[scorneil]

It's not seeing the Linux partition. Try and reimage that one again. Also verify that's the only USB drive connected. Is your internal drive attached? You need to verify that the USB is at /dev/sdb else if not you will need to modify com.apple.boot.plist

I presume you've only two devices connected ( USB and internal drive) because of your last drive being detected as sg1

will try again. yes, that and the internal drive is all that's connected.

[Sam.Nazarko]

Okay then there's little reason for it not working? You haven't got u3 on that Cruzer have you?

[scorneil]

Okay then there's little reason for it not working? You haven't got u3 on that Cruzer have you?

hmm. dd did exit with "No space left on device"...

[basht]

use the dd command in terminal - the instructions are under Linux in my original post but they will apply to OS X as well. I have just downloaded the image from my server and I can verify that it does work.

As for keeping it on the stick, no it doesn't have to remain on the USB. You can restore the image to the internal hard drive with dd, but you will need to modify com.apple.boot.plist's kernel arguments to change the root of the linux installation from /dev/sdb2 to /dev/sda2

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions that probably seem very noobish to you.

I just need some clarification. Say my internal hdd is not modified in anyway except that it has Launcher and XMBC installed on it.

If I try your image using the USB and like it, in order to copy this image into the hdd and get rid of usb stick, do I have to first create a linux partition on my ATV? Is this created partition the one you refer to as /dev/sda2? Does this partition have to be a specific/excat size?

If I have to do so, then should I just follow the "backup!" and "make space for linux parts of the linux installation guide?

Once done, I SSH into the mac os on ATV, make a dir somewhere and upload the image file to it, then run the dd command

Code:

sudo dd if=xbmc-r28256-crystalHD-1.0.3-alsa-1.019-nvidia100.14.19-hardy-cust_machkernel-2.6.24.27.img of=device /dev/sda2

(is the syntax of the device part correct?)

So this will to my understanding, copy the image into the linux partition exactly as is. Then there's a matter of getting the bootloader of the appleTV to actually boot into the linux partition rather than the default apple os one.

Is this done exactly as you descried here?

Is there any part that is different given our installation method using dd? Can anything be done more easily now?

Thank you very much, I want to make sure I'm doing it right before attempting. I suppose many others might want to take the same steps later and it might help them too.

[Sam.Nazarko]

scorneil - clear the device. I'm sure there's an easy way in OS X. Alternatively image it with /dev/zero which will wipe it

basht - the post you linked is about a different process (compiling a Mach kernel). I recommend you use the following workflow for a reliable restoration and backup.

1. Boot atv bootloader - fire up telnetd
2. Telnet in and backup hdd see atv bootloader page for more info. Transfer disk image to your computer.
3. wget the Linux disk image onto USB or save it on payloads partition
4. Run dd ( same command as mentioned in first post but of=/dev/sda
5. Edit com.apple.boot.plist changing kernel argument reference to /dev/sda2 from /dev/sdb2
6. Fire up Linux

you asked if partioning is necessary. Yes and no. You will not need to
install Linux as partitions will be made for you when you restore the image however, to make full use of the aTV disk and not just 4GB you will want to change partition size where you see fit with parted

hope this helps

as for questions, I don't mind at all

[scorneil]

scorneil - clear the device. I'm sure there's an easy way in OS X. Alternatively image it with /dev/zero which will wipe it

thanks.

did a
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1 count=1

then reimaged, but still get no space left. guess i will have to try a different stick.

thanks for the help

[JamesEkman]

Thx Sam for all your effort in creating this.
I've found playback has improved dramatically and I have installed the image to the internal HDD which seems to proved even greater performance. Now I would like to make use of the free space of the HDD but I don't know where to start. If you would be so kind as to explain how you would go about resizing the partitions it would be greatly appreciated.
This is what my HDD looked like before the install

Code:

Model: ATA WDC WD1600BEVE-4 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 312581808s
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start     End         Size        File system  Name      Flags  
1      40s       69671s      69632s      fat32        EFI       boot  
2      69672s    888823s     819152s     hfs+         Recovery  atvrecv
3      888824s   2732015s    1843192s    hfs+         OSBoot          
4      2732016s  312319663s  309587648s  hfs+         Media

And after

Code:

Model: ATA WDC WD1600BEVE-4 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 312581808s
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start     End       Size      File system  Name     Flags  
1      40s       69671s    69632s    hfs+         primary  atvrecv
2      69672s    6427049s  6357378s  ext3         primary        
3      6427050s  7831518s  1404469s  linux-swap   primary

Thx
James

[andy204]

small question: i am currently running linux on my atv with a 720p (hd ready) tv. i am getting a new tv with 1080p capability in the next week. do i have to boot atvos to choose the new resolution? when i remember right then the setting in atvos interacts with the video output ?

-andy

[mauzzz]

used DD in snow leopard on a 4gb cruzer. i think it worked properly.

when i boot up the ATV, I get:

sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
check root=bootarg cat /proc/modules ls /dev
ALERT! /dev/sdb2 does not exist. Dropping to a shell!

The same here. Snow leopard, macbook, sandisk cruzer 4Gb, same alert when booting. Just checking: have other forum members succesfully created the USB stick on mac os x and booted it on ATV?

I see some tutorials online about writing linux images to usb under mac os x in which bs=1M is advised. I haven't tried if that is succesfull. Any thoughts?

[pkolkkal]

I installed this image on a USB disk and, after confirming that it worked by booting from it, I copied the necessary partitions on the AppleTV internal disk. After changing the com.apple.boot.plist pointer to /dev/sda5 (I think this was my Linux boot partition), it started working fine.

Overall this is superimpressive, lots of memory to spare, good video performance etc. Thanks for this image and your hard work on this!


But I have a few questions for y'all:
- changing video output to 1280x720 @ 60Hz my Panasonic 42G10 goes blank, even ssh connection to ATV is frozen, after I wait a while XBMC is reset and the output setting is reset to 50Hz. So I cannot set the output to 60Hz, which is a bummer.

I know 60Hz output works because at first the change worked flawlessly (of course video out was buttery smooth compared to 50Hz) but then XBMC crashed.

edit: Okay it seems like the refresh rate change actually works but it just takes some time before the change happens. Screen goes black for a good 30 seconds until it comes back with the correct 60Hz refresh. I have no idea what it causing this.

btw, automatic change to 24Hz works like it should, which is the main thing I guess ;-)

- How do I set global resolution to 720p so that Ubuntu desktop also run at that all the time?

Also, xrandr gives this output http://pastebin.com/ntTZhuis

[Sam.Nazarko]

@scorneil use this command:

Code:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb

@JamesEkman it depends what you want to resize. I suggest you resize the Linux partition, see atv-bootloader page for more info. You can resize your disk with parted.

@andy204 all you have to do when you get your 1080p set is go into frontrow and change the resolution. atv-bootloader when starting checks vbios for display settings and sends this to Ubuntu as a supported resolution.

@mauzzz haven't tried on OS X but using my dd command should work.

@pkolkkal - change your refresh rate and resolution in frontrow. All video settings are managed in /etc/X11/xorg.conf for your reference

[oezkan12]

I installed the image on my usb stick through the usb image tool with the restore button. Can anyone tell me for what the bootsector.img is? do i have to install (also with the restore function from usb image tool) it after or before the image restoring?


can someone tell me where to find the com.apple.boot.plist on the atv ?
can i change it from /dev/sda2 to /dev/sdb2 without any problems?
I mean i want to test the stick and when i want to use the osx atv with my old xbmc back again only changing back to /dev/sda2 works?

[legato23]

Sam, thanx for your hard work, and support!

I just bought an new Imation Nano Pro usb stick this morning, but when I try to restore the image, an error occurs: 'The image file is too big for the selected USB device!'
Even after removing the partition with all kind of partition tools and trying to restore the image, the same error occurs.

My guess is that not all 4 GB USB sticks are exactly 4 GB, and mine seems a little smaller than yours, on which you created/tested the image.
Is it possible to make the image a little smaller to support more possible brands/models/types usb sticks? (including my Imation Nano Pro )

[Sam.Nazarko]

@oezkan12 - you don't have to restore bootsector. If however you ever want to get rid of the image and see the full size of the drive in Windows again, restore the bootsector.

@legato23 - unfortunately, no not all USBs are the same. I won't resize it because then there is an issue of where to draw the line (I resize it to 3GB and someone will want 2GB and so on)

You could probably write the disk image virtually to a folder (loopback mounting) and resize the partitions slightly so you can restore it. But for what it's worth, I'd personally just get another USB. I'm using a Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 4GB, remember to take off U3. U3 has issues because to bypass recent Windows updates disabling autorun, it emulates a CD drive. This takes space and makes the drive appear as two devices (if the password is validated on the drive the "CD" sends a command to the chippery in the USB to make the main partition visible to the PC). This causes no end of trouble for aTV

[andy204]

@scorneil use this command:

@andy204 all you have to do when you get your 1080p set is go into frontrow and change the resolution. atv-bootloader when starting checks vbios for display settings and sends this to Ubuntu as a supported resolution.

thought that.. then i have to change harddisks and boot into frontrow again, and change disks after that.

i have no atvos on the disk anymore. thanks for the info