buildroot

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== Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting

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[[faq-boot-hang-after-starting]]

=== The boot hangs after 'Starting network...'

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If the boot process seems to hang after the following messages

(messages not necessarily exactly similar, depending on the list of

packages selected):

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------------------------

Freeing init memory: 3972K

Initializing random number generator... done.

Starting network...

Starting dropbear sshd: generating rsa key... generating dsa key... OK

------------------------

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then it means that your system is running, but didn't start a shell on

the serial console. In order to have the system start a shell on your

serial console, you have to go into the Buildroot configuration, in

+System configuration+, modify +Run a getty (login prompt) after boot+

and set the appropriate port and baud rate in the +getty options+

submenu. This will automatically tune the +/etc/inittab+ file of the

generated system so that a shell starts on the correct serial port.

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[[faq-no-compiler-on-target]]

=== Why is there no compiler on the target?

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It has been decided that support for the _native compiler on the

target_ would be stopped from the Buildroot-2012.11 release because:

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* this feature was neither maintained nor tested, and often broken;

* this feature was only available for Buildroot toolchains;

* Buildroot mostly targets _small_ or _very small_ target hardware

  with limited resource onboard (CPU, ram, mass-storage), for which

  compiling on the target does not make much sense;

* Buildroot aims at easing the cross-compilation, making native

  compilation on the target unnecessary.

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If you need a compiler on your target anyway, then Buildroot is not

suitable for your purpose. In such case, you need a _real

distribution_ and you should opt for something like:

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* http://www.openembedded.org[openembedded]

* https://www.yoctoproject.org[yocto]

* http://www.emdebian.org[emdebian]

* https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Architectures[Fedora]

* http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:ARM[openSUSE ARM]

* http://archlinuxarm.org[Arch Linux ARM]

* ...

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[[faq-no-dev-files-on-target]]

=== Why are there no development files on the target?

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Since there is no compiler available on the target (see

xref:faq-no-compiler-on-target[]), it does not make sense to waste

space with headers or static libraries.

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Therefore, those files are always removed from the target since the

Buildroot-2012.11 release.

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[[faq-no-doc-on-target]]

=== Why is there no documentation on the target?

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Because Buildroot mostly targets _small_ or _very small_ target

hardware with limited resource onboard (CPU, ram, mass-storage), it

does not make sense to waste space with the documentation data.

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If you need documentation data on your target anyway, then Buildroot

is not suitable for your purpose, and you should look for a _real

distribution_ (see: xref:faq-no-compiler-on-target[]).

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[[faq-why-not-visible-package]]

=== Why are some packages not visible in the Buildroot config menu?

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If a package exists in the Buildroot tree and does not appear in the

config menu, this most likely means that some of the package's

dependencies are not met.

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To know more about the dependencies of a package, search for the

package symbol in the config menu (see xref:make-tips[]).

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Then, you may have to recursively enable several options (which

correspond to the unmet dependencies) to finally be able to select

the package.

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If the package is not visible due to some unmet toolchain options,

then you should certainly run a full rebuild (see xref:make-tips[] for

more explanations).

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