linuxdc-dev

[linuxdc-dev]bootloader usage

[Michael G. <mg...@ho...>]

Hi,

I am trying to get my DC to boot without the initrd, using the gdrom as 
the root device. Unfortunatly, I am having trouble getting any boot 
loader to do that. With sh-boot, I don't know how/when/where to set the 
kernel parameters, and ecos/redboot is so throughly under-documented in 
english, that I can't even figure out how to compile it - the sources 
in the cvs don't seem to have any configure 
scripts/makefiles/instructions on what to do.

So I was hoping someone could point me to some related documentation.

Thanks in advance,
Mag.

Re: [linuxdc-dev]bootloader usage

[Robert L. <rm...@te...>]

On Sun, 2001-12-09 at 20:38, Michael Grig wrote:

> I am trying to get my DC to boot without the initrd, using the gdrom as 
> the root device. Unfortunatly, I am having trouble getting any boot 
> loader to do that. With sh-boot, I don't know how/when/where to set the 
> kernel parameters, and ecos/redboot is so throughly under-documented in 
> english, that I can't even figure out how to compile it - the sources 
> in the cvs don't seem to have any configure 
> scripts/makefiles/instructions on what to do.

There is something called kernel-boot at ftp.m17n.org in a
tools/dreamcast directory.  It is a simple kernel and initrd boot loader
for the DC.

If you edit kernel-boot.S you will see a data section towards the bottom
with the boot command line declared.  Set it to something like:

	root=/dev/gdrom ro mem=16m

and use an empty initrd.bin.  `echo 0 > initrd.bin" will do.  Put your
zImage as zImage.bin in this directory.  (I'm going to write a
bootloader than doesn't use initrd when I get a chance.)

Then do `make clean scramble kernel-boot.bin` and then `./scramble
kernel-boot.bin 1ST_READ.BIN` ... there you go.

	Robert Love