[cobalt-users] Raq3i: can't boot anymore: kernel doesn't load - "\length erro-"

["Gunther Stammwitz" <gstammw@xxxxxxx>]

Hello cobalt-users,

I've got a problem with my cobalt RAQ3i: it can't boot up anymore
because it cannot load the kernel.

This is happening (logged from the serial console):

         Cobalt Networks, Inc. - Connecting the Dots
                  Firmware version 2.3.40

Current date: Nov 30 14:41:28 UTC 2002
ROM build info: Tue Jun 19 01:18:56 PDT 2001 unicron.cobalt.com System
serial number: invalid csum! Memory found: 128 MB Initializing I2C bus:
done Scanning PCI bus: done Initializing IDE: done
  IDE 0 master: found
Initializing SCSI: done
Initializing ethernet: 2 ethernet controllers installed - done
Initializing flash: done
  Flash bank 0: Intel E28F008S5 1MB (89:a6)
  Flash bank 1: not installed.
Initializing USB: done
Mounting rom_fs: done
Initializing i18n - language "en": done

Press spacebar to enter ROM mode
Booting default method - From disk

First stage kernel: Decompressing \length erro- done


And then the system freezes... 
Okay.. I thought maybe the disk is broken so I tried to boot from ROM,
but it's all the same: [...] Press spacebar to enter ROM mode

Cobalt:Main Menu> boot

Cobalt:Boot Menu> bfr
First stage kernel: Decompressing \length erro- done


Looks like I really got a problem. I've also been trying to load the
kernel from console. What I did was to get the file vmlinux.gz from a
raq4i, unpack it and then send it, vmlinux, via ASCII to the raq after
typing load_kernel. Vmlinux is 1,47 MB (1.552.144 Bytes) large. The rack
got the kernel but it doesn't work: [...] Cobalt:Boot Menu> dl_kernel 
[now it takes about 3 minutes to upload the kernel]
Loading Kernel: done
Cobalt:Boot Menu> bfr
[is this the right command???]
First stage kernel: Decompressing \length erro- done


Any ideas what's wrong ?

Maybe I can flash the firmware with the image 2.9.37-ext3 from
ftp://ftp-eng.cobalt.com/pub/users/duncan/kernel/rom/2.9.37-ext3.rom.
Since I cannot boot linux in order to use flashtool I'd like to flash it
over the bios and the serial console. Is that possible ???

I saw that there is a eeprom-menu in the bios.
Cobalt:EEPROM Menu> ?
EEPROM Menu
------------------------------------------------------------
display_romid                   Display the EEPROM's id
set_bank bank page              Set EEPROM bank and page
erase_eeprom bank               Erase EEPROM in bank
write_eeprom bank [len]         Write data from serial port to EEPROM
read_eeprom bank [len]          Read data from the EEPROM in bank into
RAM
ls dir                          List contents of romfs dir
reinit_eeprom                   Re-detect and initialize EEPROMs
main                            Back to main menu

Maybe I can use write_eeprom 0 in order to flash the new bios ?

Can someone please tell me what's wrong with my Cobalt RAQ?
PLEEASSEEE.....

Thanks and bye,
Gunther


Oh yes.. I've already replaced the sdram-module with a new 128MB-module,
it wasn't broken.