Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install the hard drive in my kuro and fully assemble my kuro?
Read the instructions that came with your Kuro. They are also available here

Why can't I install the PowerPC OS directly from the distro's site ?
The Kurobox needs a kernel compiled for its specific hardware. This means that you can't simply download the PowerPC branch of some distro and use it right away. (The default PowerPC branches are usually targeted at the Apple hardware PMAC). However, the Kurobox community has already made images for the most popular distros, with the Kernel compiled for the Kurobox.

This means that if you want to add hardware support to the kurobox while still using the stock kernel you need to build a special toolchain to build the modules. Those have been patched into the mainstream kernel in 2.6.20 and 2.6.21 for the Kurobox HD.

Help, I can't ping or login to my new Kurobox. The power and link lights are on. The other lights are off
1. The fallback IP address for the Kuro Box is 192.168.11.150. If your computer is not on the same subnet (first three numbers don't match) you will not be able to communicate with your Kuro Box. If only the first 2 numbers match change the subnet mask on your computer to 255.255.0.0. If only the first number matches change the subnet mask to 255.0.0.0. Be sure to change your subnet mask back to its original setting after you have setup your Kuro Box.

2. Another option is to add a static route to the 192.168.11.0 subnet. You might want to do this especially if you are going to leave the kurobox at 192.168.11.150 for an extended period of time. If your computer is running windows bring up a command shell (c: prompt) to use the route command. You need to know your computer's IP address and the interface number. You can figure these out with "ipconfig" and "route print". A command like this is what you need:

C:\> route ADD 192.168.11.0 MASK 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.100 METRIC 1 IF 1 destination^         ^mask           ^gateway     metric^    ^ (your IP address)   Interface^

Use your computer's IP address for the gateway. Use the interface number for that IP address as the IF parameter.

If your computer is running linux or another unix, use a command like this to add a static route (this command needs to be run as root):


 * 1) route add -net 192.168.11.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 eth0

Your interface may not be eth0. Use the ifconfig command to determine the correct interface.

3. If all else fails, connect the Kuro Box directly to your computer. Change the IP address of your computer to 192.168.11.149 and change your subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. You should now be able to telnet directly into your Kuro Box at 192.168.11.150 and install your system.

My box is not responding and the DIAG LED is blinking. What does that mean?
The LEDs and their meanings are described on the Hardware LEDs page.

Exactly what does the red button on the back do? Will it force EM mode?
The red button's primary function is to disable the watchdog timer. This is useful for kernel development and when using a JTAG cable to repair the flash contents. To disable the watchdog timer press the red button when you power up the Kuro. The Kuro will flash red and green lights if the watchdog timer is disabled.

Its function depends on whether or not you are using U-Boot. If you are using U-Boot, it will either disable the watchdog timer or force EM mode depending when it is pressed. To force EM mode Just start the Kuro and when the power light stops blinking press the red button. Your Kuro will boot in EM mode.

If you are not using U-Boot, and unless you installed U-Boot you are not using it, the red button will not force EM mode unless its function has been changed by a booted operating system. This means that if your Kuro hangs during boot and you are not using U-Boot, the red button cannot be used to force EM mode.

What is EM mode?
EM, or Emergency mode, is the initrd and kernel stored in the firming.bin portion of flash from which resides at ffc00000 to ffefffff. It is a stripped down operating system that is useful for both installing an operating system on you kurobox or recovering your kurobox.

OK, how do I force EM mode?
If you cannot get to an SSH prompt to force EM mode you have two options.


 * The first is to remove the hard disk and replace it with a blank drive and restart it. the Kuro will boot to EM mode. once there you can execute the command echo -n "NGNG" > /dev/fl3 and then shutdown your Kuro and replace the drive with the original drive.


 * The other option is to just install a blank drive in your kuro.

The kernel loaded from flash is old. Is there some way I can run with a newer kernel?
You have three options for running a newer kernel
 * Use the loader.o module
 * Switch to U-Boot, and use an arch/ppc kernel, which is the current default, used by various pre-built images and distributions
 * Use the new Kurobox support in stock 2.6 kernels

I see that the Kurobox has flash memory. Can I modify the flash contents?
Are you sure you know what you are doing? The flash should not be toyed with willy-nilly. Read up on its purpose on the Flash ROM page.

What is the root password?
Of course, when you unzip image.zip from the sales & marketing site, the default normal mode telnet password will be "kuro"
 * The default root password for telnet on the KuroBox? is "kuro"
 * The default root password for the web interface on the KuroBox? is blank (just hit return) (try it for KuroBoxHG as well if the password from below fails)
 * The default root password for telnet in EMode on the KuroBoxHG? is "kuroadmin"
 * The default root password for the web interface on the KuroBoxHG? is "webadmin"

My question isn't answered here. Where else can I look for an answer?

 * You can post a question to the Kurobox Forums (but you should search the forums first).
 * You can search the wiki.
 * Use google to search www.kurobox.com
 * You can ask the friendly people in IRC chat. Point your IRC client to irc.freenode.net #kbox channel.