Old Question

This board posts about running linux on your webdt366
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caomhim
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Old Question

Post by caomhim »

Help !!! Newbie here. I know this has been posted before but I cannot seem to find the post. Recently bought a webdt366. It came installed with Windows CE 5. Cannot install any programs (such as mobipocket reader, vlc or miopocket) as flags an error message saying "not a win32 application". Made attempts to install  linux ( tried with puppy Linux, nimblex, ubuntu puppy edition, puppulinux image with penmount) but all attempts to boot from usb sticks (tried various sticks ) fail as boot process hangs. System does not recognise any compact flash cards. At the moment I have just a brick. Useful as a beer mat. Can anyone advise? How can I get it to boot from usb ? So I can install puppylinux? Thanks caomhim
quotaholic
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Re: Old Question

Post by quotaholic »

Have you pressed F1 upon booting and double checked that the bios has the boot priority set to show usb as the first item to boot from?
caomhim
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Re: Old Question

Post by caomhim »

Hello Fellow WebDTers
Caomhim the newbie here again. Still having issues with this webdt366. Attempts to boot from USB fail as the USB installed OS hangs. I have tried several different OSes with mixed results. Sometimes they boot but mostly they hang during the boot process. I have tried Puppy Linux 5, 4.31, Ubuntu Puppy Edition, Moblin, UBCD4Win, and Moblin, I did have success with a rescue CD. My method is to burn an iso to usb stick using Unetbootin and attempt boot because I dont have an external CD drive. I have tried to boot using a usb hub (or hubs) and without to see if the hub is the cause of the boot failures. I have also tried different usb sticks to see if it is the stick.I have had  success with Diskcopy rescue CD and was able to make a bit by bit copy of the internal drive. However - I have not been able to install linux because of the reasons stated previously. Appreciate any advice regarding this issue. Cheers C@0mhim
volkswagner
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Re: Old Question

Post by volkswagner »

What happens at the stall?  Do you see your screen fading in and out?  The video can be a bugger on these.  Can you verify if the unit is an LX800 or a GX500 model?  Simplest way is if you have a PCMCIA network card under the antenna, you have a GX500, if you just see a wire going to a mini-PCI card, you have an LX800.  Each unit requires unique boot parameters for the video to post.

If you have the GX version try making a USB/netbootin of the Clonezilla image .iso.  It will wipe/format your internal drive, so hope your backup works!
Nothing is ever easy, but if it is difficult you must be doing it wrong.
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cskenney
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Re: Old Question

Post by cskenney »

I am new to all this too (thanks tbowland for getting me hooked).  I have been messing around and yesterday I was able to boot the latest version of Slax off a USB stick.  It took quite a bit of looking around to find everything I needed.  My DT366 is a LX800.  When I finally got Slax to work, I had a powered USB hub, a USB keyboard and USB mouse plugged into the powered hub and a HP 4GB USB stick that I just picked up at the local Staples store.  When Slax booted to the startup menu I pressed TAB and I was able to enter a cheatcode to alter the display setting.  Without the cheatcode, my display faded in and out as described by volkswagner above.  Once I entered the correct display setting for boot up, I was able to successfully boot into the graphical display environment.

Please know that I am still using the mouse and keyboard as I don't have any touchscreen drivers loaded.

Anyways, report back on the model number and I am sure you will get more help solving your startup issues.
caomhim
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Re: Old Question

Post by caomhim »

Hello Fellow WebDters
First to report that I had used the F1 key and could access the bios. Also to report that the Webdt I have is a GX 366Mhz. I dont have the screen fading just linux variants that hang . Mostly occurs where the os attempts to detects drives. I have had some success as I was able to boot with redobackup and perform a second backup of the existing system (windows ce 5). Really appreciate the feed back I am getting. I will keep everyone informed. kindest regards caomhim
quotaholic
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Re: Old Question

Post by quotaholic »

There are a number of linux distributions out there targeted at mobile tablets that simply wont work on the GX series DT366. Moblin if I remember right has a i586 cpu requirement. You will need to stick with i386 or i486 distributions for the GX series 366. MeeGo is another that will not work.

On the GX series its important to pass

Code: Select all

vga=788
on the boot line. Adding this is essential as most linux distributions boot to 1024x768. vga=788 will force an 800x600 resolution.

On the LX800 series its important to pass

Code: Select all

video=ofonly acpi=force
. Not required with newer ubuntu and other similar distributions but needed on most I have tried.

Puppy is a viable distribution. A member here, Matt, made a full puppy image for the 366GX:

forum/viewtopic.php?t=9

He also started another thread with all of his build notes too:

forum/viewtopic.php?t=0

Puppy lags a little but it packs a lot of stuff. I cant stand lag and the configurations were difficult for wifi and other things so I tend to stay with debian for the 366gx.

The LX800 is a different animal. Get a larger flash drive or experiment with flash card booting and one can put a whole lot more on as far as operating systems as it has a i586 processor.

On the GX series, sadly,  one can not boot from flash cards. Not sure on the LX800 yet. Haven't tried.

If a distribution has penmount drivers in the packages don't count on them working. Penmount is very tricky and requires a special xorg.conf configuration as well as their calibration utility to get a usable screen. Although the distribution may offer their driver the calibration utility is another matter.

Another thing tht makes the GX series tricky is that the HD gets recognized as /dev/hda1. Most modern linux distributions want to see /dev/sda1 instead. May be a reason for hanging on drive detection.

Happy DT'ing
quotaholic
Last edited by quotaholic on Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
caomhim
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Re: Old Question

Post by caomhim »

Hello fellow WebDters

Really appreciate all the feedback. I can now report success. Managed to boot to puppy linux from a multiboot usb stick. Also managed to install puppy. Installed penmount drivers and cellwriter. Having issues with penmount as it wont input to applications. Trying to work out this piece of software or are there alternatives. Will keep everyone informed
cheers
c@0mhim
caomhim
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Re: Old Question

Post by caomhim »

Hello All
Newbie here again.  Finally managed to install puppy linux 4.31 from a USB stick. Also copied the pupsave2.sfs file with xvkbd and penmount pre-installed (from this site - so thanks for that)and configured. However - puzzled about the virtual keyboard. It loads but currently does not allow for input to applications such as abiword or seamonkey. Any ideas

Thanks
Caomhim
volkswagner
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Re: Old Question

Post by volkswagner »

Have you tried using the focus button on the xvkbd?  Try hitting the focus button, then select the field you would like to edit, then start typing/tapping.
Nothing is ever easy, but if it is difficult you must be doing it wrong.
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