framebuffer settings for koreader

[shadoooo]

Hello,
I wrote a small boot script that allows the user to choose at startup
the application to start up (nickel or koreader).
It shows two buttons on the screen (using pickle showpic) and
detects which button has been pressed (pickel wait-for-hit).
This procedure allows to avoid the boring procedure with the png image and
the need for a process to continuously monitor file access...
Now I can successfully start nickel normally, or start nickel and after some seconds
launch kobo_reader.sh.. it works.
However I would try to avoid to launch nickel to kill it afterwards,
so I tried to lauch directly kobo_reader.sh.
Something happens, because backlight turns on, but nothing appears
on the screen... the buttons disappear and only a completely white screen remains.
I tried to use the framebuffer rotate trick, but it didn't works.
What is needed to setup the frame buffer before to start koreader?
Thanks
Andrea

[tshering]

I run into the same problem and reported about my unsuccessful attempt to solve it. This was the response by hawhill.

[giorgio130]

I think the issue here is different. The problem with koreader as it is now, is that we cannot launch nickel again after using it, and a reboot is necessary.
In this case, launching fails right away. @shadoooo, could you attach your scripts here? I wanted to try something like that as well, but it's useless to reinvent the wheel! I'll try to identify the problem.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by giorgio130

I think the issue here is different. The problem with koreader as it is now, is that we cannot launch nickel again after using it, and a reboot is necessary.
In this case, launching fails right away. @shadoooo, could you attach your scripts here? I wanted to try something like that as well, but it's useless to reinvent the wheel! I'll try to identify the problem.

There might be different things involved, but the frame buffer seems to be one. I can launch qt executables after koreader successfully, but the screen output is rotated.

[shadoooo]

ciao Giorgio,
lo farò, devo solo mettere in ordine i files,
produrre delle bitmap decenti, e trovare un posto dove fare l' upload del pacchetto.

For english speaking people:
a complete install package with scripts, images and all will be available soon...

[shadoooo]

well, I already tried to use fbset setting geometry, no luck.
I tried to use
echo 1 > /sys/class/graphics/fb0/rotate
in this case something appears, but it's completely wrong.
Values 0, 2 and 3 should be available for other orientations, but they do nothing.
Note that launching this command when nickel is up and running causes the display to be rotated (0=normal, 1=90 degree CW, 2=upside-down, 3=90 degree CCW).
Then I tried
echo 1 > /sys/class/graphics/fb0/blank
result is a completely black screen.

I suspect that something like screen auto-upgrade should be the key.
Anybod tried to lauch eink-auto-update from Marek?
I don't have a toolchain installed yet, I cannot compile it.

[hawhill]

I don't know eink-auto-update, but it's certainly not needed. It should be just about the proper setup of the framebuffer, and probably it's just not in a state that koreader can handle. If I were in your place, I'd just wait a few days, then koreader will (hopefully) get a new framebuffer interface that can handle more situations. But for a start, could you please just use fbset to dump the current settings into a file to examine what exact state the framebuffer is in at that point?

[shadoooo]

Here a list of fbset results:

(before any usage of the fb)
mode "1440x1080-0"
# D: 0.008 MHz, H: 0.004 kHz, V: 0.004 Hz
geometry 1440 1080 1440 2304 16
timings 120000000 32 508 4 5 32 2
accel false
rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0
endmode

(just before nickel launch)
mode "1440x1080-0"
# D: 0.000 MHz, H: 0.000 kHz, V: 0.000 Hz
geometry 1440 1080 1440 2304 16
timings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
accel false
rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0
endmode

(after nickel launch)
mode "1440x1080-0"
# D: 0.000 MHz, H: 0.000 kHz, V: 0.000 Hz
geometry 1440 1080 1440 2304 16
timings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
accel false
rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0
endmode

The usage of pickel for startup on* pictures seems to change timings,
(if it's really doing it, hardware surely doesn't works with 0) but not the geometry.
Again, resetting by hand the same values gives no different result...

Andrea

[hawhill]

Well, Hardware doesn't work with timings in this sense whatsoever... From reading this, it really looks one and the same. I guess the koreader start script is failing at some other point. It should create a "crash.log" file in the koreader folder which might give some information.

[shadoooo]

Hello.
Finally I had the time to merge all the test scripts and to prepare
some not-very-ugly bitmaps for the startup script.
Here there's the installer.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2o9klx6d23dykct/KoboRoot.tgz

Basically you need to upgrade KOBO to version 2.10.0,
then install koreader skipping all the stuff related to fmon and .png icon.
Basically you need to have the koreader folder in /mnt/onboard/.kobo
As last step, install the attached file, it will create the folder
/mnt/onboard/.kobo/advboot containing all scripts and bitmaps.
The archive contains also a new rcS file that manage to start in sequence other scripts that could be present in subfolders of advboot path.
Scripts could be executed during the boot sequence at three stages:
- scripts in init_run folder will be executed just after the system mounted the needed devices and checked for updates, but before any other action, including graphic boxes turning black and white at startup.
Here I placed my script to allow the application selection.
- scripts in pre_run will be executed just before nickel launch.
- scripts in post_run will be executed just after nickel launch. Here I throw in the script that checks for selected application, and if koreader was selected, kills nickel after five seconds and launches koreader.

Please try it and let me know your thoughts.

Andrea

[shadoooo]

Hello,
I was waiting for some usage report of this startup lancher, but unfortunately nobody seems to be aware of... pity!
In the meantime, I tried to install the newer version 669 of koreader, with the framebuffer fixed. Now all seems to work well on this side, so koreader can be started directly at startup without the need to invoke nickel and then kill it to start koreader. Fine!
I will upload a new package with the slightly modified laucher.

[Ken Maltby]

A few suggestions;

On dropbox put the KoboRoot.tgz in a zip or rar file named AdvBoot build number date, that way it won't be just another unknown KoboRoot.tgz file, in the user's downloads folder.

Tell us where the download link is for this "new package".

Luck;
Ken

[Markismus]

Originally Posted by shadoooo

Basically you need to upgrade KOBO to version 2.10.0,
then install koreader skipping all the stuff related to fmon and .png icon.

Did you test it with Firmware 3.1.1?

You wrote that you included rcS. Wat will be the impact on other rcS tweaks? I remember a run.sh call for telnet dump. Will they simply be overwritten?

[Fabry]

FW 3.1.1 and FW 2.10.0 have the same rcS file, so the patch designed for 2.10.0 can be used with 3.1.1 also.

If you have customized rcS file, your customizations will be lost (rcS file overwritten) and they should be redone installing a rcS file made merging files (this rcS file with your rcS file).

[shadoooo]

Sorry for long delays...

The rcS has been modified to execute custom scripts from other folders.
Basically the added code searches for shell files present in a specified folders,
and execute all of them in sequence.
In this way it's easy to add / remove scripts without using KoboRoot.tgz file loading.

There are three entry points in the new rcS:
the first just after system devices configuration and factory reset / update
(if required), but before any other load / execution (including on-animator.sh, that shows small the black / white boxes during startup.
This entry point executes scripts in /mnt/onboard/.kobo/advboot/init_run folder.
I added here a script that uses pickle to show the start menu and saves the result in temporary file /tmp/bootselect.
Value "1" means nickel, "2" means koreader.

Then boot continues, and second entry point is reached just before nickel and hindenburg will be lauched.
This entry point executes scripts in /mnt/onboard/.kobo/advboot/pre_run folder.

Last entry point is executed at end of boot, just after nickel has been launched.This entry point executes scripts in /mnt/onboard/.kobo/advboot/post_run folder.

If you need to customize boot sequence, you need to add / remove / edit files in the three folders, no more updates required.
As the folders are visible simply connecting USB port, it's very easy.
To choose if nickel or koreader should be lauched, I simply putted in a
script in pre_run folder, that checks the value in /tmp/bootselect, previously created at early stages of startup, and in case executes koreader and does not terminates, so basically exclude the execution of nickel.
When you quit form koreader, it will invoke shutdown.

I added also the telnet enable script in the pre_run folder.
It will not check the /tmp/bootselect file, so it will be executed always.