XO1/os31 update-nand issues

[James Cameron]

On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 09:45:25AM -0500, Mikus Grinbergs wrote:
> >Don't use update-nand on XO-1 against a non-partitioned image.
> >
> >Once a signed build becomes available, the instructions should
> >be changed to using the four-game-key method of starting the
> >process, without any typing required.
> 
> I myself keep several "build versions" on one (large) USB stick, so
> I do need to type - to indicate which "build version" I'm
> installing.

Yes, that use case is not well supported and it could be improved.

The Australian deployment improved it by adding a boot procedure on the
USB drive, in boot/olpc.fth, which checks for certain conditions and
perhaps asks questions.  It has been a while since I reviewed it.

In your situation, you might benefit from a boot menu that offers to
install each of the compatible builds it finds on the USB drive.  It
would only be used on unsecure laptops.  Is that interesting?

> I've been going by the filename-extension -- using 'copy-nand' for
> .img and using 'update-nand' for .onu -- but I was surprised to have
> to use 'copy-nand' with the 12.1.0 os5 for XO-1 -- 'update-nand'
> told me the file length was incorrect.

I have not tried 12.1.0 yet, but you should use whatever method the
release engineer recommends.

> p.s. James - I have a "weak" XO-1, on which I often needed to redo
> an attempted install (because fetching the data off the USB stick
> happened to experience a file read error).  Mitch Bradley came up
> with a timing change in q2e46a.rom which in my testing made
> 'copy-nand' run smoothly on that "weak" XO-1.
> 
> I noticed that with one of this year's q2f roms that I again had to
> redo 'copy-nand' on that "weak" XO-1.  Did the q2e46a change ever
> make it into the q2f roms ?

Since q2e46a was not a controlled release, I don't have any record as to
which SVN commit (if any) went into it, sorry.

The first mention of q2e46a in mail was from you on 23rd October 2011,
and you were quoting a message from Mitch, saying it was on "10/11".

The nearest USB related change was svn 2591,
http://tracker.coreboot.org/trac/openfirmware/changeset/2591

And yes, this is in the q2f series, though there may have been other
changes since.

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/