when I attach a serial terminal then grub would get the input key from there I would assume - but this needs to be tested.

Porting IR driver would be really a pain and not sensemakingin the short run, I would more think about using the up and down buttons on the frontpannel at the beginning.

But first I would need to find out if an additional bootloader could coexist with the current bootloader which would be worth a try, and I think this would be testable in the serial console by just porting/compiling the standard grub binary already.

I know that when you use the curent bootloader in stop modus then enter via telnet, change the startup autorun.bat to an alternate one I CAN boot alternate confis/partitions already NOW

In another thread I already asked if somebody would be interested to extend the standard bootloader so that you can choose
for example autorun.bat1,2,3... as multiboot offers for booting now via the frontpannel keys, but I didn't get any feedback/reply on this idea
(which would be only a very small codechange in my opionon).

That's why I considered using a standard bootloader for doing the partition choosing instead.

It is just a research project, so why not try out

Cia
thowi

Hello Folks !

Now that multiboot Version 4 is more or less finished (just minor bugfixes left) I start thinking if I couldn't implement also a SIMPLE bootloader.

When I started developing multiboot I decided to implement it the standard way using Partitions for the various images (instead of subdirectories as Flashwizzard does), which would mean that it should be also possible to use a standard Unix bootloader like grub for choosing the Partitions.

Could somebody compile grub for me, then I'm willing to find out if it is usable for multibooting the DM 7025

Why grub - well it is relatively simply to config and handle, doesn't need any fancy graphics output and maybe does the job only with very small or no changes.

This simplicity of grub would enable to avoid the problem with the TV screen output, because we could switch the output to the lcd display
just showing the partitonnumber and text in its config file that is choosen.

When compiling it as it is I assume the output of grub would go to the serial console (I have a Null modem cable for displaying it), which would be also OK at the moment to find out in a PoC if it is usable.

Even when the terminal output on the lcd or the console would not work just pressing the remote x times or the keyboard of the serial console at the beginning for choosing the image Partition would be enough because grub should work even without any output

So is somebody willing to help me on this subject - input, feedback, critics and a compiled grub binary is welcome !

regards
thowi

Danke, ich schaue es mir am Wochenende an.

Beim Multiboot ist derzeit eh nicht viel zu machen, also sollte ich Zeit haben mich damit zu spielen.

Jetzt muss ich halt meine alten Files mit dem Fernbedieungscode von VCR und TV aus d-box2 Zeiten rauskrammen

Am interessantesten wird es aber wahrscheinlich wenn man über lirc die Dreambox sich selbst steuern läßt ...

Zuerst muss mal der Dameon Kommandos schicken können, dann muss ich ein script schreiben das analog zur alten d-box implementierung mit irsend aus commandfiles die Befehle absetzen kann, und dann kann man daraus schöne Fernbedieungsmakros bauen.

Dann muss man im python code die stellen finden wo man so wie bei der d-box die Befehle für Laut/Leiser/Mute,.... absetzen kann wenn die entsprechenden .lirc files auf /etc/txbox/config/lirc existieren usw.

Also eigentlich ein schönes Projekt um lange Sommerabende damit zu befüllen.

Gruss
thowi

If somebody would just compile the lirc dameon for DM 7025 then maybe I would consider to make a nice plugin out of it

At least a combination with my cronamanager plugin would be nice.

Wenn wer den lirc dameon aus dem CSV für die DM 7025 für mich compilieren würde könnte ich mir vorstellen ein kleines Plugin daraus zu machen

In Kombination mit meinen cronmanagerplugin könnte man da schon nette Sachen machen.

Ciao
thowi

Ich würde auch auf /media nichts mounten, weil alles was da drunter gemountet ist (insbesondere /media/hdd mit der Harddisk) würde dan verschwinden.

mach ein eigenes directory z.B. /media/samba un mountxe dort

Im Telnet:

mkdir /media/samba

Gescheiter wäre evt gleich ein subdirectory der Harddisk dafür zu verwenden

mkdir /media/hdd/samba

Dann tut man sich beim browsen im Mediaplayer leichter

gruss
thowi

Feel free to do so - you now can easily ship you plugin as an addon to the shell plugin (if people are to lazy to FTP it at the right places as described in the readme.txt)

Simply copy it to the right place and then do this:

cd /
tar -cvf /var/tmp/keymapneutrino.tar /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/Extensions/Shell/keymaps/keymap_neutrinoname.xml
bzip2 /var/tmp/keymapneutrino.tar

This will give you a keymapneutrino.tar.bzw file which you can post either here or better in the other board which is the home of my plugins (there I posted also your first neutrino keymap as such an addon to the shell plugin, but now it is included in the shell kit as example)

If oyu don't have bzip2 installed go to the shell plugin directory
from above (monis the keymap subdirectory) and enter

ipkg install bzip*

Ciao
thowi

You can always get back the multiboot menu in a (newly flashed) Image when you do this (standas also in readme.txt - fsecond page !)
in a telnet session:

cd /media/cf
multiboot.sh plugin

This will restart enigma and then Multiboot menu entry should be back
at the games/plugin menu !

The actual plugin resides after the enable on the CF card, the images just has a link to this (so that you use the same multiboot from any image), and the above command re-creates this link

Have fun multibooting & start reading the readme.txt !

ciao
thowi

PS: AGAIN, you should not report multiboot problems here in the DM board, there is a full multiboot thread in another board answering more or less any possible (dumb) question you might have (well it is partly in German, but important stuff is always translated)

my shell plugin now contains a manager for keymaps.xml and some example keymaps which give you better USB Keyboard support, neutrino style zapping, control of enigma with keyboard,..

So users are working on the keyboard issue, but this is a small community of keyboard users but there is progress ...

PS: and the T-Rex cam starts to work with other images too, but you will not find these here in this board.

thowi

try removing the harddisk and see if it then runs smoothly, and check if harddisk was jumpered as master (NO slave or cable select)

thowi

you are welcome, and I hope you now got the glue - no enable, no multiboot.

Installed means just that the files were loaded on the dreambox, not that it is prepared for multiboot !

MAYBE I'll include in the next Release on the first screen next to the install option (guess what they do - yes, enable and disable) a remark in brackets (enable 1x before usage) like I did it for the cronmanager plugin, to prevent people loading so many versions without finding out how it works !

ciao
thowi

If I take the time to write 18 pages of documentation (readme.txt) then you should take the time to READ it.

After installing you should go in the menu to install options and choose enable CF card for multiboot.

Until you do this the other commands CANN'T work.

And just to prevent questions like what command do I enter next:

User latest kit 4.11 with nfi support to have an easier life !

The description below will not work with earlier MB kits:

After the enable you copy the Images that you want to move via FTP to /MB_Images, maybe rename them with the FTP programm to short names like d.nfi g.nfi, v.nfi,...

Then you choose im MB menu copy with N as source, the partition 1,2,3 where you want the image to go as target and d,g,v... as sourcename. Then MB will copy the Image to the specified partition.

Do this for all 3 partitions and then choose boot in the menu with 1 or 2 or 3.

Then you choose reboot in restart options and you should boot the wanted image - have fun with multiboot !

PS: If you have rebootet in the meantime the kit at /var/tmp is gone, so copy again and unpack as the last time, and THEN do the enable.

reagards
thowi

PPS: You should ask this question in another board where you have dreams, which is the 'home' of multiboot and there you can get also the latest MB kit. It has nothing to do here in the OE developers section.

mit noggies Hilfe kann mutliboot 4.1 jetzt auch nfi images direkt auf die multiboot partitionen kopieren und wenn man von einer multiboot Partition gebootet ist sogar in den Flash zurückkopieren.

Und das alles auch ohne PC wenn man die images vorher auf die Harddisk oder CF Karte FTPd hat (das kann Flashwizzard nicht)

gruss
thowi

your keymap is now one of the 3 examples that I include in my shellplugin Verison 3.0 - see attachment.

Ciao
thowi

redirecting to /dev/null is a little bit too hard for me, but surpressing just the mkdir with grep is a good idea, thanks

Regarding disclaimer - i simply said ThankU in the readme.txt to you and tmbinc. My ego doesn't hang on things like this either, but you never know

The whole multiboot plugin can be called a shared bugcollection, so I know what you mean stay with your own bugs.

Regarding secondstage I'm not 100% sure, is'nt it sequentially reading trough the file - I'll check for the next version, and this is not really
important stuff because I unpack at /var/tmp and remove afterwards,
meaning no real harm can be done.

Hope people have fun with Multiboot 4.1 and nfi support and that it now works better then the first Beta (well I learnt at least a lot, especially how it works)

Thanks again
thowi

After 4.1 of multiboot ist out here's further feedback:

To prevent nfi backup images multiboot version 4.0 ships only the extract tools (no mkfs.jffs2) and removes the temporary extracted secondstage.gz after unpacking the nfi file.

Because root and boot are stored in the same filesystem on cf card or harddisk it is not so easy to create an nfi image again out of it (unless I might ever support it).

Ciao
thowi

PS: I'm starting now to test nfi backup as promised - have I ever been able to keep my fingers away from a new toy

Multiboot Version 4.1 is now out for TESTING

I changed a little bit the python code so that it unpacks the .jffs2 files
on /var/tmp (=faster then on disk, and when extract fails/dump hangs you cann't corrup Harddisk filesystem so easy because you have to turn off the box) and so that it puts then the content directly to the choosen /media/mbX partition of multiboot and puts boot directly in /media/mbX/boot.

Because of this dump gives directory exists errors during the unpack (but still does it's job), would it be possible to compile for me a multiboot special edition of dump so that it doesn't create the unpack directories or doesn't give a warning if they exist ?

Even better would be if this special version of dump then would not extract the secondstage.gz file (or always hardcoded to /dev/null), because at the moment multiboot.sh simply removes it after extract to prevent building of nfi backup images.

ciao
thowi

PS: And I couldn't resist to allow also copying nfi file to flash when beeing booted from an MB Partition instead of Flash.

PPS: I only included dump and my changed mbripimage.py in multiboot to prevent problems and simplify support.

Thanks

In the next version of the shell plugin (2.1) I'll simply add the functionality to include up to 14 keymap.xml files in a keymap.lst file (similar to the commands.lst that shell Plugin verison 2.0 currently uses for defining user speficic shell commands)

There I'll include 3 usefull keymaps for the 7025 as templates that I found so far (Einsteinis optimized for command typing with usb keyboard, yours for controlling menu interface/remote emulation, and a simple one with neutrino stype zapping)

It will probably thake 1-2 wee(end)s until It will show up, because mutliboot4.1 needs to be finished first.

I can read enough french to understand your homepage (but 20 years out of shool and never really using it except on vacation didn't do good), so don't worry,
but if users start playing with the keymap it might be usefull to have it in in Anglaise

ciao
thowi

I could try it next weekend after I finished version 4.1 of multiboot which does the nfi UNpacking.

BUT I would prefere not to inlcude this functionality in multiboot, BECAUSE then most of the dreambox boards would be in troubles, because of people who would start dumping their own images with illegal stuff to .nfi files and upload them.

Implementing my own MB*.tar.bz2 backup images was already on the borderline, but needed to overcome the backup needs and the limitation with 4 primary partitions/device.

When I support this functionality for nfi files this would be a damm break, and I'm not sure if i would like to contribute to such a situation.

On the other hand adding this functionality if it works as expected would be only about 20 lines of code in multiboot (similar to the unpack, because the code paths are already in cluded in mutiboot for the tar.bz2 files, so there would be proably a 'Patched' version pretty soon available anyway)

Just an opinion, but we can discuss ...

PS: and my MB*.tar.bz2 files are smaller then nfi, easier to unpack and handle !

ciao
thowi

OK, I did a quick test and it works really NICE !

No memory problem when booted from CF card, and it can unpack directly to the /media/mb1...6 directories

Thanx a lot AGAIN

Ciao
thowi

Hello Noggie !

Thanks a LOT, I'll try to include this to multiboot next wekend.

Regarding your memory question:

As I will run the tool when NOT booted from Flash, if I would have memory problems I would simply remove the /var tmpfs mount, then dump should have all the memory needed without any dirty tricks.

So let's see where the journey brings us.

PS: horribly mutilated - I liked that statement, but you probably don't have seen how I raped your old tool calling nfi_extract from multiboot 4.0

#! /usr/bin/python
import os, sys, getopt, struct, time
from common_routines import *
from machine_config import *

#################################################################
# This is GPL software.
# Written by noggie
#################################################################

# This script will unpack a .nfi image for the 7025 on Flash
# Usage: unpack_image < nfi-file

# Start by extracting the boot and root partition from the nfi file
# File on stdin
extract_nfi(['/dev/null', '/dev/mtdblock/3', '/dev/null'])

this is for stealing /boot from nfi file, this is for root:

extract_nfi(['/dev/null', '/dev/null', '/dev/mtdblock/3'])

This is what I call raping

Ciao
thowi