Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, David Moberg wrote:

> I have just uploaded a new linux-usb.tar.gz file. In the 1440.img
> file, I trimmed busybox and /dev, and added e3, libvga.config,
> USB keyboard, and loop support (for chrooting to BL3). reboot
> now behaves like BL3 (it unmounts everything properly).

What else comes in usb now, external floppy and hard drives?  Are they 
usb-storage?

I tested this on a computer without usb ports (because I have messed up my 
usb computer switching from DR-DOS to MS DOS 7.10).

I noticed the message about pressing Enter, thanks.

> I know that I promised more disk images, but there is still just
> one. Perhaps I will add more images in the next release.
>
> Instead of another disk image, I added a small initfs.gz to boot
> BL3 loop. It is currently untested.
>
> /etc/vga/libvga.config has chipset VGA as the default,
> because zgv works in VGA mode and there are a large
> number of VGA-compatible chipsets. You can change it if it
> is too low-res for you.

Since you omitted 'more', I used 'pico' (e3pi) to view it.  I suggest 
shortening libvga.config to only a few lines.  For zgv -M, include '#mouse 
microsoft'and 'mouse PS2' (unless your kernel supports other mice), and 
change mouse_accel_type power to mouse_accel_type off (because some mice 
act really screwy with power).

I doubt any USB computers have plain VGA video, so I suggest omitting that 
long list of chipsets and using:
chipset VESA
(improves resolution for Trident, Tseng, SiS and Virge, but messes up some 
other video chips, so maybe remark it out.)
#chipset VGA  (I hope this will work with ATI cards, which 
require special modelines).

To get more than 800x600 you will also need:
HorizSync  31.5 49.0  (We have one of these that does 1280 with S3 cards)
VertRefresh 50 100

(As well as the defaults 31.5 35.5 and 50 90 - remarked out because USB 
computers most likely have monitors that do better than VGA but some 
screwy laptop videos might not work at more than VGA).

You could put in a few lines explaining what might need to be edited, in 
this file and maybe in a readme of some sort somewhere else, with 
additional instructions on mounting /dev/sda1 and /dev/hda1 etc.

You can leave out the rest.  Save 16K and put back 'more'.

I notice you have three types of ppp*.o module, but not slhc.
What do we do with the ppp's?

I was able to Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot to a linux with slhc support.

I will take one of these disks to test with mice, keyboards, webcams and 
printers on Thursday.

> Between Dec 1 and Dec 3, sindi keesan wrote:
> > David, could you compile the next kernel with the option of loading usb
> > modules
>
> No need to recompile.
>
> > (maybe via an included script) for usb mouse and keyboard, so he
> > can test these in linux?
>
> I added keyboard drivers and the relevant line in /etc/rc. You should
> be able to plug a USB keyboard in and start typing. Please test, I do
> not have a USB keyboard.

Nor do I, but know where to find one.

> > Include gpm if possible, maybe on a second disk with the modules.
>
> Why? zgv -M will allow you to test a mouse. I don't have any plans
> to compile gpm. No real USB mouse support yet, I will try to make a
> script for the next release.

Sounds perfect!  My friend will definitely be impressed with this disk.


> If you want to use a PS/2 mouse with zgv, it is simple:
>
> 1) Boot 1440.img
> 2) cd /dev
> 3) ln -s psaux mouse
> 4) Edit /etc/vga/libvga.config and set the mouse protocol to PS2 or
> IMPS2. If you do not make the above symlink, also set mdev to the
> appropriate setting. You may also want to change the mouse
> acceleration.

What is mdev?

Do you want to ln -s psaux mouse as a default?  And set PS2 as default in 
the .config file?  Are more computers using PS/2 than serial mice now?  I 
would turn acceleration off as default.

> 5) zgv -M
This just worked in BL2.

> > > What modules are needed to get a usb printer to at
> > least print plain text
>
> printer.o + standard USB hci and usbcore
This 1-floppy kernel plus printer.o?

> > (do you cat filename > /dev/printer?).
>
> First you need to mknod /dev/usblp0 or /dev/usb/lp0
Thanks.  Should you include that in /dev, next edition?

> > He has no internet connection there to get Windows drivers with.

> I have not seen a USB printer that will print plain text. Usually you
> need to get gs and set that up to actually print anything. You might
> need something else too, depending on the printer model. Some
> printers might print PS or PCL.

So you can't use the single-floppy linux to test most usb printers?


> > A webcam driver would be nice, but he can also sell them 'as is'.
>
> Maybe next release. Webcams are not very standard, and they
> require a lot of software.

No problem, he has them marked 'as is', cheap.  Your first disk at least 
recognized them, but did not have the driver for them.  A test for usb 
printers would be most helpful.

> > usb-serial?
>
> I included the generic module. It should work with most devices
> after you mknod. If it fails to insert, you can use the vendor= and
> product= options to specify the USB device ID of the device that
> you are trying to use.

Do you do this at boot time?  Is this for usb modems?
Are usb floppy and hard drives usb-storage?

> > Can you write scripts to insert the modules for all of these
> > so a DOS-ie can manage?
>
> Maybe in the future. For now you can try the modules which I
> have included and see how well they work.

Will try to do this Thursday at least for keyboard and mouse.

> > There are also USB PDA chargers - do those need modules?
>
> Not ordinarily. But you may need to insmod uhci or ohci to get
> the hub to provide power to them.
No idea what to do with them after that.


> > My partner will take along some blank disks.  Will this 1-floppy linux
> > include dd so he can make newer disks?
>
> Both versions included dd, as well as fdformat and cat. You
> still need to use mkdosfs or mkfs.ext2 unless you do not need
> formatting.

He will take DOS formatted disks and write the next edition of 1-floppy 
BL to them.

> > > But I cannot see much purpose in a pager when the main intent
> > > of this disk is to allow you to view pictures and copy them.
>
> They have been removed. You can use e3 as a pager if you save
> stdout to a file first. Maybe in a later release I will add less. It's not
> critical at this point.

I used it to view libvga.config.  Ctrl-x exits without changes.

> > > > or to change the horiz syn and vert refresh
> >
> > Can you add lines to libvga.config with echo?
>
> Yes.
>
> echo "chipset VGA" >libvga.config
> echo "mouse PS2" >>libvga.config
> echo "HorizSync 40 70" >>libvga.config
>
> etc.

These lines get added at the end?

> > is there something even smaller then e3?
>
> e3 is very small and has many features. It will work fine
> for now.

It is half the size of libvga.config.

> > Does busybox have a line editor?
>
> It has vi and ed, but neither are very newbie-friendly.

I see you now have a separate vi (link to e3?).  BL2 busybox has no vi.

> > Good color, but we are taking 1280 resolution photos and can see only part
> > of the photo without scrolling.
>
> Press 'Z' while you are viewing an image to make it the same size as your
> screen. I need to add a manual for zgv...

Z appears to toggle the resolution.

After using e3pi to edit libvga.config, press ] to increase resolution.
zgv -z (zoom) shows everything screen-size.

> David