<THFKA4>
make sure to pay attention at the addresses and make sure the ranges don't intersect
<ToxicFrog>
Will do
<ToxicFrog>
Ok, it says that it loaded the initrd but doesn't say where
<ToxicFrog>
The lines before "starting kernel" just pertain to the FTD
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: I guess you don't have a way to get serial eyes
<ToxicFrog>
Which is loaded at 0x2600000 end 0x26066f5
<samueldr>
(otherwise you probably would have done it already)
<ToxicFrog>
I don't, no.
<ToxicFrog>
I have an assortment of HDMI monitors lying around but nothing that can speak serial.
<samueldr>
right
<samueldr>
thinking it might be good to build the initrd with the vc4 driver so modesetting can happen in initrd
<samueldr>
so we'd have output earlier than whenever stage-2 allows loading drivers
<ToxicFrog>
If I replace the updated extlinux.conf with the original one, the FDT is ~512b smaller and it boots fine, although of course it boots into the install environment, which is not super helpful to me.
<ToxicFrog>
Although I guess I could rig it to do that and then nixos-rebuild switch automatically on boot, but grosssssss
<samueldr>
yeah no, the issue should be solved
<samueldr>
can you share the configuration.nix and relevant files?
<samueldr>
want to peek see if there's anything obvious... could also try it on my pi 3b (not +)
<ToxicFrog>
sure, stand by
<THFKA4>
nothing updates uboot besides the original sd image flash, right?
<ToxicFrog>
configuration.nix is what I feed to nixos-rebuild, extlinux.original is what came on the install image, extlinux.updated is what it looks like after nixos-rebuild.
<THFKA4>
got it, thanks.
<ToxicFrog>
I'm going to see if pointing the new system configuration at the old kernel and initrd helps at all.
<samueldr>
>> device = "/dev/disk/by-label/nix";
<samueldr>
is this right?
<samueldr>
well, is the target FS the sd card the installer is running from (the default assumption)?
<ToxicFrog>
samueldr: yes. The instructions say NIXOS_SD but the ext4 partition is just named "nix".
<ToxicFrog>
And yes.
<samueldr>
weird, like 99.9% sure it should be NIXOS_SD
<ToxicFrog>
Weirdly, if I lsblk the image it shows up as NIXOS_SD, but when I booted the installer and looked at /dev/disk/by-label it showed me "NIXOS_BOOT" and "nix"
<ToxicFrog>
(that said I have also tried it with NIXOS_SD before I noticed that, with the same results)
<ToxicFrog>
(I went "oh, the label is wrong, that must be why it's not booting!". Nope.)
<THFKA4>
i think if it was the wrong partition, you'd get past "Starting Kernel ..."
<samueldr>
THFKA4: no
<samueldr>
THFKA4: the mainline kernel has no framebuffer without vc4 on raspi
<samueldr>
THFKA4: and the vc4 driver is not in the initrd
<samueldr>
so up until stage-2 is started, there is no output
<ToxicFrog>
That's...unfortunate
<samueldr>
yes
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: try without linuxPackages_latest
<THFKA4>
o..ok. why did he mention that it hangs at starting kernel though
<samueldr>
it might not be
<ToxicFrog>
That also greatly increases the problem space, because I was figuring if I wasn't getting even stage1 output it must be a problem with either the kernel or the bootloader, or the very earliest parts of the initrd :/
<samueldr>
just that the last thing written by u-boot
<samueldr>
I have a hunch related to THFKA4's initial idea, and another user had an issue possibly related
<ToxicFrog>
THFKA4: if I understand samueldr correctly, if it dies anywhere between the bootloader handing off to the kernel and stage2, the output will look like that because until stage2 loads it has no way of displaying boot messages.
<samueldr>
exactly
<THFKA4>
i see, okay. i'm too used to serial output
<ToxicFrog>
oh I have a horrible thought -- an earlier usage of this card was for different nixos-related stuff and had a partition named "nix" on it, and I have in fact had issues with `mount` not being able to figure out what the right filesystem is due to old filesystem signatures lying around
<ToxicFrog>
I wonder if that is confusing it
<samueldr>
I *think* it's the only one required
<samueldr>
it could be
<ToxicFrog>
going to dd /dev/zero onto this card and start fresh
<samueldr>
that's one way to make sure
<ToxicFrog>
I will also try vc4, thanks
<samueldr>
try vc4 first
<samueldr>
should be quicker :)
<samueldr>
but I think your other hunch could be related
<ToxicFrog>
too late, it's already going
<samueldr>
not a big loss :)
<ToxicFrog>
samueldr: if I'm adding vc4, should I do that as well as removing the use of linuxPackages_latest, or instead of?
<samueldr>
vc4 will help when the kernel boots
<samueldr>
so I don't really know :)
<clever>
ive done serial console on my pi's before
<clever>
and recently, ive been playing serial console in bootcode.bin!
<samueldr>
clever: ?
<samueldr>
ah
<clever>
you can have linux print the boot progress to the serial port
<samueldr>
that hidden debug bool?
<clever>
yeah
<samueldr>
linux is easy, I mean, it's kinda half expected :)
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: buy a couple cheap 2-3$USD serial adapters from ebay for the next time
<samueldr>
well, I say a couple, but that's only if you ever intend to do more than just that one raspi :)
<clever>
samueldr: also, if you have a 2nd rpi, you can use it as a serial adapter!
<samueldr>
I sometimes keep them attached to boards so I have a couple floating around
<clever>
just tie the gnd's together, and feed the tx of one pi, into the rx of another
<samueldr>
yeah, any board with RX/TX
<samueldr>
waiting on my ebay purchases, but the pinebook pro has RX/TX in the headphone jack
<clever>
as long as the voltage is compatible
<clever>
rpi's are 3.3v only, and i dont think they are 5v tollerant
<samueldr>
so will make a pinebook direct to pins cable, it'll make a good serial terminal
<clever>
samueldr: that reminds me, http://www.shootingchrony.com/ also has serial in a headphone jack, and i made an adapter, and can get speeds out of it
<samueldr>
clever: ooh, fun
<ToxicFrog>
samueldr: I mean, the hope here is that once I have this working, I can easily reproduce it on other rpis whether they have serial or not :)
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: I was thinking more about trailblazing new boards!
<clever>
samueldr: if you cross the wires in a headphone cable the right way, you could tie the chrony to the pinebook, and plot your bullet speeds!
<ToxicFrog>
samueldr: aah, see, for me this is just a means to an end and I thought, possibly incorrectly, that it would be easier to use nixos to get an rpi into the state I needed than to use raspbian :)
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: do you intend to work with the GPIO pins?
<samueldr>
or existing drivers?
<ToxicFrog>
Existing drivers.
<ToxicFrog>
All I need for this is wifi, USB HID, and HDMI
<samueldr>
since NixOS runs on aarch64, and not using a 32 bit build of the raspberry pi foundation, it might be an issue for some hardware
<samueldr>
ah
<samueldr>
then should be fine
<samueldr>
I was talking more about things like those shields with... pretty much any features
<samueldr>
if you want something close to a thick/thin terminal then NixOS should be fine
<ToxicFrog>
If this works it's going to be a drone controller, actually
<clever>
a drone powered purely with compressed air!
<ToxicFrog>
Ok, with the dd /dev/zero and reimaging by-label properly lists NIXOS_BOOT and NIXOS_SD, and I have updated configuration.nix accordingly
<ToxicFrog>
Without linuxPackages_latest it's using the same kernel version as the installer
<ToxicFrog>
With vc4 in the initrd I can see boot messages and...I have a login prompt!
<ToxicFrog>
And this is the point at which I realize I forgot to define any user accounts in configuration.nix
<clever>
:D
<clever>
ah, correction to the above video
<clever>
its a ducted fan for lift, and compressed air jets to stabalize
<clever>
like the manuvering thrusters in KSP
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: if only there was a zeroth generation to manipulate the system ;)
<samueldr>
(I know you know :))
<ToxicFrog>
samueldr: yeah, it's just slightly annoying because for some reason this keyboard doesn't work in the bootloader, only once booted, so I have to pop the SD card into another machine to edit extlinux.conf and change the default.
<ToxicFrog>
But that's easy enough to do.
<ToxicFrog>
Thank you for all your help!
<samueldr>
oh, damn, too bad for the keboard
<samueldr>
u-boot's usb sometimes has issues with some devices, others not :/
<samueldr>
ToxicFrog: good to know that only adding "vc4" is enough
<ToxicFrog>
clever: that is extremely cool
<samueldr>
will open a PR with that change so the default initrd has it
<ToxicFrog>
Thanks!
<samueldr>
(unless it causes issues with sunxi boards)
<clever>
ToxicFrog: he also links to another youtuber, that made a scale model rocket, of the falcon 3
<clever>
that thing is damn huge for a "model rocket"
<ToxicFrog>
Ok, so next steps are to fix it so that I can actually log in, then load the right packages, write a derivation for the drone control software and configure it to start automatically on boot
<ToxicFrog>
Then I can PoC it on my desk and if that works, I can start working on actual hardware.
<ToxicFrog>
I'm probably going to need to sacrifice a few USB gamepads for this :D
<clever>
he is even trying to have the boosters land, just like the full size one
<ToxicFrog>
Wait, are they LFE? I wouldn't think you could do the sort of precise deep throttling needed with SRBs, and even in LFEs deep throttling is pretty damn hard
<ToxicFrog>
Or is he going for a Soyuz-style high thrust, short duration retro burst right before touchdown?
<clever>
dont know yet, havent watched many of his videos
<clever>
there was just a few clips of him in the drone video
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