**** BEGIN LOGGING AT Wed Aug 19 02:59:56 2009 Aug 19 03:26:56 hey Aug 19 03:27:25 does anyone know what bootargs_root normally looks like in U-Boot after the recovery app is run? Aug 19 03:28:43 and/or Aug 19 03:28:52 could someone with Debian/Ubuntu running on their system Aug 19 03:28:59 post a pastebin of /etc/inittab ? Aug 19 03:29:11 I had a power outage today, and now my plug won't boot Aug 19 03:29:37 and I don't have a serial console up, so I can't figure out what's going on Aug 19 03:32:28 wait Aug 19 03:32:33 I'm pulling it out of the installer... Aug 19 03:38:05 debio264: getting lonely? Aug 19 03:38:19 hrmmm? Aug 19 03:38:33 I keep talking to myself XD Aug 19 03:38:38 hopefully I just got it working Aug 19 03:38:39 haha Aug 19 03:39:01 just shh'd into mine Aug 19 03:40:00 poop Aug 19 03:40:18 no inittab Aug 19 03:40:21 VFS: Mounted root (ext4 filesystem) on device 8:2. Aug 19 03:40:21 Freeing init memory: 140K Aug 19 03:40:21 Warning: unable to open an initial console. Aug 19 03:40:21 Restarting system. Aug 19 03:40:35 I have no idea why it keeps doing that Aug 19 03:40:47 what are you running the ext4 on ? Aug 19 03:40:56 the external hard drive I use a root Aug 19 03:41:02 as root* Aug 19 03:41:10 debio264: ah you finally got that working Aug 19 03:41:25 I don't have U-Boot loading the kernel from it, but it works as root Aug 19 03:41:30 debio264: which kernel build? Aug 19 03:41:36 or rather it did until today Aug 19 03:41:40 2.6.30.4 Aug 19 03:41:44 ok Aug 19 03:41:46 from sheeva.withlinux.org Aug 19 03:42:02 hrmmm Aug 19 03:42:15 does a /dev/ttyS0 exist on your plug? Aug 19 03:43:44 and if so, could you get the major and minor numbers? Aug 19 03:46:03 do not see one Aug 19 03:46:19 odd Aug 19 03:46:23 but I do remember there being one a while back Aug 19 03:46:35 Ubuntu opens a terminal in there Aug 19 03:46:46 uptime Aug 19 03:46:46 03:45:35 up 20 days, 20:10 Aug 19 03:47:09 oh I see it now Aug 19 03:47:14 tired... Aug 19 03:47:32 are the major and minor numbers 4 and 64, respectively? Aug 19 03:48:22 ls -l ttyS0 Aug 19 03:48:23 crw------- 1 root root 4, 64 Aug 13 15:15 ttyS0 Aug 19 03:48:26 yep Aug 19 03:48:29 k, thanks Aug 19 03:48:34 hopefully now I can get this ti work Aug 19 03:48:38 ls -l ttyS1 Aug 19 03:48:38 crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 65 Jul 29 07:35 ttyS1 Aug 19 03:52:38 debio264: remember ubuntu uses upstart so no inittab... Aug 19 03:52:45 event.d instead Aug 19 03:53:32 well Aug 19 03:53:37 I have Arch installed on my plug Aug 19 03:53:47 and one of the filesystem checks is failing Aug 19 03:53:49 k Aug 19 03:53:50 but I'm not sure why Aug 19 03:54:04 which check? Aug 19 04:10:08 not sure Aug 19 04:10:16 it's just fsck returning a non-zero value Aug 19 04:10:33 or at least that's what I think it is Aug 19 04:10:37 did you use any special parameters? Aug 19 04:13:21 well Aug 19 04:13:29 it's built into my distro's startup scripts Aug 19 04:13:45 when fsck fails, they drop you into a maintenance terminal Aug 19 04:13:52 and have you run it yourself to fix whatever's going on Aug 19 04:14:06 but because I can't get a terminal working on the serial port Aug 19 04:14:24 it's trying to drop me to a maintenance shell, failing, and then rebooting Aug 19 04:14:28 why can't you get the serial port working? Aug 19 04:14:35 is the cable falling out? Aug 19 04:16:22 no Aug 19 04:16:36 for whatever reason, it just doesn't want to open a getty on /dev/ttyS0 Aug 19 05:17:14 debio264: what are you trying to do? Aug 19 05:17:48 3well Aug 19 05:17:59 my current solution is to worry about it tomorrow morning XD Aug 19 05:18:23 I can mount and unmount the external drive from another laptop Aug 19 05:18:31 and I've fsck'd it from there Aug 19 05:18:38 but the plug still doesn't like it Aug 19 05:18:48 so I see two approaches Aug 19 05:19:00 firstly, I could try to get a terminal running on the plug Aug 19 05:19:12 or secondly, I could just bypass the filesystem checks in the startup routine Aug 19 05:19:12 you need ttyUSB1 for the serial connection Aug 19 05:19:28 see http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Setting_up_Serial_Console_Under_Linux Aug 19 05:19:28 the problem isn't getting the laptop to connect to the plug Aug 19 05:19:35 that's all fine Aug 19 05:19:45 okay what is the problem? Aug 19 05:19:47 the problem getting a getty running on the plug Aug 19 05:19:57 so I have something to actually interface with Aug 19 05:20:24 the laptop uses ttyUSB1 Aug 19 05:20:27 so even if you connect by the serial terminal you cannot login in? Aug 19 05:20:32 the plug uses ttyS0 Aug 19 05:20:33 yes Aug 19 05:20:50 no you can login via ttyUSB1 Aug 19 05:21:15 at end of the linux boot sequence hit enter and the login should appear Aug 19 05:21:37 this is done via the serial terminal Aug 19 05:21:52 no Aug 19 05:22:02 if you can't login via that it means your system is in a really bad state Aug 19 05:22:10 and needs some help Aug 19 05:22:12 I'm saying that internally, the plug has a getty listening on ttyS0 Aug 19 05:22:22 and the issue is that I never bothered to set that getty up Aug 19 05:22:42 but if that is not working use the serial terminal so you can get logged in to fix it Aug 19 05:22:43 which didn't matter until the stupid power went out today Aug 19 05:22:45 but oh well Aug 19 05:23:11 when you login on the console Aug 19 05:23:21 the program that's running the login prompt is called getty Aug 19 05:23:30 or just mount the drive on another system so you can access the files and fix it Aug 19 05:23:36 it's launched by the init scripts of whatever distro you use Aug 19 05:23:46 and it listens on a VC or on a serial port or on whatever Aug 19 05:23:57 you are not quite getting it Aug 19 05:24:11 no, I would say it's the other way around Aug 19 05:24:40 when your plug boots and the kernel launches userspace init Aug 19 05:24:51 it launches getty, which gives you the login prompt on your serial port Aug 19 05:25:02 I know but there are other ways of getting it Aug 19 05:25:03 mine doesn't launch getty because I never set it up Aug 19 05:25:09 try tty1 Aug 19 05:25:19 and how am I going to get to tty1? Aug 19 05:25:21 for example Aug 19 05:25:45 an exercise for the student Aug 19 05:26:06 sorry, but that's not an answer Aug 19 05:26:10 I know what's wrong with my plug Aug 19 05:26:56 that works on a desktop because you have a display and virtual consoles Aug 19 05:27:11 and you do not have sshd running? Aug 19 05:27:23 my plug is rebooting before init finishes launching things Aug 19 05:27:27 no, I don't have SSH Aug 19 05:27:38 well you did not say it was rebooting Aug 19 05:27:41 I don't have a rewritable root by the time it resets Aug 19 05:27:44 you left that out Aug 19 05:27:49 sorry, then Aug 19 05:28:11 makes it a bit different plus you don't have sshd running Aug 19 05:28:18 actually, I did say that Aug 19 05:28:25 VFS: Mounted root (ext4 filesystem) on device 8:2. Aug 19 05:28:25 Freeing init memory: 140K Aug 19 05:28:25 Warning: unable to open an initial console. Aug 19 05:28:25 Restarting system. Aug 19 05:28:37 so if have sshd and screen you can do some interesting things Aug 19 05:28:54 that is very strange... Aug 19 05:29:03 ooh Aug 19 05:29:07 I think I might've found it Aug 19 05:29:13 does your plug have a /dev/console? Aug 19 05:29:15 I assume you have another system you can mount the drive on and fix it Aug 19 05:29:19 yea Aug 19 05:29:22 I have it right here Aug 19 05:29:44 ls -l /dev/console Aug 19 05:29:44 crw------- 1 root root 5, 1 Jul 29 07:35 /dev/console Aug 19 05:30:01 one sec, firing up the drive Aug 19 05:30:49 hmmm should of been able to have survived an outage. that is strange Aug 19 05:30:59 well Aug 19 05:31:03 the system itself is intact Aug 19 05:31:10 it's just a filesystem check that's failing for some reason Aug 19 05:31:17 even though they all pass on my laptop Aug 19 05:31:31 though I have heard strange things happened with early versions of ext4...but you said you are using a recent kernel Aug 19 05:32:19 so if you run fsck from the laptop it should mark it as clean Aug 19 05:32:40 and you should be able to fix your getty problem as well Aug 19 05:32:45 my /dev/console matches that... Aug 19 05:32:49 I *should* be able to Aug 19 05:33:05 but I keep getting that "Warning: unable to open an initial console" thing Aug 19 05:34:51 I did a search and you are not the first person to see that message Aug 19 05:35:12 yea Aug 19 05:35:30 but I can't seem to find a good answer that deals with embedded systems Aug 19 05:35:36 plus Aug 19 05:35:46 I'm using the same kernel that I used while Ubuntu was installed Aug 19 05:35:51 so it's not a kernel configuration issue Aug 19 05:36:00 it's something in userspace... Aug 19 05:36:06 http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Warning:+unable+to+open+an+initial+console Aug 19 05:36:30 http://kerneltrap.org/node/6854 Aug 19 05:37:34 well something missing that the kernel needs Aug 19 05:38:41 hrmmm Aug 19 05:38:55 one sec, seeing if it boots now Aug 19 05:40:08 and....dowe have a winner? Aug 19 05:40:49 came across this a bit old but still relevant http://foo-projects.org/pipermail/lunar/2004-March/003666.html Aug 19 05:47:31 yea Aug 19 05:47:46 that's actually what I was about to try if the current attempt failed Aug 19 05:53:23 LOL Aug 19 05:53:25 it works Aug 19 05:53:30 and it was in the dumbest way ever Aug 19 05:53:43 my distro has a folder of nodes it copies into /dev Aug 19 05:53:47 nodes that udev doesn't generate Aug 19 05:53:59 but somehow /dev/null got created as a regular file Aug 19 05:54:13 I'm not sure how this fixed it, but deleting /dev/null made it boot normally Aug 19 05:54:26 that was hte next thing IA was going to suggest checking /dev/null Aug 19 05:54:52 oh wait, I know what happened Aug 19 05:55:04 the init scripts ran fsck and piped the output to /dev/null Aug 19 05:55:08 which was on the root filesystem Aug 19 05:55:13 which was mounted read only Aug 19 05:55:19 mknod -m 660 null c 1 3 Aug 19 05:55:21 so fsck failed, causing the whole mess Aug 19 05:55:38 hmmmmmmmm Aug 19 05:56:11 /dev/null was there as a regular file, and when my distro mounts /dev and copies in the static nodes, it apparently refused to overwrite it? Aug 19 05:56:28 not sure how that worked because I don't know how duplicate files are handled when a filesystem is mounted Aug 19 05:56:32 so it does not use a script and mknod? Aug 19 05:56:37 no Aug 19 05:56:42 the nodes are already there Aug 19 05:56:49 in like /dev/udev/devices Aug 19 05:56:52 errr Aug 19 05:56:55 /lib/udev/devices Aug 19 05:57:02 they're just copied from there to /dev Aug 19 05:57:21 oh well interesting error Aug 19 05:57:27 night Aug 19 05:57:30 time for sleep Aug 19 05:58:19 night Aug 19 05:58:26 and thanks for your help Aug 19 05:58:33 k Aug 20 02:36:51 Greetings! I just received my SheevaPlug today :) :) and I'd like to have an "it's alive" moment before knocking off for the evening. I'm running on a Mac and am wondering if there's anything pre-flashed into the shipped units or do I have to setup a Linux VM and go through the jtag stuff?? Aug 20 02:37:34 Just grab the Mac USB drivers and use 'screen' to talk to it. Aug 20 02:37:40 There is a base image. Aug 20 02:37:47 root/nosoup4u is the login. Aug 20 02:38:03 Where does one get screen? Aug 20 02:38:05 Does it snag an IP from DHCP? I forget. Aug 20 02:38:24 I'll settle for the console talking tonight. :) Aug 20 02:38:28 I think screen comes installed on the Mac. (Or did I get it from MacPorts?) Aug 20 02:38:48 rbgray - http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Serial_terminal_program#Mac_OS_X:_USB_to_Serial_Connection Aug 20 02:38:48 Actually, on my old iBook, I have Kermit. :P Aug 20 02:38:54 Kermit! Aug 20 02:40:08 base image is a working Linux system? Aug 20 02:40:13 Kermit - not heard that for a while ;) Aug 20 02:40:54 I used it to talk to the serial console of an Itanium system. Before that, to telnet to a freenet. Aug 20 02:41:20 rbgray: start here http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Main_Page#HOWTO_Use_the_Plug_Computer Aug 20 02:41:41 and also there is some stuff on t\he forum Aug 20 02:42:29 Hey tinker-f595 & Q_Continuum Aug 20 02:42:34 http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=34.0 Aug 20 02:42:54 hey SDuensin I am multi tasking in mutliple discussions Aug 20 02:43:14 Hell, that's my usual state. Aug 20 02:43:33 rbgray: http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=75.0 Aug 20 02:43:39 * SDuensin is on 11 (or is it 12?) IM networks, 4 IRC servers, and 10 channels at the moment. Aug 20 02:44:44 tinker-f595: thanks - I've got to crawl the forum some more - I think I did hit that yesteday when I noticed that my plug had made it across the country and would be arriving the next day. Aug 20 02:44:50 Hey SDuensin Aug 20 02:45:25 * SDuensin is trying to build a plug root fs from scratch using debootstrap. Aug 20 02:45:33 5 IRC servers (17 channels) 3 IM networks. Not really using much ATM :-D Aug 20 02:45:41 Hangs after starting logging during boot. :-( Aug 20 02:51:15 I think I've worn the poor plug out. It's acting goofy. Aug 20 02:58:46 * rbgray actually wonders what the durability of flash is these days WRT repeated writes. **** ENDING LOGGING AT Thu Aug 20 02:59:56 2009