Database Info

[Q&A] Ubuntu on the Transformer (eMMC install)

This thread is for help and support related to ubuntu on the eeepad transformer, all questions not related to development should be asked here, please be friendly and do not flame each other or I will request the thread be closed.
Download links are in the third post.
There is a wiki entry here that has a bit more detailed explanation. Please note though that as it is a wiki information
quoted in there may or may not be entirely accurite.
you will need to download an nvflashable rom, like prime.
Please read the README before attempting this. The readme is below as well as in the kit, YOU WILL LOSE DATA.
Download links are in the second post.
OLiFE for the ASUS transformer
------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) 2011 Steven Barker <[email protected]>
This package should have only been linked to from xda-developers
or rootzwiki if you got the links to this package from anywhere
but those sites please send an email to the above email
address with the subject: "unauthorised posts"
DISCLAIMER
------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Barker (lilstevie) nor anybody will take any responsibility
for any damage, data loss, fire, death of a loved one, or loss of
data resulting from using this mod for your device. Using this mod
may void your warranty.
NVFLASH
------------------------------------------------------------------
nvflash is the intellectual property of nvidia, and remains the
property of nvidia. Any questions or queries regarding the usage
and licence of nvflash should be directed to nvidia.
abootimg
------------------------------------------------------------------
abootimg is by Gilles Grandou <[email protected]> and is
unmodified. The source is available from online at
http://gitorious.org/ac100/abootimg
usage
------------------------------------------------------------------
Usage has changed since the release of the last kit, please read
these instructions carefully, as the install method is a little
more complex, (but easier once you use it).
If you downloaded OLiFE.tar.gz you will need to inject the android
rom and ubuntu image. You can use any nvflashable rom with this.
I recommend that you use prime as that is the configuration that
I have tested myself, and the ROM that I support for use with this
device. You can download the ubuntu image from
http://lilstevie.geek.nz/ports/ubuntu.img.gz.
If you downloaded OLiFE-Prime-Edition.tar.gz you will not need to
download the ubuntu image or an nvflash rom as they are seeded into
the image.
Install instructions:
1) Download the specific flavour of OLiFE that you want to use, and
extract it with "tar xvf <filename>".
2) If needed inject android rom and ubuntu image.
3) From the directory that OLiFE was extracted in run the main script
with the command ./OLiFE.sh.
4) Read the text that comes up and answer the question it asks.
5) Follow the menu to the option you want (below is a breakdown of
what each menu item is) and follow the instructions prompted. (also below
is instructions on how to get into the modes requested).
Menu items:
1) Backup Menu:
1) Full Backup (stock)
- Full backup (stock) takes a full backup of a stock
android system. This gives you an option to also back
up your user data(this will take a while).
2) Full Backup (ubuntu)
- Full backup (ubuntu) takes a full backup of a system
that dualboots android and ubuntu, this backs up your
system, and the ubuntu image. This gives you an option
to also back up your user data(this will take a while).
3) User data only
- This backs up the user data partition on your device.
(This option takes a while)
4) Android ROM
- This option backs up the android system only. This
option generates all the files (minus bootloader, and BCT)
required to flash a rom via nvflash.
5) Ubuntu Install
- This option backs up the ubuntu install on your device.
2) Flash Device:
1) Dualboot:
- This option will install ubuntu to your device in a
dualbooting configuration with android. During the
installation process it asks you which OS you would like
to boot by default.
2) uboot (linux only):
- This option will install ubuntu with u-boot and the
ChromeOS kernel that supports acceleration. This option
is currently unavailable, but should be available soon.
3) asus boot (linux only):
- This option will install ubuntu with the asus bootloader
with this configuration you will use all the eMMC for ubuntu
and there will be no android system installed on your device.
4) stock:
- This option will partition the device in a stock way and
install the android system that is in ./images. Use this
option if you no longer want ubuntu on your device.
3) Update Device:
1) Android Kernel:
- This option will update the android kernel on your device
with the boot.img from ./images/. This allows you to install
your own kernel on the device for android rather than the one
that comes with your chosen rom.
2) Ubuntu/Linux Kernel:
- This will update the ubuntu kernel on your device to the version
included in this flashkit. This option is for updating just the
kernel with nvflash rather than using the blob method. This method
is also good for if you flash a bad ubuntu kernel to the device.
3) Android ROM:
- This option will update the android rom on the device with the
one from ./images/. This is good for if the ROM you use is updated
or you would like to change ROMs and there is an nvflash image for it.
This option does not destroy your data.
4) Ubuntu Rootfs:
- This will update your ubuntu image on the device. This is destructive
to data stored in the ubuntu image.
5) Advanced (Unsupported):
- Any option in this menu is not supported and should be considered
unstable. There may be bugs in these options and they are not maintained
at this point in time.
1) Flash ChromeOS Kernel (Primary Boot):
- This option will flash the ChromeOS kernel to the primary boot
partition. This option may not currently work in it's current
configuration.
2) Flash ChromeOS Kernel (Secondary Boot):
- This option will flash the ChromeOS kernel to the secondary boot
partition. This option may not currently work in it's current
configuration.
3) Update Uboot Partition:
- This option will update the u-boot boot partition that u-boot
reads the kernel and boot script from. This option does work if
you have installed u-boot by compiling it from source and installed
it yourself.
4) Flash ClockworkRecoveryMod:
- This option allows you to temperarily flash CWR to the device so
you can update the installed rom. It backs up the current kernel in
the recovery kernel position and then flashes CWR. When you have finished
using CWR you then push any key and put the device back in APX mode and
it will restore the kernel that was in that position. (This only works if
android is your primary boot option at this time).
4) Inject Firmware:
1) Bluetooth firmware (default install):
- This option will inject the Bluetooth firmware from the
android ROM located at ./images/ in to the ubuntu of your
currently running system.
2) Bluetooth firmware (CrOS Kernel):
- This option will inject the Bluetooth firmware from the
android ROM located at ./images/ in to the ubuntu of your
currently running system and flashes the proper u-boot kernel
if you no longer need adb support.
5) Onscreen Keyboard:
- This runs OnBoard so that you can run through oem-config properly
you only need to use this option if you do not have a keyboard dock
and on the first boot.
1) Standard Kernel:
- This will invoke oem-config on the standard kernel installed
on the device.
2) ChromeOS Kernel:
- This will invoke oem-config on the u-boot kernel that is
installed on the device and flashes the proper u-boot kernel
if you no longer need adb support.
Device Modes:
APX Mode:
-This mode is used by nvflash to write files to the eMMC device.
To boot in this mode you press Power and Vol-Up.
Recovery Mode:
- This mode is where CWR or Asus recovery normally lives, but is
replaced by the secondary OS in the dualboot configuration.
To boot in this mode you press Power and Vol-Down, then Vol-Up when prompted.
Normal Boot:
-This mode is where android normally lives.
To boot in this mode you press the Power button until the screen turns on.

Changelog
------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2a - Release name: Odyssey
* New name for kit: OLiFE
* New menu system
* Updated README
* Better handling of platform detection
* Bluetooth support in ubuntu.img
* Preliminary support for ChromeOS kernel
* Preliminary support for uboot
* Fixed touchpad
* Fixed network manager
* Updated to ubuntu oneiric
* More options for flashing and updating
* OTB Wireless support (No more injecting)
* Smaller ubuntu.img for faster upload to device
* Auto resizing of rootfs on first boot
* Larger partition size (6GB) for ubuntu
* Refactored to more easily between devices
* Maybe something else I have missed
1.1 - Release name: Daedalus
* Firmware injector for BT and wifi firmwares
1.0 and silent updates - Release name: Prometheus
* Support for x86_64 linux distributions
* Updated README for release on xda-developers
* Fixes to install scripts
* Initial Release

Downloads:
RootFS md5sum(1a9fa8a698e4a96245a3c08511841eb4)
OLiFE md5sum(c30263fd8271a23bb211fd9fdd69fa45)
OLiFE Prime Edition md5sum(767779ccfa200e5e00b2f1e33a3d73a9)
Sources:
http://gitweb.lilstevie.geek.nz
To clone the repos "git clone git://lilstevie.geek.nz/$(name of repo).git"

lilstevie said:
This is running natively and from the eMMC so no µSD card required,
The video is a class2 µSD card and speeds are not an example of speeds from this kit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your hard work, but I'm a bit confused by those 2 statements, contradicting each other :/
Also, if I understood properly, there is no CWM after selecting dual boot
Finally, is this a final release, or for testing purpose only ?
If final, a step by step guide would be very welcome
Edit : Just saw there is the tag [DEV] so forget about my last question (guide)

Wow, amazing work here. Haven't been able to do much to my Transformer as of late (due to uni starting up again, and been seeing how the TF goes as a substitute for my usual netbook), but absolutely can't wait to try this out when I got some time.
And yeah, I'm a tad confused here as well. I'm assuming that you mean the video was of Ubuntu running of your microSD drive using Jhinta's scripts but now this allows us to run it off the internal drive... am I right?
And how is the speed difference so far, running off internal vs class 2 microSD?
EDIT: Also, I'm assuming the same things that didn't work on Jhinta's aren't working on this (network-manager gui, touchpad etc)? Or have you changed things up a bit? And the tegra ppa you talk about; that contain the proprietary 3D drivers you were talking about having a lack of in the video?

Nice to see the post in XDA Good work !

bud77 said:
Thanks for your hard work, but I'm a bit confused by those 2 statements, contradicting each other :/
Also, if I understood properly, there is no CWM after selecting dual boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The video was taken before I was stable enough to even think about using internal memory, where as this kit is not using the µSD
and yeah you lose recovery after selecting dual boot, not much we can do about that for the time being.
poltak11 said:
Wow, amazing work here. Haven't been able to do much to my Transformer as of late (due to uni starting up again, and been seeing how the TF goes as a substitute for my usual netbook), but absolutely can't wait to try this out when I got some time.
And yeah, I'm a tad confused here as well. I'm assuming that you mean the video was of Ubuntu running of your microSD drive using Jhinta's scripts but now this allows us to run it off the internal drive... am I right?
And how is the speed difference so far, running off internal vs class 2 microSD?
EDIT: Also, I'm assuming the same things that didn't work on Jhinta's aren't working on this (network-manager gui, touchpad etc)? Or have you changed things up a bit? And the tegra ppa you talk about; that contain the proprietary 3D drivers you were talking about having a lack of in the video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started back at uni this week myself, and have been using my transformer as a netbook replacement with ubuntu. The video is using my stuff but before I had it running on the internal memory.
speed diference is massive between the class2 and internal. It was so great of a difference that I forget that it is arm now that it is on internal
the PPA will have things such as kernel updates, bluetooth enabler and all that. as for what is working in the release, things are pretty similar to Jhintas release, touchpad does not work correctly network manager gui doesn't work, I have something to enable bluetooth, that works nicely, but it isn't in the fs or up on the ppa yet. 3D drivers are a work in progress, still no EGL and the likes with the L4T releases, so it is really just acceleration for normal use, I have been working on them but as of yet no dice.

So using the PPA, in theory we won't have to flash the device again (at least for the ubuntu part), it will be able to auto-update itself ?

ErGo_404 said:
So using the PPA, in theory we won't have to flash the device again (at least for the ubuntu part), it will be able to auto-update itself ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, that is the plan anyway

lilstevie said:
the PPA will have things such as kernel updates, bluetooth enabler and all that. as for what is working in the release, things are pretty similar to Jhintas release, touchpad does not work correctly network manager gui doesn't work, I have something to enable bluetooth, that works nicely, but it isn't in the fs or up on the ppa yet. 3D drivers are a work in progress, still no EGL and the likes with the L4T releases, so it is really just acceleration for normal use, I have been working on them but as of yet no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah lovely idea with the PPA. When new 3.2 based Prime gets released, I'll try to get a few hours to myself to get this all working together.
Just a few quick questions first:
How do your scripts change the eMMC layout? Does eMMC work the same as a standard HDD/SSD partitioned with a GPT? As in, have you made separate partitions for Android and Ubuntu, or is it somehow shared?
And also related, how much room will it take up on the eMMC (as I've only got a 16GB TF)?
And finally, since you've been using yours at uni running Ubuntu, have you got any idea of the battery life running Ubuntu? I'm assuming it'd be pretty similar to stock, but yeah the battery indicator wasn't working last time I was playing around with Ubuntu from the microSD. Also, does the second keyboard battery work?

poltak11 said:
Ah lovely idea with the PPA. When new 3.2 based Prime gets released, I'll try to get a few hours to myself to get this all working together.
Just a few quick questions first:
How do your scripts change the eMMC layout? Does eMMC work the same as a standard HDD/SSD partitioned with a GPT? As in, have you made separate partitions for Android and Ubuntu, or is it somehow shared?
And also related, how much room will it take up on the eMMC (as I've only got a 16GB TF)?
And finally, since you've been using yours at uni running Ubuntu, have you got any idea of the battery life running Ubuntu? I'm assuming it'd be pretty similar to stock, but yeah the battery indicator wasn't working last time I was playing around with Ubuntu from the microSD. Also, does the second keyboard battery work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The second battery does work, unless you get one of those dodged ones that just randomly stops charging which happened to me, with the dock connected and the battery in it refusing to charge my battery lasted 6 hours.
the layout is different to standard, UDA(User DAta partition) is 4.2GB smaller than what it was, so you have 9.99gb for android and 4.2 for ubuntu, the kernel and recovery kernels are moved up to the end of the flash as well so that they are accessible through /dev

Just finished installing it. Yea, from internal memory it's working much faster. ~20 second boot time!(I didn't have timer with me, so I counted in the head) That's like my laptop with SSD + 10 second bios booting. With a dock it feels like a true netbook. I think I'll even dare to test c/c++ IDE on this thing. Good job!
Used online timer. It's 21 seconds.
Hmm how do I start wifi? eth0 is not even showing in the list of devices.

aligatro2010 said:
Just finished installing it. Yea, from internal memory it's working much faster. ~20 second boot time!(I didn't have timer with me, so I counted in the head) That's like my laptop with SSD + 10 second bios booting. With a dock it feels like a true netbook. I think I'll even dare to test c/c++ IDE on this thing.
Used online timer. It's 21 seconds.
Hmm how do I start wifi? eth0 is not even showing in the list of devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry forgot to mention in the first post, firmwares are not included in this release due to potential licensing issues, you can push the wifi firmware via adb to /lib/firmware and also the nvram, they are located in /system/vendor/fw_bcm4329.bin and /system/etc/nvram.txt on your android system, the module will autoload on boot once you have the firmware in place, and the interface will be named wlan0

lilstevie said:
Sorry forgot to mention in the first post, firmwares are not included in this release due to potential licensing issues, you can push the wifi firmware via adb to /lib/firmware and also the nvram, they are located in /system/vendor/fw_bcm4329.bin and /system/etc/nvram.txt on your android system, the module will autoload on boot once you have the firmware in place, and the interface will be named wlan0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nvram.txt to /etc right? I copied them straight from android partition, but it still doesn't load. Could it be because of the bcm4329_sta.bin or nvram should be placed in /lib/firmware ?
It works now.

So basically we will be able to dual boot Windows 7 and Android?

liorry said:
So basically we will be able to dual boot Windows 7 and Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Windows 7 doesn't have arm version. Windows 8 maybe in future, long future ....

aligatro2010 said:
nvram.txt to /etc right? I copied them straight from android partition, but it still doesn't load. Could it be because of the bcm4329_sta.bin or nvram should be placed in /lib/firmware ?
It works now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the wifi firmware should be called fw_bcm4329.bin and nvram.txt should be in /lib/firmware, I probably should have been a little clearer, but I posted that just before going to bed, and was a little tired

lilstevie said:
the wifi firmware should be called fw_bcm4329.bin and nvram.txt should be in /lib/firmware, I probably should have been a little clearer, but I posted that just before going to bed, and was a little tired
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"bcm4329_sta.bin" was already there before I even copied 2 modules and it was also loaded as module when I did modprobe. (not 100% sure about the second)That's why I thought it was conflicting with android's modules.

Wow, great work! Can't wait to try it.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

I've probably missed something obvious.. But I get this.
file not found: linux.img
failed executing command 2147483647 NvError 0x4
command failure: create failed
rm: cannot remove `linux.img': No such file or directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After like 5 minutes of NvFlash installing stuff.

[16-Jun-2015][TEST][SP3][x86_64] Android x86 Lollipop 5.1.1

Android x86 (x86_64)
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
First, thanks to the devs of the Android x86 project. Second, a thanks to the guys who have created the various patches that enable support for the Surface Pro 3 hardware in the Linux kernel.
This is an x86_64 build of Android (both userspace and kernel). The 32 bit only, as well as the 64 kernel/32 hybrid builds didn't work properly - 32 only wouldn't boot for me (YMMV?), and 32/64 would boot with audio but had issues too.
I and the other guys at the Android x86 project could very much use all the help and assistance you can provide in getting this device working. I'm not super up on the various tweaks possible and required within Android,
What Works:
WiFi
Battery and power status
Both Cameras
Power Button (only if you hold it down to shutdown; screen sleep does not work)
Type cover and mouse
Touch
Volume buttons
Video (DPI is not set to native, currently)
Not Working/Known Issues:
Random crashes
No OpenGL
Screen sleep/hibernate (works in Linux, I think)
Disconnecting the keyboard crashes the GUI, but it restarts
Rotation does not work, though I believe the rotation sensor should work
This is not ready to install, and the installer doesn't work. DO NOT USE THE INSTALLER
Sound does not work in this build; it may be a kernel config issue or a 64 bit issue as it worked on past kernels/builds (32 bit)
To install, download win32diskimager and use it to write the img file to a USB drive. You should then be able to live boot android from the stick, provided you have secure boot disabled.
DOWNLOAD:
https://mega.nz/#!RUV3gAiJ!nKnKTPS94UtMNAGcrvbeAjoh8FntJ-WqHZF2mw2J36s

How ironic - the volume buttons work and the volume doesn't, haha
In any case this is a great effort, and I can't wait to see where this project goes!

epic118 said:
How ironic - the volume buttons work and the volume doesn't, haha
In any case this is a great effort, and I can't wait to see where this project goes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed...strange since I had more broken previous builds work fine with the audio. I probably need to check the kernel config.
Thanks!

Thread cleaned of some Drama.
If this thread isn't for you....move on, or report it if you feel it's breaking a rule.
Thanks,
Darth
Forum Moderator

ilikenwf said:
Indeed...strange since I had more broken previous builds work fine with the audio. I probably need to check the kernel config.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works great.
Any progress? Would there be anything I could do to help? Very interested in getting it working. Did you modify the source and compile it yourself?
Tested on SP3 i7 256.

aaroncmx said:
It works great.
Any progress? Would there be anything I could do to help? Very interested in getting it working. Did you modify the source and compile it yourself?
Tested on SP3 i7 256.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Thanks for trying it!
I haven't had a chance to mess with it lately but will attempt to sometime this week. As far as help, I don't have anything public right now but only have changed things in the manifest and kernel repos. I could put those up on github or bitbucket if you'd like to mess with them as well. Yes, I compiled and configured myself, and added kernel patches for the SP3. I need to see what patches are required for kernel 4.1, because I believe it has some native support now.

ilikenwf said:
Yay! Thanks for trying it!
I haven't had a chance to mess with it lately but will attempt to sometime this week. As far as help, I don't have anything public right now but only have changed things in the manifest and kernel repos. I could put those up on github or bitbucket if you'd like to mess with them as well. Yes, I compiled and configured myself, and added kernel patches for the SP3. I need to see what patches are required for kernel 4.1, because I believe it has some native support now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly know nothing about Linux, despite a decent programming background in C...
But soooo many people would be interested in this for their SP3. So keep it up!! And thanks heaps.
If there's anything I can do though to help, PM me. I read elsewhere that people try different versions and distributions of Linux to find functional drivers for devices, and then try to import them into the Android x86 package. I don't know if that's the case or not but if you want me to try find working stuff from different distros, I'll totally do it.

aaroncmx said:
I honestly know nothing about Linux, despite a decent programming background in C...
But soooo many people would be interested in this for their SP3. So keep it up!! And thanks heaps.
If there's anything I can do though to help, PM me. I read elsewhere that people try different versions and distributions of Linux to find functional drivers for devices, and then try to import them into the Android x86 package. I don't know if that's the case or not but if you want me to try find working stuff from different distros, I'll totally do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To help, I'll always need testers (getting ready to try and upload a new build later today). As for distros, it's more just grabbing the appropriate kernel patches for hardware support. While some changes may need made to Android in places script wise for some hardware, everything else will "just work" once all the drivers are stable.

New build! See top post or: https://mega.nz/#!RUV3gAiJ!nKnKTPS94UtMNAGcrvbeAjoh8FntJ-WqHZF2mw2J36s

(removed) - bad build

Awesome!
The only thing is I'm not able to gain superuser access after installing(and so as live) so I can't install playstore.
The installer works for me; i installed it to my sd card. It would be great if the grub bootloader installer provides is a touch version.

If you install this build on your sd all the data is keept after the shutdown ?

nickisverygood said:
The only thing is I'm not able to gain superuser access after installing(and so as live) so I can't install playstore.
The installer works for me; i installed it to my sd card. It would be great if the grub bootloader installer provides is a touch version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No touch bootloader for now, but you could probably find one that would work.
aurelios69 said:
If you install this build on your sd all the data is keept after the shutdown ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd need to set the DATA= line in the bootloader, the Android-x86 site should have instructions.

Not mine, but rbg's build of Kitkat (now with the patches used here) for 32-bit, the most recent one, is rock solid! Sensors don't work yet and neither do the volume rockers, but everything else seems good!
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/android-x86/q-B7lrRzeiM/5IJ-J_J13s0J

ilikenwf said:
Not mine, but rbg's build of Kitkat (now with the patches used here) for 32-bit, the most recent one, is rock solid! Sensors don't work yet and neither do the volume rockers, but everything else seems good!
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/android-x86/q-B7lrRzeiM/5IJ-J_J13s0J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, even the sound works ?
Coube you please upload the patched version that you have ?
Many thanks

aurelios69 said:
Hi, even the sound works ?
Coube you please upload the patched version that you have ?
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't built one of Kitkat yet, I'll have to try it with the patched kernel.

I just tried the latest build from rbg and it's great. Locking works, volume rockers and audio all work too.
But how do you install it? I've spent a few hours trying. I can't install from USB because the typecover won't work in the setup so I have to plug in a keyboard and use the MicroSD. So I shrinked the Windows partition and created a 32GB NTFS volume for Android and I've installed to it several times but can't get any sort of bootloader running.
I won't complain at all though. This is amazing and the installer probably has issues but I'll impatiently ask, does anyone know how to get it installed and bootable from SD or a seperate partition? (Not Live of course).
Thanks guys. And rbg.

I've not yet installed it but I think you'd have to setup a bootloader like refind or another, and if you need secure boot, you'd also need to setup a shim to be able to keep it turned on.
There are guides around that should work, I forget where, that you could adapt.

ilikenwf said:
I've not yet installed it but I think you'd have to setup a bootloader like refind or another, and if you need secure boot, you'd also need to setup a shim to be able to keep it turned on.
There are guides around that should work, I forget where, that you could adapt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it.
I just used an old Lenovo laptop to install from the bootable USB to the Micro SD, didn't install GRUB but did select to install GRUB2 EFI. Now the SD boots on the surface. This is totally amazeballs.

Hmm, alright. Bit of an issue. Driving me crazy.
The first install I performed worked fine. I installed from USB to SD card, it was bootable, rebootable, and retained user data.
I broke it trying to install the Google Frameworks. No problem, just re-image the SD and try again.
Since then, for the life of me, I can't get Android to boot on anything other than FAT32 or NTFS. Ext2 and Ext3 fail, all I get is the Android boot screen logo graphic with the moving bright bar that moves vertically though the logo. That one.
And I'm scratching my head. Like heaps. I tried different SD cards, re-imaging the USB I use to install onto the SD with, formatting the SD as Ext3 using different software, cleaning with diskpart and using other utilities to fully zero the SD and trying all over again. I can't work out why it worked the first time. I deff use Ext3 the first time around and had the entire SD card worth of accessible memory. NTFS would be fine but I don't understand why the installer doesn't allow > 2GB disk images?
Anyway, I don't mean to steal the topic. Just thought I'd post my issues in case I'm making any obvious mistakes, or perhaps solve the issue before it drives somebody else cray cray.
Thanks!! So close.
Edit: Couple hours later... No luck.
FAT32 Works with disk image 2GB limit.
Formatting the SD as NTFS and running the installation or formatting the SD as NTFS during the installation always seems to result in a FAT32 disk. (I was hoping to get it running as NTFS and expanding the 2GB disk image manually).
Formatting as Ext2 or Ext3 results in a laggy infinite Android graphic boot screen. Instead of a smooth animation, it's probably about 1fps.
This is taunting me. :'(

[ROM][Kernel][cm13/lineage14.1]Nethunter fully patched HID and external wireless card

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Disclaimer: I'm in now way, shape or form a developer. The following steps are to be used as a guideline for installing nethunter onto your device. If something goes wrong during the install/set up process, I won't be held responsible. By installing the roms/nethunter zips you're voiding your warranty so do so at your own risk.​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nethunter is in short a set of apps for network penetration testing, you should only use these tools for testing your own network security or other networks YOU HAVE PERMISSION FOR! If you get caught using these tools illegally, do not come crying to me, I'll laugh in your face and point you to this thread.... That being said, let's get on with it.
You're going to need a rooted device for this to work, this thread isn't about rooting, if you're not yet rooted check out the other threads on XDA. Great community with plenty of topics showing you how to root. You have the options of:
cm-13.0 running on Marshmallow with kernel 3.4.111
Lineage-14.1 running on Nougat 7.1.2 with kernel 3.4.113
Both have fully patched kernels and whilst they all have a few issues (not related to the kernels or the first rom you install, check known issues below for updates), you should be able to use 99% of the functions. I'll list the issues at the bottom of this post and the steps to try and fix them if any.
Links
Cm-13.0 links:
CM-13.0: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=817550096634766544
Nethunter: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862723757
Lineage-14.1 7.1.2 links:
Lineage14.1:https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862728021
Nethunter:https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862723623
Install
Download and copy both of the above files to the root of your device along with the Gapps of your choice.
Reboot into recovery and wipe Dalvik, Data and Cache
Install the CM-13.0/Lineage-14.1 rom
Install Gapps
If you're S-off then reboot into your phone.
If you're S-on, extract the boot.img from the CM-13 file and place it in your fastboot folder.
Run the following command and reboot: fastboot flash boot boot.img
After the boot.img has flashed, run the following command: fastboot reboot
After you've allowed your phone to boot fully, reboot back into recovery and install the nethunter file.
Be PATIENT!! The install can take up to half hour! Once the install has finished, reboot system and you should be golden.
If at any point during the install process TWRP asks you if you want it to install root, select the "Do not install" option. Nethunter will handle this for you.
That's it, you should be fully loaded with nethunter.
Features
HID is fully functioning on both versions.
Supported external wireless drivers are fully functioning. Check the useful links below to find supported devices.
Csploit
DroidDrive
Hackers Keyboard (This comes in so handy when using terminal)
Nethunter VNC
Nethunter Terminal
OpenVPN
Shodan
USB Keyboard
Known issues
Unless stated otherwise, any issue related to lineage-14.1 applies to both the android 7.1.1 version and the 7.1.2 version
Csploit on CM-13.: For some reason, nethunter installs an outdated cSploit for the marshmallow build. If you constantly receive an error message saying "No exploits found", uninstall cSploit and install the latest version from here: http://www.csploit.org/downloads/
cSploit arp poisoning on both cm13 and lineages14: Arp poisoning exploits aren't working for any MITM attacks, I've spoke to the devs and they've confirmed it is a bug, as soon as it's fixed, I'll update this thread.
HID Interface on both cm13 and lineage14: If you have no HID interfaces showing in the nethunter home panel. Open an exploit that uses HID (rubberduck will suffice) and launch an attack, don't worry about plugging your phone into your computer. It's sheerly for forcing nethunter to check the relevant directories for HID interfaces. Once you've launched an attack, they should appear.
Terminal crashing on Lineage14: If your terminal keeps crashing when you try to start it, long press your home screen to bring up the active apps tabs. Close the terminal, open the main nethunter app and wait for it to be granted root privileges, now minimize and try opening the terminal again. For some reason, the terminal requires the nethunter app to be open and with root.
Rubberduck HID not launching attacks: Connect to your target computer, change the USB connection to MTP for file transfer and also enable ADB via the developer menu. Try again
Useful links
Official nethuner wiki: https://github.com/offensive-security/kali-nethunter/wiki
There's a link on there titled "known working hardware" that's where you can check if your wireless card is supported.
Official cSploit wiki: https://github.com/cSploit/android/wiki
Again, links on the page full of useful information.
Kernels:
For some reason, trying to just flash the kernel to an already installed rom doesn't work, so if you'd like to try and build the zImage into your boot.img fell free to.
3.4.111: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=457095661767158370
3.4.113: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862724031
Thanks and credits
@9Lukas5 for letting me use his kernel
@AndroGeek974 both the cm-13 and lineage-14.1 roms are his, with my kernels and nethunters.
@ZpanicZ The cm-13 nethunter build is his.

Screenshots

Can i use only internal card wireless for airmon-ng start wlan0 ? Or i need external one with otg cable

99% certain the answer will be no if you intend to use it in monitor mode. There's a device that does support monitor mode on the internal card but can't remember what one it was. You can always try it by opening a terminal and typing the following:
Airmon-ng start wlan0
If it works then you'll see a new interface pop up called:
Wlan0mon
I wouldn't hold my breath though, you're better of getting a cheap otg off eBay for a couple of quid and get an external wireless card. There's a link in the first post to the nethunter wiki, they have a list of devices that have been confirmed as working.

Just for your reference. The may unofficial CM14.1 based off 7.1.2 is at https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862723521
Maybe I can dirty flash it?

mobileman88 said:
Just for your reference. The may unofficial CM14.1 based off 7.1.2 is at https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862723521
Maybe I can dirty flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect, cheers, downloading it now. May try it out tonight, prob be tomorrow though.

Update
Updated to include the latest lineage-14.1 build running on android 7.1.2, I'm still testing it but the same issues listed in the first post seem to be present with no other issues appearing!

michael8t6 said:
Update
Updated to include the latest lineage-14.1 build running on android 7.1.2, I'm still testing it but the same issues listed in the first post seem to be present with no other issues appearing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome to hear that. Take your time dude. Understand this fixes many rom issues except for Bluetooth which is still funky. Left my m7 at work so can't do anything this weekend. Bummer.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

mobileman88 said:
Awesome to hear that. Take your time dude. Understand this fixes many rom issues except for Bluetooth which is still funky. Left my m7 at work so can't do anything this weekend. Bummer.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha unlucky!! I'd be tempted to drive back and get it
Yeah the bluetooth doesn't like my headset on this build, doesn't find it in pairing mode at all! The rom does seem a lot more stable for sure though.

michael8t6 said:
haha unlucky!! I'd be tempted to drive back and get it
Yeah the bluetooth doesn't like my headset on this build, doesn't find it in pairing mode at all! The rom does seem a lot more stable for sure though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. Work is too much of a drive for me over the weekend. Should I dirty flash from your earlier release? Or spotless I do a full wipe and start anew?
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

mobileman88 said:
Haha. Work is too much of a drive for me over the weekend. Should I dirty flash from your earlier release? Or spotless I do a full wipe and start anew?
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the perks of working from home, I only have to drive to the storage unit to collect my eBay orders, other than that I get to spend the rest of my time at home.
Think you have to do a clean flash mate, I tried a dirty flash when I was testing the kernels and although it said it went fine with no errors, when I flashed the nethunter build, none of the apps were showing. I then done a clean flash and everything was working fine. Although, if you do try a dirty flash and it works, let me know please :good:

Some one help me step by step .
i have htc s-on hboot 1.61
When i flash rom i reboot full boot phone
And coming back to recouvery and flashing nethunter . but when i run nethunter app terminal cruch .. Please some one telp hiw to make it true step by step and sorry for my bad english

michael8t6 said:
One of the perks of working from home, I only have to drive to the storage unit to collect my eBay orders, other than that I get to spend the rest of my time at home.
Think you have to do a clean flash mate, I tried a dirty flash when I was testing the kernels and although it said it went fine with no errors, when I flashed the nethunter build, none of the apps were showing. I then done a clean flash and everything was working fine. Although, if you do try a dirty flash and it works, let me know please :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for trying it out first. I have also tried dirty flash . It's the same, no go. Everything boots up fine but none of the nethunter apps are showing although the kernel is able to show the hidg devices as checked using adb. The apps are all not showing. Bummer. Doing a full flash now. Hopefully we can easily update to the new daily builds so I don't have to do a full wipe of the device each time. Let me know if there's anything else I can help test it with.
Btw how did you modify the 0501 unofficial build to your 0.0.1 file?
---------- Post added at 10:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------
Tafabil said:
Some one help me step by step .
i have htc s-on hboot 1.61
When i flash rom i reboot full boot phone
And coming back to recouvery and flashing nethunter . but when i run nethunter app terminal cruch .. Please some one telp hiw to make it true step by step and sorry for my bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are steps in the OP for S-ON devices . You need to do a few more steps to get it going
-----
If you're S-on, extract the boot.img from the CM-13/14 file and place it in your fastboot folder.
Run the following command and reboot: fastboot flash boot boot.img
After the boot.img has flashed, run the following command: fastboot reboot
After you've allowed your phone to boot fully, reboot back into recovery and install the nethunter file.

After flashing rom 7.1.1 should i go back to fastboot imidiatly and flashing boots.img or let the phone boot fully and then going back to fastboot and flash boot.img ?

mobileman88 said:
Thanks for trying it out first. I have also tried dirty flash . It's the same, no go. Everything boots up fine but none of the nethunter apps are showing although the kernel is able to show the hidg devices as checked using adb. The apps are all not showing. Bummer. Doing a full flash now. Hopefully we can easily update to the new daily builds so I don't have to do a full wipe of the device each time. Let me know if there's anything else I can help test it with.
Btw how did you modify the 0501 unofficial build to your 0.0.1 file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aye, I'm not quite sure why we're not able to dirty flash, I know when the nethunter app updates you'll get a message next time you open the nethunter main app asking if you want to update, it then downloads the latest apk so you're able to update the nethunter apps. But for some reason, you're not able to just flash the boot.img over a existing install or dirty flash! Annoying I know but I'm not a developer so am stuck on that bit.
As for renaming the build, after I built the kernel, I used a program called android kitchen, extracted the boot.img from the build, then extracted the zImage and ramdisk file, replaced the zImage with mine, repacked and rebuilt the rom whilst renaming.
Tafabil said:
After flashing rom 7.1.1 should i go back to fastboot imidiatly and flashing boots.img or let the phone boot fully and then going back to fastboot and flash boot.img ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go back to fastboot immediately, once the rom and gapps have finished installing, DO NOT BOOT INTO SYSTEM! Boot into bootloader and run the following commands:
fastboot flash boot boot.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it's done flashing the boot image, run the next cmd:
fastboot reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if at any point during the install process, twrp or your other custom recovery asks if you want it to root, select DO NOT INSTALL..
Wait for the phone to have one full boot after issuing the reboot command before install nethunter.

michael8t6 said:
aye, I'm not quite sure why we're not able to dirty flash, I know when the nethunter app updates you'll get a message next time you open the nethunter main app asking if you want to update, it then downloads the latest apk so you're able to update the nethunter apps. But for some reason, you're not able to just flash the boot.img over a existing install or dirty flash! Annoying I know but I'm not a developer so am stuck on that bit.
As for renaming the build, after I built the kernel, I used a program called android kitchen, extracted the boot.img from the build, then extracted the zImage and ramdisk file, replaced the zImage with mine, repacked and rebuilt the rom whilst renaming.
Go back to fastboot immediately, once the rom and gapps have finished installing, DO NOT BOOT INTO SYSTEM! Boot into bootloader and run the following commands:
Once it's done flashing the boot image, run the next cmd:
if at any point during the install process, twrp or your other custom recovery asks if you want it to root, select DO NOT INSTALL..
Wait for the phone to have one full boot after issuing the reboot command before install nethunter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool to know that. I am quite familiar with Kali Linux but am not as familiar with the internals of Android. Learning something new everyday. There are tons of Y-cables on Amazon, not sure if they are all the same and I should simply buy the cheapest one. Definitely need one to power mouse/keyboard/hdd

mobileman88 said:
Cool to know that. I am quite familiar with Kali Linux but am not as familiar with the internals of Android. Learning something new everyday. There are tons of Y-cables on Amazon, not sure if they are all the same and I should simply buy the cheapest one. Definitely need one to power mouse/keyboard/hdd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I paid £12.99 for mine from maplins just because I wanted it that day haha, my patience is non existent when it comes to waiting on things in the post. To be honest though I suppose as long as it does what it says on the tin then I'd get the cheapest.
I've got kali and windows 7 as a dual boot, bit of a strange one with kali though, when I installed it with my external graphics card, it would crash and kill my session as soon as I tried to do anything graphic intensive! Worked out it was the external graphics card, so removed it, went to download and install the drivers for it, soon as I tried to install it, the GUI said that it couldn't detect a card (obviously it wasn't plugged in). I tried to plug it back in and install the driver again, then it just killed my session and logged me out like it was before so I'm now having to run onboard graphics! No idea why it was doing that but meh, both windows and kali are running fine with onboards so not to bothered!
I was using kali back when it was called backtrack 4!! Great little distro for testing networks, currently studying for the CEH exams, dream job to be a certified pen tester. Suppose that's why it only took the week to learn all about kernel compiling with toolchains and so on, always been a quick learner, especially when it comes to technology! A computer will only do what it's told to do, so if somethings not working then you just have to find out what went wrong, 99% of the time the developers always code in a escape to a debug log so you can find a fix and apply it!!
If you want any help with kernel compiling, feel free to drop me a pm and we can sort out adding each other on Skype or something, make it a bit easier to communicate. Now I've learnt the basics of it, it's a lot lot easier than it sounded!

This was a great video that explained kernels in a really good informative way!
[YOUTUBE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AheWTTFwV6k[/YOUTUBE]

michael8t6 said:
I paid £12.99 for mine from maplins just because I wanted it that day haha, my patience is non existent when it comes to waiting on things in the post. To be honest though I suppose as long as it does what it says on the tin then I'd get the cheapest.
I've got kali and windows 7 as a dual boot, bit of a strange one with kali though, when I installed it with my external graphics card, it would crash and kill my session as soon as I tried to do anything graphic intensive! Worked out it was the external graphics card, so removed it, went to download and install the drivers for it, soon as I tried to install it, the GUI said that it couldn't detect a card (obviously it wasn't plugged in). I tried to plug it back in and install the driver again, then it just killed my session and logged me out like it was before so I'm now having to run onboard graphics! No idea why it was doing that but meh, both windows and kali are running fine with onboards so not to bothered!
I was using kali back when it was called backtrack 4!! Great little distro for testing networks, currently studying for the CEH exams, dream job to be a certified pen tester. Suppose that's why it only took the week to learn all about kernel compiling with toolchains and so on, always been a quick learner, especially when it comes to technology! A computer will only do what it's told to do, so if somethings not working then you just have to find out what went wrong, 99% of the time the developers always code in a escape to a debug log so you can find a fix and apply it!!
If you want any help with kernel compiling, feel free to drop me a pm and we can sort out adding each other on Skype or something, make it a bit easier to communicate. Now I've learnt the basics of it, it's a lot lot easier than it sounded!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already dropped you a PM about the rom packaging and kernel compiles. No hurry. Let me know when's a good time for us to get something going. Btw a new unofficial build just dropped for 0506 . Seems to have been reported to fix the bluetooth issues we are getting.
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=457095661767159226
---------- Post added at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 AM ----------
michael8t6 said:
This was a great video that explained kernels in a really good informative way!
[YOUTUBE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AheWTTFwV6k[/YOUTUBE]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't seem to get the Youtube link working. (Embedded one does not work, but it works using a separate browser tab, so it's ok)

New 0515 unofficial build out. https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=745425885120732208

[NON-ANDROID]Native Linux thread for A8/A8+ (Arch Linux ARM, postmarketOS, ect.)

This thread is for native Linux development on Galaxy A8/A8+. This means no Halium here. It's also aimed at people who know how to compile their stuff, ect., so don't complain to me about no fancy zip installer.
I have made some fixes in our DECON framebuffer driver, ect that makes TTY, and Xorg, and anything that uses the framebuffer work! (Based on @prashantp01's Quantum Quack kernel because that's what I had at the time and it's a good kernel).
I have tested this using Arch Linux ARM (ALARM), and it boots just fine!
A postmarketOS tree for the regular A8 is in the way of being merged, and I need someone to try the A8+ version.
Please provide a photo of the phone running PostmarketOS with weston on A8+!
Prebuilt zip for A8+ and A8 with postmarketOS weston (not really useful, but good for screenshot) here:
A8: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cVamhYGmBrDVrzzcIVyCmhLHJIQ3u3Xq/view?usp=sharing
A8+: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xe9rFu4TRzxmM9yV4lINOHOHsEQ2TD0O/view?usp=sharing
This may also be useful for other 7885 and 7885 based (7884 variants, 7904) devices as well!
What currently works on Arch (and probably on any other native linux distro):
Booting (Arch Linux sometimes hangs on "Triggering uevents" for a few minutes, sometimes boots instantly)
Screen (inc. brightness and turning on/off (due to a hacky workaround in kernel, the screen may show a corrupted screen for a split second when turning on)
Framebuffer console (TTY)
Xorg (unaccelerated)
Touchscreen
Hardware buttons
Battery indicator (detects some other stuff as batteries/charging ports too ATM)
USB OTG (Mouse, keyboard, ect)
(After adding some configs)USB SSH, and web access from PC using USB
Basically anything using Xorg (LightDM, Xfce, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Firefox, Chromium, GIMP, VLC, ect ect ect)
Anything that can use framebuffer (weston's framebuffer backend)
NOTE: This is a guide assumes you know how to do some stuff. For some help you can also reference this
Rough instructions for Arch Linux (Using prebuilt boot.img):
Partition your SD card (using PC or something) so that your second partition will contain your rootfs (the boot.imgs provided use the 2nd SD card partition as root! Change in defconfig if you are building your kernel.)
Install the generic version of ARMv8 Arch Linux ARM to the second partition of your SD card.
Install additional packages by chrooting from Android, or using USB networking
(For dual-boot) back up boot.img
Install the correct boot.img.
To boot back into Android, restore your boot.img
Prebuilt Arch Linux boot.imgs
Source code

VDavid003 said:
This thread is for native Linux development on Galaxy A8/A8+. This means no Halium here. It's also aimed at people who know how to compile their stuff, ect., so don't complain to me about no fancy zip installer.
I have made some fixes in our DECON framebuffer driver, ect that makes TTY, and Xorg, and anything that uses the framebuffer work! (Based on @prashantp01's Quantum Quack kernel because that's what I had at the time and it's a good kernel).
I have tested this using Arch Linux ARM (ALARM), and it boots just fine! A postmarketOS port will follow soon!
This may also be useful for other 7885 and 7885 based (7884 variants, 7904) devices as well!
What currently works on Arch (and probably on any other native linux distro):
Booting (Arch Linux sometimes hangs on "Triggering uevents" for a few minutes, sometimes boots instantly)
Screen (inc. brightness and turning on/off (due to a hacky workaround in kernel, the screen may show a corrupted screen for a split second when turning on)
Framebuffer console (TTY)
Xorg (unaccelerated)
Touchscreen
Hardware buttons
Battery indicator (detects some other stuff as batteries/charging ports too ATM)
USB OTG (Mouse, keyboard, ect)
(After adding some configs)USB SSH, and web access from PC using USB
Basically anything using Xorg (LightDM, Xfce, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Firefox, Chromium, GIMP, VLC, ect ect ect)
Anything that can use framebuffer (weston's framebuffer backend)
NOTE: This is a guide assumes you know how to do some stuff. For some help you can also reference this
Rough instructions for Arch Linux (Using prebuilt boot.img):
Partition your SD card (using PC or something) so that your second partition will contain your rootfs (the boot.imgs provided use the 2nd SD card partition as root! Change in defconfig if you are building your kernel.)
Install the generic version of ARMv8 Arch Linux ARM to the second partition of your SD card.
Install additional packages by chrooting from Android, or using USB networking
(For dual-boot) back up boot.img
Install the correct boot.img.
To boot back into Android, restore your boot.img
Prebuilt Arch Linux boot.imgs
Source code
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks david

VDavid003 said:
This thread is for native Linux development on Galaxy A8/A8+. This means no Halium here. It's also aimed at people who know how to compile their stuff, ect., so don't complain to me about no fancy zip installer.
I have made some fixes in our DECON framebuffer driver, ect that makes TTY, and Xorg, and anything that uses the framebuffer work! (Based on @prashantp01's Quantum Quack kernel because that's what I had at the time and it's a good kernel).
I have tested this using Arch Linux ARM (ALARM), and it boots just fine! A postmarketOS port will follow soon!
This may also be useful for other 7885 and 7885 based (7884 variants, 7904) devices as well!
What currently works on Arch (and probably on any other native linux distro):
Booting (Arch Linux sometimes hangs on "Triggering uevents" for a few minutes, sometimes boots instantly)
Screen (inc. brightness and turning on/off (due to a hacky workaround in kernel, the screen may show a corrupted screen for a split second when turning on)
Framebuffer console (TTY)
Xorg (unaccelerated)
Touchscreen
Hardware buttons
Battery indicator (detects some other stuff as batteries/charging ports too ATM)
USB OTG (Mouse, keyboard, ect)
(After adding some configs)USB SSH, and web access from PC using USB
Basically anything using Xorg (LightDM, Xfce, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Firefox, Chromium, GIMP, VLC, ect ect ect)
Anything that can use framebuffer (weston's framebuffer backend)
NOTE: This is a guide assumes you know how to do some stuff. For some help you can also reference this
Rough instructions for Arch Linux (Using prebuilt boot.img):
Partition your SD card (using PC or something) so that your second partition will contain your rootfs (the boot.imgs provided use the 2nd SD card partition as root! Change in defconfig if you are building your kernel.)
Install the generic version of ARMv8 Arch Linux ARM to the second partition of your SD card.
Install additional packages by chrooting from Android, or using USB networking
(For dual-boot) back up boot.img
Install the correct boot.img.
To boot back into Android, restore your boot.img
Prebuilt Arch Linux boot.imgs
Source code
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So one can boot Armbian on A8+ as we do with Android box? Where is dtb for this?

p5uresh said:
So one can boot Armbian on A8+ as we do with Android box? Where is dtb for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you could probably boot it. The dtb is inside the boot.img
Try installing it to an sd card, chrooting into it from android, generating an initramfs, then replacing the initramfs in the boot.img with the one you generated. (Maybe it could even work without that, wiht arch's initramfs?)

VDavid003 said:
Yes you could probably boot it. The dtb is inside the boot.img
Try installing it to an sd card, chrooting into it from android, generating an initramfs, then replacing the initramfs in the boot.img with the one you generated. (Maybe it could even work without that, wiht arch's initramfs?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK
Thanks.

postmarketOS tree on the way! Please someone send photo of A8+ running it! Info in first post!

this is absolutely amazing, thank you for the work
im very happy with gentoo linux on my phone haha

saraphiem said:
this is absolutely amazing, thank you for the work
im very happy with gentoo linux on my phone haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got gentoo to boot? How did the drivers and compatability work out? I am asking this quite seriously as I do want to port it to my own device in the future.

Please update download links

Fandroid Tech said:
You got gentoo to boot? How did the drivers and compatability work out? I am asking this quite seriously as I do want to port it to my own device in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, it boots, tty works as expected with a phsyical keyboard lmao
the power button interestingly triggers a reboot, openrc & sysvinit goes through the "proper" shutdown process
i wasn't able to get much more than that working, unfortunately :c

saraphiem said:
well, it boots, tty works as expected with a phsyical keyboard lmao
the power button interestingly triggers a reboot, openrc & sysvinit goes through the "proper" shutdown process
i wasn't able to get much more than that working, unfortunately :c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried running it in a chroot, running gentoo on an 10 year old armhf cpu was hell in itself. The bigger problem was trying to update an old system. The closest anybody has gotten to gentoo mobile is sharkbait os, but that was just a chroot I think.

Fandroid Tech said:
I tried running it in a chroot, running gentoo on an 10 year old armhf cpu was hell in itself. The bigger problem was trying to update an old system. The closest anybody has gotten to gentoo mobile is sharkbait os, but that was just a chroot I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha sure does take a while to compile things

[Firefly] [ROCKCHIP] 3.5-Month UPDATE: Firefly ITX-3588J (Rockchip RK3588) "Deskphone" WORKS! Almost.

After 3.5 months of trial and error, unresponsive communities, ups and down, spending $75 on a video card that may be proving unnecessary ... I finally present to you - an almost fully-working Firefly ITX-3588J Dual-Boot Android/Linux ARM Machine.
WHAT IS IT?
The Firefly ITX-3588J is a Mini-ITX - small PC form-factor - "single-board computer" that was released earlier this year by the Chinese manufacturer Firefly, aka. T-Chip Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd.. It features the Rockchip RK3588 (hence the name) ARM system-on-chip (SoC) in a package that adduces many different kinds of ports including a PCI Express x4 slot, multiple HDMI video outs that go to the on-chip Mali GPU, and an M.2 that can be used in theory to add a telephone network card, making it a mini-desktop and smartphone all in one.
I got one because I saw it as an opportunity to for once have an easily-transportable low-energy consumption system that would be both an alternative to x86 and also not the Mac while still offering reasonable performance even if far from top-of-the-line - and ideally, it'd be great if more such boards come later because other ARM SBC boards tend to be both more limited and also very awkward with their cables. This is the only one I'm aware of, besides certain Raspberry Pi breakout boards like the Turing Pi, that can use a standard PC case.
But getting it to work, on the other hand, proved to be MUCH more diifficult because while the vendors offered a choice between Android 12 and Ubuntu 20.04 operating systems, I realized I needed both: I wanted access to both software ecosystems on the same machine, and was determined to get that to happen. And I want to say that within the last few days I have finally come quite close to achieving this dream in full.
WHAT DOES IT DO NOW?
Right now, the machine dual-boots Android 12 and Ubuntu 20.04 using the vendor-provided patched 5.10.66 Linux kernel source tree, with the user-space data of both OSes stored on a SATA SSD hard disk instead of the embedded eMMC. Boot selection is possible on startup simply by hitting "Ctrl+C" and typing the appropriate command to select the Ubuntu OS; otherwise, Android 12 boots by default. All this happens by video console on U-Boot with no serial port requirement, making it function as a proper stand-alone dual-boot ARM PC.
WHAT IS STILL TO BE DONE?
Graphics support on Ubuntu 20.04. No idea why this isn't working even with the provided kernel and driver packages. Text console over monitor works fine, though.
WHAT DID IT TAKE TO MAKE IT GO?
In retrospect, it's not really all that difficult. The most difficult part was just figuring everything out because there was very little comprehensive documentation given beyond how to simply load the images, and I had before this point zero real experience actually piecing together an Android system on a mobile/embedded-style board and machine. One thing that's a casualty is the stock Ubuntu image; it turned out to be much more fruitful to simply install the system to the hard drive via a procedure analogous to, albeit having to be arranged manually, what a typical installer would do, i.e. setting up and using APT to load the whole Ubuntu system from the Internet over wi-fi with the only vendor-adulterated component being the kernel and Mali graphics drivers because Valhall, nor even the whole RK3588, is currently mainlined in the Linux kernel system.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
The machine:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Running Android:
Ubuntu (no graphics yet!):

@Shimmy99 Would you please offer the procedure you used to make the board boot from SATA SSD?
That would be greatly apprecaited. I have a similar board and I have been interested in installing Android on a SATA SSD but the vendors don't respond to messages and there is very little information on their forum.
Thank you

qwestmogul2012 said:
@Shimmy99 Would you please offer the procedure you used to make the board boot from SATA SSD?
That would be greatly apprecaited. I have a similar board and I have been interested in installing Android on a SATA SSD but the vendors don't respond to messages and there is very little information on their forum.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm. I don't have a direct boot from SSD possible yet. Getting it to this stage has required coding work on the provided U-Boot and I would share a source pack to my github but it will take more to get direct SATA boot because it crashes when the U-Boot is compiled with those config options enabled for some reason. My focus mostly was on getting graphical console on the U-Boot so that there is not need to use the serial debug simply to switch OSes ). The way it works currently is that the kernels for both Android and Ubuntu are loaded to the eMMC, then the userdata / rootfs are loaded to the SSD. That said, I could try to play with that for sure.

It would really be nice if there was an easy way to install OS on SSD drive,that would be a massive upgrade from the measly 128GB EMMC.
By the way I don't know if you have already figured this out but there is an easy way to install GAPPS without using the tedious method you used.
You simply patch boot.img with Magisk then use ADB to install it back to the unit. From there you can use Magisk to install Magisk GAPPS.
For the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to install GPS/GNSS drivers for Android. The stock firmwares provided by the vendor have GPS drivers but those stock firmware have 1920x1080 resolution whereas I want to use 3840x2160 screen.
One way of dealing with that is editing build.prop file in vendor folder which works but then the unit won't boot past boot screen when a patched boot.img is installed. so it is sort of catch 22.

qwestmogul2012 said:
It would really be nice if there was an easy way to install OS on SSD drive,that would be a massive upgrade from the measly 128GB EMMC.
By the way I don't know if you have already figured this out but there is an easy way to install GAPPS without using the tedious method you used.
You simply patch boot.img with Magisk then use ADB to install it back to the unit. From there you can use Magisk to install Magisk GAPPS.
For the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to install GPS/GNSS drivers for Android. The stock firmwares provided by the vendor have GPS drivers but those stock firmware have 1920x1080 resolution whereas I want to use 3840x2160 screen.
One way of dealing with that is editing build.prop file in vendor folder which works but then the unit won't boot past boot screen when a patched boot.img is installed. so it is sort of catch 22.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Yes. I am currently working on trying to build up a software system that will enable proper booting from SSD "due to popular demand" from here (basically trying to modify the provided "RK U-Boot" and/or combine it with GRUB), however my progress has been set back after having lost the FIQ serial debug converter for my board and needing to get a new one. Also, I didn't know about that trick with Magisk, thanks! And when you say "won't boot past boot screen", what do you mean? Do you have any logs from the USB or from the FIQ serial stream for when that happens?

After the patched boot file is loaded back into the unit using ADB,the unit simply shows Firefly logo,the screen goes black then it shows the same logo,it never goes past that logo.
In other words I want a unit that has a patched boot file so that I can root it with Magisk and also have 4K resolution which only attainable by editing the build.prop file.
The root that is already in the stock firmware is inadequate because they lack SU binaries and therefore most apps that require root permission don't work effectively.
I have no way of generating logs,I don't have a serial debugger.
My goal is to have a simple Android system that I can install in my car with 4K portable screens and GPS.
I have tried the Android radios being sold out there and don't meet my needs for a system that can use 4K screens.They are still stuck in 1920x1080 or below resolution,not to mention that they can't play 4K video files without stuttering or freezing. They also lack storage that can store those large files.

qwestmogul2012 said:
After the patched boot file is loaded back into the unit using ADB,the unit simply shows Firefly logo,the screen goes black then it shows the same logo,it never goes past that logo.
In other words I want a unit that has a patched boot file so that I can root it with Magisk and also have 4K resolution which only attainable by editing the build.prop file.
The root that is already in the stock firmware is inadequate because they lack SU binaries and therefore most apps that require root permission don't work effectively.
I have no way of generating logs,I don't have a serial debugger.
My goal is to have a simple Android system that I can install in my car with 4K portable screens and GPS.
I have tried the Android radios being sold out there and don't meet my needs for a system that can use 4K screens.They are still stuck in 1920x1080 or below resolution,not to mention that they can't play 4K video files without stuttering or freezing. They also lack storage that can store those large files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that is some really interesting use of this device. Are you able to capture anything via the debug serial interface? (TTL serial, port is called "DEBUG" on the board, it appears to be the preferred serial interface for this processor.) If you don't have a suitable TTL->USB converter, you might want to get one. It must be able to support 1500000 baud, though, so be careful to check. Firefly offers one, though I lost mine as I mentioned and I had to get another, though a different one so I can mount it permanently in the case and break out a back-of-the-case port.
If you can capture anything via the TTL serial line, that would be great. That should give you some idea of what it's choking on. Send me that just so I can think about it while I'm waiting on this.

I will definitely order one.I never thought I would hit such a roadblock.I have edited various kind of Android roms successfully.This one from Firefly though is something else.I suppose that is what happens when they make their work not open source.
By the way do you know how to unpack super.img? the unpack script provide does not recognize super.img even if I change the name to update.img

qwestmogul2012 said:
I will definitely order one.I never thought I would hit such a roadblock.I have edited various kind of Android roms successfully.This one from Firefly though is something else.I suppose that is what happens when they make their work not open source.
By the way do you know how to unpack super.img? the unpack script provide does not recognize super.img even if I change the name to update.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for not responding sooner but I was diligently cracking away at this thing VERY much actually ... !!!
Ah yes, I think though I'm pretty close to getting it to work; most of the work so far has been in trying just to figure out how everything works given documentation is scant and I had never, ever worked with Android or anything else at this level before!
Very little of the material is not opensource - some of the tools required to generate the rockchip images does not appear to be and there are some binary-blob kernel drivers, but a LOT more than one thinks is; you just have to ask Firefly for the "board SDK" and they will provide on request. Other than what I mentioned, the code in there is pretty much all licensed under GPL (hence why they have to give you that code, given they've made kernel modifications to support the RK3588 - apparently mainstream support is coming along but is still not primetime yet).
Nonetheless, I see you've unpacked the Android image ROM, so perhaps you already have that - if so, great. Hence let's get to it (note maybe you know some of this already but I also want to make this post useful for as many people as possible): super.img - which I'm actually playing with right now - is not Firefly magic, but is generic Android and has been mentioned before on this forum if you search for "super.img" here. It's a "super partition" that contains partitions.
Editing system.img inside super.img and flashing our modifications
I'm trying to modify my system.img (/system/build.prop) to include support for multi users. After struggling a lot, I've succeeded following your guide (that's an awesome work btw) to unpack, mount, modify, umount and repack super.img. Then...
forum.xda-developers.com
To unpack it you need to grab OTA Tools:
[GUIDE] OTA Tools LPUnpack
Please see this URL https://android.googlesource.com/platform/build.git/+/eec4a7cba4face3370acb6293ab357879920b467 and this for more information. Hi everyone. I'm surprised I havent seen a thread about ota tools yet and lpunpack. This zip file...
forum.xda-developers.com
and the way to do this is you should first use the program simg2img, which actually ships with Ubuntu as a package of the same name I believe. Suppose you're in the Linux terminal and working in the directory containing super.img. Create (if you haven't already) a directory to unpack it, e.g.
Code:
mkdir super_unpack
Then use simg2img to get a "raw" version:
Code:
simg2img super.img super.img.raw
then finally use the OTATools (replace the string "/path/to/otatools" with whatever, or put them on your PATH, or ...)
Code:
/path/to/otatools/lpunpack super.img.raw super_unpack/
and now you should have it fully unrolled into smaller .img files which will ACTUALLY mount. In particular, I needed this because product.img specifically seems to be the best place to load GApps into - they will both come up on first Android boot and they will be retained if you do an Android system reset ("reset to factory defaults").
Now REPACKING super.img ... that's the fun part!

I had actually managed to find the instructions to unpack the super.img and also managed to mount vendor.img which is where I wanted to make changes in modifying the build.prop file.
After repacking the super.img and flashing it using fastboot the Android did not boot.
I also managed to incorporate the super.img to a ROM but the Android did not boot as well.
My thinking is that Android 12 being a Dynamic partitioned rom does not allow any modification in the root system and that is why I have not had success making the Android boot.
It used to be so easy to do that on Android 10 but Android 11 and 12 are not.
Well,if someone manages to do it,I hope to understand how they did it.
As of now I am pretty much stuck with a vanilla rom which is very disconcerting considering how expensive the ITX-3588J is.
By the way I already have SDK which I have been using to make roms.
Please let me know if you manage to boot the Android using a repacked super.img
As always I am very grateful for your assistance. Happy Ney Year!

qwestmogul2012 said:
I had actually managed to find the instructions to unpack the super.img and also managed to mount vendor.img which is where I wanted to make changes in modifying the build.prop file.
After repacking the super.img and flashing it using fastboot the Android did not boot.
I also managed to incorporate the super.img to a ROM but the Android did not boot as well.
My thinking is that Android 12 being a Dynamic partitioned rom does not allow any modification in the root system and that is why I have not had success making the Android boot.
It used to be so easy to do that on Android 10 but Android 11 and 12 are not.
Well,if someone manages to do it,I hope to understand how they did it.
As of now I am pretty much stuck with a vanilla rom which is very disconcerting considering how expensive the ITX-3588J is.
By the way I already have SDK which I have been using to make roms.
Please let me know if you manage to boot the Android using a repacked super.img
As always I am very grateful for your assistance. Happy Ney Year!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I did not see any mention about build.prop, though maybe you dropped that on another thread that wasn't in my notifications anymore.
You say the "Android did not boot". Do you have a adb dump? Do you have a serial (UART) debug dump (i.e. through the FIQ port)? Also, how are you repacking super.img? It is a tricky process as I mentioned at the end.

I did mention build.prop editing on my second comment of this thread.I initially tried to use root explorer file manager,that did not work.Then attempted to pull file from the system using ADB,edited it on my computer then pushed the edited file back to the system.That did not work either.
That is when I resorted to trying to edit it by unpacking the super.img.
I am still waiting to receive USB SERIAL debugger.
As for how I unpacked and repacked the super.img I used the instructions on the thread on this link
Editing system.img inside super.img and flashing our modifications
I'm trying to modify my system.img (/system/build.prop) to include support for multi users. After struggling a lot, I've succeeded following your guide (that's an awesome work btw) to unpack, mount, modify, umount and repack super.img. Then...
forum.xda-developers.com

Maybe this helps: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/linux-porting-native-linux-to-galaxy-note9.3936077/
Somebody ported Linux to the Galaxy Note 9.