years old or more?
What kernel version?  From the last 10 years (version 3.x onwards) or really old (version 2.6.x or earlier)?
What LILO commands are being executed?  Sharing your lilo conf file would be a really important start.
What happens when these commands fail?  Are there error messages?
« Last Edit: November 18, 2021, 12:05:45 pm by Whales »
 

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2021, 03:47:17 am »
I have a computerized telescope which use Linux OS, I update my firmware "copy Sd to NAND" message display but when it finish I remove my Sd card out and restart there is no activity and many persons in CN telescope forum told me that firmware boot loader that reside in NAND won't load to RAM for execution, that all I know of.
 

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2021, 03:48:29 am »
this is the board itself
 

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2021, 03:51:39 am »
another one
 

Online Whales

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2042
  • Country: au
    • Halestrom
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2021, 05:23:24 am »
I have a computerized telescope which use Linux OS, I update my firmware "copy Sd to NAND" message display but when it finish I remove my Sd card out and restart there is no activity and many persons in CN telescope forum told me that firmware boot loader that reside in NAND won't load to RAM for execution, that all I know of.

Ahah, that information helps tremendously :)  Thankyou.

Blackfin processors are their own special architecture, they're not x86 or IBM AT derived.  This means bootloaders like Lilo or grub will not work.  Your device will use a custom and non-standard bootloader designed by the manufacturer. 


Quote
I update my firmware "copy Sd to NAND" message display

OK

Quote
but when it finish I remove my Sd card out and restart there is no activity

Hmm, it sounds like you could have put the wrong firmware onto your device, or the firmware is corrupt.

Are there multiple versions of the firmware available? 
Have you tried older versions to see if they work? 
Have you tried low-level formatting your SD card first, then trying the whole process again? (some bootloaders are finicky and silly)
Are there special instructions you are supposed to follow when upgrading the firmware?

Quote
many persons in CN telescope forum told me that firmware boot loader that reside in NAND won't load to RAM for execution

That is a very strange way to say "the device will not boot" or "the device is bricked".  Copying the kernel image and vmlinuz from NAND to RAM is just one of the many steps in boot.

Do you have links to this forum and these posts that you can share?  If the forum is in CN (Chinese?) then I might still be able to help if I use a little bit of Google translate.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2021, 05:26:54 am by Whales »
 

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2021, 06:14:25 am »
CN is a telescope forum in US full name is Cloudy Night my scope is Meade ETX_LS model I will try to use and old firmware before update but now I'm having a problem to obtain the sd to mini sd card adapter.
This is my Link in the forum:
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/792080-meade-etx-ls-hbx-freeze-while-updating/
 

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2021, 06:33:19 am »
HI
Please look into this firmware that provided to me from Meade Manufacturer b4 they went for chapter11 bankruptcy court.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nmfqtfnnf25wtvk/ETX_LSV16E.zip?dl=0

the older firmware version is 1.6d this one is 1.6e
 

Online Whales

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2042
  • Country: au
    • Halestrom
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2021, 07:32:19 am »
After having a look at that forum thread: oh dear, it looks like the bootloader is very finicky.  You have to copy the files onto the SD card in a specific order so that that their filesystem entries are in a certain order -- you might even need a specific version of Windows for that to work!  That's evil.

Does the little LCD screen tell you that the firmware update has succeeded?  Eg does it tell you to reboot once it's done?

I've had experiences with certain microSD cards working in devices whilst others do not.  An older and smaller microSD might be useful to try.

Otherwise: the best I can suggest is following those people's SD card preparation instructions exactly and to the letter. 

The last remaining ways of debugging your problem are trying to find bootloader debug messages or reverse engineering the bootloader code.  The former is something you can research on the web (have a look at how to access the "UART" on a router) but even if you find some UART pins they still might   The latter is a very complex procedure and may take months of effort, especially if you're not familiar with the target architecture.

Sorry, I don't think I can be much more use that that :(

Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2021, 07:56:30 am »
Does the little LCD screen tell you that the firmware update has succeeded?  Eg does it tell you to reboot once it's done?
yes it"s instruct me to take sd card out and reboot. Then nothing appear no text of any kind appear.

Thank you for your effort to help
sam
 

Offline thinkfat

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2158
  • Country: de
  • This is just a hobby I spend too much time on.
    • Matthias' Hackerstübchen
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2021, 12:27:47 pm »
Didn't you post the exact question in another thread recently? What happened?
Everybody likes gadgets. Until they try to make them.
 
The following users thanked this post: Bassman59


Offline newitTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 22
  • Country: th
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #12 on: November 19, 2021, 03:46:53 pm »
I just try to troubleshoot my problem with step by step question guy
 

Offline thinkfat

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2158
  • Country: de
  • This is just a hobby I spend too much time on.
    • Matthias' Hackerstübchen
Re: What to do when linux won't load NAND to RAM
« Reply #13 on: November 19, 2021, 04:18:08 pm »
I just try to troubleshoot my problem with step by step question guy

If you spread out those steps all across the forum, nobody will know which questions were already answered and you will be asked to do stuff you've already tried - waste of everyones time.
Everybody likes gadgets. Until they try to make them.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf