Hello all.
I have a Tatung TWN-5213CU
(also known as Neta 985, Rugboard, and probably several other monickers
) that came with Windows CE.NET 4.0. What is strange is that the CE license sticker was for 4.2. At any rate, CE 4.0 does not support WPA, so therefore I can not use this on my home office wireless network as I do not use WEP. So... instead of downgrading to WEP, I decided to get Linux running on this thing.
Just to warn you, this is not complete. As of right now I have a functional Linux environment based on Slackware / SLAX that can be used for anything that does not require X. So far, getting a working xorg.conf is kicking my you know what. I've reached the point of desperation, and have even emailed Tatung and Goo-roo to see if they can provide one.
Ok. So you
(maybe?
) want to run Linux on your webpad? You are in luck! Getting Linux running on this thing is easy as can be. Make use of the following steps, or, if you feel like it, use a different distribution and post your results.
Notes: I chose to use a LiveCD based distribution because in the past I have had great luck getting them onto systems that lack CD-ROM or ethernet. It may sound strange to use a LiveCD on systems that totally lack CD, but it works for me.
Required Equipment:
WebPAD
CF >= 256MB
CompactFlash reader/writer
USB keyboard
Patience
1. Download SLAX 5.0.6 from
http://slax.linux-live.org/
Notes: Do not be tempted by the newer versions. They do not work as well on this device.
2. Download the following modules from
http://slax.linux-live.org/
A. wpa_supplicant
B. hostap
3. Expand the ISO image to your >=256MB compact flash card. If you are using windows you may want to download something like WinISO to do this with.
4. Copy the two modules you downloaded
(.mo files
) to the modules folder on your compact flash card.
5. Move initrd.gz and vmlinuz from the "boot" folder on the compact flash to the root folder of the compact flash
(from /boot to /
)
6. Rename isolinux.cfg to syslinux.cfg
7. Open syslinux.cfg in your favorite text editor. Do a find a replace on all references to "boot/"
(replace with nothing, just remove it
)
8. Change "prompt 1" to "prompt 0"
9. Save the file and close your editor.
10. Download Syslinux from kernel.org
(http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/
)
11. Expand the downloaded file. If you are using windows, the file you will need will be in /win32 in whatever folder you expanded the archive to. You need "syslinux.exe"
12. If you are in Windows, execute "syslinux.exe ?:" with ? representing the drive letter of your compactflash card. Please, ensure that you have the correct drive letter.
13. Take your WebPAD, turn it upside down, and remove the battery. With the battery compartment facing upwards, unscrew the compartment on the left hand side
(about 2 inches wide, one screw
) and remove the cover. You will find a compactflash card installed here. Press the button to remove the card and put it in a safe place. Or, if you feel real generous, use your compactflash reader on your desktop and grab the nk.bin file
(that is the OS image
) and send it to me
(neta [at] therives [dot] net
).
14. Install the compact flash card you put Linux on in the socket you just removed the original CF from. You do not need to screw the cover back on to test, so I recommend leaving it off.
15. Reinstall your battery and ensure the locking mechanism is engaged - the system will not boot otherwise.
16. Power on your new Linux WebPAD
Ok. This gets you a functioning Linux WebPAD, albeit you do not get X with this. If *anyone* can help on resolving the xorg issues I'm having
(I get nothing but a white screen no matter what I try
) I will build a custom SLAX image for these boxes that includes the soft keyboard and appropriate applications.
As it stands right now, this is little more useful than a remote terminal to monitor text based information. I apologise if you consider that a waste, but I'm still working on it and am at the point of enlisting the help of others.
Thanks for reading this.
If anyone is interested in this and feels like replying I'll be glad to post a howto on getting the wifi to work
(and integrating it into the image
). Just let me know if you prefer WEP or WPA, as I have a working WPA config but haven't messed with WEP much.
Edited by undefined 2006-05-09 12:03 PM
- If I get a copy of the driver I'll throw up a site with detailed instructions on how to get Linux + X + Touchscreen + WPA working (I had all but the touchscreen going before I stopped). 
