New: Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
Bug ID: 10471
Summary: Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip +
initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
Product: buildroot
Version: 2017.02
Hardware: PC
OS: Linux
Status: NEW
Severity: major
Priority: P5
Component: Other
Assignee: unassigned at buildroot.uclibc.org
Reporter: a.enchevich at gmail.com
CC: buildroot at uclibc.org
Target Milestone: ---
Created attachment 7376
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7376&action=edit
My buildroot's .config file
I have sources + images provided by Broadcom for their 7362a0 set top box boards. The kernel image there is has initrd linked in and is:
$ ls -l -rw-r--r-- 1 me users 5669240 Sep 20 17:52 vmlinuz-initrd-7362a0
$ file vmlinuz-initrd-7362a0 vmlinuz-initrd-7362a0: gzip compressed data, last modified: Wed Sep 20 14:52:20 2017, max compression, from Unix
So the vmlinuz that works is about 5.7MB, gzipped, with the initrd.
= = =
When I try generating a vmlinuz kernel in buildroot, however, I am getting a file which is ELF and DOES NOT have the initrd and can not be booted:
-rw-r--r-- 1 me users 8814700 Oct 31 14:04 vmlinuz-from-BR2
$ file vmlinuz-from-BR2 vmlinuz-from-BR2: ELF 32-bit LSB executable, MIPS, MIPS32 version 1 (SYSV), statically linked, stripped
The reasons I am saying that initrd is not linked in, is because:
a) the vmlinuz image dies very early during the TFTP transfer (packet 8 or 9).
b) because I also tried compiling a vmlinux image+initrd. That one is about 21MB and about 8.8MB stripped and gzipped. I tried booting the gzipped vmlinux and it works fine. I do not yet know the reason why it is so much bigger than Broadcom's original vmlinuz image, but I suppose it is because I linked in various packages to play with - DirectFB, SDL, SDL2, etc...
= = =
So firstly, it seems that the option 'initial RAM filesystem linked into linux kernel' from the Filesystem images menu is ignored in the case of vmlinuz.
Secondly, I was expecting a gzipped data (not and ELF binary) when option 'Kernel compression format (gzip compression)' is selected (regardless of vmlinux/vmlinuz).
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
https://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #1 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Created attachment 7381
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7381&action=edit
Kernel .config file
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #2 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Reading the above perhaps a quick clarification is in order to help understand why I believe the vmlinuz produced by buildroot is significantly smaller then it should be (and hence, IMO, is missing the initial ram disk):
Good vmlinuZ (from Broadcom):
compressed: 6 MB
uncompressed: 13 MB
Good vmlinuX (from buildroot):
compressed: 9 MB
uncompressed: 21 MB
BAD vmlinuZ (from buildroot):
compressed: 9 MB (8.8) uncompressed: 9 MB (8.7)
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #3 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Created attachment 7386
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7386&action=edit
Buildroot defconfig
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #4 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Created attachment 7391
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7391&action=edit
Kernel's defconfig
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #5 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- The git repo for Broadcom's stblinux 3.3 is
https://github.com/Broadcom/stblinux-3.3.git. However it can not be used as a git URL directly because the kernel is not at the top level but dir down. The version I used is latest at time of filing this bug (tag: stblinux-3.3-4.2).
To make this kernel compile with the standard buildroot gcc compiler and binutils I made a patch, because there was a problem with binutils > v.2.24.51 not being able to mix hard- and softfloat FPU mode/instructions.
Also the the gzip compression option was ignored, for which there is also patch.
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> changed:
What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC| |a.enchevich at gmail.com
--- Comment #6 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Created attachment 7396
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7396&action=edit
patch kernel to compile with buildroot's gcc 4.8.x
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #7 from Alexander Enchevich <[email protected]> --- Created attachment 7401
--> https://bugs.busybox.net/attachment.cgi?id=7401&action=edit
Enable kernel gzip compression
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
--- Comment #8 from Thomas Petazzoni <[email protected]> --- Could you reproduce this problem with a MIPS defconfig available in the upstream Linux kernel?
I personally really don't want to debug stuff deep down in the Broadcom BSP.
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[Buildroot] [Bug 10471] Building a mipsel kernel format vmlinuz (+ gzip + initrd) generates non-compressed, non-bootable image
In reply to bugzilla at busybox.nethttps://bugs.busybox.net/show_bug.cgi?id=10471
Thomas Petazzoni <[email protected]> changed:
What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resolution|--- |WONTFIX
Status|NEW |RESOLVED--- Comment #9 from Thomas Petazzoni <[email protected]> --- The original contributor never came back with a way to reproduce the problem with a reasonable kernel version (i.e not the Broadcom BSP), so let's mark the bug as WONTFIX.
Do not hesitate to reopen with an easier way to reproduce the problem. Thanks!
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