Re: [Gumstix-users] Procedure for un-updating Overo Earth kernel (risk management)?

[Frank A. <ft...@ya...>]

Bill Gatliff wrote:

> Second question.  Let's say that something doesn't work quiiiite right
> :), and I lose the OTG port altogether.  Does loady work from u-boot?
>  Where do I load the uImage file to, etc.?  Or is there an easier way
> to revert to a known-good kernel?

Bill,

I avoid the complications of upgrading/downgrading the uImage and 
filesystem in nand by creating bootable microSD cards.  The overo u-boot 
environment is set up at the factory such that at boot time if an SD 
card is found, and if the file uImage can be loaded from the first fat 
partition on the the SD card, then u-boot will load that image and pass 
it boot parms to look for the file system on the second (ext2/ext3) 
partition of the SD card.  I have multiple SD cards with various 
combinations of kernels and file systems.  Changing kernels is as easy 
as swapping SD cards.  The wiki has information on creating a bootable 
SD card:

http://www.gumstix.net/Documentation/view/Overo/Creating-a-bootable-microSD-card/109.html

Note that these instructions call for installing MLO, u-boot.bin and 
uImage on the fat partition.  You only need MLO and u-boot.bin if your 
nand flash is totally corrupted.  An overo with just a uImage in the fat 
partition and a filesytem on the second ext2/ex3 partition will boot as 
I described above.

frank agius
> 
> Some of these questions might be answered in the "writing images to
> onboard nand" node in the gumstix.net wiki, except that the node
> appears to be just a stub with no content.  :(
> 
> 
> 
> b.g.