iPAQ H3600 Linux Installation Instructions -
v0.13
WARNINGS:
If this installation fails then your iPAQ could become
unusable.
This procedure has been tested on less than a handful of units. This
version, however, has a check sum code to validate that an uncorrupted
bootlader is being installed, and is less likely than the previous
installation process to result in an installation failure.
If you install Linux at this time then you may not return to
WinCE.
Work is underway to enable you to save your WinCE image before
installing an operating system, but at this time implementation is not
complete. WinCE has been successfully restored by three (3) people on
three (3) different iPAQs. There are still some saftey features that must
be added. I hope that v0.14 will be a complete, stable and well
tested..
Requirements:
Installation:
- Plug your iPAQ into the serial port of your Windows machine using a
serial cable.
- Configure your iPAQ to use the serial port for ActiveSync.
- Select settings from the Start Menu (the Microsoft flag icon)
- Click the Connections tab, and then double-click the PC icon.
- Ensure the Automatically synchronize when serial cable is
connected using is checked.
- Change USB to 115200 Default.
- Click OK (top right of the screen).
- Use the ActiveSync application (the file name is Async.exe) to connect
to your iPaq 3600 from you PC.
- Copy OSloader-1.3.0.exe
to your iPaq from your Windows machine. Ignore the "may need to convert"
message you will get.
- Copy the bootldr-c002-2.9.5
file to your iPAQ: it MUST be in the root directory (the root directory is
referred to as "My PocketPC"), and MUST be renamed bootldr.
- On your iPaq H3600, find OSloader-1.3.0 wherever you put it, and then
execute OSloader-1.3.0.
- Select the Tools->Flash->Save to files.... Four (4) files, 4MB
each in size will be created. After each file is created, copy the file to
your computer, then delete the file from the iPAQ to make room in the
WinCE ramdisk for the next file. The current status of the save /
restoration of WinCE is available at http://www.handhelds.org/projects/wincerestoration.html.
- Select the Tools->Bootldr->Run after loading from file menu
entry. The iPAQ screen should go blank.
- On the PC disconnect the ActiveSync application (it is holding onto the
serial port you need).
- On the PC, right click on the ActiveSync logo in the tooltray.
- Select the Connections Settings.
- Deselect Allow serial cable or infrared connection to this COM
port.
- You may have trouble getting ActiveSync to free your serial port. You
might want to use some more friendly operating system to run minicom or
eterm or,...
- Run your terminal emulator on whatever machine can talk to your serial
port with the settings of: 115200 8N1 (115200 baud, 8 bits, No Parity, 1
stop bit) and Flow control: 'None'.
- In your terminal emulator, hit the enter key on your keyboard
on your machine: you should see a 'boot>' prompt. You can
type 'help' at the bootloader at the 'boot>'
prompt to get a list of commands.
- This step is dangerous: make sure you perform it exactly
correctly. At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'load
bootldr', then start an xmodem download of the file bootldr-0000-2.9.5.
A bootldr
tarball corresponding exactly to these boot loader bits is
available.
- Your iPAQ will say "verifying ... done.". The loader
program has a simple sanity check in it to try to ensure that only a
bootloader can get installed into flash at the iPAQ's bootloader's
address.
- Reboot or power cycle your iPaq H3600: the boot loader should come up.
Don't be scared about the message "Corrupt kernel image", because you
don't have a kernel installed yet. Whew! You are through the risky
part of the procedure.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'load
kernel', then start an xmodem download of the file zImage-2.4.0-test6-rmk5-np2-hh1.
When finished with the download, you will see "Erasing, Writing, Verifying
flash" messages. A
kernel tarball corresponding exactly to these kernel bits is
available.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'load ramdisk',
then start an xmodem download of the file init-ramdisk-2-38.gz.
This takes approximately 4 minutes. When finished with the download, you
will see "Erasing, Writing, Verifying flash" messages.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'load flash
0x400000', then start an xmodem download of the file cramfs-2-38.
This takes approximately 10 minutes. When finished with the downlaod, you
will see "Erasing, Writing, Verifying flash" messages.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'load flash
0x800000', then start an xmodem download of the file cramfs-usr-2-38.
This takes approximately 20 minutes. When finished with the downlaod, you
will see "Erasing, Writing, Verifying flash" messages.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'set linuxargs "initrd
root=/dev/flash4 ramdisk_size=8192 console=0"'.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'set copy_ramdisk
0x01'
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'params
save'.
- At the 'boot>' prompt, type 'boot'.
- At the (none) login: prompt, type 'root'
Congratulations! You should be up and running.
Note: if you need to get back into the boot loader after you have Linux
running, restart the iPAQ and quickly hit the space bar a few times during the
boot process. You can restart the iPAQ with the Linux command shutdown -r
now.
Please post any questions to linux@handhelds.org. Thank you.
Modified August 25,, 2000 by france@crl.dec.com.
Please send comments on this document to George
France (france@crl.dec.com).