My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

AmigaOne X5000 platform specific issues related to Linux only.
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xeno74
Posts: 9349
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:58 am

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by xeno74 »

Hi All,

Julian released a new ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS net install ramdisk for Uboot machines for testing (Sam460ex and X5000) today.
Julian wrote: Hi all,

New Ubuntu-Mate 16.04.1 net install ramdisk for Uboot machines for testing (Sam460ex and X5000).
Tested thus far with Sam460ex .

Allows for more user configuration during the install process than the alternate live installer .

Uses the Debian based installer so all required files downloaded from Ubuntu Ftp Server as needed.So no DVD or USB .img needed.

Use any kernel for the installation so not tied to any particular kernel.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3RvbWpfeWc

Regards
Julian
Many thanks to Julian for the new net install ramdisk. :-)

Please test it.

Thanks,
Christian
http://www.amigalinux.org
http://www.supertuxkart-amiga.de

Running Linux on AmigaONEs can require some tinkering.
Spectre660
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: Montserrat

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by Spectre660 »

Thanks Christian.

Some instructions.

Copy the ramdisk https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3RvbWpfeWc,
a kernel https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... lRMOWhxWDg
and the cyrus_5020.dtb https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3VXZzJmOVE
to a fat32 formated usb drive
and use the following U-boot settings to boot .
(If your kernel has a different name then use that instead of uImage-cyrus)

usb init
setenv bootargs root=/dev/ramdisk mem=3500M radeon.pcie_gen2=1
fatload usb 0:1 1000000 uImage-cyrus
fatload usb 0:1 1c00000 cyrus_5020.dtb
fatload usb 0:1 2000000 uRamdisk_Ubuntu-Mate_16.04_net
bootm 1000000 2000000 1c00000
Sam460ex : Radeon Rx550 Single slot Video Card : SIL3112 SATA card
daz
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Posts: 329
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:32 pm

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by daz »

Spectre660 wrote:Thanks Christian.

Some instructions.

Copy the ramdisk https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3RvbWpfeWc,
a kernel https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... lRMOWhxWDg
and the cyrus_5020.dtb https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3VXZzJmOVE
to a fat32 formated usb drive
and use the following U-boot settings to boot .
(If your kernel has a different name then use that instead of uImage-cyrus)

usb init
setenv bootargs root=/dev/ramdisk mem=3500M radeon.pcie_gen2=1
fatload usb 0:1 1000000 uImage-cyrus
fatload usb 0:1 1c00000 cyrus_5020.dtb
fatload usb 0:1 2000000 uRamdisk_Ubuntu-Mate_16.04_net
bootm 1000000 2000000 1c00000
OK I've given this a try, and I keep running into a problem:

The 'Starting up the partitioner' stage reaches 45% then hangs.

Last message on the error console is:
partman: Reading all physical volumes. This may take a while..

There is an odd message halfway up the screen though, hw-detect: Missing modules 'usb-storage (USB storage)

Any ideas?

Regards
Darren
Spectre660
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: Montserrat

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by Spectre660 »

@Daz

Looks like the kernel may not not have USB Mass Storage support built in .
or does not like a SATA controller or drive that is present .
Had the hang with the betas of Ubuntu 16.04 but it now works on the only machine that I have to test with (Sam460ex -Sil3112 , 1 hard drive and No DVD attached.)

CONFIG_USB_STORAGE=y

http://cateee.net/lkddb/web-lkddb/USB_STORAGE.html

(I start my rant about people not including their kernel .configs with the kernel archive for those of us who don't have that particular hardware but may need to know what is included)
Sam460ex : Radeon Rx550 Single slot Video Card : SIL3112 SATA card
Spectre660
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: Montserrat

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by Spectre660 »

@ Daz

If you have some available time can you see if the same thing happens with my new Debian 8 ramdisk please.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... Fo4clZzUmc
Sam460ex : Radeon Rx550 Single slot Video Card : SIL3112 SATA card
Spectre660
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: Montserrat

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by Spectre660 »

@Daz

Could be a problem with an SSD if you have one .

http://forum.hyperion-entertainment.biz ... 681#p41677

daz wrote:
Spectre660 wrote:Thanks Christian.

Some instructions.

Copy the ramdisk https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3RvbWpfeWc,
a kernel https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... lRMOWhxWDg
and the cyrus_5020.dtb https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxoZd ... 3VXZzJmOVE
to a fat32 formated usb drive
and use the following U-boot settings to boot .
(If your kernel has a different name then use that instead of uImage-cyrus)

usb init
setenv bootargs root=/dev/ramdisk mem=3500M radeon.pcie_gen2=1
fatload usb 0:1 1000000 uImage-cyrus
fatload usb 0:1 1c00000 cyrus_5020.dtb
fatload usb 0:1 2000000 uRamdisk_Ubuntu-Mate_16.04_net
bootm 1000000 2000000 1c00000
OK I've given this a try, and I keep running into a problem:

The 'Starting up the partitioner' stage reaches 45% then hangs.

Last message on the error console is:
partman: Reading all physical volumes. This may take a while..

There is an odd message halfway up the screen though, hw-detect: Missing modules 'usb-storage (USB storage)

Any ideas?

Regards
Darren
Sam460ex : Radeon Rx550 Single slot Video Card : SIL3112 SATA card
outrun1978
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:03 pm

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by outrun1978 »

Ok, after a week or so of working with a fresh install of Ubuntu-Mate 16.04.1 that runs off my USB key, i would like to ask a few questions:

My current set up is an AmigaOneX5000 with a Club 3D 250E LP (rebadged Radeon HD7750), the X5000 is also running with 4GB or ram and on my motherboard via the two SATA ports are the two Amiga OS drives I have running.

I also have a SIL3512 Sata controller for which my DVD Rom is attached

Current issues I am concerned about:

1. Video Playback- YouTube streams work well in a small window, but the machine struggles when i try to put this into fullscreen.
BBC I-Player and other video websites like Vimeo struggle with playback with a loss of frame rate and slow playback

I have also downloaded SMplayer and SMTube and there is little improvement on the playback quality of Youtube streams
In SMPlayer I have amended the Video configuration to change the video driver from OpenGL to X11 which means that playback is now 100% in sync howver the picture quality is of a poor quality. Going back to Amiga OS 4.1 and using Emotion full screen for Youtube streams via SMtube works without any issue even in 720HD so this is a real frustration as I would have expected Linux to have been a lot more developed

What can i do or what commands can I enter in the Terminal to try and improve the playback quality? Forgive me but I am a little bit green with Linux so as much detail as possible would be appreciated :-)

2. DVD Rom- I am unable to mount the DVD ROM to playback Audio CD's and DVDs. Could this be linked to Linux supporting the onboard SATA ports only?

3. VLC Player- I am unable to get this to load. Have tried uninstalling and re-installing this but it doesn't work at all
User avatar
xeno74
Posts: 9349
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:58 am

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by xeno74 »

outrun1978 wrote: My current set up is an AmigaOneX5000 with a Club 3D 250E LP (rebadged Radeon HD7750)
3. VLC Player- I am unable to get this to load. Have tried uninstalling and re-installing this but it doesn't work at all
Video playback and 3D acceleration work better with RadeonHD 4xxx 5xxx & 6xxx gfx cards. The VLC from the Ubuntu repository doesn't work on a X5000.
http://www.amigalinux.org
http://www.supertuxkart-amiga.de

Running Linux on AmigaONEs can require some tinkering.
Spectre660
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:16 pm
Location: Montserrat

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by Spectre660 »

@outrun1978

You should do a bit more reading of the Linux Forums here.

I will try to tackle the video Issues.

The video issue is that Powerpc Linux does not support hardware video decoding with the Radeon SI cards and newer.
So only the cpu is used to decode and playback video. We are hopeful that hardware decoding will be supported one day .
For SMplayer you need to set the output driver to X11(slow) for the best playback with a SI card .
Also Set Direct rendering and double buffering.
Under performance set Allow frame drop
Under Decoding set 2 Threads for Decoding (MPeg-1/2 and H.26 Only)
Under H.26 Loop Filters set Skip (Always)
It still wont do full screen playback. But you can play most videos .
With a NI cards like a Radeon HD5450,HD6450,HD6570,HD6670,HD6850,HD6750 you can playback 1080p fullscreen.
Of course no 3D in AmigaOS4.1 .

VLC has some issues with the hardware decoding and for machines without Altivec .
There are some improvements in the updated version but also other problems.
It plays some videos in a window but upside down
Sam460ex : Radeon Rx550 Single slot Video Card : SIL3112 SATA card
outrun1978
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:03 pm

Re: My experiences with ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 LTS Live USB

Post by outrun1978 »

@spectre 660 and xeno 74

Thanks for your kind responses and I have been looking through the support forums for other hints and tips, looks like i may have to dig out the old Radeon HD 5450 from my old Sam 460 board to solve the problem here. I am guessing I can have two video cards running off the X5000 motherboard. I am guessing that there would need to be some set up to ensure that Linux is picking up the 5450 and not the 7750??
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