how to edit squashfs ro area

ellie1998

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I will be assuming that you are running a dw neutrino image but will expand later for other images, I will also assume that you are using one of the supplied ubuntu distro's.

On the dm500
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green

then start ubuntu and click on the gftp icon (on the toolbar up the top)
transfer the /tmp/root.tar to the ubuntu desktop

start terminal (on the toolbar up the top)
cd Desktop (needs the capital D)
tar -xf root.tar

then go to your desktop and you will see a folder called root you can edit the contents as if they are on your box.
!!!be careful what you edit as the box won't boot if you edit files your not sure about!!!

then back to terminal (which you should have left open)
./mksquashfs root squashfs.img -be

when it's finished you should have a file called squashfs.img on your desktop.

go back to gftp (which you should have left open)
delete the root.tar in /tmp on your dm500 and ftp the squashfs.img to /tmp on your dm500.

from your dbox remote
menu
service
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DreamBox SquashedFS

your box will then reboot and hopefully work as you wish.

Remember dreamup is your friend when/if it doesn't

If you have your own linux distro then just put a copy of mksquashfs on your desktop, I have attached a copy to this post.

I will post info on how to make the root.tar with other images and flashing the modified squashfs.img on enigma images in another post.

Have Fun
 
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Is there any reason why the the dream images are using squashfs & j2ffs instead of an all-in-one j2ffs based image like the newer dbox images?
 
Is there any reason why the the dream images are using squashfs & j2ffs instead of an all-in-one j2ffs based image like the newer dbox images?

Dboxes use 2 stages of bootloader - bmon & then u-boot - uboot suports JFFS2

Dreams are 1 stage with OpenBIOS - which looks for a kernel in a CramFS block in flash.

However it may be possible to make the CramFS small enough to just hold the kernel & if that's equipped with JFFS2 support have a RW / mounted just after the kernel loads off the CramFS.
 
jffs type images have been around since at least 2005 when I started (boxcracker)
Images like sportster were squashedfs and jffs because the squashedfs allowed for more compression so they could fit more in the limited space.
The commando images have more space now because they have been using upx compression on many files to make space, not sure if they have been using it but lzma compression has recently been added to the jffs type image.
lzma compression was added to squashedfs type images a couple of years ago to give more space.
Never looked into if a dreambox image can be made with no squashdfs partition although now the jffs can have the lzma compression I don't think space would be an issue anymore, I assume it is possible as the dm600pvr is mainly jffs2 read/write though the /boot is read only.
 
jffs type images have been around since at least 2005 when I started (boxcracker)
Images like sportster were squashedfs and jffs because the squashedfs allowed for more compression so they could fit more in the limited space.
The commando images have more space now because they have been using upx compression on many files to make space, not sure if they have been using it but lzma compression has recently been added to the jffs type image.
lzma compression was added to squashedfs type images a couple of years ago to give more space.
Never looked into if a dreambox image can be made with no squashdfs partition although now the jffs can have the lzma compression I don't think space would be an issue anymore, I assume it is possible as the dm600pvr is mainly jffs2 read/write though the /boot is read only.

Ta, I had noticed use of UPX & was hoping since LZMA was now available in JFFS2 that it might be used. To really make the best use of UPX multiple filesystems might be better - I imagine JFFS2/SquashFSing a UPX binary would add a lot of unnecessary double decompressions - one from the OS & one from the runtime UPX. There would probably also be little gain if any in free space from the Filesystem compression for binary executables. On the other hand, multiple partitions gets fiddly. I don't know enough about the JFFS2 & SquashFS FS to know - they might have a file mask that is settable to say exclude the /bin dirs from compression. Then you have the best of both worlds. Having checked, JFFS2 is a block based FS, so it compresses everything, SquashFS might be configurable as it's file based & CramFS is block again.
 
If you are using a bare image

Telnet to your Box
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Copy that file via FTP to your Linux
Start a terminal
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make any changes you want then back to the terminal window
make sure that you have the relevant mksquashfs on your desktop (included with the posted ubuntu's)
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then flash it as squashfs to the box

remember dreamup is your friend :)
 
Ok, done all that. Works a treat with the "big endian" version of mksquashfs you posted.

Trying to get my head around all these MTD devices, I knocked this up - (see attachment) does it look right to you?

So with the new squash img, I can flash it by ftp'ing to /tmp and then cp /tmp/squashfs.img /dev/mtd/5? ;)
 
I normally ftp it to /tmp then on the box

menu
service
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blue
Dreambox SquashedFS

to flash the squashfs.img
 
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