Related
Seeing all the work being done over in the dev section, I was reminded of something I did when modding my xbox. The boot img for the xbox is very small, it basically just looks for various executable files in order from different places and then fails if it doesn't find them..and that's all it does, so it is much smaller than an entire ROM, 256k to be exact. The thing is the chip it was contained on in earlier models of the xbox were 1MB, 4 times what was needed. By shorting out the board on the TSOP one could use a physical switch to toggle how much of the chip was visible to the CPU, and you could in essence split this chip into four banks, and flash 4 different boot images if you wanted (although you needed a 4 position switch and a hell of a lot of 32 gauge wire + patience). Since that was really overkill, what I did was split the TSOP into 2 banks and flashed 2 separate bootloaders, one could remain stable and near stock, as to maintain all the function of the xbox, while with a flick of the switch I could boot from and flash the other bank experimentally, if it failed to flash or got stuck in a bootloop then you could switch over and reflash from the working side, keeping it from being brickable.
Now, of course we have much more control over a rooted android device's hardware via software than the xbox has, and can dual boot without adding switches and soldering the board (at least in the case of ubuntu), I was wondering is there any way to get a Eee Pad dual-booting from two ANDROID partitions, so one could boot and flash developing roms (like the ICS rom coming along in the dev section) while maintaining a safe bootable img that works as a safeguard?
Or does hardware limit this function in our machines?
It may be possible to do so by installing one of the ROMs to the recovery partition like we can do with Ubuntu.
I'm sure something like Boot Manager, that stores ROMs on the SD card, could be put in place for dual booting.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA App
Does recovery boot from the internal SD card or does it flash to an internal EEPROM chip?
I know the ROM itself is on the SDcard internally like any OS, wondering if there might be a way of getting the bootloader to actually search for a file on the external SD card and if it doesn't find it search for the same sys file that the OS uses on the internal?
On the xbox, the OS file was initiated by launching a single file, named default.xbe (xbe=xbox executable files), and all autorun files on the discs were also named 'default.xbe'..is this an option to actually change the initialization of the bootloader to search for the OS on the external before trying to boot from the internal OR conversely simply partitioning the interanl (though I don't know how you would go about getting the bootloader to differentiate between one partition and the other, much less have control of which it chooses to load/flash, without perhaps an intermediate 'OS selection' option)
this is not an xbox.
EDIT: however there would be a way to boot 2 android partitions, it would just require a very different set up to what you are saying. you are stuck in the minimalist xbox approach that has a small microkernel which can only run one executable at a time
I know it isn't an xbox, but that is the only linux-based system I've got experience hardware modding, I assume the TF could assume a similar function without hardware modifications..?
On another note- I just found out that there is an Android PS3 emulator (WOW) wondering how far off an Xbox360 emulator is from being ported from PC to Android..that would give someone a reason to want to dual boot...would be a novel thing to turn on the TF and be greeted by a gaming console boot animation
luna_c666 said:
I know it isn't an xbox, but that is the only linux-based system I've got experience hardware modding, I assume the TF could assume a similar function without hardware modifications..?
On another note- I just found out that there is an Android PS3 emulator (WOW) wondering how far off an Xbox360 emulator is from being ported from PC to Android..that would give someone a reason to want to dual boot...would be a novel thing to turn on the TF and be greeted by a gaming console boot animation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, xbox is winnt based not linux based
I understood it was UNIX based, at least the EVOX and UNLEASHX dashboards were, I wrote code for them and had to study UNIX in order to do so..I'm sure the OEM xbox stuff was MS proprietary, but everyone went to UNIX based dashboards instead, even installing DSL (Damn Small Linux). I even got a ported version of Windows CT running in a Linux application on the OEM Xbox, but now we are getting way off topic- my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the xbox isn't what's in question, rather my desire to learn MORE about the TF..how about giving me some constructive information instead of simply trying to tell me I am wrong here?
ok yes, we are getting away from the point, as I said, yes it could be done but not quite in the way you propose, it is a fair bit of work.
Check out the ubuntu project for android,
It creates two partitions by using your recovery area.
But the end result is that you a boot android or b boot ubuntu arm. (Don't get excited with arm ubuntu 90% of what I wanted to do I couldn't since its arm.
But my point is, I bet that could be easily modified replacing the ubuntu image with another android image and maybe some other stuff to "dual boot" your tf101.
Course the more I think about it the more reasons I get to doubt it'd be that simple.
Idea 2, one word..... safestrap.
Sent from my XT862
Ok ignore half of what I said, coffee hasn't kicked in and I didn't the part where you mention the Ubuntu project.
So my vote is going to a safestrap. Its exactly what I do on my Droid 3. Non safe is my rooted debloated ROM. Reboot, enable safe mode and I get hashes ics ROM.
Although this use isn't what he designed it for, it's a useful side effect. Takes about 3 minutes to get from nonsafe to safe, for me.
Sent from my XT862
I will have to look up safestrap I've never heard of it, is it a hardware device?
luna_c666 said:
Seeing all the work being done over in the dev section, I was reminded of something I did when modding my xbox. The boot img for the xbox is very small, it basically just looks for various executable files in order from different places and then fails if it doesn't find them..and that's all it does, so it is much smaller than an entire ROM, 256k to be exact. The thing is the chip it was contained on in earlier models of the xbox were 1MB, 4 times what was needed. By shorting out the board on the TSOP one could use a physical switch to toggle how much of the chip was visible to the CPU, and you could in essence split this chip into four banks, and flash 4 different boot images if you wanted (although you needed a 4 position switch and a hell of a lot of 32 gauge wire + patience). Since that was really overkill, what I did was split the TSOP into 2 banks and flashed 2 separate bootloaders, one could remain stable and near stock, as to maintain all the function of the xbox, while with a flick of the switch I could boot from and flash the other bank experimentally, if it failed to flash or got stuck in a bootloop then you could switch over and reflash from the working side, keeping it from being brickable.
Now, of course we have much more control over a rooted android device's hardware via software than the xbox has, and can dual boot without adding switches and soldering the board (at least in the case of ubuntu), I was wondering is there any way to get a Eee Pad dual-booting from two ANDROID partitions, so one could boot and flash developing roms (like the ICS rom coming along in the dev section) while maintaining a safe bootable img that works as a safeguard?
Or does hardware limit this function in our machines?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldnt you mount the developing or experimental ROM's like ics as loop devices?
Im not sure how many loop devices you can have but i think its like 6 or something
Before little stevie brought out hes ubuntu system thats how i had linux for awhile it wasnt the fastest or most efficient but good enough for testing
Sent from my tf Enigmatic V2 beta 1.65Ghz Panda.test cust kernel settings
Hello,
I do hope my questions fit in here.
I recently bought the LC-Power MIRA-1 10.1" tablet. In google play it is called "unknown M105F"
the tablet has a 1,2 GHz A10 - ARM Cortex A8 CPU and a Mali 400MP GPU
i do have some experience with backup/root/uc&oc and even custom mods with my motorola defy phone (currently running cm7.2 stable)
when "playing" around with my defy i found it was sold in big numbers and is very well supported not only here but in any number of other communities. however, since my new tablet is pretty new to the market and no brand tablet, finding information on it is near impossible.
i do hope this will change in the future, especially since I really feel that my tablet is well suited for a number of tasks and with the price tag of ~150 EUR might even have a chance of finding its way in the hands of many people
anyway, even if the tablet is fine as it is now, it could be better. i am talking about modifications and this is what this thread is about.
1) BACKUP
in case i screw up, I really would love to have the possibility of resetting everything(!) back to factory defaults.
with my defy it is as easy as downloading the official sfb and flashing it with rsd lite
this wont work here for obvious reasons
is there a possibility to download the firmware to the pc (from the tablet) and later restoring it? probably not
so the only way left is nandroid backup?
easier said than done with a new device and without root...
also, i would very much prefer to have a backup without root / be sure to be able to remove all modifications i made like installing clockwork mod and rooting...
2) ROOT
for various reasons I'd like to have root. according to my information, rooting 4.0.4 is dependant on the device.
considering i have an unknown device, short of trying every possibility, what else could i do/try?
3) UNDERCLOCK/OVERCLOCK
I would LOVE to try to UC and OC the tablet. I know this might fail miserabely, but I could try.
IF i had root and any idea on how to find (again, short of trying every possible app) a working app.
any ideas?
4) GENERAL CUSTOMISATION
i learned that a well made custommod (like 7.2 for my defy) can make a huge difference in customisation and performance.
I would be willing to try a stable custommod but for now, I dont think that is viable since they usually are device specific.
So all I can do is use another launcher and hope for the best. I really like the performance, functions and especial the ability to customize the AWD Launcher that came with the cm7.2 for my phone.
According to google play the awd launcher is not compatible with my device. i cant imagine why, but there it is.
now, is there a way to still try it?
and what launcher comes closest to the performance, feel and customizability of the awd launcher (i do NOT care about special visual effects on which most launchers seem to concentrate)?
5) SIMILAR DEVICES
the best way to approach all those questions might be to find a (very) similar tablet and try to extrapolate answers from there onto my device.
however, I have no clue on how to figure out what chipset my tablet uses and what other information might be needed to try it that way
---
thats it for now
any and all help will be appreciated!
thank you for reading this
Catwiesel
Hello
okay, I have some news...
since no one had anything to say I went ahead and started trying stuff out...
Apparently, the tablet is rooted by default (or my measurement of being rooted is wrong):
- when i run the app root checker, it says it is rooted
- when i run adb shell / su the prompt is root:directoy #
- i can create and delete files from /system/app
still, something is up...:
- using the adb shell i can create a file in /system/app (touch test.tst)
- if i try to delete/move anything in the adb shell from /system/app apparently the file can not be found
- it works in terminal emulator
- ive installed superuser, but have yet to see the "application asks for superuser rights"
- with the default file browser or es file explorer i can not get to / (stuck in /sdcard) EDIT: Resolved, layer8 problem!
ive also tried some overclocking apps
- they either do not go beyond 1.2ghz (stock) - the apps however is more or less to uc, not oc
- they crash the tablet even with 1248mhz - maybe the scaling gouvanours fault?
- underclocking seems to work (by accident i set the mhz from 1200 to 60 and well... it was SLOW)
i also found out some stuff (quick info system pro)
- ARMv7 processor rev 2(v71) (ARM Cortex A8 1,2GHz - at least according to the tech sheet at the manufactorer)
- sun4i
so, i wonder:
- is the tablet actually sold rooted? then why do i not get superuser permission popups?
- is my hardware not overclockable with (those) apps (i have) and/or do i actually need a custom kernel (ive read abput self compiled kernel for sun4i and another tablet)
ive gotta say, even with a bit of experience in android (acutally, very little) and a bit of linux (not too much, but decent enough) i am sorta confused
...not alone
I´d bought 2 devices LC Power Mira 2 yesterday...they should be delivered on friday...so hang on...you´re no longer alone...
It could be that the device is rooted...as far as I know...
Google runs some kind of an quality assurance by denying some "nobrand" manufactures the total Android 4.0 compatibility.
For an example the Arnova (Archon´s budget line) 10b G3 is running 4.0 but without the Play Store, ´cause the device is not fully supported as an "Quality Android 4.0 Device" and you have to use a custom rom on that tablet.
That´s one reason to spend 5 Euros more for the Mira2 which have it all onboard...or am I wrong...?
thearclight said:
I´d bought 2 devices LC Power Mira 2 yesterday...say should be delivered on friday...so hang on...you´re no longer alone...
It could be that the device is rooted...as far as I know...
Google runs some kind of an quality assurance by denying some "nobrand" manufactures the total Android 4.0 compatibility.
For an example the Arnova (Archon´s budget line) 10b G3 is running 4.0 but without the Play Store, ´cause the device is not fully supported as an "Quality Android 4.0 Device" and you have to use a custom rom on that tablet.
That´s one reason to spend 5 Euros more for the Mira2 which have it all onboard...or am I wrong...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, indeed, at least the MIRA-1 tablet does come prerooted. This is of course nice (since I do not have to try root it myself) but also troubeling, since there is a good reason that android devices usually are not sold rooted. The bigger problem however seems to be that the superuser app is not working properly, i.e. I do not get the "this app is requesting superuser acess" question and probably for the same reason can not get my file browser (ES file browser) to go into the / directory.
what and if other apps could have trouble with the root access that apperently not every app is "finding" i dont know. i do hope not!
however, using the android sdk or shell emulator, all kinds of SU operations can indeed be executed.
concerning your google play store question (was it a question?), yes, the MIRA-1 tablet has google play installed and it can be used without any peticular limitation. its a safe bet that the mira-2 will be able to, too.
my experience with overclocking the tablet does not bode well. even a 48Mhz (smallest step) increase will freeze it. I have tried multiple apps.
i do not have any absolute answer so far. it could be that the oc apps have trouble with the root or are plain the wrong apps or simply that the cpu is already at its absolute limit and just can not be oced.
further investigation into this issue has revealed that apparently other tablets with similar hardware configuration may be able to overclock but apparently it would be neccesary to edit config files and with those compile the kernel. this is far beyond of what i can do and would be willing to do.
i am a bit sad about that, then yeah, the tablet is nice and good enough for me and worth the money, but a bit more speed could not hurt. it does happen that the tablet gets unresponsive for .5-1sec when browsing the web.
one last thought. the gpu does seem to be pretty "powerfull" (please, do not take me to literal.)
but i have yet to find any game that does not run smooth and looks good. according to my information i came across, the gpu is indeed well known for its good performance in 3d and full hd playback
(one exception. snes emulator is unplayable slow. but here i too blame the cpu, not gpu)
...
...sounds good to the fact that I won´t expecting more for this price. Hey 157€ is´nt very much for an 10.1" tablet...
...I´d got also my LG P990 as Android device and smartphone...believe Me...I know what it means being betrayed...no updates...Tegra ? - nVidia ?...I don´t wanna talk about it...lol
It´s rooted and I never got problems with some apps about this fact...ok it´s still on 2.3...thanks LG, by pretending the update comes in May 2012...
I´d send an e-mail to the support of LCpower, by asking about an list of compatible 3g Sticks...10min. later...Answer and an Exel-file with the whole list...great service...´til now...
I just hope that I´d bought 2 "nice" family tablets for a few funny games, sometimes a movie, some social networking...nothing more.
Hope I did´nt misunderstood something here...
...is it only possible with another Explorer (like Astro and ES) to get to the files of an external SD Card or not ???
thearclight said:
...sounds good to the fact that I won´t expecting more for this price. Hey 157€ is´nt very much for an 10.1" tablet...
...I´d got also my LG P990 as Android device and smartphone...believe Me...I know what it means being betrayed...no updates...Tegra ? - nVidia ?...I don´t wanna talk about it...lol
It´s rooted and I never got problems with some apps about this fact...ok it´s still on 2.3...thanks LG, by pretending the update comes in May 2012...
I´d send an e-mail to the support of LCpower, by asking about an list of compatible 3g Sticks...10min. later...Answer and an Exel-file with the whole list...great service...´til now...
I just hope that I´d bought 2 "nice" family tablets for a few funny games, sometimes a movie, some social networking...nothing more.
Hope I did´nt misunderstood something here...
...is it only possible with another Explorer (like Astro and ES) to get to the files of an external SD Card or not ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, the external sd card behaves a bit strange (at least for my understanding of android)
in short:
we have 2+1 memories in the tablet:
1 internal memory (small, i think 256mb, quite full with the android os and the apps)
1 other internal memory (the 8GB)
1 slot for the sd card, the +1 memory
now, everything begins at / (i figure this is the small internal memory)
the 2nd internal memory with 8gb is mounted under /mnt/sdcard and i believe /sdcard (where i would expect the sdcard!)
the sdcard itself can be found at /mnt/extsd
es file explorer has some trouble with that. if you launch it, it will start in /sdcard
since it does not recognize root, you can not go to /
since you cant type in the path by hand you can not go to /mnt
so apparently you cant browse the sd card with es file explorer (or i havent figured it out yet)
the preinstalled file explorer has no trouble with it at all. in fact, it even actually sends you to the right memory when you tap the corresponding symbols (as preinstalled file explorers go, it is actually not so bad)
ive tried setting up some symlinks but failed. maybe i did it wrong, maybe it just wont work.
another possibility to fix it could be editing fstab. but this could be dangerous and/or cause more problems then it helps
i filed that as a minor inconvenience to be adressed when im bored enough
...
Ok...this means...that I just hope that the Mira2 is accepting my microSD16GB and I can use it quite as normal...
In 2.3 it´s still the structure: " /mnt ---> /mnt/sdcard ---> /mnt/sdcard/_ExternalSD"
Is this structure changed in 4.0 ?
thearclight said:
Ok...this means...that I just hope that the Mira2 is accepting my microSD16GB and I can use it quite as normal...
In 2.3 it´s still the structure: " /mnt ---> /mnt/sdcard ---> /mnt/sdcard/_ExternalSD"
Is this structure changed in 4.0 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well on my mobile phone (motorola defy with cm7.2) i have /sdcard and /mnt/sdcard - actually being the sdcard
i also have /sd-ext which is empty
i dont know if that is the default for all android versions and/or if there are differences in sd-card mount points in android
however, the behaviour of the phone seems more logical (or its just that i am used to it)
whatever it is... the sd card of the tablet can not be accessed by /mnt/sdcard/ANYTHING
however, further research especially with the es file browser has shown that indeed you can browse the sd-card /mnt/extsd by switching the two in the favorites options.
so, maybe it makes sense, maybe it dont.
maybe its andorid 4.0.4 conform, or not.
what is important is that apps apparently dont mind (they do get installed on the 8gb internal memory mounted at /mnt/sdcard and /sdcard) and so far have yet to refuse to work/show strange behaviour
also, it is possible to move/copy etc files between /mnt/sdcard and /mnt/extsd and browse both directories, at least with the default android file explorer as well as es file browser.
So...a little update...the 2 devices are now in our hands...for about one week...
....and everything I can telling 'bout them...
,,.they're working great. Not a single bad issue, no freezes, and as far as we can see...
...for a price around 160€ there is no better tablet on the market.
Since yesterday I run the game Wild Blood (Unreal Engine 3 Game) which is most famous for an app who killed some tablets and phones...but nit the mira2 ...it's playable.
The device was also rooted "out of the box" but I can't find a single problem with the external SDcard or other USB Hosts I tested.
Sent from my MIRA-2 using xda app-developers app
Had the same issue thanks for the help guys
Hello,
Really Hopeful in having your support and ideas on quite few issues!
(I hope it is OK to post links) I bought above mentioned tablet ebay co.uk/itm/121228145297
and few accessories intending to use it as Traffic Recorder(Dash Cam) and (ideally iGO SatNav application) for my travels through Europe (mainly UK)
Main specs:
Specifications:
1General
2Operating System
3Android 4.1
4CPU
5ARM(Cortex-A7) MTK8377
6GPU
7PowerVR SGX 531
8Processor Speed
91.5GHz
10RAM
111G
12Hard Drive Capacity
138GB
14Extended Memory
15Support external TF card extend up to 32GB
16Gravity Sensor
17Yes
18Flash Player
19Yes, Support Flash Player 11.1
20Display Size
217 Inch
22Display Technology
23IPS Capacitive Touch Screen
24Multi-Touch
25Yes, 5 points
26Display Resolution
271024x 600 pixels
28Camera
29Front Camera
300.3MP
31Rear Camera
322.0MP
33Flashlight
34Yes
35Connections
36Wi-Fi
37Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
383G
39Yes,Built in
40LAN
41Yes,Support external USB LAN modem.
42Bluetooth
43Yes, 4.0
44GPS
45Yes,Built in
46Telephone
47 Yes,built-in 2G GSM;850/900/1800/1900MHz
48 3G WCDMA:850/2100 MHz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In specs and images it was posted as (will insert image later)
(all is rather optimistic and NOT what it came like!)
it appeared as(will insert image later1)
and issues with me trying (and achieving some sort of control level) there from
(will insert image later)
varied degree of success working on it gets me to (will insert image later2)
So, I have managed to disable some apps, once managed to get mobile networking connections to the 1Mobile Market and get some apps to work, but not GooglePlayStore. Most of remaining (and new apps) are not in Chinese no more, so I am very hopefull, that with rooting I'll get rid of the rest of them gremlins.
Actual specs (will insert image later3)
The questions to you Gentleman (and) Ladies:
1- Do I have to (must) root the device, so that GooglePalyStore would work? as currently, it is installed, but majority of apps are kicking some or the the sort of errors(unsupported etc), and actual GoogleStore app- "works" via Browser...
2- If yes, how do I (step by step) root it in order to have better control? (what applications( with links please) I should install for such Odyssey and what order etc please!?
3- If rooting, is it possible to Get IE 4.4.0 ROM to install?(instead of 4.1.1)- what will happen to the features of IE analogTV receiver hardware management?
4- Would it matter at all, if device is not rooted, but intended to be installed iGo Primo is packaged somehow with GooglePlay app?- will it work? or will that "modified" app work with rooted device all together? (I already learned, that IE Traffic recorder apps are only available on Google)- meaning not available for me for now...
Very many thanks for the answers and ideas in advance!
Am I wrong in believing, that particular tablet is really just a different badge wearing JXD P1000 MTK8377 tablet?
Hardware specs seem to match, as well as appearance/hardware configuration seems ever so similar, is it that daft of an idea to consider rooting and replacing ROM with one, made for JDX device?
Sent from my blueing tablet A770 using Tapatalk 2
Hi
I have an idea but i need you guys help
Ive been thinking about rom building for rockchip devices, mainly (3026), 3066, 3188. These devices are all similar in many ways and yet different in many ways. Now im not suggesting a universal rom, obviously that is impossible. What im wondering is this :
Is it possible to build an update (best way to put it) that replaces parts of the system partition and other partitions?
Obviously it wouldnt touch any files regarding drivers, etc but replace the other parts like apps, framework, su, etc? even the recovery if it was done by processor and used the generic version with no kernel?
Im not sure if you would call it a theme or an actual rom? I hope you get the idea. Making a, well, patch if you like. NOT to run on any device but to run on a small group of rockchip processors (the 3066 and 3188 are the most popular so say just them?
Maybe im just being hopeful but from my experience of building roms for rockchips (im not a pro by any means) ive noticed a lot of things that are the same for all devices and those are the bits i want to get at.
What do you all think?
Hi all,
I have an GoTab GTD7-C chinese tablet with the worst kit kat ever. Yes its with kit kat 4.4.4. but most of the apps and other things does not work properly. Its laggy and there is missing things. It does not work with bluetooth devices, sometimes I manage to send files, but very difficult. Wifi range is the worst :X., if I am 10 meters away from Wifi router I cant connect with it and etc. Tethering does not work. I am with the latest stock ROM. I have preinstaled it once, because of my experiments of installing directly ubuntu... offcorse with no success.
The tablet is with 1,2 GHz ARM® Cortex™-A9 ; RK3168 CPU ; Onboard Mail 400 Graphics Chip ; 8 GB Internal memory but 5 usable, 1 GB RAM rooted.
The only thing that worked well and I managed to run is Windows CE with Bosch app. I tried all kind of apps to run Linux without any success.
I sow few videos with installed (not running inside android trough vnc or Limbo PC and etc.) Ubuntu, Fedora and Windows CE. But I haven't really found working tutorial.
The Idea is completely to remove the android os OR Dual Boot two OS. Like Android and Ubuntu OR Android and Windows Ce7. Offcorse if there is way to install Win7,8 or 10 will be even grate.
So I need full tutorial and working links with ROMs, images and etc. Because I have spend hours and hours watching videos just on starting tablets with Win CE or ubuntu, but not how to's. I believe there is way, chinese do it, so I believe it is possible
PS: Dont ask why I dont by Win 7 tablet or et.c.... Android tablets in my country are cheaper..... that's why
Thanks in Advance for the help. I really appreciate it.