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This is a collection of miscellaneous information about Lemote and the Yeeloong. For information about gNewSense for Yeeloong, refer to GNewSenseToMIPS.

Short description

The project will realize the intention of The Free Software Foundation to port the gNewSense distribution on the Yeeloong laptop (http://www.lemote.com/english/yeeloong.html) manufactured by Lemote Tech (http://www.lemote.com/).

Detailed description

Roadmap

Work in progress

Subgoals

Overview

• mipsel architecture
• pmon2000 bootloader
• build gNewSense/MIPS
• maintain a repository for the kernel + software
• a standard way to compare kernel performance
• configure + test
• clean recovery + reinstallation procedure
• update procedure
• write documentation

Project ORCHID

gNewSense Orchid: a possible approach to a mipsel gNewSense port Project Orchid

Other projects

Avaneya has a MIPS port planned, using the Loongson as a test bed via gNewSense.

gNewSense / MIPS almost complete

See: http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnewsense-dev/2009-02/msg00058.html

Testers wanted!

Background

Call for volunteers:

• "The Big Push 2009 -- Free Software Foundation Appeal"

  • Citation from http://www.fsf.org/appeal/2008/letter

  "Hardware manufacturers friendly to free software have given us the first free software smartphone, the Neo FreeRunner. The OLPC project gave us the first free software laptop, the XO, that has quickly established the low-cost subnotebook marketplace — where the economics have made GNU/Linux a popular choice. And for the past few months, FSF systems administrators have been working on the forthcoming free software friendly Lemote laptop, which Richard Stallman is using and that we hope will be widely commercially available. The availability of free software friendly hardware has never been greater."

• Richard Stallman - "Le logiciel libre et ta liberté" - Saint Etienne cité du design 27/11/2008 -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolasrolland/3063002969/

• "a FREE COMPUTER - are you serious?", in ben's blog, 5th Dec. 2008 -- http://ben-ahrens.blogspot.com/2008/12/free-computer-are-you-serious.html

Press review:

• The Loongson-2 MIPS Lemote Yeeloong Netbook, OSnews, 21th May 2009.

• The MIPS Processor and the $150 Linux Netbook, O'Reilly, 28th May 2009

• Lemote Yeeloong: нетбук по-китайски, by Anton Borisov. Google-translation Lemote Yeeloong: netbook in Chinese

• People’s Processor: Embrace China’s Homegrown Computer Chips, 21th Dec. 2009

• China's Loongson Processor Effort, 30th Dec. 2009

• MIPS-based Android set-tops debut, 11th Jan. 2010

Mailing list threads

• New project: GNewSenseToMIPS

• gen-kernel changes for MIPS (gen-kernel is part of builder.)

• A first contribution from Beijing Linux User Group

• Portage de GNewSense sur MIPS

• New project: GNewSenseToMIPS

• Porting project of the Yeeloong netbook from Lemote

The hardware

The hardware has a free "bios" (the pmon2000 booloader), and should have a free OS (gNewSense). Its powered by a Godson cpu.

The CPU

The CPU is a 64-bit MIPS processor licensed by the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT), part of the Chinese Academy of Science and manufactured by STMicroelectronics.

References:

• http://www.st.com/stonline/products/families/computer/microprocessors/stls2f01.htm

• Loongson STLS: http://www.st.com/stonline/products/families/computer/microprocessors/loongson.htm

• "STLS Processors for Affordable PC": http://www.st.com/stonline/products/families/computer/microprocessors/affordable.htm

• "STLS Processors for Thin Client Devices": http://www.st.com/stonline/products/families/computer/microprocessors/thin_client.htm

• The STLS2F processors: http://www.st.com/stonline/products/families/computer/microprocessors/stls2f01.htm

• STLS2F01 datasheet: http://www.st.com/stonline/products/literature/bd/13577/stls2f01.pdf

• loongson2f-userguide.pdf: http://kd50.ustc.edu.cn/docs/loongson2f-userguide.pdf

• Linux/MIPS repository: http://www.linux-mips.org/git?p=linux.git;a=summary

The boot firmware

The boot firmware is a free "bios" (the pmon2000 booloader), developed by Opsycon AB (Sweden) and modified by Lemote Tech (China).

References:

• http://www.opsycon.se/PMON2000/Main

Manufacturer: Lemote Technology (China)

• http://www.lemote.com/en/index.html

The models

The Yeeloong netbook

Features

• http://www.lemote.com/english/yeeloong9c.html

User manual

• http://www.lemote.com/bencandy.php?fid=114&id=986

• http://www.lemote.com/bencandy.php?fid=115&id=995

Photos/reviews

• http://sorbaioli.org/photos/lemote_yeeloong/ (courtesy of Graziano Sorbaioli)

• http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s223/dsobodash/Lemote%20Yeeloong/ (thanks to Derrick Sobodash)

• http://cinnamonpirate.com/2009/01/entering-dragon-landthe-loongson-laptop/

Availability & commercialization

• Yeeloong 8089 8,9":

  • Dec. 2008: Tekmote

  • Jan. 2009: Beijing/China

  • http://www.lemote.com/english/yeeloong.html

  • http://www.lemote.com/english/contact.html

  • http://store.taobao.com/shop/view_shop-e31813a865b2abbeb74aaa765561f87a.htm

  • Spring 2009: https://www.kd85.com

  • July 2009: Ordering direct from lemote

  • Sep. 2009: Latin America Availability

  • Nov. 2009: Zefyris (France)

  • Jan. 2010: 8089 A Hackable Devices

  • Jan. 2010: 8089 C Hackable Devices

• YeeLoong 8101B 10"

  • Jan. 2010: Tekmote

  • Mar. 2010: Hackable Devices

Lemote Yeeloong specifications

cat /proc/cpuinfo

system type             : lemote-notebook
processor               : 0
cpu model               : ICT Loongson-2 V0.3  FPU V0.1
BogoMIPS                : 528.38
wait instruction        : yes
microsecond timers      : yes
tlb_entries             : 64
extra interrupt vector  : no
hardware watchpoint     : no
ASEs implemented        :
shadow register sets    : 1
core                    : 0
VCED exceptions         : not available
VCEI exceptions         : not available

dmesg

To be completed

lspci

00:07.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
00:08.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Motion, Inc. SM712 LynxEM+ (rev b0)
00:09.0 USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 44)
00:09.1 USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB 2.0 (rev 05)
00:0e.0 ISA bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] ISA (rev 03)
00:0e.2 IDE interface: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] IDE (rev 01)
00:0e.3 Multimedia audio controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] Audio (rev 01)
00:0e.4 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] OHC (rev 02)
00:0e.5 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] EHC (rev 02)
00:0e.6 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] UDC (rev 02)
00:0e.7 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] UOC (rev 02)

sources.list

# deb http://dev.lemote.com/debian-loongson/ loongson main contrib
# deb http://dev.lemote.com/debian/ testing main contrib
deb http://www.lemote.com/debian-testing/ testing main contrib
# deb-src http://www.lemote.com/debian-testing/ testing main contrib
# deb http://www.lemote.com/debian-testing/ testing main

xorg.conf

See here...

PMON 2000 version

PMON2000 2.1 (Bonito) #28: Sun Nov 16 10:25:28 CST 2008

PMON> set

novga = 1
karg = "console=tty root=/dev/hda1"
al = /dev/fs/ext2@wd0/boot/vmlinux
ethaddr = ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
memsize = 256
highmemsize = 768
cpuclock = 797000000
busclock = 66000000
systype = Bonito
brkcmd = "l -r @cpc 1"
datasize = -b   [-b -h -w -d]
dlecho = off    [off on lfeed]
dlproto = none  [none XonXoff EtxAck]
bootp = no      [no sec pri save]
hostport = tty0
inalpha = hex   [hex symbol]
inbase = 16     [auto 8 10 16]
moresz = 10
prompt = "PMON> "
regstyle = sw [hw sw]
regsize = 32    [32 64]
rptcmd = trace  [off on trace]
trabort = ^K
ulcr = cr       [cr lf crlf]
uleof = %
showsym = yes   [no yes]
fpfmt = both    [both double single none]
fpdis = yes     [no yes]
Version = LM8089-1.3.3
BuildTime = Nov 16 2008 10:25:27

The Fuloong mini

Features

• http://www.lemote.com/english/newproducts.html

Photos

• http://www.aligunduz.org/articles/lemote-unbox.html (courtesy of ali Gündüz)

Availability & commercialization

• Jul. 2008: http://www.lemote.com/english/contact.html

• Nov. 2009: Tekmote

Lemote Fuloong specifications

• http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/Fulong2f

cat /proc/cpuinfo

system type             : lemote-fulong
processor               : 0
cpu model               : ICT Loongson-2 V0.3  FPU V0.1
BogoMIPS                : 532.48
wait instruction        : no
microsecond timers      : yes
tlb_entries             : 64
extra interrupt vector  : no
hardware watchpoint     : no
ASEs implemented        :
shadow register sets    : 1
core                    : 0
VCED exceptions         : not available
VCEI exceptions         : not available

dmesg

See here...

lspci

00:06.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)
00:08.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 315PRO PCI/AGP VGA Display Adapter
00:0e.0 ISA bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] ISA (rev 03)
00:0e.2 IDE interface: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] IDE (rev 01)
00:0e.3 Multimedia audio controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] Audio (rev 01)
00:0e.4 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] OHC (rev 02)
00:0e.5 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] EHC (rev 02)
00:0e.6 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] UDC (rev 02)
00:0e.7 USB Controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] CS5536 [Geode companion] UOC (rev 02)

sources.list

deb http://www.anheng.com.cn/debian lenny main contrib
deb-src http://www.anheng.com.cn/debian lenny main contrib
deb http://www.anheng.com.cn/debian-security lenny/updates main contrib
deb-src http://www.anheng.com.cn/debian-security lenny/updates main contrib

xorg.conf

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Generic Keyboard"
        Driver          "kbd"
        Option          "XkbRules"      "xorg"
        Option          "XkbModel"      "pc104"
        Option          "XkbLayout"     "us"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier      "Configured Mouse"
        Driver          "mouse"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
        Option          "UseFBDev"              "true"
        Option "EnableSiSCtrl" "yes"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
        Identifier      "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier      "Default Screen"
        Monitor         "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

PMON 2000 version

PMON2000 2.1 (Bonito) #7:2008................17:31:33 CST"

PMON> set

novga = 1
karg = "console=tty root=/dev/hda1"
al = /dev/fs/ext2@wd0/boot/vmlinux
ethaddr = ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
memsize = 256
highmemsize = 256
cpuclock = 800020000
busclock = 66000000
systype = Bonito
brkcmd = "l -r @cpc 1"
datasize = -b   [-b -h -w -d]
dlecho = off    [off on lfeed]
dlproto = none  [none XonXoff EtxAck]
bootp = no      [no sec pri save]
hostport = tty0
inalpha = hex   [hex symbol]
inbase = 16     [auto 8 10 16]
moresz = 10
prompt = "PMON> "
regstyle = sw [hw sw]
regsize = 32    [32 64]
rptcmd = trace  [off on trace]
trabort = ^K
ulcr = cr       [cr lf crlf]
uleof = %
showsym = yes   [no yes]
fpfmt = both    [both double single none]
fpdis = yes     [no yes]
Version = 1.2.125

Devices and drivers

Wifi (RTL8187B)

The RTL8187(B) is included in linux-libre 2.6.32.9 lemote kernel by default.

Alternatively, download the RTL8187B driver from http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/53

Execute:

tar xjpf rtl8187B_linux_26.1051.0116.2009_driver.tar.bz2 -C /lib/modules/2.6.27.1/kernel/drivers/net/wireless

• References: RTL8187B drivers and patches

CPU

Loongson 2F: High performance 64-bit superscalar MIPS® microprocessor

• STLS2F01 : http://www.st.com/stonline/products/literature/ds/14751/stls2f01.htm

• STLS2F02 : http://www.st.com/stonline/products/literature/ds/14793/stls2f02.htm

xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion

This driver makes the Lemote Yeeloong fail sometimes at starting the X server. The solution is to remove this package, and then restart the computer.

• http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/49

Webcam

Output of dmesg after switching on the webcam with the Fn + Esc key (Camera on/off):

usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device USB 2.0 Camera (064e:a114)
input: USB 2.0 Camera as /class/input/input3
usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=064e, idProduct=a114
usb 1-1: New USB strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-1: Product: USB 2.0 Camera
usb 1-1: Manufacturer: SuYin

1/ Gnewsense:

- webcam recognized

- module uvcvideo loaded

- camera working with:

/usr/sbin/mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:width=320:height=200

- camera not working with:

/usr/sbin/mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:width=320:height=200 -vo xv

- camera not working with:

gst-launch-0.10 v4l2src ! autovideosink

- camera not working with:

luvcview

- camera not working with:

cheese

2/ Debian from http://bjlx.org.cn/loongson/loongson2_debian5_20090315.tar.bz2

- webcam recognized

- module uvcvideo loaded

- camera working with:

/usr/sbin/mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:width=320:height=200 -vo xv

- camera not working with:

luvcview

- camera not working with:

cheese

3/ Debian from the netboot install (see: http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/65 ):

- webcam recognized

- module uvcvideo loaded

- camera working with:

/usr/sbin/mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:width=320:height=200

- camera working with:

gst-launch-0.10 v4l2src ! autovideosink

- camera not working with:

luvcview

- camera not working with:

cheese

Battery monitoring

For linux-libre kernel, version 2.6.33.2 (earlier?) or later, battery status is given by the following command in terminal:

 cat /sys/class/power_supply/yeeloong-bat/status

For earlier versions, you would have to write (root user?):

 cat /proc/atm

Battery module: ec_batd

Source of the ec_* modules available from: http://www.gentoo-cn.org/~zhangle/ec_module.tar.gz

1/ Gnewsense:

Not working

2/ Debian from http://bjlx.org.cn/loongson/loongson2_debian5_20090315.tar.bz2

Output from dmesg

APM of battery on KB3310B Embedded Controler init.
battery vendor (SANYO), cells count(3), with designed capacity(2250),designed voltage(10800), full charged capacity(2250)

The capacity of the battery (as indicated by the battstat-applet-2 in Gnome), is 1h30.

3/ Debian from the netboot install (see: http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/65 ):

Not working

Boot firmware: PMON2000

The pmon bios

• Source repository

• ftp://www.bjlx.org.cn/loongson/pmon/

• Download page

• Direct download link

The original pmon2000 boot firmware

• http://www.opsycon.se/PMON2000/Main

PMON2000 Documentation

• http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/43

• ftp://www.bjlx.org.cn/loongson/pmon/1.1.2.1/PMON2000_Loongson_Intro.pdf

• PMON User Manual translated in english

Boot parameter

Loading of the boot menu from config file:

PMON> path bl -d ide (wd0,0)/boot.cfg

Examples of a "boot.cfg" file

default 1
timeout 3
showmenu 1
title Debian GNU/Linux at hda1  (loongson)
        kernel (wd0,0)/boot/vmlinux-yeeloong
        args console=tty root=/dev/hda1 no_auto_cmd resume=/dev/hda3
        #initrd (wd0,6)/boot/initrd.img-yeeloong

title gNewSense mips-l - hda3 (medan libre)
        kernel (wd0,2)/boot/vmlinux-2.6.27.1-libre-medan
        args console=tty root=/dev/hda3

title gNewSense mips-l - hda3 (medan)
        kernel (wd0,2)/boot/vmlinux-2.6.27.1-medan
        args console=tty root=/dev/hda3

title Debian mips - hda4
        kernel (wd0,0)/boot/vmlinux
        args console=tty root=/dev/hda4 no_auto_cmd

title usb - rescue
        kernel (usb0,0)/boot/rescue
        args root=/dev/sda1 console=tty no_auto_cmd rootdelay=7
        #initrd (usb0,0)/boot/initrd.img

title usb - reinstall - gnewsense mips-l
        kernel (usb0,0)/netboot/gns/vmlinux
        initrd (usb0,0)/netboot/gns/initrd.gz
        args console=tty no_auto_cmd

title usb - reinstall - debian/lemote
        kernel (usb0,0)/netboot/lemote/yl/vmlinux
        initrd (usb0,0)/netboot/lemote/yl/initrd_yl_netboot.gz
        args console=tty no_auto_cmd

PMON's graphical interface

The PMON boot firmware has a graphical interface with 5 menus.

In order to open it, press the B key

Main Menu

Boot Menu

Network Menu

Advanced Menu

Exit Menu

Updating of the PMON configuration

On the Fuloong mini, the /usr/sbin/update-pmon script may be used to update the /boot/boot.cfg file.

On the Fuloong mini, the /usr/sbin/update-pmon script may be used to update the /boot/boot.cfg file.

To this end, execute /usr/sbin/update-pmon and adapt the modified /boot/boot.cfg if necessary, especially if you are using a multiboot configuration. Copy it eventually to the root boot.cfg file as set by the PMON boot firmware (see Boot parameter).

So, in this experiment, the active distribution is located on the /dev/hda2 partition. The update-pmon script updates the local /boot/boot.cfg file located on the /dev/hda2 partition. However, the PMON2000 boot firmware is set to use the /boot.cfg file on the /dev/hda1 partition. In order to make the modifications of the boot.cfg file effective, you should copy it to the /dev/hda1 partition, after updating it according to the other distributions eventually installed on the other partitions.

Boot firmware: GRUB2

GRUB2 can also be used as boot firmware. It's only been tested for the Fuloong so far. Revision 3395 is known to work. A pre-built image of this version is available for download (md5sum = 3dbcd69c9ea09013a200db0bf1b9ab4d).

Distributions available & planned

Overview of the distributions

Distributions on the Yeeloong netbook

Debian (medan) for Lemote Yeeloong 8089A

BEST CHOICE: Debian mips customized by D-- torrent (wifi, power management, works by default, optimized for speed and space)

Disc image of Debian (medan) for Lemote Yeeloong 8089A. Tester feedback for the 8089B model appreciated.

• Presentation & howto (section The distribution): http://cinnamonpirate.com/2009/02/blame-sparse-updates-on-yeeloong-repo/

• screenshot

OS_1.1.1

Lemote Yeeloong chinese default os

• screenshot

Debian

Debian mipsel customized for the Yeeloong. All you need to do is to unpack this into your Yeeloong hard disk

• screenshot)

Debian-en

Debian mipsel customized for the Yeeloong, with KDE + English localization

OpenRays

A Debian based chinese distribution developed and marketed by Sun Wah Linux Limited.

Gentoo?

gNewSense (work in Progress)

Distributions on the Fuloong mini

• Debian ( http://bjlx.org.cn/loongson/ ) - (http://www.lemote.com/debian) <- I think this is the content of the DVD that comes with the Fuloong mini.

• OpenRays - screenshot.

• Gentoo
• gNewSense (work in Progress)

Download links

• ftp://www.bjlx.org.cn/loongson/

• ftp://www.bjlx.org.cn/loongson2f/

• ...

Emulation

The gxemul emulator from Lemote

• http://www.lemote.com/upfiles/gxemul-0.4.3.godson.tar.gz

The release 0.4.3 has been improved by Lemote (Liangjin Peng, penglj at lemote.com) and reflects the state of the loongson2e CPU. The newer loongson2f CPU has introduced newer hardware and the gxemul code remains to be adapted according to this new hardware.

Changes in the release 0.4.3 (according to Liangjin Peng)

1. MIPS:loongson2e CPU support added, which is as same as mips10K or other 64bit MIPS CPU.

2. Bonito2E north bridge support added, which is optimized by ICT.
3. 16KB page size support added for MIPS platform, which only supports 4KB before, but still a little bugs in it due to the unflexible architecture of the gxemul.
4. This platform has been ported mainly according to the web page of the gxemul, few documents made for it.
5. Working on the rtl8139 network adapter. This is a work in progress,

and it is still not usable today.

Hardware changes introduced by the loongson2f CPU (according to Liangjin Peng)

1. With the loongson2f CPU, the north bridge has been integrated, causing a little software modification.
2. The south bridge is changing to AMD CS5536, which is more complex to configure, so it will cause a lot of work load to port to gxemul.
3. The video chipsets also differ to mini Fuloong2e, which are smi712 for yeeloong and sis315e for mini Fuloong2f.
4. Mini Fuloong2f has another network adapter rtl8180 inside which also will be a big problem to be resolved.

Download

• http://www.lemote.com/upfiles/gxemul-0.4.3.godson.tar.gz

The original gxemul emulator

• http://www.gavare.se/gxemul/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GXemul

Remote access to development hosts

Lemote has setup a compile farm of four Lemote mini-PC (fuloong mini).

Ask the login parameter in order to access to this hardware remotely (via ssh).

For the moment, send your ssh public key to sysadmin@gnu.org - preferably in a GnuPG signed email. If you are rearing to go or the request seems to be taking too long, feel free to ping djbclark in #gnewsense (freenode IRC).

To access the main machine, do: ssh -A <user>@dev.lemote.com -p 2200

After login, you can connect to build[2-4] to use other machines, if you have requested and been given access to them.

We should probably modify builder to use ccontrol / distcc to make easy use of the multiple machines.

There is a mailing list for everyone who has accounts: loongson-buildfarm@nongnu.org .

Preliminary work

You may use 2 systems: the build system and the target system (either the Fuloong mini or the Yeeloong laptop)

Creation of a recovery system for the Fuloong mini

Reboot from a rescue kernel

Download http://dev.lemote.com/files/resource/download/rescue/rescue-fl

Load it via usb:

load /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/boot/rescue-fl
g console=tty root=/dev/sda1 rootdelay=8

You have now a working rescue system with Busybox!

Welcome To Debian Linux Based On Longmeng Computer

Please press Enter to activate this console.

BusyBox v1.1.3 (2008.08.13:-05:07+0000) Built-in shell (ash)

Then you can have a shell in ramdisk to do things.

Creation of a recovery system for the Yeeloong laptop

Reboot from a rescue kernel

Download http://dev.lemote.com/files/resource/download/rescue/rescue-yl

Load it via usb:

load /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/boot/rescue-yl
g console=tty root=/dev/sda1 rootdelay=8

You have now a working rescue system with Busybox!

Welcome To Debian Linux Based On Longmeng Computer

Please press Enter to activate this console.

BusyBox v1.1.3 (2008.08.13:-05:07+0000) Built-in shell (ash)

Then you can have a shell in ramdisk to do things.

Reinstall the whole system

To reinstall the whole machine, just put the whole V1.1.x directory (http://www.lemote.com/upfiles/8089_OS_v1.1.1/ ) into a usb stick or disk (first ext2/3 partition, root directory), then use the 'recover' function of the pmon(press tab key during boot up).

1) I downloaded the new version of the os that samy talked about in the mailing list.

2) Formatted an usb key ext2 and put it all inside.

3) Inserted the usb key BEFORE switching on your Lemote Yeeloong.

4) At the pmon boot I pressed del.

At PMON> prompt I wrote:

boot /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/vmlinux

and again a second time:

boot /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/vmlinux

5) The lemote will display a chinese writing and below it, "System is recovering and Please wait for several minutes", then it will reboot.

6) When it rebooted, the kernel didn't load (maybe this was a particular issue related to my situation) so I set again the pmon variable called "al" (autoload):

set al /dev/fs/ext2@wd0/boot/vmlinux

7) The Lemote Yeeloong will then boot automatically into the new updated os.

Creation of a multiboot system for the Fuloong mini

work in progress

Creation of a multiboot system for the Yeeloong laptop

work in progress

Creation of a netboot system for the Fuloong mini

http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/58

References

• "Installing Gentoo/MIPS without a netboot image"

Creation of a netboot system for the Yeeloong laptop

Debian system

http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/58

gNewSense mips-l from an usb key

• Reference

http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnewsense-dev/2009-02/msg00026.html

http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/gnewsense-dev/2009-03/msg00024.html

• Netboot image

A netboot image can be obtained from:

http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/netboot/

• Procedure - Put vmlinux and initrd.gz in a USB disk (in the example I used ext2) - Get to pmon2000 prompt and type:

     load /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/vmlinux
      initrd /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/initrd.gz
      g console=tty no_auto_cmd

  - Follow installation process in D-I.

- Once finished, your system can be boot with:

      load /dev/fs/ext2@wd0c/boot/vmlinux-2.6.27.1-libre-medan
      g console=tty no_auto_cmd root=/dev/hda3

    (assuming you installed to third partition of the internal
    disk, otherwise you'll have to change wd0c and hda3)

    And you can make this the default by setting "al" and "karg"
    variables.

Post-installation step:

apt-get install gnewsense-pkgsel-desktop

If you got an Xserver error, then modify the /etc/X11/xorg.conf configuration adding:

 Section "Device"
        Identifier      "Configured Video Device"
        Driver          "fbdev"
        Option          "UseFBDev"              "true"
 EndSection

Alternatively, install the xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion_2.2.8-lemote.r03_mipsel.deb (see http://dev.lemote.com/drupal/node/49) and copy a xorg.conf from another working yeeloong installation.

• sources.list

deb http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/pruned-upstream mipsel-l main
deb http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/pruned-upstream-security mipsel-l main
deb http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/overlay mipsel-l main
deb http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/pruned-upstream-security mipsel-l main
deb http://dev.lemote.com/debian-loongson loongson main

gNewSense mips-l from a tftp server

• On the server :

- install and setup a tftp server (for example atftpd)

- copy the files initrd.gz and vmlinux from http://archive.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-mipsel-l/netboot/ onto /var/lib/tftpboot

• On the installation target (Yeeloong)

- boot the Yeeloong

- press DEL

- At the PMON> prompt type

ifaddr rtl0 <addr.of.your.laptop>
   # to set the ip address of your Yeeloong, e.g. 192.168.1.31
load tftp://<addr.of.your.tftp-server>/vmlinux
   # to load the kernel image on your tftp server, e.g. 192.168.1.30
initrd tftp://<addr.of.your.tftp-server>/initrd.gz
   # to load the initial ram disk image
g console=tty no_auto_cmd
   # to set the console

Follow the installation procedure in D-I

Upgrade of the PMON boot firmware

work in progress

CAUTION: if carried out incorrectly, the upgrade of the PMON2000 firmware can brick your unit and require a reprogramming of the memory! Be careful!

The upgrade procedure of the PMON2000 boot firmware through software control path:

1. When the yeeloong or fuloong machine power on, press DEL to enter the PMON console.

2. Type the following command to upgrade the firmware

load -r -f bfc00000 method_to_load_pmon_binary_image

When this command is completed, a successful message will output to the display.

CAUTION: This command will damage all the data in the firmware, if wrong data has been writen into it, the machine will do never run up unless taking the firmware off the motherboard and writing correct data into it through the programmer.

Choose a method to load pmon binary image: either using the ftp network protocol or using a local or removable storage unit:

a. Using the tftp network propocol.

Example:

load -r -f bfc00000 tftp://host_ip/pmon-new-image.bin

Prerequisite: the machine must be assigned a static IP

To this end, enter the pmon console, and type the command:

ifaddr rtl0 ip_address

b. Using a local or removable storage.

Example: if the pmon image is located on the first partition of the local hard disk (wd0):

load -r -f bfc00000 /dev/fs/ext2@wd0/pmon-new-image.bin

or, if the pmon image is located on an usb stick (usb0):

load -r -f bfc00000 /dev/fs/ext2@usb0/pmon-new-image.bin

3. Reboot your machine. Your machine will boot from the new firmware.

Note that if you have problems booting from wd0 after you do the upgrade, you should try booting from usb using a rescue linux, and do from it:

fsck.ext3 -fy /dev/hda1

Where /dev/hda1 is the ext3 partition that your vmlinux is on (alhough you might as well just do this for each of your ext3 filesystem partitions). Either many people interrupt the boot process in the wrong place, thus causing some filesystem corruption, around the time they do PMON upgrades, or newer PMON versions are more sensitive to filesystem corruption than older versions.

Images

• Version 1.3.7 (build date = 2009-02-06) (WARNING: This version makes booting from wd0, the internal hard drive, not work on some systems. Booting from usb0 still works, and upgrading to 1.4.3 fixes the problem.)

• Version 1.4.3 (sha1sum dfe3302b202a538b3b7c6ade804ef7ccc3903f1a - translated announcement)

References

• "How to upgrade the PROM on the Fulong"

• Liangjin Peng (penglj at lemote.com)

• "A manual about PMON upgrade for Lemote machine" (in chinese)

Documentation

• QuickLemoteDocDump

Official documentation by Lemote Tech:

• OS installation in Loongson-platform

• A detailed handbook about the Lemote Fuloong 2F6003 product

Links

• the gNewSense distribution

• the Linux/MIPS Wiki

• the linux-mips list

• the loongson-dev list

• the debian-mips list

• the products from Lemote Tech china

• description of the yeeloong laptop

• the distributor tekmote.nl

• directory of software possibly related to the yeeloong (to be confirmed)

• an information portal

• lemote git repository

• some development projects

• forum

• the english forum was announced here

• ftp server with installable debian distributions

• the beijing linux user group

• Installation & configuration guides at tuxmobil.org

Discussions

Resources/infrastructure exchange

Possible ressources needed

Development

• cpu, bandwith, storage,

Testing

• machines (fuloong / yeelong)
• test suite

Documentation

• documentation, translation, etc...

Resources offered by participant

• samy: 2 fuloong + 1 yeeloong available for installing/testing; documentation, translation (en, es, de, fr)
• dclark: ssh access to a fuloong, virtualization space
• kgoetz: builder familarity
• kgoetz: thoughts about how to restructure the build system.
• r0bertz: experiences of porting gentoo, specifically experiences about toolchain/kernel/xorg-server etc.
• eeliu (elly with 2 coders/testers): qa/usability testing, documentation - there might be one project from each coder
• benedikt.ahrens: qa/usability testing and documentation (de, en, fr); no fuloong, no yeeloong

• ArthurWebkid: qa/usability testing and documentation (chinese, en); don't have fuloong or yeeloong

• ...

Participants

Please complete/correct

• Alan Bell alan.bell at theopenlearningcentre.com
• Ali Gündüz gndz.ali at gmail.com
• Arthur Webkid arthur.webkid at gmail.com
• Benedikt Ahrens benedikt.ahrens at gmx.net
• Danny Clark dclark at gnu.org

• Elly Liu elly.liu.cn at gmail.com with Ray Wang, String Tang, Beijing Gnome User Group and OpenParty testers (one month trial per tester).

• Graziano Sorbaioli - graziano (at) gnu.org

• info at fsf.org
• John Sullivan johns at gnu.org
• karl at kgoetz.id.au
• Marcelo E. Magallon marcelo.magallon at softwarelibrecr.org
• Martin Franco mfranco at gmx.com
• Richard M. Stallman rms at gnu.org
• Robert Millan rmh at aybabtu.com
• Samy Boutayeb s.boutayeb at free.fr
• Anivar Aravind anivar at movingrepublic.org
• Zhang, Le r0bertz at gentoo.org
• Sanath Kumar dayanandasaraswati at gmail.com
• Nestor Amigo nestor at reciclanet.org

Contact

Samy Boutayeb s.boutayeb at free.fr

Communication channels

• IRC:  #gnewsense and #gnewsense-dev on irc.freenode.net 

• Wiki

• Mailing lists:

  • gNewSense-users, for general gNewSense discussion

  • gNewSense-dev, the gNewSense development list