Related
Hi,
**
Based on the init script explained in this thread, i've developed a application that allows to plug and unplug folders like device disks.
**
*** This application is in BETA stage ***
*** and requires root privileges ***
Many devices have two storage units (internal and external).
Most programs (games, GPS, etc) do not check this and work with internal storage memory.
This is useful for all users, some of whom prefer to store their data in external memory (removable).
In some cases (not all) can be made for a particular application to work on external memory rather than internal, but this is not always possible, especially because the external memory does not support unix soft-links.
To avoid this, I developed an application that can be mapped to internal memory (in fact in any directory on the device) a directory that is in the external memory (or elsewhere), which allows to solve the problem.
With this application you can access from any location to the data are physically located in another directory and query, modify and even delete them.
In addition, the application detects when you connect the terminal to another computer (PC, laptop, etc) and rolls back the operation to avoid problems. When the connection ends, the links are restored automatically.
INSTRUCTIONS
Start the application and allow to get root privileges
Click the menu key and click preferences menuitem to enable/disable mount on boot, then click back to go the main screen
Click the menu key and click Edit menuitem to edit mountpoints
In the edit mountpoints screen click the menu key in order to activate menu, that shows two options: delete all (deletes all added mountpoints) and insert new.
The insert new mountpoint screen allows to create a new mountpoint.
In the edit mountpoints screen, the defined mountpoints have their own contextual menu, that allows to delete, mount and unmount a mountpoint.
In the edit mountpoints screen, each mountpoint is represented by a icon (grayed or yellow) that indicates if the mountpoint is active (yellow) or inactive (grayed).
Also, i shows the source and target folders and a checkbox that indicates if the mountpoint is automounted on boot (if you've enabled in preferences screen).
********** UPDATE ***********
*** SOURCE CODE RELEASED ***
At this moment I have no time to update this app.
I have uploaded to GitHub and published the source code in GPL.
I agre if any people, can solve the app issues.
https://github.com/RYO-Software/Folders-Plug.git
Nice, that's what I'm waiting for.
FoldersPlug 1.0.0-beta1 is attached to first post.
I agree to you very much if you test it and report issues (if any ).
added instructions in first post.
I have two phones, Milestone 2 and SGSII. Today I tested on Milestone first but without success. The phone has 8GB build in Flash and 32GB add on SDCard. I tried to link from 'external' SDHC to the build in 8GB, but it doesn't work. The Phone uses the build in 8GB to store the installed apps, this could be the problem.
I tried some directories for the links, but the mount function fails. After some FC's and dead loops I'm now unable to copy manually files to the internal Storage.
Next tests will be on the SGSII, but I don't expect problems due to the easier environment.
Leni26 said:
I have two phones, Milestone 2 and SGSII. Today I tested on Milestone first but without success. The phone has 8GB build in Flash and 32GB add on SDCard. I tried to link from 'external' SDHC to the build in 8GB, but it doesn't work. The Phone uses the build in 8GB to store the installed apps, this could be the problem.
I tried some directories for the links, but the mount function fails. After some FC's and dead loops I'm now unable to copy manually files to the internal Storage.
Next tests will be on the SGSII, but I don't expect problems due to the easier environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi.
if you have time i agree to you if you send to me a logcat
thx
I hope this is what you need ... I am not really familiar with all the development stuff
http://mueli.de/Android/2012-02-21_23-38-59.log
Leni26 said:
I hope this is what you need ... I am not really familiar with all the development stuff
http://mueli.de/Android/2012-02-21_23-38-59.log
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
first of all: thank's for your time
second: i have located the error
seems to me that your "mount" command don't supports my parameters.
you can exec "mount -h" in a terminal emulator or via adb and tell me the results?
thank's
D/23:37:55.393 FoldersPlug(13141)
SuperuserCommandsExecutor: [unknown option -- -mount: invalid option --]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do I need no more options for the mount command like in Linux with device file and other options?
Leni26 said:
Do I need no more options for the mount command like in Linux with device file and other options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
you need a special modifier in order to mount non block devices.
you have busybox intstalled?
please, exec "mount -h" and send me the result
Newest busybox is installed.
I got an invalid option -h error, logcat needs more time ...
Hi
I can confirm the same output of mount cmd as above on my galaxy p6800.
Is the --bind switch used or how does it work have read the script in the link you reffered to but surely you must have made some changes
/Calle
using p6200 - galaxy tab+
internal storage is known as sdcard and external being name as extStorages
edan1979 said:
using p6200 - galaxy tab+
internal storage is known as sdcard and external being name as extStorages
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the names are not relevant in the. process
theligu said:
Hi
I can confirm the same output of mount cmd as above on my galaxy p6800.
Is the --bind switch used or how does it work have read the script in the link you reffered to but surely you must have made some changes
/Calle
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
basically --bind with a amount of logic to configure and auto unmount/mount
Leni26 said:
Newest busybox is installed.
I got an invalid option -h error, logcat needs more time ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please let me known if "mount --bind" shows a error.
in fact a error was triggered if you don't add the source and
target folders, but I'm interested on parameters error
This command works for me with the "-o bind", no errors
# mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/extStorages/SdCard/LINKS/Download /mnt/sdcard/Download
updated apk in op post.
beta2 is working fine even in the emulator
Perfect works like a charm
Sorry for being late, now it's working on the Milestone II. But what I want to do will not work properly. The file system I want to use as storage is used by the system. Even if I change to rw, some of the target folder will be deleted and the files are gone.
There are a lot of different combinations I have to test further more.
Is there any way to include an option to change the file system (which holds the target 'mount point') rw as long as the mount is active?
Leni26 said:
Sorry for being late, now it's working on the Milestone II. But what I want to do will not work properly. The file system I want to use as storage is used by the system. Even if I change to rw, some of the target folder will be deleted and the files are gone.
There are a lot of different combinations I have to test further more.
Is there any way to include an option to change the file system (which holds the target 'mount point') rw as long as the mount is active?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
please, print the mountpoint propierties (source and target) in order to clarify.
thx
wow, this is such super useful tool. =)
Here are a few commands for Android in terminal. If you have any commands that you think should be here, just reply. Enjoy!
chmod - give/take rights away from files. The numbers you see in the how-to's is a little complicated. It has to do with the rights you are assigning the file or folder. http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Chmod for further reading.
cat - look at, modify, or combine a file. You can also copy files with this command by "reading" it to another file instead of to the screen.
cd - change from one directory to another
cp - Copy a file from one location to another
dd - copies exact locations to other locations. Can be an entire drive, a folder, etc.
dd if= of=. uses an input file and an output file.
exit - exits the shell you are in. When you type su you start up a shell.
ls - lists all files with in a directory try ls - l too.
mv - Move a file from one location to another. At the same time you can rename a file.
su - Substitute User. We type this to switch to the root user. You need to type this command first to do a lot of the other commands.
tar - creates taped archives. Compresses files like winzip, 7zip, winrar and others tar /? for details.
rm - followed by a file name with delete the file sync - synchronizes any data on disk with data in memory. We type this before rebooting to ensure we've got all data written
Other commands of interest:
df - how much free disk space. In linux you can add a switch "df -h" but the "-h" does nothing for me on Android. top - like task manager, it displays running processes. in Linux the q key quits. On Android I don't know how to make it quit other than closing the app. uptime - displays how long it has been since you last rebooted the system.
busybox - a tool that combines many linux commands into a single compact file. Typing this displays all the commands at your disposal.
busybox df - a much easier to read display of free diskspace. This display shows how full (use%) each file system is.
Thanks
thank you so much, well for a noob like me very informative was looking for this kind from very long :laugh:
Substitute user XD you know it is superuser right?
free - see all free Memory from the Device
mid-kid said:
Substitute user XD you know it is superuser right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually substitute user is also correct.
"The su command, also referred to as substitute user, super user, or switch user, allows a computer operator to change the current user account associated with the running virtual console."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_(Unix)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
So practically the basic linux comands are the same with android terminal!!!
I just noticed that the ping command is working just fine
Type ping 4.2.2.4 for example
rezo609 said:
If you have any commands that you think should be here, just reply. Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
svc data enable - turn on mobile data
svc data disable - turn off mobile data
svc wifi enable - turn on wifi
svc wifi disable - turn off wifi
svc help - show information about subcommands
For the top command mentioned in the OP, just type "top -n 1" and it will exit, leaving you with the readout at the time you executed the command. -n is for number of updates before stopping.
Also will add that the powertop command will show the top reasons for wakeups from idle.
Tnx
Metalcorpe said:
So practically the basic linux comands are the same with android terminal!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep
rezo609 said:
If you have any commands that you think should be here, just reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
grep - Useful to apply filters to other commands. For example, to list only the apk files inside a folder:
Code:
ls /folder/to/list | grep apk
or to search a string inside a file:
Code:
cat /file | grep stringToSearch
logcat - Debugging tool, all the system messages are shown here. To show only the debug messages (useful when an app is giving FC without apparent reason), type:
Code:
su
logcat -d
mount - The most common use for this command is remount the system partition, to modify its content (be careful, you can easily brick your device!). Common usage (needs root):
Code:
Mount /system in Read/Write mode:
mount -o rw,remount /system
Mount /system in Read Only mode:
mount -o ro,remount /system
Saving command output to file. Type
Code:
command >> /folder/to/save/file
If the file doesn't exist will be created, otherwise, the info will be added to the end of the file.
You can also use:
Code:
command > /folder/to/save/file
If the file doesn't exist also will be created, but if the file exists its content will be deleted before add the info.
mount - Mounting a partition
umount - Unmounting a mounted partition
reboot - Reboot phone
stop - Shutdowns the GUI
start - Restarts GUI
above two commands can be used to get a fast reboot.
Also you my use the reboot command to do a faster restart to the device but your are going to lose any unsaved work
You must be rooted
First type : su
Then : reboot
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
run program with command
I want to run "Applock"s lock all command. I have widgetsoid which can create shortcut for any command. How to do it? I am rooted.
SAVED ME!
toasterwater said:
svc data enable - turn on mobile data
svc data disable - turn off mobile data
svc wifi enable - turn on wifi
svc wifi disable - turn off wifi
svc help - show information about subcommands
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, thank you so much for posting this information. I had switched my MNVO service to a newer a phone, and this one was just sitting around. There were still things on it that I needed like some notes that I had saved. Because I had not used it in a while, and there was no data/cell service on it, I was out of luck (or so I thought) when I forgot my unlock pin. It wouldn't accept my google login information because there was no data connection. I COULD NOT GET INTO MY PHONE! I was dreading the possibility of having to factory reset, which would erase my notes and other things saved on there. On a whim and after MUCH Google searching, I was trying to find a way to reset the number of attempted pin locks to no avail. I was about to give up, but luckily, I remembered I had rooted it. And after downloading the latest SDK bundle, I came across your post. It allowed me to turn the wifi on my cell phone even though I was "locked out." Wouldn't you know that it very quickly picked up my home wifi signal. Because a data connection was enabled, I was then able to use my gmail login information to get into the phone. Your post saved me and prevented me from having to factory reset my phone and losing my information. Thank you so much!
netstat - show connections status in local device
...
rezo609 said:
Here are a few commands for Android in terminal. If you have any commands that you think should be here, just reply. Enjoy!
chmod - give/take rights away from files. The numbers you see in the how-to's is a little complicated. It has to do with the rights you are assigning the file or folder. http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Chmod for further reading.
cat - look at, modify, or combine a file. You can also copy files with this command by "reading" it to another file instead of to the screen.
cd - change from one directory to another
cp - Copy a file from one location to another
dd - copies exact locations to other locations. Can be an entire drive, a folder, etc.
dd if= of=. uses an input file and an output file.
exit - exits the shell you are in. When you type su you start up a shell.
ls - lists all files with in a directory try ls - l too.
mv - Move a file from one location to another. At the same time you can rename a file.
su - Substitute User. We type this to switch to the root user. You need to type this command first to do a lot of the other commands.
tar - creates taped archives. Compresses files like winzip, 7zip, winrar and others tar /? for details.
rm - followed by a file name with delete the file sync - synchronizes any data on disk with data in memory. We type this before rebooting to ensure we've got all data written
Other commands of interest:
df - how much free disk space. In linux you can add a switch "df -h" but the "-h" does nothing for me on Android. top - like task manager, it displays running processes. in Linux the q key quits. On Android I don't know how to make it quit other than closing the app. uptime - displays how long it has been since you last rebooted the system.
busybox - a tool that combines many linux commands into a single compact file. Typing this displays all the commands at your disposal.
busybox df - a much easier to read display of free diskspace. This display shows how full (use%) each file system is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i wanted to delete a directory with data ? what would be the syntax
Set/View Network Host Name
Run the following as root
setprop net.hostname <new_hostname> // To Change Device Hostname
getprop net.hostname // To View Device Hostname
list of all android terminal commands
Open terminal or file explorer with root access
From root folder go to /system/bin
Type command :ls
The list contains all the terminal codes available
Enjoy!!
Disclaimer1: I'm not responsible if anything goes wrong while you try out the codes.
Disclaimer:man & help pages are not available on android terminal
hi i want to make a superuser command list
anyone how know commands can post it here.
chmod - give especific permissions to an specific file
cat - look at, modify, or combine a file. You can also copy files with this command by "reading" it to another file instead of to the screen.
cd - change from one directory to another
cp - Copy a file from one location to another
dd - copies exact locations to other locations. Can be an entire drive, a folder, etc. dd if= of=. uses an input file and an output file.
df - how much free disk space.
du - show disk usage of files. Add "-h" to get human readable. Especially useful when you add "-d1" to limit the directory depth to 1. If you run "du -h -d1", it will tell you how much space each directory occupies, including their contents summed.
exit - exits the shell you are in.
grep - search within a file for a text string. Also useful for parsing command output. 'ls | grep something' is a quick way to list files that contain the string "something" (although "ls *something*" would do it, too, but grep can do a lot more)
ifconfig- get network interface configuration. Good for getting your own IP address.
kill - kill a process by PID
ls - lists all files in a directory .
mv - Move a file from one location to another.
ping - see if an internet host is alive
pm - android package manager. LOTS of useful things in here, type pm by itself for the help screen
ps - list processes. Useful to see what is running
reboot - reboots your device
reboot recovery - reboots you into recovery
reboot-bootloader -reboots the device in bootloader- fastboot
rm - remove a specified file
rmdir - remove a directory. rm can't do it unless you remove recursively with -R
su - Substitute User. We type this to switch to the root user. You need to type this command first to do a lot of the other commands.
sync - synchronizes any data on disk with data in memory. We type this before rebooting to ensure we've got all data written
tar - creates taped archives. Compresses files like winzip, 7zip, winrar and others tar
top - like task manager, it displays running processes. in Linux the q key quits. On Android I don't know how to make it quit other than closing the app.
uptime - displays how long it has been since you last rebooted the system. Interestingly enough the "Menu Key > System > About Phone > Status > Up time" on my phone does not match "uptime" typed in the terminal emulator.
Download a root explorer app. Go to system/bin (or xbin). You will see many files, but actually every file is a command for the kernel and (theoretically) all of them can be used in the terminal. Not all of them are stand-alone functions and must be used along with other commands. Just type the title of a file in terminal and see what happens. You might find some other functions that are not already in your list .
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda app-developers app
I use this as a cheatsheet as I normally deal with rooted devices with busybox installed anyway. Most "commands" found in /system/bin are symlinks to busybox. Sometimes a device has a non-standard busybox version with not all applets available. The reason why Titanium backup ships their own version of busybox with the app.
INTRODUCTION:
Boot Buddy will allow you to run Linux shell scripts when your Android device is booting up. It will run your scripts early in the boot process, before the home screen appears.
The intended audience is generally intermediate to advanced users, and those who want to play with shell scripting on their device.
FEATURES:
BootBuddy is similar to init.d scripts, but with a core difference that it stores boot scripts on your SDcard instead of the internal system. This allows for several interesting enhancements. Feature listing-
Much more Safe than init.d. If you have a script that is malfunctioning, just boot with the sdcard out, and put the sdcard back in after your device reaches home screen. Your device is Saved, No Problem!
Boot Buddy is designed from the start to run scripts right from your SDcard. Just download any scripts to your boot_buddy_scripts directory and they're ready to run. (No more screwing around with permissions and files in your /system/etc/init.d/*)
SDcard storage allows you to copy a script to another device, or multiple devices easily.
Boot Buddy's author has several years of scripting and programming experience. It is streamlined, fast, and doesn't perform worthless functions like repeatedly logging the authors name and time (*hint to a t-init author*).
Clear goals of making operation simple, intuitive, and clean.
If you're currently using an "init.d" solution, BootBuddy can integrate seamlessly with it.
If you try BootBuddy and you don't like it, the installer also works as an uninstaller for easy clean removal.
BootBuddy is Open Source GNU GPL. Open for anyone to modify and improve upon.
As a developer, I make software to operate the way I would want if I were an end user, because I actually do use it, and I am an end user like you.
REQUIREMENTS:
Android 4.0 and up
Rooted device
An sdcard
Script Manager Free (or any other app that can run scripts as root)
Boot Buddy Installer bb_install.sh
INSTALL:
Start Script Manager, and allow/grant root access.
Navigate to the bb_install.sh file.
Tap on the file to show the menu options.
At the top, highlight the "Su" icon.
On the top-left, tap "Run".
The script will run quickly. It will automatically detect your sdcard location and create a folder on your sdcard named "boot_buddy_scripts". In that folder, you put the scripts you want to run at system boot. A log file will be kept at /data/boot_buddy.log
If you need your scripts to run in order, they are ordered by filename using the busybox "sort" program. They will run in alphabetical order using this format 0-9A-Za-z.
YOUR FIRST SCRIPTS: (OPTIONAL)
Here are a couple example scripts you may use.
The Android /system is normally mounted with read-only permissions by default. We will change that with the first script listed below. It will cause /system to be remounted to read-write permissions during boot.
The second script will create a file at every boot named /mnt/sdcard/sys_mount_info.txt. That txt file will give us information about how /system is currently mounted.
Download the file 00rw_system.sh into your boot_buddy_scripts folder.
Download the file 99sys_mount_info.sh into your boot_buddy_scripts folder.
Reboot your phone.
That's it, you just installed 2 new scripts and had them run at boot. It's Really just that simple to add startup scripts to your system.
To verify they are running, use any text viewer to open the file /mnt/sdcard/sys_mount_info.txt. It may show more than one line of text. There should be a line similar to this:
/dev/block/(device specific text) /system (fstype) rw,(more text)
The rw means that /system was successfully remounted as read-write during boot.
At any time you can delete either script if you choose. Easy!
UNINSTALL:
If for any reason you find you don't want or don't like Boot Buddy, you can cleanly uninstall it using the installer bb_install.sh. These instructions are almost identical to installing. (All match the installation steps, except step 4)
Start Script Manager, and allow/grant root access.
Navigate to the bb_install.sh file.
Tap on the file to show the menu options.
Type --uninstall in the text area labeled Arguments.
At the top, highlight the "Su" icon.
On the top-left, tap "Run".
Boot Buddy will be uninstalled. It will not remove the contents of your boot_buddy_scripts folder. If you have an "init.d" system installed, it will cleanly remove only Boot Buddy parts and leave the rest.
MUST READ
ADVANCED NOTES:
Boot Buddy will Not cause harm to your system, but it may not work on custom roms. Also, it may fail to detect the real location of your SDcard. It requires that /system/etc/install-recovery.sh is run during the boot process, and that file will be created if it does not exist. Also the file /data/boot_buddy.sh will be created. The script /system/etc/install-recovery.sh will run /data/boot_buddy.sh. The script /data/boot_buddy.sh will run the scripts on your sdcard. The file /data/boot_buddy.log will log any script output.
For Windows and Mac users- If you download the installer to your pc first, do not edit the installer with a text editor. Your computer will add hidden markers at the ends of each line that will prevent the installer from running. If you want to edit it, you should do so on a Linux pc or directly on your Android device.
Tell us about your results!!!
BootBuddy source code: http://github.com/Sepero/bootbuddy
NOTE : I AM NOT A DEVELOPER I AM ONLY SHARING THIS. So Try On Your Own Risk. I Can't Help Anything.
Credits :
[email protected]
Script mgr says I'm not root, despite me in a root terminal elsewhere. wtf ?? ...
I'm not root in script mgr., even though I'm showing up as root in terminal.
I've installed Super user (chains sd ), just in case the App doesn't support my other Supersu App or similar.
I've utilised the su icon and run.
I did tick run as executable.
No reboot tried.
What am I missing ??
Please advise.
I give you 5 stars to the thread
Almost first!!! haha.... this is awesome dude this could be HUGE.
Steve Eligoyo said:
I'm not root in script mgr., even though I'm showing up as root in terminal.
I've installed Super user (chains sd ), just in case the App doesn't support my other Supersu App or similar.
I've utilised the su icon and run.
I did tick run as executable.
No reboot tried.
What am I missing ??
Please advise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must to select root when start on script mgr, you have skull head with crossed bones
Steps to complete failure: Page 96 ?? ...
Here are the steps I've taken to get kicked in the teeth:
Boot phone > menu > script mgr. > start > scroll to file (in this case bb _install.sh ) > open file > tick su ( tried boot and bgr several times, nada amigo ) as instructions state > run > unexpected oper error: your not root > rinse and repeat sixty times > open terminal > su > Works just fine > Post my question on xda in the WTF Thread
Update:
After creating the directories and files needed to make this train wreck into a working setup, (obviously a few are missing here, working on it), I reopened script mgr and browsed the file system, which shows bb _install.sh file (and the other two in this
Thread as well) with the green su skull and crossbones with the boot dot next to those skulls, yet the apps shell /console says oper error - Your not root.
Again, I open terminal, su > enter > Viola!, I'm root.
I've installed the sdcard v. of script mgr as well and I get a message stating /data/system/xbin does not exist.
I'll likely need to tweak the script mgr settings to /sdcard 0/externalsd /directory bind /system /xbin/bb _install.sh - something like that.
Still doesn't explain why the app is putting the brakes on root terminal in the nag screen.
Any ideas ??
MAN THANK YOU !!!! as a noob i couldn´t get init.d to work right. so i tried your script on the xperia z3c with stock 4.4.4
to make it compatible with z3c you need to edit the file /data/boot-buddy.sh after the installation
and replace both
/boot_buddy_scripts/
with
/storage/emulated/legacy/boot_buddy_scripts/
or
/storage/sdcard1/boot_buddy_scripts/
or another prefered location
then make a new folder boot_buddy_scripts in the location.
really it executes the scripts way before the apps are starting , this is so nice and will be on my phones from now on !
edit: i also now changed the log file creation to the sd card for quick access (most filebrowsers open there by default)..
the logfile is major awesome btw if something didn´t go right , its easy to debug , thanx alot again
Won't install says I don't have busybox. I have it but it has to go in system bin instead of xbin. Amy way to get this working?
I can't find much of any information on hacking the microsoft android emulator. Ideally, I'd like to get it working with superuser, exposed, etc, so it can be a fully functional way to see how android itself and apps work in different environments, all from my desktop. Also, I can just play around with stuff that I wouldn't touch on my tablet for fear of bricking it. I like playing with things.
Disclaimer: I'm not interested in maintaining anything, but as mentioned above, I can't find any information. Therefore, I'm simply posting what information I have here, in the hopes it will interest someone else enough to take a harder look at it. My original post was over here, but I've expanded beyond simply adding supersu to the image.
Things I can't do:
- Install superuser
- Install Xposed
- Install Google Play for anything more recent than KitKat
- Install recovery scripts
Things I can do:
- Run commands as root.
- Install Google Play Services on KitKat
- Change the screen resolution
- Change the amount of internal disk space
- Change the amount of memory and cpu cores available.
- Install busybox
- Flash simple scripts that don't require recent versions of cwm/twrp/other modern recovery.
----------------------------------------
Background information: The Microsoft Android "Emulator" is actually a HyperV virtual machine. When you install it, it enables the HyperV virtualization service in windows*. The effect of this is that instead of running android by emulating an arm processor, it runs android natively, with far better performance, by using Microsoft's hypervisor that's built into windows (win8+). You can work with it with Visual Studio and with Android Studio, but I don't use either much, so I can't help you with that. You can download it from Visual Studio if you want to (VS 2015 is free), or you can download a standalone version. I don't know if there's a difference between the two.
* I'm not sure if it installs the HyperV GUI as well, as I already use HyperV for other things and had it already installed. If you need to do so, you can install the GUI by going to add-remove windows features in the control panel ('appwiz.cpl' from the control panel).
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Modifying the properties of the emulated system.
Configuration file location: After you create a device, the .cfg file for it will be located in %localappdata%\Microsoft\VisualStudioEmulator\Android\Containers\Local\Devices
To change the resolution: So far, I haven't identified any supported resolutions other than those listed in the device profiles list. So far, supported resolutions that I've used successfully are 480x800, 720x1080. You can edit the .cfg file for the specific device that you want to change the resolution of, and change the `device.screen.resolution=` line to any supported (see previous) resolution.
To change the size of the internal storage, follow the instructions here. You'll need an ubuntu cd; minimal install cd is fine if you have slow internet/computer or low ram.
To change the amount of ram or processors allocated to the virtual machine: Open Hyper-V manager, right-click the appropriate VM and click settings.
- Change the ram allocation by clicking Memory in the list at left. I do not know what happens if you try using Dynamic Memory; if it works, it should be more memory-efficient, but I left that alone. Now update the `device.vm.ram.size=` line in the .cfg file.
- Change the cpu allocation by clicking the Processor field. Please note that if you have hyper-threading, you should only use half your logical processors as cpus; the hyperthreaded 'cores' won't work as well (according to information online; you can check number of logical processors in windows task manager's performance tab). Now update the 'device.vm.cpu.count=' line in the .cfg file
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Info on "recovery" and "flashing" - Installing google play
So far, I have only managed to get Google Play Services working on KitKat. I can't get it to work on Lollipop or Marshmallow (and haven't tried earlier versions at all); the virtual machine does *not* have a recovery or fastboot because of the way it works, and I haven't figured out any way of installing such. Instead, there's a simple shell file called install_zip.sh. It does not work with modern flashable zips that require TWRP/CWM; it only works with the old style zip designed for a specific architecture. As such, opengapps flashable zips will not work.
To install Google Play Services on KitKat (4.4.4)
1. Inside the emulator, open the browser and go to http://www.teamandroid.com/gapps/ and download the file linked under Gapps CyanogenMod 11.
2. Open the window the the android VM from the Hyper-V Manager to get console access. If you have ADB installed locally, you can use that in the future, but getting the VM's shared IP requires terminal access anyways (run `ip addr` as root inside the emulator to get the list of IPs).
3. Run `adb shell` to get access to the root shell (yes, it's that easy).
4. Run `install_zip.sh /sdcard/Downloads/gapps-kk-20140105-signed.zip` (or whatever the name/path for the downloaded gapps file is).
5. It should complete successfully. Now type exit to exit the adb shell, and close the hyper-v console window (the android emulator will continue running).
6. Click the 'X' at the top right of the Emulator to shut down/close the VM
7. Start the emulator back up. You should now have access to Google Play Services.
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Busybox
The emulator does not come with a preinstalled copy of busybox. It does come with the android toolbox, but this has only a very minimal amount of commands in it. The instructions below are for installing stericson's busybox.
1. Get a copy of stericson's busybox from somewhere--your personal device, etc, it doesn't matter. The easiest way is to either install it on a real android device and grab it with airdroid (or other), or to use a play store scanner to get it. The file name will probably be something like stericson.busybox.apk.
2. Rename it to .zip so you can access the contents.
3. Extract the busybox-x86.png file from the 'assets' folder inside the zip, and rename it to `busybox`.
4. In the Android Emulator, click the >> button for tools, and click the sdcard header. Choose a folder (a new one on your dekstop will do) and tell it to pull the contents of the sdcard to the folder.
5. Move the busybox file into the Download folder that you just pulled from the sdcard. If you created a folder for this, you can delete it now.
6. Back in the android emulator, push the folder structure back into the sdcard; this will move the busybox onto the emulator.
7. Open the HyperV console for the emulator or open a terminal app in the android emulator (installing it is up to you)
8. Run `adb shell` to get a root prompt.
9. Run `mount -o rw,remount /system` to remount the system partition as writable
10. Run `cp /sdcard/Download/busybox /system/xbin` to copy the busybox binary over
11. Run `chmod 777 /system/xbin/busybox` to make the busybox binary executable.
12. Run `busybox --install /system/xbin` to copy the busybox binary for all the included applets. I think the -s paramter will symlink the applets to the main binary instead, but I'm not sure.
13. Type exit in the adb shell.
14. You can now run busybox commands in the terminal, and use apps that require busybox to be installed.
Now that you have busybox installed, you can use unzip, etc.
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Hacking the OS itself.
The android emulator uses a VHD file for the disks. I've mounted the vhd file inside an ubuntu server to play with, and discovered several things about the way it works. The first partition is the boot partition, it contains 3 files:
- kernel - the android/linux kernel
- ramdisk - the ramdisk for the root filesystem. gzipped cpio archive.
- cmdline - the kernel parameters(? not sure what to call this)
I've tried modifying the ramdisk to add the init files for the superuser, but this doesn't seem to work properly; when I boot up the vhd file, I can open the console with hyper-v manager (the android emulator machines show up there automatically), and when it gets to the ramdisk, it says so--then the caps/num/scroll lights start flashing and it hangs. I haven't gotten any further than that at this time.