Confused about how to partition a CF card (total newbie)

I have a Jornada 720 that I want Linux installed on (anything but the current OS), and 720degrees needs a partitioned CompactFlash card. Problem is, I do not have a linux desktop or notebook, so I don't know how to make a partition like the one 720degrees needs. I have a Knoppix CD, but no idea how to do anything with it once it's running. My CF writer attaches to a usb port, and when knoppix is running on my desktop, it seems not to recognize it.

So, where should I start?

if you have no idea about linux you'll love the current OS after trying out this buggy unfinished linux distro for the jornada which is currently meant for hackers only.

CE (the current OS on your j720) on the other hand has a mature GUI, anyone can use it, sure it's less stable but at least it gets the job done just fine. what is your particular problem with it?

if you want a linux pda but without having to learn linux and hacking, get a sharp zaurus clamshell. i repeat, clamshell, the non clamshell ones dont have the OS that is mature enough for even linux newbies.

fyi, i never could get knoppix to handle the CF in my usb cf card reader/writer. this doesnt mean it is impossible to do but you'll need to use the console and learn console commands.

Edited by cmonex 2006-04-16 6:08 PM

Uhh...Thanks?
I guess I'll just look for a way to better use win CE...
Anyone know a way to emulate a different OS (gameboy maybe) on a Jornada 720?

Cmonex! Stop scaring off all the freaking customers! And then trying to convert them to the zaurus platform, no less! And Xfree86 has been around for way longer than H/PC's, it has always looked awkward and unprofessional. (Huh?) Moving on!

Though this might make it worse...

The only tricky part here is finding out what device knoppix sees your cf card as. Over here, it is /dev/sdb. For others, it is /dev/sdb. It could be something else.

Anyways, try opening a console, become root (if you are not already) with the su command, and type the following:

cfdisk /dev/sda (or whatever the device is)

Once in there, you will see the *hopefully* similar interface to the dos fdisk, and you can then make your partitions. Using this same method, you can then run:

mount /dev/sda2 (the linux partition should be the second one, again your device might be sdb, sdc...)

Unbzip2 all your files over there using the instructions on the 720degrees site.

Have fun, and ignore cmonex on all future 720degrees issues. Just kidding!

Gameboy emulators? Linux has plenty, look around. I know there was something else for CE, but forgot.

I'm having the same problem as this poor guy. I really want to get into linux, but really just can't get into it. No one dumbs it down quite enough for me. (REAL novice here). So I burn the knoppix iso onto my cd and stick it into my windows xp computer... and then what exactly do I do? (In super, ultra, lay man's terms) =) I'd be eternally grateful

If you wait a few weeks you should be able to use the JLime Activesync based installer. Partitioning, installing all automatically taken care of...

I recommend chazco's method. There is only one difficult part of the current method, and that is finding out what device your cf card reader is. Once you do, open a console, and

cfdisk /dev/sda (it might not be sda, it could be sdb, sdc...you need to find that out)

make a 10mb FAT partition (type 06), and a Linux partition that uses the rest of the disk (type 82? It is the default).

Then, format the FAT partition with mkdosfs /dev/sda1 (sdb1, sdc1...), and the Linux with mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda2.

Download the 720degrees base, follow the instructions for copying it to the card, copy the kernel and other required files to the FAT partition, boot CE, and run linexec on the cf card.

Yeah, the instructions are currently for experienced Linux users only. To be honest, the distribution is currently not ready for average users. The second I can get the team working again, you will see significant changes. Chazco's installer will be used.

Thanks so much! I'm pretty sure I've successfully partitioned the compact flash drive, and id'ed them appropriately (partition 1with 06 - FAT16, and partition 2 with 83 - linux). Now I'm just confused on:

"Then, format the FAT partition with mkdosfs /dev/sda1 (sdb1, sdc1...), and the Linux with mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda2."

do I just type in mkdosfs /dev/sda1 when it says command? Sorry, I'm sure this all sounds very basic to you. Thanks so much once again!!

Yes, but make sure that the drive is unmounted! Well, I guess it can't really be mounted if it is not formatted, but heh...

Just open a terminal, and type the command in (you must be root to do so). As you have already partitioned the drive, you should know the device name (/dev/whatever)

That should be about it -- post with the results, please.

EDIT: Is your problem entering the command in, or does it return an error? I am not sure if knoppix includes mkdosfs, you might want to try mkfs.msdos /dev/sda1 or mkfs -t vfat /dev/sda1. I have never tried this in knoppix, so please post your results!

Edited by ProgramSynthesiser 2006-06-17 3:28 PM

If you're using Knoppix and you want to format a partition as FAT: mkfs.vfat /dev/sda1

Thanks everyone for all your help! I really, really appreciate it! Ok, so here's what I've got. I started from the beginning and tried all over again:



Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sda: 2096 MB, 2096898048 bytes
65 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1016 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 4030 * 512 = 2063360 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-1016, default 1):
Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-1016, default 1016): +10M

Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (7-1016, default 7):
Using default value 7
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (7-1016, default 1016):
Using default value 1016

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sda: 2096 MB, 2096898048 bytes
65 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1016 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 4030 * 512 = 2063360 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 6 12059 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 7 1016 2035150 83 Linux

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 13: Permission denied.
The kernel still uses the old table.
The new table will be used at the next reboot.
Syncing disks.
knoppix@1[knoppix]$









cfdisk 2.12r

Disk Drive: /dev/sda
Size: 2096898048 bytes, 2096 MB
Heads: 65 Sectors per Track: 62 Cylinders: 1016

Name Flags Part Type FS Type [Label] Size (MB)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sda1 Primary FAT16 12.39
sda2 Primary Linux 2084.00











[Bootable] [ Delete ] [ Help ] [Maximize] [ Print ]
[ Quit ] [ Type ] [ Units ] [ Write ]

Toggle bootable flag of the current partition












knoppix@1[knoppix]$ mkdosfs /dev/sda1
mkdosfs 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)
knoppix@1[knoppix]$ mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.39-WIP (09-Apr-2006)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
254464 inodes, 508787 blocks
25439 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
16 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
15904 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912

Writing inode tables: done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

This filesystem will be automatically checked every 20 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first. Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.
knoppix@1[knoppix]$ w
16:45:51 up 59 min, 0 users, load average: 0.31, 0.12, 0.07
USER TTY FROM LOGIN@ IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT
knoppix@1[knoppix]$





...did I do it??? If I did anything wrong, please let me know! So now what? Copy those files and put them on the corresponding partitions? Thanks a million again!! Eternally grateful! (ps, do I need to "flag" either of the partitions as "bootable?"

Ok, so I'm lost at the point where the 720degrees instructions ask me to mount stuff.....



"Extract the files to the CF card.
Mount the two partitions of your CF card.

Extract the base installation onto the CF card with

tar -xjvpf 720degrees-debian-sarge-base-j720.tar.bz2 -C [root of the ext2 partition, mounted]"

how do I "mount" the two partitions? Do I just type tar -xjvpf 720degrees-debian-sarge-base-j720.tar.bz2 -C [what do I put here??]


"Extract the modules to the CF card

tar -xjvpf modules-2.4.32-j720-xx.tar.bz2 -C [root of the ext2 partition, mounted]
or modules.tar.bz2, if you're using the kernel with the backported drivers
Put the kernel files and bootloader on the FAT partition.

If you are using a stock kernel, i.e. direct download from the kernel maintainer, you need to copy linexec.exe, params.txt, vmlinuz-2.4.32-j720-xx and initrd-2.4.32.gz into the FAT partition. Edit params.txt to reflect the names of the kernel files and save it."


Again, what do I put in the []?

Thanks again for anyone with any info, and for putting up with such a beginner like me!

Oh man, I don't even want to read that. Please do yourself (and all of us) a favor, and use cfdisk. Then I trust that you graphically did it correctly, and don't have to read a book to see what you did. Just check it with fdisk, I might read what you posted later.

Sorry about the mounting problem - I completely forgot. This is the one part about Linux that really should be totally redesigned..but whatever. First, you need to make a folder to mount stuff into. Let's just say, for the fat partition, make the directory /mnt/flash1, and /mnt/flash2 for the ext2 (linux) partition

mkdir /mnt/flash1 ; mkdir /mnt/flash2 (you must be root, I hope knoppix has a /mnt folder)

Then, you must edit the /etc/fstab file, which is where the filesystem mounting information is contained. Hang with me here, all you have to do is cut and paste this. Just add the lines:

/dev/sda1 /mnt/flash1 vfat noauto,user,rw 0 0
/dev/sda2 /mnt/flash2 auto noauto,user,rw 0 0

Pretty much, device file, mount point, file type (auto for the ext2, Linux should be able to figure out it's default filesystem, right? Right?), noauto for don't mount me on startup, user for allowing everyone to write to it, and rw for reading/writing. And the 0 0 means...ah, just type it in.

Then, in a console as root or a user, type in:

mount /dev/sda1 ; mount /dev/sda2 (or mount /mnt/flash1 ; mount /mnt/flash2)

Follow the rest of the instructions on the site, and you should be fine. I hope.

As things in knoppix go, you probably just have to type in mount /dev/sda1 ; mount /dev/sda2 without doing any of this stuff. Maybe if I actually tried out doing this on knoppix, I would not have to spend 10 minutes typing this out. And you get to paste.

Anyways, have fun eating (pasting) the fruit of my labors, and tell us how it goes!

hmmm, well, it... almost worked. I successfully mounted, etc, and got everything in the appropriate partitions of the sda, but when I run linexec.exe on my Jornada, and the screen turns black with a looong list of text, it shuts down and won't turn back on. I have to do a hard reset. I'm thinking it might be because I'm not changing the params.txt properly. I know I'm supposed to change the kernel/initrd names to match the corresponding file-names I've got, but do I just leave the /Storage Card/ part, or do I change that to sda or something? Besides that, I don't know what else to change...

P.S. Program Synthesiser, you are a god among men, and my shrine for you just keeps growing. Thanks a million once again!

Ok! I'm finally registered here! So, I've gotten a little farther now. When I run linexec.exe, I can manage to start base-config new, and set up some stuff. But from there, I'm stuck... that's not what linux is supposed to look like on my Jornada is it? I don't know how to go from the base config to the OS. Any help? (Once again, Synthesiser, you're awesome!) Could it be there's a problem since I'm configuring my compact flash card with a laptop running linux only by live cd and not installed? It says I don't have permission to do the following two steps, even in the root shell:

/dev/sda1 /mnt/flash1 vfat noauto,user,rw 0 0
/dev/sda2 /mnt/flash2 auto noauto,user,rw 0 0

...any ideas?



Edited by entoboy 2006-06-20 2:32 PM