Success: MicroSDCard boots Devuan on Jornada 720

I have successfully booted up Devuan on the Jornada 720 from a microSDCard (that I partitioned /installed using an older raspberry pi I had laying around). Many Thanks to Stefan's Wiki on installing Devuan on a CFCard....it works with a microSDCard using sdcard adapter to pcmcia slot. (As mentioned elsewhere ...it won't work from the jornada cf card slot).

I can run the apm command...and terminal...but have to learn how to load apps. Anyone help me here?

This is exciting...a new beginning for the J720!

Assuming it has Aptitude installed. Try

apt-get update 
apt-get install <name>

Which pulls from
http://deb.devuan.org/merged/dists/beowulf/main/

e.g.

apt-get update 

apt-get install nano

Hi!
I dont know why this should not work from the CF slot. Did you get any errors during boot from the CF slot?

Please can you do the steps described here http://www.sp-net.at/wiki/doku.php?id=jornada_j720_linux_cfdriver and send me the output of these two commands?:

cat /sys/bus/pcmcia/devices/0.0/prod_id1
cat /sys/bus/pcmcia/devices/0.0/prod_id2

If you booted from the PCMCIA to CF/SD adapter then you are not able to plug in any network card.
You have two options to get programs to the Jornada:

1. Connect over the serial cable with a Linux host and use the network connection from it. (slow as hell)

2. Copy over the .deb files to your SD card with all required dependencies and install them manually (doable but sometimes very frustrating because some programs have many dependencies)

Regards
Stefan

Stefan...FYI I solved the problem and your great Devuan OS program NOW BOOTS FROM CF SLOT.

I found a solution on some linux website. I had set up the partitions on the Raspberry Pi using the microSDCard slot and made it bootable from the fat partition 1... and then loaded your tar files on it...then the microSDCard was placed in its sdcard adapter...this SDCard was then placed into an SDCard to CF (type 1)card adapter but ==> would stall on boot. When the SDCard (only) was placed in a SDCard to pcmcia adapter==> boots into Devuan desktop.

The FIX: Place the SDCard in the CF Card adapter, place this into a USB to CF Card adapter and plug it back into the Raspberry Pi, open terminal and cfdisk, select partition 1, remove bootable setting by clicking on boot option, then Write to disk...followed by resetting it to bootable...and write to disk(this time in the cf card adapter). It now boots from CF Slot! I then placed an Nec 2000 wired network card into the pcmcia slot and thanks to your preinstalled network driver modules...it connected to the network and internet for downloading!!! Sweet Success!!

Question: I need super user credentials....password...where do I find it???


C:Amie. Thanks for your post...once the above was taken care of I was amazed and pleased when I typed in apt-get update and it really took off updating/downloading files!!

Needless to say, I am quite excited...and will continue my experimentation. Photos will follow with links regarding the various adapters used...but CF cards are no longer required to make the Devuan Os function (from the CF card slot) on the Jornada 720!

Edited by joval 2020-11-24 1:50 AM

Stefan...oh, just re-read your instructions: root password is r00t, duh! Thanks again for all your work!

Edited by joval 2020-11-24 4:11 AM

You can install packages easily with apt to the CF card when its connected to the PC and mounted as a drive.

Then use qemu and a systemd-container to start a shell running in arm emulation on the CF card and use apt in there to install packages.

Install required SW on the host computer:

$ apt install qemu binfmt-support qemu-user-static systemd-container

Then, assuming your CF card is mounted at /media/CF

$ systemd-nspawn -D /media/CF

Now the filesystem from the CF card is mounted in the container and using qemu to run the binaries in there. You will be in a shell session in on the CF card now, in particular, running apt-get install ... will install binaries from the arm repository on the CF card.
When you‘re done, use exit und umount to correctly unmount the card.

Just to clarify Joval, apt-get update just updates the package list from the repository server. To actually execute the update

apt-get upgrade 
apt-get dist-upgrade

FYI...Boots readily from the cf slot if the sdcard is partitioned and formatted while its in the sd to cf card adapter and that in turn in a cf card to usb adapter. This done using a Raspberry Pi 2 B+...running their linux/debian derivative OS: Raspian (now Raspberry Pi Os), via the terminal app.

Presently successful using a 16Gb sandisk Ultra plus microSDCard partitioned as follows:

Partition 1 sda1 10 Gb Fat32 (not Fat 16).

One advantage is Windows, Win CE, and linux can read Fat32, (Windows 10 can't read Fat16) ...so easy to transfer files with a USB adapter. This was an older scdard I had previously formatted as Fat32 and 10GB...I did not alter this partition other than to make it bootable and to copy the boot files to...I did not delete and create it...so didn't delete pre-existing data. It has several Gb of music/songs and also the total HP backup for the Jornada...so when I reboot back to wince I can do a fast restore to it's prior state (except time date change etc.)

Partition 2 sda2 5.6Gb ext4 to which all the tar.bz system files were extracted.

Partition 3 sda3 208Mb linuxswap ...all of which seem to be recognized on duvuan boot up.

I'll be trying out some bigger microsd cards later...like the FlashAir wifi sdcard!

This has been as rather FUN, if not intense, journey into the Linux world . Many thanks to Stefan, C:Amie , Ntware and others who somehow saved my hpc's soul...or at least kept me heading in the right direction!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to and for all the HPCFactor members !

More to follow

Edited by joval 2020-11-26 8:44 PM

TimoBO, great suggestion but when I tried it on the raspberry pi I must have the sdcard mounted wrong...it loaded the new apps on the raspberry pi ...not the sc card/cf adapter card. How do I set up the systemd-container and mount the sd card to it. Is there a tutorial somewhere?...you're way ahead of me here. Thanks in advance.

Munchausen:

1. set up your RasPi (should be a quad core model 3 B+ or model 4 which both have wifi) by downloading and installing the RasPi Os from their web site...choose the image which includes recommended software and burn it to the/a micro sdcard.

2. boot up the RasPI and using a USB to microSD or SD card or Cf card adapter, or multi adapter, plug in your memory card of choice (should be 8Gb or larger IMO)

3. Start RasPi terminal and run : sudo fdisk -l and note the device name of your card ie., /dev/sdx (where x is a, b, c )

4. In terminal run: cfdisk /dev/sdx which will show free space ( delete any existing partitions if present)

5. You need to create 3 partitions:
1) FAT16 ( 4Gb limit) or Fat 32 ( up to 13 GB seems to work...maybe more) by choosing new...
--set size...roughly 100-200Mb less than 50% of sd/cf card capacity ( left over needed to create Linux swap file -- see below)
--choose type from drop down menu, ie., Fat32 LBA
--make partition 1 bootable
2)Ext2 (recommended for SD or CF cards where journaling causes wear and tear and slows down performance) or Ext4
set size...roughly 100-200Mb less than 50% of sd/cf card capacity
--choose type from drop down menu, ie., Linux 82
3) Swap file which should be a minimum of 2.5 x the Jornada RAM size (32/64/128Mb)
set size as whatever is left over after the first 2 partitions...200MB or bigger for example, 128 as minimum.
--choose type 83 Linux swap
Write changes to disk choosing Write option and type "yes" to confirm...then quit
6. Format each partition as follows (be certain all partitions are unmounted with "sudo umount /dev/sdxx" command if necessary)
1) for Fat32 in terminal type "sudo mkfs -t vfat /dev/sdx1"
2) for Ext2 in terminal type "sudo mkfs.ext2 /dev/sdx2" (for ext4 its sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdx2)
can take a while to format, etc.
3) for Swap in terminal type "sudo mkswap /dev/sdx3"

7.more coming soon

7. Using the RasPi with wifi internet connection (or other local file source) go to Stefan's wiki site and download/unzip/copy the following
to the Fat32/16 partion1:

1) the kernal : zImage
2) the bootloader files: Jlinexec.exe and PARAMS.txt
3) the devuan Os file: root.fs.tar.bz
4) your Hp WinCe backup file ie, BackupAll to allow a "dual Boot" option via restore from backup

8. in RasPi teminal create mount point for partition2:

1) type "cd /" for root directory, then "sudo mkdir /cf"
2) mount partition2 with "sudo mount /dev/sdx2 /cf " command

9.Using RasPi file explorer copy the rootfs.tar.bz file from Partition1/Fat32 to the RasPi's Filesystem Root /tmp folder

--you may need to remove and re-insert your sd/cf card to remount it to show up in file explorer

10. Install Duvean Os using terminal by typing :

1) "sudo tar -xvjpSf /tmp/rootfs.tar.bz2 -C /cf"
2) takes a few minutes to install a zillion files as seen in terminal
3) unmount 2nd partition when installation is done with "sudo umount /cf"

11. Remove the CF or sd card and place in CF slot of J720 (for SD card use SD to CF adapter as mentioned elsewhere).

1. turn on your Jornada running WinCe and make a backup of your system and save to storage card (our Fat 32 or 16
partition) for "pseudo-dual boot" as I like to call it.
2. use WinCE file explorer to go to storage card and click on the penguin icon for Jlinexec which boots into Devuan
3. Takes about 4 to 5 minutes for log in prompt to appear

a. login : user password: u$er then type startx at the prompt to enter fluxbox which needs this fix:
i) press "alt + explorer" key to bring up terminal
ii) gain superuser access type: su followed by password: r00t
iii) change directory with "cd /home/user/.fluxbox and type "nano keys"
iv) modify first line to "OnDesktop Mod1 Mouse1 :RootMenu
v) modify 3rd line to "OnDesktop Mouse1 :HideMenus
vi) type "ctl=x" to exit and save with "y"

12. Type "ctrl-alt-delete" several times to reboot back into WinCe, on reboot into Devuan the main menu will work /show with screen tap.

Enjoy!

Joval





Edited by joval 2021-03-22 2:39 PM

Thanks joval!

I'll try this as soon as Stefan's site is up again (it has been down for a couple of days).

Hmm ??!

Nice instructions but not sure they are for me?

Edited by munchausen 2021-03-23 2:43 AM

yeah...really was meant for fwilhelm! you can probably do this set-up blindfolded, asleep, and only using your teeth...knowing your talent stack. If I get any good at soldering up the 128 memory cards, which you asked about and why your name took over my mind... as i have all the equipment, I'll let you know aqbout it..

I have an idea to clone a handfull of 32 Gb microSD cards with my Devuan OS/dual boot setup above... the sd cards only cost $5 each... and save everyone the trouble of creating their own... once I fine tune things

Once you have Devuan booting up on your J720 ;

On the RasPi menu go into Preferences and enable SSH and VNC... also using terminal type "sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config and to allow X-forwarding find and remove the # at the start of that line, hit ctrl x to save it and reboot RasPi. Also install VNCviewer on the RasPi... or iceweasel (firefox install name on raspi)

Then connect to your RasPi with a wired ethernet card in the J720 to the Pi's ethernet port (network interfaces file on the RasPi may need configuring and a special script can be run on it to set up a static ip for wired connection or set up wifi on the J720 ( to be explained later).

Get the RasPi ip adress then on the J720 terminal type "ssh
-X pi@w.x.y.z (the Raspi ip) " , at the passord prompt enter the RasPi password. ..and the Raspi prompt appears. type in "VNCviewer" to access the entire desktop GUI or type in "firefox" to access only that browser.

I will provide more specific details on this later and will post screen shots/ photos in future posts. It's complicated but once set up is very straightforward and reliable. There is more to follow on setting up sound and also ntware's non-X-forwarding fix for much faster refresh rate for videos, I'm still finetuning that.

Well.. another longwinded rant comes to an end!! This is posted from my J720 using the above setup.

Edited by joval 2021-03-23 9:26 AM