Database Info

How to Port a ROM to Milestone2

As lately some people are asking me about ROM porting I decided to create this new thread where we can share knowledge about this hard task.
Please note this is a Dev talk thread, so DON'T ASK about fixing a particular ROM problem here. Also don't ask questions like "My phone is bricked! please help!". This IS NOT the appropriate place for it. There are plenty of other threads to help you out.
Also note that this is not a step by step guide (and not a guide at all), it's just a point where you can start from. Android is a very complex system and there are many things I don't know yet. So, research and hard work is what you need to learn it deeply. My first tip is Google really works. Don't be afraid to search
Ok, to the basics. Porting a ROM is no simple task. It requires advanced understanding of how android works and how it is organized. Previous Linux/Unix knowledge helps A LOT. As android is based on this O.S. there are many similarities between both. In fact many ppl consider android to be a kind of linux distro.
The very first task to port a ROM is finding a device which is compatible with your own. For example Defy/Milestone2. Then you are going to choose a ROM to port to your device.
As our devices (Milestone2) have a locked bootloader we now need to find a system image that have a compatible kernel with the ROM we are trying to port. This is mainly based on trial and test and takes a long time. You'll be ending flashing your phone several times with RSD Lite. You should learn how to use MotoAndroidDepacker and how to create a fixed SBF.
The basic procedure to try that:
1. Open original ROM update.zip and remove any files/commands that flashes boot/devtree/recovery/anything.
2. Install this new file on your phone via CW Recovery.
3. Boot into bootmenu and enable ADB so you can read logcat while phone boots.
4. Choose Boot/Normal. If your ROM uses 2nd-init you will need to place/edit/adapt bootscripts into bootmenu 2nd-init folder.
5. Check logcat for errors:
- If you're getting HAL errors you're going to need a new kernel;
- If you can start android without getting HAL errors but still getting errors and bootloop on android animation you should try to replace libs with appropriate original ones.
6. Once you are able to boot android you should test it's features to see what needs to be fixed.
This is what I have to say for now. The thread is now open for discussion.

At this week, motorola has just pushed the GB official update for Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global....
Can i try to port this new rom to milestone 2 and after a success boot, fix the radio..??
I was asking that, because some people has success on port CM7 to milestone 1, when it originally maked for droid 1...
tks a lot..!!

jorgebaruchi said:
At this week, motorola has just pushed the GB official update for Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global....
Can i try to port this new rom to milestone 2 and after a success boot, fix the radio..??
I was asking that, because some people has success on port CM7 to milestone 1, when it originally maked for droid 1...
tks a lot..!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may be possible, but you'll have a hard time fixing the baseband.
You may have to mod the init.rc scripts and find the right radio binaries (rild is one of them) and drivers.
Ask those ms1 people for help, if they are still with the same phone...
Sent from my Milestone 2 XDA App

I don't know if this will be relevant or not.
I wanted to know if to do any of this, having a Linux distro as OS a must or can I try my hands at it on a windows based machine. I mean I'm sure that a Linux distro will give certain advantages (as Android is based on UNIX/Linux) but can we get things to work a 100% on windows.
If yes, then will someone be kind enough to get give the list of all softwares etc. which will be required to do the job on Windows machine as well as a Linux machine.
I do know a few softwares but I'm not sure if I have an exhaustive list. I would like to learn and try and at least be able to modify in bits n pieces to begin with.
I apologize if this wasn't supposed to be asked in this thread.

The only thing i can get from SBF is a bunch of smg files.
But the only ones i can open are
preinstall.smg
CG39.smg
Is there a way to open/see the rest?
2)
Im trying to modify the CM7 rom, what boot does it use? 2nd-init or 2nd-boot?

i guess it is second-init. but not sure

thanks a lot for this !!!

WeeDv2 said:
The only thing i can get from SBF is a bunch of smg files.
But the only ones i can open are
preinstall.smg
CG39.smg
Is there a way to open/see the rest?
2)
Im trying to modify the CM7 rom, what boot does it use? 2nd-init or 2nd-boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMG files are disk images of certain partitions of your flash memory.
You can only open CG39.smg and preinstall (CG66.smg) because they are the only images in ext3 format. The rest of images may be on ramdisk format or some proprietary format. For more details on partition codes take a look here:
http://and-developers.com/partitions:cdt
You may be able to open and see contents of other partitions but the only one that matters aside from system and preinstall is the boot partition (CG35.smg), which contains the init scripts we should mod in order to make they work with 2nd-init. Boot partition is in ramdrive format. More details here:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
http://elinux.org/Android_on_OMAP
It is easier to unpack boot image using Dsixda's Kitchen here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246
Edit: To see what boot your CM7 uses just go inside /system/bootmenu/config and look for a file called default_bootmode.conf. That should be the boot method used. It's normally 2nd-init.

sahilarora911 said:
I don't know if this will be relevant or not.
I wanted to know if to do any of this, having a Linux distro as OS a must or can I try my hands at it on a windows based machine. I mean I'm sure that a Linux distro will give certain advantages (as Android is based on UNIX/Linux) but can we get things to work a 100% on windows.
If yes, then will someone be kind enough to get give the list of all softwares etc. which will be required to do the job on Windows machine as well as a Linux machine.
I do know a few softwares but I'm not sure if I have an exhaustive list. I would like to learn and try and at least be able to modify in bits n pieces to begin with.
I apologize if this wasn't supposed to be asked in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, this is the right place
As for your question: yes you can work in windows if you like, but using at least a Linux VM is more productive. I don't have a full list of applications to give you, as different mods may require different tools, but I advice you to have at least:
- Notepad++ (essential for editing text files and keeping linux end-line format);
- dsixda's Android Kitchen (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246)
- 7zip (or some other compress tool you like)
- Moded putty for ADB as working with windows command prompt really suck (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803225)
- Oracle Virtual Box (if you are going to use linux VM).

r2beta0 said:
SMG files are disk images of certain partitions of your flash memory.
You can only open CG39.smg and preinstall (CG66.smg) because they are the only images in ext3 format. The rest of images may be on ramdisk format or some proprietary format. For more details on partition codes take a look here:
http://and-developers.com/partitions:cdt
You may be able to open and see contents of other partitions but the only one that matters aside from system and preinstall is the boot partition (CG35.smg), which contains the init scripts we should mod in order to make they work with 2nd-init. Boot partition is in ramdrive format. More details here:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
http://elinux.org/Android_on_OMAP
It is easier to unpack boot image using Dsixda's Kitchen here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246
Edit: To see what boot your CM7 uses just go inside /system/bootmenu/config and look for a file called default_bootmode.conf. That should be the boot method used. It's normally 2nd-init.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again r2beta

thanks r2beta0
- Notepad++ -- got it
- dsixda's Android Kitchen -- downloaded (need some link for a how-to on its usage)
- 7zip -- got it
- Moded putty for ADB -- got it
- Oracle Virtual Box -- can't install Linux on my system as this is a work machine
dunno if I can do without the last option.

sahilarora911 said:
thanks r2beta0
- Notepad++ -- got it
- dsixda's Android Kitchen -- downloaded (need some link for a how-to on its usage)
- 7zip -- got it
- Moded putty for ADB -- got it
- Oracle Virtual Box -- can't install Linux on my system as this is a work machine
dunno if I can do without the last option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oracle Virtual Box is an application that lets you run an operational system on a virtual machine, in other words, it doesn't install linux on your real computer. It's a very useful tool that I use everyday. Google for it and learn a bit, you won't be disappointed. About kitchen: the link I provided was download + guide. Read it again. If necessary read the full thread.

r2beta0 said:
Oracle Virtual Box is an application that lets you run an operational system on a virtual machine, in other words, it doesn't install linux on your real computer. It's a very useful tool that I use everyday. Google for it and learn a bit, you won't be disappointed. About kitchen: the link I provided was download + guide. Read it again. If necessary read the full thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know a bit about virtual box but as I said I'm not allowed to have softwares not approved by the IT team to be present on the system. Though I can get away with small things like notepad++ and 7-zip, having virtual box on my system may raise some eye brows.
I'm trying to arrange an alternative system.

Me neither. I must do almost everything at home, and at this very moment I simply don't have any free time. I'm afraid you're not going to see me here very often anymore (maybe in a few months? a year? well, it might be a bit too late for milestone2...)

hi. Have a question, I want to remove baseband from a flashable zip (lets say, CM7 from Tezet) , is it posible? I dont know where to look for it (baseband). Thanks!!

Baseband is located in \system\etc\motorola\bp_nvm_default\
But don't remove it, just replace it with files from ROM, which have baseband you want.

---UFO--- said:
Baseband is located in \system\etc\motorola\bp_nvm_default\
But don't remove it, just replace it with files from ROM, which have baseband you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks for the info.
Sent from my A953 using XDA

Hi All,
Just a quick question. I have ported Paranoid Android 2.10 to MS2 but the problem I am facing is that Reboot goes through Bootmenu and I have to choose reboot from Bootmenu again.
Any inputs?
Thanks in advance

Megalith27 said:
Hi All,
Just a quick question. I have ported Paranoid Android 2.10 to MS2 but the problem I am facing is that Reboot goes through Bootmenu and I have to choose reboot from Bootmenu again.
Any inputs?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant to get to it last night, but I was tired after work and fell asleep watch tv. Eventually, later tonight, I'll be uploading PA for MS2. Check my Defy PA thread in 12-14 hours cause I'm about to go to work and I'm not gonna feel like making a MS2 PA thread or updating my Bravo PA thread -- but the Defy Thread is always up to date when I put out new roms.
Also, I'm looking to get either a Defy or MS2 -- I've heard that there's 3G issues with AT&T users (which I am) with the MS2 -- Apparently the MS2 has different 3G frequencies than AT&T. Are there any AT&T MS2 users who are knowledgeable about that? While I can deal with no 3G, edge only, calls only -- I need to make sure I can at least do that before I commit to something.
I'd rather have the MS2 because I want a hw keyboard and I don't have the $300+ to try and get a Photon Q LTE from eBay (and I don't have to change up my repos if I get a MS2). If anyone here knows of a phone that's AT&T compatible, Defy code compatible, and has a keyboard, please let me know.
Thanks.
//Normally I'd post the latter half in the Q&A section, but ya'll don't have one so I'm just gonna piggyback
//My Bravo doesn't have a Q&A page either -- it needs one that's not my PM box...Don't PM me on how to root your phone and flash CM7 -- read one of the 5 guides on the first page of both General & Dev...:silly:

Ok devs need some help here.
I am trying to port a rom to our Milestone 2...but it bootloops on rom animation.
I tried to logcat it but I don't think it gets as far as adb server to detect the device.and just keeps saying "waiting for device"...so I end up with no logcat to diagnose the problem.
I can logcat my current working rom but only after the phone boots....am i missing something here? please, help
Any help is very much appretiated.
Thanks a lot in advance

[Q] Q: BackTrack 5 ARM (with GUI via TightVNCServer)

EDIT: Found it - I was looking at BT 5 R1 instead of just version 5, which has a release for 'arm'. Inside, there is a magical README file... finally!
-----
I apologize in advance for the rookie question but: I'm trying to follow the simple instructions from this link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1074723 in order to install BT5 on my rooted Xoom. However, I'm stuck at two very basic steps:
- Backtrack 5 for ARM with Gnome downloaded and setup (check the README file, and follow the instructions.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the given link (http://www.backtrack-linux.org/downloads/) you are presented with 2 versions for the GNOME flavor: ISO and VM - which one is the correct one?
Also, where exactly is this elusive README file that should tell me how to set everything up?? I don't see anything on the BT website to do specifically with the XOOM and the downloaded files (ISO or VM image) don't have any README file to go with them either...
Such simple thing... I'm sure it's just staring me in the face but it's driving me crazy! Thanks in advance...

Stock Android/Linux software images by Planet Computers

The Gemini PDA has native Android + dual boot Linux support, and Planet Computers have provided a flashing tool for firmware.
There is a detailed guide on the flashing process of either Android and Linux available on their support page.
A flash guide for Linux is also available through there, along with a flash tool and drivers.
This thread will feature the stock image firmware for both Android & Linux.
In this thread I will also provide direct download links to those images.
Android:
Android firmware v1.0 (Nougat)
Rooted boot-verified.img (replace in above build)
Linux:
Debian Technology Preview build

Hey thre,
Does the PDA handle system apps differently? I've been trying to remove some system apps, for instance, Google Play Movies and TV, but my app remover, that has worked on my past three phones, is having trouble getting root access. I've used root checkers, and replaced the rooted boot img. in the Android foler myself.
I guess its just not rooted.
Any tips?
Thanks.

What about WIFI only device rooting?
Which image should i use?
Also I see that your link points to version 1.1 of the firmware.
Is it still compatible with rooted img?
Also is this new 1.1 version the one that users complain about battery draining?

Does anyone have the link to download the Partition Tool? The link they keep mentioned on the Support site just leads to a "Coming Soon" page: http://support.planetcom.co.uk/partitionTool.html

deleted, problem getting torrent seeding to work, sorry

when I get seeding to work, I'll update my posts

Is it possible to build android on non Google Phone?

I have an old Samsung phone running on Marshmallow. I want to build android and flash it on the old phone. Many take Google Pixel to show how to do it and say it’s not possible to do it on non-Google device. Is there a way to get around it?

KrishnaD3V said:
I have an old Samsung phone running on Marshmallow. I want to build android and flash it on the old phone. Many take Google Pixel to show how to do it and say it’s not possible to do it on non-Google device. Is there a way to get around it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. Here's some reading material on how to build a custom Android operating system. https://www.androidauthority.com/build-custom-android-rom-720453/
If it all seems too much, you could instead install a custom Android operating system prebuilt by others. One such example is LineageOS which has its own website and installation instructions.
You will have to first determine the exact model and sub-variant of your Samsung phone.
Then determine whether it is network carrier unlocked.
Then determine whether the bootloader is allowed to be unlocked (allow oem unlocking).
LineageOS Downloads
download.lineageos.org

Thanks for the reply
Do you know how to obtain proprietary binaries for a device?

KrishnaD3V said:
Thanks for the reply
Do you know how to obtain proprietary binaries for a device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the the exact device model? (Go to settings =>About phone) (or in the dialler, type *#0*# then tap on 'version'). Then search the XDA forum for that device, then spend some time scrolling through the posts to find the info you're searching for. https://forum.xda-developers.com/c/samsung.11975/

*#0*# doesn’t give any option for version. So I thought to see in settings. What ‘version’ should I look for?

Go to settings =>About phone
Look for a code which which looks similar to SM-GTI9100

KrishnaD3V said:
Thanks for the reply
Do you know how to obtain proprietary binaries for a device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either extract them from phone's Stock ROM file, or pull them out of phone.

zpunout said:
Go to settings =>About phone
Look for a code which which looks similar to SM-GTI9100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s SM-A800I running android 6.0.1 . And it’s not on the list that you sent. What can I do?

jwoegerbauer said:
Either extract them from phone's Stock ROM file, or pull them out of phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have the stock rom file but I can’t find guide on how to do so. I found a video where person extracts it from lineage os. Is the process going to be the same? And by the way does it matter which version of stock rom I have because the phone came with android 5 and I updated it to 6 with official update.

KrishnaD3V said:
It’s SM-A800I running android 6.0.1 . And it’s not on the list that you sent. What can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, there's not much development on that device, I read somewhere that Samsung supposedly never released the source code. It is hard to search for, but I did find this link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...al-cyanogenmod-13-for-galaxy-a800f-i.3344081/
I did find out that the nickname of your SM-A800I model is "a8hplte" which might help you in search engines.
Looks like a dead end to me though.

KrishnaD3V said:
I do have the stock rom file but I can’t find guide on how to do so. I found a video where person extracts it from lineage os. Is the process going to be the same? And by the way does it matter which version of stock rom I have because the phone came with android 5 and I updated it to 6 with official update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The so-called binary blobs are kinds of hardware drivers, you can't simply extract them of a Custom ROM, you have to extract them from a phone's original Stock ROM, as I told you this already earlier.
These binary blobs typically are found under /vendor/lib(64), some also under /system, /etc and /bin.
Most of the blobs are executable files or libraries, run as independent services on phone's boot.

jwoegerbauer said:
The so-called binary blobs are kinds of hardware drivers, you can't simply extract them of a Custom ROM, you have to extract them from a phone's original Stock ROM, as I told you this already earlier.
These binary blobs typically are found under /vendor/lib(64), some also under /system, /etc and /bin.
Most of the blobs are executable files or libraries, run as independent services on phone's boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info

zpunout said:
Yeah, there's not much development on that device, I read somewhere that Samsung supposedly never released the source code. It is hard to search for, but I did find this link: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...al-cyanogenmod-13-for-galaxy-a800f-i.3344081/
I did find out that the nickname of your SM-A800I model is "a8hplte" which might help you in search engines.
Looks like a dead end to me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so beginner friendly I guess . I try my luck extracting the blobs as described by
jwoegerbauer.​

General Android desktop mode can also run the Linux desktop

Hi,
We make a VolksPC Debian Linux distribution that can run as an application on top of the official Android 12 firmware. We have tested this on Android 12 Build number S1RTS32.41-20-16-1-5. You will have to unlock the bootloader for installation. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR DEVICE. Our initial plan was to base this on Lineage OS but unfortunately it doesn't have any support for Android desktop mode. Please check www.volkspc.org for a free download as well as our YouTube channel to see a video clip of this in action.
Regards
VolksPC

Looks like there is newer version, Build number S1RTS32.41-20-16-1-9 , and our release also works with it.

How does it work, does the virtual machine?

It is not a VM, it runs natively. You can think of Android as just another Linux distribution that uses a different graphics stack aka Surface Flinger. Our graphics stack is designed to work with both X11 and Surface Flinger. Our FAQ page provides more details.

It works great, thanks

VolksPC said:
It is not a VM, it runs natively. You can think of Android as just another Linux distribution that uses a different graphics stack aka Surface Flinger. Our graphics stack is designed to work with both X11 and Surface Flinger. Our FAQ page provides more details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. It seems to me that the 3D acceleration tests are insufficient. In Termux you can run 3D applications normally and they are playable (I was running Trigger Rally). glxinfo doesn't say anything if there is 3D acceleration or not.
It is a pity that the project is not fully open source

Hi, my device is moto edge s which is a Chinese version of g100. I follow the installation steps and click `Start VolksPc desktop` button. It can't start and complains `Could not load driver`.

Check that you have successfully flashed our volkspc-boot.img . But make sure you have the original boot.img for your firmware, that way if your phone fails to boot you can go back to the original image.

VolksPC said:
Check that you have successfully flashed our volkspc-boot.img . But make sure you have the original boot.img for your firmware, that way if your phone fails to boot you can go back to the original image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it works now. I can't find any information about flashing boot.img is needed. Is it safe?
I only know that the boot.img needs to be flashed if unlocking bootload.

KevinHwang91 said:
Thanks, it works now. I can't find any information about flashing boot.img is needed. Is it safe?
I only know that the boot.img needs to be flashed if unlocking bootload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlocking the bootloader voids your warranty but after that it is reasonably safe and easy to flash any boot.img.