Please Mod's Delete this thread! - Eee Pad Transformer Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

There's nothing here to see // Regards

Unpacking and packing the blobs is the easy part- I did this just yesterday when I was fooling around with my TF. The hard part is getting them to flash. On an unrooted TF, the staging partition is read only and the stock recovery won't flash it if the crypto signature is wrong.
In fact, I think this was one of the early root exploits- use gingerbreak to gain root access, then send a blob to the staging partition. This will flash on reboot and install clockworkmod. Unfortunately, gingerbreak only works on the earlier firmware.

Maybe i have missed something...
The firmware of honeycomb is downloadable from the asus website.
You can extract it with blobunpack by Rayman, edit it, add/remove things, put the sudo and superuser packages etc...
If your device isn't already rooted, you can't flash it back

gee one said:
Unpacking and packing the blobs is the easy part- I did this just yesterday when I was fooling around with my TF. The hard part is getting them to flash. On an unrooted TF, the staging partition is read only and the stock recovery won't flash it if the crypto signature is wrong.
In fact, I think this was one of the early root exploits- use gingerbreak to gain root access, then send a blob to the staging partition. This will flash on reboot and install clockworkmod. Unfortunately, gingerbreak only works on the earlier firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
got it: blob.APP how to extract this
rebound821 said:
Maybe i have missed something...
The firmware of honeycomb is downloadable from the asus website.
You can extract it with blobunpack by Rayman, edit it, add/remove things, put the sudo and superuser packages etc...
If your device isn't already rooted, you can't flash it back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i told you, this can work if we do it correctly, (as i need to extract blob.app "wich has almost all stuffs in it, as its 512 mb, but i cant open it l0l)

The blob.APP is a ext4 file system. You can view it with
Code:
mount -o loop blob.APP system/
This assumes you have an empty directory named system and you are on a linux machine. Just to be safe, you could also use loop,ro to mount it read-only.
That's all fun stuff in there, but the real magic happens in blob.LNX and blob.SOS. You can extract them with the boot tools (not blob) that rayman has also posted in his github. Modding these files will allow you to keep root. rebound posted a thread in the dev section about an insecure boot- good stuff. Keep in mind that this still doesn't get you past nvflash or the stock recovery.

gee one said:
The blob.APP is a ext4 file system. You can view it with
Code:
mount -o loop blob.APP system/
This assumes you have an empty directory named system and you are on a linux machine. Just to be safe, you could also use loop,ro to mount it read-only.
That's all fun stuff in there, but the real magic happens in blob.LNX and blob.SOS. You can extract them with the boot tools (not blob) that rayman has also posted in his github. Modding these files will allow you to keep root. rebound posted a thread in the dev section about an insecure boot- good stuff. Keep in mind that this still doesn't get you past nvflash or the stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah, thanks a heap! but after recompile, how to "update the firmware"

Well, if you are rooted, you can flash the blob via the staging partition. If you are not rooted, the staging partition is read only. Aye, there's the rub!
I'm not saying it's not possible, but you'd have to know some clever tricks. Have a look at the gingerbreak exploit and how it was used to flash a blob.
sent from my cyanogen(mod) vision

exciting...waiting for good news from you.
hope its will successfully Root on B80, and a complete method to do it.
thanks~

would be nice have a B70 and its locked

evangelism said:
exciting...waiting for good news from you.
hope its will successfully Root on B80, and a complete method to do it.
thanks~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it will root, (but recovery will be same, if i dont change it, as its inside some of the blob files,
so its possible, but hard ) and a damn lot of workaround,

Arctiik said:
would be nice have a B70 and its locked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is the latest WW, so it would also be working on B70 aswell

the recovery is blob.SOS - use bootunpack blob.SOS
There's a little android! magic in there too. The kernel is the same, but you can mod the ramdisk. Download roaches version of CWM and unzip, blobunpack, and bootunpack. Then use his ramdisk and pack it all back together into the blob.
Then you will have rooted firmware. Now get to work on getting it to flash! We need an exploit like gingerbreak to make it work.

gee one said:
the recovery is blob.SOS - use bootunpack blob.SOS
There's a little android! magic in there too. The kernel is the same, but you can mod the ramdisk. Download roaches version of CWM and unzip, blobunpack, and bootunpack. Then use his ramdisk and pack it all back together into the blob.
Then you will have rooted firmware. Now get to work on getting it to flash! We need an exploit like gingerbreak to make it work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
took the recovery-ramdisk -> renamed so it replaces old file, now to pack this +__+
folder looks like this "see pic"

this was already discussed here in the forum. The only thing new would be a way to flash unsigned updates, and in this mater there are no news (yet...)

brk said:
this as already been discussed here. The only thing new would be a way to flash unsigned updates, and in this mater there are no news (yet...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is what we are trying to do here
added blob.SOS and LNX in this zip file (help with make it to blob.SOS
http://www.multiupload.com/BKCX9Y7CB8
totaly lost on how to pack blob files,

Try typing "blobpack" or "blobpack --help" one of them will show you the syntax.
sent from my cyanogen(mod) vision

gee one said:
Try typing "blobpack" or "blobpack --help" one of them will show you the syntax.
sent from my cyanogen(mod) vision
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usage: blobpack <headerfile> <outfile> <partitionname> <partitionfile> ...
i don't know what is header, and partition file of this +__?

Follow the capital letters- blob.HEADER is the header file. blob.SOS is the SOS partition ,etc.
Experiment a little, you won't break your ubuntu box if you pack up the wrong blob. You can unpack it to see if it worked. There are also instructions on raymans blob where you got the link for the tools.
The header has to be correct, so essentially you have to pack up the same number of parts if you re-use the header. Unpack a few blobs and see what is different with them. They don't always have the parts. Some have EBTs, some have SOSs, some have peaches and candy.
sent from my cyanogen(mod) vision

did you already check the universal root script for linux? There you can find the tools to mod blob.SOS (RAM disk for CWM) and blob.LNX (insecure flag change).
But this is the easy part. To be able to flash a modded update file you need to know the encryptation key from ASUS, or find a bug in android that you can exploit to flash the modded update.

brk said:
did you already check the universal root script for linux? There you can find the tools to mod blob.SOS (RAM disk for CWM) and blob.LNX (insecure flag change).
But this is the easy part. To be able to flash a modded update file you need to know the encryptation key from ASUS, or find a bug in android that you can exploit to flash the modded update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only need to repack all, and thats the stuff i dont know lmao

Related

[TOOL] Blob tools (Unpack/Repack)

Hey guys
Here are the tools used for the new root by Bumble-Bee & me!
https://github.com/AndroidRoot/BlobTools
The tools can unpack and repack blobs. Since the blob header is still not fully understood, repacking requires the original header from an existing blob file!
It is able to pack any number of partitions in a single blob (given it fits in the staging partition of course..around 500MB is the limit). The tool should be selfexplanatory from the output it gives if run without parameters, but I'll be happy to elaborate if needed.
Enjoy!
-RaYmAn
I'm trying to use this tool, but i need instruction
Fab985 said:
I'm trying to use this tool, but i need instruction
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heh. Fair enough
First compile the tool (obviously)
[TO UNPACK]
Code:
./blobunpack /path/to/blob
This creates a number of files, in particular a blobname.HEADER file which contains the header of the blob (As mentioned in previous post). The remaining files are named the same as the partitions on the device, e.g. blob.LNX (boot.img) or blob.SOS (Recovery) or even blob.APP (system.img)
[TO PACK]
You need the blobname.HEADER file from the unpack step at this point.
If you want to make a blob with e.g. just boot.img you do the following:
Code:
./blobpack blobname.HEADER outputfile LNX boot.img
The above commands places the boot.img in the LNX partition using the previously extracted HEADER and creates a blob in "outputfile" ready to flash =P
If you wanted to create a blob with boot.img and recovery, you'd do
Code:
./blobpack blobname.HEADER outputfile LNX boot.img SOS recovery.img
I hope this helps
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice work, thank you for the instructions
i've successfully unpacked the rom now
It kinda just makes unexplained files, can we have any sort of tutorial as to how we might go about extracting them?
kevcube said:
It kinda just makes unexplained files, can we have any sort of tutorial as to how we might go about extracting them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you suck at reading more than 1 post.
kevcube said:
It kinda just makes unexplained files, can we have any sort of tutorial as to how we might go about extracting them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blob.HEADER - Header stuff (ignore it)
blob.APP - system.img
blob.LNX - boot.img
blob.SOS - recovery.img (e.g. regular boot.img)
blob.EBT - bootloader.bin (ignore)
The system.img is ext4 and can be mounted as a loop fs in linux.
The rest of the files..well..If you don't know how to extract them, you have no use of these blob tools (*hint* http://github.com/AndroidRoot/BootTools)
Well that was kinda embarassing. I didn't feel like booting into ubuntu so I compiled and ran those tools in cygwin, and I didn't read the entirety of your explanation post.
To think I'm one of those people who gets really angry when I see others make that mistake..
Edit - just so you know I wasn't asking what to do with the source code, or how to get a blob. I just needed to know that whole ext4 image thing, and how it related to the blob.APP stuff.
Great thanks for the utility! I've just moved from TW SKU to US flashing LNX and APP from clockworkmod/adb.
So it seems the header (at least by terms of mdsum, not hex) changed for the 3.1 update.. Also 'unblobs' and has a blob.PT file, as in.. partition table..
LNX, EBT, SOS, APP, GP1, USP, MSC, CAC, PER, YTU, UDA, GPT, PT, BAK,
they also have some HSPA+ additions for their 3G/GSM model
Blades said:
So it seems the header (at least by terms of mdsum, not hex) changed for the 3.1 update.. Also 'unblobs' and has a blob.PT file, as in.. partition table..
LNX, EBT, SOS, APP, GP1, USP, MSC, CAC, PER, YTU, UDA, GPT, PT, BAK,
they also have some HSPA+ additions for their 3G/GSM model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when you say the header has changed, you simply mean it's md5sum has changed? That's expected as the header is not neccessarily static. As long as the *format* of the header is the same, everything is good =P
The previous (full) updates also had a blob.PT containing all those partitions. Most of them are generated/maintained automatically by the bootloader however...
Thank you rayman84 your tools are as useful as their code is beautiful
Looks like an update is needed for the tf201 'blob'.
How do you get the boot.img and other .img files out of blob ?
use the unpack blob script as described on the first page.
SoCmodder said:
use the unpack blob script as described on the first page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the LNX files, how do I get it out of them ?
StDevious said:
I get the LNX files, how do I get it out of them ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the blob.LNX file is your boot.img. You can just rename it if that will make you feel better.
If you need to extract its contents, look for bootunpack.
daoist said:
the blob.LNX file is your boot.img. You can just rename it if that will make you feel better.
If you need to extract its contents, look for bootunpack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, Thank you. I also have an .EBT file, what's that supposed to be ?
StDevious said:
I see, Thank you. I also have an .EBT file, what's that supposed to be ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .EBT file is a bootloader file. You can ignore that. You shouldn't need to do anything with it.
daoist said:
the blob.LNX file is your boot.img. You can just rename it if that will make you feel better.
If you need to extract its contents, look for bootunpack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using Linux, you can search for "unyaffs" it seems to work great for me.
Or just clone the git for BootUnpack. It works as well.

[Q] Installing ClockworkMod Recovery on G2x manually (i.e. via adb shell / "dd")?

[Q] Installing ClockworkMod Recovery on G2x manually (i.e. via adb shell / "dd")?
Hi all,
There is a thread about installing ClockworkMod Recovery on the LG Optimus 2X, but of course the block device is not correct for the G2x:
(Optimus-2X-only method): dd if=/data/local/clockworkmod.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p7
On the G2x, /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 is where /data is mounted, so this is a no-go.
I rooted my G2x, but I would like to use such a manual install method for CWM (and before I do, I would, of course, like to backup my old recovery to an image file, in case I ever need to go back to stock). I am running Linux, so I do not want to use any of the methods involving a .exe file, etc. (plus, I feel more comfortable doing it fully under my control).
Does anyone here know the right block device to use? Even better, has anyone figured out what all block devices on the G2x are for?
Thanks!
I think it's in mmcblk0p5. But verify it first before you do anything. I prefer flashing the recovery image via nvflash. They say you can brick your phone if you flash incorrectly via dd.
Check my post here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14130496&postcount=91).
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
joackie27 said:
I think it's in mmcblk0p5. But verify it first before you do anything. I prefer flashing the recovery image via nvflash. They say you can brick your phone if you flash incorrectly via dd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info - I did see mmcblk0p5 labeled as "boot" in one thread...
One way to see if this is potentially the affected block device (from when you flashed it) would be to dump it, via dd, to a .img file and check the md5sum (I can get the md5sum of mine [stock] later and compare to yours). Also, if the dump matches the clockworkmod.img file you used, then that's more verification.
I am sure you can, indeed, brick via dd if the wrong data is applied - what I would do is re-dump the device to a file and compare that to the flash image (at a minimum) before trusting that it worked.
LavaJoe said:
Thanks for the info - I did see mmcblk0p5 labeled as "boot" in one thread...
One way to see if this is potentially the affected block device (from when you flashed it) would be to dump it, via dd, to a .img file and check the md5sum (I can get the md5sum of mine [stock] later and compare to yours). Also, if the dump matches the clockworkmod.img file you used, then that's more verification.
I am sure you can, indeed, brick via dd if the wrong data is applied - what I would do is re-dump the device to a file and compare that to the flash image (at a minimum) before trusting that it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember a tweet by ChrisSoyars before that the recovery partition is being hidden by the kernel. I tried dumping mmcblk0p5 and it's way bigger than the recovery image that I've flashed recently.

[Q] Own kernel or one with kexec

Hi,
I've been trying to get my own kernel with few modifications running on my ASUS Transformer. I've followed few guides around with no luck. What I did:
Tried two source trees:
1) Official from ASUS
2) Roach2010s tree from github (https://github.com/Roach2010/android_kernel_TF101.git)
Used .config from my current kernel which is running fine (Prime kernel) without any changes.
Compiled kernel.
So far looks good, with few modifications to config I got new modules that works so crosscompiler is not misscompiling. Now the part where I'm doing something wrong and can't figure out what.
I started with Prime Kernel from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1251044
* Unziped the archive
* blobunpack blob
* created blob.LNX in several ways described bellow
* blobpack blob.HEADER blob LNX blob.LNX
* dd if=blob of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4
* reboot
How I created blob.LNX
A) Use extracted blob.LNX and use abootimg to replace kernel
* abootimg -u blob.LNX -k zImage
B) Extracted all parts and recreated image using abootimg
* abootimg -x blob.LNX
* abootimg --create blob.LNX -f bootimg.cfg -k zImage -r initrd.img
C) Extracted all parts and recreated image using bootunpack and mkbootimg
* bootunpack blob.LNX
* mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk ramdisk.gz -o blob.LNX
In addition I tried few modifications:
* enlarging bootsize in bootimg.cfg to make sure everything fits
* passing cmdline my current kernel booted up with as default in .config, as cmdline in bootimg.cfg and both
All my efforts ended up on ASUS boot up screen, no matter what I try. So my question is, am I missing something? Did I skipped some important part? Have I done something wrong? Any ideas appreciated.
If nobody has any idea, can somebody please create kernel with enabled kexec for my ASUS Transformer? That was the ultimate goal of trying to get my own kernel, but if I can't get working just recompiled one...
-miska- said:
Hi,
I've been trying to get my own kernel with few modifications running on my ASUS Transformer. I've followed few guides around with no luck. What I did:
Tried two source trees:
1) Official from ASUS
2) Roach2010s tree from github (https://github.com/Roach2010/android_kernel_TF101.git)
Used .config from my current kernel which is running fine (Prime kernel) without any changes.
Compiled kernel.
So far looks good, with few modifications to config I got new modules that works so crosscompiler is not misscompiling. Now the part where I'm doing something wrong and can't figure out what.
I started with Prime Kernel from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1251044
* Unziped the archive
* blobunpack blob
* created blob.LNX in several ways described bellow
* blobpack blob.HEADER blob LNX blob.LNX
* dd if=blob of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4
* reboot
How I created blob.LNX
A) Use extracted blob.LNX and use abootimg to replace kernel
* abootimg -u blob.LNX -k zImage
B) Extracted all parts and recreated image using abootimg
* abootimg -x blob.LNX
* abootimg --create blob.LNX -f bootimg.cfg -k zImage -r initrd.img
C) Extracted all parts and recreated image using bootunpack and mkbootimg
* bootunpack blob.LNX
* mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk ramdisk.gz -o blob.LNX
In addition I tried few modifications:
* enlarging bootsize in bootimg.cfg to make sure everything fits
* passing cmdline my current kernel booted up with as default in .config, as cmdline in bootimg.cfg and both
All my efforts ended up on ASUS boot up screen, no matter what I try. So my question is, am I missing something? Did I skipped some important part? Have I done something wrong? Any ideas appreciated.
If nobody has any idea, can somebody please create kernel with enabled kexec for my ASUS Transformer? That was the ultimate goal of trying to get my own kernel, but if I can't get working just recompiled one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is what I've done. If you have successfully built a kernel with the resulting zImage, then you are part way there, I believe there is a kernel config option to enable kexec support but I haven't tried that. Next, you can take some other kernel's .zip file (CWM flashable) and unzip it. You may need to download a zip utility. You'll have 2 folders and a kernel blob. If you bootunpack this kernel blob, you'll end up with the kernel blob and a some *.LNX file. This *.LNX file is the same as a boot.img file. You can use dsixda's Android kitchen to split this into the initrd and the kernel (zImage) parts. Replace the zImage with your own and move any modules you may have also built if necessary into the initrd part, join them back together into a boot.img in the kitchen.
copy this boot.img back to where you unzipped the kernel.zip, delete the original *.LNX file, rename the boot.img to the same name as the previous *.LNX file and then bootpack it together and flash it through CWM. Zip the 2 folders and the kernel blob you just made back together with whatever name you want. You can edit the text in the updater script before you zip it all up, but whether you do or not it should boot.
Yes, there is kexec config option, but I haven't suceeded even without changing anything so enabling it doesn't make kernel boot :-D I tried Android Kitche to split boot image and I ended up with the same files (compared the content to check) as with abootimg -x. Tried recreating update.zip and sign it using Android Kitchen, just to be sure, that something in android is not in the way to the actualization from running system. Still no luck :-(
-miska- said:
Yes, there is kexec config option, but I haven't suceeded even without changing anything so enabling it doesn't make kernel boot d:-D I tried Android Kitche to split boot image and I ended up with the same files (compared the content to check) as with abootimg -x. Tried recreating update.zip and sign it using Android Kitchen, just to be sure, that something in android is not in the way to the actualization from running system. Still no luck :-(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't even sign mine as I have signature verification turned off in CWM recovery. Didn't change the text either as I was mostly experimenting and learning. I know kexec works under linux, but I think it requires separate package(s) and configuration to do so. I got a bit confused with blobpack, blobunpack info, but figured out that with just the kernel you don't seem to need the mentioned header file, just the .LNX which is the same as boot.img which is the combined kernel zImage and initramfs. If the kernel blob is still there and you use the same name for the output file then it doesn't matter because it will get overwritten anyway. Worked for me at least using source of kernel I've booted before and my running .config.
sidneyk said:
I didn't even sign mine as I have signature verification turned off in CWM recovery. Didn't change the text either as I was mostly experimenting and learning. I know kexec works under linux, but I think it requires separate package(s) and configuration to do so. I got a bit confused with blobpack, blobunpack info, but figured out that with just the kernel you don't seem to need the mentioned header file, just the .LNX which is the same as boot.img which is the combined kernel zImage and initramfs. If the kernel blob is still there and you use the same name for the output file then it doesn't matter because it will get overwritten anyway. Worked for me at least using source of kernel I've booted before and my running .config.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm, zip file I had as an example was using blobed boot image going through mmcblk0p4. Do you have some link to .zip file that does it differently?
kexec is a way how to boot something else from linux directly without need to fiddle with bootloader. To use it, two parts are needed - kernel that supports it (that's what I can't get) and tool to actually use it/call it. Tool is not a problem, got that one hopefully ready, but without the kernel...
-miska- said:
hmmm, zip file I had as an example was using blobed boot image going through mmcblk0p4. Do you have some link to .zip file that does it differently?
kexec is a way how to boot something else from linux directly without need to fiddle with bootloader. To use it, two parts are needed - kernel that supports it (that's what I can't get) and tool to actually use it/call it. Tool is not a problem, got that one hopefully ready, but without the kernel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Koush's "anykernel.zip" code (probably requires a few mods)? It appears to be trying to replace the blob based updater-scripts that are all over the place.
I've used it successfully, but it has mostly been on other devices, and it is very easy to use. I think some of the templates are too generic and maybe confusing, and without figuring out how edify scripting actually works, it is mysterious, but I'd look at this code, git it and try to use it:
I'll try to provide a working example since I just added a few modules to one of the kernels 2.6.36-4 that're out there for the tf101, but I need to be sure it's working first. I think there's perhaps one difference at least between what Koush shows for the xoom and the tf101 so am working on it.
https://github.com/koush/AnyKernel
Good luck -
-miska- said:
hmmm, zip file I had as an example was using blobed boot image going through mmcblk0p4. Do you have some link to .zip file that does it differently?
kexec is a way how to boot something else from linux directly without need to fiddle with bootloader. To use it, two parts are needed - kernel that supports it (that's what I can't get) and tool to actually use it/call it. Tool is not a problem, got that one hopefully ready, but without the kernel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using clemsyn-blades_kernel_ver22a zip file. I don't know if it was doing it different or not, haven't checked that far into it.
sidneyk said:
I was using clemsyn-blades_kernel_ver22a zip file. I don't know if it was doing it different or not, haven't checked that far into it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm, checked that one, uses blobed image and 'dd if=/tmp/blob of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4' as well. Maybe I'll try different crosscompiler anyway, that's the one thing I haven't altered yet :-/
hachamacha said:
Have you tried Koush's "anykernel.zip" code (probably requires a few mods)? It appears to be trying to replace the blob based updater-scripts that are all over the place.
I've used it successfully, but it has mostly been on other devices, and it is very easy to use. I think some of the templates are too generic and maybe confusing, and without figuring out how edify scripting actually works, it is mysterious, but I'd look at this code, git it and try to use it:
I'll try to provide a working example since I just added a few modules to one of the kernels 2.6.36-4 that're out there for the tf101, but I need to be sure it's working first. I think there's perhaps one difference at least between what Koush shows for the xoom and the tf101 so am working on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't tried that one, looks interesting... This one doesn't use blobed update and wites image directly somewhere. Just would require to check that that somewhere is the right place :-D Thanks, will take a look at that and what other edify commands are availble in updater, sounds like interesting alternative approach...
-miska- said:
Haven't tried that one, looks interesting... This one doesn't use blobed update and wites image directly somewhere. Just would require to check that that somewhere is the right place :-D Thanks, will take a look at that and what other edify commands are availble in updater, sounds like interesting alternative approach...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm modifying the script I've seen passed around (not quite Koush's git repo version) passed around to see if I can get it to work on the tf101. The 'write it somewhere' edify command is the question mark, but I think it is going on it's (the device's) internal partition table and vectored to 'boot', which is either a terrific generic idea, or terrible depending upon what edify does. I can't really find a heck of a lot explaining anything about the individual edify commands. I'm just getting rid of the 'showstoppers' where partition names like mmc0p* are used that are clearly wrong for the tf101. I made the mistake of trying one that I only later realized thought that partition 1 was data, when it is actually partition 7. Good thing I can make nvflash backups on my 'old' transformer.
I'll post back later today with any results I get. I'm not concerned about whether my kernel worked since it is completely experimental , just that it got written there, so I might use a working version with a different kernel name (in Makefile) just so I can get 'proof of concept' .
On a slightly different note but having to do with what you're doing, I tried the blob route this week, and for some reason, blobunpack/pack right from Rayman's git repo do not unpack the blobs correctly for say 'clemsyms' or 'Prime's' blobs, which has me wondering about some change that maybe took place. In any case, it forces me down this other path anyway.
If they are working OK for you, could you tell me a couple things?
1) Your linux distro and architecture (x86/x86_64)
2) did you build them from Rayman's repo? Did you get binaries from somewhere, if so where?
3) parameters? I don't think mine take any but the blob name.
4) Output suffixes. I only get .LNX from any of the above blobs which is useless.
EDIT: I was recalling that 'edify' in CWM came into being somewhere (maybe) past the only version that works with the tf101 (we're on ~v3.x and edify ~v4/5+). If that's the case, then we're all stuck with blobs because that one write command is edifi(ed) most likely. I'll stare at the git CWM source today too to figure out if it used the edify stuff in this version. I think Solarnz had it in his git hub.
hachamacha said:
I'm modifying the script I've seen passed around (not quite Koush's git repo version) passed around to see if I can get it to work on the tf101. The 'write it somewhere' edify command is the question mark, but I think it is going on it's (the device's) internal partition table and vectored to 'boot', which is either a terrific generic idea, or terrible depending upon what edify does. I can't really find a heck of a lot explaining anything about the individual edify commands. I'm just getting rid of the 'showstoppers' where partition names like mmc0p* are used that are clearly wrong for the tf101. I made the mistake of trying one that I only later realized thought that partition 1 was data, when it is actually partition 7. Good thing I can make nvflash backups on my 'old' transformer.
I'll post back later today with any results I get. I'm not concerned about whether my kernel worked since it is completely experimental , just that it got written there, so I might use a working version with a different kernel name (in Makefile) just so I can get 'proof of concept' .
On a slightly different note but having to do with what you're doing, I tried the blob route this week, and for some reason, blobunpack/pack right from Rayman's git repo do not unpack the blobs correctly for say 'clemsyms' or 'Prime's' blobs, which has me wondering about some change that maybe took place. In any case, it forces me down this other path anyway.
If they are working OK for you, could you tell me a couple things?
1) Your linux distro and architecture (x86/x86_64)
2) did you build them from Rayman's repo? Did you get binaries from somewhere, if so where?
3) parameters? I don't think mine take any but the blob name.
4) Output suffixes. I only get .LNX from any of the above blobs which is useless.
EDIT: I was recalling that 'edify' in CWM came into being somewhere (maybe) past the only version that works with the tf101 (we're on ~v3.x and edify ~v4/5+). If that's the case, then we're all stuck with blobs because that one write command is edifi(ed) most likely. I'll stare at the git CWM source today too to figure out if it used the edify stuff in this version. I think Solarnz had it in his git hub.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blobs are used on the tf101 because they are the ONLY way of flashing boot/recovery, there is no block device mapping of them on our device
lilstevie said:
Blobs are used on the tf101 because they are the ONLY way of flashing boot/recovery, there is no block device mapping of them on our device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK: Thanks lilstevie,
That takes care of that. Time for me to make peace with blobs.
After steve's reply, I just went to using blobs. I've got my own kernel running fine on the tf101 using that method.
For the best reference I've seen on using blobs and boottools , try this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1193737
---
Just got back from work, will ply with it some more, but I'll start with answering the questions...
hachamacha said:
1) Your linux distro and architecture (x86/x86_64)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gentoo x86-64
hachamacha said:
2) did you build them from Rayman's repo? Did you get binaries from somewhere, if so where?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compiled from git repo. I always tried to find the most upstream repo for each tool and then compiled it by myself.
hachamacha said:
3) parameters? I don't think mine take any but the blob name.
4) Output suffixes. I only get .LNX from any of the above blobs which is useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These two comes together:
'blobunpack blob' - takes a blob as input and ouptuts blob.HEADER and blob.LNX
'bootunpack blob.LNX' - takes blob.LNX as input and outputs blob.LNX-kernel.gz, blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz and blob.LNX-config
'abootimg -x blob.LNX' - takes blob.LNX as input and outputs zImage, initrd.img and bootimg.cfg
Resulting files from bootunpack and abootimg are almost same, only difference is the configuration file
To repack:
'abootimg --create newblob/blob.LNX -f bootimg.cfg -k zImage -r initrd.img'
or
'mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz -o newblob/blob.LNX'
and then
'blobpack blob.HEADER newblob/blob LNX newblob/blob.LNX'
Unless I change kernel, everything works just fine :-D
-miska- said:
Just got back from work, will ply with it some more, but I'll start with answering the questions...
Gentoo x86-64
Compiled from git repo. I always tried to find the most upstream repo for each tool and then compiled it by myself.
These two comes together:
'blobunpack blob' - takes a blob as input and ouptuts blob.HEADER and blob.LNX
'bootunpack blob.LNX' - takes blob.LNX as input and outputs blob.LNX-kernel.gz, blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz and blob.LNX-config
'abootimg -x blob.LNX' - takes blob.LNX as input and outputs zImage, initrd.img and bootimg.cfg
Resulting files from bootunpack and abootimg are almost same, only difference is the configuration file
To repack:
'abootimg --create newblob/blob.LNX -f bootimg.cfg -k zImage -r initrd.img'
or
'mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz -o newblob/blob.LNX'
and then
'blobpack blob.HEADER newblob/blob LNX newblob/blob.LNX'
Unless I change kernel, everything works just fine :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty similar, although the kernel zImage itself is always a mystery unless you've not changed anything, but even then, getting it built with the right toolchain, etc isn't guaranteed. So lets assume that just works for now since it'll become obvious as it goes along.
I guess I have not heard of 'abootimg' as a tool for this, so I've been using the more manual way of dissecting the initrd as follows:
Code:
gunzip -dc ../blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz | cpio -i
If you need to change something , for example, in default.prop like ro.secure=0, then you'd do it there.
Then repack into a new ramdisk:
Code:
find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
Finally I just had a somewhat heavily modified zImage from my build, so did this to make the blob (I'd copied zImage to blob.LNK-zImage.gz below):
Code:
./mkbootimg --kernel blob.LNX-zImage.gz --ramdisk newramdisk.cpio.gz -o boot.img
./blobpack blob.HEADER newblob LNX boot.img
zip -r imagename.zip blob MET* system // whatever the syntax was.
NOTE: I did this on a native 64 bit ubuntu LTS 10.04 box.
Unless I typo'd up there, that 'should' work. If it does boot, then first thing, take a look at settings, and kernel info so you can verify that you're running the kernel you desired (hopefully you renamed it in Makefile the first 4-5 lines).
Solved
Ok, got it working!!! Problem was bad crosscompiler :-( Modules I crosscompiled worked fine, so I ruled crosscompiler out :-/ Looks like I was too quick in judgement :-( Now I have kernel recompiled with original settings and evne the modified one and it still works and boot. Now I'm going to play with new features I got! Thanks a lot for all help!!!
Just for the record, crosscompiler I was originally using was codesourcery 2011.03 and to make it work I switched to official crosscompiler from NDK. Rest of the commands was Ok, I was just suspecting wrong step as I was quite familiar with kernel building and quite unfamiliar with the blob stuff :-(
Congrats!
For some reason I avoid the codesourcery stuff and stick with either the prebuilt toolchains or else just build my own from gnu source.
Anyway, glad you figured it out.
I have been following a few different instructions for the tools and was concentrated on just learning to rebuild a kernel on my own setup - Ubuntu 11.10. I only installed Ubuntu since it was the distro mostly referenced in the tutorials. I've also tried a couple different tool chains, some work, some don't.
I then find an existing *.zip CWM flashable kernel to work with, usually trying to use one I've successfully ran before, and unzip it. This gives 2 folders and a blob file. Whenever I run bootunpack on the blob I only get a resultant blob.LNX file and, so far never any blob.HEADER file. I understood that the blob.LNX was the same as boot.img from reading through and use dsixda's kitchen to split up the .LNX file I've renamed to boot.img. I then replace the zImage with the one I've just built and repack to boot.img in the kitchen. Then I move that boot.img back to unzipped kernel directory and rename to blob.LNX and run bootpack with blob as output and just ignore the .HEADER part. I then rezip the 2 folders (after replacing any modules in there) and blob into a new zip file and reflash in CWM. If it was based on a kernel I've booted before then it usually works without any problems. I can replace text in the updater-script, if I want and am just reusing the initramfs from the original zip. I have signature verification turned off in CWM, so that doesn't choke it. I need to read more about building initramfs before I do it. So far, this works for me, but I haven't really done any modification to the source, other than rebuilding it with my running config.
sidneyk said:
I have been following a few different instructions for the tools and was concentrated on just learning to rebuild a kernel on my own setup - Ubuntu 11.10. I only installed Ubuntu since it was the distro mostly referenced in the tutorials. I've also tried a couple different tool chains, some work, some don't.
I then find an existing *.zip CWM flashable kernel to work with, usually trying to use one I've successfully ran before, and unzip it. This gives 2 folders and a blob file. Whenever I run bootunpack on the blob I only get a resultant blob.LNX file and, so far never any blob.HEADER file. I understood that the blob.LNX was the same as boot.img from reading through and use dsixda's kitchen to split up the .LNX file I've renamed to boot.img. I then replace the zImage with the one I've just built and repack to boot.img in the kitchen. Then I move that boot.img back to unzipped kernel directory and rename to blob.LNX and run bootpack with blob as output and just ignore the .HEADER part. I then rezip the 2 folders (after replacing any modules in there) and blob into a new zip file and reflash in CWM. If it was based on a kernel I've booted before then it usually works without any problems. I can replace text in the updater-script, if I want and am just reusing the initramfs from the original zip. I have signature verification turned off in CWM, so that doesn't choke it. I need to read more about building initramfs before I do it. So far, this works for me, but I haven't really done any modification to the source, other than rebuilding it with my running config.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The architecture really seems to make a big difference in some configurations.
I have one native linux box with 64 bit 10.04 LTS on it, and it always behaves as well as possible, so I did this blob/boot/tools work on it, and it went as it should (creating HEADER and LNX) files, etc.
Then in addition I use several linux distros in VMs, one of them being more like yours, an 11.10 distro with just the androidSDK and all the build tools, prebuilt chains, etc. That will do exactly as you said. I actually built those blobtools/boottools from Koush's git, and they don't work correctly in that one environment. What is different to make that happen? I'm just guessing that something important like the native x86_64 gcc world is different enough to foul things up. It really doesn't matter. Once I got the tools working on the native box, I just transferred them to the other boxes including 11.10 and they work fine.
If you're using 64 bit and would like them I can probably stick them into a .tar.bz2 or whatever and stick up a link to them, or maybe if you can find working binaries to download, you might get those working. Once the blobunpack is returning only the .LNX file, you've pretty well had it as far as progress.
Good luck
hachamacha said:
The architecture really seems to make a big difference in some configurations.
I have one native linux box with 64 bit 10.04 LTS on it, and it always behaves as well as possible, so I did this blob/boot/tools work on it, and it went as it should (creating HEADER and LNX) files, etc.
Then in addition I use several linux distros in VMs, one of them being more like yours, an 11.10 distro with just the androidSDK and all the build tools, prebuilt chains, etc. That will do exactly as you said. I actually built those blobtools/boottools from Koush's git, and they don't work correctly in that one environment. What is different to make that happen? I'm just guessing that something important like the native x86_64 gcc world is different enough to foul things up. It really doesn't matter. Once I got the tools working on the native box, I just transferred them to the other boxes including 11.10 and they work fine.
If you're using 64 bit and would like them I can probably stick them into a .tar.bz2 or whatever and stick up a link to them, or maybe if you can find working binaries to download, you might get those working. Once the blobunpack is returning only the .LNX file, you've pretty well had it as far as progress.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If by 'native' you mean a hard disk install as opposed to a VM install, then that's where I'm at. I have Ubuntu 11.10 x86_64 installed to a separate partition. I have the recommended stuff installed including the ia32 libs, but I never see a blob.HEADER file with either kernel.zips or ROM zips. I can unpack and repack kernels without the HEADER though and they boot just fine.
But, yes, if you don't mind posting a link with your files I'll give them a try sometime. Thanks.

A701 rooting

Got A701 with following version:
Acer_AV_043_A701_RV08RC02_EMEA_DE
Acer_AV043_A701_1.017.00_EMEA_DE
trying to use rooting methods don't help much.
Got unlock and installed CWM, got su copied over to /system/xbin/ or to /system/bin, but not too much use. Any ideas how to get root without reflashing a different rom?
fix found
OK...got a fix...i guess
0) install CWM
1) nandroid backup (you're crazy if you don't do it)
2) download backup to your PC
3) PM me for a modified boot.img (or use some kitchen to mod the boot.img and get rid of the pesky ro.secure) (or let me know if you have time to write some proper content)
4) adb reboot fastboot
5) fastboot flash boot newboot.img
6) reboot to recovery
6) adb push su /system/bin/
7) reboot
8) happy days
Works for
Acer_AV_043_A701_RV08RC02_EMEA_DE
Acer_AV043_A701_1.017.00_EMEA_DE
for others most likely will cause a nuclear disaster though
If you have CWM, rooting is as easy as flashing the Superuser zip from
http://androidsu.com/superuser/
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda app-developers app
Pawitp
nop, it is not enough.
With firmware that i 've got, the ro.secure has to be disabled, and even after that when i have everything running from root i can't remount system as rw.
Using any of the older firmwares isn't an option, as i apparently seem to have the "latest" one and i wanna stick to it to share at a later stage
andlommy said:
Pawitp
nop, it is not enough.
With firmware that i 've got, the ro.secure has to be disabled, and even after that when i have everything running from root i can't remount system as rw.
Using any of the older firmwares isn't an option, as i apparently seem to have the "latest" one and i wanna stick to it to share at a later stage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having root and being able to remount /system as rw are 2 different things. Acer's kernel has some block which disallow /system from being remounted as rw. You'd need to flash a source-built kernel or just make the modifications you want in /system from recovery.
So it's the kernel doing a remount block? Wow...recompiling means I'd need to get source etc. Sounds quite a job...
Sent from my A701 using Tapatalk 2
Ezterry provided a script in github or pastbin cant remember to do this and ez explained it to me on how to use it.
If you send me the original boot.img I can patch it for you so you have full system /RW.
It takes 10 minutes to do it.
Pm me as I don't come in here very often. Or go true MD as he's my rusky homeboy.
But only if you are interested. I can do this for A700 and A701 ICS and JB boot.img
civato said:
Ezterry provided a script in github or pastbin cant remember to do this and ez explained it to me on how to use it.
If you send me the original boot.img I can patch it for you so you have full system /RW.
It takes 10 minutes to do it.
Pm me as I don't come in here very often. Or go true MD as he's my rusky homeboy.
But only if you are interested. I can do this for A700 and A701 ICS and JB boot.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already posted the modified boot image you did for the 701
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934056
Should just have to unlock, fastboot the boot image, Download SU and BB and be good to go.
MD
Moscow Desire said:
I already posted the modified boot image you did for the 701
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934056
Should just have to unlock, fastboot the boot image, Download SU and BB and be good to go.
MD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see it know, I tought it was for different img.
And you got only 5 thank you's for posting that ?Only 5 A701 sold ? Or people are so big hearted these days?

[Q] Need some help with grabbing system.img

Hello !
I'm trying to set up a dual boot with Ubuntu and Android on my TF101.
I'm using Frank's Tool to do so.
I know i must have the boot.img the recovery.img and the system.img files, and that is the problem : i can't manage to dump my current ROM in img format. I tried with several Recoveries, but i just can't...
All i have in the best scenario is the following :
boot.img
recovery.img
system.ext4.dup
or :
boot.img
recovery.img
system.ext4.tar.a (400+ mb) and system.ext4.tar (0 kb)
Is there any way to grab the system.img from my current ROM, of am i forced to use the one provided in OLiFE Prime (which is fully stock... :crying: )
Many thanks in advance.
What file formats are the .img files? Linux doesn't care about the extension at the end like windows does. You could name the file dog_food.blah and linux is just as happy.
If you just need dumps of the partition, then the dd command will work for system. These will probably be ext4 filesystems.
What are the file types of the olife files that you want to change? From the linux command line, you can just type "file <some system.img here>" and it will tell you. I'm guessing it will say ext4 filesystem. Those tar files you have can probably be converted to what you need.
Disclaimer, I haven't dual booted my tablet and I don't know a thing about Frank's tools.
EDIT: I spent 30 seconds looking at Frank's tools, which appear to be an nvflash interface for windows. I suppose this means you want everything in an nvflash-able format. boot.img and recovery.img will be ANDROID! packed files, while system.img will be an ext4 filesystem.
To be sure, boot.img and recovery.img will start with ANDROID! There are also some boot tools by Rayman and other sources if you want to manipulate these. I think you can grab the system with "dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p1 of=/Removable/MicroSD/system.img" It will take a while and will be a large file, maybe 500MB. Depending on where your sdcard is, you might have to change that bit around.
If any of this doesn't make sense, then feel free to google or ask. Good luck!

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