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FamiliarReleaseNotes

Familiar Release Notes

Familiar 0.8.4 was released on 20th August 2006. Please use it in preference to older releases (including previous "unstable" images). See FamiliarChangeLog for a list of changes.

  1. Familiar Release Notes
    1. General notes
    2. Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.4
    3. Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.3
    4. Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.2
    5. Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.1
    6. Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.0
    7. Known Issues in Familiar v0.7.2

General notes


Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.4

None at present.

Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.3

Base system

h3600 images

Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.2

Base system

h3900: first suspend resets unit

On h3900 series iPAQs, the first time the unit is suspended, when the device is resumed you will find it has been reset (the bootloader will be showing). Subsequent suspends will work fine.

h3600: remove unused packages before updating

On older h3600 devices with less memory, it is recommended that you remove some unused packages before doing an ipkg update or you may run out of space. See FamiliarSlimDownHowto for some recommendations.

However, this is a little tricky to do given the ipkg bug mentioned above. The solution is as follows:

  1. Update package information: 

    ipkg update

  2. Upgrade only ipkg and libipkg: 

    ipkg install ipkg libipkg

  3. Remove the packages you wish to remove as normal

fbvncserver not built for iPAQ
The version of fbvncserver in the feeds is designed for Sharp Zaurus handhelds; when used on an iPAQ the display & touchscreen will not be aligned correctly. The [WWW]patched version of fbvncserver for iPAQs should work for 36xx, 37xx, 38xx, 39xx and 54xx.

Opie

Sound

Sound now works, but sometimes event sounds still do not get played, or only part of the sound is played.

Missing timezone files
The timezone package installed with Opie (timezones) contains only a few cities (one from each continent) so when the user specifies a location from date/time setup for which there is no timezone info file installed (very likely), GMT will be used, so it would look like that the time is always off by couple of hours. The solution would be to copy the timezone info file from your desktop to the iPAQ.

eg. for Vancouver, copy /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Pacific to iPAQ's /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Vancouver. Don't have these handy? They can be downloaded from http://mail.westmont.edu/pipermail/zoneinfo

e.g. for Vancouver, 

 cd /usr/share/zoneinfo/America
 wget http://mail.westmont.edu/pipermail/zoneinfo/America/Vancouver

or install the timezones package for your region:

Mediaplayer2 problems
Before installing opie-mediaplayer2 you should install a skin for it: 
ipkg install opie-mediaplayer2-skin-default
Also if it plays sound at double speed, correct the file opiexine.cf: 
vi /home/root/Settings/opiexine.cf
and uncomment line audio.oss_sync_method:softsync so file will be 
misc.memcpy_method:glibc
# uncomment if you experience double speed audio
audio.oss_sync_method:softsync
codec.ffmpeg_pp_quality:3
...

GPE

General


Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.1

Base system

Note: /root was moved to /home/root to preserve it for people who have /home outside the rootfs (eg. on an SD card). This might break in single-user mode, or at any other time when /home isn't mounted.

h3600: remove unused packages before updating

On older h3600 devices with less memory, it is recommended that you remove some unused packages before doing an ipkg update or you may run out of space. See FamiliarSlimDownHowto for some recommendations.

Sometimes could also help in saving space to add the following line in /etc/ipkg.conf 

lists_dir  ext  /var/lists
This line instructs ipkg to use the /var/lists directory to hold the Packages files, thus saving a lot of space in / filesystem. Those files will be lost when rebooting, as /var is cleared at every reboot, but a simple "ipkg update" will download it again

Alarm Kernel Module(sa1100-rtc) Not Loaded By Default

The Kernel module sa1100-rtc was not loaded by default and that would cause whatever program tries to set up an alarm to freeze. To solve this, run: 

modprobe sa1100-rtc
To make a permanent fix: 
echo sa1100-rtc > /etc/modutils/rtc
update-modules
Now the module will load after a reboot.

ipkg-link won't link files on /media mount points

This is caused by the fact, that the /mnt mount points haven't been changed to /media ones (in the ipkg-link). You can either use /mnt destinations in ipkg.conf or correct the ipkg-link script. To do the last run: 

cat /usr/bin/ipkg-link|sed s/mnt/media/>/usr/bin/ipkg-link
Now the old mount points (/mnt) had been updated to /media

New root path not being used

/root has been moved to /home/root, but GPE has not been updated to use the new path. So when you login as root, GPE will complain that it can't find /root/.gpe. This minor problem may be fixed by connecting to the iPAQ via SSH/serial before logging into GPE as root and creating a symlink: 

ln -s /home/root /root

As a side note: logging in as root is strongly discouraged, as all root-needing stuff should be possible using a normal user account and the 'root terminal' or 'gpe-su' helper app.

Opie

Missing timezone files

The timezone package installed with Opie contains only a few cities (one from each continent) so when the user specifies a location from date/time setup for which there is no timezone info file installed (very likely), GMT will be used, so it would look like that the time is always off by couple of hours. The solution would be to copy the timezone info file from your desktop to the iPAQ.

eg. for Vancouver, copy /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Pacific to iPAQ's /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Vancouver.

Don't have these handy? They can be downloaded from http://mail.westmont.edu/pipermail/zoneinfo

e.g. for Vancouver, 

 cd /usr/share/zoneinfo/America
 wget http://mail.westmont.edu/pipermail/zoneinfo/America/Vancouver
Can't use ipkg to upgrade to 0.8.1

Because of a bug, libqpe1 has been removed from the 0.8.1 feed. Thus you cannot use ipkg upgrade to upgrade from 0.8.0 to 0.8.1 if you are using Opie - you must reflash instead to upgrade. The actual bug is covered here: [WWW]Opie bug #1592).

External keyboards no longer work

External keyboards no longer produce keystrokes with kbdd (see [WWW]Opie bug #1569).

Package Manager uses corrupt path

Do an ipkg upgrade to fix this.

Event sounds not working

Event sounds (alarms, key clicks, screen taps etc.) are not working. See [WWW]Opie bug 1566. This is most likely due to a change in Qt/E 2.3.10. Media players will work fine, however.

Mediaplayer2 problems
Before installing opie-mediaplayer2 you should install a skin for it: 
ipkg install opie-mediaplayer2-skin-default
Also if it plays sound at double speed, correct the file opiexine.cf: 
vi /home/root/Settings/opiexine.cf
and uncomment line audio.oss_sync_method:softsync so file will be 
misc.memcpy_method:glibc
# uncomment if you experience double speed audio
audio.oss_sync_method:softsync
codec.ffmpeg_pp_quality:3
...


Known Issues in Familiar v0.8.0

Note: it would be advisable to apply these fixes using a serial or network connection - typing all of this in manually using the on-screen keyboard in Opie/GPE would not be much fun. ;)

However, if the config files for ipkg are edited in a shell, the Opie Package Manager doesn't pick up the added servers. Better to insert those servers through the Package Manager. Similar for WLAN settings.

ipkg update fails (possibly h3900 images only)

The URL for the base feed has a mistake in it, causing "Unknown server error" etc. To fix it:

For the Opie and bootstrap images:

For the GPE images:

ipkg update doesn't download anything (h3600 Opie image)

Run the following commands: 

echo "src/gz base http://familiar.handhelds.org/releases/v0.8/base/" > /etc/ipkg/base-feed.conf
echo "src/gz opie http://familiar.handhelds.org/releases/v0.8/opie/" > /etc/ipkg/opie-feed.conf

ipkg fails (kernel.postinst)

Do 
ipkg flag installed kernel
and ipkg will stop complaining about the kernel.postinst being broken.

ipkg fails (ppp)

Run the following: 

deluser ppp

You will get a warning about not being able to remove from /etc/shadow - that is OK.

The next time ipkg tries this operation it will succeed.

CompactFlash and PCMCIA storage cards not working

Install and load the ide-probe-mod module: 
ipkg install kernel-module-ide-probe-mod
modprobe ide-probe-mod

You should put ide-probe-mod into a file in /etc/modutils and then run update-modules to make this permanent.

Orinoco WLAN cards not working

It seems that the current kernel module for this is broken. You can install older versions and get it working again by running this command:

Sound doesn't work on H39xx (not h5xxx)

  1. Install the uda1380 kernel module: 

    ipkg install kernel-module-uda1380

  2. Edit /etc/modutils/h3900-uda1380 and replace its contents with the following: 

    i2c-adap-pxa
i2c-algo-pxa
h3900-uda1380
uda1380

  3. Reboot your iPAQ

MMC/SD card doesn't get recognized on H36xx/38xx

Open a terminal and edit the /etc/fstab file. By default, /mnt/card points to /dev/mmcda1. This is no longer the location of the MMC/SD card. Change /dev/mmcda1 to read /dev/mmc/disc. MMC/SD cards should now mount/unmount properly.

MMC/SD card doesn't get recognized on H39xx (not h5xxx)

  1. Open a terminal and do 

    cd /etc/modutils/

  2. Create the file 

    echo "h3900_asic" > /etc/modutils/h3900_mmc
echo "mmc_asic3" >> /etc/modutils/h3900_mmc

  3. next do: 

    update-modules

  4. Reboot your ipaq and see it working

  5. extra note: If your SD card is vfat formatted, add vfat to /etc/modutils/h3900_mmc as well. vfat doesn't get automagically loaded when trying to mount the SD card.

  6. one more note: the current driver does not detect card removal/reinsertion, so when you remove/reinsert the card, you need reload the drivers: 

    rmmod mmc_asic3
modprobe mmc_asic3

- JelleKalf

MMC/SD card doesn't get recognized on H5xxx

Open a terminal and do 
lsmod

Make sure that mmc_h5400, mmc_samsung and mmc_base modules are loaded into the kernel. If they aren't do 

modprobe mmc_h5400

Opie doesn't start on boot

The easiest solution to this is to comment out the line that begins with /sbin/getkey in the file /etc/init.d/opie (add a # at the start). Connect your iPAQ to your serial port, allow it to boot (you won't see the Opie screen), start minicom, and wait until you see a login prompt. Then, log in and make the change. Alternatively you can set the console in bootldr to the serial port (ttySA0 on strongarm, ttyS0 on pxa) using the linuxargs setting. An easy way of accomplishing this, is pressing the large Action key while resetting...

Also, a recent opie update had opie-login reporting that "-terminal 2" was no longer a valid option. Solve this by editing /etc/init.d/opie and removing the "-terminal 2" from the opie-login line. To get to terminal 2, insert "chvt 2" as a new line immediately before the opie-login command.

Sound is broken on GPE

Users don't have write access to /dev/sound/*. To fix this, run 

chmod a+w /dev/sound/*
in a terminal, or more permanently in a boot script.

PPP connection fails ("LCP: timeout sending Config-Requests")

pppd was not set suid root in Familiar 0.8. To fix this run the following on your iPAQ: 

chmod +s /usr/sbin/pppd

USB networking

If you wish to use USB networking, make the following changes on the iPAQ:

  1. Edit /etc/hotplug/net.agent

  2. In file /etc/network/interfaces:

replace line  iface usbf inet dhcp  with this: 

iface usbf inet static
        address 192.168.0.202
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        network 192.168.0.0
        gateway 192.168.0.200

Please use different addresses if the above ones clash with ones on your existing network. The "gateway" should match whatever the address is on the desktop end of the usbnet connection. Note that there is still a problem with suspend and resume - you may have to run the following commands on the iPAQ to get usbnet to work again: 

ifdown usbf
rmmod usb-eth
modprobe usb-eth

See UsbNet for information on setting up the desktop side of the connection.

If usbf doesn't reconnect after a resume, you can work around the problem by creating two scripts. The first one in /etc/apm/suspend.d , I called it 99usbdown. its content is: 

#!/bin/sh

       ifdown usbf
       rmmod usb-eth
       rmmod sa1100usb_core
exit 0

The other is in /etc/apm/resume.d, I called it 99usbdown (same as above, but it shouldn't matter) its content is: 

#!/bin/sh

modprobe usb-eth
exit 0

Don't forget to do a chmod 755 on each of these scripts or they won't be executed.

DNS: You may optionally install dnsmasq on your desktop machine, which allows your desktop to function as a DNS server. If you do this, on your iPAQ remove the /etc/resolv.conf symlink and do: 
echo "nameserver 192.168.0.200" > /etc/resolv.conf
The IP address should match that which you define on the desktop machine as the address for usb0. Please note, though, that this may mess up other forms of networking. If this is the case, then leave the symlink, and each time you plan to use usb networking, do the echo command above. This will put the nameserver argument into /var/run/resolv.conf, which is a temporary file. It might be easier to make this command into a simple script.

GPE: Rosetta startup time

Running "/usr/bin/rosetta -P" as root fixes the startup time issues with Rosetta.

base: microkbd or stowaway fail to work (h3600 images only)

This is due to the fact that getty is started (and thus blocks /dev/ttySA0) for all runlevels now, instead of 2,3 as in Familiar 0.7.2. The remedy is to edit the last line in /etc/inittab and reboot: 

S:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 115200 ttySA0
Now you can switch to runlevel 4 using telinit 4 again to read the keyboard input from /dev/microkbd/* or /dev/stowaway.

Bluetooth is not working

This is due to the fact that hcid is not started. To resolve simply upgrade to the version of bluez-utils-dbus in the [WWW]unstable feed (warning: it is recommended that you do not use "ipkg upgrade" with the unstable feed - just upgrade the single package).

Apps crashing a lot

change the "5" in /etc/init.d/alignment.sh to 3


Known Issues in Familiar v0.7.2