[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[EvilSibling]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum so im not sure if im in the right place. I tried
searching for a solution but didnt find a solution.

I have a 7" Netbook based on the WonderMedia WM8505 processor. Based on all
the other forums ive read out there it looks like the hardware is very
similar to a lot of the other 7" netbooks and 7" tablets out there.

The netbook came preloaded with Windows CE 6.

The problem ive got is I inherited the netbook broken. It appeares to be
broken after a failed Android install.

The serial console on the mainboard shows wload and u-boot starts fine.

The problem looks to me like the Android installer has replaced the u-boot
which was preloaded on the netbook.

I looked through the environment variables in u-boot via the serial console
and i saw an old bootcmd variable which referred to USB commands - usbinit,
fatload usb 0:1, etc to boot the system however the uboot which is running
on the netbook now has no such commands available.

The new u-boot seems to support NAND, IDE, and MMC storage because commands
for those storage devices are available, however the NAND and IDE commands
both report no devices/controllers detected.

Ive inspected the mainboard in this netbook and its onboard storage is a USB
flash disk - that is its a 2gig NAND flash presented to the system via USB.

So my question is this.

Can anyone suggest where I could download a u-boot which has usb storage
support which might run on this netbook?

OR

Can anyone give me any suggestions how I could make a compatible u-boot from
source.

Ive downloaded the source from the DENX website and had a look but the
problem ive got is the 'make' program expects me to specify which system
board to build the u-boot binary for but none of the board names in the
u-boot source seem to resemble anything like the board in this netbook so I
dont know which board configuration to use.

These netbooks are so common and all have such similar hardware surely one
of the board configurations would match well but which one?


Heres some info about the netbook:
Make/Model: Easy Notebook Model P701
The netbook was originally purchased from
http://www.oo.com.au/EasyNotebook_Ultra_Portable_La_P41265.cfm
MOBO: P701_MAIN_V9 20100927
Daughter board: CPU8505_V3
CPU: WM8505 - WonderMedia 8505 ARM926EJ-S (ARMv5)
Flash: F40-100GCP 4Mbit serial flash
RAM: Hynix h5ps1g63efr-y5c - 128meg DDR2 667Mhz
LAN: Via Velocity VT6113
WIFI: Ralink RT3070
Sound: Everest Semiconductor ES8328 Low Power Codec
USB Hub: Genesys Logic GL850G
Storage: Samsung MLC Flash K9GAG08U0E-SCB0 - 2Gig via Chipsbank CBM2093
USB-Flash controller
Pointing device: Cube FKT0107D
Unknown: HT-95A-2 - Possibly keyboard encoder/decoder?
LEDs available: Caps lock, Scroll Lock, Num Lock, Battery Charging, Powered
on

Ive uploaded some images of the mainboard and daughter board
http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00193-20110701-1615.jpg Underside of
mainboard 
http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00194-20110701-1616.jpg Topside of
mainboard 

Really appreciate any and all help.
-- 
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[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Albert ARIBAUD]

Hi Evilsibling,

> Can anyone suggest where I could download a u-boot which has usb storage
> support which might run on this netbook?
>
> OR
>
> Can anyone give me any suggestions how I could make a compatible u-boot from
> source.

I'd suggest asking the manufacturer -- if they put u-boot in devices 
that they distribute, then they must provide the corresponding source 
code. Did you check this with them?

> Ive downloaded the source from the DENX website and had a look but the
> problem ive got is the 'make' program expects me to specify which system
> board to build the u-boot binary for but none of the board names in the
> u-boot source seem to resemble anything like the board in this netbook so I
> dont know which board configuration to use.
>
> These netbooks are so common and all have such similar hardware surely one
> of the board configurations would match well but which one?

'Similar' is no warranty as far as booting a device is concerned, and 
you should not bet on 'similar' unless you have absolutely no other choice.

> Heres some info about the netbook:
> Make/Model: Easy Notebook Model P701
> The netbook was originally purchased from
> http://www.oo.com.au/EasyNotebook_Ultra_Portable_La_P41265.cfm
> MOBO: P701_MAIN_V9 20100927
> Daughter board: CPU8505_V3
> CPU: WM8505 - WonderMedia 8505 ARM926EJ-S (ARMv5)
> Flash: F40-100GCP 4Mbit serial flash
> RAM: Hynix h5ps1g63efr-y5c - 128meg DDR2 667Mhz
> LAN: Via Velocity VT6113
> WIFI: Ralink RT3070
> Sound: Everest Semiconductor ES8328 Low Power Codec
> USB Hub: Genesys Logic GL850G
> Storage: Samsung MLC Flash K9GAG08U0E-SCB0 - 2Gig via Chipsbank CBM2093
> USB-Flash controller
> Pointing device: Cube FKT0107D
> Unknown: HT-95A-2 - Possibly keyboard encoder/decoder?
> LEDs available: Caps lock, Scroll Lock, Num Lock, Battery Charging, Powered
> on
>
> Ive uploaded some images of the mainboard and daughter board
> http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00193-20110701-1615.jpg Underside of
> mainboard
> http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00194-20110701-1616.jpg Topside of
> mainboard
>
> Really appreciate any and all help.

I suggest trying to track the manufacturer down and ask for the u-boot 
sources.

Amicalement,
-- 
Albert.

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Chris Barnes]

Hi Albert,

It would be great if i could get the original u-boot image and/or sources
and maybe even the original Windows CE 6 from the manufacturer, however I
dont know who the manufacturer is.

I cant find anyone who makes "Easy Notebook P701" or offers downloads for
it.

These netbooks appear to be mass produced as oem units and rebranded by
numerous different sellers. for example, my netbook also matches the
hardware description of the EPC 7" P701 netbook, and even a netbook called
the Fashion 7" Netbook.


The other issue is that this netbook has been tampered with as far as the
warranty and support is concerned since the previous owner attempted to
install Android which has replaced the wload, the u-boot, and the original
Windows CE system cant be booted anymore so the store the netbook was bought
from wont help.



At this stage i really have no other choice but to take a chance and hope
that someone with similar hardware can provide their working u-boot.

Theres a lot of reports of users attempting to install Android on these
netbooks and ending up in the same position im in but so far ive not seen a
suitable solution. A lot of attempts to fix the problem involve installing a
different u-boot, which ive attempted, but none of them appear to have usb
storage support and therefore the flash disk is unavailable.


My last resort is to go back to the online store where the netbook was
originally purchased and ask someone on their forum if they will be kind
enough to let me copy the u-boot from their working netbook.


On Sat, Jul 2, 2011 at 11:46 PM, Albert ARIBAUD
<albert.u.boot@aribaud.net>wrote:

> Hi Evilsibling,
>
>  Can anyone suggest where I could download a u-boot which has usb storage
>> support which might run on this netbook?
>>
>> OR
>>
>> Can anyone give me any suggestions how I could make a compatible u-boot
>> from
>> source.
>>
>
> I'd suggest asking the manufacturer -- if they put u-boot in devices that
> they distribute, then they must provide the corresponding source code. Did
> you check this with them?
>
>  Ive downloaded the source from the DENX website and had a look but the
>> problem ive got is the 'make' program expects me to specify which system
>> board to build the u-boot binary for but none of the board names in the
>> u-boot source seem to resemble anything like the board in this netbook so
>> I
>> dont know which board configuration to use.
>>
>> These netbooks are so common and all have such similar hardware surely one
>> of the board configurations would match well but which one?
>>
>
> 'Similar' is no warranty as far as booting a device is concerned, and you
> should not bet on 'similar' unless you have absolutely no other choice.
>
>  Heres some info about the netbook:
>> Make/Model: Easy Notebook Model P701
>> The netbook was originally purchased from
>> http://www.oo.com.au/**EasyNotebook_Ultra_Portable_**La_P41265.cfm<http://www.oo.com.au/EasyNotebook_Ultra_Portable_La_P41265.cfm>
>> MOBO: P701_MAIN_V9 20100927
>> Daughter board: CPU8505_V3
>> CPU: WM8505 - WonderMedia 8505 ARM926EJ-S (ARMv5)
>> Flash: F40-100GCP 4Mbit serial flash
>> RAM: Hynix h5ps1g63efr-y5c - 128meg DDR2 667Mhz
>> LAN: Via Velocity VT6113
>> WIFI: Ralink RT3070
>> Sound: Everest Semiconductor ES8328 Low Power Codec
>> USB Hub: Genesys Logic GL850G
>> Storage: Samsung MLC Flash K9GAG08U0E-SCB0 - 2Gig via Chipsbank CBM2093
>> USB-Flash controller
>> Pointing device: Cube FKT0107D
>> Unknown: HT-95A-2 - Possibly keyboard encoder/decoder?
>> LEDs available: Caps lock, Scroll Lock, Num Lock, Battery Charging,
>> Powered
>> on
>>
>> Ive uploaded some images of the mainboard and daughter board
>> http://old.nabble.com/file/**p31979430/IMG00193-20110701-**1615.jpg<http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00193-20110701-1615.jpg>Underside of
>> mainboard
>> http://old.nabble.com/file/**p31979430/IMG00194-20110701-**1616.jpg<http://old.nabble.com/file/p31979430/IMG00194-20110701-1616.jpg>Topside of
>> mainboard
>>
>> Really appreciate any and all help.
>>
>
> I suggest trying to track the manufacturer down and ask for the u-boot
> sources.
>
> Amicalement,
> --
> Albert.
>



-- 
Kind Regards,

Christopher Barnes
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

e. chris.p.barnes at gmail.com

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Albert ARIBAUD]

Le 02/07/2011 16:21, Chris Barnes a ?crit :
> Hi Albert,
>
> It would be great if i could get the original u-boot image and/or
> sources and maybe even the original Windows CE 6 from the manufacturer,
> however I dont know who the manufacturer is.
>
> I cant find anyone who makes "Easy Notebook P701" or offers downloads
> for it.
>
> These netbooks appear to be mass produced as oem units and rebranded by
> numerous different sellers. for example, my netbook also matches the
> hardware description of the EPC 7" P701 netbook, and even a netbook
> called the Fashion 7" Netbook.

This might prove to be a problem.
>
> The other issue is that this netbook has been tampered with as far as
> the warranty and support is concerned since the previous owner attempted
> to install Android which has replaced the wload, the u-boot, and the
> original Windows CE system cant be booted anymore so the store the
> netbook was bought from wont help.

They might still let you know which provider they bought from.

> At this stage i really have no other choice but to take a chance and
> hope that someone with similar hardware can provide their working u-boot.
>
> Theres a lot of reports of users attempting to install Android on these
> netbooks and ending up in the same position im in but so far ive not
> seen a suitable solution. A lot of attempts to fix the problem involve
> installing a different u-boot, which ive attempted, but none of them
> appear to have usb storage support and therefore the flash disk is
> unavailable.

If you know of some u-boot board configs that were successfully used for 
this device, and if the board config has USB support enabled but USB 
storage support disabled, then you *might* have a chance of adding USB 
storage. Can you list these configs that were used and what the result was?

> My last resort is to go back to the online store where the netbook was
> originally purchased and ask someone on their forum if they will be kind
> enough to let me copy the u-boot from their working netbook.

That's assuming they can get their hand on it. It would require access 
to the Flash from the OS level, something that is far from granted.

Amicalement,
-- 
Albert.

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Chris Barnes]

Hi Albert,

I dont know of any u-boot board configs that were used for this device. That
was my original purpose for emailing this mailing list - hoping that someone
may have experience with this netbook and may be able to point me in the
right direction but at this point its not looking hopeful.


On Sun, Jul 3, 2011 at 1:17 AM, Albert ARIBAUD <albert.u.boot@aribaud.net>wrote:

> Le 02/07/2011 16:21, Chris Barnes a ?crit :
>
>  Hi Albert,
>>
>> It would be great if i could get the original u-boot image and/or
>> sources and maybe even the original Windows CE 6 from the manufacturer,
>> however I dont know who the manufacturer is.
>>
>> I cant find anyone who makes "Easy Notebook P701" or offers downloads
>> for it.
>>
>> These netbooks appear to be mass produced as oem units and rebranded by
>> numerous different sellers. for example, my netbook also matches the
>> hardware description of the EPC 7" P701 netbook, and even a netbook
>> called the Fashion 7" Netbook.
>>
>
> This might prove to be a problem.
>
>
>> The other issue is that this netbook has been tampered with as far as
>> the warranty and support is concerned since the previous owner attempted
>> to install Android which has replaced the wload, the u-boot, and the
>> original Windows CE system cant be booted anymore so the store the
>> netbook was bought from wont help.
>>
>
> They might still let you know which provider they bought from.
>
>
>  At this stage i really have no other choice but to take a chance and
>> hope that someone with similar hardware can provide their working u-boot.
>>
>> Theres a lot of reports of users attempting to install Android on these
>> netbooks and ending up in the same position im in but so far ive not
>> seen a suitable solution. A lot of attempts to fix the problem involve
>> installing a different u-boot, which ive attempted, but none of them
>> appear to have usb storage support and therefore the flash disk is
>> unavailable.
>>
>
> If you know of some u-boot board configs that were successfully used for
> this device, and if the board config has USB support enabled but USB storage
> support disabled, then you *might* have a chance of adding USB storage. Can
> you list these configs that were used and what the result was?
>
>
>  My last resort is to go back to the online store where the netbook was
>> originally purchased and ask someone on their forum if they will be kind
>> enough to let me copy the u-boot from their working netbook.
>>
>
> That's assuming they can get their hand on it. It would require access to
> the Flash from the OS level, something that is far from granted.
>
> Amicalement,
> --
> Albert.
>



-- 
Kind Regards,

Christopher Barnes
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

e. chris.p.barnes at gmail.com

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Albert ARIBAUD]

Hi Chris,

Le 04/07/2011 00:29, Chris Barnes a ?crit :
> Hi Albert,
>
> I dont know of any u-boot board configs that were used for this device.
> That was my original purpose for emailing this mailing list - hoping
> that someone may have experience with this netbook and may be able to
> point me in the right direction but at this point its not looking hopeful.

Understood. But you have said you attempted install of several u-boot 
binaries, none of which had USB mass storage support; however if they 
have some sort of USB support other than mass storage, then maybe they 
could be rebuilt from source with mass storage support added. Can you 
list the boards for which you tried some binaries?

Amicalement,
-- 
Albert.

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Chris Barnes]

Hi Albert,

Sorry for the confusion. I did try several u-boots. None of them appeared to
have any USB support as far as I could tell because u-boot didnt respond to
any usb commands - e.g. usbinit


however I have been successful if restoring functionality to my netbook.

It appears the netbook was preloaded with WonderMedia Technologies U-Boot.

I attempted to contact WonderMedia to request the U-Boot again. They havent
replied.

I then found a link to the WonderMedia U-Boot source. The source appeared to
include a compiled u-boot, I tried it, it was very basic. It didnt even have
LCD support.

I then did a lot of digging around the internet, I downloaded about 700 megs
of operating system files from similar netbooks and I found a WMT U-Boot
which works.

The working version is:

U-Boot 1.1.4 (Oct  8 2010 -
10:39:28)
WonderMedia Technologies,
Inc.
WMT U-Boot Version : 0.12.01.00.27

So I'm pretty happy right now because U-Boot can finally access the internal
storage.

The only downside to using the internal usb storage is the usb subsystem in
u-boot appears to be quite slow.
The command usbinit must be called first which appears to load the driver,
and then scan the bus for devices. Once it is done the system can then boot
from the usb storage. It easily adds atleast 5 seconds to the bootup,
especially if the logo is loaded from usb.

The next step is to load an operating system onto the internal storage.

Thanks for your help.

On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 3:50 PM, Albert ARIBAUD <albert.u.boot@aribaud.net>wrote:

> Hi Chris,
>
> Le 04/07/2011 00:29, Chris Barnes a ?crit :
>
>> Hi Albert,
>>
>> I dont know of any u-boot board configs that were used for this device.
>> That was my original purpose for emailing this mailing list - hoping
>> that someone may have experience with this netbook and may be able to
>> point me in the right direction but at this point its not looking hopeful.
>>
>
> Understood. But you have said you attempted install of several u-boot
> binaries, none of which had USB mass storage support; however if they have
> some sort of USB support other than mass storage, then maybe they could be
> rebuilt from source with mass storage support added. Can you list the boards
> for which you tried some binaries?
>
> Amicalement,
> --
> Albert.
>



-- 
Kind Regards,

Christopher Barnes
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

e. chris.p.barnes at gmail.com

[U-Boot] U-boot with USB storage support for WonderMedia WM8505

[Albert ARIBAUD]

Le 04/07/2011 08:02, Chris Barnes a ?crit :

> however I have been successful if restoring functionality to my netbook.

Great!

> The working version is:
>
> U-Boot 1.1.4 (Oct  8 2010 - 10:39:28)

Not that old if you look at the date, quite old if you look at the 
version number. But hey, IIAB(any more)DFI. :)

> WonderMedia Technologies, Inc.
> WMT U-Boot Version : 0.12.01.00.27
>
> So I'm pretty happy right now because U-Boot can finally access the
> internal storage.
>
> The only downside to using the internal usb storage is the usb subsystem
> in u-boot appears to be quite slow.
> The command usbinit must be called first which appears to load the
> driver, and then scan the bus for devices. Once it is done the system
> can then boot from the usb storage. It easily adds atleast 5 seconds to
> the bootup, especially if the logo is loaded from usb.

There is no loading a driver in U-Boot (the binary is self-contained), 
so the slowness is probably due to the USB driver or line speed (or 
both). Anyway, that'll be a problem only while you boot things via USB; 
once you have R/W access to the internal storage Flash, booting from 
Flash should be (hopefully) quicker.

> The next step is to load an operating system onto the internal storage.
>
> Thanks for your help.

You did all the hard work, just thank yourself. :)

Amicalement,
-- 
Albert.