Installing Debian or similar on MicroClient Jr DX / eBox-3300 / Vortex86DX

[the.clou...@gmail.com]

Hello,


Glad I found this forum with other people who are taking an interest
in this technology!

I recently received a MicroClient JR DX with 1GB CF + wireless + 2x
RS232. I spent the last 4 evenings trying "everything" and searching
the net to figure out how to set it up with a reasonable Linux
installation.

Primary use case is to work as a small server with remote ssh login
over both fixed and wireless (with priority to get fixed set up
first), working RS232 ports (to control some 1-wire inputs and some
relays), and run "rock solid" e.g. do its job for couple weeks without
checking how it's doing (assuming no UPS/power outages etc).

I would prefer a Debian, Ubuntu or similar as I am more familiar with
the apt package distribution system and like the power to be able to
customize the system by accessing all those packages "out there"
without spending hours tweaking and compiling stuff all the time.

The MicroClient Jr DX I receieved has the 1 GB CF set up on the 2nd
IDE controller so gets set up as /dev/hdc. Also I do not have a USB CD/
DVD drive, so I have to be able to get the distribution onto a USB
stick and install from there.

I have tried a number of things:

* The instructions from vortex86dx.com on installing on Debian 4.0 -
am able to install the base system and avoid the standard kernel
crashing by feeding it pnpbios=off, however the custom kernel .deb
downloaded from vortex86dx.com hangs during kernel configuration/
detection of /dev/hdc
* I installed a similar environment in QEMU which I built a new
kernel myself taking the patches from vortex86sx.com, packaged that as
a .deb and tried that instead, however same problem - when installing
on the MicroClient it fails when processing /dev/hdc
* Vanilla Debian Lenny installer kernel won't even boot, also when
feeding it the pnpbios=off setting
* Damn Small Linux - can get it installed, but no network driver and
don't even know where to start to get a build environment up and
running to try to compile one
* The latest Puppy Linux - seems to claim it recognizes the r6040,
however when using the GUI to configure the eth0 interface it just
hangs the system
* Some alpha ebox puplet for Puppy Linux I found also don't have
drivers for the network
* Tried in one of the QEMU environments (probably some version Debian
4.0) to compile the separately downloadable r6040 network driver,
however that also fails which I found other posts raising that same
problem
* As far as I know I haven't changed or messed up any of the standard
BIOS settings while playing around, except the boot sequence

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated as I am starting to run
out of ideas :-D


Cheers

[WDL-Donnie]

On Feb 27, 11:10 am, "the.cloud.berr...@gmail.com"

<the.cloud.berr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> *  The instructions from vortex86dx.com on installing on Debian 4.0 -
> am able to install the base system and avoid the standard kernel
> crashing by feeding it pnpbios=off, however the custom kernel .deb
> downloaded from vortex86dx.com hangs during kernel configuration/
> detection of /dev/hdc

Welcome to the group! Try changing your "IDE operate mode" from
Legacy to Native. That should get you up and running. You may also
need to enable the ambiguous "USB Device" in the USB configuration
submenu in order to get Ethernet to work. Not sure exactly what that
"USB device" is, since the Ethernet controller is integrated into the
Vortex86DX SoC, but it seems to have some sort of impact on the
network functionality.

[the.clou...@gmail.com]

Thanks a lot, this solved the problem! Here are (approximate from
memory) instructions for anyone else who wants to replicate this:

1. Create a Debian 4.0 USB stick to boot from. Best approach I found
(doing this from a Linux system) was (a) find and download debian-40r5-
i386-netinst.iso image, (b) find and download boot.img.gz for Debian
4.0, (c) use fdisk to create a 256 MB bootable FAT as the first
partition on the USB stick, (d) do "zcat boot.img.gz > /dev/sdF1" (use
the USB stick device), (e) mount /dev/sdF1 and copy the .iso image
onto the root dir of the USB stick, (f) you might need to do "install-
mbr" or similar if there are problems with the USB stick MBR

2. Follow the step 1-16 in the instructions from www.vortex86dx.com
(note, do _not_ change BIOS settings as per previous post quite yet;
seems the install kernel (at least the one I found) needs the IDE CF
to be in legacy mode

3. Before booting the new kernel, go into BIOS and make the changes
specified in previous post (set "IDE operate mode" to "Native", enable
the "USB Device"

4. Boot the new kernel (step #17 of instructions)

5. Add the following lines to /etc/network/interfaces (assuming you
are using DHCP):
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

6. Start the network with "/etc/init.d/networking start"

7. Edit /etc/apt/sources.list to comment the cdrom source and
uncomment the network sources, then run "aptitude update"

8. I did (optional) "aptitude hold linux-image-2.6.18-6-486" to avoid
updates to the default kernel which won't be used anyways.

9. "aptitude upgrade" to update the system

10. Probably some easier way to do this, but couldn't find sysvconfig
in apt library; did "cd /etc/rc2.d ; ln -s ../init.d/networking
S35networking" to have networking start automatically upon boot

11. Reboot - system should now come up with (fixed line) networking
and life is good :-)

Hope others might find this helpful

[the.clou...@gmail.com]

One more thing that is needed - in step 7 above, add source lines for
regular etch updates to sources.list - my version now looks like the
below. Otherwise a bunch of packages is not available, plus some other
dependencies will not resolve.

[/etc/apt/sources.list]

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r5 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST
Binary-1 20081024-15:53]/ etch contrib main
#deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r5 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST
Binary-1 20081024-15:53]/ etch contrib main

# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main contrib non-free

# regular updates for etch
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ etch main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ etch main contrib non-free

[the.clou...@gmail.com]

I had some trouble getting FUSE up and running, as it is not included
in the kernel .deb from vortex86dx.org, so I decided the easiest thing
would be to compile my own kernel (too much hassle getting the kernel
sources and syncing up with current kernel) using QEMU on a regular PC
(speed things up).

1. Install the same Debian Etch environment on a QEMU image, skipping
all the vortex86 specific stuff. See QEMU howto http://www.askarali.org/qemu_howto.html
for some useful info

2. See http://debian.shorton.info/2008/03/29/creating-a-custom-kernel-in-debian/
for info on compiling the kernel. I downloaded the following kernel,
copied the downloaded config file as .config in the root folder of the
kernel source tree, and applied the patch by gunzipping and then
applying "patch -p1 < [patchfile]" in the root folder of the source
tree. For patching instructions see ftp://down...@ftp.dmp.com.tw/vortex86sx/Vortex86SX_Linux_HowTo.pdf

Files:
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-2.6.24.7.tar.gz
http://vortex86sx.com/config-2.6.24-DMP
http://vortex86sx.com/patch-2.6.24-DMP.gz

Perform those steps before "make menuconfig". The configure the kernel
(e.g. I added FUSE support). Also, I had a compile error that Debian
does not accept capital letters in version names; I resolved that by
opening .config and replacing the string "-DMP" with "-dmp"

3. You now got a couple .deb files in /usr/src ; copy those from QEMU
onto the MicroClient, and to a "dpkg -i [file1.deb] [file2.deb]" (e.g.
I just copied the files via a 3rd machine using scp)

Voila - the package manager will add the kernels to the group
installer. In my case they were set up as the 3rd and 4th options in /
boot/grub/menu.lst which you might want to edit that file to rearrange
the boot order (so your compiled kernel becomes the default) before
running grub-install on the CF (in my case on /dev/hdc)

I noticed there is a later patch at http://www.compactpc.com.tw/download_drv.htm
against 2.6.27, however that comes without a default kernel config
file and didn't want to spend time setting that up and resolving any
differences with the downloadable one for 2.6.24.

[boston_boricua]

Hi guys -
Thanks for the many useful tips, after following your combined
advice, I was able to get Debian etch installed on a CF card in my
ebox-330-jsk. It's running XFCE, which is new for me. (I was hoping
to use LXFE, but had no luck finding an etch version and I couldn't
commit the time to do a full build).

Anyway, so far most things seem to be working, but I ran into trouble
with USB (mouse/keyboard/flash). It's strange because USB devices
worked fine for the BIOS and in the original etch install. I'm
guessing it's related to the odd "USB Device", Enable, but it's just a
guess. I could work around the Mouse and Keyboard using a PS2
connection, but it would be painful to lose access to USB sticks Flash
devices...

Suggestions, appreciated. Thanks.
B. Boricua


On Feb 28, 12:51 pm, "the.cloud.berr...@gmail.com"

<the.cloud.berr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> One more thing that is needed - in step 7 above, add source lines for
> regular etch updates to sources.list - my version now looks like the
> below. Otherwise a bunch of packages is not available, plus some other
> dependencies will not resolve.
>
> [/etc/apt/sources.list]
>
> # deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r5 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST
> Binary-1 20081024-15:53]/ etch contrib main
> #deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 r5 _Etch_ - Official i386 NETINST
> Binary-1 20081024-15:53]/ etch contrib main
>
> # security updates
> debhttp://security.debian.org/etch/updates main contrib non-free

> deb-srchttp://security.debian.org/etch/updates main contrib non-free

[boston_boricua]

Oh, if this helps anyone, the following is produced by lsusb:
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002

Note - as you would expect, plugging or unplugging devices never
changes this truncated list.
The USB is well-and-truly wedged.

B. boricua

> > deb-srchttp://security.debian.org/etch/updatesmain contrib non-free

>
> > # regular updates for etch
> > debhttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmain contrib non-free

> > deb-srchttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmain contrib non-free- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[WDL-Donnie]

I got a 2.6.28.7 kernel for this model from ICOP/DMP. They recommend
installing Debian 5.0 on another system to speed up the process, then
copying their kernel over. All the USB ports work in this kernel, as
well as native IDE and network. I'll post the kernel in the files
section. I don't have a config file or patch file yet, just the
vmlinuz file.

> > > deb-srchttp://security.debian.org/etch/updatesmaincontrib non-free

>
> > > # regular updates for etch
> > > debhttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmaincontrib non-free

> > > deb-srchttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmaincontrib non-free- Hide quoted text -

[boston_boricua]

On the USB issue:
Hi WDL-Donnie , I was using the kernel distributed by ICOP/DMP and
still I was unable to connect devices to the USB (Device table was
always empty). After some googling, I tried the following:

modprobe usbcore
modprobe usb-uhci

This fixed the problem immediately (not sure which command did it).
It was even resolved after I rebooted. Hmm, from my limited knowledge
of modprobe, I thought it was a temporary change to the Kernel. So
I'm not sure why this fixed the problem after the reboot. Anyway, I'm
up and running. I'm running xfce and I've applied the CF friendly-
changes suggested by another post in this forum "Ubuntu on MicroClient
Sr". Next, I plan to try creating some code to use the Serial ports
(some people have post issues using the integrated serial ports.
Hopefully, I find out if there are any issues.

B. Boricua.

> > > > deb-srchttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmaincontribnon-free- Hide quoted text -

[apathunseen]

Hi, I'm am a tech that provides troubleshooting for these boxes in
Japan. Here are a few things that will help you with getting Linux
installed.

First off, the BIOS should ideally be set as follows:

1. IDE Operate Mode - Natve: Now this isn't always 100% true, but I
have found the newer distributions won't detect your CF if its set to
legacy (ie. Fedora10). Older distros such as Debian 4 require IDE
Legacy to be able to detect the CF. You'll have to play with it.
2. USB2.0 - Fullspeed: EHCI is broken. End of discussion. If you
want to make your lives easier, keep this on full speed.
3. PCI Bus Master - Enabled: This really only applies if you have a
UDMA capable CF. It gives a slight performance boost.
4. Optional. EHCI Handoff - Disabled

Second, the current CPU board that powers these boxes utilizes the
R6040 Ethernet chip, and IT821X IDE Chip. Both of these chips are
well supported in newer kernels, and you should always use the newer
kernel if possible. In older versions of the kernel, the two drivers
always conflict on IRQ14. If you have followed the instructions on
vortex86dx.com then below are your options for resolving this issue.

1. Turn off extra devices that you do not use such as USB/Serial/
Parallel to free up other IRQs
2. Set IRQ14 to Reserve so that it can't be shared. IRQ14 is ALWAYS
used by the IDE driver, and is mapped to Secondary Master.
3. Compile a new kernel, turning off Generic IDE Support. At least up
to 2.6.27 this was true.

Third. Installation of Debian 4r5 is easy if you have followed the
BIOS config mentioned above, and have a USB CD/DVD drive available.
If not, you'll have to make a bootable USB flash drive installer.
Which I won't get into. Make sure your IDE Operate Mode is set to
Legacy and that you boot the installer with PNPBIOS=OFF or you'll get
a kernel panic. After install, you can boot into the system and apply
a new kernel. Once the new kernel is in place, reboot and set the IDE
Operate Mode to Native.

If you intend to use the manufacturer supplied kernel, please follow
the options I have given you in section 2 above. If you compile a new
kernel using the same source as the manufacturer, please turn Generic
IDE Support off. If you use the latest kernel, I think you should
have no problems, just make sure to set your CPU type to i586 for
better compatibility.

After you have applied your new kernel, you will obviously need to set
up your apt-sources and/or ethernet devices.

echo -e "auto eth0\niface eth0 inet dhcp" >> /etc/network/interfaces

echo "deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian etch main contrib" >> /etc/apt/
sources.list (or use a local mirror)

If you intend to use a GUI, you'll need to enable XGI related entries
when you compile your kernel, as well as Support for Framebuffer
Devices. I have only performed a GUI test with Debian 4R5 once, and
it was with a recompiled 2.6.27-9 kernel. You may not need to set the
aforementioned settings in newer kernels.

A final word, you do have to jump through hoops to get this working
with Debian 4. From my experience, the best main stream linux distro
to use with these boxes is Fedora 10. It installs without a hitch.
The only thing you need to do is compile a new R6040 driver against
the default kernel. The driver can be pulled from a newer kernel
sources. You could of course compile a new kernel as well.

Other distros that work well. Slax, Knoppix, DSL are all LiveCDs that
will boot flawlessly.
Zenwalk is a distro that comes with a 2.6.28 kernel, which means your
ethernet should work out of the box.

Good luck.

> > > > > deb-srchttp://ftp.debian.org/debian/etchmaincontribnon-free-Hide quoted text -