-   Linux - General (
-   -   Help Cross compiling a kernel for an HP Jornada 728 (

Semash! 10-09-2009 03:49 AM

Help Cross compiling a kernel for an HP Jornada 728
I just bought an old Jornada 728 and, as you may know, it comes with Windows CE 3.0. I do not use Windows, so i wanted to create my own linux system for the Jornada.

I know there are projects like Jlime, Familiar Linux, 720 Degrees, etc. But i want something based on the distribution i use, Slackware and made by myself.

My problem is weird, i have a gcc compiler for ARM platform (arm-linux-gcc) and i'm using linux kernel version Here are the steps i follow:
(on /home/linux-

1. make mrproper
2. cp arch/arm/configs/jornada720_defconfig .config
So i use a default configuration kernel for that computer, it should work as is, but doesn't.

3. make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/path/to/arm-linux- menuconfig
I configure the kernel to fit my needs...
4. make

Now i have a zImage created on arch/arm/boot/, so i copy it to the Jornada CompactFlash memory. This Kernel image is supposed to be loaded from WinCE by a program called linexec.exe, it uses a params.txt file, which i have configured as follows:

\Storage Card\zImage
\Storage Card\initrd.gz

Three days ago, i successfully created a bootable kernel on the Jornada, it hanged at loading the initial ramdisk, but IT WORKED, there appeared tux on the display, loaded the TCP/IP stack, etc. The thing is that now i am not able to make a working kernel!, i compile it, and when loading from the device, the WinCE hangs and does nothing, or the linexec.exe shows a black screen as if it was going to boot, but nothing shows up or happens.

The processor is a StronARM SA-1110, and yes, i configure the kernel with support for SA-1111 and SA-1100 based processors.

My questions are:

-Is there a reason for a kernel to not be "bootable" on that device?
-Which steps am i passing by to make the kernel work, if any?
-Can you please guide me on successfully compile a kernel for this computer?

Please excuse my poor english, it's not my mother language.
Thanks in advance.
