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Installing Debian Squeeze on Android Optimus S - Walk-throughs
This is slowly becoming a larger topic. So for now i will post various ways proven to work on the Optimus S and V as links below:
Installing Debian Squeeze on Android Optimus - Walk-through Compiled by uamadman
Install Debian Squeeze - non-loop sd-ext chroot method (prebuilt!) By bigsupersquid
ALL-Thumbs GUI to replace LXDE By bigsupersquid
4 Steps to Linux on your Optimus S - written by uamadman hosted by uamadman
All of this work was done by other people. I am simply compiling information and specializing it to the Optimus S.
This method does not require a pc, and everything is done through your android interface.
Current Abilities I've tested with success.
Play Sound
Surf the web
Access entire SD Card
Currently Working on:
Flash Support through IceWeasel
Completed:
Making this a simple download and phone restore - Done
Needs:
A GUI with bigger buttons and scaled for 480x320 - Done thanks bigsupersquid
Transparent Keyboard
Sources:
Howto Install Ubuntu by NexusOneHacks.net
secret hidden note to self psychocats.net/ubuntu/nonfree
Lets begin.
You need the following requirements:
Recommended: 2+ gigabytes of free SD card Space (Minimum 1.25gb)
A Rooted Optimus S
Kernel/Recovery: Xionia CWMA v1.2518.6
ROM:The Scott Pilgrim ROM (CM7 Gingerbread, Zefie Edition)
BusyBox Installer - You can get this from google apps store by JRummy16
Linux Installer – You can get this from google apps store by Galoula
Items worth having to things that make this easier:
A Wifi Internet Connection
A fully Charged Battery and a Wall Charger ^.^
2 Bottles of Mountian Dew
Your favorite Movie
and
The Patience to NOT Touch/use your phone for the 2 hours needed to complete the initial install process.
I started this endeavor with a clean install of the ROM listed above.
!!Make backups if you MUST save your data before you proceed any further!!
Warning: In The Simplest Terms(More detail will be in the final walkthrough)
Sometimes the Linux Installer doesn't work or if it is working and the process is interrupted while creating the .LOOP or extracting the build. The Linux Installer will stop working. I've found two (2) ways to fix the issues. The first is to go into setting and clear the cache for Linux Installer, Then open the superuser app and forget the permissions assigned to Linux Installer (Note: Try this a few times before resorting to a clean wipe, this method sometimes takes a few tries). The second is a clean wipe/recovery of the phone. Additionally if for some reason there is a interruption and the process stops. reboot the phone delete linux.loop off your sdcard and start from scratch. BEWARNED
*Walk-through - Under Construction*
To clarify any confusion the button names I use from left to right:
Home : Menu : Back : Search
Pre-Install Check List for Formatting/Reloading Rom
install sdcard with ROM/Recovery's
Reboot > Recovery
wipe data/factory reset
mounts and storage> format system
install zip from sdcard >choose zip from sdcard > update-cm-7-04282011-NIGHTLY
install zip from sdcard >choose zip from sdcard > gapps-gb-20110120
Remove sdcard with ROMS
Install sdcard marked for Linux
mounts and storage > format sdcard
reboot system now
Pre-install Checklist phone prep. (If you choose to overclock your phone this would be a great time to do it)
Wait 2 minutes for phone to fully load
tap droid
tap skip
tap next/done
Settings > Display > Screen timeout > 30 minutes
Settings > Applications > Check Unknown sources (not sure if nessesary)
Settings > Applications > Development > Check Stay awake (Required!!!!)
Settings > Accounts & Sync > Add Account (Go Through Menu's should take you though Market Install)
Market > Search Busy Box > tap BusyBox Installer by JRummy16 > free > ok
Market > Search Linux Installer > tap Linux Installer by Galoula > free > ok
Market > Search vnc > tap android-vnc-viewer Installer by androidVNC team + antlersoft > free > ok
Press Home Key
Apps> Busybox Installer >Allow Permissions> OK > Install
Install Check List
Warning
DO NOT ROTATE YOUR PHONE
ALLOW THE SCREEN TO SHUT OFF
LOCK THE PHONE
WHILE THIS APP IS OPEN UNLESS STATED
(you will see bad things if you do)
For Debian
Apps > Linux Installer > Allow SU Permissions > Allow SU Permissions > Allow SU Permissions > Click OK (First time start up, Yes 3 Approvals. If you don't recieve 3 notifications from super user it means Linux Installer is bugged. Go Settings>Applications>Manage Applications> under the Downloaded tab find Linux Installer > Select > Clear Data > Try step again. May take a few tries.)
Press Menu Key > Tap Setup > Tap File Size > Set to 1250 or more but must be less than the size of your SD Card.> ok > Press The Back Key (Linux installer will exit to your apps menu)
For Ubuntu - Currently bugged. I would avoid this. The source.list seems to have issues and won't download packages.
REQUIRED: Set you phone some where flat plugged into power Do Not Let The Screen Rotate!!!!!Apps>Linux Installer > Tap 1) Create target loop
Be Patient Wait until the Creating LOOP menu disappears. The length of time is dependent on the size of Megabytes set in the File Size option. About 10 minutes for 1500 Mb
Tap Liberate Loop -- Really Fast
Tap Format target loop (ext2) - This is the Buggy Part. If you get an Error message everything is most likely ok. Pickup your phone and Physically Rotate it so the screen rotates. Two additional menu's should appear. [3) Copy and Extract into loop and Install Linux Boot Script]
Lay your phone back down flat it doesn't matter if the screen rotates back to its original.
From here on DO NOT let the Screen Rotate Again! The process will be interrupted and you will get to start from step 1
Tap 3) Copy and Extract into Loop (it will start downloading and extracting the packages necessary to install Linux) This can take up to an hour. On a good 3g connection less than 45minutes.
Tap 4) Install into loop (This takes less than 10 minutes)
Tap Install Linux boot script
30 Seconds Later you officially have a version of Linux installed on your phone
CONGRATS
Verify Install Works
Apps > Terminal Emulator > Type: su > Enter > Grant Permissions > Type: linuxboot > Enter
You should get a string of code then get something like:
[email protected]:/
Most of the next portion comes from the Nexusonehecks.net
Setting up VNC and LXDE (so you don't have to look at terminal lines all day)
Apps > Terminal Emulator > Type: linuxboot > Enter <---If your not already in already.
Type > apt-get update > enter --- 5 minutes
Tight VNC Server
Type > apt-get install tightvncserver > Type y > Press enter --10 minutes
LXDE
Type > apt-get install lxde > type y > Press enter - 30 Minutes+
After a while you should get this screen
Press Menu > Preferences > Control key > Choose Camera Key > Back key > Back Key
Fully Depress the Camera Button Down and Tap the number 9 on the soft key board > Release Camera key > Tap Space Bar -- now two times more
Fully Depress the Camera Button Down and Tap the number 9 on the soft key board > Release Camera key > Tap Space Bar
Fully Depress the Camera Button Down and Tap the number 9 on the soft key board > Release Camera key > Tap Space Bar
The process should continue installing LXDE
tightvncserver Setup
Type> export USER=root > enter
Type> vncserver -geometry 1024x800 > enter
enter password > enter (use something simple you can remember i used 123123123 like they did on the nexusonehacks.net writeup)
verify password > enter
Press Enter after typing each line of the following code. Be Very Slow and Deliberate. Double Check Each line for Capitalization and accuracy before pressing Enter! I do not know how to edit this again --hidden note-->Perhaps some one can show me/tell me how
cat > /root/.vnc/xtartup
#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
icewm &
lxsession
Now Press and Hold the Camera Key and Tap D twice on the soft keyboard > Press Enter (it may ask to press 1 do not and only press enter)
If your camera key wasn't set look here to set it again--->Press Menu > Preferences > Control key > Choose Camera Key > Back key > Back Key
Setting up VNC on android ... After all those command lines I'm sure this is a very very nice change xD
Press Home Screen
Apps > androidVNCviewer > For Password enter 123123123 (Or whatever you set it to in the previous server setup)
Scroll to Port and enter 5901
Change the Color Format if you wish. It runs rather nicely on 24bit color but consumes more cpu cycles.
Tap Connect -- A Very Pretty LXDE should appear with a working CPU Monitor and everything nice
I know you want to play but we have a little more work to do this next step uses Terminal Emulator as the auto start/config file to boot linux and start and configure tightvncserver
Press Home
Open Termial > Menu Key > Preferences > Initial Command > Tap to Edit
Make Edit look like this
export PATH=/data/local/bin:$PATH
linuxboot
vncserver -geometry 600x480
Tap OK > Back out of Teminal to home
vncserver -geometry 600x480<--- this is where you change your screen size. you need a minimum of 600x480 to use the synaptic package manager and a few other things. but when i'm surfing the net or other things I prefer 480x320 (The Exact Size of the Optimus S Screen)
Now whenever you want to run linux simply open the Terminal Emulator. Wait 60 seconds for the code to run.
open androidVNCviewer and click Connect
DONE
Extra things go here
apt-get install synaptic - installs synaptic manager a nice GUI interface for the apt-get command
I have been running a Debian chroot on my optimus V for a few months now, squeeze and sid both work fine. I did it manually without the stuff from the market, and I use the sd-ext partition instead of a loop file
per your GUI issues:
I like xfce4 better than lxde on my optimus V.
Code:
apt-get install xfce4 xfce4-goodies
instead of lxde.
oh, also, the OP pointed out to me that
Code:
apt-get install xfce4-goodies
alone will also pull down xfce4 as a dependency (and that I left out the word install which is now corrected.)
modify the /root/.vnc/xstartup accordingly.
replace
Code:
icewm&
lxsession
with
Code:
xfce4-session&
or, you can cut-and paste my complete file here:
Code:
echo "#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
xfce4-session&" > /root/.vnc/xstartup
I have modified a theme for xfce to be more finger-friendly.
see attachment
decompress that file, it contains a folder, Xfce_large.
place the folder in /usr/share/themes
tap on the rat in the lower-left of the desktop (opens menu)
select Settings by tapping its arrow (xfce is twitchy about the menu through the VNC, it may take a few tries to select items on the main menu.)
select Appearance. Then Style.
Scroll down to Xfce_large and tap it, then tap Close at the bottom.
Voila, oversized scrollbars and menu bar buttons!
If you don't like the size, the settings I modified are in the gtk-2.0 subfolder of Xfce_large in the file gtkrc
the modified settings are not tabbed over like the rest of the settings in the file.
I also changed the default font size, icon size, icon font size, and DPI settings, but that has to be done in the settings menus.
The optimus display is about 120 DPI, the default is 75. 120 looks much nicer I think.
You are awesome
good luck with flash. gnash only plays ads on my V, not whole videos.
get-flash-videos from google code works nicely, but it's a capture utility.
it does try to play with mplayer, but only shows a couple of frames per few seconds because the VNC display method of manually copying the framebuffer is very slow.
using a bandwidth meter (debian package cbm to be exact) the vnc uses from 14 to 80Kb per second of system bandwith on device l0.
I don't know what's pegging your CPU use, mine only tops out when the debian system is doing something. I built my chroot with debootstrap instead of using the market installer, no telling what is preinstalled on the image it downloads.
I am going to try this out once i'm finished trying to get the ubuntu side of the house working.
Can I append this to my post here and androidcentral with proper credits due to you so all may share?
uamadman said:
...Can I append this to my post here and androidcentral with proper credits due to you so all may share?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
certainly. just test the instructions for functionality before adding them in.
I considered starting a thread on this myself but never got around to it.
I'll continue to contribute info as this develops.
as an extra, here's a link I've posted, a few places on both forums, with a clean debootstrapped debian filesystem, tarred up to shrink it for download.
I goofed a bit when compressing it though, when decompressed it's a single folder containing the filesystem.
http://www.4shared.com/file/iWuUtZgS/squeeze_05_2011tar.html
uncompressed, 9645 items, totalling 264.3 MB
compressed, 116.3 MB (121929580 Bytes)
this will either need the contents of the freshsqueeze folder it contains copied to an ext2 (or ext3/ext4 if you want to brave the damage from journalling on a SD card, which seemed to cause corruption when I tried ext4) partition on your SD card, or, copied into a blank loop ext filesystem if you prefer.
with an empty debian img file mounted as a loop filesystem on a linux box, you can copy everything from the freshsqueeze folder to the loop filesystem by:
Code:
cp -av /path/to/freshsqueeze/* /path/to/loopmountedimg
the loop filesystem method should allow you to continue using your startup scripts as-is, they'll need slight modifications to work with an ext partition like I'm using.
its resolv.conf and sources.list are already configured for 3g access and the main Debian repository, so it's pretty much plug-n-play. no extra packages are installed, you'll need to apt-get tightvncserver and a window manager of your choice, unless you just want the bash shell.
the first time you chroot in, you should use passwd to set a root password, and adduser to get a non-root account on there.
this is not a loop filesystem like what you are using. it is a full directory tree of a base squeeze install.
I would like to see this on the V.its my only phone right now.if I had 2 I would try it.
Sent from my BumbleV using XDA Premium App.
ummkiper said:
I would like to see this on the V.its my only phone right now.if I had 2 I would try it.
Sent from my BumbleV using XDA Premium App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think a chroot can hurt your phone. I even run mine bind-mounted into the root filesystem, with system r/w, and haven't ever had any problems a reboot didn't solve. and it's been since April since I had a forced reboot from running stuff in debian.
now, I don't know about the installer from the market, if it asks for root access multiple times, I'm not sure just what it's doing. I'll post my sd-ext startup script and instructions for using it here after dinner if you want to try it that way instead of with the installer app.
honestly, it's a much simpler process than the OP, but, hey, if it works, I'm not one to dismiss the method out-of-hand.
bigsupersquid said:
I don't think a chroot can hurt your phone. I even run mine bind-mounted into the root filesystem, with system r/w, and haven't ever had any problems a reboot didn't solve. and it's been since April since I had a forced reboot from running stuff in debian.
now, I don't know about the installer from the market, if it asks for root access multiple times, I'm not sure just what it's doing. I'll post my sd-ext startup script and instructions for using it here after dinner if you want to try it that way instead of with the installer app.
honestly, it's a much simpler process than the OP, but, hey, if it works, I'm not one to dismiss the method out-of-hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good to me.
non-loop sd-ext chroot method (prebuilt!)
Standard disclaimer:
These scripts and chroot method may bork up your phone, trash your userdata, destroy system files, get you slapped by your mother, make your phone catch fire and/or explode, and etc., ad nauseum.
Use at your own risk.
MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP BEFORE DOING THIS!
You'll probably be just fine, but it's nice to have a backup in case something goes haywire.
Disclaimer aside, it's worked great for me since March, hasn't crashed for months, and I use it multiple times per day.
My main inspiration was Saurik and his Debian & Android together on G1.
I'm sorry that I can't point to all the many, many sources I read through over the couple weeks it took me to get this set up, I took little bits from here, there, and everywhere, but Saurik's work was the main core of this system.
Apologies if you see some tidbit of your work in this... let me know and I'll be happy to give you credit.
Dysfunctions:
things that don't work while the chroot is running:
wifi hotspot in aospCmod and Bumblebee won't initialize; does work during chroot in aospCmod if turned on before chroot, though.
network info II app won't start during chroot; if opened before chroot it's fine.
ringtones on SDcard don't work in Bumblebee; but OI File Manager can read the sdcard during chroot.
these things still work ok once the chroot is exited on aospCmod. The chroot borks wifi on Bumblebee until reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Info:
This script remounts / and /system both read/write and leaves them that way until you type exit in the bash shell of the chroot. Without r/w mounting of the / directory, installing Debian packages gives some errors, since it's running in the real root filesystem. Also, the / directory is wiped out on a reboot, so it's relatively safe to have mounted r/w. /system doesn't need to be r/w, I just like it that way, and I haven't had trouble with it since I was first experimenting with this. Feel free to modify the 'boot' script if having /system mounted r/w makes you nervous.
This has been tested on Zefie'sCM7 (outdated) and aospCmodOV ROMs.
It also worked on Bumblebee, but not as effectively.
The chroot will not stop Android from functioning. If Debian is busy with something, it will slow Android down, though.
You will still get/can make phone calls, text messages, etc. You can send the VNC viewer to the background and use Android apps while the Debian system is in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On to the meat of the matter. I'm using an 8Gb SD card. I advise no smaller than 4Gb unless you just want to do command-line work in Debian and don't need a GUI.
First, these instructions require a Linux pc. On M$ Windoze? Use a Live CD or a virtual box, or you're on your own.
The first part of these instructions is to be completed on your pc. I'll let you know when to switch to the phone.
1) Mount your <empty> SD card on the pc. If it's not empty, back it up, because this will wipe it out. You'll need at least two partitions on it, three if you're using something like apps2sd (which I'm not using, and not really familiar with, so this tutorial is set up assuming you don't need to dodge an existing ext partition,) and another if you have a swap-enabled kernel and want to use it.
2) Use Gparted or a similar tool to partition the SD card. First partition FAT32 for Android, whatever size you feel you need. I'm using 1Gb.
Second partition is an ext2, ext3, or ext4 partition. Apps2SD style, you know what size and filesystem type you need here, I don't. For Debian on the 2nd partition, I advise 3Gb or more, ext2. ext4 corrupted my files, so I switched back to ext2. If you need an apps2sd partition, Debian will go on the 3rd partition, and you'll have to modify the two attached scripts accordingly.
If you're lucky enough to have a swap-enabled kernel, you can make a swap partition; it'll go last, whatever size is left. 256Mb-1Gb should be plenty depending on whether you use image processing or large compiling projects or some other memory hogging programs.
3) Mount the sd FAT32 and Debian ext partitions on the pc.
4) Download to your pc the base Debian Squeeze filesystem which I've debootstrapped, configured, and uploaded for you to save hours of hassle.
Also download to the same directory the two attached script files.
boot.txt
firstrun.txt
5) Open a ROOT shell. You need root privleges to untar the filesystem and retain its permissions. If you don't have a root shell, put sudo in front of the tar and cp-av commands.
6) cd to the directory you downloaded the squeeze_05_2011.tar.gz into. then type
Code:
tar -zxvf squeeze_05_2011.tar.gz
cp -av ./freshsqueeze/* /full/path/to/sdextDebianpartition
sync
and wait for it to finish.
7) type
Code:
cp ./boot.txt /full/path/to/sdFAT32partition/boot
cp ./firstrun.txt /full/path/to/sdFAT32partition/firstrun
sync
8) Now is the time to copy back the stuff you backed up from the SD card to the FAT32 partition, and any apps2sd style stuff if you have it. Then unmount your SD card and put it in the phone.
Now all remaining steps are done on your Optimus. You're finished with the desktop pc.
9) Open a terminal on your Optimus. I like SL4A, but Terminal Emulator works well too. Both are free.
10) Next step merges your existing Android system files into the Debian partition. This is neccesary because I haven't compiled a kernel and don't know of one for the Optimus with UFS enabled. So, Debian gets bind-mounted over the Android rootfs ( / directory) and having the Android system files accessible in the Debian filesystem is required to keep them playing nicely together, while protecting the original Android files from Debian at the same time.
Code:
sh /sdcard/firstrun
You won't need this script ever again unless you change ROMs and/or need to reinstall Debian. Changing ROMS without reinstalling a fresh copy of Debian may mess things up a bit since system files vary between ROMs and you'll still have the Android files from your previous ROM in your Debian filesystem.
This script and the 'boot' script are both listed at the bottom of this post if you want to read 'em.
11) Next, remount system r/w, copy the 'boot' file to /system/xbin and chmod 4755 /system/xbin/boot. If scripts are in /system/xbin and executable, you can run them with 'su -c'
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /system /system
cp /sdcard/boot /system/xbin
chmod 4755 /system/xbin/boot
mount -o remount,ro /system /system
OK, a basic Debian filesystem with no extra packages is now installed!
my Debian filesystem is on my 2nd sdcard partition. The comments in the 'boot' script should explain how to use another partition if you have apps2sd running or somesuch (I don't have many Android apps on my phone so don't need/use apps2sd function)
to use the script as-is, your linux flavor should be in the 2nd card partition. I use Debian, but any Debian-based distro should work, for example Ubuntu or DSL.
open a terminal and type
Code:
su -c boot
don't kill the terminal app... leave it running in the background.
when you're finished with linux, reopen the same terminal and type
Code:
exit
to cleanly dismount your linux. No reboot required!
Before you exit the first run of your new Debian system, you should download some packages. I advise tightvncserver, xfce4 (and xfce4-goodies if you want the extra glitz like a cpu monitor, bandwidth monitor, and such, without hunting the individual packages) and iceweasel so you can have a real rebranded firefox on your Optimus.
Code:
apt-get update
apt-get install tightvncserver xfce4 xfce4-goodies iceweasel
It'll take a while to download all that. Lots of data.
Once it's done downloading, configure tightvncserver.
Code:
vncserver
It'll ask you for a password. Choose one that's easy to remember. You'll need to enter it in the VNC viewer as well (next step)
IMPORTANT!
tightvncserver will ask you if you want a view-only password. Tell it no!
next:
Code:
vncserver -kill :1
to politely exit the vncserver. Otherwise you'll have to exit the chroot, reboot the phone, and run the 'boot' script again or it'll open server :2, :3, and so on each time you type vncserver. Each instance will eat more CPU, RAM, etc.
configure /root/.vnc/xstartup
Code:
echo '#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
export XKL_XMODMAP_DISABLE=1
xfce4-session&' > /root/.vnc/xstartup
after that,
you should use
Code:
passwd
to set a root password, and
Code:
adduser
to get a non-root account on there.
Code:
exit
will close the chroot. You can close the terminal after that until you're finished setting up the VNCviewer and want to start your lovely GUI.
Now, set up the VNC viewer like in the OP. Make sure your password matches the one you gave tightvncserver!
I advise 24 bit color. It slows things down ever so slightly, but to me, it's well worth the increase in eye candy you get over 8 bit.
most of the tutorials on the VNC suggest modifying the /root/.bashrc file to start the vncserver automatically (like here on xda) but I don't like that myself. I use the shell a lot, and the vncserver eats system resources. So, I manually start and stop the vncserver from the command line.
Code:
vncserver
to start, it defaults to a 1024x768 which seems to make programs happier than the 480x320 phone native resolution.
Code:
vncserver -kill :1
to stop it politely. Otherwise a phone reboot is required to get rid of vncserver files (by clearing out everything in the / directory which isn't replaced by the boot.img ramdisk) which make it open desktop :2, :3, and so on each time you run the program.
One major advantage to the bind-mounting in the rootfs is that Thunar works as a root explorer, and has access to the entire Android filesystem (except for the bind-mounted Debian directories, which hide the Android directories underneath, including /system/etc which is symlinked to /etc by the boot.img ramdisk,) as well as the complete Debian filesystem.
Pretty much everything I've tried works, unless it wants speed from the display. The VNC just slows that down way to much to use for video or games or suchlike. I'm working on native window support for X, but I need more practice in C to get it done.
Iceweasel works great, if a little slow, a rebranded full firefox on an ARMv6 device that mozilla won't release an apk for its wussy mobile version on. Go figure. The biggest problem is finding plugins compiled for ARM, the 'get plugin' button send you to sites offering x386 versions of the plugins. Yuk.
Icedtea open source java works fine.
Gnash plays ads but not videos.
Gimp works well.
Qemu works!
Eclipse even installs and runs (very slowly)
get-flash-videos captures flash exceptionally well. combined with an Android video player for .mp4 files, you can download and watch flash from lots of places, just not streaming.
alsa audio works through Iceweasel. Played audio clips from yodajeff.com just to test it.
3g works great.
Wifi detects the connection with iwconfig, I haven't tried sending data through it but the way 3g plugs right in I bet that wifi works equally well.
Since wifi and 3g work out of the box, I bet bluetooth would too with some config, but it needs extra packages to see the functionality.
The network meter plugin for xfce works. The device is rmnet0.
The cpu meter plugin also works.
At one point I had the battery meter from xfce-power-manager working but my last install broke it somehow. Ah, well.
once it's all together
open a terminal
to start it up:
Code:
su -c boot
for a gui,
Code:
vncserver
to kill the GUI,
Code:
vncserver -kill :1
to exit the chroot,
Code:
exit
the first time you run the GUI, you might want to add my Xfce_large theme to make the scrollbars and menubars easier to hit on the touchscreen. See the earlier post.
hopefully this helps people out. I spent quite a while getting it just how I wanted it, many googlings and picking bits from here and there.
contents of the scripts follow.
firstrun
Code:
#make /sd-ext directory if it doesn't exist
if [ ! -d /sd-ext ]
then
mkdir /sd-ext
fi
# mount 2nd sdcard partition
# if your linux is on a different partition than 2, substitute that number for the 2 in .../mmcblk0p2 below
# first unmount it; if not already mounted, system will echo 'umount: can't forcibly umount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2: Invalid argument' but this isn't an error to worry about
umount -l /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
mount -o noatime,exec,suid /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /sd-ext
#copy files from Android to Debian without overwriting anything
yes n | cp -aiv /etc/* /sd-ext/etc
yes n | cp -aiv /root/* /sd-ext/root
yes n | cp -aiv /sbin/* /sd-ext/sbin
yes n | cp -aiv /sys/* /sd-ext/sys
boot
Code:
# debian lives here
export mnt=/sd-ext
# remount / and /system rw
mount -o remount,rw / /
mount -o remount,rw /system /system
# make new subdirectories in / for binding
for x in \
bin boot home lib media \
opt selinux tmp usr var
do
mkdir /$x
done
#make $mnt directory if it doesn't exist
if [ ! -d $mnt ]
then
mkdir $mnt
fi
# mount 2nd sdcard partition
# if your linux is on a different partition than 2, substitute that number for the 2 in .../mmcblk0p2 below
# first unmount it; if not already mounted, system will echo 'umount: can't forcibly umount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2: Invalid argument' but this isn't an error to worry about
umount -l /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
mount -o noatime,exec,suid /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 $mnt
# cleanup last session's tmp files, including last VNC session
rm -r -f $mnt/tmp
mkdir $mnt/tmp
# bind mount debian directories to /
for x in \
bin boot home lib media \
opt selinux tmp usr var \
etc root sbin
do
mount --bind $mnt/$x /$x
done
# set some system variables
export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/etc:/sys:$PATH
export TERM=linux
export USER=root
export HOME=/root
# mount proc,sys,devpts
umount -l devpts
mount -o remount -t proc proc /proc
mount -o remount -t sysfs sysfs /sys
mount -t devpts devpts /dev/pts
# softlink framebuffer (for future use,) and existing mounts
ln -s /dev/graphics/fb0 /dev/fb0
cat /proc/mounts > /etc/fstab
cat /proc/mounts > /etc/mtab
# 'boot' with chroot into debian bash shell at /
chroot / /bin/bash
# done now, clean up after exit to keep Android happy
# remove softlinks and replace backed up mtab and fstab
rm /dev/fb0
cd /
# unmount subdirectories
for x in \
bin boot home lib media \
opt selinux tmp usr var \
etc root sbin
do
umount -l /$x
done
# remove non-Android subdirectories
for x in \
bin boot home lib media \
opt selinux tmp usr var
do
rmdir /$x
done
# remount / and /system ro
mount -o remount,ro / /
mount -o remount,ro /system /system
That is an excellent write up. Link added to first post.
appreciate the compliment.
it took two hours to type up and another two to redo it all after firefox crashed on my pc right as I was finishing.
if anyone notices issues or errors in it, let me know and I'll try to fix 'em.
I'll try to help out if anyone has problems getting it working, odds are I missed some detail or typo.
well it took me all day to install ubuntu on this pc to find out it was my video card so im using the built in video on the mb and it worked.I will be doing this tomorrow as its 2am here now.ive never had a problem installing ubuntu before lol.the live cd would just freeze no matter which flavor of linux i used.
ummkiper said:
well it took me all day to install ubuntu on this pc to find out it was my video card so im using the built in video on the mb and it worked.I will be doing this tomorrow as its 2am here now.ive never had a problem installing ubuntu before lol.the live cd would just freeze no matter which flavor of linux i used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eek.
I don't really like ubuntu much, it reminds me too much of Windoze, all bloated up and running a bunch of stuff I never told it to
but I put it on after reading dev reccomendations to use it when making the final switch from windoze, and now I only use it for watching dvds and the stupid digital tv the broadcasters switched to a while back to obsolete everyone's receivers (use an hvr950 usb tuner, which I had to force an older driver into the kernel to get working.)
put debian on the pc to dev with, much less gripey and intrusive, but trickier to configure.
ummkiper said:
well it took me all day to install ubuntu on this pc to find out it was my video card so im using the built in video on the mb and it worked.I will be doing this tomorrow as its 2am here now.ive never had a problem installing ubuntu before lol.the live cd would just freeze no matter which flavor of linux i used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have yet to get Ubuntu running nicely on a android. I'm sure i'll figure it out soon enough. I'm donating close to 2-4 hours a day to this right now. I hope i can get everything running how i like without learning how to write my own code... which would take forever ...
oh i dont want it on android i just wanted it on my desktop but it appears my desktop has issues while everything works fine in windows ubuntu still freezes or restarts the gui.i have xubuntu on my ibm thinkpad its slow but runs its ubuntu with xfce so i guess ill use my laptop to do this and keep win on my desktop.
ummkiper said:
oh i dont want it on android i just wanted it on my desktop but it appears my desktop has issues while everything works fine in windows ubuntu still freezes or restarts the gui.i have xubuntu on my ibm thinkpad its slow but runs its ubuntu with xfce so i guess ill use my laptop to do this and keep win on my desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it shouldn't really matter too much what machine you use to set things up, the key things you need are a way to untar the premade filesystem, ext2 support, and a usb port to transfer files to the phone.
you could download the files in windoze if your laptop lack web access.
you <might> be able to use a windoze utility to format the first part of the SD card with a small FAT32 partition, then use CWMA recovery to add an ext2 partition to the card, then extract with 7zip on windoze into the ext partition.
I used to have a freeware program to add ext2 support to windoze, but it's buried on one of my old 500Mb harddrives in a box somewhere. bet you could google something like that up if your laptop gives you trouble.
cp ./boot.txt /media/disk/boot
cp ./firstrun.txt /media/disk/firstrun
sync
cp: cannot stat `./boot.txt': no such file or directory
cp: cannot stat `./firstrun.txt': no such file or directory
yeah um i dont see these files in the tar and this is the errorr im getting so where do i get these 2 files from
ummkiper said:
cp ./boot.txt /media/disk/boot
cp ./firstrun.txt /media/disk/firstrun
sync
cp: cannot stat `./boot.txt': no such file or directory
cp: cannot stat `./firstrun.txt': no such file or directory
yeah um i dont see these files in the tar and this is the errorr im getting so where do i get these 2 files from
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made the tar some time back.
boot.txt and firstrun.txt are attached to the bottom of the instructions.
edit: per ummkiper's suggestion I have also linked the attachments right after the filesystem link.
Hey all,
I've installed Debian on my Xoom with the help of a few kernel patches applied to the Tiamat Sources and thought I'd share.
I can't post in the development section because I don't have enough posts. (Admin edit: Now in Development!)
I've got a full writeup of the process of installation from the ground up below
I'll be uploading the rootfs and boot.img for it when I get a chance, but i just thought some people would be interested to know that it is indeed possible (without VNC or Chroot...)
WiFi works under linux when you manually run wpasupplicant, the modem is detected by network-manager automatically and I've gotten the touchscreen working so it's actually pretty usable. no sound or graphics acceleration though as they rely on binary blobs from Nvidia.
Cheers,
Matt
Hey all,
I've seen a lot of people running linux on their android devices but chrooted under android and using a VNC client to make use of the chrooted install. quite messy and less than efficient IMHO, so I set out to install it natively on my Xoom
I've managed to get Debian installed on my Xoom with the only issues being no sound and no Bluetooth, this is due to the proprietary nature of the sound drivers for the Tegra, and the lack of documentation for the BCM4329 Bluetooth under linux. if anyone has any tips with these I'd love to hear them.
Anyway, since the Xoom is an android device with an unlockable bootloader from the factory this wasn't too difficult. the only issues were with the TegraFB and Touchscreen drivers. Thankfully Lilstevie from GalaxyLinux helped me out with the touchscreen driver and Robert Morell from NVidia provided a patch to Chromium for the FB which is here http://codereview.chromium.org/6672056
(Todo: Add guide for using WIFI, upload prebuilt images)
(Update: Fixed the links)
Basically all you need to do is build a root fs and a kernel for your Debian install. this is actually quite easy. here's how..
Contents:
Requirements
Building the RootFS
Building the Kernel
Preparing the SDCard
Putting it all together
Rolling back to Android
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer
YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOU, YOUR DEVICE,
YOUR COMPUTER, OR ANY OF YOUR PROPERTY OR SOMEONE ELSE'S PROPERTY
Requirements
A Rooted Xoom with ClockWorkRecovery Installed
[*] Make sure you have a nandroid backup. you will need this to boot back into Android!
A running install of Debian, Ubuntu might work too
An SDCard with at least 4GB for the install, preferably separate from your main SDCard and an SDCard reader for your PC
Android–SDK
An Arm–linux toolchain to compile the kernel, if you're lazy like me you can just use the one that comes with the Android NDK
This Xorg Config
Kernel sources
Fastboot tool
mkbootimg
Building the RootFS
Before we do anything we'll need to get the Wifi Firmware off the default install of Android
To do this run the following commands
Code:
# adb pull /system/vendor/firmware/fw_bcm4329.bin
# adb pull /system/etc/firmware/bcm4329.hcd
MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR SDCARD AND YOUR XOOM USING CLOCKWORK RECOVERY BEFORE CONTINUING AND KEEP IT SOMEWHERE SAFE!
Now lets install the tools you'll need to create the rootfs
Code:
# apt–get install binfmt–support qemu qemu–user–static debootstrap
Once that's done, make a directory for the rootfs to sit in until it's ready for the SDCard and start installing the debian base
Code:
# cd ~
# mkdir deb_arm
# mkdir deb_arm/boot
# sudo /usr/sbin/debootstrap ––foreign ––arch armel squeeze deb_arm/ [url]http://ftp.au.debian.org/debian[/url]
Once that's done you'll need to copy across some qemu files so you can chroot into the deb_arm folder and finish the installation of the base system
Code:
# sudo cp /usr/bin/qemu–arm–static deb_arm/usr/bin
# sudo chroot deb_arm
# export LC_ALL=C
# export LANGUAGE=C
# export LANG=C
# cd /debootstrap
# ./debootstrap ––second–stage
once that's done you'll need to edit your apt sources, to do so run the following
Code:
# echo debandroid > /etc/hostname
# echo "deb [url]http://ftp.debian.org/debian/[/url] squeeze main contrib non–free" > /etc/apt/sources.list
# apt–get update
And then install any of the apps you'll want to run on your xoom, I'd recommend at least xorg, gdm3 and gnome, so
Code:
# apt–get install xserver–xorg–video–fbdev xserver–xorg–input–evdev gdm3 gnome initramfs–tools wpa-supplicant
You may find that you get an error like the following
Errors were encountered while processing: bluez gnome–bluetooth gnome–user–share gnome–desktop–environment
If you do, it's safe to ignore this for now. you can always complete the installation of any non–critical packages on the device. it seems to be something weird with the chroot or the qemu emulation of ARM (if anyone knows a way to fix this I'd be glad to hear it!)
Once that's done, you'll not only want to set your root password but you'll want to add a standard user account too
Code:
# passwd root
# adduser liv2
# addgroup ––gid 3003 inet
# usermod –aG 3003 liv2
The addgroup and usermod are especially important, the android kernel doesn't normally allow network access to non–root accounts. so we have to add the special group then give the user access to that group (or you could compile the kernel to not use the android paranoid network settings)
Once that's done, exit out of the chroot by hitting CTRL+D and copy the xorg config to deb_arm/etc/X11/ and copy in the wireless firmware you copied at the start
Code:
# mkdir ~/deb_arm/lib/firmware
# cp ~/fw_bcm4329.bin ~/deb_arm/lib/firmware
# cp ~/bcm4329.cal ~/deb_arm/lib/firmware
Building the Kernel
For this part, make sure you've extracted the kernel sources, and the android–ndk to somewhere, in my case they've been extracted in ~/Downloads
Code:
# cd ~/Downloads/Tiamat–AOSP–Tiamat–Xoom–798572c/
# export CROSS_COMPILE=~/Downloads/android–ndk–r5b/toolchains/arm–eabi–4.4.0/prebuilt/linux–x86/bin/arm–eabi–
# export ARCH=arm
# export INSTALL_PATH=~/deb_arm/boot
# export INSTALL_MOD_PATH=~/deb_arm
# make tiamat_defconfig
# make menuconfig
Once you've got the menuconfig screen up, go to Device Drivers > Character Devices > and enable "Virtual Terminal"
go to Device Drivers > Graphics Support > Console Display Driver support > enable "Framebuffer Console Support"
once you've enabled that, exit out and save the changes
Build the kernel and prepare it for use
Code:
# make –j2
# sudo make modules_install
# sudo cp arch/arm/boot/zImage ~/deb_arm/boot
# cp System.map ~/deb_arm/boot/
# chroot ~/deb_arm
# mkinitramfs –o /boot/initrd.img.gz `ls /lib/modules`
mkinitramfs may show some warnings like "warning: can't open /etc/mtab:" and "pkg: version '2.6.36.4Tiamat_Xoom–v1.4.4–Full_Throttle' has bad syntax: invalid character in version number" but it doesn't seem to have caused any issues for me.
Preparing the SDCard
Plug your SDCard reader into your computer and insert the card, you'll then need to partition and format it so make sure you've backed up the content of the card.
Partition it so you have two partitions, the first one being a FAT32 Partition for CWR and for anything you might want to use it for under Android.
Your second partition will need to be EXT3 and big enough to fit your debian install with some room to breathe (about 4GB in my case), you can check how much space you'll need for this by running du -sh ~/deb_arm
Once you've partitioned it, format the first partition as FAT32 and the second partition as EXT3. once you've done that you should put the SDCard back in your Xoom and make a new nandroid backup just to be sure
Code:
# sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb2
# sudo mkfs.msdos /dev/sdb1
Putting it all together
First we'll mount the SDCard on your PC and copy across the Root FS
# sudo mkdir /mnt/sdcard
# sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/sdcard
# sudo cp -arv ~/deb_arm/* /mnt/sdcard/
# umount /mnt/sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to the folder you unpacked mkbootimg to and copy in the boot.img from your CWR backup.
Once you've done that, follow the below steps to create the new boot.img for Debian to use
Code:
# cd ~/Downloads/mkbootimg
# cp ~/deb_arm/boot/zImage .
# cp ~/deb_arm/boot/initrd.img.gz .
# mkdir out
# ./unpackbootimg –i boot.img –o out/
# ./mkbootimg ––kernel zImage ––ramdisk initrd.img.gz ––base "`cat out/boot.img–base`" \
––cmdline "root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 console=tty0" –o newimg.img
Now reboot your Xoom into Fastboot mode and insert the SDCard, this can be done by holding power + volume up until the screen goes black, then power it back on and hold down the volume down key
Code:
# cp ~/Downloads/fastboot .
# ./fastboot flash boot newimg.img
# ./fastboot reboot
Your Xoom should now boot up into Debian, on the login screen select the accessibility options and enable on-screen keyboard to log in.
Alternatively, if you happen to have a USB-OTG adapter you can just use a keyboard and mouse to interact with the system.
Going Back to Android
To Roll back to Android, simply boot into Clockwork Recovery, go to Backup/Restore > Advanced Restore and restore boot.img only, reboot and you'll be back in Android
Acknowledgements
Lopi from the IX Project was a great help, and so was everyone from #IX
Lilstevie from @GalaxyLinux provided the Touchscreen patches
Framebuffer Patch was originally provided by Robert Morell for the Chromium Project
RootFS instructions are based on info at the Debian Wiki
Wow fantastic work, soon as I have some time to dedicate to this, I"m going to have a crack at it.
Reserved. Awesome. Hey OP just bump this thread to get your post count up so you can post this in developement. I was looking for an alternative that didn't require vnc.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I've asked a mod to move it now, I think I have the required postcount now anyway.
Just to note, you should be able to install Ubuntu, Gentoo, Fedora etc as long as you can build the root and the initrd for it.
If you do go through with this, be sure to post here! I'd love to see some ubuntu or gentoo or anything running on people's xooms really.
Also, I'm currently uploading a video I made showing how usable it really is
Cheers
maybe one day we can have a dual boot....<insert e-gasm>
Another reason xoom is a great tablet. I'm not linux savvy so I hope this becomes much easier in the future.
bilago said:
maybe one day we can have a dual boot....<insert e-gasm>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you kinda can!
If you don't need 3G support under Linux, you can flash the boot.img to the recovery partition and boot it that way.
If you need to use CWR later you can just restore the partition from a backup
LIV2 said:
Actually, you kinda can!
If you don't need 3G support under Linux, you can flash the boot.img to the recovery partition and boot it that way.
If you need to use CWR later you can just restore the partition from a backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you post a pre configured build for users that dont know much about linux can use once you get sound working?
Unfortunately it's not likely I'll get the sound working due to the proprietary nature of the sound drivers. I should be able to upload the prebuilt packages soon though.
Isn't sound support typically built into the kernel or at least built as a kernel module? Is there something i'm missing?
Hey,
The problem with the sound is the same reason there is no GPU Acceleration, it requires proprietary support from NVidia binary blobs that I don't have.
It's possible I will be able to get it going properly once they release the next Linux4Tegra, but I'm not sure.
I've tried to get this going with Gentoo all weekend. I can't seem to get any boot.img to boot on the Xoom once flashed (just stays frozen at the Moto logo). Apparently fastboot boot is locked out as well so I am unable to get any debug info on screen...
Hey equid0x
I'd be glad to help
Did you make sure to enable vt support in your kernel and set console=tty0 in your boot parameters?
Is it rebooting itself when you try to use your boot.img? if so make sure your initrd is being stored in the SRV4 format, you can do this by gunziping it then type file initramdisk.img which will tell you the version.
if that doesn't help let me know
looks like i left out a step in the kernel config section
which is "go to Device Drivers > Graphics Support > Console Display Driver support > enable "Framebuffer Console Support" " after enabling VT Support
I've updated the OP now.
hi LIV2, interesting stuff you're working on here. i'm not sure if you're aware, if you aren't this is gonna be a good news most likely: http://phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?56505-Linux-for-Tegra-release-12-alpha-1-Released
I believed there are binary blobs inside the package (haven't got the time to look at it), but there might be kernel changes needed to make it work too. I'm not sure as I'm not an expert in this area. But hopefully, this would realize a full blown linux OS on our Xoom.
Hebrew + Easy Dual Boot + Awesomeness
Well aint this something !!!
Have been waiting for this type of functionality for a long time !!! This absolutely awesome !!
So first of all - THANK YOU !
Second of all - Is there any chance you could include hebrew package with the RTL support ?
P.S : the dual boot idea is cool, but is there a way to make the device just boot into linux with a click on an icon ? (I mean run an app from android that'll reboot the tab into debian)
Firstly: this is awesome. Thank you for putting this how-to together. I've been wanting to boot Linux natively off my Xoom pretty much since the day I got it.
I originally tried to set up the chroot environment on Fedora and had all kinds of weird issues with the packages. I'm not sure if it was me or Fedora, but I ended up doing it in an Ubuntu VM instead and it worked out fine. Ultimately I'd like to actually get Fedora on the Xoom (maybe Ubuntu if I can get Unity to behave; the interface could be nice with a touchscreen).
Also, a question: How did you get your wifi set up? You noted that wpa_supplicant would work but I don't even seem to have a wifi interface present unless it has a name other than wlanX. It's not the usb0 interface, is it? My 3G adapter seems like it's recognized in the NM applet but I don't have a data plan, so it doesn't do me much good.
Lastly, I'll add a picture to the collection. Nothing super exciting - this is XFCE running on top of Debian. I've never been a big fan of GNOME and I figured it might be a little snappier
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
arctu said:
hi LIV2, interesting stuff you're working on here. i'm not sure if you're aware, if you aren't this is gonna be a good news most likely: http://phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?56505-Linux-for-Tegra-release-12-alpha-1-Released
I believed there are binary blobs inside the package (haven't got the time to look at it), but there might be kernel changes needed to make it work too. I'm not sure as I'm not an expert in this area. But hopefully, this would realize a full blown linux OS on our Xoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome
I've compiled a kernel with the audio components from the L4T Kernel sources but they don't seem to include codec support for the Xoom, I'm still playing around with this
However that is going to hopefully help with GPU support
Hyperion82 said:
Well aint this something !!!
Second of all - Is there any chance you could include hebrew package with the RTL support ?
P.S : the dual boot idea is cool, but is there a way to make the device just boot into linux with a click on an icon ? (I mean run an app from android that'll reboot the tab into debian)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll see what I can find re: language. shouldn't be too difficult, it'd just be a few different steps
As for the dualboot idea, it'd be possible to do so but I'm no coder
All it'd require is dding the boot img from within android, not sure how the NAND would hold up to constant rewrites though
eldarerathis said:
Firstly: this is awesome. Thank you for putting this how-to together. I've been wanting to boot Linux natively off my Xoom pretty much since the day I got it.
I originally tried to set up the chroot environment on Fedora and had all kinds of weird issues with the packages. I'm not sure if it was me or Fedora, but I ended up doing it in an Ubuntu VM instead and it worked out fine. Ultimately I'd like to actually get Fedora on the Xoom (maybe Ubuntu if I can get Unity to behave; the interface could be nice with a touchscreen).
Also, a question: How did you get your wifi set up? You noted that wpa_supplicant would work but I don't even seem to have a wifi interface present unless it has a name other than wlanX. It's not the usb0 interface, is it? My 3G adapter seems like it's recognized in the NM applet but I don't have a data plan, so it doesn't do me much good.
Lastly, I'll add a picture to the collection. Nothing super exciting - this is XFCE running on top of Debian. I've never been a big fan of GNOME and I figured it might be a little snappier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome!
Something I have to add to the guide is the wifi, to do this you should have the module for bcm4329 in your /lib/modules somewhere
so to use it, run modprobe bcm4329 nvram_path=/lib/firmware/bcm4329.cal firmware_path=/lib/firmware/fw_bcm4329.bin
then you should see the interface as eth0
you'll need to make sure your wpa_supplicant conf has ap_scan=1 and fast_reauth=1 set, otherwise it won't find any APs
LIV2 said:
Awesome!
Something I have to add to the guide is the wifi, to do this you should have the module for bcm4329 in your /lib/modules somewhere
so to use it, run modprobe bcm4329 nvram_path=/lib/firmware/bcm4329.cal firmware_path=/lib/firmware/fw_bcm4329.bin
then you should see the interface as eth0
you'll need to make sure your wpa_supplicant conf has ap_scan=1 and fast_reauth=1 set, otherwise it won't find any APs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
D'oh, I didn't even think to try running modprobe, I just assumed it was loaded That was the ticket, and wireless is working great (posting from the Debian install now!).
Looks like it's play time for me...thanks again!
Hello guys and girls. I'm gonna describe a little tool called Knives & forks and why it's so awesome. It's made by a user called DieHappy, so all credit to him! Source post: http://forums.acsyndicate.net/showthread.php?5008
Need I say once more that this isn't my work?
Before we start, I'd like to say I take no responsibility if something bad happens!
What is this, you say?
It is a set of tools for everyone, all operating systems and devices. It is a toolkit written in Python to work for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.
Well, what does it actually do?!
Easy there. DieHappy started working on this not so long ago, so the features are limited. Right now, he focuses on making sure this program offers a stable base for all known android devices. It sets up correct ADB and Fastboot drivers and also makes the need of an android sdk useless if you only use the drivers. No need to set up an environmental path to the sdk or to navigate to a folder to use ADB, you can use ADB from ANYWHERE! Just open up cmd/a terminal and type adb and bam, it works.
How to support this project?
I don't really offer assistance to this as my knowledge is limited, but I can probably give you answers to most questions. Check out the original thread here for more help.
How to reply to this thread?
Ask anything, or write anything about this program here. Do not clutter the original thread over at ascyndicate forums.
Ok, how do I go about installing this?
First off, make sure you know how to decompress archives (namely zip or rar archives). Try 7-zip. Also, make sure you know the process of creating and renaming folders.
Download current version: 12.02.04
Mac OS X
This was tested on Mac OS X 10.7.2. Please report your success or any errors you have running this on other versions, but report them on the source thread, no use in reporting this here.
Unzip to "/Users/INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE/knives-and-forks/"
NOTE: REPLACE "INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE" WITH YOUR COMPUTER USERNAME.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD UNZIP THE FILE TO: "/Users/DieHappy/knives-and-forks/"
NOTE: MAKE SURE THE DIRECTORY NAME IS SIMPLY "knives-and-forks".
DO NOT INCLUDE THE VERSION NUMBER IN THE FILE NAME FOR THE .ZIP FILE YOU DOWNLOADED.
Open Finder to "/Users/INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE/knives-and-forks/"
Double-Click "/Users/INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE/knives-and-forks/Knives-and-Forks-Mac.app"
You should see the Knives and Forks Main Menu in the Terminal window.
Linux
This was tested on Ubuntu 11.10 and Xubuntu 11.10. Please report your success or any errors you have running this on other versions or Linux distros.
Unzip to "/home/INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE/knives-and-forks/"
NOTE: REPLACE "INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE" WITH YOUR COMPUTER USERNAME.
FOR EXAMPLE, I WOULD UNZIP THE FILE TO: "/home/DieHappy/knives-and-forks/"
NOTE: MAKE SURE THE DIRECTORY NAME IS SIMPLY "knives-and-forks".
DO NOT INCLUDE THE VERSION NUMBER IN THE FILE NAME FOR THE .ZIP FILE YOU DOWNLOADED.
Open Terminal
Change the permissions to executable for "Knives-and-Forks-Linux.sh" by typing this into the Terminal window, then pressing [ENTER]:
Code:
chmod +x ~/knives-and-forks/Knives-and-Forks-Linux.sh
NOTE: "~" is a shortcut so you don't have to type "/home/INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE/"
Change to the "knives-and-forks" dir by typing the following in the Terminal window, then pressing [ENTER]:
Code:
cd ~/knives-and-forks
Run "Knives-and-Forks.sh" by typing the following in the Terminal window, then pressing [ENTER]:
Code:
[B]./[/B]Knives-and-Forks-Linux.sh
NOTE: DON'T FORGET TO TYPE "./" BEFORE THE FILE NAME.
THIS TELLS LINUX TO RUN THE SCRIPT IN THE CURRENT DIRECTORY.
TYPING JUST THE FOLLOWING WOULD RESULT IN AN ERROR:
Code:
Knives-and-Forks-Linux.sh
You should see the Knives and Forks Main Menu in a new Terminal window.
Windows
This was tested on Winows 7 Pro x64. Please report your success or any errors you have running this on other versions.
Unzip to your user profile directory
-- Vista, 7, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2: "c:\Users\INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE\knives-and-forks\"
-- 2000, XP, Server 2003: "c:\Documents & Settings\INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE\knives-and-forks\"
NOTE: REPLACE "INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE" WITH YOUR COMPUTER USERNAME.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN WINDOWS 7 I WOULD UNZIP THE FILE TO: "c:\Users\DieHappy\knives-and-forks\"
NOTE: MAKE SURE THE DIRECTORY NAME IS SIMPLY "knives-and-forks".
DO NOT INCLUDE THE VERSION NUMBER IN THE FILE NAME FOR THE .ZIP FILE YOU DOWNLOADED.
Run "c:\Users\INSERT-YOUR-USERNAME-HERE\knives-and-forks\Knives-and-Forks-Windows.cmd"
Python will automatically be downloaded and installed for you.
Once python is installed, you should see the Knives and Forks Main Menu in the command prompt window.
Ok, installed it, now what?
You should be able to open up your terminal application (or command prompt) and run some adb commands. In the future we will be automating adb commands for you, but for now you can try rebooting your device via adb by opening up a terminal (or command prompt) window, then typing the following, then pressing [ENTER]:
Code:
adb reboot
NOTE: AT THIS STAGE, YOU SHOULD ONLY NEED TO RUN THE KNIVES & FORKS SCRIPT ONCE TO INSTALL DRIVERS AND GET ADB WORKING. ONCE SETUP IS COMPLETE, YOU CAN RUN ADB COMMANDS AS SOON AS YOU OPEN UP YOUR TERMINAL/COMMAND PROMPT WINDOW.
If everything worked, your Android device should reboot. For further reading on what you can do with adb you can read THIS PAGE.
Code:
[B]**** 12.02.04 ****[/B]
- LINUX CHANGES:
-- "python2" is now called by "Knives-and-Forks-Linux.sh" instead of "python" on Arch.
- This prevents starting the script with Python 3, which results in errors.
-- Changes to "scripts/linux/install-adb-linux.sh":
- "su" will be used if "sudo" is not installed, or user doesn't have permissions to use it.
- Added 32-bit libs for more 64-bit distros:
- Arch (new in this release)
- CentOS (new in this release)
- Debian
- Fedora (new in this release)
- Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu
- Added Debian version of '/etc/udev/rules.d/99-android.rules'
- Added '/lib/udev/rules.d/92-permissions.rules' for Debian.
This should fix permissions, allowing adb to run without sudo or su.
- WINDOWS CHANGES:
-- Fixed a couple of missing quotes which were breaking things under Windows XP
- "%userprofile%" was coming back as "c:\documents" instead of
"c:\documents and settings\username" in a couple of places
-- "c:\python27" is now the only directory where we look for python.exe
- It is faster to download and install Python to "c:\Python27" than it is to search for it
elsewhere.
- This will also prevent issues where Python 3 was installed instead of Python 2, since the
script currently gives errors under Python 3.
-- Updated amd64 and x86 versions of setx.exe for updating system PATH on XP/VISTA/7
-- PATH is updated with adb.exe location after Python is installed.
-- The computer will now reboot after updating the PATH, to make sure it will be updated before
running the main program.
[B]
**** 12.01.27 ****[/B]
- GENERAL CHANGES:
-- After adb is installed, adb will reset the android device by running "adb reboot" instead of
displaying a list of attached devices with "adb devices".
adb was occasionally reporting no devices were attached, when they infact were. When this happened
"adb reboot" still worked, so it is a better test to see if adb is setup properly.
-- Friendlier messages during adb install and testing
-- Added a startup check to make sure the script is running from the correct directory
-- Removed empty Project directory, as it is not being used yet.
- LINUX CHANGES:
-- Added support for "lxterminal" and "urxvt" in "Knifes-and-Forks-Linux.sh"
-- Changed idVendors for Linux udev rules to lowercase instead of uppercase.
- WINDOWS CHANGES:
-- Startup script searches for python in "C:\Program Files (x86)" then "C:\Program Files" and
"c:\" last.
-- Drivers should now install even if the language is not English
-- Added drivers for Casio C771 G'zOne Commando
-- Added LG drivers
-- Replaced setx.exe
[B]**** 12.01.25 ****[/B]
- Replaced "Knives-and-Forks-Mac.sh" with "Knives-and-Forks-Mac.app".
Starting the script on a Mac should now be as simple as double-clicking the new .app file.
[B]**** 12.01.24 ****[/B]
- Fixed a typo which caused the script to crash when viewing the credits screen.
- Smarter python fix for Windows users.
-- "C:\" and all sub-directories are searched for python.exe.
-- If python is not not found, it will be downloaded from python.org and installed to c:\python27.
-- If python is found (in "C:\python27", "c:\python", "c:\xyz123", "c:\program files\python27" or
in any directory with any name anywhere on drive c:) the main menu script will launch.
- Added changelog.txt to the release .zip file.
[B]
**** 12.01.23 ****[/B]
- Minor update to fix Python installation for Windows users, which was causing the script not to launch.
[B]
**** 12.01.22 ****[/B]
(FIRST PUBLIC RELEASE)
- Added option to install adb & fastboot for Linux, Windows, Mac
- Added Linux drivers for:
-- ACER
-- ASUS
-- DELL
-- FOXCONN
-- GARMIN-ASUS
-- Google
-- Hisense
-- HTC
-- HUAWEI
-- K-TOUCH
-- KT Tech
-- KYOCERA
-- LENEVO
-- LG
-- MOTOROLA
-- NEC
-- NOOK
-- NVIDIA
-- OTGV
-- PANTECH
-- PEGATRON
-- PHILIPS
-- PMC-SIERRA
-- QUALCOMM
-- SK TELESYS
-- SAMSUNG
-- SHARP
-- SONY ERICSSON
-- TOSHIBA
-- ZTE
- Added Mac drivers for:
-- Nothing. According to Google, "It just works." Let me know if they are right.
- Added a custom Windows installer with drivers for:
-- GOOGLE
-- HTC
-- HUAWEI
-- SAMSUNG
is it useful to you guys? I mean, you don't ever have to hassle with having bad drivers as these always work. And you never need to hassle with ADB and/or fastboot commands as this sets up environmental values and other stuff so you can access the adb and fastboot commands from wherever you are, i.e. no need to navigate to a certain folder.
*bump*
Thanks man. Did some googling just now and found tools for my linux mint debian edition. Any new on this tools mate?Perhaps new features for next release.
Mac OSX 10.6.8, nothing happens on double click on .app file
Can You Mirror?
Theshawty said:
*bump*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried 4 a wk. It seems the site is down. Could you please attach the latest version here or mirror it mega? I would greatly appreciate it. I just wanted to try this out and "round out" my toolkits. Thank you for your time and help.
Debian “Chatter” Phone
Screenshot: http://www.mediafire.com/view/ljgv724r57tnx5y/2015-11-03-104935_480x800_scrot.png
Debian. Not run as a tack on, not emulated, not on top of Android, but standalone. That's my goal. That's what I've been working on. Turning an old Glide into a computer. After some careful thought, I figured some other people might be interested in that too, so I thought I'd post it here. Perhaps we can even work together to get it finished.
Why Debian “Chatter”? Well, all Debian versions are given a name from a toy in the Pixar film Toy Story. Chatter happens to be the toy telephone in Toy Story 3. I put Chatter in quotes because it actually is not an official release. Technically, at least at the moment, I am using Debian Jessie. Since becoming a release of Debian would be nearly impossible to spearhead from the ground level, it would most likely become an offshoot of Debian.
What I have done so far is utilize the internal “sdcard” partition as the root file system for Debian Jessie.
What's working:
- Standard Linux functions (mostly)
- Boot up to the X server (XFCE window manager currently)
- Screen, orientation and display
- Physical keyboard (Only the qwerty part)
- Touch-screen as a touch pad to move the mouse pointer
- Battery indication including if it is charging or not
- Audio with ALSA.
- Volume buttons
- Front soft keys
Flashing instructions if your Captivate Glide already has TWRP.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/z9fzrw68rio8sq9/recoveryTWRP.img
1. Download my TWRP backup, and put under the /TWRP/BACKUPS/<SERIALNUMBER>/ folder.
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9vifxpouh9voc/2015-10-20
2. Restore the image through the Restore function in TWRP.
3. Download my tar.gz file to your computer and extract it.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/716x1oxcglythhk/20151102.tar.gz
Or,
http://www.mediafire.com/download/88r6sr3u33bs532/20151106.tar.gz
4. Put your phone into the TWRP recovery, and choose the Mount option and select “sdcard”
5. Place the extracted contents of the dated folder onto the sdcard partition, but not the dated folder itself, just what is in it.
6. Reboot your phone into the ODIN download mode.
7. Download my 2ndboot.img file and i927.pit file.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/mudjm3j3304vt77/2nboot.img
http://www.mediafire.com/download/793j89i277rggpa/i927.pit
8. Using Heimdall-frontend, select the pit file, and flash the LNX partition with the 2ndboot.img file.
9. Reboot and Linux on!
Flashing instructions if your Captivate Glide already has Clockworkmod.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/f64i073d65e0ug1/recoverycwm.img
1. Download my copy of Bio360Rom.zip and move it to your phones sdcard.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1u2v6aac19fzh97/Bio360ROM.zip
2. Reboot into recovery mode (Clockworkmod) and install the Bio360Rom.zip
3. Reboot your phone into the ODIN download mode.
4. Download my 2ndboot.img file, my recovery.img file, and i927.pit file.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/mudjm3j3304vt77/2nboot.img
http://www.mediafire.com/download/z9fzrw68rio8sq9/recoveryTWRP.img
http://www.mediafire.com/download/793j89i277rggpa/i927.pit
5. Using Heimdall-frontend, select the pit file, and flash the LNX partition with the 2ndboot.img file.
6. Again using Heimdall-frontend, select the pit file, and flash the SOS partition with the recovery.img file.
7. Put your phone into the TWRP recovery, and choose the Mount option and select “sdcard”
8. Download my tar.gz file to your computer and extract it. Place the extracted contents of the dated folder onto the sdcard partition, but not the dated folder itself, just what is in it.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/716x1oxcglythhk/20151102.tar.gz
Or,
http://www.mediafire.com/download/88r6sr3u33bs532/20151106.tar.gz
9. Reboot and Linux on!
Optional instructions:
If you want to, head over to the Debian Jessie download page and download the arm version of the DVD's 1 and/or 2. In the following posts I describe how you can rip these cd's to set up a personal repository, one that you can strictly control all of the packages, which may be useful at this time.
Changelog:
Code:
Changelog - Debian "Chatter" using Canium Kernel
20151106
- Added shutdown.sh and reboot.sh to launcher for *better* handling of shutdown.
20151102
- Mapped soft keys: search - xfce-appfinder
- Mapped soft keys: back - xfce-next workspace
- Mapped soft keys: home - xfce showdesktop
- Mapped soft keys: menu - xfce-showmenu
- Mapped volume up/down to amixer Master +/- 5db.
- Added "event2" to xorg.conf. Volume buttons and power button are recognized and can now be mapped to an action.
- Added "event7" to xorg.conf. front soft keys are recognized and can now be mapped to an action.
- Enabled xfce splash screen (like a boot animation.) Also enabled text update of status during start of xfce.
20151101
- Edited xfce panel and options for display of information.
20151020-2
- Moved entire system off of sdcard and onto mmcblk0p4, the "internal sdcard" of the phone.
20151020
- Due to errors with Pulseaudio, removed pavucontrol/pulseaudio. Installed all Alsa controls.
- Installed LXMusic/xmms2 for mp3 player.
- Mixer and alsa mixer can properly set volume to path SPK_HP (the speaker or headphone) and adjust the volume. However, it will mute after a few moments of inactivity. A work in progress.
20151019 Continuing the current fork of Cranium Kernel.
- Udevd is not working due to lack of devtmpfs support in kernel. Added mdev support for hotplug items by editing init.stage2 with:
/sbin/busybox echo /sbin/busybox mdev > /proc/sys/kernel/hotplug
20151018
- Backed up entire system, forking to other kernels. This backup will remain with all that is done so far. The fork has a seperate changelog.
20151016
- Enabled usb0 as a network interface in /etc/network/interfaces, can start with ~# ifup usb0.
-On receiving computer, ensure that you insmod "mii.ko" and "usbnet.ko" if not already built into your kernel. -cannot figure out how to attach to it!
^-- I now realize that I would need to recompile my desktop computer kernel to support this endevour. This would distract from the process at hand. Scrapped.
- Added second armhf dvd from Debian Jessie to my local repository, and edited /etc/apt/sources to match.
20151015
- Edited xbattbar.sh script to accurately reflect if the phone is plugged in or not. - Put into 20151014 folder.
20151014
- Needed battery indicator. Added xbattbar as it is the only battery indicator with user scriptable inputs.
- Wrote script for xbattbar to work, now accurately reflects battery capacity.
- Put xbattbar in .xsession and removed xclock from .xsession
20151013
- Added XFCE4 and set as default for root in /root/.xsession file with xclock on startup for fun.
20151010
- Added local repository under folder /repo/all
- Used dpkg-scan to create Packages.gz
- Added local repository to /etc/apt/sources.list
20151008
- Added Keyboard to xorg.conf, some keys work, some do not.
20151005
- Added touchscreen to xorg.conf as "corepointer", works to move mouse.
20150924
- Created new initramfs.cpio.gz
- Created new_boot.img
- Copied another init script and init.stage2 script onto sdcard and edited for my purposes.
- Originally booted to Linux, then started Android, and Android was what you saw.
- Edited init and init.stage2 script so that it now boots Linux, and you see Linux. Android is running in chroot env. but cannot start fully due to /dev/graphics/fb0 is in use.
20150921
- Started with debootstrap base image of Debian Jessie
- Added openssh, vnc, lxde, jwm, and some other programs through emulator.
- Broke down Biorom kernel and initramfs. Using Cranium Kernel.
As for me, I plan to keep working on this project, if you are interested in working on this project as well, please feel free to work on it! You can work independently or with me on this if you would like. You are welcome to post here, or to contact me through XDA's message service. Please see the next posts on what still needs to be done (which is a lot).
The current passwords are:
root = root
trondroid = trondroid
me = me
Enjoy!
Thanks to these people for their time and knowledge!
As with any project, it starts somewhere, and I want to thank the following individuals for their prior work that I used as the basis of this project. These individuals may not know that their tools were used here, but I would like to thank them for posting their knowledge and or files or programs for people like me to be able to read and use:
XDA developer bubor – Seriously, this person has a lot of great material on this site. I borrowed their TWRP recovery.img.
XDA developer mdubb2341 - I used this person's Bio360Rom as the chrooted Android environment, due to it's small size and resource requirements (e.g. no zRam).
Mikael Q Kuisma - http://whiteboard.ping.se/Android/Debian – This guy helped tremendously with the breakdown of the boot.img and hijacking init to do what I want instead. He explains how to start Linux then Android, and use your Android phone with Linux underneath.
Eryk Wdowiak - http://www.wdowiak.me/anX11phone/ - This gentleman had some great material on starting Linux after starting Android and running Linux on top of Android.
Ivan Davidov - http://minimal.linux-bg.org/ - The tutorials on setting up minimalistic Linux environments and boot script examples were priceless.
To do list
Phone specific things to do: (Wow this is a big list!)
GPS – I have put FoxtrotGPS and gpsd in the image. I know that /dev/ttyHS0 is the GPS output, but it appears that the GPS is of course off, because it has not been started yet. I either need to echo the appropriate digits into the /sys files, or tell the chrooted Android to turn it on. I also found that it relies on gpsd, and uses standard output to it, which is a huge plus for a Linux phone.
Phone calls/text messaging/radio control – I have not even started on that. My goal was to run a chrooted Android environment and “tell it” from Debian to make a phone call or send and receive messages.
Bluetooth – The module for the bluetooth is already loaded, and I have put the bluez and other bluetooth tools on the phone, I just cannot figure out how to connect to it. It may be powered off also.
Wifi – The modules for this are in the /android/lib/modules directory, but once I insmod them, it does not appear as a connection. I believe that I need to do some sort of mknod to create a node or socket to connect to it, or have the chrooted Android turn it on.
Camera – I have not even looked at this yet.
Accelerometer/compass - I have not even looked at this yet.
Slide switch – I am hoping to use xranr and event input to rotate the screen and change the resolution if you slide out the keyboard.
Code:
Available devices:
/dev/input/event0: STMPE_keypad – The physical keyboard.
/dev/input/event1: mpu-accel
/dev/input/event2: sec_key – Physical keys – Volume +/- and power.
/dev/input/event3: sec_touchscreen – The touchscreen input.
/dev/input/event4: proximity_sensor – Sensor that turns off the screen when your face is against it.
/dev/input/event5: light_sensor – Ambient light sensor to control screen brightness and keyboard lights.
/dev/input/event6: HALL – Opening the slide out keyboard.
/dev/input/event7: sec_touchkey – front face soft keys - home, back, search, menu.
/dev/input/event8: compass_sensor
Linux specific things to do: (Wow, this is also a big list!)
lspci – lspci does not work, which hampers the ability to figure out control of some of the devices. This is a problem (I think) with the kernel / arm hardware and the way the arm ARCH is set up. It uses AMBA.
lsusb - Fixed!
- I also got an OTG cable and can plug stuff in and see it show up with lsusb!
Audio – Pulse audio fails, so I replaced it with alsa. While alsa does work, it has the uniqe problem of turning off the path to device when there is no sound playing. Currently, if you want to listen to music, you open a music player, start the music, open the alsa volume mixer, set the path to SPK_HP, and adjust the volume as desired. Once the song or play list is done, pressing play again will yield no sound until you go to the volume mixer and choose SPK_HP again.
Init – Systemd is the standard init for Debian Jessie, but it causes too many problems on the phone. It either needs to be redone, or replaced. Currently, I am using the rc.local script to start some selected services, as a userspace init, so to speak.
Dbus – dbus can be started after you enter the X window environment, e.g. after the chrooted Android is done starting. I don't know that it is working properly.
Graphics – Currently Debian is just drawing straight to the frame buffer, it would be nice to get the nVidia drivers working for 3d acceleration.
Chrooted Android specific problems: (Not as big of a list.)
ADB – Fixed, ADB now works to connect to the chrooted Android from your computer using ADB as usual.
AM – The activity manager cannot start because we have stolen /dev/graphics/fb0 for the Debian x-server, so you cannot access the AM. If the AM can get up and running, then it would be possible to script orders to it, such as make phone calls, start wifi, etc.
SurfaceFlinger - SF is waiting for the /dev/graphics/fb0 to become available. It would be beneficial to have it "start" without it, perhaps to a virtual frame buffer, which requires a new kernel, or user-space tools like xvfb.
If you have any ideas or thoughts on how to do these things, or if you would like to tackle one of these projects, please let me know! I'd be happy to post your work and let everyone know that you came up with the solution!
Optional Instructions
Optional instructions:
If you want to, head over to the Debian Jessie download page and download the arm version of the DVD's 1 and/or 2. In this post I describe how you can rip these cd's to set up a personal repository, one that you can strictly control all of the packages, which may be useful at this time.
Here are the links for the DVD's:
http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/8.2.0/armhf/iso-dvd/debian-8.2.0-armhf-DVD-1.iso
http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/8.2.0/armhf/iso-dvd/debian-update-8.2.0-armhf-DVD-1.iso
Then, on your computer:
Code:
~$ cd {to your download directory}
~$ mkdir disk1
~$ mkdir disk2
~$ sudo mount ./debian-8.2.0-armhf-DVD-1.iso ./disk1
~$ sudo mount ./debian-update-8.2.0-armhf-DVD-1.iso ./disk2
~$ mkdir repo1
~$ mkdir repo2
~$ cd disk1
~$ find . -name *deb -exec mv '{}' ../repo1/ \;
~$ cd ..
~$ cd disk2
~$ find . -name *deb -exec mv '{}' ../repo2/ \;
~$ cd ..
~$ sudo umount ./disk1
~$ sudo umount ./disk2
~$ rmdir ./disk1
~$ rmdir ./disk2
~$ cd repo1
~$ sudo dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip -9c > Packages.gz
~$ cd ..
~$ cd repo2
~$ sudo dpkg-scanpackages . /dev/null | gzip -9c > Packages.gz
~$ cd ..
Now you can copy those files to your external sdcard, mount it and add these custom repositories to your /etc/apt/sources.list.
Enjoy!
Really great to see that! Please continue working on this I like the idea maybe I participate instead of trying to port ubuntu touch...
In the meanwhile keep up your work and thanks for sharing!
-----
Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app
Thanks!
xdajog said:
Really great to see that! Please continue working on this I like the idea maybe I participate instead of trying to port ubuntu touch...
In the meanwhile keep up your work and thanks for sharing!
-----
Sent from my SGH-I927 using XDA Android mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks xdajog!
I also tried to port Ubuntu Touch, but the recovery drive is too big for the standard size. I broke down the recovery image and tried to shrink it, I could make it smaller, but I could not get it small enough. Then I attempted to change the pit and re-partition, but ended up having to recover the phone. That is when I started working on this project.
I appreciate the encouragement, and I will be posting more soon! I hope
20151102 update.
Just a quick post on the updates. The first post has been updated with new links to the new files, and the change log gives the basics. Here is a little more detail:
Essentially I was able to add support for the /dev/input/event7 (soft keys) and /dev/input/event2 (the physical buttons).
Now the front soft keys work:
Menu - essentially the right click menu of whatever the mouse pointer is on.
Home - clears the desktop, pressing this again will reveal all of your windows again.
Back - I used this as the switch between desktops.
Search - This now brings up the xfce app finder.
The volume keys now are bound with "amixer set Master 5dB+" or "amixer set Master 5dB-" to adjust the volume.
20151106 update.
Just a few things added in this update:
Created new shutdown.sh and reboot.sh scripts and linked them to a launcher menu on the panel. It was needed to make sure the system is properly shut down, including the chrooted android system.
Also purged and re-installed lsusb, and now it works. After plugging anything into the OTG cable, they will show up on lsusb and things like a mouse are added as /dev/input/event8.
Several failed attempts, but much was learned about the GPS, particularly the use of gpsd. I can now link gpsd to the GPS, however I still need to turn power for the GPS on. However, the Activity Manager for Android is not up and running because Surface Flinger fails to start due to /dev/graphics/fb0 or fb1 being in use by the X server for Debian.
20151109 update.
One of the principle problems with the phone setup was the lack of udev support, which is very important in Debian Jessie.
The problem with udev was the lack of "devtmpfs" file system support in the kernels for the Samsung i927.
So after *many* painful attempts, I was able to load a computer with Ubuntu 12.04, download all of the source code, and compile a custom kernel for the i927. This kernel includes devtmpfs and a few other Linux related things.
The output of uname -a:
Code:
Linux localhost 3.1.10 #2 SMP PREEMPT Mon Nov 9 11:25:41 AKST 2015 armv7l GNU/Linux
And after remaking a boot image, I flashed it to the phone, and to my surprise, this time it worked! Perhaps tomorrow I can update the top post with the new boot image.
It caught me by surprise also because it re-arranged the order of /dev/input/event#'s moving the touchscreen to 1, where before it was 2, but that was easily overcome by editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf.
I do not know that my new kernel is "better" overall, but it is more "useful" as it includes the devtmpfs support needed to continue with this project.
New Kernel.
Still having trouble fine tuning the kernel to be just right, which is why I have not updated the top post with this information yet, but for those interested, here it is.
The new kernel:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/orkbt7kcx16z0or/20151110ALUboot.img
Flash the boot.img with Odin to the LNX partition.
Edit the xorg.conf file /etc/X11/xorg.conf with the following. The reason for this is that the new kernel has a different order of "events" for device inputs.
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout0"
Screen "Screen0"
InputDevice "touchscreen" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "keyboard"
InputDevice "mediakeys"
InputDevice "frontkeys"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
DisplaySize 800 480
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "touchscreen"
Driver "evdrv"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event2"
Driver "multitouch"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "keyboard"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event0"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "keyboard"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event8"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "mediakeys"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event3"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "frontkeys"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event7"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/graphics/fb0"
Option "Rotate" "left"
Option "VertRefresh" "60"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
EndSubSection
EndSection
Otherwise, your touchscreen will not function.
Phone is broken.
Unfortunately, my spare Captivate Glide finally bit the dust. :crying:
Regardless of what rom/software I put on it, it cannot sustain itself for more than a minute or so before it simply stops working. The screen turns grainy, gets lines through it, and then it reboots itself. Perhaps if I get another phone or motherboard I can continue working on this further.
AlaskaLinuxUser said:
Unfortunately, my spare Captivate Glide finally bit the dust. :crying:
Regardless of what rom/software I put on it, it cannot sustain itself for more than a minute or so before it simply stops working. The screen turns grainy, gets lines through it, and then it reboots itself. Perhaps if I get another phone or motherboard I can continue working on this further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bad news. Nevertheless thanks for all your work!
The problem you describing may because of the power button. There is a known issue which is also with my dev phone (and others out there). Whenever I press it after the phone booted up it will crash the same way then yours. To be able to develop I avoid using the power button to do so I use the highest display timeout value and if I need to wake up the phone I use an adb command to do so.
.
tim241 said:
Any idea how to port this to an other device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tim241, sorry, I didn't watch this forum anymore, but I will be glad too if you want to ask questions.
Yes, I can tell you how to port this to another device, but I cannot guarantee success. What device do you wish to port it too?
Also, everything I did I wrote in my blog, which is in my signature. I will gladly answer questions here or there.
-AlaskaLinuxUser https://thealaskalinuxuser.wordpress.com/
tim241 said:
my device is the Samsung Galaxy Core 2 SM-G355HN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so the next thing we need are some ROMs to break down the boot image from. What ROMs are available for your phone?
Older is better, stock or custom is okay.
Preferably Android 2.3.* is best because it uses the least amount of processing power and ram.
Android 4.4+ will not work as well, as you will not be able to " hold " onto the screen. It is okay that it is older Android, since you will not actually see the Android part, you are just using it to initialize firmware, etc.
What we will do, as I can explain in more detail as we go along, is break down the boot image and make our own init script that will start Debian Linux. Then Debian will be the boss. Debian will start Android, but Debian will control the screen and inputs.
-AlaskaLinuxUser https://thealaskalinuxuser.wordpress.com/
tim241 said:
we only have cyanogenmod 11 :-/ here http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...cyanogenmod-11-samsung-galaxy-core-2-t3308697
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bummer. So, we can still proceed, but we may have screen trouble with 4.4. Do you want to continue?
-AlaskaLinuxUser https://thealaskalinuxuser.wordpress.com
Great attitude! Let's try!
tim241 said:
We can try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so first things first, STEP 1: downloads!
Download these things:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/zl80gh0t310trla/unpack-bootimg.pl
http://www.mediafire.com/download/xdmd278n17gm58h/unmkbootimg
http://www.mediafire.com/download/byf0tw4ga2mqtw0/repack-bootimg.pl
http://www.mediafire.com/download/7cmi548pzetc6c4/mkbootimg
And download CM11, if you have not already.
I am using Linux, Ubuntu 14.04. I did this previously from Debian Wheezy, so any Linux should work. You can also use a VM, virtualbox, etc. if you are on a Windows computer.
STEP 2: Unzip!
Go ahead and unzip the CM11 that you downloaded. Preferably in its very own folder. For my work, I made a folder called "playground" in my home directory to play around in. I will reference the "playground" meaning the main folder with everything in it. Now, in the playground, make a new folder called "bootimage". In the playground folder, copy the boot.img file to the bootimage folder.
STEP 3: Tools setup!
Copy the downloaded above tools into a new folder called "tools" in the playground folder. Open a terminal here and give these files executable permissions and copy them again to the bootimage folder:
Code:
$ cd ~/playground/tools
$ chmod 777 ./*
$ cp ./ ../bootimage
We copy this twice so we have backups of the tools in case we delete them accidentally.
STEP 4: Unpack the boot image!
Open a terminal and go to the bootimage folder, and start typing:
Code:
$ cd ~/playground/bootimage
$ ./unmkbootimg ./bootimage
You will see some output in the terminal that looks *kind of* like this:
Code:
$ ./unmkbootimg ./boot.img
unmkbootimg version 1.2 - Mikael Q Kuisma <[email protected]>
Kernel size 2992704
Kernel address 0x10008000
Ramdisk size 2196028
Ramdisk address 0x11000000
Secondary size 0
Secondary address 0x10f00000
Kernel tags address 0x10000100
Flash page size 2048
Board name is ""
Command line ""
This image is built using standard mkbootimg
Extracting kernel to file zImage ...
Extracting root filesystem to file initramfs.cpio.gz ...
All done.
---------------
To recompile this image, use:
mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk initramfs.cpio.gz -o new_boot.img
---------------
Whatever it says, copy and paste it, hand type it, screenshot, whatever it takes, write the output down, because this is the key to re-making your boot image! I recommend that you post the output here on XDA so we can look at it together.
Then, unpack it like so:
Code:
$ ./unpack-bootimg.pl ./boot.img
You should see something *like* this:
Code:
$ ./unpack-bootimg.pl ./boot.img
kernel written to ./boot.img-kernel.gz
ramdisk written to ./boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
7607 blocks
extracted ramdisk contents to directory ./boot.img-ramdisk/
You will now have folders and files to play with. After you report back the outcome of this, we will make our init script and continue on.
Good luck! I will wait for your reply!
tim241 said:
Also I need to warn you about the disk space from the device(galaxy core 2 SM-G355HN):
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_core_ii-6331.php.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! Good work.
Now for today's steps:
#1. Download:
Debian system (WARNING - this is almost 700 mb!)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/88r6sr3u33bs532/20151106.tar.gz
Very tiny busybox (1.06 mb)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/4uhu93prdtlqdmr/busybox
NOTE: These files will get you started. Later, you can build your own busybox and Linux root file system if you want, these worked for me, so I think it is best to start by using a known working source.
#2. Partition sdcard:
I use a computer to do this, but there are many phone tools available also. You can later transfer all of this internally, and do this without an sdcard, but this is the best way to get started, as you learn, you can move it all to the phone.
So, my computer has an sdcard slot, you may use an adapter, or use your phone, it really doesn't matter. The sizes here are a suggestion, but you will need 2 partitions on the card. I am using an 8 GB card as my example.
Partition Type Size Notes
1 fat32/vfat 2 GB (or more if your card is bigger)
2 ext4 6 GB (or the remainder)
Now, the first partition will be "seen" by Android. The second partition will not typically be seen by Android.
#3. Unzip the Debian system.
First, make a folder in your playgroup folder called sdcard. (~/playgroup/sdcard)
Right clicking on it will most likely work, depending on your distro, but if you use the terminal, the command unzip should do it. When you unzip the file, it may error after completing the task, that is usually okay. It is a difference in zip endings for Linux/Windows. All the 97151 files should be there, you can right click on the folder to verify. It will be in a folder called 20151106, in that folder, you will see a bunch of folders, such as android, proc, lib, etc, and so on. Copy all of those files to your ~/playgroup/sdcard folder.
Now you have a basic Debian Linux system with an XFCE desktop and a user all ready to go. We will need to change a few things that are specific to your phone though, to make this work right.
#4. Copy the original boot stuff to your sdcard folder.
In that ~/playgroup/sdcard folder, is a folder called android (~/playgroup/sdcard/android). This folder currently contains all of the ramdisk for the Cranium Kernel on an i927. You will go ahead and delete everything in the ~/playgroup/sdcard/android folder. It is useless to you.
When you broke down your boot.img file, you were given a new folder called "./boot.img-ramdisk/" this is the contents of your ramdisk for your kernel. Copy all of the files in the boot.img-ramdisk folder to the android folder. Make sure you copy, not move, you will need the other copy for modification shortly.
#5. Gather some information.
Install CM11 to your phone, if you have not already done so. Insert your sdcard. Turn on your phone. Once done, we need to get some information from it. Install a terminal app and give it root permission, or use adb shell from you computer, either way works. Now gather the following information:
Code:
$ su
# mount
.....info you need.....
Write down, copy, or screenshot all of this information.
Code:
$ su
# ls /dev
.....info you need.....
# ls /dev/input
.....info you need.....
# ls /dev/graphic <-----(or graphics depending on your phone)
.....info you need.....
Write down, copy, or screenshot all of this information. You may need some of it later.
WHY:
We will need the partition details and the framebuffer details.
Turn off your phone and remove the sdcard.
#6. Make some changes to init.stage2 file.
There should be a file called init.stage2 in the etc folder: ~/playgroup/sdcard/etc/init.stage2
Open that file with a text editor. Line 43 should say this:
Code:
export FRAMEBUFFER=/dev/graphics/fb1
Change the last part "fb1" to be the earliest fb you wrote down from step 5: "# ls /dev/graphic". So if you have an fb0, put that here. If it starts at fb1, put that here. save the file. You can close that now.
WHY:
Currently, it was set to the framebuffer I was using. We need the framebuffer (screen) for your phone.
#7. Edit your rc.local file.
Open the ~/playgroup/sdcard/etc/rc.local file.
NOTE: There is also an ~/playgroup/sdcard/etc/init.d/rc.local file, that is not the file you want.
It should say:
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.
# Start the ssh client, in the event you need it.
/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start
/etc/init.d/ssh start
# Clean up bad crash before starting x server.
# /sbin/busybox mkdir -p /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/
# Start the x server, warning, if the touchscreen or keypad doesn't work
# then you cannot escape without killing power!
/usr/bin/startx &
#export USER=root
#vncserver :5000
exit 0
At this time, change it to say:
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.
# Start the ssh client, in the event you need it.
/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start
/etc/init.d/ssh start
# Clean up bad crash before starting x server.
# /sbin/busybox mkdir -p /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/
# Start the x server, warning, if the touchscreen or keypad doesn't work
# then you cannot escape without killing power!
#/usr/bin/startx &
#export USER=root
#vncserver :5000
exit 0
Save the file, and you may now close that window.
WHY:
Currently, it was set to start the openssh server, then the x server. We want to only start the ssh server so we can get the proper information for the x server. We will change this file back later when we have the information.
#8. Put Debian Linux on the sdcard's second partition:
Here is where things will differ for you and me. I don't know where your card will mount, your system may auto-mount your sdcard when you put it in, but here is what you need to do:
-Mount the second partition to /mnt, or figure out where it is mounted.
Code:
$ cd ~/playgroup/sdcard/
$ sudo su
<enter your password>
# cp -Rav ./* /mnt
# sync
# exit
$ exit
WHY:
If you drag and drop, some files will not copy right. We need all files to have the proper permissions and the proper file attributes.
Now you can unmount the partitions and remove the sdcard from the computer/adapter.
#9. Prep your new boot image.
Okay, here is where rubber meets the road. Follow close, because this is really important.
The
Code:
<---
are my comments, don't type those (obviously).
Code:
$ cd ~/playgroup/bootimage/boot.img-ramdisk/ <---to get to the right place.
$ rm -rf * <---to empty out the ramdisk
$ mkdir data
$ mkdir dev
$ mkdir mnt
$ mkdir proc
$ mkdir sbin
$ mkdir sys
$ mkdir system
$ touch init
$ mkdir ./mnt/root
WHY:
This makes the empty directory that you need. Most of this will be populated when the phone starts by busybox.
Remember that busybox file you downloaded? copy it into the sbin folder. THis busybox will actually be the heart and soul of your computer/phone during startup. The Kernel will only interface with it at first.
Now open the init file with gedit or some other text editor, and fill it in with this:
Code:
#!/sbin/busybox sh
# initramfs pre-boot init script
# Mount the /proc and /sys filesystems
/sbin/busybox mount -t proc none /proc
/sbin/busybox mount -t sysfs none /sys
/sbin/busybox mount -t tmpfs none /dev
# System needs a few cycles here
/sbin/busybox sleep 1
# Populate /dev
/sbin/busybox mdev -s
# Mount the root filesystem, second partition on micro SDcard
/sbin/busybox mount -t ext4 -o noatime,nodiratime,errors=panic /dev/mmcblk1p2 /mnt/root
# Clean up
/sbin/busybox umount /proc
/sbin/busybox umount /sys
/sbin/busybox umount /dev
# Transfer root to SDcard
exec /sbin/busybox switch_root /mnt/root /etc/init
Save the file and close it. Now, this only works if your step 5: "ls /dev" has /dev/mmcblk1p1 and /dev/mmcblk1p2, and no higher /dev/mmcblk1p* numbers. There should also be a bunch of /dev/mmcblk0p* numbers, that is okay, that is your phone's internal storage. This should be correct, but if you do not have that in step 5, then let me know and we will look at your output from step 5.
Code:
$ cd ~/playgroup/bootimage
$ rm initramfs.cpio.gz
$ cd ./boot.img-ramdisk/
$ sudo su
<enter your password>
# chmod a+x ./init
# chmod a+x ./sbin/busybox
# find . | cpio --quiet -H newc -o | gzip > ../initramfs.cpio.gz
# cd ..
# mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk initramfs.cpio.gz --base 0x0 --cmdline 'console=ttyS1,115200n8 androidboot.selinux=permissive' -o new_boot.img
-With heimdall, heimdall-frontend, or Odin, flash the new_boot.img to the boot partition of your phone. Make sure you already have your prepared sdcard in your phone. If it auto rebooted, proceed to step 10. If not, power off when done, then power on and go to the next step.
#10. Reboot your phone.
So, make sure your prepared sdcard is in the phone. Your phone probably rebooted when you flashed the new boot image. For the most part, if this worked, boot up will look normal. If it did not work. It should not have booted. CM11 will start and you will have no idea that anything is different. However, if it booted, there is a difference now, there are a few easy ways to see it.
Install an ssh app on your phone from the playstore or with adb. Remember in step 7, we left the openssh server running. This is your ticket "in" to the Linux that is actually in charge of your phone.
open-ssh is installed and running, so using the ssh app, set it for: [email protected]
username is trondroid, password is trondroid
If successful, it should log into the command line of your Debian Linux powered phone! A couple things to remember:
root user has a password of root.
me has a password of me.
trondroid has a password of trondroid. trondroid also has sudo permission.
If you turn on the WiFi in CM11, and your computer is on the same network, you can run this in your computer's terminal to access the phone:
ssh [email protected] (ipaddress of phone, get from settings menu)
Debian actually is CM11's boss. Debian can delete/move/modify anything in CM11's world. BE CAREFUL! This is the ultimate root! You can even resize CM11's partitions from here. SO BE CAREFUL!
Apt-get works to download any Debian programs you want. We will get into the graphical stuff next time.
Congratulations! You made it work. Now we just have to set up the buttons, keys, xorg.config, and sound for the Debian part, which we will do next. Let me know how it went, and if you have any trouble! Play around and have fun! You are IN!
Part 3 of 3. The final instructions.
Well, I don't know what happened to Tim, but for any interested (probably not many, but for any who are) here are the final instructions.
If you are still with me, then you have already set up your phone to first boot Debian Linux, and then Linux will start Android in a chroot environment. Your phone is actually already running Debian Linux, just with Android being run and displayed on the screen. At any moment, you can actually stop or kill Android. At this point, you also have the power to mess Andriod up, so do be careful!
If you just tuned in, I recommend that you go back to the previous posts, as there is a lot of critical information you need.
Right now, you should be able SSH into your own Linux from the Android gui by using any ssh app to yourself as the local host, since our SSH deamon is running. What we want, though, is for your screen to display the Linux screen, instead of the Android that is running in a chroot environment.
A key part of all of this, is that Android, other than through services like SSH, does not know that Debian Linux exists and it does not have any control over the Linux system or functions. One problem with this is that Android may occaisionally crash due to memory problems, if your Linux environment is using too much RAM. Ironically, if you SSH into your Linux environment, you can use ps aux, or top to see all of Android's running processes. Your Linux environment is now the ultimate root, because even Android doesn't know it exists. You can log anything from Android and save it, you can stop any Android process. You have complete control over your Android system.
However, before making the "plunge" to a Linux only phone, you need a few details. The easiest way to get these is to do some research on your phone. Through SSH, run the ls command in your /dev folder, and look for "input"
Code:
$ cd /dev
$ ls |grep input
/dev/input
/dev/input/event7
/dev/input/event6
/dev/input/event5
/dev/input/event4
/dev/input/event3
/dev/input/event1
/dev/input/event0
/dev/input/event2
On my Samsung Captivate Glide, these are all the available inputs. But what are they? Well, there are several tools to check this. The easiest way, however, is to SSH into Linux, start x11vnc in Linux, and use an app like bvncfree in Android to bring up a visual screen to work with. How you need to do this is a bit tough to describe, because it is so dependent upon your phone and setup. However, if you are using my files, the user trondroid should have a shell script in the home folder for starting jwm in this fashion.
Another way is to start the XserverXDSL app in Android, and then startx in Linux through SSH. That should get you to the same place.
Once you have established a "visual" screen, you now should open up a terminal in your Linux screen. Remember, all input commands that you input right now are from the Android app you are using. That means the "mouse", "click", and "keyboard" are all virtual. You need to set up your real screen as a mouse, for motion and clicking. You also need to set up your physical buttons from your phone, and your keyboard if you have one. With your terminal open, use evtest, like so:
Code:
$ sudo evtest
No device specified, trying to scan all of /dev/input/event*
Available devices:
/dev/input/event0: STMPE_keypad
/dev/input/event1: mpu-accel
/dev/input/event2: sec_key
/dev/input/event3: sec_touchscreen
/dev/input/event4: proximity_sensor
/dev/input/event5: light_sensor
/dev/input/event6: HALL
/dev/input/event7: sec_touchkey
/dev/input/event8: compass_sensor
This even works on your home computer. For instance, here is my laptop:
Code:
$ sudo evtest
No device specified, trying to scan all of /dev/input/event*
Available devices:
/dev/input/event0: Sleep Button
/dev/input/event1: Lid Switch
/dev/input/event2: Power Button
/dev/input/event3: AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
/dev/input/event4: Logitech USB Optical Mouse
/dev/input/event5: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad
/dev/input/event6: Video Bus
/dev/input/event7: ST LIS3LV02DL Accelerometer
/dev/input/event8: HDA ATI SB Mic
/dev/input/event9: HDA ATI SB Line
/dev/input/event10: HDA ATI SB Headphone
/dev/input/event11: HP WMI hotkeys
Select the device event number [0-11]:
But we will focus on the phone. Great! Now we know what event is what input! For instance, event3 is the touchscreen. Now we have something to work with. In my case, event0 is the physical keyboard, but those are rare these days.
You can also test those inputs, by choosing a number for the device, and then using that function. Here you can see me test the "menu key" on the keyboard:
Code:
Menu Key on keyboard
Event: time 25170.575766, type 4 (EV_MSC), code 4 (MSC_SCAN), value 8b
Event: time 25170.575844, type 1 (EV_KEY), code 139 (KEY_MENU), value 0
Event: time 25170.575854, -------------- EV_SYN ------------
Another great tool is called xev, again, open up a terminal and use it like this:
Code:
$ xev
ButtonRelease event, serial 33, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x26f, subw 0x0, time 156984900, (175,123), root:(228,195),
state 0x100, button 1, same_screen YES
MotionNotify event, serial 33, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x26f, subw 0x0, time 156985076, (177,123), root:(230,195),
state 0x0, is_hint 0, same_screen YES
There is also xinput, here is an output from my computer:
Code:
$ xinput test-xi2
⎡ Virtual core pointer id=2 [master pointer (3)]
⎜ ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer id=4 [slave pointer (2)]
⎜ ↳ Logitech USB Optical Mouse id=9 [slave pointer (2)]
⎜ ↳ SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad id=11 [slave pointer (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard id=3 [master keyboard (2)]
↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard id=5 [slave keyboard (3)]
↳ Power Button id=6 [slave keyboard (3)]
↳ Video Bus id=7 [slave keyboard (3)]
↳ Sleep Button id=8 [slave keyboard (3)]
↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard id=10 [slave keyboard (3)]
↳ HP WMI hotkeys id=12 [slave keyboard (3)]
EVENT type 13 (RawKeyPress)
device: 3 (10)
detail: 54
valuators:
cEVENT type 14 (RawKeyRelease)
device: 3 (10)
detail: 54
valuators:
EVENT type 13 (RawKeyPress)
device: 3 (10)
detail: 40
valuators:
The overall idea, though, is that you need to open up an x session, so you can then see what x inputs are matched to which event. Once you have all of this information, you can edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to match. Here is the one I made for the Samsung Captivate Glide:
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Layout0"
Screen "Screen0"
InputDevice "touchscreen" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "keyboard"
InputDevice "mediakeys"
InputDevice "frontkeys"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
DisplaySize 800 480
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "touchscreen"
Driver "evdrv"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event3"
Driver "multitouch"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "keyboard"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event0"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "keyboard"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event8"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "mediakeys"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event2"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "frontkeys"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event7"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/graphics/fb0"
Option "Rotate" "left"
Option "VertRefresh" "60"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
DefaultDepth 16
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
EndSubSection
EndSection
Notice how you must declare a screen, a monitor, and then the card that controls it. /dev/graphics/fb0 is the framebuffer that you got the other day, if you were following along with these posts. You will also notice, that for each section, a driver is declared. The drivers used here are generic drivers. You may have different hardware, and use different drivers. So, if one doesn't work, google the xorg.conf section and the word drivers to see some of the different drivers available. You may even need proprietary drivers specific for your device. Like I said though, these generic drivers worked great for me. So I would try those first.
Once you have your drivers and xorg.conf file all set, it is time to take the plung. Be sure to back up your system first. Remember, TWRP or CWM are your freinds, as they work outside of all of the other work you are doing. So you can always start over or go back to something else.
Now, go back to your /etc/rc.local file. It should say:
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.
# Start the ssh client, in the event you need it.
/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start
/etc/init.d/ssh start
# Clean up bad crash before starting x server.
# /sbin/busybox mkdir -p /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/remove
# /sbin/busybox rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix/
# Start the x server, warning, if the touchscreen or keypad doesn't work
# then you cannot escape without killing power!
#/usr/bin/startx &
#export USER=root
#vncserver :5000
exit 0
And change the last part to say this:
Code:
# Start the x server, warning, if the touchscreen or keypad doesn't work
# then you cannot escape without killing power!
/usr/bin/startx &
#export USER=root
#vncserver :5000
exit 0
Now you have told it to startx on the next startup. If all goes well, reboot your phone, and you should see the XFCE desktop. If not, then you need to figure out how to edit the xorg.conf file to make it work right. You may also need to uncomment the lines about rmdir /tmp/.X11-unix, and the other lines like it, if your xserver ever crashes.
I have noticed several variants, especially on Android 4.4 and newer, that it will startx, but also start Android. You will see one normally, and then a small, pink version of the other overlayed on part of the screen. Almost like a picture in picture TV, but very dificult to understand or use. In these cases, you may need to add a command to kill surfaceflinger, or stop zygote to get Android to "clear out". You actually could just skip Android altogether, but having the chrooted Android is great for playing with making phone calls, etc, as I do not know how to do that from Linux yet.
If you made this work then you do have some pretty good Linux skills, if I may be so bold. This is not an easy task, and not for the faint of heart. So great job! Now it is up to you to improve upon this and make it useful. Who knows, you might be giving Ubuntu Touch a run for the money!
tim241 said:
Sorry, I needed to remove linux because I needed space for windows. Sorry , maybe I will take some time later to redo everything
Click to expand...
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No problem! I just hadn't heard from you in a while.
AlaskaLinuxUser said:
No problem! I just hadn't heard from you in a while.
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Click to collapse
Hey uh, I tried following your instructions but I'm stuck on step 9.
From what I can tell from a ton of debugging, it gets stuck at this line.
Code:
/sbin/busybox mount -t ext4 -o noatime,nodiratime,errors=panic /dev/mmcblk1p2 /mnt/root
It seems to be unable to mount it, I've no idea why though because I have no way of seeing any results aside from 'phone boots up' or 'phone loops' which makes debugging a bit hard heh.
Mounting it in Android and recovery (TWRP) works just fine so I'm pretty certain that '/dev/mmcblk1p2' is the right address and I've tried to mount the fat32 partition of the sd card so I could redirect the output of the mount command to a file but mounting the fat32 partition fails as well.
Maybe it's the population of /dev that's failing?
Code:
/sbin/busybox mdev -s
I tried manually creating the node as well to see if that'd help fix anything
Code:
/sbin/busybox mknod /dev/logs b 179 33
Alas, it didn't work for unknown reasons or of course, mdev and mknod could have worked but the mount failed for other unknown reasons. No idea and as far as I can think, no way of figuring it out to my knowledge.
P.s
My phone is the HTC One m8, earliest Android version I could find was 4.4, Cyanogenmod 11. 64 GB class 10 micro SD Card
P.p.s
Thank you for making such a comprehensive guide!
p.p.p.s
It's 12:26am and I'm so very very tired. I spent at about 9 hours on this wow
Hey, I want to share how I was able to mount OneDrive into the file system, so it appears as a regular local storage (albeit a bit slow, lol).
This is a great option to expand storage in the absence of microSD card support on our phones. My guess it's applicable virtually to any Android phone, but of course I only tested this on my OP 9 Pro.
Prerequisites:
1. Magisk
2. My Magisk module (see attached)
3. Tasker (or any other tool that can automatically execute a root command at boot)
Here are the steps:
1. Download and install the Magisk module. It installs rclone and fusermount binaries (from this thread) into /system/bin systemlessly.
2. Reboot your phone.
3. Using any terminal run this command:
Code:
/system/bin/rclone config --config=/sdcard/rclone.conf
4. Follow prompts. You can find specific instructions for your cloud storage on: https://rclone.org/docs/
5. In Tasker create a new profile: Event -> System -> Device Boot.
6. Create new task and link it to this profile.
7. In this task create two actions:
* Run Shell: Enter the following command (modify names and paths as needed), and check "root" option:
Code:
nsenter -t 1 -m -- rclone mount OneDrive: /mnt/user/0/emulated/0/OneDrive --daemon --config=/sdcard/rclone.conf --gid 9997 --dir-perms 0771 --file-perms 0660 --umask=0 --allow-other --cache-dir /storage/emulated/0/.cache --vfs-cache-mode full --vfs-cache-max-age 2h0m0s --vfs-cache-poll-interval 5m0s
* Wait: 30 seconds
8. In the task config set "Collision Handling" to "Abort new task".
9. Reboot you phone.
10. Enjoy!
Credits:
Big thanks to user MountainX on https://android.stackexchange.com for their post.
tried ur method but it dose not mount folders on android 11
Works great in a Xiaomi Mi 10T with Custom Android 13 ROM!
I have to update the rclone binary in the ZIP with the Linux ARM64 in the rclone site to have support for SMB servers.