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arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I have Debian Bookworm sysvinit on a credit card sized arm64 pc.
I am trying to install refractasnapshot-base and have all dependencies installed except syslinux.
Correct me if I am mistaken but it appears that syslinux arm64 does not exist.
What can we do!

ralph.ronnquist

Administrator

From: Battery Point, Tasmania, AUS

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 1,285  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

In short I think you can reuse the debian boot setup and just replace the root filesystem.

If your debian system is on an SD-card, then you should copy that whole card (including the MBR sectors), then mount the root filesystem partition (of the copy) on another computer so as to replace the whole filesystem with a devuan/arm64 root filesystem. The latter you can set up using debootstrap, and the best is to just make a "minbase" variant; then you would install the rest oer the network on the target after bootup.

EDIT: BUT do remeber to keep the few extra files in /boot (boot.scr and the dtb tree), AND you should also make sure to keep the 99-uboot script (/etc/initramfs/post-update.d/99-uboot) that makes an uImage of the initrd as hook for update-initramfs....  it requires that you install u-boot-tools and device-tree-compiler. You may also need a light hand-edit of that script which otherwise will want to source enironment settings that are not needed for the function of the script.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I have already done a Debian live-build, I could see that Refracta is built on this.
On an amd64 pc I am quite familiar with using refractasnapshot in Devuan, most pleasant indeed.
Unlike live-build, refractasnapshot don't need to be connected to network.
I started looking at documentation for live-build, but found it truly quite awful, even for Linux.
I am not being lazy posting here, just seeking some ideas.
Does a Debian arm64 installer iso boot syslinux?
I will determine.
I am grateful for your reply.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I have just mount -o loop the arm64 netinstall iso on /tmp
I guess I don't need to dd the iso to a TF card, but I can.
boot folder & EFI folder is all grub.

RedGreen925

Member

Registered: 2024-12-07

Posts: 41  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

Does a Debian arm64 installer iso boot syslinux?

From playing around with my Pi4 they use uboot I believe it is as they have all the files required to boot in the /boot directory with the device tree overlays (.dtb files) that are used. They do not boot the same way as other machines. Now I mount the  drive for it they are in the / of the drive.

root@9600k:~# mount /dev/sdb1 /tmp/root
root@9600k:~# ll /tmp/root/
total 128528
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    26538 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2711-rpi-4-b.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    27111 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2711-rpi-cm4-io.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    14723 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2837-rpi-3-a-plus.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    14995 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2837-rpi-3-b.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    15351 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2837-rpi-3-b-plus.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    14369 Sep 10 05:54 bcm2837-rpi-cm3-io3.dtb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    52456 Jul  1 22:58 bootcode.bin
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root       99 Sep 10 05:54 cmdline.txt
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root      289 Sep 10 05:54 config.txt
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     3187 Jul  1 22:58 fixup4cd.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     5448 Jul  1 22:58 fixup4.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     8452 Jul  1 22:58 fixup4db.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     8454 Jul  1 22:58 fixup4x.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     3187 Jul  1 22:58 fixup_cd.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     7314 Jul  1 22:58 fixup.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    10298 Jul  1 22:58 fixup_db.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root    10298 Jul  1 22:58 fixup_x.dat
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 27165545 Aug 11 04:17 initrd.img-5.10.0-31-arm64
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 27166803 Sep 10 05:54 initrd.img-5.10.0-32-arm64
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root   793116 Jul  1 22:58 start4cd.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  3722504 Jul  1 22:58 start4db.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  2228800 Jul  1 22:58 start4.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  2981192 Jul  1 22:58 start4x.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root   793116 Jul  1 22:58 start_cd.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  4794472 Jul  1 22:58 start_db.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  2952960 Jul  1 22:58 start.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root  3704808 Jul  1 22:58 start_x.elf
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root     1076 Oct  1 23:58 sysconf.txt
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 27469760 Aug 11 04:17 vmlinuz-5.10.0-31-arm64
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 27469760 Sep 10 05:54 vmlinuz-5.10.0-32-arm64

Edit: Now I remember and clue in that was the firmware partition that is mounted as /boot/firmware.

root@9600k:~# mount /dev/sdb2 /tmp/root
root@9600k:~# cat /tmp/root/etc/fstab 
# The root file system has fs_passno=1 as per fstab(5) for automatic fsck.
LABEL=RASPIROOT / ext4 rw 0 1
# All other file systems have fs_passno=2 as per fstab(5) for automatic fsck.
LABEL=RASPIFIRM /boot/firmware vfat rw 0 2
root@9600k:~# blkid |grep RASPI |sort -n
/dev/sdb1: SEC_TYPE="msdos" LABEL_FATBOOT="RASPIFIRM" LABEL="RASPIFIRM" UUID="0570-6A9B" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="EFI system partition" PARTUUID="a2760bd5-f1e2-4765-a0ec-ca7ed959c066"
/dev/sdb2: LABEL="RASPIROOT" UUID="b00e7b01-391c-4729-85b4-7aa97205664a" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="Linux filesystem" PARTUUID="08aa064e-f0a4-492e-a096-45b797c76e22"

Last edited by RedGreen925 (2024-12-27 12:57:48)

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I'm starting with a Khadas VIM1 pc, board been out 10 years.
I use vanilla Debian|Devuan installer, not bespoke u-boot particular installer iso.
I installed offline and chroot /target sysvinit & dependencies
I have u-boot bootable TF card & chainload rEFIind takes me to grub 'automatic.'
for sysvinit to work I have to add kernel boot console=ttyAML0 console=tty0
inittab T0:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyAML0 vt100
‘Activate’ RTC chip, generate hwclock.
touch /etc/init.d/hwclock0.sh
chmod 755 /etc/init.d/hwclock0.sh
#!/bin/sh
case “$1” in
start)
echo hym8563 0x51 > /sys/class/i2c-adapter/i2c-1/new_device
;;
esac

https://forum.khadas.com/t/howto-not-to … os/23517/7

Last edited by arm64_newbie (2024-12-27 13:13:48)

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

My basic idea is please Devuan can you ditch the syslinux dependency from your marvellous Refracta tools.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

Mine,
/usr/lib/linux-image-6.1.0-28-arm64/amlogic/meson-gxl-s905x-khadas-vim.dtb

I'm Logout for 90 mins now.

Last edited by arm64_newbie (2024-12-27 13:24:53)

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I used to love lilo very much, and syslinux was really great until about version 4 or 6 or something, but now I think it's time for syslinux to be below ground.

Last edited by arm64_newbie (2024-12-27 16:30:46)

RedGreen925

Member

Registered: 2024-12-07

Posts: 41  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

I used to love lilo very much

Indeed me too but we needed to yet again chase the new shinny, a wide spread disease in Linux, get something working great then they have to blow it all up and start with the latest fad yet again. I do not know how many times I have seen it happen in these few decades of using it, to numerous to list really.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

If it wasn't for Roderick rEFInd's work at Ubuntu, we'd all be stuck in Windows and unable to boot Linux.
More hooks & backdoors than a bordello full of gilfs.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

The whole point is the present|future is open-source, it WILL manifest, it's called evolution.

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

forums.debian.net is a fantastic forum, but it's a bit large, this forum is probably the best on earth.
Pity chewitt is not on it.
I don't know why fredsmith ain't inputted yet, I sincerely do hope very much indeed, to say the least, that he is in good health.
Ideally he is sat in a comfortable armchair, doing absolutely nothing, cept hitting a second bottle of single malt.
At the end of the day I'll get Ridley Scott to fix 20 lines of code . . .

arm64_newbie

Member

Registered: 2024-12-26

Posts: 11  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

Regular users need to be able to do the work they need to do, not everybody is a Doctor of nanotechnology and silicon technology who can sort it.
A user needs to be able to generate a pristine live, this is what Shingledecker & Kauler et al have been working on for ages.
It's irrelevant who you are, a regular bloke moving money, or special forces.
Everything is about the timing.

Last edited by arm64_newbie (2024-12-27 17:31:05)

c0rnelius

Member

Registered: 2020-06-13

Posts: 52  

Re: refractasnapshot-base syslinux arm64

If the unit is using U-Boot, which most are, you could use Extlinux instead of boot scripts. No packages are required to be installed. It is the ARM / RISCV variant of Syslinux.

Example:

bananapi: ~  $ cat /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf
label default
	kernel ../Image
	initrd ../uInitrd
	fdtdir ../amlogic/
	fdt ../amlogic/meson-g12b-bananapi-cm4-cm4io.dtb
	fdtoverlays ../amlogic/overlays/meson-g12b-bananapi-cm4-pwm-gpioh-5-fan.dtbo
	append earlyprintk console=tty1 console=ttyAML0,115200n8 rw root=PARTUUID=8e95b500-02 rootwait rootfstype=xfs fsck.repair=yes loglevel=1 net.ifnames=0 no_console_suspend init=/sbin/init