Problems booting Linux kernel on Sigma SMP8634 #2
Hey folks,
first of all, sorry for _waisting_ the list with that topic again and again!
this question is related to that one here, posted sooner on this list:
http://www.linux-mips.org/archives/linux-mips/2008-02/msg00032.html
I spent a bit more time on this topic and found out that there is seriously something going wrong with memory initialization and/or handling during Linux startup.
I simply add "mem=32m" to the kernel command line, and the kernel runs longer, at least a bit. However, it than stops with nearly the same
issue: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address, but different addresses. Tried "16m, 64m" and other values, all behave in different way. Resulting to a crash at the position w/o any parameter or
a bit later on.
Since I am not so familiar MIPS and especially the fact that our hard- and software is more than closed, I am asking you guys to point me where to spend more time on in order to get this issue fixed and fire up a kernel on this box.
I am sure there some more guys around using the smp8634. Is it necessary to load the microcode in order to get the kernel starting up? Maybe we don't need the audio/video-ucode but irq-handler-ucode looks very usefull ;-) Do we just have to copy this code at a certain memory address?
Thank you in advance ...
Regards,
Andi
Quoted 18 lines · Andi
Hey folks,
first of all, sorry for _waisting_ the list with that topic again and again!
this question is related to that one here, posted sooner on this list:
http://www.linux-mips.org/archives/linux-mips/2008-02/msg00032.htmlI spent a bit more time on this topic and found out that there is seriously something going wrong with memory initialization and/or handling during Linux startup.
I simply add "mem=32m" to the kernel command line, and the kernel runs longer, at least a bit. However, it than stops with nearly the same
issue: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address, but different addresses. Tried "16m, 64m" and other values, all behave in different way. Resulting to a crash at the position w/o any parameter or
a bit later on.
Quoted 4 lines
Since I am not so familiar MIPS and especially the fact that our hard- and software is more than closed, I am asking you guys to point me where to spend more time on in order to get this issue fixed and fire up a kernel on this box.
I build and successfully run kernels on the 8634 every day, so I don't think it is a problem with the 8634 port in general.
You should probably ask for technical support from whomever supplied your hardware. They would know the technical details about how to configure the memory controller, the amount and location of the RAM on the board, etc.
Quoted 2 lines
I am sure there some more guys around using the smp8634.
Likely there are. It is used in many blu-ray disk players, among other things.
Quoted 2 lines
Is it necessary
to load the microcode in order to get the kernel starting up?
No.
Quoted 3 lines
Maybe we don't need the audio/video-ucode but irq-handler-ucode looks very usefull ;-) Do we just have to copy this code at a certain memory address?
N/A, the kernel does not rely on any microcode.
The drivers for the audio/video handling hardware on the 8634 do require
microcode, but in many cases it is loaded after the kernel is running. But the microcode is not needed for just running a bare bones kernel.
David Daney
Hi,
Quoted 7 lines
I build and successfully run kernels on the 8634 every day, so I don't think it is a problem with the 8634 port in general.
You should probably ask for technical support from whomever supplied your hardware. They would know the technical details about how to configure the memory controller, the amount and location of the RAM on the board, etc.
Thats right. And I would really like to do so. But unfortunately there is not much information around about the hardware. Since the box originally runs a wince system, this project is more like a _free time_ projects of some Linux enthusiasts.
You can get a overview about this here: http://www.t-hack.com/wiki/
There is also a forum, but unfortunately most posts are in German ..
Quoted 4 lines
Quoted 1 line
I am sure there some more guys around using the smp8634.
Likely there are. It is used in many blu-ray disk players, among other things.
Ok, there is not much information about the smp8634 out there, which is really a pity. I know that Sigma is not really interested in publishing there specifications. Even the gpl part is not published, but I am sure you already know this :-)
Do you know how to get some more detailed information about the smp8634?
Ok, there are some parts that are not equal, like memory and flash! But this is a SoC, so most parts are the same.
Quoted 1 line
N/A, the kernel does not rely on any microcode.
Ok, thanks, so we can cancel this on our todo-list ..
Regards,
Andi
Hi,
in reply to myself, just in case its useful for somebody else .. There seems to be a memory limitation for Linux running on the SMP8634! While giving Linux access to not more than half of the total RAM minus some (4?) MB the kernel works pretty well!
And even more interesting: one can download the smp8634 kernel sources for Sony devices on their support pages.
Cheers,
Andi
Quoted 45 lines · Andi
Hi,
Quoted 7 lines
I build and successfully run kernels on the 8634 every day, so I don't think it is a problem with the 8634 port in general.
You should probably ask for technical support from whomever supplied your hardware. They would know the technical details about how to configure the memory controller, the amount and location of the RAM on the board, etc.
Thats right. And I would really like to do so. But unfortunately there is not much information around about the hardware. Since the box originally runs a wince system, this project is more like a
_freetime_projects of some Linux enthusiasts.You can get a overview about this here: http://www.t-hack.com/wiki/
There is also a forum, but unfortunately most posts are in German ..Quoted 3 lines
Quoted 1 line
I am sure there some more guys around using the smp8634.
Likely there are. It is used in many blu-ray disk players, among other things.
Ok, there is not much information about the smp8634 out there, which is really a pity. I know that Sigma is not really interested in publishing there specifications. Even the gpl part is not published, but I am sure you already know this :-)
Do you know how to get some more detailed information about the smp8634?
Ok, there are some parts that are not equal, like memory and flash! But this is a SoC, so most parts are the same.
Quoted 1 line
N/A, the kernel does not rely on any microcode.
Ok, thanks, so we can cancel this on our todo-list ..
Regards,
Andi