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Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:27 pm
by ali9000

Hi
I am tring to install fossapup 64
Frugal install
I have disabled quick boot on the bios
The laptop is a Fusion 5 (atom cpu 2gb ram)
It boots to the point it searches for usb then fails because it can't find puppy_fossapup64.sfs
I think it can't find the hard drive because it is mmcblk
Tried everything I could find online
Ali


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:59 am
by Flash

What's a mmcblk hard drive?


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 7:12 am
by bigpup

If it has a UEFI bios.
Go into the UEFI setup.
Disable secure boot.

What is Fossapup64 9.5 installed on?
A USB stick?
If yes.
How did you install it on the USB stick?
Specific details?

Only have the Fossapup64 USB plugged in when you boot.
Do not have any other USB drives plugged in.

If there are other USB ports.
Try plugging into a different port.

If you actually have a frugal install on the internal drive and trying to boot from it.
Is Fossapup64 the only operating system on the drive?
How did you do the frugal install?
Specific details how you did it??

Have no other drives plugged into computer, when you try to boot from this internal drive!!


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 12:02 pm
by mikewalsh

@Flash :-

Flash wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:59 am

What's a mmcblk hard drive?

"mmcblk" is the designation the Linux kernel gives to what's known as eMMC flash memory (this is the same stuff the eeePCs used to use). It's an earlier generation of NAND flash memory, usually soldered to the mobo - hence non-upgradeable - that is the same as that found in SD cards, for instance.

At the time, it wasn't that fast, but it was a way of providing cheap, non-volatile internal storage to lower-end netbooks and the like. Kind of like an early version of an SSD, but without the advantages.....and needs quite a bit of faffing-about to boot from, IIRC.

If this stuff was in use today, utilizing the same ultra-high-speed memory that SD cards for top-end digital cameras now employ, it wouldn't be bad at all, speed-wise. But the storage industry has moved on, and newer technologies have left it a LONG way behind.

Mike. ;)


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:15 pm
by geo_c
ali9000 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:27 pm

I think it can't find the hard drive because it is mmcblk
Tried everything I could find online
Ali

I have booted from sd flash cards many times, but only certain computers seem capable of doing that. It is most likely a limitation of the motherboard or bios.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2022 6:34 pm
by mikewalsh

@geo_c :-

geo_c wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:15 pm
ali9000 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:27 pm

I think it can't find the hard drive because it is mmcblk
Tried everything I could find online
Ali

I have booted from sd flash cards many times, but only certain computers seem capable of doing that. It is most likely a limitation of the motherboard or bios.

It'll be the drive firmware.....in this case, we're actually talking about the SD card reader, not the card.

I've never been able to boot directly from a built-in card reader. But if I put that same card in a USB SD card reader, it'll boot happily, time & time again.

Mike. ;)


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:00 pm
by rcrsn51
ali9000 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:27 pm

I am tring to install fossapup 64
Frugal install
I have disabled quick boot on the bios
The laptop is a Fusion 5 (atom cpu 2gb ram)
It boots to the point it searches for usb then fails because it can't find puppy_fossapup64.sfs
I think it can't find the hard drive because it is mmcblk

I can confirm that there is a problem with Fossapup64 (and other Puppies) when booting from an internal emmc drive. I know this because I tried it myself instead of just speculating about the issue. It has nothing to do with firmware.

There may be a GRUB boot argument that fixes this, possibly using the drive's UUID. Some Puppy expert may know.

In the meantime, there are other projects on this forum that can definitely boot from emmc. If you want to try something different, send me a PM.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 10:58 pm
by geo_c
rcrsn51 wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:00 pm

I can confirm that there is a problem with Fossapup64 (and other Puppies) when booting from an internal emmc drive. I know this because I tried it myself instead of just speculating about the issue. It has nothing to do with firmware.

There may be a GRUB boot argument that fixes this, possibly using the drive's UUID. Some Puppy expert may know.

I think @mikewalsh and I were talking about sd cards, which in my experience are seen by certain computers as boot devices, but in the cases of the computer being able to successfully boot from them, they also tend to be labeled as an sdb device, suggesting to me that perhaps those drives are on a USB bus, so as grub is never found by the computer in the boot sequence, the stanza wouldn't help in that case. I realize I'm not addressing the issue of an internal mmcblk hard drive.

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 12:25 am
by wiak
geo_c wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 10:58 pm

I think @mikewalsh and I were talking about sd cards, which in my experience are seen by certain computers as boot devices, but in the cases of the computer being able to successfully boot from them, they also tend to be labeled as an sdb device, suggesting to me that perhaps those drives are on a USB bus, so as grub is never found by the computer in the boot sequence, the stanza wouldn't help in that case. I realize I'm not addressing the issue of an internal mmcblk hard drive.

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread.

On my machines, if there is a built-in SD card slot the drive is seen and named as mmc blk device. That requires the initrd init code to modprobe load specific mmc-related modules at boot time or have that support built into huge kernel I guess. Originally, some years ago, I added that support to Debandogs porteus boot, which also involved some root filesystem scripts modifications, so likely will work with any of these dogs still today. In fact, for some years, most laptops in my house were booted via debiandogs using SD card slots. Different of course if the SD card were plugged in via a usb interface slot; then it would be seen as usb sdX block device rather than mmc block device.

The same SD/mmc block device support is also provided in KLV-Airedale and KLA so can also boot these from mmc block devices like SD cards plugged into inbuilt SD card slots or internal emmc drives. I don't know if Puppy supports that boot type or not or if it used to and some error has crept in to recent Pup builds related to these SD required modules.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:48 am
by geo_c

The same SD/mmc block device support is also provided in KLV-Airedale and KLA so can also boot these from mmc block devices like SD cards plugged into inbuilt SD card slots or internal emmc drives.

Well now you've got me curious about using SSD cards to boot KLV. I had dropped the practice when only a few machines would cooperate with pups. However SSD cards don't really seem that dependable in the long run, but that could be because I tend to use microSD and adapters, which can a be a little buggy. Seems like having a bootable SD card, bootable USB stick, and bootable USB hard drive laying around means there are always options when faced with setting up different machines.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 2:08 am
by BarryK
rcrsn51 wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 1:00 pm

In the meantime, there are other projects on this forum that can definitely boot from emmc. If you want to try something different, send me a PM.

I have a laptop with emmc drive, and EasyOS boots from it ok.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 6:10 am
by wiak
geo_c wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:48 am

Seems like having a bootable SD card, bootable USB stick, and bootable USB hard drive laying around means there are always options when faced with setting up different machines.

Actually I've used a bootable SD card in the past to rescue one of my old laptops that had a harddrive that was accidentally erased but no usb ports (well... they were all 'broken'...) so my alternative to opening the machine and taking out the harddrive for setting up on other computer was to simply boot from the one SD slot and fix things from there...


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:21 pm
by bigpup

We are talking to each other.

The original poster of this topic has replied to nothing we have posted. :roll: :thumbdown:


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:31 pm
by ali9000
bigpup wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 8:21 pm

We are talking to each other.

The original poster of this topic has replied to nothing we have posted. :roll: :thumbdown:

Sorry had a busy week at work so far.
Thanks for the replies


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:44 pm
by ali9000
bigpup wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 7:12 am

If it has a UEFI bios.
Go into the UEFI setup.
Disable secure boot.

What is Fossapup64 9.5 installed on?
A USB stick? (Yes)
If yes.
How did you install it on the USB stick?
Specific details? (Used multisystem and debian )

Only have the Fossapup64 USB plugged in when you boot. (Yes)
Do not have any other USB drives plugged in.

If there are other USB ports. (I can boot it from usb)
Try plugging into a different port.

If you actually have a frugal install on the internal drive and trying to boot from it .(yes thats what I am wanting to do so I dont need a usb plugged it)
Is Fossapup64 the only operating system on the drive? (Yes, I deleted windows and formated the drive maybe prematurely lol)
How did you do the frugal install? (Yes)
Specific details how you did it??
(booted it up from usb, used gparted to make two partitions 1 a fat32 100mb, and the other 50gb ext4 (tried ext2 and ext3 )
Installed with the frugal installer (included on fossapup))
Have no other drives plugged into computer, when you try to boot from this internal drive!!( Had no other drives plugged in)
It boots into a shell of some sort then i type exit and it then boots into the grub menu and starts to boot fossapup
then fails when trying to find the puppy.sfs file.

I will try and post a photo


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:59 pm
by ali9000

Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:23 am
by Phoenix

It may be the stock fossapup's kernel does not have support for eMMC cards built in, but as a module. This means you must now change out vmlinuz and zdrv-<insert some text here>.sfs to a different kernel (with support built into the kernel and not as a loadable module).
You can do this via your working USB, of course. And you need only change vmlinuz and the zdrv squashfile (specifically /lib/modules in it), nothing else.


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 8:27 am
by bigpup

Specific details how you did it??
(booted it up from usb, used gparted to make two partitions 1 a fat32 100mb, and the other 50gb ext4 (tried ext2 and ext3 )
Installed with the frugal installer (included on fossapup))

I think you still have some of Windows still on the drive. Probably something with it's boot loader.

Do this from Fossapup64 booted from install on the USB stick and running the computer.
Use programs in it to do everything.

You need to do this over, but this time start with Gparted making a new partition table on the drive. (Type msdos)
May have to make it gpt type, but try this first.

Then make the two partitions the way you did.
Make sure to flag the 1st one boot.

Do not use ext2 format use ext3 or 4 for 2nd partition.

Now use Frugalpup Installer to do an install to the 2nd partition.
Use it to install the boot loader to the 1st partition.
when asked what type boot loader select both.

Here is a step by step for using Frugalpup Installer
viewtopic.php?p=1887#p1887
This talks about a USB drive, but the same procedure works on any type drive.

Note:
There is a newer version of Frugalpup Installer than the version in Fossapup64 9.5
You could download and install it into the Fossapup64 USB install before you use it.
http://www.fishprogs.software/puppy/fru ... index.html


Re: Fusion 5 laptop can't boot from mmcblk hard drive? (UEFi boot)

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:48 am
by ali9000

Tried all that eventually after Tring lots of different linux, I got linux mint to install and boot.
Will try to install puppy again and see if it will boot as a second os