Re: Advice on serial port communication
Hi David and Stuart, Thank you to both of you for your insight and assistance. I have OpenBSD 6.9 running on my BBB now. This is what I did: - I created a new SD card image on an OpenBSD system (previously I was using the Debian-based MX-Linux laptop for that. - During the install process I tried to install on sd0 (eMMC), but I kept getting read error on block 16. So, I installed on sd1 (SD card) Like David mentioned, in one his previous emails, the install went smoothly. Kudos to the OpenBSD team! So, if you see "C"s on the console during boot up, it means that the TI boot-loader is unable to find the OS boot loader (U-Boot). After installation I tried to use the eMMC by doing a disklabel(8) and a newfs(8) but kept running into the following error: newfs: rdfs: read error on block ... It looks like I won't be able to use the 4 GB or so of eMMC. NP. Once again, thanks to David and Stuart for all the help. joseph On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 05:23:41PM +0100, David Barrass wrote: > Hi Joseph, > > I can confirm that if I hold down the BOOT button on the BBB and power > up with no micro SD card in the slot, this is exactly what I see. Using > a known good OpenBSD SD card in the slot, it boots as expected. > > HTH, > > David > > On 25/05/21 16:29, Joseph Olatt wrote: > > Hi Stuart, > > > > Thank you for responding. > > > > Please see my response/question below. > > > > On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 09:54:06AM +1000, Stuart Longland wrote: > >> On Tue, 25 May 2021 09:38:21 +1000 > >> Stuart Longland wrote: > >> > >>> Maybe it can't find the boot-loader? > >> > >> To clarify??? (yes, half asleep this morning)??? TI boot-loader cannot find > >> the OS boot-loader??? not that it can't find itself. > > > > So, I have actually tried to power up the device without pressing the > > button by the SD card reader. That also resulted in a bunch of "C"s. > > > > Any advice on how I cat get to the U-Boot (which is what I presume you > > mean by the "TI boot-loader") prompt? I am going to try to let the "C"s > > run for a lot longer and see if I can reach the boot prompt. > > > > Thank you, > > joseph > > > > > >> -- > >> Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) > >> > >> I haven't lost my mind... > >> ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere. > > > >
Re: Advice on serial port communication
Hi Stuart and David, Thank you to you both for the amount of time and advice you have provided. I am away from my BBB for a couple of days. As soon as I get back to it, I will try out a few things, based on advice from both of you. I will update after that. Thank you. joseph On Wed, May 26, 2021 at 09:37:06AM +1000, Stuart Longland wrote: > On Tue, 25 May 2021 08:29:52 -0700 > Joseph Olatt wrote: > > [Accidentally dropped CC??? re-sending] > > > Any advice on how I cat get to the U-Boot (which is what I presume you > > mean by the "TI boot-loader") prompt? > > Nope, by "TI boot-loader", I mean "TI boot-loader", which is burned > into a ROM that exists on the die of the SoC. It has no prompt: it > just reads some GPIO pins, initialises the appropriate interface based > on the pins it sees pulled high/low then goes hunting for a boot sector. > > U-Boot is the boot-loader it is failing to load in this case. > -- > Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) > > I haven't lost my mind... > ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere.
Re: Advice on serial port communication
On Tue, 25 May 2021 08:29:52 -0700 Joseph Olatt wrote: [Accidentally dropped CC… re-sending] > Any advice on how I cat get to the U-Boot (which is what I presume you > mean by the "TI boot-loader") prompt? Nope, by "TI boot-loader", I mean "TI boot-loader", which is burned into a ROM that exists on the die of the SoC. It has no prompt: it just reads some GPIO pins, initialises the appropriate interface based on the pins it sees pulled high/low then goes hunting for a boot sector. U-Boot is the boot-loader it is failing to load in this case. -- Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) I haven't lost my mind... ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere.
Re: Advice on serial port communication
Hi Stuart, Thank you for responding. Please see my response/question below. On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 09:54:06AM +1000, Stuart Longland wrote: > On Tue, 25 May 2021 09:38:21 +1000 > Stuart Longland wrote: > > > Maybe it can't find the boot-loader? > > To clarify??? (yes, half asleep this morning)??? TI boot-loader cannot find > the OS boot-loader??? not that it can't find itself. So, I have actually tried to power up the device without pressing the button by the SD card reader. That also resulted in a bunch of "C"s. Any advice on how I cat get to the U-Boot (which is what I presume you mean by the "TI boot-loader") prompt? I am going to try to let the "C"s run for a lot longer and see if I can reach the boot prompt. Thank you, joseph > -- > Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) > > I haven't lost my mind... > ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere.
Re: Advice on serial port communication
Hi Joseph, I can confirm that if I hold down the BOOT button on the BBB and power up with no micro SD card in the slot, this is exactly what I see. Using a known good OpenBSD SD card in the slot, it boots as expected. HTH, David On 25/05/21 16:29, Joseph Olatt wrote: > Hi Stuart, > > Thank you for responding. > > Please see my response/question below. > > On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 09:54:06AM +1000, Stuart Longland wrote: >> On Tue, 25 May 2021 09:38:21 +1000 >> Stuart Longland wrote: >> >>> Maybe it can't find the boot-loader? >> >> To clarify??? (yes, half asleep this morning)??? TI boot-loader cannot find >> the OS boot-loader??? not that it can't find itself. > > So, I have actually tried to power up the device without pressing the > button by the SD card reader. That also resulted in a bunch of "C"s. > > Any advice on how I cat get to the U-Boot (which is what I presume you > mean by the "TI boot-loader") prompt? I am going to try to let the "C"s > run for a lot longer and see if I can reach the boot prompt. > > Thank you, > joseph > > >> -- >> Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) >> >> I haven't lost my mind... >> ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere. > >
Re: Advice on serial port communication
On Tue, 25 May 2021 09:38:21 +1000 Stuart Longland wrote: > Maybe it can't find the boot-loader? To clarify… (yes, half asleep this morning)… TI boot-loader cannot find the OS boot-loader… not that it can't find itself. -- Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) I haven't lost my mind... ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere.
Re: Advice on serial port communication
On Mon, 24 May 2021 07:54:38 -0700 Joseph Olatt wrote: > Any advice on what those "C"s mean. The serial cable I'm using is: > Something in the back of my mind suggests this might be the TI bootloader complaining, about something. Maybe it can't find the boot-loader? -- Stuart Longland (aka Redhatter, VK4MSL) I haven't lost my mind... ...it's backed up on a tape somewhere.
Advice on serial port communication
Hi, I am trying to install OpenBSD (6.9) on a Beaglebone (Black, I presume -- it is a kit from Vilros). I followed the instructions at: https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/6.9/armv7/INSTALL.armv7 When I try to connect to the console via the serial port using cu, as described in the instructions, I get lines of "C"s. This happens at only 115200 baud rate. At all other baud rates, I get nothing. Any advice on what those "C"s mean. The serial cable I'm using is: https://www.amazon.com/GearMo%C2%AE-3-3v-Header-like-TTL-232R-3V3/dp/B004LBXO2A/ Thank you.
