Related
I cracked the img format for Garminfones... started out by looking at the format of the file and it turns out the only difference is the loader addresses.
Took the stock recovery and disabled security, which worked. Then modified the boot.img to disable security and had the filesystems mount rw by default and flashed it to the recovery partition. Booted into recovery mode and viola... security disabled. Now it is time to flash it to the boot partition and cross fingers.
Now I just need to figure out how to compile a working recovery mode... preferrably one that can be activated by keypress. Not sure how to do that part. I can only get to recovery and bootloader mode after booting into the os.
I should have a working mkbooting soon so I don't have to hex edit the generated img files.
Well done!
I look forward to any progress reports that you make.
Are you using the official or leaked version of the 2.1 Eclair?
The official and leaked versions are equal.
And I did find out that we do have fastboot It's the blue screen that you get when you hold UP+POWER, or do adb reboot bootloader... two different messages on the screen. I can get fastboot to accept a reboot-bootloader command, but I'm having some issues actually getting any information out of it or flashing something like a boot image.
To get it to respond, you do:
fastboot -i 0x091E <command>
the -i makes it specify the Vendor ID, since fastboot only accepts a few vendors by default.
I also found out that I don't have to rebuild the mkbootimg program... if you add --base 0x1AC00000, then the load addresses match up in the resulting img file.
If someone is willing to host it, I can share the modified boot.img that sets ro.secure=0 and mounts the filesystems RW by default.
Hey, just joined to reply to this thread. Is it possible for you to upload to a file-sharing site such as megaupload, fileserve, etc.
I'm just getting into this whole rooting/modifying stuff. I used z4root to root my A50 and have installed superuser. I have deleted some of the carrier .apks but am thinking I should have made a back-up before doing so. I also bought setcpu from the market before finding out the Qualcomm chip does not allow overclocking.
Can I ask what the point of modifying the boot image is? Is this the first step in being able to install custom roms to the phone?
Anyway, appreciate the effort you guys have put in to modifying the phone.
You get a higher level of access, along with things like being able to customize parts of the phone, in my case enabling read/write by default. I also am planning on playing a bit, like remapping partitions... the instructions are in the init.rc file.
Always take a dump_image (or remount all mtd partitions as read only and just use cat to dump the mtd partitions). Also tar up each of the root folders (and files) in case you need quick access to any files you may have deleted. If you need a system app back and you don't have a backup, you have to reflash 2.1 again. Very important... if you care about the Garmin map software, make sure to get the /storage folder, including the one in it named .System... you can recover the maps, vehicles, etc by using two different Garmin web update windows programs-- one for the system stuff and one for the maps. Better safe than sorry.
any news on this
What would we need to be able to overclock?
I spent a good portion of the day yesterday rooting and installing CyanogenMod on my fiance's MyTouch Slide, and I have to say, it was amazing. It's a lot more than just a throwing around some custom default apps, cleaning up bloatware, even adding some kernel modules... I can do all of that on my rooted Garminfone just fine. It also had the Android 2.3 base, and it has polish and refinements that just can't be done without a custom built ROM.
I bought my Garminfone on purpose, even knowing that it shipped with Android 1.6, even knowing that the interface was awful, even knowing that the device wasn't going to sell as well as I wished it would. I bought it for it's offline maps, and for it's fantastic GPS. Things have improved since I bought my device... Android 2.1 was released, an improved user interface arrived, I gained root access and was able to clean up some stuff, etc. etc. But none of that prevented me from being jealous yesterday after seeing CyanogenMod. Further, Cyanogen has experience with preserving apps through the process of installing his mod for the first time; He did it when Google first sent him the Cease and Desist letter barring him from packaging CyanogenMod with Google Apps. I'm not sure HOW he did it, and I don't care, but I do think that it's very possible for him to do just that again with our Garmin Maps and the associated apps.
For these reasons, I suggest that we could have our cake, and we could eat it too: Have a modern OS (Based on Android 2.3), have a clean, unified interface, with no bloatware AND our maps... Cyanogen is not known for making his mod for phones he doesnt own. Further, as we all know, ours was possibly the worst selling and least popular android device ever released to market. While I consider myself versed in the ways of Linux, I am not a developer. I run Gentoo, and have the associated skills, and I will contribute in any way I know how, but hacking is not my forte. I can't expect brilliant minds to work for any project for nothing. Therefore, I am putting my money where my mouth is... I'm going to take all the money from my weekly paycheck that I can afford, and I'm going to donate it to that project. It won't be much... I am a starving college kid, after all... but it will be generous within my means. I am also going to post a reference to this thread everywhere I know how... My contribution might be small, but the community might be able to get something together that is mighty.
Visit topic 5864-garminfone on their forums to add your support.
(Edit: They moved my post, I have corrected this with the correct forum topic)
Good Day Folks.
I'm a Noob in need of help and i'm hoping the more experienced among us might be able to assist. I have an issue with disappearing phone storage. Over the course of a week I realized that I was losing about 1MB a day. My phone would basically be dormant and I would still see my storage space dropping by this amount everyday.
Cache cleaning didn't work. Later I realized that Android creates a bunch of log files in Data/System/Dropbox that was responsible for the disappearing phone storage trick I've been seeing for a while now.
I know now that Google has incorporated into Android as of the 2.2 iteration, a DropBox Manager that's responsible for logging all of the events that take place during the course of a running Android session. Everything from what took place at boot to force close details.
I understand that this is used for debugging purposes but I'm no developer . So my question is.... Can this DropBox Manager be disabled....somehow.
I really don't need all these files (and its A LOT OF THEM) being created as they serve no practical purpose for me. Not sure if anyone else might have noticed this but I'm hoping to receive some help. Even if it means pointing me in the right direction so I can work on it myself.
I really don't have a clue on how to start. Any help will be appreciated....Seriously...
Currently using G1 with CM6 Magpie running on EZTERRY's 2.6.34.7 kernel.
Its perfect except for this annoying problem.......
Hm what happens if you rename the directory. It might throw some errors in the logger, but probably won't create anymore files.
I just deleted the content of my dropbox folder, the DropboxManagerService was throwing some errors that he could not open files, but the phone was fine, no FCs or anything.
Renaming the directory just results in a random reboot. My guess is that when Android tries to create a new log, its unable to find the directory and then it just freezes and after a while it reboots. Once restarted it just reappears... I've tried that too.
And its true.. Its ok to delete the files. Its what I do currently. All of those files in Data/System/Dropbox as well as the ones located in Data/Tombstones are ok to delete. As I said, its just used for debugging purposes. Whats really annoying though is that, no matter how many times you delete anything, they just get repopulated just as fast as they're deleted. I'm ok with micro-managing my memory and phone storage (its a G1 after all) but this is ridiculous. It just creates too many of these log files too quickly.
If there was a way to turn the DropBoxManager service off then that would be the end of it all.
What's unusual about it too is that in my particular case, the contents of these text files just have two things listed in them. Pertaining to my online accounts associated with the phone: My Google account and My Whatsapp account...
It just repeats the same thing over and over again. I'm starting to think that the event data might actually be synchronization data or at least synchronization attempts made at regular intervals. But ultimately i'm guessing....
I really don't have a clue... Have you ever heard of anything like this on XDA......possible resolutions of this issue?
epolaris said:
I really don't have a clue... Have you ever heard of anything like this on XDA......possible resolutions of this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet .
What about replacing the folder by a symlink to /dev/null ?
You could also try to change permission on the folder.
Ok... I'm a real Noob but I'll take a shot.. When you say symlink what do you mean.
I'm not really familiar with Android at that level yet its really just flashing and such.
But I know a symlink is really just a reference to a location that the OS would interpret and follow (like a pointer i think). So, is it that you're suggesting some sort of redirection where the Data/System/Dropbox directory is pointed to another arbitrary location. Kind of like a creating a dead link that Android is unable to follow up on. Or maybe, redirecting the folder to an entirely new location that Android would then follow. I'm not sure... How do you perform a symlink in Android... I'm willing to try.
You can do it with a console on the phone it self or using adb shell. You need root of course.
You could make a link to another location where you have more space?
Or you change to permissions of that directory to write only.
Or you can mount a different file system to that directory that is read only.
On how to do that just google a bit for linux tutorials on that topic.
I have just googled a bit and it seems you can't symlink directories to /dev/null.
If all that doesnt help post again, there might be an option to make an app delete the files automaticly, first time they get created.
If that would be an option too let me know, im in the mood to program something intresting .
Disabling Android 2.2 DropboxManager [RESOLVED]
I took your advice and did the research you suggested and it worked.
The first thing I tried was changing the permissions on the "Data/System/Dropbox" directory and it worked. But I didn't use CHMOD and console command line to do it.
I have a program called Root Explorer that allows me to permanently change the permissions on any file or folder I select. I set all of the offending folders to read only and the log files stopped being written to those folders.
These are the directories I set to read only:
1. "Data/System/Dropbox"
2. "Data/System/UsageStats"
3. "Data/Tombstones"
Since changing the permissions on these folders my phone storage has stopped dwindling out of control. No additional programming necessary
Disabling the DropBoxMangerService itself is not necessary which is good.
I'm going to take your advice and read up some more on Linux commands (specifically Ubuntu as its what I currently use).
You have been very helpful, thanks for the advice. If you have any ideas about Froyo ROMS (Maybe even Gingerbread ) I should try let me know.
Thanks again....
I have also found these files. They can take MUCH space in memory and nothing seems to delete them. I made the dropbox system folder RO but I think this is a bug. It should be reported to the dropbox team. Is there a bug report form somewhere? I did not find it... Just found the forum, QA,...
[edit]I reported it in the forum... Just see http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=41227 [/edit]
vax said:
I have also found these files. They can take MUCH space in memory and nothing seems to delete them. I made the dropbox system folder RO but I think this is a bug. It should be reported to the dropbox team. Is there a bug report form somewhere? I did not find it... Just found the forum, QA,...
[edit]I reported it in the forum... Just see http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=41227 [/edit]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are mistaken: /data/system/dropbox, has NOTHING todo with www.dropbox.com !
See http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/DropBoxManager.html
Dark3n said:
You are mistaken: /data/system/dropbox, has NOTHING todo with www.dropbox.com !
See http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/DropBoxManager.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, just looked at your SD Maid app (looks cool).
So what do you know about /data/system/dropbox? I just read that htc uses the dir to store phone events which is then sent to the htc cloud of spying-on-your-ass. But since non-htc phones have this dir, is htc merely misusing the directory and it has other legit uses, or is this a directory we should try to keep cleaned out?
(I like the idea of changing perms so nothing writes to it if that's the case.)
600 MB additional free storage
Hi all
Just found a smart way to increase your Dropbox account with 600 MB:
1 Sign into your existing Dropbox account (or create a new account)
2 Goto https://www.dropbox.com/free
3 Follow instructions ... and voila 600 MB additional free storage
Mittaa said:
Hi all
Just found a smart way to increase your Dropbox account with 600 MB:
1 Sign into your existing Dropbox account (or create a new account)
2 Goto https://www.dropbox.com/free
3 Follow instructions ... and voila 600 MB additional free storage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay, nice to see you didn't read the thread at all.
This has nothing todo with dropbox.com
Yea other day I got the SD Maid, and the Pro version after I saw how handy it was. I too on my G1 (with 2.2) see that dropbox folder.. and lately Ive been thinking its causing my G1 to constantly reboot. When I look, it has 300+ files in it. So I clear that folder and seems to stop rebooting for a lil while.
Not sure what the deal is here however, been trying to find out. HOWEVER it only seems to reboot once its connected to the internet, so I am wondering if this is where it tries to upload and so. Not really sure. That and its hard to tell in logcat whats going on before it reboots.
Thanks
Excellent information. This works on my Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro MK16a, Rooted. Thank you so much. My best regards.
Try to change the permisions of the folder, I'm not sure if it would work but you could try ^^
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda premium
All is ok
All was fine. The permissions :laugh:changed with root explorer. Thank you so much
Note completely disabled but only 1 file in the /data/system/dropbox folder with these Android shell commands (or use Sqlite3 editor):
content insert --uri content://settings/secure --bind name:s:dropbox_max_files --bind value:i:1
Or for Android 4.2+
content insert --uri content://settings/global --bind name:s:dropbox_max_files --bind value:i:1
settings put global dropbox_max_files 1
Reboot.
more dropboxmanager settings:
dropbox_age_seconds
dropbox_max_files
dropbox_quota_kb
dropbox_quota_percent
dropbox_reserve_percent
I've been using the advice from this thread to control this "dropbox" data collection directory for several years now until I updated to 9.0 and found that the folder and default permissions were restored after every reboot. Was irritating bc I can use root to modify /system but no longer have control over my own data partition Something is over-riding my root-user!!!
I tried different apps, TWRP's FM, adb, and almost gave up when init.d scripts wouldn't work either. init.d will work tho. A simple script to run
Code:
#!/system/xbin/sh
busybox rm -f /data/system/dropbox
at boot. You can probably chown and chmod if you want but I just deleted it. Just put it in your init.d folder and make sure you give it the correct permissions (root:shell -755), then immediately perform a soft reboot. Use hardware keys if you have to. You want the phone to go immediately OFF, no spinny wheels or "powering off" notifications. That's the only way I could get rid of the damn thing.
Anyway, I came across this thread while searching for a solution and thought I would add this in case any other paranoids like me are concerned about this mysterious "dropbox" directory. This will probably break any ability for google to troubleshoot your phone but I don't think that's real anyway. It's just spyware as far as I'm concerned.
p.s. (off-topic) Thanks @Dark3n I'm also a frequent SD Maid user btw and in case you happen to read this, I thought I might mention I intended to send a donation via your app the other day (i like to show love when ppl share badass works) but balked at the only available option for "pizza," not bc I don't appreciate it that much but I can afford a little every now and then. If you add a smaller option, "coffee" or beer or whatever, maybe even an outside of googlePlay option, BTC perhaps. I'd be happy to shoot a few dollars at you.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.galoula.LinuxInstall
New every thing. Redesign of everything every where, rewite of all English parts, many bug fixes.
What for ? install Debian using debootstrap in chroot, and use your Android device like if you had installed Linux on a standard computer.
Bugs shall be reported to [email protected] .
Misc questions about how to use and feature request and general discussions to [email protected]
Market description:
This application will allow you to install a complete Debian distribution in your Android device. Based on chroot, it will perform a standard debootstrap and install a legacy Debian so that you can install, and run any classic Linux command, tool, daemon or service.
The package has few limitations; it is not restricted to Debian; we already offer the choice to use Ubuntu, and will add more distributions in close future. Each distribution is available in several tastes (stable, testing ...). It will not require to reboot; chroot is run inside Android. Installation can be done on any storage device, either on SD card, or inernal memory; no need to repartition any thing, run mkfs or fdisk. We do with what you let use. If you have almost nothing, the package will manage with almost nothing; if you can afford for a large ext4 partition on your SD card, the package will be happy to use it.
It will allow you to install all classic LAMP services like Apache, MySql, PHP, Samba, Netatalk, or just any classic Linux tool like vim, xterm, aterm, Abiword, Firefox, dillo, wget, cron, Perl, Python ... just everything.
Package utilisation will require a rooted device.
Reasons to install this package can not be listed. Just too many: want a cron daemon ? want to have gcc inside your phone ? want to recompile some kernel driver because the legacy Android driver for your Wi-Fi card has is bogus or limited ? want to use vim, or the real full featured desktop ls, ip, nmap, or top commands ? this package will give you all this for free, and much much more.
Requierments:
- an Android device based on some Linux kernel
- a rooted environment
- 300M free space
That's all.
Optionnal registration on our website, http://android.galoula.com/LinuxInstall/Register.php , will allow you to use advanced management features, and install package from within the application interface. You will not need to type any strange command in any terminal. And you will be able to make some services start automaticly at phone boot, and/or application start.
Online documentation: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/
Quick installation guide: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/QuickTutorial.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Free space must be on sd-card or phone memory?
Both accepted You choose where to install.
500M by default on SD card using loop method (on ext2 or fat). Down to 180M using the directory method (does not work on FAT).
thanks for this man.
Sorry if this is a noob question but will this in any way brick/soft brick my device?
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
Yes, it can.
But this app is underdevelopment since almost two years, and nobody ever bricked yet. I have written a very long complete tutorial, where I say what you should NOT do. I could easily tell you how to brick in 5 steps.
But we have been working very hard on default settings, to make default settings as much safe as possible.
There are many bugs, many known bugs; but 99.999% bugs will just make the chroot not work. Data loss is very rare. Data loss was highly probable in previous version 3.2 . But default settings are now safer. And if you do not do what we claim to be dangerous ... you are safe.
The most frequent case with 3.2 was complete wipe of /sdcard and /data . This have been fixed.
We never ran into wipe of /system until now. Never bricked.
And since Galoula and me are working on it, we are the most exposed ones. We test every single feature, in all possible situations. And when we find a wipe case, we repro it dozen time until we understand why, and how to fix, so that it won't happen to YOU.
3.3 is way safer than 3.2. And nobody reported wipe on 3.2 ...
But if you blindely clik any where, yes it can. And if I tell you where to click, you can brick in 5 steps for sure And it won't be a soft brick. I promise a good real brick where even HTC will be in trouble to repair it It's explained in the tutorial.
Wow. Thanks for the reply. At least i have an idea now. Is the tut on the app itself? I'll nake sure to read it very carefully coz i wanna learn all about this stuff
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
A not so short tuto is inside; but since most mobile devices have only one screen, you may want to read the online tuto on your computer: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/
Default settings are safe. Just follow the guide.
Will go ahead and read this tut. I'll make sure to give feedback. Thanks for paying attention to this noob
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
this is just great, are there any videos or screen shots?
edit: nevermind i just checked the market
Feel free to send us screen shots; I am not good at doing that (i can to shots, but I don't know what could be nice to upload).
We would apreciate shots of working (of course ) VNC clients connected to server running localy, or local consoles (like Connectbot) doing funny things.
Send to support. Thanks.
Spent the whole weekend on this...
I'm trying o get an X- GUI on the Samsung Captivate, (hope i said that right) like Ubuntu so i can VNC to a linux desktop environment. I'm on FASTY and wondering why I keep running into refusal of connection. I have the password and localhost as well as the port correct. I've lost sleep on making this work. Can anyone help...?
You question is somehow off topic.
You seem to have a basic VNC connexion issue.
Could not help without deeper description. And I rarely use VNC, i have very low experience.
First point: do you have free space in the distro ? depending on installation method, and what you installed, you may have run out of disk space (especially Ubuntu, uses lot more than Legacy Debian).
The distribution manager is still beta AOT. It may report the VNC service to be up and running, when it could not rally run. First thing to check is: is it up ?
- from local machine, to ps, and check if process is up
- from remote machine, just scan your IP for the device. VNC should be port 5800 or 5900, forgot which one.
Your VNC password is *NOT* your distribution password. VNC password need to be set at a different place (this is VNC specific; VNC is not UNIX, and never claimed to be fully a *UNIX "merged" service*).
Never used VNC in LinuxInstaller. Never yet. Not enough time to test it. We take report, and will test only major and frequent issues. We have many "easy success" reports, so, we don't worry about it. We have much more issues about rooting (getting root on phone), and starting debootstrap; this is what we focus on.
Make sure you have enough free space (at least 50M free left), then join any Debian or Ubuntu forum. They will ask you if you have a CLI; you shall use either adb shell, or connectbot. Fact you are in a chroot is not an issue, chrooting is not frequent for debian users, chrooting is the normal procedure to install Gentoo; and all debootstrap users use chroot daily; forums should not reject you for this reason. As long as you have a CLI.
Good luck.
Lost me fast...
Sorry..but you lost me, and FAST! I really don't have the terminology down...but I do have the Linux 3.3 Installer running properly...it indicates so. I was assuming that this would allow me to somehow load Ubuntu on my Captivate..as I've seen on some screen shots...I guess I'm just lost...a little knowledge is dangerous...I have a little. Just enough to accomplish the basics..but the vernacular is LOST to me. Guess I'll have to wait for the Ubuntu apk...thanks for trying...
I've got this errors...(see attached files).
I have busybox 1.19, connectbot and the superuser (v2.3.6.3 and su binary v2.3.2, the latest from the maket)...
What can I do?
you guys are still lucky.your able to make it work...
im running the ongoing cm7 2.3.5 on moto defy...
kernel is not supporting this yet.
hailmary what's missing in your kernel ? I don't know any Android that won't have ext2 in; if you have an Android without any ext2 filesystem, please contact me in private, I know it could be done, and I would be VERY CURIOUS to see how HTC did it.
If you are missing loop support in kernel, try block or directory method. Blocck will require ext2; directory won't (but will work only over ext FS ... so ... unless you can use NFS )
dugryce , ScumpinatoS, I will come back later (maybe today, maybe not).
ScumpinatoS said:
I've got this errors...(see attached files).
I have busybox 1.19, connectbot and the superuser (v2.3.6.3 and su binary v2.3.2, the latest from the maket)...
What can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reading the first message, you as, as said, a CPU issue. What's your CPU ? device model ?
run in some console:
uname -a
which tail
Application could not load viable environment to work; it is an issue, but it can be fixed. I can help digging, but I won't give you any solution. Send an email to Galoula; the bug report system via the console should work for you.
doublehp said:
Reading the first message, you as, as said, a CPU issue. What's your CPU ? device model ?
run in some console:
uname -a
which tail
Application could not load viable environment to work; it is an issue, but it can be fixed. I can help digging, but I won't give you any solution. Send an email to Galoula; the bug report system via the console should work for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Huawei Ideos CPU: MSM7225 without GPU.
I am use it and try install Ubuntu Natty but after download all deb package i get error installation, "issue binary, try other version"
Can someone help me what distro (Ubuntu/Debian) and what version of it that have installed succesfully.. please...
Sent from my GT-S5570 using XDA App
by default android seems to royally suck at it. i'm hoping for a way to force android to give all available resources to the active app? to me it seems like common sense but it seems that everything is ran on an average priority which means whatever i'm doing is battling it out with random other things in the background whereas the active app (the one i'm using) is more important than anything else android is doing.
It was one of the root-required task managers on the market... It allowed you to increase some number that might have been priority-related, but that's all I remember. Hopefully those hints will give you something to look for.
Sent from my Wildfire S
Just use zeppelinrox's V6-turbocharger and the "bulletproof" tweaks, you'll have to do it manually for each app you want to stick around, but it works like a charm. And it's free, unlike the Market apps...
hmm, any idea for the market app?
Searched around the bulletprof, but its a little difficult
Why not use "htop"?
With a rooted phone & terminal emulator & hackers keyboard this is not a problem
The only difficulty is to find the right process - they are all named app_(?) (or similar).
But if the process really needs the whole system resources you could easily identify it!
Yup, all it takes is :
-a rooted phone (you need it to modify the system settings)
- a terminal emulator [any one will do. I use Better Terminal Emulator but it's the Rolls Royce of terminals, because I spend quite a lot of time scripting with the BASH shell, so a good terminal is mandatory for comfort of use ]
- a little knowledge of shell (all you need to know is how to open the terminal, the "su" command to switch to superuser mode, "top" to see which are the running processes, "echo" to send the value into the required variable, and "kill" to kill a running process if need be), not really rocket science...
Now if you insist on using an app (that's probably not free), be my guest..
But don't ask me which one to use, because I ain't got a friggin' clue about that..
Believe it or not, this netbook comes already rooted, but how to access it is hidden. The original adventure is posted below if you're interested,but I'll put the tl;dr up top.
You'll need to side load the app USB Debug by tatibana. This will shortcut to the hidden developer options. Slide the developer options on. You may or may not need to reboot, I was too focused on USB Debug to notice the SuperUser Options... The default is Always Deny. Set to Always Allow, then you can replace with your choice su manager (I installed Chainfire's SuperSU).
That's it. The rest below is my original posts up to this point, including getting a Linux working prior to figuring out root. Enjoy the read.
Edit 2: You can pick up new posts from this point by going directly to post #11.
Original Post:
---
Okay, this one is a bit puzzling and I haven't found any good info in searches. This is an Android netbook with Jellybean. Pointer control is a single point touch pad which makes zooming out on several apps impossible; I wish to attain root so I can install desktop Linux in parallel and use some desktop apps in place of some Android apps. I know I could use something like qemu but I'd rather install root and use arm binaries than take a performance hit using non-root methods.
This netbook comes with an installed su binary and busybox 1.19.4 but trying to invoke su results in
su: uid 10084 not allowed to su
Settings is also a bit crippled; no Developer Options section means no option to invoke USB Debugging. Anyone have any good ideas?
---
Sent from my C5155 using XDA Free mobile app
addendum
There also is no physical volume or photo buttons, and no obvious way to get into fastboot mode. My guess is that the original OS image was made in root mode, then the CV dev created a default user with almost no permissions, then backed it out effectively locking it out of root forever. I have also discovered that the busybox doesn't have access to the network as this user 10084, negating half its usability. No Play Store either (using Amazon instead), though I can (and have) install to my phone and copy to this if necessary.
This has a cool little form factor and I think has so much potential for a cheap device if I could just bust this major barrier. Does anyone know any sh or setuid tricks that might fake this thing into a root mode, or at least manage to give me enough permissions to edit /system files?
system seems to be owned by user 1003 and group 120, if that helps.
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Mmmmmm, tasty foot...
So apparently this is normal behavior for the stock android su (see guys, I'm learning >P ); only the user shell (and root) can use su. This thing using a shared uid for apps might or might not have an effect, don't know yet. The normal way around it is to adb shell and su in, then overwrite with a custom su binary such as ChainsDD. I don't know if I have that option since there's no USB Debugging option, and I'm too tired to find out tonight. I will update this adventure later.
USB failed, but not anything to do with adb, didn't even get that far. The netbook failed to even register to the desktop (Linux)... lsusb didn't show anything. I don't know if it's a cable thing (tried direct A-A patch and the MiniUSB charge port- charge port predictably didn't support data and neither standard port showed any reaction) or a hardware limitation.
I also took a crack at adb over wifi but as usual it was the catch 22 of needing root to invoke adbd into tcpip to attain root.
Still open to suggestions... please?
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Developer Options?
This is driving me up a new wall. Based on what I have been reading all day, Developer Options are a core function and cannot be removed, only hidden. This thing has not been giving me much confidence in that statement, however. I have been through the settings over and over again with a fine tooth comb and the whole thing eludes me.
This is Android 4.1.1. The 4.2+ trick (7 clicks on Build Number) doesn't work, and it's not in the App settings either, nor is there any sections renamed "Advanced" or the like. It may not be an end-all but I feel it would at least be a step in the right direction. I might be able to use an exploit such as Poot or Framearoot, which are currently ineffective.
I also haven't had any luck with getting into a recovery boot mode, not sure it's possible with this keyboard (I suspect it's soft driven; inactive until the kernel and modules are loaded). This seems to be just one shut down after another. I need more ideas, pointers, whatever. Don't forget, it can also help the next sap stuck with this model...
I decided to not lose sight of my original reasoning and move forward anyway with an app that claims to install Linux without root. I installed Gnuroot Wheezy which taught me some more f'd up things about this netbook but it at least in concept is working. What more things I have learned...
One of the issues with running Linux without root is the inability to use the external SD-card, at least native, because you can't mount an external partition/file that hasn't already been set up in the mount scripts outside of userspace. Gnuroot uses a chroot off the secure asec in /data. With about 3G user space available on this netbook, you'd think that wouldn't be a problem... but it is, because of another setup issue with this netbook...
See, while the external SD card does mount to /sdcard,/mnt/sdcard, that is NOT where Android app setup calls SDcard... there is a so called internal SDcard that is really a fake vfat via fuse mount off /data mounted to /mnt/local. This means it does no good to move my plethora of other apps to the "SD Card," actually, it makes the problem worse on this device. I imagine it was done so you could swap SD cards without affecting your apps, good move for flexibility but poor for expandability.
For those who would try it, that's also a big hint for getting it working. This device does not have access to the Play market*, so you will have to move helper apps from another Android device over. Don't bother with 3rd party repositories, you will not get everything you need. The biggest issue is the WheezyX obb file. It on install ONLY from the Play store will be located in /sdcard/Android/obb/champion.gnuroot.wheezyx/main.2.champion.gnuroot.wheezyx.obb , on this netbook the file must be moved to /mnt/local/Android/obb/champion.gnuroot.wheezyx or it will not be recognized, and because of the play store issue, can't be downloaded and gnuroot will exit with error.
Anyway, so now WheezyX is actually running and I am attempting to install an Openbox/LXDE desktop... the problem I am hitting now is the space limitation... It said it needed about 330 MB space and I had 360MB available on start... I'm now about 1/4 through and the netbook has come to a dead crawl due to... yep, very little space left (about 55 MB free on /data)... WTF! I feel like I am just not meant to win at like anything...
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*Edit: Once rooted, the play store can be installed to the system partition and does work pretty good.
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Some success with Linux
Well, it took quite a bit of monkeying and persistence but I do have desktop Linux running via the above described method. I found Synaptic was useful for finding packages but as the GNURoot author warned, for the love of all that's holy, use apt-get to actually install the packages. It seems trying to install a desktop environment via Synaptic totally overthrew the system. Also try installing only a few packages at a time and clean up after each one, especially where space is a premium.
What's left now is experimenting with vnc viewers a/o X11 environments. I'm presently using PocketCloud but it doesn't seem to like this keyboard (right shift = 6, no down arrow, Ctrl is sticky- forget combo keys; at least the included soft-keyboard does work, just a productivity killer) and getting a right mouse click is almost impossible, so I want to see if I can do better.
The environment is OpenBox with lxpanel and the background is set with qiv. I am confident now that providing space wasn't such an issue I could run pretty much any basic Linux program I want. I have not tested audio and I already know just being vncserver that motion video is a bad idea; this was mostly proof of concept until I can open up some space. I may now see how far I can take this (e.g. link large trees to the SD card, such as bin directories; since it's already running fake-root, I'm not too worried about user permissions. I may also experiment with fuse).
Edit:
This does not mean I don't still want to get a true root. If nothing else, even if I can't take Linux off the internal storage, root will allow me to force Android apps on to the external SD; either solves the current space issue and thus is still desirable. I'm just not as stuck in the mud now. Ideas still very much appreciated.
Done and done.
Just a quick update to say the project isn't dead, just dormant. I have successfully turned on USB debugging thanks to a shortcut app called "USB Debug" by Tatibana. Thank you
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Framaroot, Universal Androot, and Poot have all failed.
:banghead:
Have yet to see if physical USB will now work... I don't exactly live alone.
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SUCCESS!!!!!
IDFBT! I must have not been paying enough attention before or something, or maybe it was one of the half dozen greyed out options before... not sure, but after I was again unable to connect via direct USB, I decided to double check the developer options to make sure noting was reset by the last reboot.... and there in bright white last in the top section... Superuser Options (set to Always Deny)! I set it to Ask and tested, but it promptly rebooted as soon as I tried to su, and again on that boot, so I had to set to Always Allow. Amazon doesn't have SuperSU and last I knew ChainsDD Superuser is still adrift in the doldrums, so I'll have to sideload (as usual), but, I just wanted to share. This netbook does come rooted, you just need to turn on the hidden developer options, reboot, and go back and allow SuperUser.
Will report more as I progress. Banzai!!!
Adventures in Linux land
Well, I had mentioned before how space was an issue. Thanks in part to Link2SD, I managed to curb that problem.
Problem still though was my base graphical Linux install was taking 1G of my /data space. Since I made 2G available on the Link2SD ext4 (/data/sdext2) partition, I found I had about 1.3G available after moving most apps over, I decided I'd try a manual data move. I was slow with this since I didn't know how Link2SD or the system was going to handle it. That turned out to be a good thing.
When using Link2SD, one thing that should be obvious is to never move essential apps off the internal storage. These would be things like Link2SD itself, a Terminal emulator, and your superuser manager (e.g. SuperSU); basically, things you absolutely cannot lose access to even temporarily.
Okay, so, to test the behavior, I went into the emulator..
su
cd /data/sdext2
mkdir Linux
That's all. I then did a normal power off and restart. When rebooting, an "Android is Updating..." box came up and went away in a few seconds. The launcher came up and I waited for everything to load normally. Then I started getting a rash of "App is not installed" messages... uh oh. The only reason this turned out to not be a big deal is Link2SD and SuperSU were still on internal storage, and Link2SD is designed to deal with this problem. I simply launched Link2SD, clicked the tab bar on the upper left, and selected "Relink all application files," after which it requested a reboot, and I complied.
With a semi-disaster averted, I went back into /data/sdext2 to see if the Linux directory was still there. Hallelujah it was. Next was finding the GNURoot wheezyx root. This turned out to be fairly easy:
/data/data/champion.gnuroot/app_install/roots/wheezyx . I decided for potential future expansion to move the whole roots directory. Being cautious as I try, I do a copy.
su
cd /data/data/champion.gnuroot/app_install
cp -a roots /data/sdext2/Linux/
(... go make a sammich ...)
rm -R roots
(... go make and eat dinner ...)
ln -s /data/sdext2/Linux/roots roots
This appeared to work at first, until I tried to install something (abiword). I discovered that the permissions were not copied to the lib directories (android security quirk?). This would probably not be an issue if this were a true root install but being a fake root app install, it effectively prevented the installation of libraries. This was fixed simply by doing a chown and chmod on the lib directories.
Contined from above:
cd roots/wheezyx
chown 10102.10102 lib
chmod 771 lib
chown 10102.10102 usr/lib
chmod 771 usr/lib
*note: the app id number may be different on your copy. This will be fairly obvious with a simple ls -lh .
After that, the install completed and this thing is running pretty good. I am now considering this a complete success. While technically solved, I'll keep this thread open for questions or updates (for as long as the mods don't mind).
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Screencap op
Assuming the uploads work this time, attached are some screencaps. Enjoy.