There is the Switching to the Raspberry Pi Kernel fork option available. Have you considered or tested with this at all?

Another possibility is what I personally consider to be unorthodox, outlandish, and somewhat bohemian...

It's possible to use the Raspberry Pi OS kernel, DTBs, and firmware, to load and run the Slackware ARM/AArch64 operating system. Basically, by copying everything in the /boot directory of an apposite Raspberry Pi OS image onto a Slackware ARM/AArch64 storage device and configuring it to boot accordingly.

This leaves the system with a Debian flavour kernel, but works just as well for all intents and purposes. Of course, any U-Boot boot loader influences would need to be removed beforehand when doing this.

NB: I do not consider using this Raspberry Pi OS method as a viable option, but as a means to an end for individual reasons and purposes only!

Try not to let things get you down Brent. I know it's not always easy dealing with Raspberry Pi hardware/software and any [user] issues on occasion. Dwelling on the negative only makes it more powerful, and therefore more difficult to deal with and overcome.

My focus is, I really love Slackware and view my involvement within the community as an opportunity to promote this wonderful operating system software and show it in a positive light whenever I can. But I do not feel this can be achieved while being annoyed, or angry, or demotivated as a result. Slackware is much greater and more important than I am.

One of my mottos is, "Interested people are interesting people." Most people respond positively while they’re being encouraged and supported, and respond negatively when being challenged, criticised, or judged. And sometimes analysed.

In respect of that, it's often not what we do that matters as much as how we do it in most cases.

Hi Exaga, and thanks for your supportive comments.

I have been using the Pi kernel fork very successfully for a while. The 6.1 versions worked perfectly. It is only the switch to the 6.6 version that has failed completely, in my case. I haven't seen any feedback from others, so at present I am working on a sample of 1 !

Like an idiot, I didn't keep a copy of the 6.1 Pi fork, and I can't find it archived anywhere, otherwise I would revert until a solution is found!

On the plus side, SARPi + Slackwareaarch64 works perfectly on the 6.6 kernels. On the minus, slarm64 hasn't been updated since November, and I fear it may be abandonware!

If you read through this thread from the top, you will see that I can get the Pi to boot on the stock kernel, and it sort of works. Xfce is flaky (the panels keep disappearing!) and KDE sort of works, but keeps crashing. This maybe because the system completely misreads my cheap 4K monitor, and seems to think it has a very weird resolution (3744x2064?!?) Neither Wifi nor wired networking work, nor does sound. This was the same on earlier kernels, but completely cured by the Pi fork - until the 6.6 release.

Unfortunately, the latest Pi fork refuses to boot at all on my machine. I don't even get any initial screens or text. The light comes on, the screen flickers a bit before eventually going in to standby, and that's it!

It is very difficult to analyze when you can't even get it to start!

At present, the only properly working Slackware on Pi system I have is SARPi + Slackwareaarch64, so many thanks for your continued efforts!

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Pete

Problem solving and trouble-shooting can be difficult and exasperating at times, depending on how one approaches and deals with any issues.

In my experience, with issues like yours, I usually start by going back to a known quantity (i.e. a fully working, reliable/stable Slackware system) and then start adding newer elements to it. Such as boot firmware, kernel/modules, config files, initial RAM disk image, etc. to see where it errors or what causes it to produce any problems. However, this advice may be no use to you, as you seem to be in a bit of a pickle by not backing up your previous 6.1 files. Sorry that I cannot help you there, but other users may be able to accommodate you in that respect.

It goes without saying that backing up before updating/upgrading any software should be top on the list. Many, many times I have failed to do so and cursed myself heavily as a result. It's a harsh lesson to learn at times and not one that can usually be avoided until the consequences have hit you like a reality checking 'wake-up-call' freight train.

With regards to the questionable means and methods of using the /boot files from Raspberry Pi OS image, it's not the done thing by Slackware standards but may get you back up and running, after a fashion. There's the right way, which is Stuart's way (i.e. the Slackware Way), and there's everybody else's way which may be somewhat (or far) detached. Using other Linux distro /boot files is possible in this instance, and may get you into a position where you can test for problems with the official files, but without including any U-Boot elements. However you decide to approach this one, I'd suggest reaching out to other users who may have backups of the 6.1 files first. Other options involve a whole lot of time and effort, without any guarantees of success.

Good to hear the SARPi 6.6 kernels are working perfectly for you. But it appears that this optimism is not shared by everyone. I'm still trying to locate information relating to existing SARPi kernel issues, albeit unsuccessfully thus far. If you see any such reports, please let me know so I can address it.

Best of luck finding a solution to your Pi 400 boot problems.

If you let me know what issues people are having with the SARPi files, I'll have a look at mine and see if I can replicate them. I built my SARPi system some time ago, and use slackpkg+ to keep the Slackware files up to date. I also wrote a simple script to do the SARPi kernel updates from my NAS (the new files get automatically downloaded to my NAS when they appear). This means that some of my configurations may not match an installed-from-scratch system, and may, perhaps, provide a clue. Happy to help if I can.

Yes, I got lulled into a false sense of security with Stuart's Pi-fork kernels! All the previous updates had gone very smoothly! I can get it to boot with the stock kernel, but it really only works as a console rather than a GUI. Also, when running the stock kernel, it complains that it can't mount the FAT partition, which is strange because that's where u-boot launches from! It is also where config.txt resides, which means that to edit that, I have to remove the SD (or disconnect the SSD, whichever I'm trying to boot) and edit it on my x86_64 machine. There are indications that the config.txt does get read - I can change things there and see results - so why isn't it mounted when the boot completes? Why are there error messages about the FAT filesystem?

Its really strange, because I keep reading in the press about how the 6.6 kernel has enhanced ARM support!

I'm clearing up my workshop at the moment. Once I get to the stage where I can see my workbenches again from under all the rubbish, I'll go and have another crack at the Pi....

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Pete

For shits and giggles I built a pi400 kernel package with bastardized hacks of the slackware kernel script from the latest rpi-kernel fork sources (which I generally keep my own fork of for usage). As such, it's missing a slack-desc BUT provided you're savvy enough, it'll likely work for your system. You may need locally re-install any missing rpi firmware files you have for the wifi and such.


I'll leave them online for a few days, but I don't plan on keeping this up on my server, so back it up if it works. This is built like a standard slackware kernel ships,but with the official raspberry pi os kernel config, so you may also need to rename the Image-* to 'kernel8.img' if you're booting with the normal rpi setup. I'd suggest 'explodepkg' to manually move files over for the kernel proper (and possibly remove slackware's package) so slackpkg don't eat it. You can likely upgradepkg the rest if you'd like. Cheers.


http://slackware.lngn.net/pub/pchristy/ This is offered with no real support (from me or anyone really), I hope you can make it work for you.

2 members found this post helpful.

My response was to point out the obvious. If something is not as you want it, fix it or make it as you want it. The amount of time spent typing clever responses could be better spent doing work. I am happy to answer questions if assistance is needed.

jloco: Many thanks for that! I'll grab those shortly, and keep them safe somewhere!

Actually, I'm finally getting somewhere with Stuart's Pi-fork kernel! I've finally got it to boot! I have to admit that I'm not quite sure how I managed it - I was just blundering around in the dark, and suddenly it sprang to life! Its still worse than the 6.1 series, though. All the hardware seems to be there - I have wifi, bluetooth and sound - but the GUIs are still broken. Xfce mostly works, but the panels get covered by the wall paper and its impossible to close any windows you open. Kde loads, but the splash screen crashes (always a bad sign), there's no wallpaper and any window you open causes a crash - even system settings segfaults instantly! SDDM never even starts. If you run with init4, you just get a blank screen.

As I say, I'm not sure how I got this far, but next up is to do a complete, clean install and if it boots, then try and upgrade to the Pi-fork again and see if that fixes it.

Not today, though. My brain hurts!

--
Pete

1 members found this post helpful.

Nice! The graphical environment will work much better if you use Xfce and disable compositing in the "Window Manager Tweaks" applet. You can disable compositing in the X11 server in KDE Plasma by running the following in a terminal after logging in as your user:
More (possibly helpful) information about the Raspberry Pi 4 post installation configuration is in: https://docs.slackware.com/slackware...configuration1

Also, you can disable suspend and hibernate in KDE along with a few other fixes. My Raspberry Pi 3's and 4's are all worn out due to high usage these last couple years. It would be great if you could test and report back to see if there is some graphical improvement. Please start a new thread though.

Hi Brent,

Yes, I'd read the documentation and done the kde tweaks. I didn't know about the xfce ones though, so I'll give those a try tomorrow.

I've just done a complete re-install on an sd card and got the basics up and running. Tomorrow, I'll have another go at the Pi-fork and see if that helps.

I suspect the problems I've been having may have been due to doing an upgrade, rather than starting from scratch, though that has worked flawlessly previously. I'd spent a long time adding my own apps and getting kde configured just how I wanted it, and I really didn't want to go back to the start. The new install is on an sd card. If I can get it to work, I'll see about transferring it to the ssd once I have everything how I want it.

Now I need to give my head a rest!

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Pete

I totally agree. Pointing out the obvious did nothing towards helping anyone on this occasion. And if you think these are clever responses then I'd like to remind you that it costs nothing to be kind, and yet its a priceless virtue.

I'd also like to remind you that nobody should presume to tell anyone else how to best spend their own time. Especially if/when they're not paying them for it.

Nobody needs to remind me how my time could be better spent doing work when I have personally spent more time than anyone supporting Slackware ARM on the Raspberry Pi. This was my dream, my goal, and entirely my choice. I did 99% of it solo and still do.

Thank you for your consideration Brent.

2 members found this post helpful.

OK. well I got a completely fresh install (on an sd card) to boot from the stock kernel, although there were some hardware issues, as expected. Once it was up and running, I then installed the Pi-fork kernel over it and rebooted and - nothing! The monitor comes out of standby, but that's it. No boot text, no sign of life at all. Keyboard unresponsive, the only way out is to remove the power.

It appears that the 6.6 Pi-fork is completely broken. I've tried everything I can think of with minimal success. It has to be something to do with the initial boot process, right from the very start, rather than the kernel itself, because at one point - and after a LOT of time spent - I did manage to get it to boot. However, I have no idea how I managed it. I hadn't changed anything of significance that I recall.

I'm now completely stumped. Luckily I still have a working SARPi installation on another card. Looks like, at present, that is the only way to get Slackware running on a Pi.

Thanks all for your help and suggestions, sorry its come to nothing.

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Pete

@pchristy, see: https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...rt-4175733019/

Some brief directions that should apply to adding most hardware, be it a raspberry, orange or banana, or some such Pi.