Mobilepro 900c and linux is possible?

i'd been looking into these, if one of u guys gets linux running on one, ud be my hero, it'd be a great tool, if only it didn't run windows

with all the cheap MP900c on ebay right now, trying to move it to linux would be a big success and make them a VERY-NICE-TO-HAVE HPC

the sharp kernel should easy to move to the NEC system

there's a lot of devellopment kits for Linux and the PXA255 processor on single board computers like Kontron AG and other industrial computer companies made in the past.

and...

there's the Sharp Zaurus 7xx series using the same processor, already on Linux. that can be used as a working base for the Nec MobilePro 900linux

lot of information there :

http://tuxmobil.org/pda_survey_sharp.html
http://openzaurus.linuxtogo.org/wordpress/
http://pocketworkstation.org/
http://www.openembedded.org/
http://opie.handhelds.org/cgi-bin/moin.cgi/

there is also a boot loader that can boot linux within WinCE without having to mess with the ROM.

another area to investigate is the misterious keystrokes to boot from the RAM OS. (as stated in another thread on roms)

now we need to start and find a way to boot a linux kernel by testing various hacking strategies. IF ONLY NEC would like to help us by giving away the source for the boot loader like SHARP made for the Zaurus HPC community.

hi Smog do you have any experience with linux hacking?

what do you mean by investigating the RAM OS keystrokes? i have the disassembly of the bootloader, thats how we figured out that part. but i didnt check exactly what it wants for a RAM OS. i guess it would have to be in the ms bin format just like the xip.bin's, but i dont have a suitable image to boot :/

want to start the project ? i have some spare 900cs waiting to be hacked

btw about jtagging, it still didn't happen. we got the CPU off the mb, next step is to actually get the jtag pins.. i guess.. will let you know when there is any progress

I'm not a pure linux guy; I'm more into hardware hacking and I have access to industrial equipments to reprogram ROMS and Jtag stuff that can be jtaged... My point is that I don't like the idea of using WinCe.net and having to buy various bits of software to make it right when there a lot of stuff already available for linux that are not realy tied to a mobile OS... with source code available.

a lot of stuff is already available there : http://www.pdaxrom.org/

some kernels for Sharp Zaurus using the very same processor

http://sharpromfeed.home.linuxtogo.org/download/cacko/rom1.23/

and may be we can do something with uboot http://www.denx.de/en/Software/GIT

Edited by Smog 2007-04-12 8:42 AM

Smog: that sounds cool.

the problem here is the drivers or even to find someone who actually tries to boot a bootloader and a kernel made for xscale.

I will try it but I need a way to take it back to original if something goes wrong in the rom


I bet the Zaurus got very similar hardware including the processor http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/misc/sharp-slc7xx.html

SL-C750 Shepherd 64MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 3.7" VGA 640x480(L) 65,536 colours
SL-7500C Shepherd 64MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 3.7" VGA 640x480(L) 65,536 colours Chinese edition
SL-C760 Husky 128MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 3.7" VGA 640x480(L) 65,536 colours
SL-C860 Boxer 128MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 3.7" VGA 640x480(L) 65,536 colours
SL-6000N Tosa 64MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 4.0" VGA 480x640(P)
SL-6000D Tosa 128MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 4.0" VGA 480x640(P)
SL-6000L Tosa 802.11b 64MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 4.0" VGA 480x640(P)
SL-6000W Tosa 802.11b X 64MB 64MB XScale: PXA255, 400MHz 4.0" VGA 480x640(P)

and they natively run linux with a lot of "aftermarket" linux versions including totaly rewrited versions with source code available.

... and you have the bootloader dissassembly


Edited by Smog 2007-04-12 12:00 PM

I am not sure but would NetBSD not be an easier choice?

Purely down to the driver model (ie the chipset drivers are independent to the bus the chip is on) So if the chipset has been coded for on another bus and the bus has been programmed for on another device then a lot of the hardware and drivers should be compatible out of the box - though it might require a specific kernel to be built to combine all the drivers...

I know there are not so many pre-built Arm packages for NetBSD but if people were using it on their 900C then I am sure the more usefull packages would be made available or people intrested in a UNIX on the 900c could compile and make them available somewhere...

Just another route that may be less work to get running.

John

well you dont need to flash them in, that would be a very wrong move right now as the jtag method is not known yet. so just try booting off the CF card by running a linux loader.

zaurus cpu and ram etc is the same, yes,

display isnt the same, but i will admit i dont know much (well basically i know zero) about how the lcd is handled by the cpu to get a console running at least. is that a standard pxa255 stuff?

as a father of 2 kids under 2 yr old I don't have a lot of spare time but I will try it for sure. At least to get the console showing.

cool, looks like you guys have kicked off the mobilepro900c distro in this thread

I've just bought one of these on ebay, I've charged it up, confirmed the hardware works and openned it up for a look inside - I can't wait to put linux on this machine so count me in as a dev ... anyone feel like setting up a wiki page and mailing list on handhelds.org ??

re JTAG I noticed two 12 pin headers on the back of the motherboard, one labelled PIC CN18 (interface to program the pic chip?) - would be cool if the other one is JTAG. cmonex if you've desoldered the CPU from a board you could check with a multimeter if any of the header pins connect to the CPU JTAG pads

from the PXA255 design guide from Intel:

H11 is nTRST - jtag reset
H12 TCK - jtag clock
H13 TMS - jtag mode select
H15 TDI - data input
H16 TDO - data output

some more hardware info
- 2 big 144pin chips are neomagic NMC1110 PC-card/CF interface
- audio is Wolfson Microelectronics WM8731
- USB uses Philips ISP1161A1
- my guess is the PIC chip is decoding the keyboard
- Texas Instruments MAX3243 provides RS232 level serial port
- the Epson SID13806 LCD interface is documented by Epson though discontinued product
- the two LCX32245 are buffers (Fairchild 74LCX32245) and should be transparent I hope

I've started downloading datasheets and suggest others do the same - no idea yet what is already supported in the kernel and what we have to hack ourselves ...

I don't have the serial cable so I'm looking at tapping into the IR rx/tx signals for a possible serial console - then I can try booting a kernel with Haret and get some feedback.

And I agree uboot would be a great bootloader flashed into ROM and my personal preference.

This project needs a name and logo and stuff like that too

cheers all cosmo0

cosmo0: it wasn't me who desoldered the cpu. the motherboard and the cpu isn't with me now. but don't worry this is what is being done. i'm waiting for the results.

i disagree about the role of the PIC but i can be wrong. how did you come to this idea?

about the serial cable, here is some info from bsaunder on how to build one. but it isn't trivial. i uploaded his files here:
http://izemize.fw.hu/mp900_serial_cable_info.zip

could you upload your collection of datasheets (the only thing i have is the pxa255 stuff from earlier, i didn't have time to look for the other stuff yet) thanks.

oh and the most important stuff, about wiki mailing list on handhelds.org etc, i never did such a thing, what about you try it? let me know if you feel like doing it. you sound like you've hacked linux on handhelds before.. right?

Edited by cmonex 2007-04-13 1:00 AM

there's no activity on the jlime forums so I bet we are on our own with the 900c but I can ask for help from the OpenZaurus guys and openembedded team.

with the list of devices you just gave us we may be able to find a kernel very similar to what we need

purely a guess based on the position of the chip near keyboard connectors



thanks, will look into this, I NEED a serial console. The RS-232 interface is there but tricky to plug into - your link should help I'm still considering hacking the IR port, soldering a few wires and I have a TTL to RS232 converter ...

BTW I think the IR module is a TFDU6102 ( Vishay? )



sure, I'll attach a zipfile or something to a post if I can, and I'll post some links too



actually this is my first handheld ... BUT I did try to build my own handheld around a Gumstix (also PXA255 based)

I got an LCD screen working, framebuffer console even TinyX and tried out some kernel hacking with GPIOs so I'm comfortable with the hardware and been using Linux for years. The Mobilepro will be a good way to further my skillz and will be a great device (keyboard, USB!!, lots of potential ... )

So yep, I'll look into handhelds.org stuff and post some links to datasheets soon

Cheers guys, cosmo0

Smog, that would be great to find a kernel with as much hardware support as we can.

I guess the priorities will be LCD and keyboard pretty early. The PXA255 is pretty well supported so stuff like serial ports should be no problem. The LCD looks tricky as it's probably not using the native PXA interface but through this Epson chip ... we'll get there. Keyboard - who knows, I wonder how earlier model Mobilepro's do it (even though they're not PXA) ?

BTW I removed what looks like the modem daughtercard from the MB and sure enough the magic letters JTAG are printed above the header CN10 (which is next to PIC CN18 ) still need to figure out the pinout cmonex but JTAG potential looks good !! you guys rock removing the CPU ... hot air gun, toaster oven or some pro SMD tools ?

cheers