Having some problems using keyboard with Uboot that is preventing me from... installing new uboot with better keyboard support
I am aware it's fussy about what keyboards it supports. I have some that it just fails to see at all.
But the others I have that let me press a key to get to the uboot setting or console... they work for the first keypress. Then immediately stop working again.
Do i just have to keep searching for an old keyboard that works? Or is there a trick to make these 'almost works' keyboards... work?
@NinjaCyborg I have the exact same problem after updating to the latest Sam460ex firmware soon two months ago. Tried to buy a brand new keyboard as suggested by Acube also, but to no avail. Had some writing with Acube about it, and it ended up in me receiving an older firmware which *should* work. But since it requires me to TFTP boot the Sam460 to start the firmware downgrade I still need a working keyboard. So that kind of blocks/contradicts itself.
So still waiting on a reply on second week on how to proceed from here. I'm stuck as you are :-/
Perhaps anyone with a working latest SAM460ex firmware with working keyboard can tell which keyboard they are using - although it is kind of a bummer to have to shell out for a new USB keyboard just because you updated the computer firmware.
it's possible to do the u-boot update/downgrade via serial terminal, connectiong a null modem cable to a PC, settings 115200 8N1.
In order to do the update from the serial terminal, under AmigaOS4.1, you need to enter before the following commands from the Shell:
nvsetenv stdin serial nvsetenv stdout serial
and then reboot.
From this point, when back to u-boot, you can stop the boot sequence pressing 'q' key at the countdown, then enter the commands to upgrade/downgrade u-boot via TFTP.
When finished, reboot to AmigaOS4.1 and from Shell enter:
@NinjaCyborg Still something wrong then, it should work if: cable correct one and working (check it firstly, double check, that it not casuall null modem from shop - they call it null modem, but they not null modem ones, you need to fix them). Then be 100% sure you setup correctly putty. I wrote article about long ago with all steps and explains, checked that one ? : https://wiki.amigaos.net/wiki/Advanced_Serial_Debugging_Guide
And if you still sure you made all alright and correctly, and this not work, then your serial port died. But i never heard of any burned serial port on any NG hardware, so still: double recheck cable and puttys settings (if putty settings for serial baud and co are wrong, also nothing will show up)
Thanks and I used your guide first time around when i spent many hours trying to make it work. I know very well how to use putty but no luck.
Anyway the root cause of the issue is not that, the root cause is the keyboard problem. I don't understand how the keypress can work to stop the boot sequence, take me to console, but then no more keypresses work. I had that with 3 different keyboards including the dumbest one i could find with no hub or compound features.
i have that in my user-startup, so always have a shell, I can access the computer, if the gfx has locked up. useful for debuging.
Great tip! Thanks. I'll try this one. I've got that one Workbench which almost always freezes on boot so be good to "talk" to it. I'm sure WaitTOF() is going dead, after writing some test code, but be good to command it after it locks up since the system is still ticking away.
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Not sure if AmigaOS support USB2SER addapters, but my PC does. and so I use the onboard serial port header on my AmigaONE.
That's a good question. I suspect not but OS4 does have some generic drivers for devices like floppy. You know I don't even think I thought of testing this. Or didn't bother. It's just I'm always going from Amiga machine to terminal so didn't need it.
Well the graphics looks it’s not normally because of WaitTOF, but its often a bug inside a bitmap lock()/unlock() peer or intuition lock()/unlock(). Can be other things as well, like Layers lock()/unlock(), or Screen lock()/unlock().
(NutsAboutAmiga)
Basilisk II for AmigaOS4 AmigaInputAnywhere Excalibur and other tools and apps.
The TFPT firmware downgrade worked a charm with serial cable from PC as stdin and stdout in UBoot. Thanks for the tip!
And with the older firmware back in my SAM460ex my USB keyboards are working again in UBoot . So it seems I have to stay on the old firmware for now. But good thing is I didn't really need it. I mostly wanted to keep up-to-date and support the maintenance work. So next update, perhaps
In this case there is some issue with interrupts and compositing. I haven't truly got over the Update 2 notfix which introduced the rare but common on my system bug. It's a known issue with Sam 460 and R7 250 as well as RX driver. But my X1000 and R7 250 is apparently uncommon configuration. I've read about some issue with a write back function so could be an OLAND chipset glitch that rears its head.
I ended up testing WaitTOF() with a patch to print calls to serial. On a freeze compose.task is left hanging on WaitTOF(). So there is some interrupt signal missed somewhere. In my case the system is locked up but was still functional internally. Background tasks pinging out to serial still work. So the freeze looks like a graphics lock and not full hardware lock up.
I take it you never got serial working? Does the Sam have two serial ports and you got nothing out of both? I did set up a terminal in Windows but forgot about Putty so looked for a terminal on the MS store and was shocked how bad they were. The Amiga blessed us with good free software but in Windows, the most popular OS in the world, free software is crap!
I also set it up in Linux but it's a pain as it won't work without root. So you need to stuff around. Better software than I found on Windows but won't work out of the box.
However, my main terminal is an old PowerBook G4 with a serial to USB adapter. Running ZTerm as terminal which works fine for my usage. But, because of the adapter, it is quirky. If I leave it all plugged in and shut the lid it will lose connection on wake. So I need to quit ZTerm and reload. I can leave adapter plugged in. But I find I need to the adapter plugged in first and then load in the driver from terminal software. I don't recall if Windows is just as quirky with these adapters.
I take it you never got serial working? Does the Sam have two serial ports and you got nothing out of both? ... If I leave it all plugged in and shut the lid it will lose connection on wake. So I need to quit ZTerm and reload. I can leave adapter plugged in. But I find I need to the adapter plugged in first and then load in the driver from terminal software. I don't recall if Windows is just as quirky with these adapters.
For me works best TeraTerm on windows. Putty not bad, is powerful ( excellent for ssh ) but quite complex for serial. TeraTerm is mainly for serial connection ( and partially ssh ), is very easy to setup can send special characters like break easily. With AmigaOS / MorphOS I am using 68k Term
I agree, than USB-serial adapters sometimes picky. For me works only one from two. Allways better pure serial. My workstation has one on motherboard. But today is simplest to buy PCIe serial card, or use cheap old notebook with serial.
And it is good to double check if used cable is null-modem ( with crossed lines ) and shut-off RTS/CTS control.
AmigaOS3: Amiga 1200 AmigaOS4: Micro A1-C, AmigaOne XE, Pegasos II, Sam440ep, Sam440ep-flex, AmigaOne X1000 MorphOS: Efika 5200b, Pegasos I, Pegasos II, Powerbook, Mac Mini, iMac, Powermac Quad
For me works best TeraTerm on windows. Putty not bad, is powerful ( excellent for ssh ) but quite complex for serial. TeraTerm is mainly for serial connection ( and partially ssh ), is very easy to setup can send special characters like break easily. With AmigaOS / MorphOS I am using 68k Term
Thanks. I'll look that up. Where I have found Windows better is for serial to BT adapters for wireless serial. That works well when testing. Some apps are quirky and don't seem well thought out. But BT is broken on Linux and doesn't work well with the GUI. That was back when I was trying to replace the cable with air. But the devices are expensive industrial units or cheap and buggy PCB boards.
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I agree, than USB-serial adapters sometimes picky. For me works only one from two. Allways better pure serial. My workstation has one on motherboard. But today is simplest to buy PCIe serial card, or use cheap old notebook with serial.
I must have got lucky. I bought one at swap meet decades ago as it looked useful. Got a long null modem cable. And it worked on OSX without needing to track down drivers. I've since been given some more from a friend but am yet to test them.
The following worked for me under Windows 11 with Putty and Teraterm for both Sam460ex and X4000/40 . Using long Ethernet cables I was able to have the computers separated also. 1 pair of adapters required for both Amiga machines .
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