Regular distro, contemporary kernel

[cheburashka]

(Yes, this is identical to what I posted in the "firmware" section--it seemed to apply for both categories.)

I've been working on getting a regular (gentoo) distro functioning on my n5200 with a current (2.6.22 at the moment) kernel. So far the only parts that are touchy are the LCD screen (the "ICH4_GPIO" kernel module and supporting thecus apps), and getting the disk LED's to work (appropriately patching the mv_sata driver).

To avoid reinventing the wheel, have others experimented/made progress/constructed working patches?

(I have some trouble understanding why more people don't switch to an ordinary distro, since all of the "features" missing from various firmwares and added to the pro are just GPL'd things from the net, and most of them in fact are built into current vanilla kernels...)

[fabi]

Hi

Don't you have a problem with firmware encryption as stated here?

thecususergroup.proboards106.com/index.cgi?board=n5200modifications&action=display&thread=1179945639

[cheburashka]

No, not really. I'm not sure what the concern was.

In the first place, if you just ssh into the n5200 with the regular firmware kernel running, you can access and copy the whole active directory structure. What difference does it make if you can't mount the encrypted images--you have the files in them anyway.

In the second, what I'm doing is actually _replacing_ nearly all of the thecus software. The ONLY functionality in the thecus software that isn't in a regular linux distro is the LCD screen and buttons, and the web interface. (Well, the thecus software does include a sata driver that supports hotplug. The linux kernel won't support that for another few months. But the driver included with the thecus software is easy to port)

There are NO other added software features.

[kniteowl]

Actually, no real concern, and I know that the encryption is only on the released firmware. In development, they do not encrypt the firmware. I was really looking to see if anyone was interested in building a custom firmware or if anyone had done one already. I didn't want the weight of a full distro, I want to build my own firmware, and the distro that Thecus was using is fine for doing that.

I am Petty certain that the distro that Thecus is using is SnapGear Embedded Linux, I was looking at trying to figure out how to setup a build environment for this, but then got sidetrack with normal life and have not gotten back to this yet

teng

[cheburashka]

Why do you think that's the kernel they're using? Is it from the tag "snap" in the directory tree? My interpretation was that they were applying the ddsnap (now known as zumastor) patches to a vanilla kernel.

But maybe you're right.

Do you have any interest in getting into the AVR/LCD part of the firmware? That's the one aspect of thecus' setup I haven't been able to penetrate so far--its not clear to me they included source for the relevant applications, and I think they only included source for the code installed in the AVR itself.