[Q] how to flash and backup kernel? - Transformer TF300T Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I following the instructions found from here:
Building Kernels
and download the kernel from here:
INDEX of ROMS/RECOVERY/ROOT/GUIDES/FIRMWARE/KERNEL/VIDEOS/etc..
I am using TF300TG, so I just followed the link to my tablet kernel source from the thread. I have successfully built the kernel by using the config.gz found in the tablet /proc/config.gz (is great that Asus is providing such info). I also enable a kernel module for my old USB ethernet dongle and able to use it to get online. :victory:
After poking around the kernel configuration, and reading the thread TF300T kernel source repository, I am curious about enabling OC and possible other features. I had downloaded the update.zip from the thread, and trying to understand the whole process of how to flash kernel to the tablet. My idea is to modify the update.zip to make use of it to update my tablet. But before I start doing something serious, I have questions...
I found the following kernel file: kernel.blob in update.zip. Is this the same file as 'zImage' in arch/arm/boot/ after built successful?
The next question is on how to backup my existing kernel? I notice from the update-script, the kernel is flash using the following command:
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "dd", "if=/tmp/kernel.blob", "of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p4");
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this mean, I can run the same command in reverse to keep a copy of my current kernel?
I had done kernel compiling before, but those were in PC/x86 platform. ARM platform seems to be different from what I used to.

I found the following kernel file: kernel.blob in update.zip. Is this the same file as 'zImage' in arch/arm/boot/ after built successful?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly...
A blob file is a sort of archive that can contain several files.
For example, the kernel.blob you mention above contains the actual kernel (zImage) but also a ram disk.
As far as I understand a blob file is the only type of file that can be flashed to different partitions of your TF300T(G) using fastboot method.
To flash using CWM or TWRP you will need to pack blob file(s) into a special kind of zip package.
Below I have shared my script that I use to create a TWRP flashable zip package including a custom built kernel.
Hopefully it may shed some light in the steps required to go from zImage to blob file and TWRP flashable zip package.
The script takes the root path to your kernel source directory as first (and only) argument.
In same directory as script I have unpacked update.zip (from untermensch's kernel repository thread) as parts of this zip file are re-used.
---
#!/bin/sh
KERNEL_HOME=$1
KERNEL_NAME=my_kernel_$$
# Repack new kernel and old ram disk into blob file
cp ${KERNEL_HOME}/arch/arm/boot/zImage boot.blob.lnx-kernel.gz
repack-bootimg.pl boot.blob.lnx-kernel.gz boot.blob.lnx-ramdisk out.blob.lnx
blobpack out.blob LNX out.blob.lnx
# Prepend magic header
cat signblob_magic out.blob > kernel.blob
# Add kernel modules to ensure kernel and modules always match.
# If mismatch e.g WiFi might not work.
find ${KERNEL_HOME} -name "*.ko" -exec cp {} system/lib/modules \;
# Save kernel config in case it needs to be rebuilt some day.
cp ${KERNEL_HOME}/.config kernel_config
# Zip everything
zip -9 -r ${KERNEL_NAME}.zip kernel_config kernel.blob system/ META-INF/
# Sign zip using SignApk
java -Xmx1024m -jar signapk.jar -w testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 ${KERNEL_NAME}.zip ${KERNEL_NAME}-signed.zip
---
The next question is on how to backup my existing kernel? I notice from the update-script, the kernel is flash using the following command:
Does this mean, I can run the same command in reverse to keep a copy of my current kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory this should work but if not mistaken mmcblk0p4 is just a sort of staging partition.
During bootup whatever is in mmcblk0p4 is copied to another partition (mmcblk0p0?).
(I guess this is the blue bar you can observe when flashing custom roms/kernels)
Someone more familiar with the details please correct me.
Instead of trying to backup your current kernel I would suggest to try to get the original
kernel by unpacking the official update packages from ASUS support web page.
I had done kernel compiling before, but those were in PC/x86 platform. ARM platform seems to be different from what I used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that much different really, just need to search the google.com and XDA forums and you shall find answers...

gaze57 said:
Not exactly...
A blob file is a sort of archive that can contain several files.
For example, the kernel.blob you mention above contains the actual kernel (zImage) but also a ram disk.
As far as I understand a blob file is the only type of file that can be flashed to different partitions of your TF300T(G) using fastboot method.
To flash using CWM or TWRP you will need to pack blob file(s) into a special kind of zip package.
Below I have shared my script that I use to create a TWRP flashable zip package including a custom built kernel.
Hopefully it may shed some light in the steps required to go from zImage to blob file and TWRP flashable zip package.
The script takes the root path to your kernel source directory as first (and only) argument.
In same directory as script I have unpacked update.zip (from untermensch's kernel repository thread) as parts of this zip file are re-used.
---
#!/bin/sh
KERNEL_HOME=$1
KERNEL_NAME=my_kernel_$$
# Repack new kernel and old ram disk into blob file
cp ${KERNEL_HOME}/arch/arm/boot/zImage boot.blob.lnx-kernel.gz
repack-bootimg.pl boot.blob.lnx-kernel.gz boot.blob.lnx-ramdisk out.blob.lnx
blobpack out.blob LNX out.blob.lnx
# Prepend magic header
cat signblob_magic out.blob > kernel.blob
# Add kernel modules to ensure kernel and modules always match.
# If mismatch e.g WiFi might not work.
find ${KERNEL_HOME} -name "*.ko" -exec cp {} system/lib/modules \;
# Save kernel config in case it needs to be rebuilt some day.
cp ${KERNEL_HOME}/.config kernel_config
# Zip everything
zip -9 -r ${KERNEL_NAME}.zip kernel_config kernel.blob system/ META-INF/
# Sign zip using SignApk
java -Xmx1024m -jar signapk.jar -w testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 ${KERNEL_NAME}.zip ${KERNEL_NAME}-signed.zip
---
In theory this should work but if not mistaken mmcblk0p4 is just a sort of staging partition.
During bootup whatever is in mmcblk0p4 is copied to another partition (mmcblk0p0?).
(I guess this is the blue bar you can observe when flashing custom roms/kernels)
Someone more familiar with the details please correct me.
Instead of trying to backup your current kernel I would suggest to try to get the original
kernel by unpacking the official update packages from ASUS support web page.
Not that much different really, just need to search the google.com and XDA forums and you shall find answers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoa... Thanks for the info. I go read up more on this.

Related

edit boot.img-ramdisk

heres where im at now. im trying to edit the init.rc
i have extracted the boot.img using unpack-bootimg.pl and have got the follwing
empty folder called ramdisk
boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
boot.img-ramdisk.gz
boot.img-kernell.gz
i am now stuck extracting the ramdisk to edit init.rc
i also get error gunzip is not a recognied command
any help??
add.thebad said:
i am trying to edit the init.rc but have problems extracting boot.img-ramdisk.gz
i have made a rom dump
then extracted boot.img
got boot.img-ramdisk.gz so extracted that
and now i have a file called boot.img-ramdisk nothing else
so how can i edit ramdisk?
thanks in advance. any help welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
add.thebad,
Been a while since I've done this, lol, but these are the instructions I followed:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack%2C_Edit%2C_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
There's links to the Perl scripts in that page too.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
thanks but the link to the scripts is broke. dont suppose you know where to get another
add.thebad said:
thanks but the link to the scripts is broke. dont suppose you know where to get another
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adam (that's right, right? ),
I found an XDA version of the "How To" link I posted above: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443994 and the files are at the bottom of the first post and they are still available.
By the way, I used these instructions (along with lots of help from Amon_RA himself) for unpacking and repacking Amon_RA's custom recovery .img file (I built a version that doesn't require the use of a trackball for the Eris).
I think after you unpack the ramdisk, you'll just replace / update your init.rc file and then repack everything before doing the mkbootfs on your ramdisk directory (followed by your particular mkbootimg command).
Good luck!
Cheers!
thanks for you help i have the scripts now and i can get it to extract however i get the error "gunzip is not recognised" and the files it does extract are emply
add.thebad said:
thanks for you help i have the scripts now and i can get it to extract however i get the error "gunzip is not recognised" and the files it does extract are emply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you on a Linux system?
The gzip / gunzip utilities should be on your system and/or referenced in you PATH environment variable.
Do a find / -name 'gzip' 2> /dev/null or find / -name gunzip 2> /dev/null or whereis gunzip or which gunzip (one of these should reveal the utility's location).
The unpack-bootimg.pl does use the gunzip command to extract the files, so you will need this utility.
Cheers!
after a bit of reading i think the way i have got my boot.img is wrong could this be why the folder is empty?
add.thebad said:
after a bit of reading i think the way i have got my boot.img is wrong could this be why the folder is empty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure... Like I said, I started with a known, good recovery.img file... I never have (yet) played with a boot.img file...
scary alien said:
Not sure... Like I said, I started with a known, good recovery.img file... I never have (yet) played with a boot.img file...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i managed to extract a boot.img from an official system image and tried that and got the same result. could i have anything to do with gunzip not being recognised
add.thebad said:
i managed to extract a boot.img from an official system image and tried that and got the same result. could i have anything to do with gunzip not being recognised
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol...I think we cross-posted a little bit ago...see above ^^^ for my post about your gunzip utility.
scary alien said:
lol...I think we cross-posted a little bit ago...see above ^^^ for my post about your gunzip utility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha so we did.
no im on windows and cant get gunzip to work. think i have gzip working tho
any ideas?
add.thebad said:
haha so we did.
no im on windows and cant get gunzip to work. think i have gzip working tho
any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you'll have to grab some Windows versions of the Unix commands.
I can't remember where I got mine, but a quick search yielded this as a possible starting place:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/unix-command-line-utilities-for-windows/
There's a couple of links to sets of tools. After you download and install these, make sure you point / change your Windows PATH to point to the utilities or just do all of your work in the same directory.
You really just need the utilities that are referenced in the Perl script... Not sure I'd bother with the whole Cygwin thing (your call, of course).
Cheers!
scary alien said:
Yeah, you'll have to grab some Windows versions of the Unix commands.
I can't remember where I got mine, but a quick search yielded this as a possible starting place:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/unix-command-line-utilities-for-windows/
There's a couple of links to sets of tools. After you download and install these, make sure you point / change your Windows PATH to point to the utilities or just do all of your work in the same directory.
You really just need the utilities that are referenced in the Perl script... Not sure I'd bother with the whole Cygwin thing (your call, of course).
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok will try that. I allready have cygwin to try get the commands i will try ur link tho. Think im getting a bit outa my depth but ive learnt so much so far i dont want to give up so thanks for your help
heres where im at now. im trying to edit the init.rc
i have extracted the boot.img using unpack-bootimg.pl and have got the follwing
empty folder called ramdisk
boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
boot.img-ramdisk.gz
boot.img-kernell.gz
i am now stuck extracting the ramdisk to edit init.rc
i also get error gunzip is not a recognied command
any help??
add.thebad said:
heres where im at now. im trying to edit the init.rc
i have extracted the boot.img using unpack-bootimg.pl and have got the follwing
empty folder called ramdisk
boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
boot.img-ramdisk.gz
boot.img-kernell.gz
i am now stuck extracting the ramdisk to edit init.rc
i also get error gunzip is not a recognied command
any help??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I spent some time tonight trying to do this under Windows myself, but I used the split_bootimg.pl Perl script instead to create the *.img-kernel and *.img-ramdisk.gz files (with mixed success). lol, I had a hard time re-finding some good Unix commands that would run under Windows (I've got some good ones on my work PC, but that doesn't help me now).
Here's the relevant section in the original HOWTO link I sent you:
% ./split_bootimg.pl boot.img
Page size: 2048 (0x00000800)
Kernel size: 1388548 (0x00153004)
Ramdisk size: 141518 (0x000228ce)
Second size: 0 (0x00000000)
Board name:
Command line: no_console_suspend=1
Writing boot.img-kernel ... complete.
Writing boot.img-ramdisk.gz ... complete.
Now, extracting the ramdisk under Windows is a little trickier and I couldn't get the whole way there because I couldn't find the cpio command for Windows (you might have it already if you are using Cygwin). Anyway, the documentation explains that you would create a temporary "ramdisk" directory, change to it, use the gzip utility to uncompress and feed the output to the cpio command to actually extract the files and directories:
Extract the ramdisk.
% mkdir ramdisk
% cd ramdisk
% gzip -dc ../boot.img-ramdisk.gz | cpio -i
% cd ..
That should work for you (if you have appropriate utilities) and should give you the various files that comprise the ramdisk for you to modify (i.e., the init.rc).
After modifying them, you would use the mkbootfs utility (not sure if this is actually available in Windows) to re-pack the ramdisk and then use the mkbootimg command to re-pack your boot image.
It might be easier to get a Linux distro installed that you can launch from Windows just to do this.
Good luck!
scary alien said:
It might be easier to get a Linux distro installed that you can launch from Windows just to do this.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahaa managed to get everything extracted and edit the init.rc so thank you for all your help
one the linux side of things i have ubuntu dual boot and use it from time to time im just not familiar with the commands on it so prefer windows. might try it more oftern since it can be a pain finding all the tools for windows
ne way all i need to do now is repackage it which is proving to be a bit of a problem atm.
a sleep less night and ill c how i get on lol
cheers for the help
add.thebad said:
ahaa managed to get everything extracted and edit the init.rc so thank you for all your help
one the linux side of things i have ubuntu dual boot and use it from time to time im just not familiar with the commands on it so prefer windows. might try it more oftern since it can be a pain finding all the tools for windows
ne way all i need to do now is repackage it which is proving to be a bit of a problem atm.
a sleep less night and ill c how i get on lol
cheers for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adam,
Glad you are making progress .
Here's the last few bits that I used to re-pack my ramdisk and to rebuild the bootable recovery .img file (i.e., ramdisk + kernel):
# pack-up the ramdisk directory's files to build the new ramdisk .zip
#
mkbootfs ./ramdisk | gzip > ramdisk-new.gz
# now, repack the kernel and ramdisk to make the new recovery image
#
mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz --base 0x11200000 -o new-recovery.img
This is very similar to the instructions in the HOWTO thread.
Also, note the --base parameter in the mkbootimg line, this is unique/specific to each phone/bootable image since it appears to be the boot/load address, so you'll have to know or find-out what this particular value is for your situation.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Cheers to you, too!
scary alien said:
Adam,
Glad you are making progress .
Here's the last few bits that I used to re-pack my ramdisk and to rebuild the bootable recovery .img file (i.e., ramdisk + kernel):
# pack-up the ramdisk directory's files to build the new ramdisk .zip
#
mkbootfs ./ramdisk | gzip > ramdisk-new.gz
# now, repack the kernel and ramdisk to make the new recovery image
#
mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz --base 0x11200000 -o new-recovery.img
This is very similar to the instructions in the HOWTO thread.
Also, note the --base parameter in the mkbootimg line, this is unique/specific to each phone/bootable image since it appears to be the boot/load address, so you'll have to know or find-out what this particular value is for your situation.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Cheers to you, too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok gave up in windows cannot find a command or perl script for mkbootfs so now in ubuntu giving it a try
i can do that first bit fine. does it need to be re cpio?
on the next commannd i type
Code:
mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --boot.img-kernel.gz --boot.img-ramdisk.gz ----base 0x10000000 -o new-boot.img
and get this
Code:
[email protected]:~/Desktop$ mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --boot.img-kernel.gz --boot.img-ramdisk.gz ----base 0x10000000 -o new-boot.img
usage: mkbootimg
--kernel <filename>
--ramdisk <filename>
[ --second <2ndbootloader-filename> ]
[ --cmdline <kernel-commandline> ]
[ --board <boardname> ]
[ --base <address> ]
-o|--output <filename>
but nothing is outputted on my desktop
add.thebad said:
ok gave up in windows cannot find a command or perl script for mkbootfs so now in ubuntu giving it a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that the mkbootfs utility is available / created as a result of building / compiling the Android open source.
Like I mentioned before, its been a while since I did all this myself, but I had to download and do the base "make" for the Android open source since I was actually changing and recompiling the custom recovery.
So, you'll need to check-out / download the desired AOSP branch / version from the proper location (which eludes me at the moment). Then, I believe doing the base / generic "make" for the AOSP will create or reveal the mkbootfs utility.
One of the threads in the following forum should have a better, starter explanation for doing the above that I could post here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=613
I'd dig into this more with you tonight, but I gotta do my taxes and then go into work for a few hours tonight (ugh on both counts, lol!).
Good luck!

[GUIDE] Howto create an insecure boot image for asus tf101

NOTE: I started few days ago working with the boot image.
I'm not an Android expert. If you find an error in this post, let me know.
Use this information at your own risk. If you brick your tablet, don't blame on me.
Nothing of the tools used here are written by me. I'm not taking credit for another's work.
I have rooted my tf101 with the instructions from the mashi's thread. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125714)
I was curious about the root process of our beloved tablet.
For add root at the stock firmware you need the su packages and a proper boot image.
I've worked for years on linux machines, so I know that you need the "su" command to become root.
But what about the boot image? What does it need for?
I've googled and found some information that I'd like to share with you:
For using adb as superuser, and push the su package, you need to flash a so called "insecure boot" on your tablet/phone.
The process is easy:
NOTE: Even if I'm on a Windows machine, I prefer to do this work in linux. The entire process has been done in an Ubuntu 11.04 virtual machine.
What you need:
- a PC running linux
- BootTools and BlobTools from Rayman84 (http://androidroot.mobi/)
- mkbootimg (mkbootfs is optional) from the android repository
I assume that you have all the above tools in your $PATH variable.
First of all you need a stock boot image; you can extract one from your tablet (with nvflash) or from the latest stock firmware (US-VERSION - WW-VERSION)
We're going for the official packages from the ASUS website. Download it on your home directory (or wherever you want).
Let's start:
Code:
mkdir stock_firmware
cd stock_firmware
unzip ../UpdateLauncher_WW_epaduser_84411.zip
unzip ASUS/Update/WW_epad-user-8.4.4.11.zip
blobunpack blob
bootunpack blob.LNX
Now we have a lot of "strange" files:
Code:
ASUS
blob
blob.APP
blob.EBT
blob.HEADER
blob.LNX
blob.LNX-config
blob.LNX-kernel.gz
blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz
blob.PT
blob.SOS
META-INF
For our work, we just need blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz
Code:
mkdir boot_img
cd boot_img
gunzip -dc ../blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz | cpio -i
vi default.prop (or "gedit default.prop" if you want a GUI)
Here you have to change the line "ro.secure=1" in "ro.secure=0"
The final file should appears as this:
Code:
#
# ADDITIONAL_DEFAULT_PROPERTIES
#
ro.secure=0
ro.allow.mock.location=0
ro.debuggable=0
persist.service.adb.enable=0
Almost done. Let's repack:
Code:
find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
or alternatively:
Code:
mkbootfs ./ | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
Finally make the boot.img:
Code:
cd ..
mkbootimg --kernel blob.LNX-kernel.gz --ramdisk newramdisk.cpio.gz -o boot.img
Now you have your boot.img, ready to be flashed with nvflash.
For information on what to do with this file, please refer to the mashi or brk threads.
Again, I've taken this information from google.
All the credits and many thanks to:
Rayman for the BlobTools and the BootTools - http://androidroot.mobi/
Mashi for his thread on rooting the stock kernel - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125714
Brk for his batch script - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1185104
If you found this guide useful, hit the "Thanks" button.
For your convenience, you can find the tools used attached in this post (compiled on Ubuntu 11.04).
UPDATE: I have written a script (thanks gnufabio for the idea) that automatically modify a stock boot.img into an insecure one.
ex:
Code:
./insecure.sh boot.img
when the script finishes you will find a file called my_boot.img ready to be flashed with nvflash.
Bootunpack and mkbootimg should be in your $PATH.
This script doesn't do much error checking, so keep your eyes open.
HF
hey thanks very nice guide
Excellent. I've been looking around trying to work out how to package up a kernel build, this helps a great deal.
I'm assuming that I just replace the blob.LNX-kernel.gz with my built zImage?
SammyC said:
Excellent. I've been looking around trying to work out how to package up a kernel build, this helps a great deal.
I'm assuming that I just replace the blob.LNX-kernel.gz with my built zImage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't try but i guess yes.
If you really want to recompile/repackage the kernel, you can refer to this http://www.droidforums.net/forum/rescue-squad-guides/31452-how-compile-your-own-kernel.html ; it's about the Motorola Droid, but some concepts are universal for all the android devices.
HF
Good work, btw give a look to this script i made: mcpio
Unpacking and repacking the ramdisk will be easier:
Code:
mcpio -c ramdisk-folder/
mcpio -e ramdis-archive.cpio.gz
Thanks - Very useful to have this in this section. I tried the example, and it all worked fine on an old Ubuntu dist.
gnufabio said:
Good work, btw give a look to this script i made: mcpio
Unpacking and repacking the ramdisk will be easier:
Code:
mcpio -c ramdisk-folder/
mcpio -e ramdis-archive.cpio.gz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's a lot easier...
I didn't know your script, thanks for sharing.
Updated the first post with a bash script to automate the entire process.
Yesterday I've succesfully recompiled the stock kernel and I'm thinking on write another guide like this one on the subject.
The process is a little complicate, i'm looking for an easy way to explain but it's hard.
Anyway I'm working on it in my spare time.
That would be great if you could.
ASUS haven't (yet) released the source for the kernel in their latest 3.2 build. If you've updated to 3.2, you can still root and repackage using this method. Just use nvflash to save off the kernel from your running device as per the backup/restore thread, then use bootunpack on that and follow the rest of the instructions
raypou said:
ASUS haven't (yet) released the source for the kernel in their latest 3.2 build. If you've updated to 3.2, you can still root and repackage using this method. Just use nvflash to save off the kernel from your running device as per the backup/restore thread, then use bootunpack on that and follow the rest of the instructions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's exactly the method used here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1198303
If anyone interested, here're win32 binaries of BlobTools and BootTools
Just compiled from git repo.
I unpacked a rom with a kernelblob in the root directory, and edited init.rc. Which command should I use to repackage it? If I follow the guide (instead of boot.img I used kernelblob, no extension) I get the EEE Pad logo then scrambled, colored lines all over.
If I, however, install the base rom, then the one where I changed something in the kernelblob, it boots up.
theMIROn said:
If anyone interested, here're win32 binaries of BlobTools and BootTools
Just compiled from git repo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, makebootimg.exe doesn't work. It gives error saying: error: could not load kernel 'blob.LNX-kernel.gz'
Tried same files in linux and worked fine.
Can you try to fix this?
EDIT: tried to compile myself but got the same issue. I think is related with the need to change source code to make this run on windows.
Working boottools for windows available here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17237701&postcount=443
brk said:
Hi, makebootimg.exe doesn't work. It gives error saying: error: could not load kernel 'blob.LNX-kernel.gz'
Tried same files in linux and worked fine.
Can you try to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, it's code issue
attached BootTools-Win32.zip with fixed mkbootimg.exe
is there this guide for tf201?
BR
Maframan
maframan said:
is there this guide for tf201?
BR
Maframan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should probably check the TF201 forum.
Could this method be used to pack a new Splash Screen? (I want to change that annoying ASUS logo to something better) Would I go about the Flash_Image method to flash the image after compiled? (I do Not have NvFlash, but I am rooted with Cwm)
Which blobs would I modify as well, just the EBT?
rebound821 said:
NOTE: I started few days ago working with the boot image.
I'm not an Android expert. If you find an error in this post, let me know.
Use this information at your own risk. If you brick your tablet, don't blame on me.
Nothing of the tools used here are written by me. I'm not taking credit for another's work.
I have rooted my tf101 with the instructions from the mashi's thread. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125714)
I was curious about the root process of our beloved tablet.
For add root at the stock firmware you need the su packages and a proper boot image.
I've worked for years on linux machines, so I know that you need the "su" command to become root.
But what about the boot image? What does it need for?
I've googled and found some information that I'd like to share with you:
For using adb as superuser, and push the su package, you need to flash a so called "insecure boot" on your tablet/phone.
The process is easy:
NOTE: Even if I'm on a Windows machine, I prefer to do this work in linux. The entire process has been done in an Ubuntu 11.04 virtual machine.
What you need:
- a PC running linux
- BootTools and BlobTools from Rayman84 (http://androidroot.mobi/)
- mkbootimg (mkbootfs is optional) from the android repository
I assume that you have all the above tools in your $PATH variable.
First of all you need a stock boot image; you can extract one from your tablet (with nvflash) or from the latest stock firmware (US-VERSION - WW-VERSION)
We're going for the official packages from the ASUS website. Download it on your home directory (or wherever you want).
Let's start:
Code:
mkdir stock_firmware
cd stock_firmware
unzip ../UpdateLauncher_WW_epaduser_84411.zip
unzip ASUS/Update/WW_epad-user-8.4.4.11.zip
blobunpack blob
bootunpack blob.LNX
Now we have a lot of "strange" files:
Code:
ASUS
blob
blob.APP
blob.EBT
blob.HEADER
blob.LNX
blob.LNX-config
blob.LNX-kernel.gz
blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz
blob.PT
blob.SOS
META-INF
For our work, we just need blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz
Code:
mkdir boot_img
cd boot_img
gunzip -dc ../blob.LNX-ramdisk.cpio.gz | cpio -i
vi default.prop (or "gedit default.prop" if you want a GUI)
Here you have to change the line "ro.secure=1" in "ro.secure=0"
The final file should appears as this:
Code:
#
# ADDITIONAL_DEFAULT_PROPERTIES
#
ro.secure=0
ro.allow.mock.location=0
ro.debuggable=0
persist.service.adb.enable=0
Almost done. Let's repack:
Code:
find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
or alternatively:
Code:
mkbootfs ./ | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
Finally make the boot.img:
Code:
cd ..
mkbootimg --kernel blob.LNX-kernel.gz --ramdisk newramdisk.cpio.gz -o boot.img
Now you have your boot.img, ready to be flashed with nvflash.
For information on what to do with this file, please refer to the mashi or brk threads.
Again, I've taken this information from google.
All the credits and many thanks to:
Rayman for the BlobTools and the BootTools - http://androidroot.mobi/
Mashi for his thread on rooting the stock kernel - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125714
Brk for his batch script - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1185104
If you found this guide useful, hit the "Thanks" button.
For your convenience, you can find the tools used attached in this post (compiled on Ubuntu 11.04).
UPDATE: I have written a script (thanks gnufabio for the idea) that automatically modify a stock boot.img into an insecure one.
ex:
Code:
./insecure.sh boot.img
when the script finishes you will find a file called my_boot.img ready to be flashed with nvflash.
Bootunpack and mkbootimg should be in your $PATH.
This script doesn't do much error checking, so keep your eyes open.
HF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Sir,
First of all thankyou for you guide because I did follow you guide and created the insecure boot.image succesfully. I still have one problem, after flashing the boot.image, I still could not root the android device. Why is that? Do I need to change something else in the boot.img?

[DEV-GUIDE] Flytouch 3 Superpad 2 - Custom ROM building tutorial

Dear All,
I have been building some custom Android ROMS for the past few years, and my latest toy is a Flytouch 3 I wanted to share some of my findings and methods here, perhaps other newbies like me will find it useful.
1. FT3 ROM contents:
FT3 ROMs will be in RAR or ZIP format and have 2 or 3 files in them as explained below. Just unzip or unrar the package to use them:
firmware2 - flash tool which burns the firmware ( I guess...lol)
bootloader-discovery - 7zip file which contains the bootloader
IMPORTANT! Do not flash a wrong bootloader to your device or it will be bricked! Actually this is the only way you can brick the thing, it's pretty sturdy in that sense. If you are not sure, do not copy bootloader-recovery to your sdcard when flashing, it will boot with your existing bootloader anyway.
firmware-discovery - 7zip file which contains the firmware and it's the main file you want to edit.
2. firmware-discovery contents:
This is the easy part! Modifying this file will let you modify system and data partitions. You can also use different ramdisks and kernels compatible with your device. It's a 7zip file and you can unpack and repack easily with the 7-zip file manager (http://www.7-zip.org/).
I use 7-zip on Windows although I use Ubuntu Linux as my main OS. There is something wrong with my 7-zip installation most probably, but I was too lazy to check it If you are on Windows anyway, you are good, just download and use 7-zip from the URL above. I advise that you do all your firmware-discovery editing within 7-zip file manager. That way, you won't have to worry about re-packing with the correct 7-zip settings. At least, that's how I do it and had no problems.
firmware-discovery will have these files in the 7zip package:
uImage - kernel
Very important Your kernel will make the difference between having and not having certain functionality, even if your hardware supports it.
uImage_recovery - recovery file - I beleive this is what runs when you push menu+power.
ramdisk.img - ramdisk
This is one of the interesting files you might want to play with. Ramdisk is a simple file system with some crucial files, mainly init.rc that lets you control the boot process. You can also stick a initlogo.rle image here to display a splash image in initial boot. More details below at title 4.
data.tar - /data partition - tar archive
All user data is stored here, including apps and user definable settings. This is what gets wiped when you do a recovery by pushing menu+power.
system.tar - /system partition - tar archive
System data, drivers and apps, including Android OS itself (except kernel). Certainly the most interesting part for the average modder
3. Editing system.tar and data.tar:
This might be the bulk of your modding, and most probably what will be most visible to the end user.
I very strongly suggest that you use a Linux system to edit these files. If you use Windows, file permissions will not be saved! If Windows is your main OS, simply install a VM host such as VirtualBox and install your fav Linux distro inside it. Most of them will have an Archive Manager with a GUI and will certainly support TAR. Even without a GUI, you can use "tar" and "untar" commands from a terminal to unpack and repack these files. When you are on Linux, TAR files will preserve file ownership and file permissions. This can be very crucial in your modding.
For modders who are new to Linux, I can recommend Ubuntu. It's very user friendly and easy to use in my opinion.
When you are done editing system.tar and data.tar copy them to your Windows box and drop and them to firmware-recovery file within 7-zip file manager.
4. Unpack, Edit and Repack ramdisk.img:
Now we are on to more serious stuff ramdisk.img consists of a 64 byte U-Boot header, followed by a gzip compressed ramdisk cpio image. So we need to strip the first 64 bytes, and use gunzip to extract it to a folder. After making the changes in the folder, we need apply cpio+gzip compression to the folder and add the 64 byte u-boot header again. You will need to use Linux and install the mkimage tool for these operations.
Here's the command to install mkimage tool in Ubuntu:
Code:
sudo apt-get install uboot-mkimage
It sounds complicated, but no worries, I have some shell scripts that can do all that for you! Thanks to leeh33 from Techknow for the scripts below:
unpack_ramdisk.sh
Code:
mkdir ramdisk
cd ramdisk
dd if=../ramdisk.img bs=64 skip=1 of=ramdisk.gz
gzip -dc ramdisk.gz | cpio -idmv
rm ramdisk.gz
repack_ramdisk.sh
Code:
cd ramdisk
find . | cpio -o -H newc -C 512 | gzip -n > ../ramdisk.cpio.gz
cd ..
mkimage -A ARM -O Linux -T ramdisk -C none -a 0x41000000 -e 0x41000000 -n hRamdisk -d ramdisk.cpio.gz ramdisk.img
rm ramdisk.cpio.gz
Create the scripts above using a text editor or download the attachment to this post and put the scripts together with your ramdisk.img file in a new folder. Executing unpack_ramdisk.sh will create a folder named ramdisk and extract the ramdisk contents here. You can edit e.g. init.rc in this folder, or add a static bootlogo. To add a custom bootlogo create a initlogo.rle image file by following this guide: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/android-tablet-hacking/438-how-setup-static-bootlogo-before-animated-boot-animation.html Then place the resulting initlogo.rle file directly in the ramdisk directory.
After you are done editing the ramdisk folder, simply run repack_ramdisk.sh and your new ramdisk.img will be created, replacing the old one. Copy the ramdisk.img file to your Windows box again and drop it to firmware-recovery file within 7-zip file manager.
That's it, you have a custom ROM now! Please feel free to ask questions or correct me if you think I have any errors in the info above.
Happy Modding!!!
Tolga
Big problem about my device...
Thank you for this useful post!
I have seen a good knowledge about these devices(flytouch 3) and decided to post my question here:
I have a big problem! I used IUW Burning tool to flash my device. my device is:
SuperPad III (As box says)
Model: ANDR P1001
I decided to try tim's custom rom. It doesn't work. After restarting the device, screen become black (There was no connection
with screen, it was not turned on). The device had vibration when I pressed power button. It continued vibrating periodically(like it was restarting).
After that I flashed my device using IUW with most likely firmware, but during the process I FORGOT TO CHOOSE userdata.img FILE!
Now the device can't even communicate with pc.
OTG method is not working. The device no more vibrates at start up! At motherboard led is lighting when pressing power button.So IS MY DEVICE DEAD? Or is there any solution in this situation(Alternative communication, or whatever...)

[TOOL] Boot.img tools [unpack, repack, ramdisk]

I have not seen this posted anywhere, so I thought I would post it here. This is NOT purely my work, and I do not take credit for it as such.
Included in the attached ZIP are the following files:
boot_info - prints information about the boot.img passed to it, including the base address and ramdisk address. This tool prints out everything needed to repack the boot.img correctly.
split_boot - More commonly known as split_bootimg.pl, this rips apart the boot.img to extract the ramdisk and zImage. It has been modified by me to split the boot.img into a separate folder (specified by the file name of the boot.img passed to it) and to extract the ramdisk into a sub-folder as well (extracts the cpio from the gz and then extracts the actual files from the cpio archive)
unpack_ramdisk - unpacks the given ramdisk file.
Code:
Usage: unpack_ramdisk <ramdiskFile>
repack_ramdisk - repacks the ramdisk from the given directory (found online and modified slightly to take a directory)
Code:
Usage: repack_ramdisk <ramdiskDirectory> [outputFile]
mkbootimg - mkbootimg binary that creates a boot.img file from the given ramdisk and zImage. Updated to a version compiled by me to support the --ramdiskaddr option (ramdisk address) so that even nonstandard boot.img's can be repacked correctly (Use with boot_info for best results).
umkbootimg - included for convenience. Not made by me. Original thread here.
unpack - wrapper script made by me for the umkbootimg binary^ to unpack the boot.img into a separate directory and then unpack the ramdisk into a sub-directory.
Note: These tools were made for Linux. They may also work on Cygwin, but I have not personally tested them.
ANYONE is free to use / modify / kang these files as they see fit. No need to ever ask or do anything more than download.
Enjoy.
UPDATE: If you downloaded, please redownload. There was an error with my repack_ramdisk script, but it's fixed now.
Updated tools with a new boot_info script, also added my own mkbootimg binary compiled with the ramdisk address option.
Boot_info now displays the following information:
Commandline
Pagesize
Base address
Ramdisk address.
Which is everything you need to make a functional boot.img, even when the original boot.img is packed with a non-standard mkbootimg (ie, the ramdisk offset is different than the normal offset).
How exactly do we use these files to unpack and repack?
I've tried running the scripts with chmod at 755 but it doesn't work.
I am i missing something?
All the scripts must be in a folder in your path (~/bin for example)
Then it should work, because they call on each other. I keep all of them in my ~/bin folder, but they can be anywhere in your PATH
Sent from my buttered S3
if Android Magic Word not found at offset 0, it fail.
twins.7 said:
if Android Magic Word not found at offset 0, it fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, if you use unmkbootimg instead split_boot, it also finds embedded images.
CNexus said:
No, if you use unmkbootimg instead split_boot, it also finds embedded images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, it work. But .... sorry to much complain
My boot.img has magic word in offset 2048. so it mean, there is additional header in first 2048 byte.
umkbootimg succesfully extract embedded boot.img, but in repacking, I lost the first 2048 byte, because magic header placed in offset 0.
Actually, what is the additional header for? really asking...
I fail to fastboot flash if the image have no additional header.
And it will fail to verify, if the additional header is wrong. or is it called signed boot.img?
If I change the content of boot.img, I can't flash it to device. It always said verify fail. I though, the additional header has CRC or hash or anything.
If you have spare time and want to help me, I'll post my image
Thanks for this tools
Send from my AMOI N828 using Xda Premium
twins.7 said:
OK, it work. But .... sorry to much complain
My boot.img has magic word in offset 2048. so it mean, there is additional header in first 2048 byte.
umkbootimg succesfully extract embedded boot.img, but in repacking, I lost the first 2048 byte, because magic header placed in offset 0.
Actually, what is the additional header for? really asking...
I fail to fastboot flash if the image have no additional header.
And it will fail to verify, if the additional header is wrong. or is it called signed boot.img?
If I change the content of boot.img, I can't flash it to device. It always said verify fail. I though, the additional header has CRC or hash or anything.
If you have spare time and want to help me, I'll post my image
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure. No tool will work for all devices, and since I've never had a device that has this special packing, it would be best if you asked one of your kernel devs for help unpacking/repacking
CNexus said:
I'm not sure. No tool will work for all devices, and since I've never had a device that has this special packing, it would be best if you asked one of your kernel devs for help unpacking/repacking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thank's
CNexus said:
I have not seen this posted anywhere, so I thought I would post it here. This is NOT purely my work, and I do not take credit for it as such.
Included in the attached ZIP are the following files:
boot_info - prints information about the boot.img passed to it, including the base address and ramdisk address. This tool prints out everything needed to repack the boot.img correctly.
split_boot - More commonly known as split_bootimg.pl, this rips apart the boot.img to extract the ramdisk and zImage. It has been modified by me to split the boot.img into a separate folder (specified by the file name of the boot.img passed to it) and to extract the ramdisk into a sub-folder as well (extracts the cpio from the gz and then extracts the actual files from the cpio archive)
unpack_ramdisk - unpacks the given ramdisk file.
Code:
Usage: unpack_ramdisk <ramdiskFile>
repack_ramdisk - repacks the ramdisk from the given directory (found online and modified slightly to take a directory)
Code:
Usage: repack_ramdisk <ramdiskDirectory> [outputFile]
mkbootimg - mkbootimg binary that creates a boot.img file from the given ramdisk and zImage. Updated to a version compiled by me to support the --ramdiskaddr option (ramdisk address) so that even nonstandard boot.img's can be repacked correctly (Use with boot_info for best results).
umkbootimg - included for convenience. Not made by me. Original thread here.
unpack - wrapper script made by me for the umkbootimg binary^ to unpack the boot.img into a separate directory and then unpack the ramdisk into a sub-directory.
Note: These tools were made for Linux. They may also work on Cygwin, but I have not personally tested them.
ANYONE is free to use / modify / kang these files as they see fit. No need to ever ask or do anything more than download.
Enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it possible to make these run on the device?
i have tried
adb root
adb remount
adb push * /sdcard/tmp/
adb push * /system/xbin/
adb push * /system/bin/
adb shell
cd /sdcard/tmp/
for f in $(ls)
do
chmod 755 /system/bin/$f
chmod 775 /system/xbin/$f
done
cd /
rm -r /sdcard/tmp
cd /sdcard/working
split_bootimg.pl boot.img
returns "Permission denied"
hmmmmm???????? what could be the problem????????
ricky310711 said:
is it possible to make these run on the device?
i have tried
adb root
adb remount
adb push * /sdcard/tmp/
adb push * /system/xbin/
adb push * /system/bin/
adb shell
cd /sdcard/tmp/
for f in $(ls)
do
chmod 755 /system/bin/$f
chmod 775 /system/xbin/$f
done
cd /
rm -r /sdcard/tmp
cd /sdcard/working
split_bootimg.pl boot.img
returns "Permission denied"
hmmmmm???????? what could be the problem????????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Perl script should work if you have Perl (compiled for ARM x86) on your device.
The binaries will not work as they are not compiled for ARM. The scripts (at least some of them) should work if you change all instances of "#!/bin/bash" and "#!/usr/bin/env bash" to "#!/system/bin/sh".
CNexus said:
The Perl script should work if you have Perl (compiled for ARM x86) on your device.
The binaries will not work as they are not compiled for ARM. The scripts (at least some of them) should work if you change all instances of "#!/bin/bash" and "#!/usr/bin/env bash" to "#!/system/bin/sh".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will see if i can get it working tonight! this could be pretty good if i can get it to unpack on device!
ricky310711 said:
will see if i can get it working tonight! this could be pretty good if i can get it to unpack on device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need...download this zip and extract http://www12.zippyshare.com/v/37266634/file.html
It already contains an unmkbootimg binary compiled for ARM. Then you would just need to unpack the ramdisk to finish it off.
CNexus said:
No need...download this zip and extract http://www12.zippyshare.com/v/37266634/file.html
It already contains an unmkbootimg binary compiled for ARM. Then you would just need to unpack the ramdisk to finish it off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no way, ive been looking for something like this for ages, who is the author?
ricky310711 said:
no way, ive been looking for something like this for ages, who is the author?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know who originally compiled that unmkbootimg binary for ARM.
CNexus said:
I don't know who originally compiled that unmkbootimg binary for ARM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm, gotta findout! i wanna use it in my tool!
Is this boot.img tool compatible with Microsoft windows as well?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
shakim24 said:
Is this boot.img tool compatible with Microsoft windows as well?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the OP.

Kernel Packaging and Boot.img creation

Okay, so I have created and modified my own kernel name BionicSheep and have done couple releases (check my signature for link). My main question is how do I create a flashable zip with a boot.img I have asked a few people and they told me to use the kernel kitchen or google, but this is the only problem I haven't been able to solve after googling daily for the past 4 days. I figured I would ask here.
The reason I would like a boot.img is because I know in order to modify the kernelsplash with my own logo, I need to be able to unpack the bootimage to get the ramdisk and modify an rle file. The problem is I have no idea how to first make this bootimage. I understand to make the bootimage you need a the zImage (kernel binary) and the ramdisk. I have the zImage but I don't know how to make/get a ramdisk.
Currently I have been using this described method of packing my kernel into a flashable zip. I am pretty sure it just packs my modules and zImage into koush's AnyKernel. Thanks for any help, I need it.
Also try my kernel out and leave feedback if you are so inclined! It really is appreciated
In linux:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1477845
In windows:
http://technopyrate.blogspot.pt/2013/04/how-to-edit-android-bootimg-in-windows.html
zamcum said:
In linux:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1477845
In windows:
http://technopyrate.blogspot.pt/2013/04/how-to-edit-android-bootimg-in-windows.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is helpful for unpacking modifying and repacking, but I dont have a boot.img to unpack. Like I said, all I have is a zImage, i have no clue how to get a ramdisk. Can I just use one from another kernel or will that cause conflicts? Thanks for the help
aeppacher said:
This is helpful for unpacking modifying and repacking, but I dont have a boot.img to unpack. Like I said, all I have is a zImage, i have no clue how to get a ramdisk. Can I just use one from another kernel or will that cause conflicts? Thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have it, in a stock rom:
Download a stock rom for your phone, open .tar.md5 file with winrar, extract boot.img and unpack it.
Inside you have, ramdisdk and zimage, with another name (boot.img-kernel)
rename your zimage, to boot.img-kernel, edit ramdisk if you want
repalce original boot.img-kernel with yours
and repack
Rename boot-new.img to boot.img
Enjoy
EDIT: To make a flashable Odin file, in Linux:
tar -H ustar -c boot.img > YOURKERNEL.tar
md5sum -t YOURKERNEL.tar >> YOURKERNEL.tar
mv YOURKERNEL.tar YOURKERNEL.tar.md5
That's not necessary. You can make it so that your zImage replaces the zImage inside the boot.img and the initlogo.rle at the same time.
CNexus said:
That's not necessary. You can make it so that your zImage replaces the zImage inside the boot.img and the initlogo.rle at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which step is not necessary? My biggest problem here was I didn't know i could take any old boot.img to make mine
zamcum said:
You can have it, in a stock rom:
Download a stock rom for your phone, open .tar.md5 file with winrar, extract boot.img and unpack it.
Inside you have, ramdisdk and zimage, with another name (boot.img-kernel)
rename your zimage, to boot.img-kernel, edit ramdisk if you want
repalce original boot.img-kernel with yours
and repack
Rename boot-new.img to boot.img
Enjoy
EDIT: To make a flashable Odin file, in Linux:
tar -H ustar -c boot.img > YOURKERNEL.tar
md5sum -t YOURKERNEL.tar >> YOURKERNEL.tar
mv YOURKERNEL.tar YOURKERNEL.tar.md5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahaha so I think that worked, I have a bootimage with my kernel!! hurrah, now how do I turn it into a flashable zip? Last question I promise
aeppacher said:
hahaha so I think that worked, I have a bootimage with my kernel!! hurrah, now how do I turn it into a flashable zip? Last question I promise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the easiest way, is to download a custom kernel for your phone, open the zip with winrar and replace the bott.img by your boot.img
It is important that the exact custom kernel of your phone, so that, there are no incompatibilities in the installation script
zamcum said:
the easiest way, is to download a custom kernel for your phone, open the zip with winrar and replace the bott.img by your boot.img
It is important that the exact custom kernel of your phone, so that, there are no incompatibilities in the installation script
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, I tried this and it didn't boot. :/ then I booted to recovery restarted, and then it booted with my boot splash (yay) went to apps updating and then just got stuck at starting apps. I couldn't get it to fully boot :/
Any ideas whats up
EDIT: I can't thank you since I only get 8 per day, sorry I do appreciate it though
aeppacher said:
Hmmm, I tried this and it didn't boot. :/ then I booted to recovery restarted, and then it booted with my boot splash (yay) went to apps updating and then just got stuck at starting apps. I couldn't get it to fully boot :/
Any ideas whats up
EDIT: I can't thank you since I only get 8 per day, sorry I do appreciate it though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your kernel does not boot, is because it has a problem. It is normal to happen in the first kernel.
The process I use, is what is above. Sorry, II can not help more.
Do not worry about the gratefulness. The important thing is to help
I have a question along the same lines as this thread and I've read all over the place and can't find anything. How do you open a boot.img file to be able to replace the zimage
---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 AM ----------
I have a question along the same lines as this thread and I've read all over the place and can't find anything. How do you open a boot.img file to be able to replace the zimage
EDIT: i fixed this
Problem solved, figured I would post a solution:
here are the tools: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/106865720/bootimg_tools.zip
extract them into any old folder. You also need to have perl installed (just google it)
1. You need to take your built boot.img (from a rom running your kernel successfully) and drag it into the folder.
2. Open up terminal and navigate to the directory with the tools and boot.img
3. First you need to split the boot image into its 2 parts (the ramdisk and the kernel zImage)
Code:
perl split_bootimg.pl boot.img
The "boot.img" part is just the name of your boot.img (I am assuming yours is called boot.img but you can change it as needed)
4. Okay what should have happened is the boot.img should have split into a 'boot.img-ramdisk.gz' and a 'boot.img-kernel' file. The first is a specially compressed ramdisk and the second is the zImage for the kernel
5. Now you need to unpack the ramdisk so that you can modify it. BE CAREFUL AND MODIFY ONLY IF NEEDED Use this code:
Code:
perl unpack_ramdisk boot.img-ramdisk.gz ramdisk
the "boot-img-ramdisk.gz" is the name of the ramdisk, you can change this as needed but it should be named that by default
6.Okay so what should have happened is a folder ramdisk was created (this is the unpacked ramdisk which you need).
7.Okay go back to your directory and delete your boot.img, boot.img-kernel and boot.img-ramdisk.gz files (you no longer need them)
8. Now you need to repack the ramdisk folder you modified so you can rebuild the boot.img use the following:
Code:
perl repack_ramdisk ramdisk boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
9. This will take the 'ramdisk' folder and pack it and name it 'boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz'
11. Find your built zImage for your compiled kernel and copy it into this folder with the tools. Rename it as "boot.img-kernel"
10. Sweet now you need to pack the new ramdisk file and your kernel you just stuck in into a new boot.img (this part took me forever to figure out)
11. Here is the code to rebuild
Code:
mkbootimg --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz --cmdline 'console=null androidboot.hardware=qcom user_debug=31 zcache' --base 0x80200000 --pagesize 2048 --ramdiskaddr 0x81500000 -o boot.img
12. This should create a file named boot.img in the directory that will have your kernel and modified ramdisk (whoo)
Any further help can be directed to this thread or PMing me!
aeppacher said:
11. Here is the code to rebuild
Code:
mkbootimg --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz --cmdline 'console=null androidboot.hardware=qcom user_debug=31 zcache' --base 0x80200000 --pagesize 2048 --ramdiskaddr 0x81500000 -o boot.img
Any further help can be directed to this thread or PMing me!
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While executing above code I am getting : -bash: mkbootimg: command not found. Whether the mkbootimg file is exist there,
could you please help
mukulsoni said:
While executing above code I am getting : -bash: mkbootimg: command not found. Whether the mkbootimg file is exist there,
could you please help
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Click to collapse
Are you doing this is the same directory as the mkbootimg file? Otherwise you have to path it
aeppacher said:
Are you doing this is the same directory as the mkbootimg file? Otherwise you have to path it
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Yes I am doing in same path. Its unpacking correctly, but showing error while packing the boot
Hmmm perhaps a bad download?
aeppacher said:
Hmmm perhaps a bad download?
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but unpacking is fine, My downloaded zip file is in 66.4 Kb size. any way could you please try to compile the attached HP.zip into boot.img in your system. TIA
Edit: sorry downloaded file size is 290kb. please send me the final compiled boot.img file. Thanks so much
mukulsoni said:
but unpacking is fine, My downloaded zip file is in 66.4 Kb size. any way could you please try to compile the attached HP.zip into boot.img in your system. TIA
Edit: sorry downloaded file size is 290kb. please send me the final compiled boot.img file. Thanks so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of linux are you running? Ubuntu? what version number, and is it 32-bit or 64-bit
EDIT: try install 32bit packages "sudo apt-get install ia32-libs"
aeppacher said:
What version of linux are you running? Ubuntu? what version number, and is it 32-bit or 64-bit
EDIT: try install 32bit packages "sudo apt-get install ia32-libs"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running these scripts on window7 using Cygwin64. I guess these script should run on window 7 64 bit too.... please guide
mukulsoni said:
I am running these scripts on window7 using Cygwin64. I guess these script should run on window 7 64 bit too.... please guide
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I have no clue how to fix that. Mkbootimg is for 32 bit instruction so you need the appropriate libraries. No clue how to do that in windows

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