boot kindle from kernel image on USB drive

[twobob]

reading around the kexec / atags issue it would appear to require the atags support adding into the kernel at build time. There appear to have been various valiant efforts to circumvent this on various devices but I have yet to find a success report.

Of course that doesn't mean there aren't any - just didn't find them yet.

Did find this http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1522024 for a Gen8 Android device, which while not a solution, IS an interesting idea. However I don't expect many end users will fancy a bootloader, however for those daring few it could be helpful (as an idea, it's based around buildroot so may be transferable)

So anyway, I'll revisit this when my brain works.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by twobob

reading around the kexec / atags issue it would appear to require the atags support adding into the kernel at build time. There appear to have been various valiant efforts to circumvent this on various devices but I have yet to find a success report.

Of course that doesn't mean there aren't any - just didn't find them yet.

Did find this http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1522024 for a Gen8 Android device, which while not a solution, IS an interesting idea. However I don't expect many end users will fancy a bootloader, however for those daring few it could be helpful (as an idea, it's based around buildroot so may be transferable)

So anyway, I'll revisit this when my brain works.

Naw, a modified u-boot can do that, at least for models with a keyboard.
I am not sure about the touch screen devices, only because I have not read a recent version of u-boot to see it the hardware drivers are included.

[twobob]

ooh. okay. I get you. *resumes drinking*

right, well I will keep reading around the atags issue anyhow, extra set of eyes don't hurt.

[knc1]

It isn't all that bad.
Buildroot will build u-boot, and even apply the changes if provided in the form of patches that it can handle.

Perhaps a quicker path is to learn how to use the "Network boot" feature already in the Kindle's u-boot build.
Then the machine would be running (in RAM) a kernel and system image of our choice.
A handy thing to have when trying to recover Kindles with nearly dead batteries.

[twobob]

ARM has the option to disable the MMU like x86 and the
kernel starts in that mode by default which makes things straight
forward.

The biggest part is to figure out the format that the ARM kernel
accepts arguments in and generate those arguments when you load
an ARM kernel. Basically that the kexec code really does collect
up the information a boot loader would pass and it passes it to the
kernel.

Okay. I get that.

Perhaps a quicker path is to learn how to use the "Network boot" feature already in the Kindle's u-boot build.
Then the machine would be running (in RAM) a kernel and system image of our choice.

Ah. sounds like a plan yes. good thinking

[knc1]

Unless I get real lucky in my DX(G) u-boot research, network booting the dead DX(G) from u-boot may be our only choice.

[twobob]

which is another great reason for it to be done

[cavorite]

Originally Posted by knc1

Unless I get real lucky in my DX(G) u-boot research, network booting the dead DX(G) from u-boot may be our only choice.

How's that been going?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by cavorite

How's that been going?

Nearly finished reading all of it.

Had "life" interrupt my "hobby time" - a friend had to go to the hospital a few days ago.

I thought this would be quicker than trying to network boot a machine I don't have from a file server running on a machine that I don't have.
I may have been wrong, but too late now with over 220 symbols added to the load map chart.

[twobob]

long... and arduous. respect to you Knc1

[cavorite]

No problems here, just doing loops in a holding pattern.