LS PRO modified initrd

What is an initrd
InitRd: Initial Ram Disk image is a temporary filesystem (ext2) used by the LS during boot up. For the stock box, this system maintains many of the customised scripts installed on the LS. It also checks for system update files and acts accordingly. For the modified systems, it provides a means of entry when no root filesystem is available.

Modified Image
The modified initrd created by lb_worm provides a ram image that supports both the stock system and the modified system. The modified system can be a modified stock or completely new distribution such as Debian or Gentoo.

The modified initrd image also comes equipped with a configuration file boot_options. This file resides within the boot partition (sda1) along with the uImage (UBoot kernel image) and the initrd image. For a modified system, the control files are also placed in sda1. These files are:


 * linkstation_release
 * hddrootmode
 * rootfs_ok

Rather than go into any detail, these files simply provide information of the release, the operational mode of the LS and if the root filesystem is okay.

If hddrootmode is missing on boot-up, then the LS will boot the initrd image. If the root filesystem fails to boot more than three times, then the LS will boot the initrd image.

boot_options file
This is a script that is invoked by the initrd during its execution. This file contains the following information:

## Set to YES if not a stock box, comment out if stock box OTHER_DISTRIBUTION=YES ## Define root path, comment out if stock box ROOTPATH=/boot ## Advanced use only, specify system area format SYSTEM_FORMAT="mkfs.xfs -d agcount=4 -l size=32m" ## Set menu timeout (secs), default is 4. Disable, set to 0 or OFF. For ## EM mode set to EM MENU_TIMEOUT=4 ## Set to YES to delete hdd image following update or NO to leave it REMOVE_HDDROOTFS=NO ## Reset fan as micocontroller does not do this after reboot miconapl -a fan_set_speed stop ## Watch-dog reset to 250 secs miconapl -a system_set_watchdog 250 ## Clear error LED indication miconapl -a led_set_code_information clear ## Indicate it ran miconapl -a bz_imhere 1 b4 a4

Set to YES if a modified or other distribution root filesystem. Default is NO which is stock Defines the logical filepath for the control files. Default is /etc under the root filesystem partition. For advanced use only. This does allow the user to modify the format used by the root filesystem. Default is XFS. Provides control over the amount of time that the intercept menu is displayed. This menu is only available to those with serial connections to the LS. To improve boot time, this can be set to OFF. The default value for this is four seconds. Another use of this parameter is for entry to the initrd on boot-up rather than the root filesystem. For this, set this entry to EM and reboot. Set to YES so that the root filesystem upgrade image file is removed following successful installation. This effectively removes the large hddroot image filesystem from the boot partition therefore freeing valuable space. These turn off the fan, reset the watchdog to 240 seconds, clear the LED state and play a "I've run" tune.
 * OTHER_DISTRIBUTION
 * ROOTPATH
 * SYSTEM_FORMAT
 * MENU_TIMEOUT
 * REMOVE_HDDROOTFS
 * Remaing commands

How to Verify Your Installation
See the discussion tab for what should be here...

md5sums pre-installation (LSPro v1 Firmware v1.11)
981fab7a8b009f6aadd1a2a281371cb2 /boot/conf_save.tgz 6dcbe0b2946eb334d5327d0c132de4b0 /boot/initrd.buffalo f615ab7ada94d03455c5e1e792ae9d98 /boot/u-boot.buffalo 660084b57cf09320cf6d1f09dfe279d5 /boot/u-boot.buffalo.org c1558c2da948993abc45601122189ec1 /boot/uImage.buffalo

md5sums post-installation (LSPro v1 Firmware still reports v1.11)
6ba9c1f99669d60538c981067b7916b9 /boot/boot_options 66562399bd1f593645d46c3d3f815cb3 /boot/conf_save.tgz d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e /boot/hddrootmode 3c47ae053e2623aa38b3fc57b19eac46 /boot/initrd.buffalo 498fe3eb4d64f8ea13b06f87ab7e42b3 /boot/linkstation_release 0a503391e3539dcc841c9a448657c0be /boot/rootfs_ok f615ab7ada94d03455c5e1e792ae9d98 /boot/u-boot.buffalo 660084b57cf09320cf6d1f09dfe279d5 /boot/u-boot.buffalo.org c1558c2da948993abc45601122189ec1 /boot/uImage.buffalo