Disclaimer: This post is unstructured and may be missing crucial info because of that. Please point out the glaring errors and omissions.
Background:
Phone: Huawei Ideos U8150 (Aircel India branding)
OS: Stock 2.2 original firmware (Build number: U8150V100R001C234B832SP02)
Root: Z4Root temporary root (superuser and su installed by z4root)
Relavant Apps: SL4A+Perl for android, Vim for android, Connectbot, dropbear ssh client
I use vim and perl as my primary work tools and have them working beautifully on my Ideos. However, I am unable to access my source code as it is in a subversion repository with only svn+ssh access. So first, I got ssh on my phone (dropbear client 0.49) and then, searched for a subversion build for Froyo.
Finding nothing by way of a command line client for subversion, I decided to build it on my own with the NDK. This is where I've run into trouble. It has a lot of issues building it and once I do, it fails to run on the phone. Has someone tried to do this and successfully managed it? If so, I'd really appreciate the binaries and info on how to install
If not, I'd like to pool our knowledge for getting a successful build/run.
My process:
1) minimal Ubuntu lucid lynx
2) install ant1.8, make, and sun jdk 1.6 using apt-get (no X)
3) get the SDK in $HOME and use the Commandline interface to get everything (no package selection possible, just oneshot all selection)
4) get the NDK into $HOME
5) get svn source tar
6) get svn dependencies tar (svn site itself)
7) untar them together
8) Follow this and this to get the configure script running.
My configure is (using froyo: android-8 platform)
Code:
PATH="$PATH:$NDK/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3/prebuilt/linux-x86/bin/"
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/android-arm/sysroot/usr \
--build=i686-pc-linux-gnu --host=arm-linux-androideabi \
CFLAGS="-mandroid -nostdlib" \
CPPFLAGS="-I$NDK/platforms/android-8/arch-arm/usr/include" \
LDFLAGS="-Wl,-rpath-link=$NDK/platforms/android-8/arch-arm/usr/lib/ \
-L$NDK/platforms/android-8/arch-arm/usr/lib/" \
LIBS="-lc -lcrypt" --without-ssl --without-neon --without-serf --disable-dso
9) Get configure to run successfully.
9.1)Fix failures because cross-compile checks not possible: yes to /dev/null, yes to setpgrp void, no to PROCESS SHARED locks, no to TCP_NODELAY with TCP_CORK
9.2) Fix all config.sub to accept androideabi as a valid os (add relevant section into OS switch-case),
10) run make
11) Fix make issues (make APR_HAVE_IOVEC = 1 in apr.h, remove conditional so that fdatasync is defined as fsync in sqlite3.c)
12) fix link issues with libcrypt by creating the libcrypt from here and adding it to $NDK/platforms/android-8/arch-arm/usr/lib/
13) Run make install to create deployment tree.
14) tar gzip it and push on phone. (including libcrypt)
Open issues/steps with unknown solutions:
15) How to install shared libs (libcrypt)?
16) how to build static?
17) How to make this post better?
Could the mods please shift this thread to the android dev forum?
Q&A for [DEV][WIP] xubuntu on tf300tg 0.1.2 (updated 130408)
Some developers prefer that questions remain separate from their main development thread to help keep things organized. Placing your question within this thread will increase its chances of being answered by a member of the community or by the developer.
Before posting, please use the forum search and read through the discussion thread for [DEV][WIP] xubuntu on tf300tg 0.1.2 (updated 130408). If you can't find an answer, post it here, being sure to give as much information as possible (firmware version, steps to reproduce, logcat if available) so that you can get help.
Thanks for understanding and for helping to keep XDA neat and tidy!
cannot boot into xubuntu
Hello guys.
I'm having a problem trying to make everything working. I tried to follow the webdoctors instructions and somehow things went wrong.
First of all, I installed v2.2.9 kernel using TWRP. Then, I split my microSD cart into partitions under gparted, then I used dd to copy from img to first card's partition. To this point everything went well. I tried to boot into xubuntu - it worked. But I had no internet connection and couldn't run mod_update.sh under xubuntu. Then, I decided to reboot system. And I couldn't go back into xubuntu - I'm choosing linux [1], and then there are some lines and it looks like it's stuck on lines like
Code:
init avahi-deamon terminated (or something like that)
...
pad_get_pspval->inval=Not charging ret=0
pad_get_psp voltage_now=8060
pad_get_psp ...
asuspec: [asuspec_enter_s3_work_function] EC in S3
I can boot into android without any problem, but WiFi isn't working. I've tried to format my card, put files from rootfs for a couple of times, and it worked only twice, rest of it just shows lines of code I mentioned.
I hope I managed to write everything clearly I receive some help from you!
xubuntu 14.04 working
[It seems as a new member I cannot post to the dev thread directly, but to an associated Q&A thread. I hope the people that might be interested in this post can read it anyway.]
I have been running xubuntu 14.04 on my Asus TF300T for some months now. As other people seem to have difficulties with this I want to share how I got this to work. My own contribution in this is quite small. It mostly consists in combining in a particular way the great work others here on xda have done.
About my methodology: I am neither expert in the relevant hardware nor software. Also I like things to be reproducible and portable. So I try to start from the most standard ingredients (official sources, standard linux distrubtions etc.) and modify them in small independent and documented modular steps until I get things to work.
In this post I will present only a very brief outline of how I proceeded. I hope to present more details in later posts.
KERNEL:
I am using a boot menu setup with kexec hardboot. Thus, for linux I am using a dedicated linux kernel, not a dual purpose linux/android kernel. The kernel is based on the official Asus source with a few small patches. I am not sure the patches are relevant for 14.04 to work, but they might be. I will describe them in a later post.
ROOTFS + INITRAMFS:
The initial rootfs is simply the official ubuntu core 14.04 armhf image found at the official ubuntu site [cannot post link].
On top of this the kernel config in /boot and modules + firmware in /lib/modules and /lib/firmware have to be installed. Also a few other small files for wifi + bluetooth to work can be installed at this stage or later.
The initial initramfs is generated through a chroot from this image via the standard update-initramfs tool. For this to work properly only a tiny configuration file that indicates the linux root partition is needed in /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d
In subsequent stages new versions of the initramfs can always be generated directly from the booted linux image via update-initramfs.
The chroot can also be used to download all required packages for the full install via
> apt-get -d install "packagename"
This requires having set /etc/apt/sources.list and possibly /etc/resolv.conf /etc/hosts /etc/hostname
X11:
As everybody knows X11 is a problem with tegra graphics. Fortunately, drivers are available at Nvidia's Linux for Tegra Site [cannot post link].
Unfortunately, these cover only X11 ABI up to version 14, while X11 in 14.04 is using ABI 15. What is more, I have experienced graphics corruption issues with the ABI 14 driver so I am actually using the ABI 13 driver. That means in addition to installing the relevant files from the nvidia site it is necessary to downgrade X11 for 14.04. I got this to work with the following packages:
- from 12.04:
libxi6 (this is more up to date than the 13.04 version)
- from 13.04:
xserver-xorg-core
libxfixes3
xserver-xorg-input-evdev
xserver-xorg-input-multitouch
xserver-xorg-video-dummy (might not be necessary)
- from 13.10:
libgl1-mesa-dri
Also you need the package xserver-xorg-input-mtev
sources are at rabits launchpad site [cannot post link]
SECOND STAGE:
After setting up a user, downloading desired packages (in particular "xubuntu-desktop"), making available the X11 packages etc. boot into the new system as the new user. Now install the X11 packages, set some of them on hold (apt-mark hold), for me it worked by marking xserver-xorg-core, libxfixes3 and libgl1-mesa-dri. Afterward you might need
> apt-get -f install
Then install xubuntu-desktop and possibly further required packages, then generate a new initramfs. Also further stuff needs to be / can be installed at this stage for audio, video, codecs, keyboard etc.
The next boot should then land you in a fully working xubuntu 14.04.
Good news! Could you upload your image xubuntu 14.04?
aurel33 said:
Good news! Could you upload your image xubuntu 14.04?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The image I am using myself is quite a mess now, after many months of use. Stripping this to the essentials and removing all personal stuff would be quite some work. What I rather want to do is share a procedure that should allow anybody to generate his/her own customized image. My previous post was extremely brief in this respect, but I hope to give more details in a follow up post. The next post, however, will be dedicated to the kernel I use as there are two patches that might (or might not) be relevant for 14.04 to work.
kernel for xubuntu 14.04
[I am sorry for not including the relevant links. As a new member I am not allowed to post links.]
As I said I am using a dedicated linux kernel, not a dual purpose linux/android kernel.
I am using the toolchain from ubuntu package "gcc-arm-linux-androideabi".
Instructions: Download the official Asus kernel source and get the toolchain ready.
Apply the following patches (attached):
toolchain/config patches:
- toolchain.patch : a minimal patch to solve toolchain dependent compliation issues
- modmake.patch : compile modules with option "-fno-pic"
- compressed_makefile.patch : also to solve toolchain issues (I found this in various places)
- bcm.patch : complete Kconfig for modules "bcmdhd_29" so none of "bcmdhd", "bcm43xx", "bcm4329" needs to be selected
proper kernel patches:
- mored.patch : patch to see console information at boot (from xda contributer "moreD")
- subreaper.patch : patch to update certain process information/signals to kernel 3.4 (from Lennart Poettering)
- 0001/2/3-AppArmor-... : update kernel to make apparmor work properly (from John Johansen)
- grouper-f2fs.patch : use this in case you want to add f2fs support (from Alex Page)
My kernel config file "config.txt" is also attached.
Now set environment variables:
KBUILD_OUTPUT=<outdir> directory for compilation output and config files
INSTALL_MOD_PATH=<libdir> directory for module and firmware installation
INSTALL_PATH=<bootdir> directory for kernel installation
In case of cross compilation set additionally:
ARCH=arm
CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-androideabi-
Now compile:
make -j4 all
make modules_install
make firmware_install
make zinstall
I am not sure if any of the above patches is essential to get xubuntu 14.04 running, but I suspect that the subreaper patch and the AppArmor patches might be important. The reason I use them is that I got errors in previous attempts of installing (x)ubuntu that after some research I found got fixed with these patches.
Happy compliling!
Can you please give me step by step instructions on how to install Ubuntu 14.04 on my TF300T?
Sent from my TF300T using XDA Free mobile app
rootfs for xubuntu 14.04 - PART 1
Here I describe in more detail the first part of the installation of the root file system (rootfs) for xubuntu 14.04 on the Asus TF300T. I will assume that the installation is to the root of an empty partition.
I. PREPARE ROOTFS:
1. CORE ROOTFS: Download the file
"ubuntu-core-14.04.1-core-armhf.tar.gz"
from the Ubuntu repositories. (Search for "ubuntu core" to find the site, I cannot post the link.) Extract this to the xubuntu partition. This is the initial rootfs.
This rootfs already works in a chroot, either from an existing linux installation or from Android. However, for this to be more useful we need to set up internet access and repositories.
2. INTERNET SETUP: Extract the attached file "inet-setup-trusty.tar.gz" into the rootfs. This sets up the relevant ubuntu repositories and fixes DNS lookup and gives the machine a name. Here I chose "tf300t-linux". To change the name, edit the files "/etc/hostname" and "/etc/hosts".
Before entering the rootfs via chroot, we set up more infrastructure for the ability to later run the rootfs stand alone. This requires a kernel.
3. KERNEL SETUP 1: Extract the kernel modules into "/lib/modules/..." and the kernel firmware into "/lib/firmware/...". If you compiled the kernel youself, these files will have been generated in the process. If you take the kernel from elsewhere these files have to be provided with the kernel.
4. KERNEL SETUP 2: To ensure relevant modules are loaded at boot, a file "/etc/modules" might be needed. This depends on the kernel. Assuming you compilde the kernel following my instructions in a previous post, just extract the attached file "initmodules.tar.gz" into the rootfs.
We shall later use "update-initramfs" to generate the initial ram file system, a file named "initrd.img". For this to work we need the following:
4. KERNEL SETUP 3: Put the kernel image into "/boot/". It should be called "vmlinuz-3.1.10" or similar. Also put "config-3.1.10" and "System.map-3.1.10" into this directory. These are also generated when compiling the kernel. I am not sure if "System.map-3.1.10" is required. "config-3.1.10" can be extracted from the kernel image if not provided. (See instructions elsewhere.)
5. INITRD CONFIG: For "update-initramfs" to work correctly a configuration file is needed indicating the root partition. This goes into "/etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/". You might just extract the attached file "initramfs-mmcblk1p1.tar.gz". This assumes that xubuntu uses the partition "mmcblk1p1" with "ext4", i.e. the first partition on the external micro sd card and fomatted with the "ext4" file system. If you use a differnt partition and/or file system, edit the included file "/etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/specify_root_device" accordingly.
6. WIFI: For wifi to work you need a file "nvram.txt". This is located under Android in "/data/misc/wifi/nvram.txt". Copy this to the rootfs at "/lib/firmware/nvram.txt" if you use the kernel I describe in a previous post. Otherwise the required location might be different. You can read it off in the kernel config file "config-3.1.10". (Search for "*NVRAM_PATH*".) Also you need firmware files. Under Android these should be under "/system/vendor/firmware/". Copy them to "/lib/firmware/" or see the location in the config file (search for "*FW_DIR*"). Note that these files include subdirectories, copy with subdirectories.
7. BLUETOOTH: You need a firmware file. This should be in Android under "/system/etc/firmware/". Its name should start with "BCM4329...". In the rootfs name this "/lib/firmware/BCM4329.2.hcd". You need an executable called "brcm_patchram_plus" which loads the firmware dynamically. This goes in the rootfs into "/usr/sbin/brcm_patchram_plus". Go to the site of the Linux for Tegra R16 project of Nvidia. Download "Tegra30_Linux_R16.4.0_armhf.tbz2". Inside look for "Linux_for_Tegra/nv_tegra/nvidia_drivers.tbz2". Inside this you find the executable "/usr/sbin/brcm_patchram_plus". You need a process that automatically calls this executable. It is convenient to integrate this with ubuntu's upstart. To this end just extract the attached file "nvbt.tar.gz". It yields a file "/etc/init/patchram.conf". I have adapted this file from previous work on xda on bluetooth for linux on the tf300t or tf700t (but can't find the post now). Modify this if you want to change the name or location of the firmware file.
8. GENERAL CONFIG: To fix some general configuration parameters for the tf300t extract the attached file "nvinit.tar.gz". This yields a file "/etc/init/nv.conf". Again, this is from prvious work on xda for the tf300t or tf700t (but I can't find the relevant post now).
II. ENTER ROOTFS:
I suppose you have mounted the partition for xubuntu at "/mnt/linux", either under an existing linux or under Android.
> LC_ALL=C sudo chroot /mnt/linux
update repositories:
> apt-get update
this is useful for a smooth installation of packages:
> apt-get install dialog
now install upgrades:
> apt-get dist-upgrade
create your user:
> adduser username
> addgroup username adm
> addgroup username sudo
generate initramfs and leave chroot:
> update-initramfs -c -k 3.1.10
> exit
This generates a file "/boot/initrd.img-3.1.10". This file together with the kernel image are needed to boot into the newly set up system.
III. BOOT ROOTFS:
You should now be able to boot into the system. How this is done depends on your set up. There are lots of threads on xda devoted to this subject. You should now have a functional minimal linux system based on ubuntu 14.04.
If you want to install packages it is convenient to download these from the chroot (where wifi is available) and before booting into the system as follows:
> apt-get -d install package1 package2 ...
Then after booting, install them via,
> sudo apt-get install package1 package2 ...
The details of the further set up of the GUI and of the full xubuntu 14.04 will be described in a subsequent post.
rootfs for xubuntu 14.04 - PART 2
Here I describe the second part of the installation of the root file system (rootfs) for xubuntu 14.04 on the Asus TF300T. I assume the rootfs has been prepared as described in this post, following the steps "I. PREPARE ROOTFS" and "II. ENTER ROOTFS", but not booted yet. If it has already been booted it might (or might not) be necessary to rewrite the file "/etc/resolv.conf" to the version contained in the file "inet-setup-trusty.tar.gz" from that post. This is to ensure internet access works correctly from chroot.
I. GET REQUIRED PACKAGES
The most complicated part of getting xubuntu 14.04 to work is in the graphics drivers and libraries. Mostly, the necessary files are found on the page of the "Linux for Tegra R16" project of nvidia. Look for the Tegra 30 "Cardhu" versions. As described in my first post, the problem with this and Ubuntu 14.04 is that this version of Ubuntu uses an X server with ABI version 15. An appropriate driver is not supplied by nvidia. The latest driver version supplied by nvidia is with ABI version 14. However, I had problems with graphics corruption with this driver, so I am using the one for ABI version 13. There is a ready made package containing this in the ubuntu 13.04 repository. Get this. The filename is:
"nvidia-tegra3_16.0-0ubuntu3_armhf.deb"
(I compiled a version of this with updated source files using nvidia's latest release "16.4" for my own use, but it is somewhat complicated to do this, so I wont put the details in this post. Anyway, this version should work for most purposes.)
Since we need the X server with ABI version 13, we need to install corresponding packages that are not from ubuntu 14.04, but from previous releases. Grab the following packages:
RELEASE PACKAGE FILENAME
12.04 libxi6 libxi6_1.7.1.901-1ubuntu1~precise1_armhf.deb
13.04 xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-core_1.13.3-0ubuntu6.2_armhf.deb
13.04 libxfixes3 libxfixes3_5.0-4ubuntu5.13.04.1_armhf.deb
13.04 xserver-xorg-input-evdev xserver-xorg-input-evdev_2.7.3-0ubuntu2b2_armhf.deb
13.04 xserver-xorg-input-multitouch xserver-xorg-input-multitouch_1.0~rc2+git20110312-2build3_armhf.deb
13.04 xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-video-dummy_0.3.6-0ubuntu1_armhf.deb (this might not be needed)
13.10 libgl1-mesa-dri libgl1-mesa-dri_9.2.1-1ubuntu3_armhf.deb
There is another package needed for the X server for the touchscreen to work. Build instructions can be found on the GitHub page of user "rabits" under "tf700". I have attached the resulting package "xserver-xorg-input-mtev". Uncompressing yields:
"xserver-xorg-input-mtev_0.1.13ubuntu2_armhf.deb"
II. PLACE PACKAGES
1. Put all the 9 package files for the x server into a directory in the rootfs.
2. Enter the rootfs via chroot from Linux or Android (supposing the parition of the rootfs is mounted at "/mnt/linux")
> LC_ALL=C sudo chroot /mnt/linux
3. Go to the directory with the X server packages. Then install them:
> dpkg -i filename1 filename2 ...
4. IMPORTANT! Prevent relevant packages from being updated:
> apt-mark hold xserver-xorg-core
> apt-mark hold libxfixes3
> apt-mark hold libgl1-mesa-dri
5. Pull in dependencies:
> apt-get -f install
6. Get xubuntu packages (this takes some time depending on the speed of your internet connection) and leave:
> apt-get -d install language-pack-en
> apt-get -d install xubuntu-desktop
> exit
III. XUBUNTU INSTALL
Now, boot the rootfs.
1. Set timezone
> sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
2. Install language pack to avoid locale problems
> sudo apt-get install language-pack-en
3. Install xubuntu. (This takes some time)
> sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop
4. Produce a new initrd.img and exit
> sudo update-initramfs -c -k 3.1.10
> sudo shutdown now
Copy this from /boot/initrd.img-3.1.10 to where its needed for the boot process.
IV. FURTHER CONFIG
1. FIX AUDIO CONFIG PROBLEMS
Extract attached file "nvaudio.tar.gz" to the rootfs.
2. SET UP X INPUT DRIVERS
Extract attached file "xorg-input.tar.gz" to the rootfs.
V. BOOT XUBUNTU
Booting the rootfs should land you now in a fully working xubuntu 14.04.
There are further steps to improve the experience such as
- install nvidia codecs and player
- fix graphics corruption on resume from suspend
- install keymaps for a better keyboard experience with the dock
I hope to describe some of this in later posts in so far as it differs from solutions that other xda members have already proposed.
A final remark:
THE IDENTICAL PROCEDURE SHOULD WORK FOR INSTALLING LUBUNTU.
(Just replace "xubuntu-desktop" with "lubuntu-desktop", I have tested this once)
It does not work with standard Ubuntu (i.e. Unity) though, because that depends on the newer X server.
@Geometry
Is there any chance, that you would share your working rootfs (ofc fresh build) and others can use it? Or everyone has to follow your guide to have working rootfs and it cannot be shared?
mentosso said:
@Geometry
Is there any chance, that you would share your working rootfs (ofc fresh build) and others can use it? Or everyone has to follow your guide to have working rootfs and it cannot be shared?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would certainly be happy to share a working rootfs (understandably not the one I have been using myself for the last couple of months though). Unfortunately, I can spend very little time on this. So it is a question of finding the time to prepare a new build, then finding a free file hosting service etc. I will try to make an effort to make this happen in the near future, but can't promise anyhing at this point...
can you go more in depth in how you installed the kernel? I get some of the basics but I don't understand how to install it.
phonegeekjr said:
can you go more in depth in how you installed the kernel? I get some of the basics but I don't understand how to install it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for being very brief in this respect. One way to install the kernel would be to use the "abootimg" tool to combine the kernel with a initrd.img file into a boot image, then convert this to a blob file using "blobpack" and then flashing this to the tablet. However, this would leave you unable to run any other OS/ROM (such as any Android). So this is probably not what you want. Instead you want some multiboot/multirom system. What I use myself is a modified version of the boot kernel from the main thread which starts a script that gives me a menu and then boots the kernel/initrd.img I select via kexec-hardboot. To "install" a kernel/initrd.img you just have to store them at a place where this script can find them. If I have time I might describe my particular setup in more detail later. But for the moment my main intention is to have those that already have a setup like this be able to test a full xubuntu 14.04. Then, with the help of those experts it will be easier to generate a way to make this accessible to a large number of users.
test kernel
I provide here a test kernel, compiled as described in this post. There is one small difference compared to the description in the post. It turns out that instead of the "arm-linux-androideabi-" toolchain, the "arm-linux-gnueabihf-" toolchain works as well and I have used that. Note that the kernel is a linux only kernel that will not work with Android. The attached file can be decompressed directly into the rootfs, automatically providing all essential files (modules, config etc.) in the right place. The (compressed) kernel itself is the file "/boot/vmlinuz-3.1.10". This is the file that is often named "zImage". The kernel config file is "/boot/config-3.1.10".
The other news is that I have also built a working xubuntu 14.04 rootfs as described in his post. As soon as I find a suitable file hosting service I will make this available here.
xubuntu 14.04 rootfs
So, here is the rootfs as prepared according to this post and this post. There is one small difference in the preparation as compared to those posts. I have used a modified and updated version of the package "nvidia-tegra3", see attached file.
So the rootfs file is called "tf300t-xubuntu-rootfs.tar.gz" and can be found here. Expand this into the partition you want to use for xubuntu 14.04. It is recommendable that you replace the file "/lib/firmware/nvram.txt" with you own version from your own machine at "/data/misc/wifi/nvram.txt" in Android.
This associated kernel is also in the rootfs at "/boot/vmlinuz-3.1.10". The initial ramfs is the file "/boot/initrd.img-3.1.10". This assumes linux is in first partition "mmcblk1p1" of the external micro sd card. The username is "ubuntu" with password "ubuntu".
If you want to use a different kernel (I hope other kernels will work too, please report!) then replace the module files under "/lib/modules" and possibly some firmware files under "/lib/firmware" as necessary. Also (!) put the kernel config file in "/boot/config-3.1.10". Then enter the rootfs via chroot and generate a new initrd.img via "update-initramfs -c -k 3.1.10". It will be replace the provided one.
Also, if you want to put this on a different partition edit "/etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/specify_root_device" accordingly and generate a new initrd.img as described above.
As before I assume here that you know what to do with the kernel and the initrd.img...
Happy testing!
---
md5sum for "tf300t-xubuntu-rootfs.tar.gz" is: 46639d3af438e9c856d5951a321e203b
---
UPDATE: Here is an alternative download link for the rootfs which might provide faster download speed. Thanks to Graiden05!
@Geometry
Thank you a lot for your effort! I have a question tho, is it possible to run your rootfs and have dualboot? The best way would be to use dualboot kernel posted somewhere in the topic. If it's possible, can you briefly write how to do it?
Geometry said:
Sorry for being very brief in this respect. One way to install the kernel would be to use the "abootimg" tool to combine the kernel with a initrd.img file into a boot image, then convert this to a blob file using "blobpack" and then flashing this to the tablet. However, this would leave you unable to run any other OS/ROM (such as any Android). So this is probably not what you want. Instead you want some multiboot/multirom system. What I use myself is a modified version of the boot kernel from the main thread which starts a script that gives me a menu and then boots the kernel/initrd.img I select via kexec-hardboot. To "install" a kernel/initrd.img you just have to store them at a place where this script can find them. If I have time I might describe my particular setup in more detail later. But for the moment my main intention is to have those that already have a setup like this be able to test a full xubuntu 14.04. Then, with the help of those experts it will be easier to generate a way to make this accessible to a large number of users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
actualy converting it all to a blob file really is what I want to do. what is this program blobpack? I have googled it and didn't get much.
phonegeekjr said:
thanks
actualy converting it all to a blob file really is what I want to do. what is this program blobpack? I have googled it and didn't get much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I assume you know how to use "abootimg" to create a boot image. "blobpack" converts this into a blob file that you can flash to the staging partition. For the blob tools see this thread. However, I had problems with the version of "blobpack" from that thread. Instead, a different version of "blobpack" worked for me. I got this by going to the cyanogenmod web site and following the instructions to built cyanogenmod for the tf300t. In the build process not only cyanogenmod is built, but various tools as well. This includes a version of blobpack, called "blobpack_tfp". This worked for me. Note that I did this almost a year ago. So I am not sure an up to date version of cyanogenmod yields the same. If you are just after the blobpack tool, downloading the complete source and building cyanogenmod is a huge overkill of course. But I guess you could browse through their sources online and find exactly what you need. Hope this info helps!
mentosso said:
@Geometry
Thank you a lot for your effort! I have a question tho, is it possible to run your rootfs and have dualboot? The best way would be to use dualboot kernel posted somewhere in the topic. If it's possible, can you briefly write how to do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know of the rootfs works with this dualboot kernel. Actually, it would be great if somebody could test this! How to adapt the rootfs to another kernel is sketched in the post. However, some of the patches described here and not included in that kernel might be necessary for xubuntu 14.04 to work. But I'm not sure...
Another possibility would be to modify the kernel I described here for dualboot (or multiboot). This would require an additional kexec-hardboot patch and a modification of the initrd.img to include the kexec binary and a script that offers the boot menu.
---------- Post added at 17:01 ---------- Previous post was at 16:18 ----------
I have now announced the xubuntu 14.04 rootfs described in previous posts on the main thread here. I would like to encourage people to continue discussion there as I think that is the more appropriate place.
Hi
i would like to install xubuntu on my tablet.
I have not yet figured out what the starting point.
I currently have installed a cm11 official rom.
what i can do now? which are the steps to make dualboot working?
I can install android on the internal memory and xubuntu in sd card?
How can i make this work? I've to many doubts to start flashing and install stuffs right now.
Thanks in advance.
Journey through the build process
Android is based on the Linux Kernel. Read on Wikipedia .
Before we get started, I created a binary long ago and thought I'd share it which helps you quickly setup your environment. If you're new to this, select option 3 and it should setup the environment for you. make sure to run it with `sudo` perms something like
Bash:
sudo ./setupEnv
. This will basically install library dependencies and set CCACHE=1 also size of ccache to a max of 15GiB(recommended). It should set your swappiness to 10 so that kernel doesnt swap out memory and lesser IO access == faster compile times. Now that that's over. Let's get into business!
Before we begin you must know at least the slightest of :
1. Java
2. C/C++
3. Makefiles
Knowing these will help you debug the ROM as well as solve any compile issues.
Short description about the folders present:
ART: Default Runtime used in lollipop
Bionic - the C-runtime for Android. It's mostly on BSD-derived sources. In this folder you will find the source for the c-library, math and other core runtime libraries.
Bootable: Contains the source for recovery.
Build - the build system implementation including all the core make file templates.
Device - product specific code for different devices.
External - contains source code for all external open source projects such as SQLite, Freetype and webkit.
Frameworks - this folder is essential to Android since it contains the sources for the framework. Consists of native libraries and core Java classes required for android. Example(ListView,TextView) classes are present here.
Hardware - hardware related source code such as the Android hardware abstraction layer specification and implementation. Also contains RIL implementations.
Kernel- Contains the sources for the Android version of the Linux kernel.
Packages - contains the source code for the default applications
Prebuilt - contains files that are distributed in binary form for convenience. Examples include the cross compilations toolchains for different development machines.
System - source code files for the core Android system. That is the minimal Linux system that is started before the VM and any java based services are enabled. This includes the source code for the init process and the default init.rc script that provide the dynamic configuration of the platform.
Read more about it at http://elinux.org/Android-4.0.3_r1. It's ICS but still gives a understanding of what each folder contains.
setupEnv
You should be able to setup build environment and initialise repository needed through my binary.
The device tree
.Contains the necessary PRODUCT_PACKAGES specified by your makefile which suits your device.
.CPU architecture, Partition size everything is set here.
.A skeleton tree can be created using
Code:
./build/tools/device/mkvendor.sh vendor devicename pathtoboot.img
.Doing this will provide a prebuilt kernel and not an inline kernel build process. using a prebuilt kernel is deprecated since it might not work correctly with the ROM you're building
.Custom init files are set here(Different radio types)
.Custom overlays for your device is set here.
.Custom init scripts are set here
Lets examine each of these files:
BoardConfig.mk
This file contains vital architectual and build information about the architecture of your device's motherboard, CPU, and other hardware. Getting this file right is essential.
To get a basic recovery booting, a few parameters need to be set in this file.
The following parameters must be set properly in BoardConfig to compile a working recovery image:
TARGET_ARCH: this is the architecture of the device it is usually something like arm or omap3.
BOARD_KERNEL_CMDLINE: not all devices pass boot parameters however if your device does this must be filled out properly in order to boot successfully. You can find this information in the ramdisk.img. (You can learn more about configuring the integrated kernel build-from-source here.)
BOARD_KERNEL_PAGESIZE: the pagesize of the stock boot.img and must be set properly in order to boot. Typical values for this are 2048 and 4096 and this information can be extracted from the stock kernel.
BOARD_BOOTIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE: the number of bytes allocated to the kernel image partition.
BOARD_RECOVERYIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE: the number of bytes allocated to the recovery image partition.
BOARD_SYSTEMIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE: the number of bytes allocated to the Android system filesystem partition.
BOARD_USERDATAIMAGE_PARTITION_SIZE: the number of bytes allocated to the Android data filesystem partition.
Note:
The above information can be obtained by multiplying the size from /proc/partitions or /proc/mtd by the block size, typically 1024.
BOARD_HAS_NO_SELECT_BUTTON: (optional), use this if your device needs to use its Power button to confirm selections in recovery.
BOARD_FORCE_RAMDISK_ADDRESS / BOARD_MKBOOTIMG_ARGS: (optional), use these to force a specific address for the ramdisk. This is usually needed on larger partitions in order for the ramdisk to be loaded properly where it's expected to exist. This value can be obtained from the stock kernel. The former is deprecated as of Android 4.2.x and the latter will now be used in 4.2.x and beyond.
device_[codename].mk
The device_codename.mk makefile contains instructions about which Android packages to build , and where to copy specific files and packages, or specific properties to set during your compilation .
This file can be used to copy vital files into the ramdisk at compilation time.
PRODUCT_COPY_FILES: used to copy files during compilation into the ramdisk, which will be located at $OUT/recovery/root.
Example:
$(LOCAL_PATH)/sbin/offmode_charging:recovery/root/sbin/offmode_charging \
This will copy the file offmode_charging binary into the sbin folder within the ramdisk.
PRODUCT_NAME / PRODUCT_DEVICE: used for setting the value of your codename. This is the name of the device you load with Lunch.
This is simply the prebuilt kernel image or a kernel you built yourself used to boot the device. The format of the kernel may be in a zImage or uImage , depending on the requirements of the architecture of your device.
cm.mk
You'll need to make a few changes to this file to integrate with the lunch , brunch , and breakfast commands, so that your device shows up on the list and builds properly. You'll also set some variables (see other devices) to indicate what size splash animation should be used, whether this is a tablet or phone, etc.
Some of these settings aren't used for building just the recovery, but you may as well set them now because once recovery is done and working, the settings here will be important.
Again, take a look at a similar device to yours to get an idea of what the settings here should be. It's fairly intuitive.
recovery.fstab
recovery.fstab defines the file system mount point , file system type , and block device for each of the partitions in your device. It works almost exactly like /etc/fstab in a standard Linux operating system.
Example:
/system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p32
This sets the block device at mmcblk0p32 to be mounted on /system as filesystem type ext4
All mountpoints should exist in this file and it is crucial this information be correct or else very bad things can happen, such as a recovery flash writing to the wrong location.
Note:
The filesystem type datamedia can be used for internal sdcards as well as setting the block device to /dev/null.
vendorsetup.sh
vendorsetup.sh is called when setupenv.sh is run. It is used to add non-standard lunch combos to the lunch menu.
To add your device to the lunch menu:
add_lunch_combo cm_<codename>-userdebug
Then build a test recovery image
wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_porting_intro
Vendor tree.
.Contains proprietary files/libraries
Examples: Vendor RIL, camera libraries
Once you have all this set up, you need to
Bash:
cd pathToSource
. build/envsetup.sh
lunch device_lunch_name
make recoveryimage/bacon/bootimage/Package/framework/library...
# Output generated in the out/target/product/devicename/
Download executable here : https://github.com/MasterAwesome/environment_setup/blob/master/Release/setupEnv?raw=true
I have added only Cyanogenmod and AOSP to my executable for creating a repository, for others someone fork my repo and create a pull request, if its suitable i'll merge and upload a newer version.
AOSP Guide : https://source.android.com/source/building.html
Cyanogenmod Docs : http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Development
Debugging
Debugging
This can be done using an IDE or by logcats.
Option 1(logcats) :
These provide logs which are created by android.util.log which is used in the Java Classes. They are used to log information as well as errors at runtime. Logcats and dmesg help debug most of the issues.
Option 2(IDE):
Setup a particular IDE(Eclipse or IntelliJ Idea)
Intellij: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_import_to_intellij, https://shuhaowu.com/blog/setting_up_intellij_with_aosp_development.html
Eclipse: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_eclipse
Once you've done that
1)https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/android-system-level-javac-code-debugging
OR
Once you've imported your source code, you can add breakpoints to your modifications(if any) and then Remote debug it
Code:
Right-click "Remote Java Application", select "New".
Pick a name, i.e. "android-debug" or anything you like.
Set the "Project" to your android project name.
Keep the Host set to "localhost", but change Port to 8700.
Click the "Debug" button and you should be all set.
Then go to DDMS perspective and select a process you want to debug (select the process in the list of processes and then click on green bug icon).
Now you can switch to debug perspective.
.
I personally prefer eclipse for debugging maybe because I'm used to it, you should go with which ever is easier for you.
FAQ
FAQ
Will this tool work with all Linux distros?
No. It'll work with everything which uses apt-get(Debian based Distros){Ubuntu,Linux Mint,Elementary OS are some}
Once the tool completes installing and setting up what do I need to do?
Assuming you also initialised the repo using the tool, you could go to the folder and repo sync to start downloading the source code. Follow the build instructions after downloading(In post #1)
Why does this executable required elevated permissions
apt-get install can only install if elevated permissions are given, also, changing sysctl(/proc) also require `sudo` permissions.
How do I trust the tool with sudo permissions, can't that ruin my OS?
Since the executable uses system() calls, I've uploaded the source at GitHub and you can build it yourself. Instructions for building : README.md
Any other questions? post a reply and please dont quote the entire post.
Have a great day
Mac support is on the way...
Sent from my Moto G using XDA Free mobile app
.Mac support added.
.makefile added to provide a simpler build process
Using for Mac
.Download the source code.
.You need to install Xcode from App Store.
.type make make mac
./setupEnvMac to execute it.
Hi all,
I am trying to start the android emulator with the stock firmware package: G930FXXU1DQAN_G930FFTM1DQAD_FTM.zip.
This package is for Android 7.0.0_r1 and for the Samsung Galaxy S7 (heolte) European/German version.
I unzipped it and located fin AP/boot.img the zImage, ramdisk.img(or ramdisk.cpio.gz) and the system.img .
The android emulator uses the kernel-ranchu, ramdisk.img and system.img to start.
My virtual device profile is ARM64 with the Samsung Galaxy S7 profile settings from a guide and the samsung/developer page.
If I start the emulator from the cmdline with the default files:
Code:
emulator @ARM64 -kernel kernel-ranchu -system system.img -ramdisk ramdisk.img -no-snapshot-load -memory 4096
the emulator boots like it should do.
If I change kernel, system, ramdisk and start the emulator with the cmd:
Code:
emulator @ARM64 -kernel zImage -system system.img -ramdisk ramdisk.img -no-snapshot-load -memory 4096
the cmd returns with this error message:
qemu-system-aarch64: Trying to execute code outside RAM or ROM at 0x0000000000000200
This usually means one of the following happened:
(1) You told QEMU to execute a kernel for the wrong machine type, and it crashed on startup (eg trying to run a raspberry pi kernel on a versatilepb QEMU machine)
(2) You didn't give QEMU a kernel or BIOS filename at all, and QEMU executed a ROM full of no-op instructions until it fell off the end
(3) Your guest kernel has a bug and crashed by jumping off into nowhere
This is almost always one of the first two, so check your command line and that you are using the right type of kernel for this machine.
If you think option (3) is likely then you can try debugging your guest with the -d debug options; in particular -d guest_errors will cause the log to include a dump of the guest register state at this point.
Execution cannot continue; stopping here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) aarch64 and ARM64 are used so this should be no problem.
2) Maybe?! But the zImage looks fine(inspected with binwalk)
3) It is a zImage/kernel without changes
I looked in the forum section but there is no comparable thread.
Is there any misunderstanding from my side?
Is the emulator with this stock package in this way bootable?
Or do I have to modify the zImage?
Every help or hint is appreciated, Thanks
I don't believe the S7 Kernel can actually load a standard google system.img though. Does the SS Kernel have a ranchu init like it does on the older S6 exynos ramdisks? Because on the G920/5 the kernel came with files as to potentially boot it from qemu such as, fstab.goldfish, init.goldfish.rc, and ueventd.goldfish.rc.
But this was on the Exynos SoC line, I never noticed anything like this on the Snapdragon variants.
The Stock firmware on those S6 devices have options available to technically be booted up with an aarch64 QEMU/Emulator, but the mobile device mobo prevents this with the stock configuration.
I still feel that even today, we could still take an ARM64-v8a QEMU and have the stock firmware options changed in order to be booted in an emulator, I swear I've seen it done at least once.
But the Samsung Kernel expects to load up the Samsung System Image. SS has modified a lot of the AOSP code, and is why many of their devices still cannot load an AOSP system image even with Project Treble.
But if you can essentially get the QEMU bootloader to load up the SS Kernel and system image, there should be no reason it won't work. It'd be nice if I could even figure out how to get the sboot to load up in QEMU for a full hardware virtualization.
Because that is one my goals still, to load up the G925 or N920 FW into QEMU to look through in a more safe environment.
https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/arm/virt.html
I just had read that page a few moments ago before coming across this post..
Guest code can rely on and hard-code the following addresses:
Flash memory starts at address 0x0000_0000
RAM starts at 0x4000_0000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may be wrong, because I'm pretty much guessing.. but I think that has something to do with it..
Modify the kernel to fit the firmware.. or perhaps vice versa.. one I'm sure is a lot harder.... there's always an easy way
Hello, i'm new to the forum (even though i've snooped around here a handful of times before) and this is my first post.
I've got a Xiaomi Mi MIX which i've rooted and uploaded a void linux rootfs which i've managed to mount & chroot. My goal is to be able to kill zygote (or at least hide it) whenever i plug in a monitor to the phone.
I've gotten several desktop environments & window managers to run fine with XSDL Xserver, but i can't get Xorg to run. It i's giving me an error about /dev/tty0 not existing, which i found true when i checked. In my /dev i've got "tty" and some "ttyHS0" (which, by the way, i have no idea what it is) but no virtual consoles like /dev/tty1 or /dev/tty0
So i decided to install an arm android emulator and i saw it had all those ttys, so i thought i could just look where in the init*.rc they were being added but i was unable to find where they were created.
I also, on both devices, tried to create my own tty with
Code:
mknod /dev/foo c 4 1
. Of course it seemed to work on the emulator but not on my phone. Then, being new to "low level" linux, i thought that maybe getty has to be run to "start" the created node - like in /etc/inittab? But i can't find any getty executable on either the emulator or my device.
tl;dr
How can i spawn virtual consoles (/dev/ttyNN) so that i can run Xorg on my android device?
Thanks in advance
Edit 2018-07-30:
I can see by running cat /proc/tty/drivers that there is no virtual terminal drivers available, so that explains the No such device or address error mentioned in the comment below. I suspect that the kernel running on Xiaomi Mi MIX is compiled without virtual terminal support. I'm not experienced with the linux kernel but i will see if i can somehow add a driver or install a different kernel with VT support enabled.
No such device or address
Some more information:
If i run the following two commands
1. mknod /dev/tty1 c 4 1
2. strace echo "hello" > /dev/tty1
I get an error saying "can't create /dev/tty1: No such device or address"
Could it be some option in the kernel that causes it to not get "hooked" to the terminal?
Config_vt config_tty
After browsing the source for the Xiaomi Mi MIX Lithium kernel i see that CONFIG_VT and CONFIG_TTY are unset by default which causes the kernel to exclude those drivers. So the answer is that i have to recompile a custom kernel in order to add virtual terminals.