How to mount an HFS USB drive?

[Adam Franco]

Hello all,

I have a USB HD that I'd like to be able to mount on both OS X and the Sheevaplug. I've read that HFS/HFS+ are supported in Ubuntu and have used apt-get to install a few HFS related utilities, but haven't been able to figure out how to get the drive to mount. I have turned off journaling on the drive, so that shouldn't be the issue.

Do I need to compile a new kernel or are there steps that I can take with the default (and dist-upgraded) OS to mount an HFS volume?

Thanks for any help!
- Adam

[cbxbiker61]

This kernel should work for HFS(+).
http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=524

[Adam Franco]

This kernel should work for HFS(+).
http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=524

Thanks for the pointer, cbxbiker.

Looking at the README for that kernel (http://sheeva.with-linux.com/sheeva/README-2.6.30.3) it looks like I can pretty much just download the kernel and modules to the plug and nandwrite the image, all directly within the running plug rather than using JTAG, correct?

Are there detailed instructions for doing this kind of kernel upgrade anywhere? There are a few things in the README that I am unclear about:

• # This is a mainline Linux Kernel and you must set
  # the mainlineLinux and arcNumber env variables in U-Boot
  # and change the bootargs for a successful boot.
  #
  # setenv mainlineLinux yes
  # setenv arcNumber 2097
  ####### change bootargs, replace nand_mtd with orion_nand and add rootfstype=jffs2
  # setenv bootargs rootfstype=jffs2 console=ttyS0,115200 mtdparts=orion_nand:0x400000@0x100000(uImage),0x1fb00000@0x500000(rootfs) rw root=/dev/mtdblock1 rw ip=192.168.1.9:192.168.1.4:192.168.1.4:255.255.255.0:DB88FXX81:eth0:none
  # saveenv
  

  Are the setenv/saveenv commands supposed to be run in the plug's running bash shell or in a boot-loader console?
  Should the be run before or after the nandwrite?
  

• Due to changes in vm security a change must be made in /etc/sysctl.d/10-process-security.conf.
  vm.mmap_min_addr should be set to 32768 (This change is safe for any kernel version).
  If this is not done it is likely that you will not be able to login remotely.
  Although you should still be able to login as root on the main console.
  

  If I'm reading this correcty, I should be able to make this config change before doing the nandwrite. Correct?
  

So, as I understand the README, the steps to upgrade from the default kernel on a new plug are as follows:

• Log into the plug
• Install wget:
  
  apt-get install wget
  
  
• Save the README to the plug:
  
  wget http://sheeva.with-linux.com/sheeva/README-2.6.30.3
  
  
• Make this change, then comment out those lines in the README:
  

  Due to changes in vm security a change must be made in /etc/sysctl.d/10-process-security.conf.
  vm.mmap_min_addr should be set to 32768 (This change is safe for any kernel version).
  If this is not done it is likely that you will not be able to login remotely.
  Although you should still be able to login as root on the main console.
  

  
  
• Since this is the first install of a non-default kernal, uncomment the boot lines in the README:
  
  setenv mainlineLinux yes
  setenv arcNumber 2097
  ...
  setenv bootargs rootfstype=jffs2 console=ttyS0,115200 mtdparts=orion_nand:0x400000@0x100000(uImage),0x1fb00000@0x500000(rootfs) rw root=/dev/mtdblock1 rw ip=192.168.1.9:192.168.1.4:192.168.1.4:255.255.255.0:DB88FXX81:eth0:none
  saveenv
  
  
• Make the README executable:
  
  chmod 755 README-2.6.30.3
  
  
• Run the README script to download and write the modules and image:
  
  ./README-2.6.30.3
  
  
• Reboot:
  
  shutdown -r now
  

Please let me know if this looks correct or if I have any of this wrong or out of order. Alternatively, please point me to step by step instructions that people have actually tried. I'd prefer not to brick my plug right off the bat if I can help it. As well, this way of updating the kernel seems a heck of a lot easier than setting up cross-compilers and the rest of it. If the documentation doesn't exist and I can get this working, I'd be happy to compile this into a more comprehensive wiki-page.

Thanks again!
Adam

[cbxbiker61]

The changes to the environment variables have to be done directly in uBoot so you must have the main console working.  Thanks to your reading the README, I realized that I needed to # out a block of comments.


1. Log into the plug
2. Install wget:

apt-get install wget

3. Save the README to the plug:

wget http://sheeva.with-linux.com/sheeva/README-2.6.30.3

4. Make this change:
Quote
Due to changes in vm security a change must be made in /etc/sysctl.d/10-process-security.conf.
vm.mmap_min_addr should be set to 32768 (This change is safe for any kernel version).
If this is not done it is likely that you will not be able to login remotely.
Although you should still be able to login as root on the main console.

5. Make the README executable:

chmod 755 README-2.6.30.3

6. Run the README script to download and write the modules and image:

./README-2.6.30.3

7. Reboot:

shutdown -r now

8. (From the main console in uBoot):

setenv mainlineLinux yes
setenv arcNumber 2097

8a.  Be careful here!  You want to "add" rootfstype=jffs2, and change "nand_mtd" to "orion_nand" without changing the rest of your bootargs.  Don't copy the sample exactly as the start locations of nand partitions can vary.

setenv bootargs rootfstype=jffs2 console=ttyS0,115200 mtdparts=orion_nand:0x400000@0x100000(uImage),0x1fb00000@0x500000(rootfs) rw root=/dev/mtdblock1 rw ip=192.168.1.9:192.168.1.4:192.168.1.4:255.255.255.0:DB88FXX81:eth0:none
saveenv

[Adam Franco]

For those following these steps, run a final command in the uboot console to restart the boot up process (after saveenv):
reset

[Adam Franco]

I followed the instructions and was successful.

I have reformatted these instructions and added them to the wiki at:
http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Install_Prebuilt_Kernels_From_sheeva.with-linux.com

Thanks again!

- Adam

[rappa]

Thanks for sharing.  I had the exact same questions.  I followed your guide and upgraded to 2.6.30.4.  Everything seems to be working so far.

[CqCn]

I followed the instructions and was successful.

I have reformatted these instructions and added them to the wiki at:
http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Install_Prebuilt_Kernels_From_sheeva.with-linux.com

Thanks again!

- Adam

Adam, a special thank you!  That makes it so much easier for others to do the same procedure now, instead of having to navigate cumulative instructions and corrections.  I wish more people will do this!!  Then, hopefully the original person, or the next one can keep adding to the instructions in the Wiki, that might show up as a confusion for somebody else.  I like your format in the Wiki!

Just because it might change in the future, or might stop working when they change the stuff shipped, it would be nice to add the start up conditions:  When was the ShPlg bought?  Kindly also list the versions of everything you see just prior to running this.

I plan to do this very soon.  I have couple of short questions:
A.  Since I had already changed the bootargs earlier, and am currently booting from the SDCard,  I assume, I need to set it back to the original first??

B.  What happens to all the stuff I have added to the SDCard since I started.  I assume, using the new Kernel, I can boot from my running SDCard as well, with some minor changes to the bootargs right after the update described in before this?

[Adam Franco]

Just because it might change in the future, or might stop working when they change the stuff shipped, it would be nice to add the start up conditions:  When was the ShPlg bought?  Kindly also list the versions of everything you see just prior to running this.

CqCn, I've added my SheevaPlug order/ship-date info to the discussion for the wiki page (http://www.openplug.org/plugwiki/index.php/Talk:Install_Prebuilt_Kernels_From_sheeva.with-linux.com) as it is somewhat meta to those instructions. Since I've already upgraded my kernel, I don't know what version I had before. Hopefully others trying out these instructions can verify more version info.

As for your other questions, I'll leave those for somebody who really understands this embedded stuff better. 

- Adam