Installing on a Tatung TWN-5213 CU

[peasthope]

Hi,

I've tried to install Core Plus on a Tatung TWN-5213 CU and encountered difficulty.  May be hardware specific.  Discuss here?  Another branch of the forum?

Thanks,                      ... Peter E.

[Rich]

Hi peasthope
Welcome to the forum.

Yes, you can discuss it here. What's the problem?

[peasthope]

What's the problem?

Specs for the target computer

Tatung TWN-5213 CU CPU Transmeta TM5800 733MHz
CPU Transmeta TM5800 733MHz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmeta_Crusoe#Software_limitations
states "The Crusoe processor supports MMX but not SSE."

Memory 256MB DDR-SODIMM
Storage 512 MB Compact Flash, upgraded to  4 GB
Display resolution 1014 x 768 15 bit 65536 colorXDA
USB 2

Appears I have three possibilities: Micro Core, Tiny Core and Core Plus.
Of the three, which is the most capable likely to work on the hardware?
Is X feasible?

Thanks,                     ... P.

[Rich]

Hi peasthope
If your device has a wired network connection available, then Tiny Core is sufficient.

If your device only has wifi, try Core Plus. It includes wifi drivers and firmware. If you
are lucky, yours will be included.
If drivers and firmware are not included, we can explore other options.

Hardware specifications appear to be virtually nonexistent for your device.

I recommend plugging in a USB keyboard. I don't expect the touch screen to be recognized.
Have a USB mouse handy for the GUI.

... Display resolution 1014 x 768 15 bit 65536 colorXDA ...

Actually, that's  1024 x 768 , that specification was available on the Internet.

[gadget42]

this might help others to follow along in the journey:

https://www.manualshelf.com/manual/tatung/twn5213/user-manual-english.html

[peasthope]

Incidentally, several years ago AntiX worked on the Tatung machine.
Therefore I'm hopeful about making Core work.

(0) Given a 64 bit host system with a working 'net connection
and qemu-system-i386.  QEMU is reasonably fast on this system.
 
(1) To that 64 bit system, connect the CF card via a USB adapter.

(2) cd <locationOfTiny*iso> ; ls -ld Tiny*iso
# Check that the iso file is there.

(3) DISPLAY=:0.0 qemu-system-i386 -m 2G -cdrom TinyCore17.0.iso \
 -serial file:CorePlusTrace -drive file=/dev/sdf,media=disk,format=raw -boot order=d

(4) That gives a graphical display similar to the display from
CorePlus-17.0.iso.  One crucial difference: CorePlus presented an
icon for an installer; Tiny doesn't present an installer icon.

(5) Is an installer there?  If not what procedure should be followed?

Thanks,                ... Peter E.

[Rich]

Hi peasthope

... (0) Given a 64 bit host system with a working 'net connection ...

 ... (5) Is an installer there?  If not what procedure should be followed?

Since you have a working network connection, you should be able
to install  tc-install-GUI.tcz.
Either click on the Apps icon or open a terminal and enter:

Code: [Select]

tce-load -wil tc-install-GUI

[peasthope]

Rich & all,

Since you have a working network connection, you should be able
to install  tc-install-GUI.tcz.

Yes, QEMU provides a network connection.  No specific command line parameter needed.

Either click on the Apps icon or open a terminal and enter:

Code: [Select]

tce-load -wil tc-install-GUI

cd /mnt/A/ ; ls -ld Tiny*iso 
# Yes, the image exists.
DISPLAY=:0.0 gparted /dev/sdf  # Format the part to avert automount.
DISPLAY=:0.0 qemu-system-i386 -m 2G -cdrom TinyCore17.0.iso \
 -serial file:CorePlusTrace -drive file=/dev/sdf,media=disk,format=raw -boot order=d

# In the guest system, open a terminal and execute.
tce-load -wil tc-install-GUI
# tce-load completed successfully.
# Click installer icon to activate installer.
# Complete the installation.  No problem evident.
# Put the CF card in the Tatung TWN-5213 CU and power up.

# This appears on the screen.

No EFI environment detected.
early console in extract_kernel
input_data: 0x00880094
input_len: 0x005be8f3
output: 0x00100000
output_len: 0x00c7c720
kernel_total_size: 0x00d5d000
needed_size: 0x00d5d000
Decompressing Linux... Parsing ELF... No relocation needed... done.
Booting the kernel (entry_offset: 0x00b072d0).
ACPI BIOS Error (bug): A valid RSDP was not found (20250807tbxfroot-222)

A problem with ACPI?  Therefore try again.  During installation set bootcode "acpi=off".
The result is exactly the same except that the last line is absent.
Some other error blocks further progress?  No helpful message.  =8~/

Ideas?

Thanks,                      ... P.

[peasthope]

P.s. Pictorial evidence of anitX.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AntiXonTatung5213.jpg

[Rich]

Hi peasthope

... A problem with ACPI?  Therefore try again.  During installation set bootcode "acpi=off".
The result is exactly the same except that the last line is absent. ...

You should not need to re-install to change or add a boot code. When you boot, a menu
should appear for a few seconds. When that happens, hitting the  Tab  key should let
you edit the boot command.

Try these one at a time and see if anything improves or changes:

Code: [Select]

nosmp noacpi pnpacpi=off pnpbios=off

[peasthope]

Rich & all,

... hitting the  Tab  key should let you edit the boot command.

I should have mentioned that the Tatung doesn't have PS-2 and the boot loader doesn't respond to a USB keyboard.  My knowledge of USB is minimal. I wonder whether the native boot loader has only OHCI whereas the Tatung requires UHCI, EHCI or xHCI. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host_controller_interface_(USB,_Firewire)) If a bootcode can invoke an additional USB module, that may support the keyboard.

Try these one at a time and see if anything improves or changes:

Code: [Select]

nosmp noacpi pnpacpi=off pnpbios=off

Will do, thanks.  Without a keyboard, each trial is a fresh installation.

Thanks!                       ... P.

[Rich]

Hi peasthope
I don't suppose you can access the BIOS on this device.

If you can, look for  "Legacy USB Support"  or for
"USB Keyboard Support"  and enable it.

[peasthope]

I don't suppose you can access the BIOS on this device.

Haven't found a way in.   No hint on the screen after power up.

Five buttons and a rocker on the bezel.  A procedure with those
might open the BIOS but there are many possible combinations. 
 =8~/

Will try the bootcodes you mentioned.

Thanks,                ... P.

[peasthope]

Hello again Rich & all,

Tried each of the bootcodes you mentioned; nosmp, noacpi, pnpacpi=off and pnpbios=off.

In each of the four cases, booting ended with these two lines.

Booting the kernel (entry_offset: 0x00b072d0).
ACPI BIOS Error (bug): A valid RSDP was not found (20250807tbxfroot-222)

I don't know enough about RSDP and related details to solve this for Core.
In absence of a further suggestion, I think of reinstalling AntiX.

Thanks,                       ... P.

[Rich]

Hi peasthope
I found a couple more you can try if you wish to:

Code: [Select]

acpi=rsdt  acpi=copy_dsdt
Aside from no keyboard access for boot codes, the other problem is
their are many acpi related boot codes available:
https://www.mjmwired.net/kernel/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt

acpi shows up 184 times on the kernel-parameters.txt page.