Ok, I'm a failed LINUX convertee and a windows only shop. I'm not a programmer, but can build a PC from the ground up & fix every problem my family & office have thrown at me in the past five years. This being said, my question:

Is there someplace I can learn how to compile & install these different kernels (dynamic volume, custom logo etc) in a Windows environment (98x) without programming (I _SUCK_)? I want to play too, but I don't want to build a Linux box, as my last attempts (last fall) left me frustrated after 2 failed packages & nothing to do with the one I did get running, other that to say "Neat, I got this one to work."

Thanks for any help you can provide to this dub.

-Zeke

just say you weren't paying much attention...

Zeke, you just described me exactly too. Although there is a developers board, it only really states facts. It's not a how-to guide which is the problem. I have wanted something like this too.

Someone needs to set up a web page or another section of this BBS that has "articles." More than a FAQ, like a how-to. People could then write these "articles" (for rookies and experienced programmers) about different processes like compiling the kernel for the empeg. Even the most basic information can be good information for many people. In my case, I have good programming experience for windows and I have a good idea of the concept of Linux but have a hard time getting started.

By building such a wealth of information, the empeg can by developed in much more depth which would benefit everyone here. Writing these "articles" wouldn't take very long for the people that know their stuff!

So who's up to setting up a web page, and who's up to writing the first article?


Alex Lear

like you, i am in the same boat. i would like to be able to get telnet & ftp running just to be able to do it, but not sure exactly how.

regarding the custom logos and kernels, see the faq section on the bbs. tony has a pretty foolproof description of how to do it. if it is packaged properly (like rjlov's volume adjustement kernel), all you have to do is download it and run a dos command prompt command (actually a program, but it only requires one line of input from you).

12 gig, green...

Don't I feel sheepish...I can't believe I missed that one after poking around the bbs for seven or so hours. I'm going to give that stuff a try.

-Zeke (proving my tag line true)

just say you weren't paying much attention...

Well, I've managed to put in Rjlov's volume adjust kernel (thank you jstrain for pointing up the FAQ), which seems to be working _very_ well on Roger Waters 'Pros and Cons of Hitchiking' (a dynamic album if ever there was one). I'll know better tomorrow on the way in as there's more noise in my car & I know how impossible it is to listen to at one volume. Even put in my own logo. Kudos to Tony's _excellent_ instructions & KoS's conversion program.

I too would love to see a Ftp/telnet how-to. Even a few links to general Linux sites that may shed light.

It was mentioned that there's a performance hit using the developer version of the kernel, my question is, how much of a perf. hit?

-Zeke


just say you weren't paying much attention...

If I understand the question correctly; I don't believe you can compile a linux kernel under Windows.

That said; in order to do it on an x86 box, you need a cross-compiler to compile it for the ARM architecture. Would gcc (djgpp?) cross-compile from windows x86 to linux on ARM? I haven't heard/seen of such a thing, but that is not to say that it doesn't exist. The cross-compiling would seem straight forward, but ... linking? I suppose it's possible, I've just not seen the tools to do it. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

well, TECHNICALLY, you could use a linux emulator under windows, then setup the crosscompilers there:)
-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

Is there a linux emulator for windows?

There's an operating system emulator that works under Windows NT (unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it... anyone?) it allows you to boot any operating system under nt, including beos/another w nt/w98/w95/linux/etc...

-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

...just remembered the program.. it's vmware..
http://www.vmware.com/

-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

Doh!

I had forgotten all about vmware. Of course, this makes the whole thing possible.

FS: Grey Matter Memory (Randomly Fails Checksum)

Edited by xavyer on 28/8/00 04:51 AM.

That sounds like a 12-pack of Dew project. Maybe later this week. I did try a linux package that booted out of windows & didn't require a dual boot setup. I also remember it didn't work on my machine. I'll try the vmware though. I'm going to put the developer kernel tonight to try and clear up some genre & IP errors. The voladj kernel is _spectacular_. I had maybe 2 chirps (and I'm not sure these weren't from the encodes) in my 2 hours in the car today. Pros and Cons of Hitchiking was great. You could hear all the dialog and not be blown out of the car when the guitar came in.

Which leads me to: ambient (road noise) volume adjustment? Anybody feeling ambitious?

-Zeke

just say you weren't paying much attention...

Here is one way to do it. However, I don't think that this is the
best way since you are not modifing the empeg itself. Only an
environment within it. I am trying to modify the empeg's
environment with a minimal set of files. See my other post
for that here

1) Download the Debian root image from
here

2) Transfer it with a version of emplode that transfers non-mp3 files. I
put it into Unattached items.

3) Figure out which file it now is. An easy way is:
Export the database
Tools->Export Database to CSV
Edit that file and search for debian-image_990822.tar
2474,"tune","9651112","debian-image_990822.tar","Unknown","","","","","","","","","","","",1,""
Start a calculator and multiply that result by 16 and then
convert it into hex. The windows calculator can with View->Scientific
9aa0

4) Extract that into a temporary directory
rwm
mkdir /drive0/tmp
cd /drive0/tmp
tar -xvzpf /drive0/fids/9aa0

5) Start the Debian environment
/drive0/tmp/usr/sbin/chroot /drive0/tmp

6) Optional: start up the loop-back interface
ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up

7) Make sure that dns can work. Correct the last line of /etc/resolv.conf
so that it points to a valid dns server.
vi /etc/resolv.conf
Test is out with
ping www.empeg.com

8) Make sure that ftp will allow connections. Comment out the last line
of hosts.deny to remove the PARANOID.
vi /etc/hosts.deny

9) Start/Restart the inet daemon. Normally, one would ps -ef | grep inetd
and kill -HUP the inetd's pid. However, ps traps now because there
is no /proc filesystem! Fortunately, inetd is not running and you can
just start it up.
inetd

10) Test it out!

11) To connect locally (with empeg's environment. Make sure to follow setp 6):
ftp 127.0.0.1

12) To connect within your LAN:
ftp 192.168.1.105

Now, for security reasons, you cannot login as root via ftp. Also, with your
current setup, every other id is disabled (the :*: after every name).
So, remove a * after an id that you want to use. This will make the password
empty. You can then change it by:
su
passwd

Sigh. However, I am having a problem with the groups (I think).
su bin
empeg:/$ su nobody
Password:
su: cannot set groups: Operation not permitted

I think this is why nobody cannot log in.

The problem that I'm running into is accessing the drive partitions after chrooting.. I know I can change the mounting points to be above the debian image, and then have symbolic pointers back to /drive0 and /drive1, but there's got to be a better way...
-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

Can you give a concrete example? I tried symbolic linking within the debian directories to /drive0 but once you type chroot, you loose everything above the current root.

A better solution would be to modify empeg's environment instead of using an artificial one via chroot.

The voladj kernel is _spectacular_. I had maybe 2 chirps (and I'm not sure these weren't from the encodes) in my 2 hours in the car today.

Those had to be from the encodes. The voladj kernel doesn't cause that kind of artifact.

Pros and Cons of Hitchiking was great. You could hear all the dialog and not be blown out of the car when the guitar came in.

Yep, that's exactly what it's all about.

Which leads me to: ambient (road noise) volume adjustment? Anybody feeling ambitious?

That's definitely something that would be cool, and Richard has expressed an interest in experimenting with the idea.

___________
Tony Fabris

...well, my idea (but I haven't actually had a chance to test this theory) was to change the original mount point.. My debian image is installed under /drive0/root ... so,

mkdir /drive0/root/debdrive0
mkdir /drive0/root/debdrive1

umount /drive0
umount /drive1
mount /dev/hda4 /drive0/root/debdrive0
mount /dev/hdc4 /drive0/root/debdrive1

ln /drive0/root/debdrive0 /drive0
ln /drive0/root/debdribe1 /drive1

THEN chroot...

again, this is just my theory, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.. some of the commandlines might not be right though... Anyone wanna tell me a better way to do this? I was pretty unsuccessful in copying the environment.. I tried copying the existing environment files to my debian files, then deleting the existing environment/ linking to the debian environment.. result? a very crashed empeg which needed reimaging:)
-mark

ps - sigh - just realized it wouldn't work.. my debian image would just move up.. I *can* access one drive at a time though, but that's kinda a pain.. any hints?

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

Edited by dionysus on 29/8/00 04:14 AM.

>empeg:/$ su nobody
>Password:
>su: cannot set groups: Operation not permitted

Shot in the dark here, but that will happen if the setuid bit is not set on su. I had a distro with that problem once.

-Mike

2) Transfer it with a version of emplode that transfers non-mp3 files.

I read from this that emplode has been changed such that the more recent versions *only* transfer MP3 files. Too bad
Though I left programming decades ago and have no intent to write add-ons to the player, I regret this. If emplode really has really been changed in this manner it's a feature that has been removed.

I strongly believe that applications should target for intelligent use. With that I mean, that applications should warn when someone wants to use existing facilities whenever they can, for something un-usual / out-of-the-ordinary rather than being sealed-off anything outside primary use / dumb-proofing it. Uploading a non-music file is such a thing: the player already check for invalid MP3 files / skips these.

I'll scrounge my disks later today. Hope I can still find an old emplode version that hasn't been crippled.

Unless/until we (you ??) get a dedicated / fast file upload facility, of course .


Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

Though I left programming decades ago and have no intent to write add-ons to the player, I regret this. If emplode really has really been changed in this manner it's a feature that has been removed.

Emplode's "only allow music files" feature isn't for the purpose of "locking people out" or anything. It's just so that if a newbie tries to drag invalid files onto Emplode, they won't waste disk space or give errors in the player if they try to "play" their Claudia Schiffer Jpegs. Remember that you can drag and drop entire folders onto Emplode. Perhaps someone drags and drops a folder that contains a mix of music files as well as non-music files (even something as simple as an M3U list). This filtering feature prevents problems in this case.

And sure you can say "but the player skips invalid files". Sure it does, but they'd still show up in searches and shuffles, generally getting in the way and being annoying. Empeg doesn't want Joe Consumer having to deal with that.

For what it's worth, you can still drag non-MP3 files into Emplode if you rename them to *.mp3 first. Since the file names get mangled within the player anyway, who cares what they're named at that point. So for the expert users, there's still a pretty simple way of uploading their non-music files if they really want.

___________
Tony Fabris

Well, once you've installed vmware (which is a virtual
machine, not an emulator - and a very nice program!) you
still need to install Linux into the virtual machine.

What you do gain in comparison to dualbooting is:

* No need to repartition (linux then lives in big file)
Repartitioning can also be avoided by installing Linux
in UMSDOS, but at a large performance loss.

* Wont mess with your MBR (Master Boot Record).

* No need to reboot - you just start the virtual machine as
a program under Windows.

/Michael

Linux: Turn on...Tune in...Fork out...

you can still drag non-MP3 files into Emplode if you rename them to *.mp3 first

That's good enough. Thanks for sharing

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

Hey thanks, that was a great shot in the dark!

chmod +s su

did the trick. Now I can ftp into empeg.

I checked out vmware this morning, win98 need not apply. Don't want to set up a NT machine at home (not much good for Quake III etc.). Has anyone tried winlinux? I tried a beta awhile ago and it pooped out before finishing booting. (the premise of winlinux is you boot to windows then into linux from a special file ala vmware, except you can't switch back & forth between them it just saves you messing up your mbr)

-Zeke

just say you weren't paying much attention...

if you're considering that, then you should look at bigslack... it's a 500mb slackware distribution which is complete, and boots under fat32/dos..., so you can boot to dos and run it ..
-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

I'll poke around with that tomorrow. I'm pooped from running a power wire through my firewall in hopes the Crutchfield fairy will bless me with a new cd/radio & amp for my back speakers...thanks for the tip though. Windows does boot slowly. Come to think og it, nothing boots as fast as my empeg. :-)

-Z

just say you weren't paying much attention...

Don't want to set up a NT machine at home (not much good for Quake III etc.).

Au contraire. Quake 3 _loves_ Windows NT, as long as your graphics card has stable OpenGL drivers.

Quite a lot of the latest games (Unreal Tournament, The Sims, Half-Life) run a treat under Windows 2000. Admittedly, some of the earlier ones don't, but who cares? .



Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

I definately think w2k is the way to go, especially if you own an Empeg:) sync's seem to go soo much faster through w2k..
-mark

...proud to have owned one of the first Mark I units

Hi,

That said; in order to do it on an x86 box, you need a cross-compiler to compile it for the ARM architecture. Would gcc (djgpp?) cross-compile from windows x86 to linux on ARM? I haven't heard/seen of such a thing, but that is not to say that it doesn't exist. The cross-compiling would seem straight forward, but ... linking? I suppose it's possible, I've just not seen the tools to do it. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here.

You could run a GCC x-compiler under CygWin (a Unix wrapper around Win32 API and build tool set), I build ARM executables using this.

Regards,






_________________________________________
John, (MK1 114-20G, MK2 15-36G).

I have been a Windows 2000 only user for a while now (Since getting my copy in advance in January) and have not run into any problems with my games. I actually would have to say that 98 gave me more problems then 2000 when gaming. And my collection goes pretty far back.

John,
Installed Cygwin just dandy. Blew some dust off my 'Using Linux' book and I'm off. Now I can really mess up my player! Not sure I need to ftp yet, but I did tweak 1200 ID3 tags in the empeg...

Drakino & Dionysus- I've got a W2k Dell Precision 420 at work with a G400 card. My quake play is a bit iffy, and I have a few (non-play) OpenGL apps that just plain don't work. Guess I'll have to suffer until Matrox gets their stuff together & writes some decent drivers. As for home, I just don't have the time or patience to rebuild a Celeron 500 machine into a W2k station. It would make it drag more than it does already. At some point I'll throw a 700 Celeron in there (don't think a PIII will go in my PII slot) & then maybe. When quakeIII does run it work it's sick fast with the G400 & 1/2GB RDRAM. Thanks for the tip tho'.

-Zeke


just say you weren't paying much attention...

we've got the same card; I've got the g400 max 32mb dualhead, although I'll be the first to admit that I don't play games that often...
-mark

MK2: 36gb
Tivo: 90gb
CPU: 120gb
...I think drive manufacturers love me!

Hi,

Installed Cygwin just dandy. Blew some dust off my 'Using Linux' book and I'm off. Now I can really mess up my player! Not sure I need to ftp yet, but I did tweak 1200 ID3 tags in the empeg...

Now you've got a build environment and tools chain, you'll need to install the GCC compiler and configure it for the correct cross-platform (ARM) to create binary images (if you already have not done so - look at the docs).

Good luck,

Regards,


_________________________________________
John, (MK1 #114-20G, MK2 #15-36G).

to install the GCC compiler and configure it...

I'm assuming you mean the arm-linux-toolchain.i386.tar.gz from the devloper site? Let me know if I'm smoking crack on that assumption.

-Z
(I see reading a lot of howto's and faq's in my future...)

just say you weren't paying much attention...

Hi,

I'm assuming you mean the arm-linux-toolchain.i386.tar.gz from the devloper site? Let me know if I'm smoking crack on that assumption.

I downloaded the GNU GCC compiler from here.

My ARM compilations wern't for Linux and not for the empeg, so be aware.

PS. What's crack?

Regards,



_________________________________________
John, (MK1 #114-20G, MK2 #15-36G).

what's crack?

seriously?

just say you weren't paying much attention...

http://www.virtualcrack.com/

(hopefully that won't offend anyone)

-Mike