Maemo Wiki Mirror - User contributions [en]

Mer/Build/Application Building

2009-10-11T23:57:23Z

84.51.141.236: /* Local Builds */

This page assumes you have [[../Install OBS|installed OBS]] and setup an account.

The objective is to walk through creating a package on OBS that you can download to your Mer device using the package manager.

We will use MerPad as an example

You can follow either the CLI or www commands; if you mix them up you need to ensure you execute the commands in the right place.

== To create a new package ==

These osc commands are done in your own area - use your username after "home:" or make sure you are at your [https://build.opensuse.org/project/list_my "Home Project"] on OBS.

Before you can create projects in your home project, you have to create it.

We will use
* a name of "merpad" (lowercase); this is the ''package'' name
* a title of "MerPad Example"; this is the human readable title
* a description of: "A Mer version of Maemopad. Built on OBS by <yourname>"; this is seen upon installation

If you use the CLI interface you can also enter a url.

Obviously, if you have your own source and dsc then amend the details accordingly.

==Configure your Home Project to Build against Mer==
When you upload some source the build-dependencies need to be resolved. OBS does this by looking at a build target repository; if the dependency isn't there and that repository has its own build target repository then it looks there... and so on.

So Maemo:Mer:Stable has a build target of Ubuntu_9.04.

However, if you built against :Stable then you'd miss any community libraries in :Extras. So we will setup your home to build against :Extras:Stable

This means that build dependencies will be looked for in:
# Maemo:Mer:Extras:Stable
# Maemo:Mer:Stable
# Ubuntu_9.04

Once this is done, any packages uploaded to this project will build.

===Setting up Build Repositories : WWW===
* Click on "Home project" in the left navigation bar in the OBS website
* On the right click on "Add Repository"
* At the bottom, click on "Advanced"
* Use the name "MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04" (this is important)
* In the (huge!) "Build Target Selection" scrollbox, select "Maemo:Mer:Extras:Stable/MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04"
* In the tickboxes, pick "i586" and "armv5el"
* Click "Save Changes"

If you want to build against Mer:Testing and Mer:Devel aswell then use the XML interface to ensure you get it right.

===Setting up Build Repositories : CLI===
To change the build target repositories (part of the project metadata):
osc meta prj home:lbt -e

The XML should look like this (make sure you use your own "name=" value) paying special attention to the <code><repository></code> tags:
<pre>
<project name="home:yourname">
<title>yourname's Home Project</title>
<description>Mer is cool</description>
<person userid="yourname" role="maintainer"/>
<person userid="yourname" role="bugowner"/>
<repository name="MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04">
<path project="Maemo:Mer:Extras:Stable" repository="MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04"/>
<arch>armv5el</arch>
<arch>i586</arch>
</repository>
</project>
</pre>

Here is a full set of [[/XML_Build_Targets|XML Build targets]] for Ubuntu; they aren't needed unless you're doing something clever.

==Creating Package==
Each package has its own directory in the project and, by default, is built against any build targets for the project.

===Creating Package : WWW===
* Click on "Home project" in the left navigation bar in the OBS website
* Click on "Add Package"

Note that the 'name' is like a filename (openoffice) whereas 'title' is written out. (Open Office)

(In the XML the name is also fully qualified with a project and :s )

Fill in the values in the boxes and save changes.

===Creating Package : CLI===
Run
osc meta pkg -e home:<username> <package>
This will tell the OBS server about the package. It pops up an editor where you can edit the name/description in XML format and then save. The XML appears like this:
<pre>
<package name="merpad">
<title>Title of New Package</title>
<description>
LONG DESCRIPTION
GOES
HERE
</description>
<person role="maintainer" userid="lbt"/>
<person role="bugowner" userid="lbt"/>
<url>PUT_UPSTREAM_URL_HERE</url>
</package>
</pre>
and fill it in:
<pre>
<package name="merpad">

<title>MerPad Example</title>

<description>
A Mer version of Maemopad.
Built on OBS by David.
</description>

<person role="maintainer" userid="lbt"/>
<person role="bugowner" userid="lbt"/>
<url>PUT_UPSTREAM_URL_HERE</url>
</package>
</pre>

==Uploading Source==
===Uploading Source : WWW===
From your Home Project, you should see a "merpad" entry under Packages.
Select merpad to go to the Package page (you may already be there if you just created it).

Now click [Add File] and upload the tar.gz and then do it again for the dsc files.

Use these files:
http://www.dgreaves.com/pub/merpad_1.0-1.dsc
http://www.dgreaves.com/pub/merpad_1.0-1.tar.gz

===Uploading Source : CLI===

To get a local (empty) copy make sure you're at your obs root (eg <code>~/maemo/Mer/obs</code>)

Then run
osc co home:<username>/merpad

(If you were already in <code>~/maemo/Mer/obs</code> then <code>co merpad</code> would work.. beware, nothing stops you checking out a project inside a project!)

This makes a package directory so now you can:
cd home:<username>/<package>

Once there you can copy in the tarball and dsc file from your application... or in this tutorial we'll get them from the web.
wget http://www.dgreaves.com/pub/merpad_1.0-1.dsc
wget http://www.dgreaves.com/pub/merpad_1.0-1.tar.gz

Then add them to version control
osc addremove

The addremove command is a shortcut... it removes any files from OBS that are no longer in the directory and then adds any that are there. Typically you just delete old tarballs and dsc files and run osc addremove. If you prefer osc has an explicit add command.

Now they are ready to be uploaded or comitted:
osc commit

This will send the source and dsc to the builder and trigger a build.

==Monitoring the Build==

The OBS builder will now schedule and build the application.

Please note that for security reasons the builder is running inside an emulator which is 'killed' when it is finished; so there are alarming messages like <code>Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!</code> and some <code>qemu: Unsupported syscall</code> messages. These can safely be ignored and will be cleaned up one day.

===Following the build log : WWW ===
In the package page under the build target is a [Build Log] entry.
This takes you to a page showing the build log. There are tickboxes to refresh automatically and to autoscroll.

===Following the build log : CLI ===
To watch what is going on on the cli:
osc buildlog MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04 armv5el

This does something like a "tail -f" of the builder.

Tip: If you can't recall what the names of the targets are then:
osc repos
will tell you.

==Downloading the Binaries==
Once OBS has run you can download the binaries and install them by hand.

===Getting the binaries : WWW===

In the build status is a link to the .deb file. Notice this is an https link and you need to be logged-in.

===Getting the binaries : CLI===

Simply run:
osc getbinaries MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04 armv5el
in the package directory.

==Using your repository==

OBS takes a while (up to several hours if busy) to publish and update repositories; however once it is done the final (optional) step is to add an entry to your tablet to use the OBS repository for your project.

Create a file called <code>/etc/apt/sources.list.d/MyOBS.list</code> and add the following line (using your name):
deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/yourname/MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04/ /

Then running the application manager should show your MerPad.

=Local Builds=
OBS lets you run a local build on your desktop.

Simply checkout a package:
osc co home:username/maemopad

and run:
cd home:username/maemopad
osc build MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04 armv5el merpad_1.0-1.dsc

Then wait...

This goes to the server to determine where to get the build-depends (remember the build-target stack) and then downloads them to a local cache. Eventually it installs a bootstrap set to a directory and then does a qemu chroot into it and builds the package.

Once it is done you should get a line telling you where the deb is:
/scratch3/maemo/Mer/obs/build-MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04-armv5el-merpad/usr/src/packages/DEBS/merpad_1.0-1_armel.deb

It will ask for a password at one stage. You can use your local root password for this. If you get an error complaining about a lack of /usr/lib/common_functions, then create a folder in your home folder, cd into it, and then follow the instructions [http://gitorious.org/mer/build HERE] . they should ask you to run the command

git clone git://gitorious.org/mer/build.git

in that folder. This will use git to download a newer 'build' tool for you. See the pageafter it has finished, run ''make install'' to install the tool, and then go back and run the osc build step again. It should continue from the password prompt step successfully this time.

You can also do:
sudo chroot /scratch3/maemo/Mer/obs/build-MerExtrasStable_MerStable_Ubuntu_9.04-armv5el-merpad/ su abuild
and once there, run arm commands inside the chroot.

== Co-existing with Scratchbox ==

If you use the OBS local build facility and the scratchbox-1 local builder then you need to know how to teach the two emulators how to co-exist.

Both OBS and Scratchbox use [http://git.kernel.org/gitweb.cgi?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=blob;f=Documentation/binfmt_misc.txt;hb=HEAD binfmt_misc] to cause the kernel to invoke (in our case) qemu when it comes across an armel binary.

To disable qemu and enable sbox
echo 0 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/arm
echo 0 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/armeb
echo 1 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/sbox-arm
echo 1 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/sbox-armeb

To disable sbox and enable arm
echo 1 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/arm
echo 1 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/armeb
echo 0 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/sbox-arm
echo 0 > /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/sbox-armeb

Don't do this whilst a build is in progress!

Note that you may need to run :
qemu-binfmt-conf.sh
to register qemu to handle arm binaries

A typical error signifying you have this issue is
Exec format error
which means the kernel doesn't understand the binary format of the executable.

[[Category:Mer]]

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T23:04:32Z

84.51.141.236: /* Shopping List */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1 Gig RAM (prefer 2)
** at least 5 Gigs of free Disk Space (prefer much more)
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of space
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''cd''' (return) to ''go home'', then '''ls -l''' (return) to list the files.
* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . This will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo tar xzvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then:-

* Q5
** Hold down the "move"/fullscreen button, and switch on the device, either using the power button, or plugging in the power. The LED should flash green, and perhaps red for a moment.
* Q7
** Hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device (looks like a little target), and press the left-hand-most button (the power), or plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant

.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

'''NOTE''': when you first start Mer, it's possible the on-screen keyboard may be 'missing' a few keys. They're where they should be on a normal keyboard. '''backspace''' is the gold key at top-right, '''return''' is the one below it, and '''shift''' is at the bottom. Once you learn the layout, typing gets rather quick.

HAVE FUN!!!!

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:54:53Z

84.51.141.236: /* Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''cd''' (return) to ''go home'', then '''ls -l''' (return) to list the files.
* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . This will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo tar xzvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then:-

* Q5
** Hold down the "move"/fullscreen button, and switch on the device, either using the power button, or plugging in the power. The LED should flash green, and perhaps red for a moment.
* Q7
** Hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device (looks like a little target), and press the left-hand-most button (the power), or plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant

.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

'''NOTE''': when you first start Mer, it's possible the on-screen keyboard may be 'missing' a few keys. They're where they should be on a normal keyboard. '''backspace''' is the gold key at top-right, '''return''' is the one below it, and '''shift''' is at the bottom. Once you learn the layout, typing gets rather quick.

HAVE FUN!!!!

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:52:03Z

84.51.141.236: /* Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''cd''' (return) to ''go home'', then '''ls -l''' (return) to list the files.
* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . This will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo tar xzvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

'''NOTE''': when you first start Mer, it's possible the on-screen keyboard may be 'missing' a few keys. They're where they should be on a normal keyboard. '''backspace''' is the gold key at top-left, '''return''' is the one below it, and '''shift''' is at the bottom. Once you learn the layout, typing gets rather quick.

HAVE FUN!!!!

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:48:35Z

84.51.141.236: /* Install Mer */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''cd''' (return) to ''go home'', then '''ls -l''' (return) to list the files.
* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . This will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo tar xzvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:47:55Z

84.51.141.236: /* Install Mer */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''cd''' (return) to ''go home'', then '''ls -l''' (return) to list the files.
* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . This will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:46:53Z

84.51.141.236: /* Install the bootloader */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder'' this is where you chose to download all your files to in Mozilla.
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up. Repeat the steps above to ensure that files are downloaded to your '''/home/<user>''' folder (e.g. ''/home/nick'')

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:45:23Z

84.51.141.236: /* Installing Mer on the SD Card */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser.

'''Important:''' Before you download anything, it's important that we set the download folder. By default it'll be your desktop, let's change it to your 'home' folder... It'll be less typing.

* Click '''Edit''', then '''Preferences''', then the '''Browse''' button next to '''Save Files To'''.
* In the dialog which appears you'll see three buttons at the top '<','<your username>' and 'Desktop'.
* Click the '''<''' button, and a button will appear with 'home' in it.
* Click the '''Home''' button. In the window you'll see your username now as a folder.
* Highlight the folder with '''your username''' (it may be just 'user', depending on which Ubuntu VM you grabbed).
* Click '''open'''. When you return to the previous screen, the 'save files to' option should now say something like ''/home/user''.
* Click '''close'''.

OK, now we know precisely where Moz will save your downloads, it's time to get those files.

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T22:38:31Z

84.51.141.236: /* Getting the wifi working */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

The SmartQs need to have a set of drivers installed to make their wifi work. It's a fairly painless operation. You should already have downloaded the file...
With the SD-card mounted in /media/disk, copy the driver file to the 'media' directory '''on the SD card'''. (i.e. /media/disk/media).

* Type '''cd''' (and press return) to ''return home'' . Type '''ls -l''' (and press return). You should see the file in the listing now.
* Type '''cp SD-8686*.zip /media/disk/media'''

I would give you these instructions by using the UI, but it requires ''root privileges'' to copy a lot of these files.. and it's easier to use ''sudo'' for that.

OK. The File should be in place. You'll find installation instructions elsewhere on this site for unpacking the zip. However, when you first start Mer, the kind developers have created installation scripts so when Mer first starts, it'll find this zip file and unpack it for you.

Right, we're pretty much ready to get this baby up and running.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation

2009-09-24T19:05:39Z

84.51.141.236:

* [[Mer/Documentation/SDK|Software Development Kit]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Getting_your_package_included|Getting your package included in repository]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Making_x86_Mer_Bootable|Making x86 Mer bootable]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Imager|Imager]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Straightjacket_Packages|Straightjacket_Packages]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Maemo_Compatible|Compatible closed source packages from Maemo]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/BME_Protocol]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Bootmenu|Configuring own Boottargets]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Installation|Installing Mer]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/AppCompat|Software Compatibility]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Common_Packages|Common Packages]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Creating_new_themes|Creating new themes for Mer]] (Unfinished)
* [[Mer/Documentation/USB_Networking]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Sound]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/ARM CPU]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Mer Package Patch Handling]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/N810_GPS|N810 GPS Instructions]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Fluxbox|N810 Fluxbox how-to]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Vala_control_panel|Control Panel applets in Vala]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/N8x0_Skype|Skype for Nokia n8x0]]
* [[Mer/Documentation/Hildon_Input_Method|Hildon Input Method]] - virtual keyboards etc
* [[Mer/Documentation/SmartQ_Installation_for_the_Windows_user|Installing Mer on an SD Card for SmartQ devices]] - for Windows users
[[Category:Mer|Documentation]]

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T19:01:49Z

84.51.141.236: /* Using VMWare */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

* I am still trying to get this working myself... will complete when I know how.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with.

VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off.

It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to muck about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T19:01:05Z

84.51.141.236: /* Where to from here? */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

* I am still trying to get this working myself... will complete when I know how.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Using VMWare ==

Well, in the words of Ben Kenobi, youve taken your first step into a wiser world. You have a nice fresh Linux install to play with. VMWare is very fault tolerant, so when you want to put Linux away, just close the window. When you want to resume, just open VMWare again, and Linux will auto-resume from where you left off. It is very quick and quite safe. If the Linux gets completely broken, just delete the virtual machine, re-download it, and start again, without having to much about with installation CDs.

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T18:53:47Z

84.51.141.236: /* Ubuntu */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably the location you found earlier, in a subfolder called ´Virtual Machines´ and not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so it ´is´ best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

´´´ŃOTE´´´ We are NOT going to harm windows. VMWare contains the Linux in a safe harness and does not change or break windows in any way.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

* I am still trying to get this working myself... will complete when I know how.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T18:41:40Z

84.51.141.236: /* Downloading everything */

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/ ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203 Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

* I am still trying to get this working myself... will complete when I know how.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/SmartQ Installation for the Windows user

2009-09-24T18:38:18Z

84.51.141.236: A very simple step-by-step installation guide for SmartQ devices, to get Mer to boot from the SD Card.

= Introduction =

This page is aimed at people who want to get set up with Mer, but don't necessarily want go around re-flashing firmware and lose the in-built Operating System on the SmartQ.

There are other how-tos on this site for the more experienced user, so this page is aimed at users who may know some stuff about Linux and/or windows, but have never done any embedded-linux stuff and/or really mucked about with memory block devices and so on.

Disclaimer: This may not be the easiest way, but I've used it a couple of times to get Mer set up and booting from the SD card. It really helps to know a bit of linux, or at least know a little about DOS, disks and partitions. Also, having a VMWare linux machine really helps to dig you out of a hole in case you muck up your SD card. :-)

OK, that's the start over, time to get setting up....

== What's going to happen? ==

We're going to set up a 'virtual machine', which will allow us to do all this safely away from Windows. The way the smartq boots is this:-

* If a particular button is pressed, when the machine is switched on, then the SmartQ will choose to boot from the SD card. It does so by looking at the end of the card (at a particular location) for a 'bootloader'. this bootloader is a small program which hunts for a valid Linux installation on the card, and then starts booting that. So, we have to get this little chain of programs set up just right.

= Shopping List =

* A SmartQ 5 / 7
* 1 PC running Windows with
* A vague knowledge of Linux or DOS and file systems.
** at least 1Gig RAM,
** 5 Gigs of Disk Space
** An SD card reader.
** An SD / SDHC Card with at least 6 gigs of RAM
* About an hour to an hour and a half.

= Getting Started =

== Windows ==

Firstly, get the PC switched on. Ah, I see you've already done that. Good thinking. Use "My Computer" to locate a drive with 5 or more gigs of space on it. Keep a note of that drive. If you can, create a folder on the root of that drive called something like "Virtual Machines".

== VMWare ==

Right, step 2, download VMWare from [[http://www.vmware.com/download/player VMWare.com]]. It's free, but you need to put in some name / country information. You'll have to reboot your PC a few times, but you should be used to that as a Windows owner ;-)

== Ubuntu ==

Now, download a ready-to-go Ubuntu "Virtual Appliance". This is a fancy word for a honking-big file which is a snapshot of a Linux PC. Once VMWare is installed, there should be a link on the first window which says 'Download' or 'Get'.

*Click it, and search for an "Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop with VMWare Tools". You'll get a few hits. One will be by "Chrysaor". That's what I use, and it's fine.
** Alternatively, and more easily, go to [[http://chrysaor.info/?page=ubuntu Chrysaor's Place]] and grab one from here directly. Unzip it once it's downloaded. Inside the zip file will be an info.txt with the login credentials.

*Download it somewhere on your PC with lots of space, preferrably not your desktop. Once it's downloaded it'll create 5 to 10 more files in the same place, so best to stick it in a subdirectory.
*Once it's downloaded, go back to VMWare and click 'Open', then surf over to the 'vmx' file you just downloaded, and sit back and enjoy the ubuntu loading screen.

*Once you're into Ubuntu, click on the "Devices v" button at the top, and look for your SD/SDHC card reader. Mine says "Alcor Micro Mass Storage Device". Select it, and click "Connect". Then do it again and select "Show icon in status bar". This'll make it easier to see what's happening.

= Using VMWare/Ubuntu to configure the SD card =

== Installing Mer on the SD Card ==

Click the Applications>Accessories>Terminal menu inside ubuntu and open up a command prompt. Insert the SD card into your PC's SD reader, and check the little drive icon on the VMWare status bar.. it should flicker in time with the LED on your card reader...

OK, so firstly, we need to get the stuff you're going to install on the SD card.
So, click the little Firefox logo at the top of the screen to get a browser, and grab the following three things:

== Downloading everything ==

* Go to [[http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Releases|The releases page]] and grab the current stable release for your device. You want the ROOTFS version of the file, NOT the Firmware version. This will go onto the SD card to make Mer.

* Go to [[http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq/|ZenVoid's Blog]] and grab the install-smartq-qi.sh and qi-smartq-20090612.bin files. These will make the SD card bootable.

* [Optional] If you're using 0.15testing5, you're also going to need the Marvell Wifi Drivers, so head to [[http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driver=203|Marvell.com]] to get the driver.

All of this should have downloaded to your 'home' folder, or to your desktop. So, at this point we need to go to a prompt and get Mer installed.

So, click Applications>Accessories>Terminal. This will dump you at a command prompt. some useful commands are '''ls -l''' '''cd''' and '''sudo'''. You'll be seeing a lot of these.

== Setting up the SD Card ==

So, firstly, the SD card will have been automounted, probably. Linux assigns a 'device name' to all its disks, and until you're familiar with the system, sometimes it takes a moment to locate a new drive... A quick way to find out the device name (if the drive was auto-mounted), is to run '''df''' to see the free space on all mounted disks. One disk should be ''mounted'' under '''/media/disk'''. Take a note of the disk's name, it should be /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1. the important part is the "sdb" or "sdc". From now on, I'll ''assume'' it's /dev/sdb1. If you didn't see one, then you may need to ensure you've added the right drive to VMWare in the steps above.

* type '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1''' . This will unmount the sd card ready for formatting
* type '''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'''. this will open the disk for partitioning.
* in fdisk, type '''p''' to print the partition list, there should be one 'sdb1' of type 'FAT32'. This is the current card contents.
* Press '''d''' and hit return. This will delete the partiion. If you are asked for a partition number, enter '1'. If there are more than one partition, repeat until running '''p''' shows no partitions left.
* Press '''n''' and hit return to create a new partition.
** Press '''p''' and hit return to crate a primary partition
** Press '''1''' and hit return to create it as partition one.
** Press '''return''' to choose ''block 1'' to start the partition
** Do some mental maths and work out the end block by dividing the size of the disk by the total number of blocks. So if fdisk says your 16Gig card has '1900' blocks, then that's ~8Megs per block, so it's safe to end the partition at the last-block-but-one. (Remember we're leaving at least 1 Mb for the bootloader) (If you want to add a swap partition, then choose a lower number, then repeat the partition-creation step, always remembering to leave at least 1Mb spare at the end of the card (high number).
* Press '''a''' and return to make a partition active, and choose partition 1.
** If you created a swap partition, press '''t''' and choose partition 2, and make it type ''82'', Linux Swap.
** Press '''w''' and hit return to write the partition table (saving your work).
** Press '''q''' and hit return to exit.

Right, that's the SD card partitioned up nicely. Time to format the partition and put Mer on there. It's likely that Ubuntu in it's ever-friendly way will attempt to re-mount the partition again. So, run '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''.

** Type '''sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1''' to format the partition ready for Mer. this will take a while, depending on the size / speed of your card.

== Install the bootloader ==
OK, now it's time to install the Bootloader which will allow you to boot to Mer.

* Type '''cd''' and press return to ''go to your home folder''
* Type '''ls -l''' to list all your files. If you don't see your downloaded files, they'll be on your desktop, so type '''cd Desktop''' (capitalisation is important). Type '''ls -l''' again to see your files. If you still can't see them, go into Mozilla and work out where your files ended up.

* Type '''sudo chmod a+rx install-smartq-qi.sh''' - This will make the installer script 'runnable'.
* Type '''sudo ./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/sdb qi-smartq-20090612.bin''' - This will install the boot loader onto the SD card for you.

== Install Mer ==

Ok, now it's time to install mer on the SD card. So we need to 'mount' the card, and move some files about. The easiest way to do this is unplug the sd card, and re-plug it, and let Ubuntu automount it. If you'd prefer to do it manually, here are some commands:-
* Type '''sudo mkdir /media/disk'''
* Type '''sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk'''

Once it's mounted, all you have to do is untar the rootfs... so assuming you have a SmartQ7, you downloaded the file ''mer-armel-smartq7-rootfs-v0.16testing5.tar.gz'', or something similar, you should now type:-

* Type '''ls -l''' and press return and ensure you are in the same folder as the Mer file. If not, type '''cd''' (return) '''ls -l''' (return), and if it's not there, type '''cd Desktop''' (return), '''ls -l''' (return). At some point, you should find it. If not, re-download it in Mozilla, and choose to save it to the desktop.

* Type '''sudo mv *.tar.gz /media/disk''' . this will move the entire mer installation to the disk (so we can untar it easily).
* Type '''cd /media/disk''' and press return. We will now be 'on' the disk
* Type '''sudo untar xvf *.gz''' and press return. This will now untar the entire 'rootfs' to the card. (Install Mer).

After a few moments, the scrolling text will finish. We're almost there!!!

== Getting the bootloader to 'see' Mer ==

We're almost home and dry. Just a little housekeeping to do. The bootloader is pretty smart, but it needs the 'kernel file' to have a special name so that it can find it on boot.

* Type '''cd /media/disk/boot'''
* Type '''ls -l''' and note that there's a file called 'zImage' somthing. That's the kernel file. I'll assume it's 'zImage-smartq-200932'
* Type '''sudo cp zImage-smartq-200932 linux-SMDK6410.bin'''

== Getting the wifi working ==

* I am still trying to get this working myself... will complete when I know how.

= Booting Into Mer =

== Bye bye PC, hello SmartQ ==

Unmount the card (right-click on the icon on the desktop and select unmount, or type the following. Ensure that you've closed all open windows which show the card's contents (Ubuntu may open a file browser if you chose to automount the card).
* '''cd''' (return)
* '''sudo umount /dev/sdb1'''

Pull the card out of your PC, and insert it into the Q5 / Q7 (upside down!). It will need to be pushed in quite far until it clicks home. Then, hold down the right-hand-most button on the top of the device, and plug in the power supply. The LED should flash red, and perhaps green for a brief instant.. After a moment, the screen should go white. You can let go of the button and enjoy Mer in all its glory.

Currently, to switch off a Q5/7, you have to press the 'reset' button on the bottom. S'why we formatted the disk with ext3, and not ext2 ;-)

= Where to from here? =

== Recreating the card ==

Well, now that you've had a play with installing Mer, you should be able to set the card up for other installations, like WinCE, etc. So, keep the VMWare console around.

== Reading the card ==

Don't unplug the card when the SmartQ is switched on, it'll cause you pain. However, if you want to install stuff onto the card from the PC, you'll need your VMWare (or ext2fs tools for windows), to mount the card and copy files on/off.

== Downloading applications ==

Mer is maturing all the time, and new Applications are being developed for it. Check the app manager from time to time to see if there's new apps on the internet.

== Developing for Mer ==

The Mer team uses the "OBS" suite from OpenSuse, a remote-build-farm. You get a username / 'garage ID', download the OBS toolkit inside your Ubuntu Virtual machine, and start coding. the only difference is that you ask the OpenSuse build farm to build your app for you. Once it's built you can install it on a simulated MID (called Scratchbox), or you can install it on the MID itself.

= thanks =

Thanks to lbt, zenvoid, meizirkki for helping me understand what's going on, and of course the whole Mer team for this awesome product, which may just save a good MID from oblivion :). I hope this page proves useful, and allows more people to set up and play with Mer.

''nww02''

Mer/Documentation/Installation

2009-09-24T16:46:17Z

84.51.141.236: /* Booting from SD card */

This article sums up the different ways to install Mer on different types of computers (VMWare, chroot, on device, etc.). Please feel free to add/edit. The original information is taken from [[Mer/Releases/0.9]].

Replace "<your version>" with the version you are going to install, e.g. "0.9".

== Installation in VirtualBox ==

# Unzip zip file
# Open VirtualBox, create new machine (click New):
#* Name: Mer ''<your version>''
#* OS type: Linux
#* Version: Ubuntu
#* RAM: 128MB (at least)
#* Disk: click "existing", find the mer-x86-generic-image-v''<your version>''.vmdk file, select, select
#* Next
# Finish
# Start the newly created virtual machine
# Installing all the needed packages for installing VirtualBox additions:
#* I had to install the following packages by:
#* sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-*kernel-version*-generic
#*(replace *kernel-version* with the currently installed kernel-version on the virtual machine)
#*(you can simply find out which kernel-version you have, by executing "uname -r" in Mer's XTerminal)
# Installing the additions:
#*First of all you have to mount the CD-Image with the additions emulated as a cdrom-device into the virtual machine running mer.
#* Mount the VboxAdditions.iso by: Devices -> mount CD-ROM image -> select VboxGuestAdditions.iso
#* Create a new folder with root rights by:
#*sudo mkdir /media/cdrom
#* and mount the virtual device's filesystem to the new mountpoint by:
#*sudo mount /dev/scd0 /media/cdrom
#* If no errors are appearing you can install the additions by:
#*sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
# Rebooting the virtual machine:
#* Now, when the installation of the additions has finished, you can reboot the vm simply by:
#*sudo init 6
# Finished

== Installation (chroot) ==

<pre>
mkdir mer-<your version>
cd mer-<your version> && sudo tar xzf mer-x86-generic-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
sudo mkdir -p tmp/.X11-unix home/$USER/.osso
sudo mv usr/bin/maemo-invoker usr/bin/maemo-invoker.real
echo -e '#!/bin/sh\nPROG="$1"\nshift\nexec "$PROG" "$@"' | sudo tee usr/bin/maemo-invoker
sudo chmod 755 usr/bin/maemo-invoker
echo 'nameserver <mynameresolver>' | sudo tee -a etc/resolv.conf
</pre>

=== Start-up (from within <code>mer-''<your version>''</code> directory) ===

<pre>
Xephyr :2 -host-cursor -screen 800x480x16 -dpi 96 -ac -extension Composite 2>/dev/null 1>&2 &
sudo mount --bind /tmp/.X11-unix tmp/.X11-unix
sudo mount --bind /dev/pts dev/pts
sudo mount -t proc proc proc
sudo mount -t sysfs sysfs sys
sudo chroot .
export DISPLAY=:2.0
/etc/init.d/dbus start
start-hildon
</pre>

== x86 Install ==

See [[Mer/Documentation/Making_x86_Mer_Bootable|Making x86 Mer Bootable]]

== N8x0 Install ==

=== The Installer ===

The developers of Mer implemented an installer, which leads through all the steps of installation. In order to use the installer you need to open:
[http://trac.tspre.org/merinstaller.install .install file] with your device, which will prompt you to install the file (about 2.5MB) and add the Extras, Extras-devel and tspre.org repositories if they were not added already.

After the download and the installation go to Settings -> Application Manager -> Utilities -> Browse Installable Applications -> Other and system and you will find a program "Install Bootmenu" and "Merinstaller". If you did not install those by pressing "OK" before, do it now.

The Simple Install will create a bootmenu entry for you. However, for more advanced installations - eg if you already have multiple booting OSes - you might want to read about its [[Mer/Documentation/Bootmenu|configuration]] - you may need to make a .item if you have a clone-to-SD copy of Maemo or Deblet. You can also find out how to change the default boot menu item and other bootmenu tricks.

Assuming you created all the .item files you wanted, go ahead, and start the bootmenu installer from Utilities -> Install Bootmenu. Its advised to close all other applications and network connections, but the installer will tell you all relevant information.

* "Are you sure to continue?" - yes
* "Create backup of current initfs" - yes/no
* "Remove unneeded extra (and factory testing) stuff?" - yes
* "install telnet server for network recovery?" - yes/no
* "install dropbear ssh server for advanced network recovery?" - yes/no
* "/etc/bootmenu.conf found, do you want to add it to initfs?" - yes
* "Ready for flashing this image?" - yes/no

After a successfull flash, the device will reboot and you should see the bootmenu, where you can select the partition you want to boot. Choose the operating system where you just installed the installer for Mer and boot it.

Now start the Merinstaller via Utilities -> Install Mer. Follow the instructions. When prompted for the URL= you can point it to any rootfs image you want. Check at [[Mer/Releases]] or ask at #mer.

Once the installer puts the extracted rootfs to your device you can reboot and chose the partition where you put Mer. Please contribute by filing bugs on [https://bugs.maemo.org/ bugs.maemo.org]

=== Flashable Image ===

'''NOTE: Very experimental, because it doesn't use the Maemo initfs; only install if you want to help test it.'''

Grab a kernel and rootfs image of Mer and flash them directly to the device by:<BR>
<code>
./flasher-3.0-static -k mer-armel-n8x0-kernel-v<your version>.zImage -r mer-armel-n8x0-image-v<your version>.jffs2 -f -R
</code>

You might want a MMC card swap partition.

== 770 Install ==

'''(these instructions need testing)'''

You will need at least a 1gb MMC, and these instructions are based on OS2008HE kernel. 48mhz kernel is highly recommended

Partition MMC to:

*p1: Large ext3 partition first
*p2: 256 MB swap partition second

Grab http://packages.tspre.org/pool/user/b/bootmenu/bootmenu_1.5-2_armel.deb and install it.

* Open the main menu and tap Utilities -> Install Bootmenu to start the bootmenu install process.
** If nothing happens, install xterm
** If window appears and then goes away, gainroot is not installed
*** Alternative method with dropbear client / server installed, start xterm, run dbclient root@0, password 'rootme', run /usr/sbin/install_bootmenu
* First, say yes to removing "unneeded extra (and factory testing) stuff"
* say yes to including bootmenu.conf (important). Reboot when done flashing.
* This is a special boot menu where boot menu items are made in /etc/bootmenu.d/*.item and refresh_bootmenu.d will flash this to initfs. '''If you are cloning or booting other OS'es, you'll need to make such .item files'''. See [[Mer/Documentation/Bootmenu]]

Grab e2fsprogs and install it - grab gnutar as well

*From x-terminal, root: insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/mbcache.ko
*insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/jbd.ko
*insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/ext3.ko
*mkfs.ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1
*mkswap /dev/mmcblk0p2
*swapon /dev/mmcblk0p2
*mkdir -p /mnt/mer
*mkdir -p /etc/bootmenu.d
*mount -t ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/mer
*cd /mnt/mer; wget <nowiki>http://stskeeps.subnetmask.net/mer/<your version>/mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz</nowiki>
*tar pzxvf mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
*rm mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
*umount /mnt/mer
*Make /etc/bootmenu.d/mer.item with the following contents:

<pre>
ITEM_NAME="Mer"
ITEM_ID="mer"
ITEM_DEVICE="mmcblk0p1"
ITEM_MODULES="mbcache jbd ext3"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_FSOPTIONS="noatime,ro"
ITEM_LINUXRC="linuxrc"
</pre>
*refresh_bootmenu.d (say yes to reflashing, no to backup of initfs. reboot)
*Hold down Menu key when prompted while booting and select Mer in the boot menu.

== BeagleBoard port ==

* Make sure you are running a RECENT uBoot, and you have USB input devices like keyboard or mouse, if you don't own a touchscreen..
* Make a SD card, partitioned with 50mb FAT as first partition, extract boot fs on this, and the rest Linux partition, format this as ext3, and extract rootfs on this.
* In uBoot, use the following commands (you may have to adjust video= parameter to match your display screen:

'''Note: The format of the video bootargs parameter has changed for the new 2.6.28 kernel in 0.9. You'll likely have to update the bootargs line.'''

<pre>
setenv bootcmd 'mmcinit; fatload mmc 0:1 0x80300000 uImage; bootm 0x80300000'
setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rw rootfstype=ext3 rootwait omapfb.video_mode=1024x768MR16@60'
saveenv
boot
</pre>

* The tablet should output kernel output on serial and on video, and on HDMI out it will eventually start X and show the First Boot Wizard. Good luck.

== Pocket Loox 720 port (experimental) ==

* Set up a SD card with a logical partition, and inside this logical partition, make a 50mb or so FAT partition (p5), and put the zImage file on this filesystem, name it zImage. After the logical partition, make a ext3 partition (p2), and untar rootfs on it.
* Grab [http://www.handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/HaRET HaRET] and put it on the FAT partition, HaRET.exe.
* Make a file, startup.txt, with the following contents:

<pre>
set kernel "zImage"
set mtype "617"
set RAMADDR "0xa8000000"
set cmdline "mem=128M rootdelay=1 root=b302 rw console=tty0"
boot
</pre>

* Unmount all filesystems, insert SD card into Pocket Loox, boot by running HaReT.exe. If HaRET stops with "Jumping to kernel..." then grab [http://dl.free.fr/dZ75nlNFA/loox_boot.tgz HaRET] from www.postnuklear.de/linuxloox.
* Experimental release, if you want to play with this - come hang out on #mer on irc.freenode.net and we'll try to guide you along. It is a 640x480 screen so our theme won't fit.

* For using ssh between loox and desktop box :
- You need to grab an ssh enabled [http://www.daimi.au.dk/~cvm/loox.tar.gz rootfs].

- extract it on your sd card (ext3 partition)

- connect the Loox with the sync cable to your desktop box. And power on loox.

- on your desktop box check for USB network interface (usualy usb0) with : ifconfig

- configure the USB network interface : sudo ifconfig usb0 192.168.2.1

- ssh to loox : ssh root@192.168.2.2

- root password is 'rootme'

* If touchscreen is not calibrated MER v0.11:
- download [http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/t/tslib/libts-bin_1.0-4ubuntu2_armel.deb tslib-bin] to your desktop box.

- scp the deb file to loox : scp libts-bin_1.0-4ubuntu2_armel.deb root@192.168.2.2:/root

- on loox : dpkg -i libts-bin*.deb

- run ts_calibrate (all in one line) :
<pre>
TSLIB_CONFFILE=/etc/ts.conf TSLIB_TSDEVICE=/dev/input/event0 TSLIB_FBDEVICE=/dev/fb0 TSLIB_CONSOLEDEVICE=none TSLIB_CALIBFILE=/etc/pointercal ts_calibrate
</pre>
- you can test your touchscreen with ts_test

* If touchscreen is not working under Xorg MER v0.11 :
remove xorg synaptics driver
<pre>
apt-get remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
</pre>

* Internet on Loox
- Configure MASQUERADE on you desktop
<pre>
iptables -A FORWARD -s 192.168.2.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A FORWARD -d 192.168.2.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -s 192.168.2.0/24 -j MASQUERADE
echo 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
</pre>

== SmartQ ==
Dual booting doesn't seem to work at the moment.

You'll need an SD card with a FAT32 as the first partition and more than 140MB free.

Download the correct firmware image and rootfs image from the Released Images table. Copy both of them to the root of the FAT32 partition on the SD card.

Rename the firmware image to either 'SmartQ5' or 'SmartQ7' according to your device.

You may also want to download some additional software to our SD card for after Mer is installed.<br>
To use Wifi, you'll need the Marvell Wifi Firmware blobs
* Browse [http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driverId=203 here to agree the download license] and get a zip file
* Extract the downloaded zip file, then extract SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar within it. Extract the FwImage folder to your PC.
* Inside there are two files, helper_sd.bin and sd8686.bin. Rename helper_sd.bin to sd8686_helper.bin and copy to your SD card

The commands to extract and copy it might look like this:
cd /tmp
unzip SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip
tar xf SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar
cp FwImage/helper_sd.bin /path_to_SD_CARD/sd8686_helper.bin
cp FwImage/sd8686.bin /path_to_SD_CARD/sd8686.bin

Wifi WPA2 fix
* Download the [http://www.daimi.au.dk/~cvm/kernel-smartq5-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq5-050509_all.deb SmartQ5] or [http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Maemo://Mer:/Devel:/HW:/SmartQ:/Devel/MerDevel_Ubuntu_9.04/all/kernel-smartq7-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq7-20090729_all.deb SmartQ7] WPA2-fixed driver to your SD card.

Now unmount the SD card and eject it.

Power off the SmartQ totally (wait for the LED to go out) and insert the SD card.

===SmartQ5===
Press and hold the + button and insert the charger.
The device will begin to boot; the LED will be green/yellow.
A series of chinese characters will appear ending with '...' if all is going well. Once you see them, you can release the + button. Next there will be
a progress bar. Once it completes, the device will automatically reboot.

===SmartQ7===
Press and hold the 'menu' key (bottom key on front) and insert the charger.
The device will begin to boot; the LED will be a different colour - green/yellow. You can release the menu key. Some chinese symbols appear and then a progress bar ticks (slowly) up to 100%. Once it completes, the device will automatically reboot.

===both===
After this a calibration screen will appear and shortly after you are in Mer.

If you have connected it to a computer via USB, it will be accessible over USB networking on IP 192.168.2.15 ([http://wiki.maemo.org/USB_networking#Host_USB_Network_Configuration see instructions here]) with a SSH server, login root, password rootme

It will not show a splash screen, but it will after darkness then make the screen white, and eventually, show the Mer background and first boot wizard.

=== To mount your SD card ===
In Mer on SmartQ, open X-Terminal and type (tab-completion is your friend):
<pre>
$ sudo mount -t vfat /dev/mmcblk1p1 /media
</pre>
When prompted for a password, enter the one you set when you first started.
Note that the above device name has one lower-case L character and then two number one characters (these can look quite similar in some fonts).

=== To get wireless networking (including WPA2) to work===

In order to get wireless networking to work, you are going to have to install the Marvell firmware you copied onto your SD card, and to get WPA2 working, you'll also need to install the .deb. The first step is to mount your SD card (see the section just above this, if you haven't already mounted it).

So, in Mer on SmartQ, open X-Terminal and type (tab-completion is your friend):
<pre>
$ sudo cp /media/sd8686.bin /lib/firmware/
(if prompted, the password is the one you set when you first started)
$ sudo cp /media/sd8686_helper.bin /lib/firmware/
</pre>
And then either, for the SmartQ5 [Note: The following step may not be necessary as the 0.16-5 firmware automatically installs the most current file from the SD card during bootup. The confirmation message is "wifi firmware installation successful". Verified on Q5.]
<pre>
$ sudo dpkg -i /media/kernel-smartq5-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq5-*_all.deb
</pre>
or for the SmartQ7 [Note: The following step may not be necessary as the 0.16-5 firmware automatically installs the most current file from the SD card during bootup. The confirmation message is "wifi firmware installation successful". Verified on Q7.]
<pre>
$ sudo dpkg -i /media/kernel-smartq7-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq7-*_all.deb
</pre>

Now that you've enabled networking, you should close the gaping security hole which is part of the default configuration by changing the root password from its default, which is "rootme".
<pre>
$ sudo passwd
Password: (enter your user password)
Enter new UNIX password: (enter any hard to guess password you want)
Retype new UNIX password: (same one again)
</pre>

Next you should reboot.
<pre>
$ sudo /sbin/reboot
</pre>

Once it reboots, you should be able to see wireless networks on the menu and select them.

=== Booting from SD card ===
(this was taken from [http://alone-in-the-light.zenvoid.org/2009/06/boot-smartq-5-from-sd-card.html zenvoid's blog])

In order to boot from the SD card, it is simply a matter of creating a partition on the SD card large enough to hold the mer distribution, but leaving enough unpartitioned space at the end of the card for the bootloader to sit.

* Download install-smartq-qi.sh, qi-smartq-20090612.bin from http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq

* Create at least one ext2/ext3 Partition your SD card (and optionally a swap partition), but always '''remember to reserve 1 MiB of free, unpartitioned space at the end of the SD card'''. To be precise, at least the last 2048 blocks (512 bytes each) must be reserved.
* Untar (tar --numeric-owner -zxvf) the rootfs for your device onto the partition you created on your SD card (make sure it isn't mounted with any no* options, e.g. nodev, noexec, ..)
* Rename or copy the kernel file (/boot/zImage<something>) to /boot/linux-SMDK6410.bin
* Run
<pre>
./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/SD_CARD_DEVICE qi-smartq-20090612.bin
</pre>

To boot from the SD card, keep the "move"/fullscreen button (Q5) or right-hand-most button on the top which looks like a target symbol (Q7) pressed and then press the "power" button.

Q5 Boot stages:
* Red LED: First stage - bootloader is loading itself into memory.
* Yellow LED: Second stage - bootloader running, trying to locate and loading a kernel image.
* Green LED: Linux kernel loaded and running.
* Blinking yellow LED: A critical error while reading from the SD card.
* Blinking green LED: No kernel found.

Q7 Boot:

Keep in mind that the LEDs colours are reversed on the Q7, i.e. a green LED on the Q5 is a red one on the Q7 (the list above is for the Q5)

There is no battery check at the moment.

==== Alternate SD booting method using the OF bootloader ====
(as desribed on the Smartqmid forum:
http://www.smartqmid.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=150)

'''works only with OF installed on the device'''

in short:
*the first partition must be fat32 and the other primary partitions must be ext3
*on the first (fat) partition must be a folder named boot, that contains a menu.lst file and the kernel image (zimage)
*the menu.lst should be formated like this:
<pre>
title sdcard # name of the entry
kernel /boot/zimage # kernel image location
param root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait # location of the root fs, this is
# the second primary partition on SD
# the internal memory is mmcblk0,
# first internal partition = mmcblk0p1

</pre>

With all this in place, the device shows a simple boot menu when turned on wit the SD card inside, you can select the entry with +,- buttons on the left and booting is triggered with middle button on the upper left.

Theoretically you can multiboot up to 5 different systems (internal + on the fat partition + three ext3 partitions, '''not tested''').

[[Category:Mer]]

Mer/Documentation/Installation

2009-09-24T16:40:58Z

84.51.141.236: /* Booting from SD card */

This article sums up the different ways to install Mer on different types of computers (VMWare, chroot, on device, etc.). Please feel free to add/edit. The original information is taken from [[Mer/Releases/0.9]].

Replace "<your version>" with the version you are going to install, e.g. "0.9".

== Installation in VirtualBox ==

# Unzip zip file
# Open VirtualBox, create new machine (click New):
#* Name: Mer ''<your version>''
#* OS type: Linux
#* Version: Ubuntu
#* RAM: 128MB (at least)
#* Disk: click "existing", find the mer-x86-generic-image-v''<your version>''.vmdk file, select, select
#* Next
# Finish
# Start the newly created virtual machine
# Installing all the needed packages for installing VirtualBox additions:
#* I had to install the following packages by:
#* sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-*kernel-version*-generic
#*(replace *kernel-version* with the currently installed kernel-version on the virtual machine)
#*(you can simply find out which kernel-version you have, by executing "uname -r" in Mer's XTerminal)
# Installing the additions:
#*First of all you have to mount the CD-Image with the additions emulated as a cdrom-device into the virtual machine running mer.
#* Mount the VboxAdditions.iso by: Devices -> mount CD-ROM image -> select VboxGuestAdditions.iso
#* Create a new folder with root rights by:
#*sudo mkdir /media/cdrom
#* and mount the virtual device's filesystem to the new mountpoint by:
#*sudo mount /dev/scd0 /media/cdrom
#* If no errors are appearing you can install the additions by:
#*sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
# Rebooting the virtual machine:
#* Now, when the installation of the additions has finished, you can reboot the vm simply by:
#*sudo init 6
# Finished

== Installation (chroot) ==

<pre>
mkdir mer-<your version>
cd mer-<your version> && sudo tar xzf mer-x86-generic-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
sudo mkdir -p tmp/.X11-unix home/$USER/.osso
sudo mv usr/bin/maemo-invoker usr/bin/maemo-invoker.real
echo -e '#!/bin/sh\nPROG="$1"\nshift\nexec "$PROG" "$@"' | sudo tee usr/bin/maemo-invoker
sudo chmod 755 usr/bin/maemo-invoker
echo 'nameserver <mynameresolver>' | sudo tee -a etc/resolv.conf
</pre>

=== Start-up (from within <code>mer-''<your version>''</code> directory) ===

<pre>
Xephyr :2 -host-cursor -screen 800x480x16 -dpi 96 -ac -extension Composite 2>/dev/null 1>&2 &
sudo mount --bind /tmp/.X11-unix tmp/.X11-unix
sudo mount --bind /dev/pts dev/pts
sudo mount -t proc proc proc
sudo mount -t sysfs sysfs sys
sudo chroot .
export DISPLAY=:2.0
/etc/init.d/dbus start
start-hildon
</pre>

== x86 Install ==

See [[Mer/Documentation/Making_x86_Mer_Bootable|Making x86 Mer Bootable]]

== N8x0 Install ==

=== The Installer ===

The developers of Mer implemented an installer, which leads through all the steps of installation. In order to use the installer you need to open:
[http://trac.tspre.org/merinstaller.install .install file] with your device, which will prompt you to install the file (about 2.5MB) and add the Extras, Extras-devel and tspre.org repositories if they were not added already.

After the download and the installation go to Settings -> Application Manager -> Utilities -> Browse Installable Applications -> Other and system and you will find a program "Install Bootmenu" and "Merinstaller". If you did not install those by pressing "OK" before, do it now.

The Simple Install will create a bootmenu entry for you. However, for more advanced installations - eg if you already have multiple booting OSes - you might want to read about its [[Mer/Documentation/Bootmenu|configuration]] - you may need to make a .item if you have a clone-to-SD copy of Maemo or Deblet. You can also find out how to change the default boot menu item and other bootmenu tricks.

Assuming you created all the .item files you wanted, go ahead, and start the bootmenu installer from Utilities -> Install Bootmenu. Its advised to close all other applications and network connections, but the installer will tell you all relevant information.

* "Are you sure to continue?" - yes
* "Create backup of current initfs" - yes/no
* "Remove unneeded extra (and factory testing) stuff?" - yes
* "install telnet server for network recovery?" - yes/no
* "install dropbear ssh server for advanced network recovery?" - yes/no
* "/etc/bootmenu.conf found, do you want to add it to initfs?" - yes
* "Ready for flashing this image?" - yes/no

After a successfull flash, the device will reboot and you should see the bootmenu, where you can select the partition you want to boot. Choose the operating system where you just installed the installer for Mer and boot it.

Now start the Merinstaller via Utilities -> Install Mer. Follow the instructions. When prompted for the URL= you can point it to any rootfs image you want. Check at [[Mer/Releases]] or ask at #mer.

Once the installer puts the extracted rootfs to your device you can reboot and chose the partition where you put Mer. Please contribute by filing bugs on [https://bugs.maemo.org/ bugs.maemo.org]

=== Flashable Image ===

'''NOTE: Very experimental, because it doesn't use the Maemo initfs; only install if you want to help test it.'''

Grab a kernel and rootfs image of Mer and flash them directly to the device by:<BR>
<code>
./flasher-3.0-static -k mer-armel-n8x0-kernel-v<your version>.zImage -r mer-armel-n8x0-image-v<your version>.jffs2 -f -R
</code>

You might want a MMC card swap partition.

== 770 Install ==

'''(these instructions need testing)'''

You will need at least a 1gb MMC, and these instructions are based on OS2008HE kernel. 48mhz kernel is highly recommended

Partition MMC to:

*p1: Large ext3 partition first
*p2: 256 MB swap partition second

Grab http://packages.tspre.org/pool/user/b/bootmenu/bootmenu_1.5-2_armel.deb and install it.

* Open the main menu and tap Utilities -> Install Bootmenu to start the bootmenu install process.
** If nothing happens, install xterm
** If window appears and then goes away, gainroot is not installed
*** Alternative method with dropbear client / server installed, start xterm, run dbclient root@0, password 'rootme', run /usr/sbin/install_bootmenu
* First, say yes to removing "unneeded extra (and factory testing) stuff"
* say yes to including bootmenu.conf (important). Reboot when done flashing.
* This is a special boot menu where boot menu items are made in /etc/bootmenu.d/*.item and refresh_bootmenu.d will flash this to initfs. '''If you are cloning or booting other OS'es, you'll need to make such .item files'''. See [[Mer/Documentation/Bootmenu]]

Grab e2fsprogs and install it - grab gnutar as well

*From x-terminal, root: insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/mbcache.ko
*insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/jbd.ko
*insmod /mnt/initfs/lib/modules/current/ext3.ko
*mkfs.ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1
*mkswap /dev/mmcblk0p2
*swapon /dev/mmcblk0p2
*mkdir -p /mnt/mer
*mkdir -p /etc/bootmenu.d
*mount -t ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/mer
*cd /mnt/mer; wget <nowiki>http://stskeeps.subnetmask.net/mer/<your version>/mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz</nowiki>
*tar pzxvf mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
*rm mer-armel-770-image-v<your version>.tar.gz
*umount /mnt/mer
*Make /etc/bootmenu.d/mer.item with the following contents:

<pre>
ITEM_NAME="Mer"
ITEM_ID="mer"
ITEM_DEVICE="mmcblk0p1"
ITEM_MODULES="mbcache jbd ext3"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_FSOPTIONS="noatime,ro"
ITEM_LINUXRC="linuxrc"
</pre>
*refresh_bootmenu.d (say yes to reflashing, no to backup of initfs. reboot)
*Hold down Menu key when prompted while booting and select Mer in the boot menu.

== BeagleBoard port ==

* Make sure you are running a RECENT uBoot, and you have USB input devices like keyboard or mouse, if you don't own a touchscreen..
* Make a SD card, partitioned with 50mb FAT as first partition, extract boot fs on this, and the rest Linux partition, format this as ext3, and extract rootfs on this.
* In uBoot, use the following commands (you may have to adjust video= parameter to match your display screen:

'''Note: The format of the video bootargs parameter has changed for the new 2.6.28 kernel in 0.9. You'll likely have to update the bootargs line.'''

<pre>
setenv bootcmd 'mmcinit; fatload mmc 0:1 0x80300000 uImage; bootm 0x80300000'
setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS2,115200n8 console=tty0 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rw rootfstype=ext3 rootwait omapfb.video_mode=1024x768MR16@60'
saveenv
boot
</pre>

* The tablet should output kernel output on serial and on video, and on HDMI out it will eventually start X and show the First Boot Wizard. Good luck.

== Pocket Loox 720 port (experimental) ==

* Set up a SD card with a logical partition, and inside this logical partition, make a 50mb or so FAT partition (p5), and put the zImage file on this filesystem, name it zImage. After the logical partition, make a ext3 partition (p2), and untar rootfs on it.
* Grab [http://www.handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/HaRET HaRET] and put it on the FAT partition, HaRET.exe.
* Make a file, startup.txt, with the following contents:

<pre>
set kernel "zImage"
set mtype "617"
set RAMADDR "0xa8000000"
set cmdline "mem=128M rootdelay=1 root=b302 rw console=tty0"
boot
</pre>

* Unmount all filesystems, insert SD card into Pocket Loox, boot by running HaReT.exe. If HaRET stops with "Jumping to kernel..." then grab [http://dl.free.fr/dZ75nlNFA/loox_boot.tgz HaRET] from www.postnuklear.de/linuxloox.
* Experimental release, if you want to play with this - come hang out on #mer on irc.freenode.net and we'll try to guide you along. It is a 640x480 screen so our theme won't fit.

* For using ssh between loox and desktop box :
- You need to grab an ssh enabled [http://www.daimi.au.dk/~cvm/loox.tar.gz rootfs].

- extract it on your sd card (ext3 partition)

- connect the Loox with the sync cable to your desktop box. And power on loox.

- on your desktop box check for USB network interface (usualy usb0) with : ifconfig

- configure the USB network interface : sudo ifconfig usb0 192.168.2.1

- ssh to loox : ssh root@192.168.2.2

- root password is 'rootme'

* If touchscreen is not calibrated MER v0.11:
- download [http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/t/tslib/libts-bin_1.0-4ubuntu2_armel.deb tslib-bin] to your desktop box.

- scp the deb file to loox : scp libts-bin_1.0-4ubuntu2_armel.deb root@192.168.2.2:/root

- on loox : dpkg -i libts-bin*.deb

- run ts_calibrate (all in one line) :
<pre>
TSLIB_CONFFILE=/etc/ts.conf TSLIB_TSDEVICE=/dev/input/event0 TSLIB_FBDEVICE=/dev/fb0 TSLIB_CONSOLEDEVICE=none TSLIB_CALIBFILE=/etc/pointercal ts_calibrate
</pre>
- you can test your touchscreen with ts_test

* If touchscreen is not working under Xorg MER v0.11 :
remove xorg synaptics driver
<pre>
apt-get remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
</pre>

* Internet on Loox
- Configure MASQUERADE on you desktop
<pre>
iptables -A FORWARD -s 192.168.2.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A FORWARD -d 192.168.2.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -s 192.168.2.0/24 -j MASQUERADE
echo 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
</pre>

== SmartQ ==
Dual booting doesn't seem to work at the moment.

You'll need an SD card with a FAT32 as the first partition and more than 140MB free.

Download the correct firmware image and rootfs image from the Released Images table. Copy both of them to the root of the FAT32 partition on the SD card.

Rename the firmware image to either 'SmartQ5' or 'SmartQ7' according to your device.

You may also want to download some additional software to our SD card for after Mer is installed.<br>
To use Wifi, you'll need the Marvell Wifi Firmware blobs
* Browse [http://www.marvell.com/drivers/driverDisplay.do?driverId=203 here to agree the download license] and get a zip file
* Extract the downloaded zip file, then extract SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar within it. Extract the FwImage folder to your PC.
* Inside there are two files, helper_sd.bin and sd8686.bin. Rename helper_sd.bin to sd8686_helper.bin and copy to your SD card

The commands to extract and copy it might look like this:
cd /tmp
unzip SD-8686-LINUX26-SYSKT-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45-GPL.zip
tar xf SD-8686-FEDORA26FC6-SYSKT-GPL-9.70.3.p24-26409.P45.tar
cp FwImage/helper_sd.bin /path_to_SD_CARD/sd8686_helper.bin
cp FwImage/sd8686.bin /path_to_SD_CARD/sd8686.bin

Wifi WPA2 fix
* Download the [http://www.daimi.au.dk/~cvm/kernel-smartq5-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq5-050509_all.deb SmartQ5] or [http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Maemo://Mer:/Devel:/HW:/SmartQ:/Devel/MerDevel_Ubuntu_9.04/all/kernel-smartq7-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq7-20090729_all.deb SmartQ7] WPA2-fixed driver to your SD card.

Now unmount the SD card and eject it.

Power off the SmartQ totally (wait for the LED to go out) and insert the SD card.

===SmartQ5===
Press and hold the + button and insert the charger.
The device will begin to boot; the LED will be green/yellow.
A series of chinese characters will appear ending with '...' if all is going well. Once you see them, you can release the + button. Next there will be
a progress bar. Once it completes, the device will automatically reboot.

===SmartQ7===
Press and hold the 'menu' key (bottom key on front) and insert the charger.
The device will begin to boot; the LED will be a different colour - green/yellow. You can release the menu key. Some chinese symbols appear and then a progress bar ticks (slowly) up to 100%. Once it completes, the device will automatically reboot.

===both===
After this a calibration screen will appear and shortly after you are in Mer.

If you have connected it to a computer via USB, it will be accessible over USB networking on IP 192.168.2.15 ([http://wiki.maemo.org/USB_networking#Host_USB_Network_Configuration see instructions here]) with a SSH server, login root, password rootme

It will not show a splash screen, but it will after darkness then make the screen white, and eventually, show the Mer background and first boot wizard.

=== To mount your SD card ===
In Mer on SmartQ, open X-Terminal and type (tab-completion is your friend):
<pre>
$ sudo mount -t vfat /dev/mmcblk1p1 /media
</pre>
When prompted for a password, enter the one you set when you first started.
Note that the above device name has one lower-case L character and then two number one characters (these can look quite similar in some fonts).

=== To get wireless networking (including WPA2) to work===

In order to get wireless networking to work, you are going to have to install the Marvell firmware you copied onto your SD card, and to get WPA2 working, you'll also need to install the .deb. The first step is to mount your SD card (see the section just above this, if you haven't already mounted it).

So, in Mer on SmartQ, open X-Terminal and type (tab-completion is your friend):
<pre>
$ sudo cp /media/sd8686.bin /lib/firmware/
(if prompted, the password is the one you set when you first started)
$ sudo cp /media/sd8686_helper.bin /lib/firmware/
</pre>
And then either, for the SmartQ5 [Note: The following step may not be necessary as the 0.16-5 firmware automatically installs the most current file from the SD card during bootup. The confirmation message is "wifi firmware installation successful". Verified on Q5.]
<pre>
$ sudo dpkg -i /media/kernel-smartq5-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq5-*_all.deb
</pre>
or for the SmartQ7 [Note: The following step may not be necessary as the 0.16-5 firmware automatically installs the most current file from the SD card during bootup. The confirmation message is "wifi firmware installation successful". Verified on Q7.]
<pre>
$ sudo dpkg -i /media/kernel-smartq7-modules_2.6.24.7-smartq7-*_all.deb
</pre>

Now that you've enabled networking, you should close the gaping security hole which is part of the default configuration by changing the root password from its default, which is "rootme".
<pre>
$ sudo passwd
Password: (enter your user password)
Enter new UNIX password: (enter any hard to guess password you want)
Retype new UNIX password: (same one again)
</pre>

Next you should reboot.
<pre>
$ sudo /sbin/reboot
</pre>

Once it reboots, you should be able to see wireless networks on the menu and select them.

=== Booting from SD card ===
(this was taken from [http://alone-in-the-light.zenvoid.org/2009/06/boot-smartq-5-from-sd-card.html zenvoid's blog])

In order to boot from the SD card, it is simply a matter of creating a partition on the SD card large enough to hold the mer distribution, but leaving enough unpartitioned space at the end of the card for the bootloader to sit.

* Download install-smartq-qi.sh, qi-smartq-20090612.bin from http://zenvoid.org/software/qi-smartq

* Partition your SD card so that it has at least one ext2/ext3 partition (and optionally a swap partition), but always '''remember to reserve 1 MiB of free, unpartitioned space at the end of the SD card'''. To be precise, at least the latest 2048 blocks (512 bytes each) must be reserved.
* Untar (tar --numeric-owner -zxvf) your rootfs on your SD card (make sure it isn't mounted with any no* options, e.g. nodev, noexec, ..)
* Copy the kernel to /boot/linux-SMDK6410.bin
* Run
<pre>
./install-smartq-qi.sh /dev/SD_CARD_DEVICE qi-smartq-20090612.bin
</pre>

To boot from the SD card, keep the "move"/fullscreen button (Q5) or right-hand-most button on the top (Q7) pressed and then press the "power" button.

Q5 Boot stages:
* Red LED: First stage - bootloader is loading itself into memory.
* Yellow LED: Second stage - bootloader running, trying to locate and loading a kernel image.
* Green LED: Linux kernel loaded and running.
* Blinking yellow LED: A critical error while reading from the SD card.
* Blinking green LED: No kernel found.

Q7 Boot:

Keep in mind that the LEDs colours are reversed on the Q7, i.e. a green LED on the Q5 is a red one on the Q7 (the list above is for the Q5)

There is no battery check at the moment.

==== Alternate SD booting method using the OF bootloader ====
(as desribed on the Smartqmid forum:
http://www.smartqmid.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=150)

'''works only with OF installed on the device'''

in short:
*the first partition must be fat32 and the other primary partitions must be ext3
*on the first (fat) partition must be a folder named boot, that contains a menu.lst file and the kernel image (zimage)
*the menu.lst should be formated like this:
<pre>
title sdcard # name of the entry
kernel /boot/zimage # kernel image location
param root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait # location of the root fs, this is
# the second primary partition on SD
# the internal memory is mmcblk0,
# first internal partition = mmcblk0p1

</pre>

With all this in place, the device shows a simple boot menu when turned on wit the SD card inside, you can select the entry with +,- buttons on the left and booting is triggered with middle button on the upper left.

Theoretically you can multiboot up to 5 different systems (internal + on the fat partition + three ext3 partitions, '''not tested''').

[[Category:Mer]]