Re: mknbi-linux: Kernel image too large

[Andreas Schlapbach <schlpbch@bluewin.ch>]

Markus JOOS wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I have recently downloaded the netboot package from
> ftp.debian.org/pub/debian/dists/potato/main/binary-powerpc/net
> and tried to build a netbootable kernel for a Motorola MVME2600/2300
> (PowerPC 604) embedded VMEbus processor. My development system is a
> MVME2600;
> hard disk based and running Linux 2.2.12/Debian.
> 
> My ultimate aim is to build an image consisting of a kernel and a
> RAM-disk for booting a number of diskless processors (MVME2300) without
> having to have client specific root file systems on the server (i.e. I
> want to put the specific files into the RAM-disk and mount the generic
> rest via NFS).
> 
> So far, I have built a kernel for my platform following the usual path
> (make
> xconfig; make dep; make zImage). Then I put this kernel on my bootp
> server (a SUN) and booted it successfully on the MVME2600 via
> bootp/tftp. The root file
> system, however, still gets mounted from a local hard disk.
> 
> Then, I took the zImage (583906 bytes) that (net)boots OK on the
> MVME2600 and
> run the command
>   mknbi-linux -d rom -i rom -k zImage -o testImage
> 
> The result was the error message
>   mknbi-linux: Kernel image too large
> 
> However mknbi-linux generated the file testImage (588800 bytes). When I
> tried to netboot testImage nothing happened on the 2600.

This is just hand waving, but you're kernel seems very large to me. Are
you sure you need all the options? The kernels delivered by a
distribution have often compiled in as many stuff they can so their
kernel runs on as many system as possible. E.g. SuSE comes with raid
support, many file systems, amateur radio support, IrDA support, stuff
you mostly don't need. Also try to compile as many features as modules.
They will be loaded at runtime. Also try using 'make bzImage'.

May be this helps,
Andreas

--
Andreas Schlapbach
mailto:schlpbch@iam.unibe.ch
http://iamexwiwww.unibe.ch/studenten/schlpbch

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