[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[Simon Kagstrom]

Hello U-boot list!

I'm using U-boot 1.3.0 to boot Linux on a Freescale MPC8349E-mITX, and
I have a small issue with multi-file images. I use a device tree but no
initrd, and I'm not quite sure how to boot the image in a good way. The
image is created in this way:

   mkimage -A ppc -O Linux -T multi -d vmlinux.bin.gz:cmxb.dtb /tftpboot/vmlinux+fdt.img

I can boot it with (in U-boot)

   setenv loadaddr 600000
   tftp $loadaddr /tftpboot/vmlinux+fdt.img
   bootm $loadaddr - 7a9634

and it starts just fine. My issue is with the address of the FDT - I'd
like to avoid having to hardcode this address since the kernel size can
change. If I just do 'bootm' or 'bootm $loadaddr -' it will end with

   Verifying Checksum ... OK
   Uncompressing Multi-File Image ... OK
   Loading Ramdisk to 0ff6c000, end 0ff6f000 ... OK

and just lock there. So to the question: Is it possible to boot a
multifile image in this way without having an initrd and without the
hardcoded address, or must I modify the U-boot code to get such
functionality?

// Simon

[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[Wolfgang Denk]

In message <20071204150416.7aa7dda6@seasc0532.dyn.rnd.as.sw.ericsson.se> you wrote:
> 
> I'm using U-boot 1.3.0 to boot Linux on a Freescale MPC8349E-mITX, and
> I have a small issue with multi-file images. I use a device tree but no
> initrd, and I'm not quite sure how to boot the image in a good way. The
> image is created in this way:

In theory this should "just work", but  it  doesn't  at  the  moment.
There  are  plans  to  implement  a  more  flexible format for U-Boot
images, especially for  multi-file  images,  which  will  solve  this
problem.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

-- 
DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
No journaling file system can recover your data if the disk dies.
                                 - Steve Rago in <D4Cw1p.L9E@plc.com>

[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[Simon Kagstrom]

Hi Wolfgang,

On Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:28:24 +0100
Wolfgang Denk <wd@denx.de> wrote:

> In message
> <20071204150416.7aa7dda6@seasc0532.dyn.rnd.as.sw.ericsson.se> you
> wrote:
> > 
> > I'm using U-boot 1.3.0 to boot Linux on a Freescale MPC8349E-mITX,
> > and I have a small issue with multi-file images. I use a device
> > tree but no initrd, and I'm not quite sure how to boot the image in
> > a good way. The image is created in this way:
> 
> In theory this should "just work", but  it  doesn't  at  the  moment.
> There  are  plans  to  implement  a  more  flexible format for U-Boot
> images, especially for  multi-file  images,  which  will  solve  this
> problem.

Thanks for the information.

I solved it for now by creating a standalone application which reads
the multi-file image and sets the "fdtaddr" environment variable if it
finds one. I can thereafter boot with (basically)

  tftp $loadaddr ...
  tftp 40000 .../parse-multifile
  go 40004 $loadaddr
  bootm $loadaddr - $fdtaddr

If anyone is interested, I can send the short C-file.

// Simon

[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[Bartlomiej Sieka]

Simon Kagstrom wrote:
[...]
>>> I'm using U-boot 1.3.0 to boot Linux on a Freescale
>>> MPC8349E-mITX, and I have a small issue with multi-file images. I
>>> use a device tree but no initrd, and I'm not quite sure how to
>>> boot the image in a good way. The image is created in this way:
[...]
> I solved it for now by creating a standalone application which reads 
> the multi-file image and sets the "fdtaddr" environment variable if
> it finds one.

Hi Simon,

Another workaround is to use a mulit-image file with three images
(kernel, initrd, blob) and ignore the second one by calling "bootm
<addr> -". Note that the second image in the file can a bogus one-byte
file (it needs to be at least one byte in size, because mkimage refuses
the create a multi-image file with a zero-sized member).

Note that this booting scenario will be supported in a much more elegant
manner once the new image format is developed. Please stay tuned.

Regards,
Bartlomiej

[U-Boot-Users] Booting multi-file images with a FDT but no initrd

[Simon Kagstrom]

On Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:08:46 +0100
Bartlomiej Sieka <tur@semihalf.com> wrote:

> Another workaround is to use a mulit-image file with three images
> (kernel, initrd, blob) and ignore the second one by calling "bootm
> <addr> -". Note that the second image in the file can a bogus one-byte
> file (it needs to be at least one byte in size, because mkimage
> refuses the create a multi-image file with a zero-sized member).

Ah, you are right. I thought I tested this before but apparently I did
some mistake then. It boots OK now, and this is clearly a more clean
workaround until the new image format arrives.

Thanks,
// Simon