Fatdog64-802/801/800 Final [21 May 2019]

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vtpup · #101 Post by **vtpup** » Thu 28 Mar 2019, 22:40

Kirk, thanks greatly for that.

I'm trying to update to the new kernel and modules. But I'm having problems making changes to initrd in Fatdog64.

I'm not sure why, because it seemed to open and allow changes a few days ago. Now it opens but just says I can't write to it. Read only filesystem. I'm working on a USB thumb drive.

kirk · #102 Post by **kirk** » Thu 28 Mar 2019, 23:26

Just wanted to inform you that I tried fatdog on an Acer C720 (2955U CPU, 2G ram) and it would not boot. Not enough memory.

I've got an Acer C720, 800 boots fine for me. But I don't have the stock firmware on it. I have firmware from John Lewis from 12/2014 I think, Anyway, boots fine on there. You might want to try splitting the initrd and accessing the fd64.sfs directly from the SSD since the c720 only has 2G of RAM. So basically do this:

1) Click on the initrd. It will extract and open in a window.
2) Move the fd64.sfs out of the initrd. For this example (My c720) I moved it to the root of sda2.
3) Click on repack-initrd script in the extracted initrd to repack the initrd. Now the initrd should be about 72MB instead of 400MB.

On my c720 I have two partitions, a 2GB ext3 partition (sda1) and a ~13GB ext4 partition (sda2). I'm using grub4dos installed on sda1 and the menu.lst looks like this:

title Fatdog64-800-split
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel vmlinuz nopti basesfs=direct:device:sda2:/fd64.sfs savefile=direct:device:sda2:/fd64save800p
initrd initrd

The vmlinus and initrd are on sda1 and the fd64.sfs and savefolder are on sda2. This is because grub4dos is very slow loading from ext4.

Note that the basesfs= and the savefile= parameters take the same type of arguments. For lots of detail on this see:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/fa ... nitrd.html
http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/fa ... tions.html

I have an Acer R11 also. On mine, FD800 takes a long time, several minutes, to boot to the desktop, and then the keyboard doesn't work. I assume its erroring out and failing during this long bootup, but it shows blank screen until the desktop appears.

The slow boot is due to the combination of bootloader and filesystem used. Some bootloaders (grub4dos, grub legacy, maybe others) load very slow from ext4. You won't notice this when the kernel/initrd are small maybe 10 or 20MB, but when they're more than 400mb you'll notice. To fix the slow boot you have 3 options:
1) change the bootloader. (I wouldn't do this)
2) change the file system. (ext3 is a good choice)
3) split the initrd or use initrd-nano (http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/fa ... nitrd.html)
I would recommend a small ext3 partition to boot from and then use an ext4 partition for everything else. But you can choose which ever option is easiest for you.

Tried with swapping in the 4.19.32 kernel, and it boots normal long time (about a minute) for FD on CB, but the touchpad doesn't work, and the screen res is not correct.(lower, I assume 1024 instead of 1366)

It sounds like you didn't get the kernel-modules.sfs replaced. You can open a terminal and type lsmod. If lsmod dosen't list a whole bunch of modules then the modules for the kernel that booted couldn't be found.
For 4.19.32 you need to download these two:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/kernel ... uz-4.19.32
http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/kernel ... fs-4.19.32

After the kernel-modules.sfs-4.19.32 is downloaded, rename it kernel-modules.sfs. Then click on Fatdog64-800's initrd. It will extract and open a window. Replace the kernel-modules.sfs in the initrd with the one you downloaded. Then click the repack-initrd script to repack the initrd. Replace Fatdog64-800's vmlinus with the one you downloaded.

kirk · #103 Post by **kirk** » Thu 28 Mar 2019, 23:36

I'm trying to update to the new kernel and modules. But I'm having problems making changes to initrd in Fatdog64.

I'm not sure why, because it seemed to open and allow changes a few days ago. Now it opens but just says I can't write to it. Read only filesystem. I'm working on a USB thumb drive.

If you used dd to make the flash drive then it is read-only. That is the way I make a flash drive because it will boot on BIOS or UEFI. But it's a pretty hacky partition layout on the flash drive. I think you can use the Fatdog installer to install to a flash drive for BIOS booting and then that should be R/W.

vtpup · #104 Post by **vtpup** » Thu 28 Mar 2019, 23:55

Thanks Kirk, that makes sense. Yes I did use dd recently to re-install on the Thumbdrive. So that explains why there was a change.

JD7654: Since your Acer R11 is acting differently than mine, I'm wondering if you have the Windows Notebook R11, instead of the Acer Chromebook R11. My Chromebook does have custom firmware (Mr. Chromebox) and I can run regular Fatdog64-800 with touchpad, screenpad, and resolution all fine, out of the box.

vtpup · #105 Post by **vtpup** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 02:03

Success!!!!

The new kernel allows FatDog64-800 to run on the Acer R11 Chromebook (and presumably other Chromebooks with the Intel Braswell chipset) with keyboard now functional.

It is a definite requirement that the pinctrl_cherryview driver be built into the Linux kernel at compile time, rather than added afterward as a loadable module.

I'm very happy. Thank you Kirk!

Volhout · #106 Post by **Volhout** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 09:52

@kirk

I have the standard seabios boot on my C720.
Not sure what the John Lewis rom will do, but I'll look into that.
Looks like John got that in one script for all chromebooks, and then there is not much to choose from...

But if I understand correct you also had to split initrd for the C720 peppy. I'll try that first befor I gamble with bios roms.

Thanks for the quick response.

kirk · #107 Post by **kirk** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 11:26

The new kernel allows FatDog64-800 to run on the Acer R11 Chromebook (and presumably other Chromebooks with the Intel Braswell chipset) with keyboard now functional.

That's great. Does audio work as well?

But if I understand correct you also had to split initrd for the C720 peppy. I'll try that first befor I gamble with bios roms.

For the c720 the split initrd is best anyway. Not much ram and a SSD. That's the reason for the "direct" argument in this:

basesfs=direct:device:sda2:/fd64.sfs

Normally the basesfs is loaded into ram with the rest of the initrd. By specifying "direct" it's mounted in place from the SSD. You could replace "direct" with "ram" and it would load into ram. But since the c720 lacks RAM and has an SSD, better to leave the basesfs on the SSD and use it from there and save the RAM space.

jd7654 · #108 Post by **jd7654** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 11:40

kirk wrote:It sounds like you didn't get the kernel-modules.sfs replaced.

Ah yes, I did that a little too quickly before I ran out of the house. Now back home after midnight I have time to look at it more closely.

Followed your instructions and now with 4.19.32 kernel and modules, the R11 boots up with full desktop resolution, with both keyboard and touchpad working. Networking/Wifi connect fine. Touchscreen works too. No sound yet, but I'll continue looking at that later.

Now I have running on this Acer R11 the stock Chrome OS with crouton Xubuntu, and the crostini Linux apps with Debian Stretch container, and dual boot to Gallium OS partition which now has Fatdog on it too!

Thanks kirk.

kirk · #109 Post by **kirk** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 12:23

Followed your instructions and now with 4.19.32 kernel and modules, the R11 boots up with full desktop resolution, with both keyboard and touchpad working. Networking/Wifi connect fine. Touchscreen works too. No sound yet, but I'll continue looking at that later.

Great! For the sound problem the most likely causes are 1) It's muted, 2) The wrong sound card was chosen as the default. You might think you only have one sound card, but to ALSA you several. One for normal analog speakers, one for digital output, one for HDMI audio, etc. See:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/faqs/sound.html

vtpup · #110 Post by **vtpup** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 19:25

Kirk, sound doesn't work, but I'm still very happy to finally have a puppy(like) OS on the Acer #11 Chromebook. Sound is a convenience, but not an essential for my daughter's school work. That's icing on the cake.

FYI I did test sound out last night, and checked all ALSA settings for muting and tested every one of the soundcards listed. None worked. I did some online research and yes this is a formerly reported problem . There were some remedies listed. I haven't fully absorbed yet here (toward the bottom of the comments on the long page):

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... ug/1609750

jake29 · #111 Post by **jake29** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 22:20

Hi guys. Just an update regarding SoC audio on my laptop. I'm now running Fatdog64-800 (fully updated) w/ 4.19.32 kernel and modules.

While using the laptops internal speakers more extensively a few days ago I noticed some problems. What I have discovered audio playback in any app other than VLC (via internal speakers / headphones) is very choppy - including in Chrome and Kodi.

Note: VLC audio playback, while smooth, has distortions / artefacts.

However applying the 'Downmix multi-channel to stereo' option did result in smooth audio output in all apps - but with significant occasional distortions / artefacts.

The above also applies to the 4.19.24-snd-soc kernel and modules.

In an unrelated note, a recent update breaks the right-click on desktop dropdown menu - it's now generic and not Fatdog64 specific.

EDIT: Having checked audio in Ubuntu 18.10 on this laptop again, I can see much the same issues are present there. I'm guessing this is a driver issue and driver-status is currently: WIP.

jd7654 · #112 Post by **jd7654** » Fri 29 Mar 2019, 23:43

Can't seem to get save or split basesfs working on the Acer Chromebook R11.

On my other Acer Chromebook C740 where fatdog is working perfectly, including with updated 4.19.32 kernel, any of the below works in grub.cfg:

Code: Select all

	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz search=2 waitdev=3 savefile=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # huge initrd
	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz search=2 waitdev=3 basesfs=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64.sfs savefile=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # split basesfs
	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz waitdev=3 basesfs=direct:device:sda7:/Fatdog64-800/fd64.sfs savefile=direct:device:sda7:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # split basesfs

But only the top line below works in R11, but the save folder is not read:

Code: Select all

	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz search=2 waitdev=3 savefile=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # huge initrd
	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz search=2 waitdev=3 basesfs=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64.sfs savefile=direct:local:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # split basesfs
	linux /Fatdog64-800/vmlinuz waitdev=3 basesfs=direct:device:mmcblk0p7:/Fatdog64-800/fd64.sfs savefile=direct:device:mmcblk0p7:/Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR # split basesfs

Any special syntax for eMMC device on the R11 compared to the M.2 SSD standard sda on the C740?

kirk · #113 Post by **kirk** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 01:45

FYI I did test sound out last night, and checked all ALSA settings for muting and tested every one of the soundcards listed. None worked. I did some online research and yes this is a formerly reported problem . There were some remedies listed. I haven't fully absorbed yet here (toward the bottom of the comments on the long page):

However applying the 'Downmix multi-channel to stereo' option did result in smooth audio output in all apps - but with significant occasional distortions / artefacts.

Can you guys open /var/log/messages and look for any missing firmware messages? Maybe there's still some missing.

Any special syntax for eMMC device on the R11 compared to the M.2 SSD standard sda on the C740?

No, the eMMC device is probably slow coming to ready after the kernel initializes it. Try increasing waitdev. Some of those devices are very slow.

jake29 · #114 Post by **jake29** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 02:09

kirk wrote:
However applying the 'Downmix multi-channel to stereo' option did result in smooth audio output in all apps - but with significant occasional distortions / artefacts.
Can you guys open /var/log/messages and look for any missing firmware messages? Maybe there's still some missing.

Code: Select all

Mar 30 01:34:58 fatdog64-ccb user.warn kernel: haswell-pcm-audio haswell-pcm-audio: Direct firmware load for intel/IntcPP01.bin failed with error -2
Mar 30 01:34:58 fatdog64-ccb user.info kernel: haswell-pcm-audio haswell-pcm-audio: fw image intel/IntcPP01.bin not available(-2)

To clarify the edit I made to my previous post, I was only able to test Chrome and VLC in Ubuntu. The choppy audio was not present in Chrome, but there was some slight distortion. Max audio volume was much lower than in Fatdog64-800, so it's harder to notice.

jd7654 · #115 Post by **jd7654** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 02:45

kirk wrote:Try increasing waitdev. Some of those devices are very slow.

I had earlier tried 5, didn't work. So I tried 10, same result. Went all the way to 180, still no go. The boot log on on vty1 shows:

Code: Select all

Loading savefile from /dev/mmcblk0p7  on /Fatdog64-800/fd64save-ACR

But nothing is loaded. Although there is stuff in the directory from the previous shutdown's save.

Attached my messages file if it is of any help. Didn't catch anything about not seeing emmc or sound, but maybe something in there.

jamesbond · #116 Post by **jamesbond** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 06:25

@jd7654: once you boot off, can you access the eMMC? (as it, does the eMMC shows up as drive icons)? If yes, then try adding "coldplug" to your boot parameter.

jd7654 · #117 Post by **jd7654** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 06:55

jamesbond wrote:@jd7654: once you boot off, can you access the eMMC? (as it, does the eMMC shows up as drive icons)? If yes, then try adding "coldplug" to your boot parameter.

Yes...and Bingo! That did it! Got the initial setup dialogs and it remembered my network and touchpad settings from save folder.

Hmmm...never used that coldplug parameter before. Gotta go Google it. And also try with split basesfs now.

Thanks!

jamesbond · #118 Post by **jamesbond** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 09:13

jd7654 wrote:Hmmm...never used that coldplug parameter before. Gotta go Google it

I'll save you some effort. It's a Fatdog-specific option, here: http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/fa ... l#coldplug.
And alternative to using "coldplug" is to use "loadmodules" to load the modules which is required to access your eMMC. But that's a bit more difficult to figure out.

don570 · #119 Post by **don570** » Sat 30 Mar 2019, 18:20

youtube video review of fatdog64 800
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N1-lKpLaw
___________________________________________________

Back Seat Driver video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfr5xMAmmkg

https://youtu.be/wJou0j3MSkI

_________________________________________

vtpup · #120 Post by **vtpup** » Sun 31 Mar 2019, 03:02

kirk wrote:
FYI I did test sound out last night, and checked all ALSA settings for muting and tested every one of the soundcards listed. None worked. I did some online research and yes this is a formerly reported problem . There were some remedies listed. I haven't fully absorbed yet here (toward the bottom of the comments on the long page):
Can you guys open /var/log/messages and look for any missing firmware messages? Maybe there's still some missing.

Okay, will do Kirk, but first here's what I did per the suggested patches referenced earlier (unsuccessful so far):

1.) Added new folder /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtmax98090 .

2.) Added to that folder two files: chtmax98090.conf and HiFi.conf
(from https://chromium.googlesource.com/chrom ... htmax98090 )

3.) Modified HiFi.conf as follows (all "off", changed to "on"):

cset "name='media1_in Gain 0 Switch' on"
cset "name='pcm0_in Gain 0 Switch' on"
cset "name='codec_out0 Gain 0 Switch' on"
cset "name='codec_in0 Gain 0 Switch' on"
cset "name='pcm1_out Gain 0 Switch' on"

above, per https://github.com/GalliumOS/galliumos- ... .patch.txt

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Fatdog64-802/801/800 Final [21 May 2019]

seabios / john lewis

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