
INTRO

  vrflash
  -------

  The purpose of this utility is to provide an easy way to flash
  kernels and romdisks to the Agenda VR3.  

  It works for me and it's worked for other people, but it may not
  work for you.  In fact, this code could well could destroy your 
  most valuable data, annilihate your VR3, set your house on fire, 
  and knock up your little sister.  If you can't handle any of that,
  then please don't use it.

  In reality, if you write-protect the PMON on your VR3 and backup
  your data, you and your Vr3 will be fine.  Instructions on write-
  protecting PMON are found in 'doc/pmon-protect-unprotect.txt'.  

  For an overview of the flashing progress, please read
  doc/agenda-flashing-overview.txt

  Last but not least, please note that I do NOT work for Agenda.
  So please don't complain to them if this doesn't work well for
  you.  Complain to the agenda-user list or to me.  Thanks.

LATEST VERSION
  
  You can always get the latest version of this utility from:
  
  http://www.apex.net/~jeff/agenda-utils/
  http://www.csee.umbc.edu/~acedil1/agenda/little.shtml

FEATURES

  o  Direct serial access (w/o minicom)
  o  Built-in Xmodem (send) support
  o  Built-in Etxack (send) support (c/o Brad @ Agenda)
  o  Progress meters
  o  Capture file
  o  PMON over-write detection/protection

PREREQUISITES

  o  An Agenda VR3 w/ sync cable (duh)
  o  **BINARY** version of romdisk/kernel (*not* .srec format; see USAGE)
     (if you have only SREC format, you'll need objcopy to convert it:
      mipsel-linux-objcopy  available here:
      ftp://linux-vr.sourceforge.net/pub/linux-vr/RPMS/i386/ )
  o  Moderate clue

COMPILES ON

  I know it compiles on a 'reasonable' Linux system.  Specifically, I 
  developed it on a Debian 'woody' system with:

  o  glibc:  2.2.2
  o  gcc:  2.95.3
  o  gnu make:  3.79.1
  o  gnu binutils:  2.9.5

  It has been successfully compiled on:

  o  Linux x86 (redhat, debian, etc)
  o  Linux PPC
  o  Solaris 2.7 x86
  o  IRIX 6.5 (R10k)
  o  FreeBSD 

  If you successfully compile it on something else, let me know.  
  Please note that compiling will almost certainly require GNU make.

USAGE EXAMPLES

  See 'doc/usage.txt' file

TROUBLESHOOTING

  See 'doc/troubleshooting.txt' file
	
BUGS

  Almost certainly.  Backup your data and write-protect PMON.  You
  have been warned.

  Also, the progress meter for the flash update is a little screwy.
  This is primarily due to the fact that it can only get updated 
  information on the status of the flash from PMON thru the serial
  port from the VR3 itself.  This information is fairly sporadic, 
  but it updates when it sees new info.  

AUTHOR
  
  Jeff Carneal <jeff@soldmy.net>

