[Server-devel] 1TB drive of quality open content on XO/XS--won't boot

[James Cameron]

Thanks!

I acknowledge the boot flag removal did nothing.  This points me away
from the part of Open Firmware that recognises that flag.

I'm sure I can fix it as soon as I can duplicate the problem.  But
I've been unable to duplicate, possibly because I don't have the same
NTFS software as you.

I'd like to check the partitioning as well as the filesystem, because
Open Firmware tries both in sequence.  It might be reacting to the
partition table rather than the filesystem.  For that I will need a
disk image, but as small as possible because I'm quite remote.

Could you please pick the smallest USB available drive you have, (1)
erase it thoroughly, (2) format it to NTFS in the way you usually do,
without adding any files, then (3) prepare an image, (4) compress it
with gzip or zip, (5) check that the USB drive does cause the problem
still, and (6) provide me with a link to download?

If anybody else has the time to do this, feel free to contribute.

I've raised a ticket to track the problem:
http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/12678

Some suggestions for capturing the image:

1.  to erase a USB drive thoroughly, using Open Firmware,
see http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Forth_Lesson_23#erase_a_device
or in Linux use "sudo cat /dev/zero > /dev/YOUR_DEVICE" where YOUR_DEVICE
is the name that Linux has chosen for it,

2.  (no suggestion),

3.  to prepare an image on Linux, use "sudo cat /dev/YOUR_DEVICE > image",

4.  to compress, use "gzip image",

5.  checking it after making the image ensures that any changes made
accidentally by Open Firmware are not included in the image,

6.  attaching the image to the ticket may be helpful if you don't have
any public place to leave it.

(and a comment, the support for NTFS in OLPC OS kernel is not
pertinent to the problem I wish to solve.)

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