U-boot serial console

["Toru Nishimura" <locore64%alkyltechnology.com@localhost>]

Here goes how to setup U-Boot serial console.

KuroBox U-Boot is configured to have netcat network console as
a primary interface.  This can be switched to serial console (the
way how to write U-Boot down to NOR flash is explained several
times in elsewhere)

With serial port hacked KuroBox, invoking U-Boot the very first
time takes place in this order.

U-Boot 1.1.4 LiSt 2.1.0 (Sep 21 2006 - 00:22:56) LinkStation / KuroBox

CPU:   MPC8245 Revision 1.4 at 196.608 MHz: 16 kB I-Cache 16 kB D-Cache
DRAM:  64 MB
FLASH:  4 MB
*** Warning - bad CRC, using default environment

       00  0b  1317  0985  0200  ff
       00  0c  1095  0680  0101  ff
       00  0e  1033  0035  0c03  ff
       00  0e  1033  0035  0c03  ff
       00  0e  1033  00e0  0c03  ff
Net:   COMET#0
[ ... cursor stops here ... ]

At this moment, U-Boot tries to connect netcat client over Ethernet.  Power
LED keeps snoozing.  Just wait to see.

About 20 seconds later, DISKFULL red LED starts blinking.  A single line
gets shown;

next_cons_choice: Unexpected code: 0x33

10 seconds later, serial console will show the followings;

stdin :   serial
stdout:   serial
stderr:   serial
IDE:   Bus 0: OK 
 Device 0: Model: HDS728080PLAT20 Firm: PF2OA2AA Ser#: PFD219EJRD0G1E
           Type: Hard Disk
           Supports 48-bit addressing
           Capacity: 78533.4 MB = 76.6 GB (160836480 x 512)
Boot in 10 seconds ('s' to stop)...

Then abort countdown by typing 's'.

Next, switch U-Boot to have serial console all the time and to go immediately to
command prompt mode.

=> run ser
=> setenv bootcmd
=> setenv bootdelay -1
=> saveenv

All done.  Typing 'reset' brings U-boot interactive  mode.

Toru Nishimura / ALKYL Technology