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

["Gunther Stammwitz" <gstammw@xxxxxxx>]

Hello Gerald,

I've been trying to boot the kernel stored in the rom-image and it
didn't work (have a look below).
Since that doesn't work - and it should work under any circumstances - I
can not access my harddrive.
I don't know about the kernelimages on the hdd, maybe the whole hdd is
broken (hardware fault or hacker), but I don't know.

U think it doesn't matter, the rom kernel MUST work, but it doesn't.

So please tell me if anyone has ever seen that problem before.
I could find only one message in the archives with a similar problem,
but there was no solutions.
(http://list.cobalt.com/pipermail/cobalt-users/2001-October/058025.html)
.

Maybe Diego Martin Surasky, the author of the message in oct 2001, can
help me ??


Flashing the rom should fix my problem, so how can this be done via
serial console ?

By the way: is there a documentation how to flash the bios via serial
console

Greetings,
Gunther


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: cobalt-users-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:cobalt-users-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Im Auftrag von Gerald Waugh
Gesendet: Sonntag, 1. Dezember 2002 09:37
An: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Betreff: Re: [cobalt-users] Raq3i: can't boot anymore: kernel doesn't
load - "\length erro-"


On Saturday 30 November 2002 20:53, Gunther Stammwitz wrote:
> 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.....
>

I have never flashed the eeprom, but why would it go bad?
Were you trying to rplace the kernel when this happened?
There is a kernel  /usr /games/.doug, try loading it!

Gerald
-- 
http://frontstreetnetworks.com         http://raqware.com
Front Street Networks LLC   |  Phone: 203-785-0699
229 Front Street, Ste C, New Haven, CT 06513-3203

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