DebXO Squeeze no longer compatible?

[roystonlodge]

I had DebXO Squeeze installed on my XO. Yesterday, I ran apt-get upgrade, and it caused all sorts of havok. The trackpad no longer worked, for one thing.

So, I reinstalled DebXO, and followed the instructions for upgrading to squeeze. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/DebXO#Updating

I got an error message saying that it required the latest kernel. I didn't get this error message when I originally upgraded to squeeze, about a month or so ago.

So I'm sticking with Lenny for now.

Is anybody else using DebXO experiencing this problem, and maybe even found a solution?

[roystonlodge]

Very strange. I tried the upgrade one more time, and this time it worked.

I can't complain when a problem solves itself, i suppose, but it's still unnerving.

[roystonlodge]

Damn, I spoke too soon. The problem came back and now the keyboard and the trackpad aren't working.

The problem appears to be with the updated UDEV, maybe?

If anybody else has had problems upgrading DebXO to Squeeze and knows some solutions, I'd love to hear about it.

[VinnieMoss]

Yes I'm having the same problem and I've tried pretty much everything to fix it I can think of. I actually wiped my computer clean and then reinstalled and it worked for a few days then went bad again. I've given up at the moment unless anyone else knows why this is happening.

[roystonlodge]

Here's the workaround I've used.

Adding debian-backports to the sources.list got most of what I needed.

When I need something specific from the squeeze repository, like wicd for example, I temporarily add a squeeze line to sources.list. When I run apt-get install for the specific package I'm installing, I check first to make sure it doesn't want to upgrade udev. If it does, then I cancel the installation.

Once I'm done installing the package, I comment out the squeeze line from sources.list.

Works relatively well.

[roystonlodge]

Update: I had the same problem on my Dell laptop, but I found out WHY the problem was happening and therefore I was able to fix it. But I'm not sure the same fix would work with the XO, so I'm just going to post what happened with my Dell in the hopes that it inspires someone to figure out how to fix the problem on the XO.

So, when I tried to do a dist-upgrade from lenny to squeeze on my Dell, I got an error message that udev needs a newer version of the linux kernel. The computer cannot boot with the squeeze version of udev and the lenny kernel. (I think the text was so small on my XO screen that I couldn't read the error message correctly. Heh heh heh ...)

So, BEFORE running sudo apt-get dist-upgrade, I ran sudo apt-get install linux-image-686 to get the most recent version of the kernel. Then I rebooted the computer. THEN I ran sudo apt-get dist-upgrade. This process worked perfectly, and I'm happily running squeeze on my Dell.

Now, here's the problem I see with using this same process on the XO running DebXO. As far as I know, DebXO doesn't use GRUB, so I don't know how to tell DebXO to boot using the newer kernel image rather than boot using the kernel that's used in the DebXO image. Do I simply need to install GRUB to solve the problem?

(Of course, the most convenient option would just be for the DebXO developer(s) to update the DebXO image with a more recent version of the linux kernel. But I'm not complaining. Everybody's a volunteer, after all. It would also be nice if we knew when squeeze was going to moved from 'testing' to 'stable' so we wouldn't have to futz around with lenny anymore. Ubuntu seems to be way ahead of Debian in this area. But that's a debate for another day...)

[KenWilliams]

I've been having the same problem with the kernal image. Can anyone please answer this question? Do we simply install GRUB to fix the problem?

[andrea]

Hey, does anybody know if this problem has been resolved (or, for that matter, whether it occurs for everybody or just for roystonlodge)? I'd like to stick with DebXO rather than switching to a different flavor, but I don't want to upgrade if it's going to bork all the devices...

[easthope]

Hi,
I have yet to install DebXO but might have a relevant idea.

Postby roystonlodge » Thu Apr 08, 2010 9:43 pm

Do I simply need to install GRUB to solve the problem?

The Open Firmware appears to be much more powerful than Grub.
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Open_Firmware
Unlock your XO.
Start it.
When the startup jingle sounds, press the ESC key in the upper left corner briefly.
Execute

Code: Select all

devalias

to find an alias for your boot device.

I don't know how to tell DebXO to boot using the newer kernel image
rather than boot using the kernel that's used in the DebXO image.

According to the _Open Firmware Quick Reference_ ,
http://firmworks.com/QuickRef.html

Code: Select all

boot [device-specifier] [arguments]

The table in the Quick Ref. gives more details and an example.

Regards, ... Peter E.

[easthope]

The details of booting are explained here.
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OFW_FAQ#How_d ... _prompt.3F

Regards, ... Peter E.

[easthope]

Do I simply need to install GRUB to solve the problem?

Get the Open Firmware Forth prompt as mentioned above. To boot the system in the internal storage try "boot int:\boot\boot.fth". Mitch Bradley's Forth lessons explain more. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Forth_Lessons

[easthope]

Do I simply need to install GRUB to solve the problem?

A good solution was given by James Cameron in http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Cheat_co ... tem_choice .

Boot the machine from the internal storage using the command in the
previous reply. Then edit /media/DebXO/boot/olpc.fth to add this line
at the head.

game-key-mask button-check and if " int:\boot\olpc.fth" $boot then

Then reboot or power down. When that external SD is present, it will be
the default boot device. To boot from the interal storage, merely hold the
check game key when pressing the power button or rebooting. Release
the check key when instructed by OFW.

A similar line can be added to boot from a USB port. No change to
int:\boot\olpc.fth is required and there is no risk of disabling the system
with a typing error.

OFW is far better than a PC BIOS and Grub!

Regards, ... Peter E.

[easthope]

P.s. Thanks Mitch Bradley for Open Firmware!