[U-Boot] [PATCH] usb: fix usb start problem with SMSC USB hub and Toshiba USB stick

Roland Kletzing
2010-09-23T20:16:48Z

Good evening !

Some new (real weird) findings i like to report.

I have tried a third usb2ide adapter cable of different brand.
Had that around at work....

Apparently , it uses exactly the same jmicron chipset as one of the
other ones which fail - but this one - surprise - WORKS !
The output of "usb info" is exactly the same. Where the former one
fails with "usb part" , this one works with "usb part" and gives proper
info and i can boot without a problem. Loading kernel & initrd is slow,
but it works, even with cold boot.

So, i`m wondering who`s to blame - the cable or the sofware, or both :)

Since both cables work with linux, maybe there is some slight differenc
in pcb/cable design and thus some slight timing difference which causing
this problem.

Maybe i will go to find some more convertor cables, just for curiousity
and to see how they behave. Does someone know a website listing usb
convertor cables and compare their "quality" ? I did not find such....

Anyway, so my problem is not that serious anymore, as i know the
hardware is part of the problem and which can be replaced.....

regards
roland

Marvell>> usb info
usb info
1: Hub, USB Revision 2.0
- u-boot EHCI Host Controller
- Class: Hub
- PacketSize: 64 Configurations: 1
- Vendor: 0x0000 Product 0x0000 Version 1.0
Configuration: 1
- Interfaces: 1 Self Powered 0mA
Interface: 0
- Alternate Setting 0, Endpoints: 1
- Class Hub
- Endpoint 1 In Interrupt MaxPacket 8 Interval 255ms

2: Hub, USB Revision 2.0
- USB2.0 Hub
- Class: Hub
- PacketSize: 64 Configurations: 1
- Vendor: 0x05e3 Product 0x0608 Version 6.3
Configuration: 1
- Interfaces: 1 Self Powered Remote Wakeup 100mA
Interface: 0
- Alternate Setting 0, Endpoints: 1
- Class Hub
- Endpoint 1 In Interrupt MaxPacket 1 Interval 12ms

3: Mass Storage, USB Revision 2.0
- JMicron USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge 222222126873
- Class: (from Interface) Mass Storage
- PacketSize: 64 Configurations: 1
- Vendor: 0x152d Product 0x2338 Version 1.0
Configuration: 1
- Interfaces: 1 Self Powered 2mA
- String: "USB Mass Storage"
Interface: 0
- Alternate Setting 0, Endpoints: 2
- Class Mass Storage, Transp. SCSI, Bulk only
- String: "MSC Bulk-Only Transfer"
- Endpoint 1 In Bulk MaxPacket 512
- Endpoint 2 Out Bulk MaxPacket 512

Marvell>> usb storage
usb storage
Device 0: Vendor: HITACHI_ Rev: A0A5 Prod: DK14FA-20
Type: Hard Disk
Capacity: 19077.1 MB = 18.6 GB (39070080 x 512)

usb part

Partition Map for USB device 0 -- Partition Type: DOS

Partition Start Sector Num Sectors Type
1 63 4016187 83
2 4016250 514080 82

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Detlev Zundel" <dzu@denx.de>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 11:24 AM
To: <devzero@web.de>
Cc: "Wolfgang Denk" <wd@denx.de>; <u-boot@lists.denx.de>
Subject: Re: [U-Boot] [PATCH] usb: fix usb start problem with SMSC USB hub
and Toshiba USB stick

> Hi Roland,
>
> [...]
>
>> Anyway, just to tell about the background:
>> I`m trying to replace my home server with a Dockstar. As this runs 24/7
>> i want something energy-efficient for that.
>> I got some Dockstars for so cheap and they are asbolute fantastic and
>> just perfect fit to be run with debian. I plan buying a solid state sata
>> disk
>> with sata2usb one day, but seeing two ordinary disks with 2 different
>> ide2usb
>> fail does not encourage me to spend bucks on something new. I want a
>> robust
>> system where i can use more than "some" drives which are just compatible
>> by
>> chance. From what i have tested, the debian install on dockstar runs
>> pretty well,
>> stable and fast.
>
> In my personal experience, "robust" and "usb" do not mix well in one
> sentence. Maybe I'm somewhat conservative, but just in another product
> I have seen spurious USB dis- and reconnects after days and weeks of
> otherwise solid functioning. Of course they _did_ mess up the software
> and crash the system. So be sure that your software stack can cope with
> something like that.
>
> In effect, currently I would not try to design a "robust system" (ready
> to be sold as a product) with its primary rootfilesystem on a USB
> storage device. For IDE/ATA/SATA all the problems in a running system
> that I have seen have had their cause in the device, not in the
> interconnect method. This is not something I can say about USB.
>
> Cheers
> Detlev
>
> --
> error compiling committee.c: too many arguments to function
> --
> DENX Software Engineering GmbH, MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
> HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
> Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-40 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: dzu at denx.de