Pandaboard ES(B2) uBoot help

Hey all! I know this board has been dead for years but I never got any use from it back when it was popular. I was able to get Ubuntu 18.04 on there using the digikey instructions.

My next goal was to get the rootfs running off of SSD…

Looking at current docs, there is no mention, and looking on archive.org I see a few things, but none of them work - I assume it is due to newer uBoot versions.

I found this post - https://rogerunwin.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/pandaboard-rootfs-on-usb-ssd-hd/
And from archive dot org OMAP_FAQ#I_want_to_install_Ubuntu_on_external_USB_hard_disk_instead_of_sluggish_SD_card (had to butcher that, says I have more than two links in the post)

All I have found myself doing is inducing a kernel panic while still booting from the SD card. I am running the Linux arm 5.0.19-armv7-rt-x15 kernel and I have the serial console cable. Anyone know the correct process to make this happen?

Thanks!

@fruitwerks, this is pretty simple as long as the USB and FS modules are built-in to the kernel image. Just load u-boot off the microSD like normal, with the kernel zImage and dtb also off the microSD. Then update the bootargs to use root=/dev/sda1 vs root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 for your rootfs partition.

I do have a random script i was setting up for the BeagleBoard-X15’s users, so they could migrate their microSD data to a ssd:

All this leaves you todo is to update your bootarg.

Regards,

Hey Robert, Thanks for the info. I have effectively already done what your script does. I guess that is where I am stuck is updating the bootargs. The only thing in my uEnv.txt (and the only file that I can tell manages any config at this level) is the dbt and kernel version.

I did find and try a few things but it appears those settings are depreciated/ignored or overridden elsewhere.

@fruitwerks, with the u-boot i ship on the eewiki, use this variable in /boot/uEnv.txt

uenv_root=/dev/sda1

Regards,

So simple! Your script was hanging on rsync deep in /sys so I just did a tar copy after it made the fs. It did work in the end, but results were not as expected. And I really don’t know what to expect, but I was hoping it would be better than this…

Bootable, Working: Western Digital Technologies, Inc. My Passport Essential (WDME)
1073741824 bytes (1.1 GB, 1.0 GiB) copied, 316.255 s, 3.4 MB/s

Not Bootable: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1051E SATA (not bootable, had issues with this device on multiple platforms)
1073741824 bytes (1.1 GB, 1.0 GiB) copied, 141.687 s, 7.6 MB/s

Native MMC
1073741824 bytes (1.1 GB, 1.0 GiB) copied, 150.698 s, 7.1 MB/s

… Glad I got it working in general. Never had a workable build of anything back when this board was popular. No Ethernet, no WiFi, no HW graphics, quirky USB… it was always something lol.