[04:34] <mail> is there a channel for arm assembly dev ?
[06:50] <cooloney> NCommander and GrueMaster, hey, guys, i've already uploaded armadaxp kernel to our PPA. which builts fine
[06:50] <cooloney> please help to test on real hardware
[06:50] <NCommander> cooloney: saw your email. I'll punt it in the archive tomorrow morning
[06:50] <cooloney> NCommander: cool, you still around? it's mid night, i guess
[06:51] <NCommander> cooloney: genius never sleeps!
[06:51]  * NCommander laughs evilly
[06:51] <cooloney> NCommander: if you got any new patches, please drop to me
[06:51] <NCommander> cooloney: none
[06:51] <cooloney> OMG,
[06:51] <NCommander> ?
[06:51]  * cooloney hugs NCommander genius
[06:56] <cooloney> NCommander: i'm waiting for my Galaxy Nexus
[06:57]  * NCommander has his and it is awesome
[06:57] <cooloney> i will get it this weekend
[06:57] <cooloney> cool, i always follow your choice
[06:57] <NCommander> Need to rebuild the kernel to put NFS on it so I can use it as a buildd
[06:57] <cooloney> NCommander: you need buy 10 of GN and that's a good building cluster
[07:00] <NCommander> ahaha
[07:05] <RoyK> Neko: thanks
[09:36] <RoyK> hi all. I installed 12.04 beta1 on this pandaboard, and now it seems the new users I have created are invisible on login. the initial user was at first the only one visible, but now, only the last user created is visible to login. any idea what might cause this?
[10:13] <ogra_> RoyK, either a bug or improper usage of the tools to create users, what did you use ?
[10:25] <RoyK> ogra_: probably a bug, then, just curious noone has seen it yet. I used the standard gui tools to create two admin users
[10:25] <ogra_> yeah, that pretty much sounds like a bug
[10:25] <RoyK> any idea where the bug might be? I mean, the users are in /etc/passwd etc, but aren't visible to the gui tools either
[10:26]  * ogra_ knows that some people inappropriately use useradd etc 
[10:26] <RoyK> I sometimes do, but I didn't do that now
[10:27] <RoyK> so, user uadmin was created during install and then let's call them usera and userb, and now only userb is visible along with guest - not even 'type thy username' is possible - is that disabled somewhere by default?
[10:29] <ogra_> you should be  able to scroll through the userlist at the login manager by clicking the not highlighted one
[10:30] <ogra_> iirc it only shows two by default and keeps the last used one selected
[10:31] <ogra_> (unlike in 11.10 where it showed three from the list)
[10:37] <RoyK> ogra_: it shows userb and guest, and nothing else. the user manager doesn't show the other users either
[10:37] <RoyK> but still, UIDs are unique and things look good in the files
[10:39] <ogra_> surely a bug then
[10:40] <ogra_> i would file it against gnome-control-center as a start
[10:41] <ogra_> and probably lightdm too
[10:44] <ogra_> i can reproduce it here
[10:45] <ogra_> adding a new user doesnt ask for a pw ... after that the new user isnt visible in the user management tool ... upon reboot i can only select the new user or a guest session
[10:45] <ogra_> and indeed selecting the new user doesnt get me anywhere since he has no pw
[10:47] <ayaka> why does abootimg must have a initrd to create img
[10:47] <ogra_> aks upstream :) but i guess it is because the bootloader simply requires it
[10:53] <RoyK> ogra_: I set a password for the new users manually (passwd <user>), and the old user I created during installation is also hidden
[10:54] <RoyK> something is pretty fscked up in the user part...
[10:54] <ogra_> for me the old user shows up on next start of the admin gui
[10:54] <ogra_> yes
[10:54] <ogra_> file it please
[10:54] <RoyK> will do
[10:54] <RoyK> but now: Lunch!
[11:09] <ppisati> brb
[11:13] <ayaka> ogra_ but i have a custom kernel
[11:13] <ayaka> is there more  infomation about fastboot except android mod wiki
[11:14] <lilstevie> ogra_, I have a question regarding the L4T drivers you have packaged up
[11:43] <RoyK> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/952909
[11:43] <ubot2`> Launchpad bug 952909 in ubuntu "New users invisible/unusable" [Undecided,New]
[11:59]  * ppisati -> out for lunch
[12:05] <ayaka> ogra_ thank you
[12:12] <RoyK> ogra_: seems #952909 is being given some priority...
[12:12] <ogra_> well, i added some prio
[12:12] <RoyK> ah :)
[12:12] <ogra_> the desktop team still needs to accept that :)
[12:13] <RoyK> I guess that should be possible, though
[12:13] <RoyK> not a very obscure bug
[12:14] <ogra_> well, tricky to debug for them as they have no arm HW yet and it seems to be arm specific
[12:14] <ogra_> sdo expect more questions :)
[12:18] <lilstevie> ogra_, how do you get around all EGL apps trying to use mesa-egl over tegra-egl on the ac100?
[12:18] <ogra_> lilstevie, i use the packaged nvidia-tegra driver :P
[12:19] <lilstevie> ogra_, tried that
[12:19] <ogra_> (it sets the right alternatives in the postinst)
[12:19] <ogra_> well, works fine here
[12:19] <RoyK> ogra_: I can possibly expose a pandaboard on the net if that would be of any help
[12:19] <ogra_> though its moot now that we switched to armhf by default
[12:19] <lilstevie> things like glmark2-es2 still go for mesa
[12:19] <lilstevie> ogra_, this is on oneiric
[12:19] <ogra_> RoyK, hardly, since its a desktop issue
[12:19] <RoyK> true...
[12:20] <ogra_> lilstevie, iirc we didnt have the package for oneiric
[12:20] <lilstevie> the one on the ppa doesn't do it correctly?
[12:20] <ogra_> RoyK, but ask in the bug, i'm not the desktop team ;) probably they have ways
[12:20] <RoyK> ogra_: btw, I think I've seen similar in oneiric desktop/amd64
[12:20] <ogra_> lilstevie, the one in the PPA is ages old, and likely broken in several reagrds (and was for natty)
[12:20] <RoyK> ogra_: but I'll have to doublecheck that
[12:21] <ogra_> RoyK, if you can confirm that, note it on the bug ;)
[12:21] <lilstevie> ah ok
[12:21] <RoyK> ogra_: erm - not oneiric, precise
[12:21] <RoyK> but yes, I will
[12:21] <ogra_> lilstevie, the latest precise one should work fine if you never installed one of the broken ones
[12:21]  * RoyK runs to check
[12:21] <lilstevie> ogra_, I will reflash my prime later and try
[12:21] <ogra_> lilstevie, the older ones did set the alternatives wrongly
[12:22] <ogra_> i also never tried anything else than es2gears and es2_info
[12:22] <lilstevie> ok, well that would explain the issues I am having (alternatives being wrong)
[12:22] <lilstevie> yeah, es2gears and es2_info are still relying on the mesa ones
[12:24] <xranby> lilstevie: some projects like jogl and lwjgl   first probes all available libEGL variants installed on the system and  decides to pick the hardware accelerated one if both mesa and a nvidia driver are present
[12:25] <lilstevie> xranby, ok cool, just trying to get a true benchmark of the GPU on the tegra3
[12:25] <ogra_> are the beta drivers supposed to support tegra3 already ?
[12:25] <lilstevie> yes
[12:26] <lilstevie> they do
[12:26] <ogra_> ah, cool
[12:26] <xranby> lilstevie: the quickest thing you can do are to pass LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/nvidia-tegra es2gears
[12:26] <xranby> if the program for some reason are hardwired to mesa
[12:26] <ogra_> you are using the alpha drivers if you used the PPA though :)
[12:26] <lilstevie> I did something nasty in my own install and symlinked libEGL{whatever} to the nvidia ones
[12:27] <lilstevie> ogra_, actually, not from the pap, just realised the link was from the ac100 wiki
[12:27] <ogra_> ah
[12:27] <lilstevie> well the entry on the ubuntu wiki
[12:27] <ogra_> yeah, that links to the ones with the broken alternative
[12:27] <lilstevie> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/TEGRA/AC100#Graphics
[12:28] <xranby> lilstevie: try glmark2-es2
[12:28] <lilstevie> ah
[12:28] <ogra_> (the later ones didnt work on oneiric iirc)
[12:28] <lilstevie> xranby, I did, with the horrible symlinking hack
[12:28] <lilstevie> but the alternatives being broken in that package explains the issue
[12:29] <lilstevie> xranby, score is 189 overall
[12:29] <lilstevie> but I did not handle it as well as I probably should have
[12:29] <lilstevie> I just symlinked mesa-egl to nvidia-driver
[12:30] <xranby> hopefully we can get the alternatives correct for the precise release
[12:31] <xranby> so that things work as intended out of the box
[12:32] <lilstevie> well hopefully we get some hf drivers too
[12:32] <xranby> lilstevie: at least things are better now compared to say 2009, back then some hardware got shipped without any hardware accelerated drivers at all like the sharp pcz1.
[12:33] <lilstevie> true
[12:33] <lilstevie> it was nice to have almost out the box support for acceleration on the tf201
[12:36] <xranby> the interesting thing about the sharp pcz1 are that this machine can actually boot the imx53 kernels.. so in theory you should be able to get the imx53 system with hardware acceleration running on the pcz1 by booting up a new kernel and using the right xorg libEGL and friends
[12:37] <lilstevie> I still wish I could get some acceleration on the galaxy tab 7" the original one
[12:37] <lilstevie> cause that has a hummingbird processor, with SGX540
[12:37] <xranby> which GPU are used on the galaxy tab 7" ?
[12:37] <xranby> ok
[12:38] <lilstevie> but that seems rather painful to actually get working
[12:40] <steev_> xranby: the pcz1 is mx51 isn't it? should be able to use freescale's gpu stuff for it
[12:40] <xranby> right :)
[12:40] <xranby> its mx51 and got 512mb of ram
[12:40] <xranby> + neon
[12:41] <xranby> on paper it are still capable of running the latest linux distributions
[12:41] <steev_> xranby: have they released the kernel sources yet?
[12:42] <xranby> freescale have not released the sourcecode for the amd gpu driver
[12:42] <xranby> since they do not own it
[12:42] <xranby> the kernel sourcecode exist
[12:42] <xranby> the hardest part are to deal with the bootloader
[12:42] <xranby> red_boot
[12:43] <xranby> you can boot your own kernel quite easily
[12:43] <xranby> place it on a sdcard inside a boot folder and place a boot.conf containing    /boot/zImage   and bootflags
[12:43] <xranby> you can then boot this kernel by holing down the both mousebuttons at statup
[12:43] <xranby> its harder to replace the flashed kernel
[12:44] <xranby> so if someone have a lot of free time
[12:44] <xranby> 3d on the sharp are possible
[12:44] <xranby> by using the latest freescale board support package
[12:45] <lilstevie> heh
[12:45] <lilstevie> sounds like a pain
[12:46] <steev_> xranby: oh i work for Genesi, i know all about the freescale fun
[12:48] <steev_> ugh, yeah i can reproduce that bug 952909 here on an efika :(
[12:48] <ubot2`> Launchpad bug 952909 in accountsservice "Some users invisible/unusable" [High,Confirmed] https://launchpad.net/bugs/952909
[12:49] <steev_> i'm surprised no one on the desktop team has an efika, we gave ~52 out to ubuntu developers, where did they all go?
[12:52] <lilstevie> lol
[12:52] <lilstevie> maybe people are having too much fun with it
[12:53] <steev_> that's one of many possible situations
[12:54] <steev_> i'd tell the desktop team to check their closets :P
[12:54] <xranby> steev_: hi, are the armhf port fully hardware accelerated now on the efika?
[12:55] <steev_> xranby: ubuntu or debian
[12:55] <steev_> afaik, the debian image that markos made a few months back is
[12:56] <steev_> i've been working on precise for the efika, but it's been a bit slow going
[12:56] <xranby> ok. i guess i will have to test that one on my sharp then :)
[12:56] <xranby> the debian image
[12:56] <lilstevie> steev_, the efika looks kinda cool actually
[12:56] <steev_> as i'm mostly doing it in my free time and i was sick last week and moved this past weekend.  still trying to unpack and set up my lab
[12:56] <steev_> lilstevie: i enjoy them :)
[12:56] <xranby> is there anything the community can help with to get the bardware acceleration bits in place?
[12:57] <xranby> hardware
[12:57] <steev_> xranby: nope, we can't give people access to the gpu source
[12:57] <xranby> ok, i keep on working on the software layers that uses libEGL then
[12:58] <steev_> xranby: sorry :/
[12:58] <xranby> mostly workaround bugs in all the different binary blob drivers
[12:58] <lilstevie> steev_, heh, I have been stuck with tegra hardware, I have the trimslice for a desktop, and a tf101 and a tf201 as laptops
[12:59] <steev_> lilstevie: oh nice, i have 2 of the trimslices, one of the dev models, and one of the Pro units
[12:59] <steev_> i still need to ship them back so they can fix the pmics (i was an early adopter)
[12:59] <lilstevie> yeah I have a pro
[13:00] <lilstevie> tf201 has been the most fun
[13:00] <steev_> i may get around to it next month or so
[13:01] <steev_> what's a tf201
[13:01] <lilstevie> tegra3 is a lot more powerful than the older hardware
[13:01] <steev_> lilstevie: i'd hope so :P
[13:01] <lilstevie> heh
[13:01] <lilstevie> I mean a lot
[13:01] <lilstevie> doesn't have the tegra2 fail feeling
[13:02] <steev_> didn't they gimp the memory on the tegra2?
[13:02] <steev_> i've seen the mx6 in action, i'm pretty excited about it
[13:03] <xranby> steev_: do the mx6 support opencl??
[13:04] <steev_> xranby: i've not been handson so i'm not sure, iirc there was mention of it in the documentations at FTF
[13:04] <xranby> i got the impression it supports "desktop grade" opengl so that you can basically run unmodified opengl applciations..
[13:06] <xranby> if it runs opencl as well then its the first mobile gadget i know that can run really cool stuff
[13:06] <steev_> that was in the documentation as well, without hands on, i can't say
[13:06] <steev_> i don't wanna be all, oh yeah, it does and it's awesome
[13:07] <steev_> and then be lying
[13:07] <lilstevie> heh
[15:53] <mik2> Hello guys,
[15:53] <mik2> do you mind a beginner question about beagleboard xmand ubuntu?
[15:54] <mik2> does anyone have experience with rcn-ee ubuntu images for beagleboard?
[15:54] <mik2> I build an image following this http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardUbuntu#Oneiric_11.10 and managed to run it... but I can't find a way to play audio, although from console it doesn't seem there is any error...
[15:55] <mik2> did anyone expereinced it?
[15:55] <brendand> mik2, do you have some audio device connected (headset etc)?
[15:56] <GrueMaster> mik2: What does /proc/asound/cards list?  There has been an issue for a while on beagle audio in Ubuntu.
[15:56] <mik2> headset yes, or a speaker with amplifier: same 'none' result
[15:56] <mik2> let me try
[15:58] <GrueMaster> Headset or speaker is irrelevant.  The kernel is not detecting the onboard audio codec.  I think it is because the driver needs to be built into the kernel (not a module).  See bug 925094 for more info.
[15:58] <ubot2`> Launchpad bug 925094 in linux "No audio on omap (beagleXM) system" [Medium,Confirmed] https://launchpad.net/bugs/925094
[15:58] <mik2> $ cat /proc/asound/cards
[15:58] <mik2>  0 [omap3beagle    ]: omap3beagle - omap3beagle
[15:58] <mik2>                       omap3beagle
[15:59] <mik2> oh my...
[15:59] <mik2> thanks for this...
[16:00] <mik2> does it mean that there is no way around it than building my own kernel?
[16:00] <GrueMaster> Oh, you are seeing audio.  In that case, you need to fiddle with the alsamixer controls to boost volume.
[16:01] <mik2> ah! that's a better news (ta!) do you mean from GUI presumably?
[16:01] <mik2> or actually maybe the same
[16:01] <mik2> I'll try that
[16:01] <mik2> thanks a lot
[16:02] <GrueMaster> alsamixer is a text gui of sorts.
[16:04] <mik2> I see (I see it badly from minicom, I'll try ssh into it). thanks for this
[16:04] <mik2> Generally, would you better use an official ubuntu image rather than an RCN one?
[16:05] <mik2> I am asking this because.... I didn't manage to get an official ubuntu one to load and run, while it went quick and smoothly with ths rcn one
[16:05] <mik2> but I don't know if there are downsizes...
[16:05] <GrueMaster> You can also use screen on the serial console.  "screen /dev/ttyUSB0 115200" (or whatever your serial port is).
[16:05] <GrueMaster> Better than minicom.
[16:06] <mik2> oh! does it use an usb cable? (where did I live until now? :-)
[16:06] <GrueMaster> Well, my "preference" is kind of irrelevant.  I work for ubuntu.  I am the Arm QA guy.
[16:07] <GrueMaster> I was referring to your serial port on your desktop system.  If you are using usb serial, it is ttyUSB#.  If it is built in, it is ttyS#.
[16:11] <mik2> screen (in the same port than minicom) seems to hung in my pc... must be something else. But thanks for the tip, I will investigate this in a second time. I actually can use a HDMI cable, so probably I'll go the easy way
[16:13] <GrueMaster> Ok.  We have both headless (server) and Desktop images for beagle.  The desktop images do not put much on the serial console by default though.
[16:14] <GrueMaster> What rev beagle do you have?
[16:15] <mik2> xm rev c
[16:15] <GrueMaster> Cool.
[16:16] <GrueMaster> Care to test the latest stuff?
[16:16] <mik2> you know what - along the side of being incompetent - I may have started on the wrong place for the beagleboard  ubuntu installation
[16:16] <mik2> I can't promise results, but I can promise to try
[16:17] <mik2> I am not sure what I need but I bet desktop rather than server is more for me
[16:18] <GrueMaster> http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-preinstalled/current/precise-preinstalled-desktop-armhf+omap.img.gz for desktop, http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-server/daily-preinstalled/current/precise-preinstalled-server-armhf+omap.img.gz for server.
[16:18] <GrueMaster> Desktop is for doing anything with X.  Server is more for headless development work.
[16:20] <GrueMaster> At any rate, we have decent installation instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/OmapNetbook.  Just substitute the new image name.
[16:21] <GrueMaster> I am really curious how it runs on your system.  I am seeing issues on my beagleXM Rev B, but I have nothing to compare it to.
[16:24] <mik2> honestly following these installation instructions on that link, my SD card didn't make it to boot...
[16:24] <GrueMaster> Buh???
[16:24] <mik2> although its size is 1 Gb (not 4 as recommended) but I thought that it should be enough for starting
[16:25] <GrueMaster> Ah, that would explain it.  The images are almost 2G uncompressed.
[16:25] <infinity> mik2: You'd think wrong.
[16:25] <mik2> well, I tried only the sh cmd: it didn't give any error so I didn't feel it was to be tried with 3 steps
[16:25] <mik2> ah! sorry then
[16:25] <mik2> I thought that was a minimal... my fault...
[16:25] <GrueMaster> 4G is the recommended minimum.  The desktop image won't even fit on a 2G card iirc.
[16:26] <infinity> It might, just barely.  Haven't looked in a while.
[16:26] <infinity> But yeah, it hovers around 2G.
[16:26] <mik2> listen, for audio capability is Server distro a good choice? I need to run some python scripts that play audio
[16:26] <mik2> or is better desktop?
[16:26] <infinity> mik2: If all your stuff is command-line, server would be fine.
[16:27] <mik2> yes it is, Ok I'll try that! let me steal a card first :-)
[16:28] <mik2> and generally I presume that python packages would be equally available in a server and in a desktop... right?
[16:28] <infinity> Yep.
[16:28] <infinity> It's all the same archive.
[16:28] <GrueMaster> Yes.
[16:28] <mik2> thanks
[16:28] <infinity> The difference between image types is what's installed by default.
[16:30] <mik2> ah ok
[17:07] <mik2> GrueMaster: it is taking long to decompress so I think I'll let you know tomorrow how it did go with the server on BeagleBoard xm rev C
[17:08] <GrueMaster> It should't take too long.  What size SD are you using?
[17:15] <mik2> 4 gigs now
[17:17] <GrueMaster> Ok.  That should boot to oem-config in ~10 minutes or less.
[17:17] <GrueMaster> Desktop or server image?
[17:19] <mik2> it was far more than 10 min (but my pc was doing other stuff). Desktop img
[17:19] <mik2> booted
[17:20] <mik2> now tells me: resizing root pa
[17:20] <mik2> I should not be worried right?
[17:20] <GrueMaster> This is normal.  It should reboot after this.  Then it will come up in X with oem-config.
[17:21] <mik2> do you know username and pwd by hart? I can find them if not
[17:21] <GrueMaster> The image resizes root to fill the SD card prior to running in it.
[17:21] <GrueMaster> There are none by default.  oem-config will prompt you to create a user.
[17:22] <mik2> cool, thanks
[17:22] <mik2> hwclock: select(
[17:22] <mik2> does it expect some input?
[17:23] <GrueMaster> It shouldn't.  Are you in an X gui?
[17:23] <mik2> no
[17:23] <mik2> let me switch
[17:24] <mik2> mmm nothing comes up as gui
[17:25] <mik2> oh no!
[17:25] <mik2> I didn't follow the instructions "update for BeagleXM rev B & C"
[17:25] <GrueMaster> One sec.  I'm flashing a daily to SD now.
[17:25] <mik2> grrr... sorry
[17:25] <GrueMaster> No need.  That is for older releases.
[17:25] <mik2> ah
[17:27] <GrueMaster> Yea, that "update" was because TI released a new spin of hardware the week after Natty release.
[17:27] <GrueMaster> I fixed the wiki.  Thanks for pointing that out.
[17:28] <mik2> I didn't mean to :-D ahaha
[17:28] <mik2> so I guess.. I should try to reboot...
[17:28] <GrueMaster> Ok, I'm booting here.
[17:28] <mik2> it is still hanging on hwclock: select(
[17:29] <GrueMaster> Did you change console screens or something?  Try <ctrl><F7>.
[17:29] <mik2> nothing comes out on the hdmi cable :-(
[17:30] <GrueMaster> Weird.  This is the desktop image, right?  What other video source do you have plugged in?
[17:31] <GrueMaster> I'm getting video on hdmi here.
[17:32] <mik2> I have my hdmi cable into my pc monitor. It used to work with Angstrom
[17:32] <mik2> I'll try to reboot and see if something happens
[17:32] <mik2> nothing to lose
[17:34] <GrueMaster> Yes.  Also, does your monitor support 1280x768?  I think that is the default res for some odd reason.
[17:34] <mik2> now hanging on 'fsck from util-l'
[17:34] <mik2> yes it does
[17:36] <mik2> another reboot: stuck again on
[17:36] <mik2> fsck from util-1
[17:36] <mik2> util-l
[17:37] <GrueMaster> hrm.
[17:37] <mik2> I may want to try an older image
[17:37] <GrueMaster> I'm booting the current desktop image here just fine (except no network or audio).
[17:38] <mik2> ** Unable to read "preEnv.txt" from mmc 0:1 **
[17:38] <mik2> Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
[17:38] <mik2> The user button is currently NOT pressed.
[17:38] <mik2> SD/MMC found on device 0
[17:38] <mik2> reading uEnv.txt
[17:38] <mik2> ** Unable to read "uEnv.txt" from mmc 0:1 **
[17:38] <mik2> do these things matter?
[17:38] <GrueMaster> That is normal.
[17:38] <mik2> now blocked on hwclock: select(
[17:38] <mik2> funny
[17:39] <GrueMaster> u-boot looks for preEnv.txt and uEnv.txt before loading boot.scr.
[17:39] <GrueMaster> That I don't understand.
[17:40] <GrueMaster> Are you seeing a text screen or something else?
[17:41] <mik2> I am still using minicom. I'll post you the output
[17:41] <GrueMaster> You should be seeing a splash screen.
[17:41] <mik2> no I don't see anything from HDMI
[17:41] <mik2> U-Boot 2011.12 (Feb 16 2012 - 18:25:19)
[17:41] <mik2> OMAP3630/3730-GP ES1.2, CPU-OPP2, L3-165MHz, Max CPU Clock 1 Ghz
[17:41] <mik2> OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
[17:41] <mik2> I2C:   ready
[17:41] <mik2> DRAM:  512 MiB
[17:41] <GrueMaster> Oh.  You shouldn't see much of anything on minicom.  How did you flash this image to SD?
[17:41] <steev> heh
[17:43] <GrueMaster> The last thing you should see on minicom is "Uncompressing Linux... done, booting the kernel."  Nothing else.  If you are seeing something else, you imaged the SD wrong or are using a different image.
[17:43] <mik2> I will try tomorrow to use 3 separate commands rather than sh 'zcat....' as instructed in the web sitge
[17:43] <GrueMaster> What did you use for "of=" ?
[17:44] <mik2> /dev/sdb
[17:45] <mik2> so you are using this one right? precise-preinstalled-server-armhf+omap.img.gz
[17:45] <GrueMaster> Ok.  That should be right.  Might need to blank the SD first.  Try "sudo dd bs=4M count=256 if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb"
[17:46] <GrueMaster> That is the server image, not the desktop.
[17:46] <mik2> did I say desktop? DAMN I DID! sorrry sorry sorry
[17:46] <GrueMaster> And it should come up with more on minicom (although I prefer screen).
[17:46] <GrueMaster> heh.  NP.
[17:46] <mik2> really sorry, I am nackered!
[17:47] <mik2> I think server should do as I don't need gui and as it will be able to play audio anyway
[17:47] <mik2> blanking sd card now
[17:48] <GrueMaster> What is the serial port on your desktop system?  The one that you are using in minicom?
[17:49] <mik2> ttyS0
[17:49] <GrueMaster> Ok, so to use screen, typ "screen /dev/ttyS0 115200".  It will look more like a normal terminal window.
[17:53] <GrueMaster> Ok, I have a working desktop here.  Now switching to server.
[17:53] <mik2> Ok thanks. It is still blanking the sd card... and I am sorry but I must leave now... I will be fighitng with this tomorrow morning again
[17:54] <mik2> maybe I'll find you in this chat to tell you how did it go?
[17:55] <GrueMaster> I'll be here.
[17:56] <mik2> really sorry : must leave. Thanks for your great help and patience.
[17:56] <mik2> Have a good night!
[17:56] <GrueMaster> I think I hit the same issue.  Will let you know how it goes.
[17:56] <mik2> cheers, thanks