Scheduled Maintenance: We are aware of an issue with Google, AOL, and Yahoo services as email providers which are blocking new registrations. We are trying to fix the issue and we have several internal and external support tickets in process to resolve the issue. Please see: viewtopic.php?t=158230

 

 

 

C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

New to Debian (Or Linux in general)? Ask your questions here!
Message
Author
sleo
Posts: 1
Joined: 2015-08-29 16:19

C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#1 Post by sleo »

Hello,

I am trying to setup a debian sid on my Chromebook (Asus C201 / Rockchip ARM).
I've followed the howto here : https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201
Debootstrap ok, config ok, kernel repack ok... everything went fine until the first boot.

When i boot from the sd card, nothing seem to happen. The screen stay black, no text appear.
Back in chromeos, i check the syslog and the kernel did load successfully.

Code: Select all

Aug 29 16:10:32 armbox systemd[1]: Startup finished in 2.256s (kernel) + 1.798s (userspace) = 4.054s.
It seems after the kernel loads, nothing happen next.
Any thought about what i did wrong ?

Kernel is on mmcblk1p1
Rootfs is on mmcblk1p2
My kernel config is :

Code: Select all

console=tty1 printk.time=1 nosplash rootwait root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rw rootfstype=ext2 lsm.module_locking=0 
Thanks for your help

kapouer
Posts: 6
Joined: 2008-08-16 10:56

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#2 Post by kapouer »

The wiki tells you to copy the kernel from /dev/mmcblk0p1 partition, but there are actually several partitions,
and one of them contains a kernel that works on your c201 variant.
Please reread the wiki, i've copied some text from samsung chromebook wiki page,
around "cgpt show /dev/mmcblk0"

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#3 Post by tonygair »

I've been following the instructions very carefully in this tutorial https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201. I have tried different kernels present on the chromebook. When I copy the commands I cut and paste from another window on the chromebook being very careful about not missing them out.

What ever I have done I have always had the blackscreen.

I'm not saying the Tutorial has a mistake somewhere in the instructions , it maybe because my model of chromebook is the C201PA.

Would there be any chance of a downloadable ISO with the firmware? I would love you long time!

kapouer
Posts: 6
Joined: 2008-08-16 10:56

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#4 Post by kapouer »

[quote="tonygair"]I've been following the instructions very carefully in this tutorial https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201. I have tried different kernels present on the chromebook. When I copy the commands I cut and paste from another window on the chromebook being very careful about not missing them out.

What ever I have done I have always had the blackscreen.

I'm not saying the Tutorial has a mistake somewhere in the instructions , it maybe because my model of chromebook is the C201PA.

Would there be any chance of a downloadable ISO with the firmware? I would love you long time![/quote]

If i remember well, when i tried the first time i had a similar situation.
Only when i repacked the /dev/mmcblk0p4 kernel it works.
Which kernel partition has the highest priority on your cgpt table ?

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#5 Post by tonygair »

It was Kern B , I did then try A and even C after :).

I don't remember there being a repacking of the kernel in the instructions so that sounds very hopeful.

How would I do that?

kapouer
Posts: 6
Joined: 2008-08-16 10:56

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#6 Post by kapouer »

I said repack because of
vbutil_kernel --repack...

i suppose you did run that command, and dd the kernel back to your sd's partition.

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#7 Post by tonygair »

Yes I did.
I was thinking it might be the model which is the asus c201pa, is that your model
So did you do anything different from following the instructions?

kapouer
Posts: 6
Joined: 2008-08-16 10:56

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#8 Post by kapouer »

Nothing really different, besides getting the wrong kernel the first time.
Mind that linux 4.4 or 4.5 is going to be able to boot that machine, so
you might want to wait for that.

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#9 Post by tonygair »

When are those kernels due do you know?

User avatar
sunrat
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6382
Joined: 2006-08-29 09:12
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Has thanked: 115 times
Been thanked: 456 times

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#10 Post by sunrat »

tonygair wrote:When are those kernels due do you know?
Soon.
“ computer users can be divided into 2 categories:
Those who have lost data
...and those who have not lost data YET ”
Remember to BACKUP!

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#11 Post by tonygair »

\o/ look forward to it

jalcock501
Posts: 1
Joined: 2016-01-28 12:03

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#12 Post by jalcock501 »

Just curious did you ever get it working?

raviqqe
Posts: 1
Joined: 2016-02-27 06:03

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#13 Post by raviqqe »

I have the same problem exactly.

But, there is a hope that when I tried Arch Linux ARM[1] for Hisense Chromebook C11 (which has the same processor),
it booted with text messages but the modules and WiFi didn't work well.
Moreover, I following the tutorial of Gentoo[2] using the kernel of Arch Linux ARM, it also booted well.
The cause may be the kernel from the original Chrome OS, I guess.
I will try to compile it by myself and dd it to the kernel partition on my SD card.

[1] http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7 ... mebook-c11
[2] http://www.codentium.com/journal/gentoo-chromebook.rst

tonygair
Posts: 6
Joined: 2015-11-16 13:05

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#14 Post by tonygair »

Not me either. Still waiting for a debian armhf distro with kernel 4.4-4.5

C-137
Posts: 3
Joined: 2016-05-27 15:33

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#15 Post by C-137 »

i ran into the exact same problem following that howto with the flip (C100PA). it sort of boots but the screen stays blank (the logs show it's doing something, http://hastebin.com/ufocoboteq.tex ).

i've tried it with the archlinuxarm kernel ( https://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv ... stallation ) and it boots. however, all the kernel modules are wrong, so that didn't work...
i've never compiled a kernel myself. i guess, i'll try that next...

has anyone made any progress or has any ideas? i prefer to eventually put the system on the emmc and i don't want to use crouton. it's only been two days of messing with it. so i'm still kinda invested...

User avatar
kiyop
Posts: 3983
Joined: 2011-05-05 15:16
Location: Where persons without desire to improve themselves fear to tread, in Japan
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#16 Post by kiyop »

https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201
First, we prepare the SD card on a desktop machine. These instructions are for an 8G card, which affects on the second cgpt add call - you can adjust as required.
(snip by kiyop)

Code: Select all

DEV=/dev/mmcblk0
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk0" with the proper value?
(snip by kiyop)

Code: Select all

cgpt add -t kernel -l kernel -b 34 -s 32768 ${DEV}
(snip by kiyop)
Now move the SD card to the Chromebook which is already booted with ChromeOS:

Code: Select all

(snip by kiyop)
DEV=/dev/mmcblk1
(snip by kiyop)
# Write the signed kernel to the kernel partition:
dd if=${MNT}/boot/vmlinuz.signed of=${DEV}p1
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk1" with the proper value?
Are you sure that the size of the signed kernel is smaller than 32768-34+1=32735 ? (Although I may be wrong.)
Openbox, JWM: Jessie, Sid, Arch / Win XP (on VirtualBox), 10
http://kiyoandkei.bbs.fc2.com/

C-137
Posts: 3
Joined: 2016-05-27 15:33

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#17 Post by C-137 »

thanks for your reply,
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk0" with the proper value?
on my "desktop" machine /dev/mmcblk0 is the sd card reader. i tried both sd card and usb pen drive (/dev/sdb)
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk1" with the proper value?
/dev/mmcblk1 is the sd card reader on the c100pa, that seemed to work
Are you sure that the size of the signed kernel is smaller than 32768-34+1=32735 ? (Although I may be wrong.)
i think 34 is the offset, and 32768 kb is the size of the kernel partition. the kernels i've tried so far were all less than 6mb.

i'll try to compile the kernel in arch directly on the flip so i don't have to cross compile. (https://chromium.googlesource.com/chrom ... rty/kernel)
perhaps the release they've mentioned in the howto works (release-R43-6946.B-chromeos-3.14)
Last edited by C-137 on 2016-05-30 23:10, edited 1 time in total.

C-137
Posts: 3
Joined: 2016-05-27 15:33

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#18 Post by C-137 »

C-137 wrote: i think 34 is the offset, and 32768 kb is the size of the kernel partition. the kernels i tried so far were all less than 6mb.
sorry, actually, the unit is sectors, i think (512b each). so the kernel partitions are 16mb

User avatar
kiyop
Posts: 3983
Joined: 2011-05-05 15:16
Location: Where persons without desire to improve themselves fear to tread, in Japan
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#19 Post by kiyop »

C-137 wrote:
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk0" with the proper value?
on my "desktop" machine /dev/mmcblk0 is the sd card reader. i tried both sd card and usb pen drive (/dev/sdb)
Did you modify the above "/dev/mmcblk1" with the proper value?
/dev/mmcblk1 is the sd card reader on the c100pa, that seemed to work
I see. Thanks.
C-137 wrote:the kernels i've tried so far were all less than 6mb.
I see. Then, as you understood, 16MB is enough. Are you sure that the sector size of the sd card is 512 bytes?

I do not know why it does not work. :?:

You did "Installing to an SD card using the ChromeOS kernel" in https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 , didn't you?

ADDED AT Tue May 31 22:57:11 JST 2016;

Are you sure that you did the following correctly?
https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201

Code: Select all

# Guess which kernel partition is the latest.  Run cgpt show and see
# which one (KERN-A or KERN-B) has the highest priority.
cgpt show /dev/mmcblk0
# Copy the ChromeOS kernel to the root filesystem,
# In this example we'll assume it was KERN-B:
dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p4 of=${MNT}/boot/chromeos.kernel.signed
Openbox, JWM: Jessie, Sid, Arch / Win XP (on VirtualBox), 10
http://kiyoandkei.bbs.fc2.com/

bluevector
Posts: 1
Joined: 2016-06-28 17:18

Re: C201 Chromebook : boot sequence after kernel

#20 Post by bluevector »

I also followed the guide on https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201, alas it did not work for me as well. Booting from the sd-card goes into black screen... I copied the kernel with the highest priority and it did not work:

Code: Select all

cgpt show /dev/mmcblk0

       start        size    part  contents
           0           1          PMBR (Boot GUID: 4C6BF2E4-6BC4-054A-99A4-2E6FAE678F6B)
           1           1          Pri GPT header
           2          32          Pri GPT table
     8671232    22081536       1  Label: "STATE"
                                  Type: Linux data
                                  UUID: A330ED08-FB60-6949-AA22-F45CA62C187A
       20480       32768       2  Label: "KERN-A"
                                  Type: ChromeOS kernel
                                  UUID: 5B2F38F5-0A27-F043-A307-86DA8CB34370
                                  Attr: priority=2 tries=0 successful=1
     4476928     4194304       3  Label: "ROOT-A"
                                  Type: ChromeOS rootfs
                                  UUID: 36266423-B14E-C14A-94C0-B685287D5A3A
       53248       32768       4  Label: "KERN-B"
                                  Type: ChromeOS kernel
                                  UUID: 7D61CA0F-2D05-E64A-BE91-B7ED4BB7DF0A
                                  Attr: priority=1 tries=0 successful=1
      282624     4194304       5  Label: "ROOT-B"
                                  Type: ChromeOS rootfs
                                  UUID: C01982AE-623B-7C42-85FD-03F55F2CB0D3
       16448           1       6  Label: "KERN-C"
                                  Type: ChromeOS kernel
                                  UUID: 3847A485-15B0-2A40-BBCD-79D07169E0AB
                                  Attr: priority=0 tries=15 successful=0
       16449           1       7  Label: "ROOT-C"
                                  Type: ChromeOS rootfs
                                  UUID: 6E23428D-C174-A34B-A208-A6D16BEB16BC
       86016       32768       8  Label: "OEM"
                                  Type: Linux data
                                  UUID: D63410EE-47CC-5B4D-BBEE-C8A149EA80A2
       16450           1       9  Label: "reserved"
                                  Type: ChromeOS reserved
                                  UUID: 150EC368-049E-8446-AA4B-1C9B78EB2661
       16451           1      10  Label: "reserved"
                                  Type: ChromeOS reserved
                                  UUID: B72BB9F9-1E54-7348-BF64-97C932F94FE8
          64       16384      11  Label: "RWFW"
                                  Type: ChromeOS firmware
                                  UUID: 13B5EA09-EE85-6346-95B6-B4F8D990AEA5
      249856       32768      12  Label: "EFI-SYSTEM"
                                  Type: EFI System Partition
                                  UUID: 4C6BF2E4-6BC4-054A-99A4-2E6FAE678F6B
    30785503          32          Sec GPT table
    30785535           1          Sec GPT header
I first tried copying from Kernel-A as it has the highest priority, but when it did not work I tried with Kernel-B and the result was still failure. Has anyone find a solution to this?

Also is there anyone who has compiled kernel (like Gentoo) or that of ARM and satisfied with it? It seems like I am going to try upstream kernel soon.

Thanks,

Post Reply