So I am probably asking out of ignorance, but why hasn't this been attempted. It seems like the best way to get rid of SquashFS would be to rewrite the firmware to not use it. I'm sure it would be a huge undertaking if it's even possible.
i think the biggest problem is the .aos file.
That's what I would think. These files surely aren't hack proof.
I would imagine that they used a similar system to the PS3. Signed files etc and without some master key, I think backwards engineering and creating your own aos files will be impossible. Guessing though. I haven't looked into it and wouldn't really know where to begin.
Thanks for the reply!! I suspect you are probably right here.
And you are sure you looked into http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=877
I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to link to fzelle, but as far as I know actually creating an aos update file to flash to the devices (which is what I took this topic to mean), rather than making a custom firmware running in dev mode has not been broached over in the android dev forum.
I absolutely agree that to get full read/write and root on your device the ONLY way to go is UrukDroid. It's great.
You were only talking about reverse engeneering, and that is not needed if you have the full sourcecode and a possibility to install your own making.
This is the first time you are talking about aos.
AOS is just an automatic installation environment on the Archos,
something like MSI on windows.
Everything you get with uruk could than be done with an aos.
BUT ATM Uruk is far away from being usable by the normal "MOD User".
So ( my2cent ) we shouldn't do an AOS until uruk ( or any other rom ) is installable
by those non techies.
And you can install Uruk internaly.
Orly?? Forgive my ignorance.
Does the kernel or initramfs change on the stock OS ever? If it does, is it updated with the aos update file?
I only ask, because if that was the case and we can pack aos files to flash to the archos devices, then what is the need for the SDE at all?
What I took the OP to mean in his original post was, could we edit the aos file to get full read / write access to the stock file system. I don't think we can, but again I am not sure as I have a limited knowledge of the subject.
I probably stopped making sense a couple of posts back (if ever), but I just want to get everything correct in my head.
The Archos Kernel is flashed by the AOS and the SDE flashes another one.
But as the AOS is just an Installer without any knollage of the device, the software inside has to manage the flashing, so yes you might be able to do this but as the internal version are probably signed you would not be successfull.
Thats why the SDE allows to install an unsigned kernel.
So you then have 2 kernels on the device and they can coexist.
It is possible to update the orginal Archos Kernel when having for ex. an Uruk installed.
They can have diff kernels, so everything is possible.
But feel free to browse http://www.openaos.org/ for more infos ;-)
fzelle said:
The Archos Kernel is flashed by the AOS and the SDE flashes another one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct the /mnt/rawfs/init is the standard kernel and the /mnt/rawfs/custom is the sde kernel and /mnt/rawfs/recovery is a third one.
fzelle said:
But as the AOS is just an Installer without any knollage of the device, the software inside has to manage the flashing, so yes you might be able to do this but as the internal version are probably signed you would not be successfull.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Signed yes, I doubt that it's an installer because of the things i found in the recovery. That kernel and boot filesystem contains everything to flash custom kernels and standard kernels and also can process aos files. There could be some kind of scripting included in the aos to do some specific tasks but the recovery is probably doing all the work.
fzelle said:
Thats why the SDE allows to install an unsigned kernel.
So you then have 2 kernels on the device and they can coexist.
It is possible to update the orginal Archos Kernel when having for ex. an Uruk installed.
They can have diff kernels, so everything is possible.
But feel free to browse http://www.openaos.org/ for more infos ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the sde enables the flashing through some kind of flag because on the stock system the file /mnt/rawfs/custom exists but is 0 bytes long.
wdl1908 said:
Signed yes, I doubt that it's an installer because of the things i found in the recovery. That kernel and boot filesystem contains everything to flash custom kernels and standard kernels and also can process aos files. There could be some kind of scripting included in the aos to do some specific tasks but the recovery is probably doing all the work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a bunch of binaries in initramfs of recovery and init as far as I remember called "abcbox", "cramfschecker" and "aosparser", and THESE are doing the hard work like check whether it's signature is valid or not or even sign it, update the files, etc..
AOS files
If you google around you can find some information.
Without the private key the problem is repacking the AOS file and getting the device to load it.
Some interesting details on the AOS files in this page over at OpenAOS:
http ://dev.openaos.org/wiki/SettingUpMultiRootGen7
Related
I've been thinking: In order to use UrukDroid or Churli's quick-root method, we have to sacrifice using the other, as well as giving up on Angstrom (not a great loss...).
Thinking of the future, is there a way we can insert a bootmenu (something Grub-like) at the beginning of the SDE boot process that could allow us to have multiple OSs on the Archos. This way, for example, we could install Uruk on the SD while still having Angstrom available. We could then potentially install Ubuntu, Honeycomb betas, etc. in additional partitions we create.
I'm hoping to inspire someone...
strongergravity said:
I've been thinking: In order to use UrukDroid or Churli's quick-root method, we have to sacrifice using the other, as well as giving up on Angstrom (not a great loss...).
Thinking of the future, is there a way we can insert a bootmenu (something Grub-like) at the beginning of the SDE boot process that could allow us to have multiple OSs on the Archos. This way, for example, we could install Uruk on the SD while still having Angstrom available. We could then potentially install Ubuntu, Honeycomb betas, etc. in additional partitions we create.
I'm hoping to inspire someone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and no.
The no.
The problem is that the real boot loader (equivalent to grub on a linux box) is still not accessible. That boot loader is what does the choice between the custom, init and recovery images that are place in the /mnt/rawfs.
The Yes
It would be possible to create a zImage and an initramfs.cpio.gz with a special init script that asks what root filesystem to mount and then complete the boot.
The thing is that the kernel will be shared between all the custom boot solutions.
wdl1908 said:
It would be possible to create a zImage and an initramfs.cpio.gz with a special init script that asks what root filesystem to mount and then complete the boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I was thinking about. I guess it was too early in the morning when I posted...
The thing is that the kernel will be shared between all the custom boot solutions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, did the Angstrom that came in the SDE run on the same kernal as the Android on the Archos? I assume not. If not, this would mean we could only pull this stunt for different Android builds only, right?
strongergravity said:
So, did the Angstrom that came in the SDE run on the same kernal as the Android on the Archos? I assume not. If not, this would mean we could only pull this stunt for different Android builds only, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so. Installing the SDE gives you the possibility to install a secondary kernel and to uninstall the default Android kernel.
So I can give you a No for your first question and a 'Yes, at the current state of development ans research' for your second question.
strongergravity said:
That is what I was thinking about. I guess it was too early in the morning when I posted...
So, did the Angstrom that came in the SDE run on the same kernal as the Android on the Archos? I assume not. If not, this would mean we could only pull this stunt for different Android builds only, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There can be 3 different kernels.
custom
init
recovery
The custom is the only one that can be replaced when the SDE is flashed to the device, init is the stock android and recovery is just a kernel with some scripts that give you the ability to do stuff like reformat check disk etc.... Also the recovery is the part that is used to flash the custom kernel.
What about kexec, seems to be the perfect choice for this problem.
Unmensch said:
What about kexec, seems to be the perfect choice for this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good to me, someone should definitly do some research and testing. Unfortunately it won't be me as I already have a bunch of project going on
I have been working on some boot/recovery ROM rebuilds for the Garmin/Asus Garminfone A50 (T-Mobile), as well as the scripts and instructions... I'm not sure where to host them.
I personally don't want to host them myself, and was wondering if there is a repository of sorts.
At the moment, I have the following:
* The tools necessary (dump_image & flash_image) to dump the firmware from the phone
* The scripts necessary to unpack/repack the boot/recovery ROM's (modified to support the Garminfone's different address layout). Linux based.
* Pre-built boot and recovery images that give permanent root and mount the system/data partitions as r/w by default.
* Instructions on how to do it yourself, complete with some tech info on the layut of the Garminfone boot/recovery images and how to verify before you flash it that it built properly.
* Instructions on how to flash the phone without risking bricking it, since there is no hardware key combo to get into recovery and a fastboot that's not fully implemented. The technique goes like:
- Verify with a hex editor that the proper addresses are in the header
- Flash the new boot image to recovery
- Reboot into recovery to make sure it boots the new boot image properly
- Flash the rooted recovery image to the recovery partition
- Reboot into recovery once more and verify that works
- Flash the tested boot image to the boot partition
- Reboot normally and have fun
That method works fairly well, and unless you target the wrong partition, and gives you a 99.9% success rate
I'm going to post what I can on the Wiki (as far as instructions go), but it would be nice if I had a place to put the tool set as well.
I'd rather not use one of the temporary sites like Mediafire or what not, since files on those sites have a tendency to disappear.
Please no PM's on having me send them the files directly. I don't have a heck of a lot of spare time and don't want to get into the habit of sending these out manually.
If you're against the typical file hosts and the files aren't too big you could try using dropbox or sugarsync and sharing the links.
Can I ask you a question? I have a Kyocera ZIO M6000 and have the openzio clockworkmod 2.5.1.1 port that only works with "fastboot boot openzio-recovery" and we have tried flashing to our recovery partition with no success. What will it take to break the tether and reboot recovery locally without fastboot?
Sent from my Zio using XDA App
merwin said:
I have been working on some boot/recovery ROM rebuilds for the Garmin/Asus Garminfone A50 (T-Mobile), as well as the scripts and instructions... I'm not sure where to host them.
I personally don't want to host them myself, and was wondering if there is a repository of sorts.
At the moment, I have the following:
* The tools necessary (dump_image & flash_image) to dump the firmware from the phone
* The scripts necessary to unpack/repack the boot/recovery ROM's (modified to support the Garminfone's different address layout). Linux based.
* Pre-built boot and recovery images that give permanent root and mount the system/data partitions as r/w by default.
* Instructions on how to do it yourself, complete with some tech info on the layut of the Garminfone boot/recovery images and how to verify before you flash it that it built properly.
* Instructions on how to flash the phone without risking bricking it, since there is no hardware key combo to get into recovery and a fastboot that's not fully implemented. The technique goes like:
- Verify with a hex editor that the proper addresses are in the header
- Flash the new boot image to recovery
- Reboot into recovery to make sure it boots the new boot image properly
- Flash the rooted recovery image to the recovery partition
- Reboot into recovery once more and verify that works
- Flash the tested boot image to the boot partition
- Reboot normally and have fun
That method works fairly well, and unless you target the wrong partition, and gives you a 99.9% success rate
I'm going to post what I can on the Wiki (as far as instructions go), but it would be nice if I had a place to put the tool set as well.
I'd rather not use one of the temporary sites like Mediafire or what not, since files on those sites have a tendency to disappear.
Please no PM's on having me send them the files directly. I don't have a heck of a lot of spare time and don't want to get into the habit of sending these out manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also suggest dropbox or even id host them off my computer via ftp
Can your method work with Garminasus A10?
Merwin you still working on this?
Yeah, I am working on it still. I am still looking for a better place than dropbox or hosting off of someone's home PC...
As for the A10, if you can get me a dump of the boot and recovery images I can make one for that too... you will want to preferably use the dump_image utility to get the image and the flash_image utility to flash it.
I can probably attach those to a post with dump instructions. They're tiny.
Basically, you root your phone, copy the files to a certain location, type a couple commands to fix permissions on the executables, then run a command to dump the image.
Flashing back requires clearing the boot or recovery partition with a command and then using the flash_image command to flash it.
My method tests the new boot image first by flashing it to recovery first and rebooting into recovery to make sure the new image works. Then flash the modified recovery image to the recovery and make sure it is rooted (so you can get things up again if something does go wrong). Then you flash the new tested boot image to boot. If, for some reason, that fails, it should reboot automatically into recovery after a few boot failures. Never had to test that, since I pre-test all images I make.
hi merwin, we are a fans group of GA a10 and we trust a lot in your work! if you need any kind of help contact me! probably you are the first in the world who can flash a GA phone
Merwin, Im not completely sure which type of place your looking for if its not either ftp or online file sharing
Rapidshare
2shared
Filefront
4shared
Hi merwin,
I found this page, is that similar to your method? Hope you guys can find out something.
http://mygarminfone.blogspot.com/
afoster1003 said:
Merwin, Im not completely sure which type of place your looking for if its not either ftp or online file sharing
Rapidshare
2shared
Filefront
4shared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You forget one widely used protocol. Good old http on a standard web server.
Those other sites annoy me greatly, between the amount of ads, having to wait to download and daily limits, and the fact that they are temporary unless I pay. I am against them on principle.
I figure if there is enough interest, someone will step up to host them, otherwise I will just provide scripts, instructions, and technical info for people to do it themselves.
slumpz said:
Hi merwin,
I found this page, is that similar to your method? Hope you guys can find out something.
http://mygarminfone.blogspot.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are my hero That blog has the missing pieces I need to keep going.
A couple of days ago I found some info on how to decompile the .update files which gives us the recovery image and system partition from any other phone that uses a similar format, like the Asus A10... providing a whole host of opportunities for the Asus phones that are still being maintained.
For instance, I grabbed the files from the Chinese A50 that has newer firmware.
With the info from the blog, I may be able to at least compile and integrate the newer kernel and wifi firmware (which is stored on the phone and loaded into memory at boot). The Chinese version does have newer wifi module firmware in it... whether it is compatible or not is another story.
On another note, has anyone successfully downloaded the open sources kernels from Asus? I have tried every method on their site and all but a couple of the kernel versions in the zip are corrupt. One from march extracts fine, so I may use that as a base to start with.
merwin said:
You are my hero That blog has the missing pieces I need to keep going.
A couple of days ago I found some info on how to decompile the .update files which gives us the recovery image and system partition from any other phone that uses a similar format, like the Asus A10... providing a whole host of opportunities for the Asus phones that are still being maintained.
For instance, I grabbed the files from the Chinese A50 that has newer firmware.
With the info from the blog, I may be able to at least compile and integrate the newer kernel and wifi firmware (which is stored on the phone and loaded into memory at boot). The Chinese version does have newer wifi module firmware in it... whether it is compatible or not is another story.
On another note, has anyone successfully downloaded the open sources kernels from Asus? I have tried every method on their site and all but a couple of the kernel versions in the zip are corrupt. One from march extracts fine, so I may use that as a base to start with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have, magically I might add. I downloaded the source for v.5.0.70 and managed to get it compiled. The resulting files can be found on on my blog, the one Slumpz posted(I can't post links yet, lol.)
The only problem is, I don't have much experience with anything linux. But, If you have any questions Merwin, email me, [email protected].
Here's a little how to, just check my blog, or google: How To: Build Garmin-Asus Kernel from Source.
am willing to giv a subdomain/storage ftp access on this domain for the good of the community if it helps any
Domain darkjester.net
Disk Usage 5.4 / 1500.0 MB
Bandwidth 100000 MB (100GB)
Home Root /home/a2931495
Apache ver. 2.2.13 (Unix)
PHP version 5.2.*
MySQL ver. 5.0.81-community
Activated On 2011-05-15 14:42
Status Active
Hello guys, are you still working on this.
I found out that A10 has a new firmware posted, which is versioned 5.2.7 instead of 5.0.x like the others. I wonder if there's any method to test this firmware on foreign A10 (non Chinese firmware)?
So, got an HTC Sensation 4G... meaning not much more work on the Garminfone for me.
Still trying to find time to compile everything that I have done into some semi-coherent document with the unlocked boot and recovery images. I still have the Garmin, so if someone manages a huge breakthrough then I may pick it up again. Really didn't want to get rid of the phone but there just isn't enough community development going on to make it worthwhile.
By the way, the Garminfone GPS blows every other phone away. The Sensation 4G is crap in comparison.
I've been playing with the new firmware file for a few hours now, but can't really extract it. I'm really interested in the apps, etc, so could someone tell me if there's any way to extract it? OpenAOS, and other archos AOS extractors didn't work sadly.
If someone could do me a system dump of the 101 G9, it would make this whole extraction unneeded (for me atleast!).
Thanks in advance!
And what do you want to do?
None of the Apps will work as they are for HoneyComp.
They all need a newer OS and all the other things that come with the new tablet.
It would be the same useless try that has been done in the beginning of the year with the HC SDK Binaries.
Stop hurting yourself and wait for ICS Sourcecode and then we will see.
fzelle said:
And what do you want to do?
None of the Apps will work as they are for HoneyComp.
They all need a newer OS and all the other things that come with the new tablet.
It would be the same useless try that has been done in the beginning of the year with the HC SDK Binaries.
Stop hurting yourself and wait for ICS Sourcecode and then we will see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So my Asus Transformer isn't HC? Good to know...
I exactly know what I want to do with the apps, so please, no more non helping posts. I started this thread to find answers, not stupid people commenting on everything without reading.
And where did you state that you want to use them on a Transformer?
Even then, none of the Archos APK will work there, as Archos has also changed some underlying OS Funktions and drivers.
As the Gen9 has a completely different SOC ( Tegra2 vs TI OMAP 4430/4460) none of those needed Drivers are working.
So again, what do you want?
fonix232 said:
I exactly know what I want to do with the apps, so please, no more non helping posts. I started this thread to find answers, not stupid people commenting on everything without reading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To simply answer your question...
I'm not familiar with the gen9 devices, but i assume that archos did not change their basic infrastructure on these devices (using squashfs).
If that's the case there are basically three ways i'm aware of:
1. Gain root access on your device and directly copy the files to an external device. Of course this is not very comfortable and you'll have to take care of symlink's, etc.
2. Make a dump of the partition where androidmerged.squashfs.secure is
included using a dd tool or similar.
After doing so, you'll have to investigate the raw data for squashfs signature and remove the leading header.
Then you might be able to get the raw squashfs file containing all data.
This file could be mounted as loop on a linux machine supporting squashfs files.
As i pointed out, i'm not aware of the internal structure in gen9 devices, so i can't tell you which partition is the right one.
Maybe you could post some output of your device (e.g. cat /proc/partitions or mount)
Anyway i guess you'll have to be root to access the mtd devices in the end.
3. Extract the androidmerged.squashfs.secure file directly from the .aos.
Using this way you'll neet to tweak aos-tools with the correct key for gen9 devices. This key has not been published yet and that's why aos-tools is lacking support for gen9 devices.
To be honest we don't know anything about the security mechanism on gen9 yet.
Some words in common...
Please respect the rules!
Abusing other users is a no go
Regards,
scholbert
fzelle said:
And where did you state that you want to use them on a Transformer?
Even then, none of the Archos APK will work there, as Archos has also changed some underlying OS Funktions and drivers.
As the Gen9 has a completely different SOC ( Tegra2 vs TI OMAP 4430/4460) none of those needed Drivers are working.
So again, what do you want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, do check my signature...
I want to check out the apps what aren't stock, etc.
wait the SDE
Hey fonix232,
did you see this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1349184
With the gen9 keys, the aos-tools could be tweaked to extract gen9 firmware files.
Ask letama for help/code.
He already successfully extracted the firmware!
Regards,
scholbert
Hi there,
Here it is:
extracted 3.6.29 firmware
Almost untouched, just with su+SuperUser.apk added.
LeTama
Hello guys,
Is there a possibility to update the "archos 10.1 (gen8)"
from android froyo 2.2 to android 4.4??
And if it is possible would it be worth it to do that ?
Will speed and so increase the tablet?
Greetings Avanox
Absolutely not.
Mavasilisk said:
Absolutely not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello again, thank you for your reply.
And not possible to install another version that's higher than 2.2 on that tablet?
Greetings Avanox
Avanox said:
Hello again, thank you for your reply.
And not possible to install another version that's higher than 2.2 on that tablet?
Greetings Avanox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.3 or 4.0 but that's the highest u can go, did u even have a look in the gen8 android development section?
Ranomez said:
2.3 or 4.0 but that's the highest u can go, did u even have a look in the gen8 android development section?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Waw great. Thanks for the information.
Yes I did check this section but probably not good enough.
Avanox said:
Waw great. Thanks for the information.
Yes I did check this section but probably not good enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the link to ICS (4.0.x): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1941377
And here is the link to GB (2.3.x): http://dev.openaos.org/wiki/AndroidInstall_CM7_Gingerbread (there is also a thread on this forum)
Unfortunately the openaos site seems to be down right now (was up in the morning and last night when I answered you) but anyway I did find cm9 (ics) to be more stable and "usable" (less bugs than actually affect usability) than cm7 (gb) although no doubt quite a bit slower than cm7, but again that's me that has at least 300 apps installed on each android device and that goes back to since I had a HTC Touch Pro 2 and turned it from an windows mobile device to an android one and the specs on that were way lower than the ones on the gen8.
Also feel free to ask any questions you may have related to our gen8 tablets, I am one of the "lost souls" still using this tablet and I can say that judging by the fact that I bought this quite soon after it was released (at least in my country) I can say it has served me well since then and I still think it is a decent device (although I do now have a much better and much more powerful tablet device too, my 101it is still a fun thing to play around with).
Hello again I will give it a try now.
Any idea where I can download the kernel ?
Because the download link doesn't work on the link you gave me for android 4.
I just posted for it.
Would you still have it or could you reupload this for me?
Would be awesome.
Greetings Avanox
Ranomez said:
Here is the link to ICS (4.0.x): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1941377
And here is the link to GB (2.3.x): http://dev.openaos.org/wiki/AndroidInstall_CM7_Gingerbread (there is also a thread on this forum)
Unfortunately the openaos site seems to be down right now (was up in the morning and last night when I answered you) but anyway I did find cm9 (ics) to be more stable and "usable" (less bugs than actually affect usability) than cm7 (gb) although no doubt quite a bit slower than cm7, but again that's me that has at least 300 apps installed on each android device and that goes back to since I had a HTC Touch Pro 2 and turned it from an windows mobile device to an android one and the specs on that were way lower than the ones on the gen8.
Also feel free to ask any questions you may have related to our gen8 tablets, I am one of the "lost souls" still using this tablet and I can say that judging by the fact that I bought this quite soon after it was released (at least in my country) I can say it has served me well since then and I still think it is a decent device (although I do now have a much better and much more powerful tablet device too, my 101it is still a fun thing to play around with).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avanox said:
Hello again I will give it a try now.
Any idea where I can download the kernel ?
Because the download link doesn't work on the link you gave me for android 4.
I just posted for it.
Would you still have it or could you reupload this for me?
Would be awesome.
Greetings Avanox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The link that you are talking about that isn't working is the kernel source link (which is actually very unfortunate) and not the kernel itself, the kernel can be downloaded from the attachments of the first post in the thread (a zimage and the initramfs.cpio.gs files)
Hello again ,
I will set it on a row:
1. Cm9 image download (ok)
2. Initramfs.cpio.gz download (ok)
3. Kernel download
(which files are the kernel to download zimage and the initramfs.cpio.gs??)
I can't see a link to the zimage ?? Can you give me the correct link?
4. Data.img.tar.gz download (ok)
Install kernel by SDE menu
(ok I know how to get in the SDE menu but what steps I have to do there?)
Where to configure menu.Ist (is that the one I downloaded in the attachements downstairs?
What about the terminal ? How to enter the terminal to activate Bluetooth?
What is the swap configuration??
Ok and one last question, at the moment my Archos 10.1 gen8 is running on Urukdroid must I remove the sd card for this procedure and reinstall the SDE firmware or not?
Or is this method for cm9 (android4) not like urukdroid method??
Sorry for all my questions but I don’t want to make mistakes.
Greetings Avanox
Ranomez said:
The link that you are talking about that isn't working is the kernel source link (which is actually very unfortunate) and not the kernel itself, the kernel can be downloaded from the attachments of the first post in the thread (a zimage and the initramfs.cpio.gs files)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avanox said:
Hello again ,
I will set it on a row:
1. Cm9 image download (ok)
2. Initramfs.cpio.gz download (ok)
3. Kernel download
(which files are the kernel to download zimage and the initramfs.cpio.gs??)
I can't see a link to the zimage ?? Can you give me the correct link?
4. Data.img.tar.gz download (ok)
Install kernel by SDE menu
(ok I know how to get in the SDE menu but what steps I have to do there?)
Where to configure menu.Ist (is that the one I downloaded in the attachements downstairs?
What about the terminal ? How to enter the terminal to activate Bluetooth?
What is the swap configuration??
Ok and one last question, at the moment my Archos 10.1 gen8 is running on Urukdroid must I remove the sd card for this procedure and reinstall the SDE firmware or not?
Or is this method for cm9 (android4) not like urukdroid method??
Sorry for all my questions but I don’t want to make mistakes.
Greetings Avanox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few files starting with zImage, chose one of the 3 of them and rename it to just zImage (no extension and don't extract it although when youu will download it it is an archive, just rename it to zImage and I can't really tell you which one to choose cause I do not know which of the 3 will work best for you, I personally use the 35% one.
To flash it you will use the same procedure as for urukdorid but you will loose access to urukdroid, though you don't need to remove your card and also AFAIR the OpenAOS multi-boot menu does not have the ability to boot at tablet boot (or I am wrong, not sure) so you might have to reboot in recovery and run developer version each time you want to boot it.
You could also use kboot for even more multi-boot and being able to still use urukdroid, I think I posted a mirror for the files on it's thread, or at least I wanted to, if I didn't I will. BUT if you do want this first backup the urukdroid kenrel and initramfs, I can tell you how to do it if you intend to do this, if loosing access to urukdroid is ok for you then I'd say don't bother, uruk isn't that great, you can get the same things on stock after getting root on it, though I could still recommend using it as that's the only way to have rooted stock using the kernels here on the forums or being able to boot also GB and/or debian/bodhi/whatever other linux distro you fancy.
For the OpenAOS boot menu you indeed need to download that menu.lst and put it on the storage, it is already setup for booting CM9 so you don't really need to do much more here.
Swap is already configured so you don't really need to do anything about that or worry about it, it's just info and for the bluetooth I think terminal emulator comes preinstalled so you do the commands in there but I would recommend creating a bash script and downloading SManager from play store and using that to create a homescreen shortcut to your script (I could also share you my script if you would like later after I charge my archos.
Also there is no initramfs.cpio.gs that was a typo, it's actually .gz so you have the right file and the kernel is the zImage.
In the SDE menu just do the steps you did when you flashed urukdroid but only place the initramfs.cpio.gz and zImage without a 3rd file (if I remember correctly the steps for flashing urukdroid), I can't really tell you what steps to do in there as I don't really remember, it's something like go in the repair menu and click flash developer firmware or something along those lines I think.
EDIT: Also if you intend to edit the menu.lst file for whatever reason (if you want to use kboot to add the CM7 kernel and use that to boot CM7 and/or debian for example) don't use windows notepad, instead install notepad++.
Ok this makes some things clear to me
Yeah is also a long time ago urukdroid installing.
I found the guide from it but it seems idd similar to your explanation.
https://code.google.com/archive/p/urukdroid/wikis/Installation.wiki
ok I Installed Kernel and initramfs.cpio.gz
But what about installing cm9 image?
1. I did extract "CYANOBIZ_BETA2.6_A101.img" and copyd it to the root.
2. I did uncompressed data.img.tar.gz, I choosed one of the 3 images and renamed it to data_ICS.img
3. I did copy the 2 files to the root.
But what now how to install it? That's not specificly said how you must do it.
Can you help me ?
Greetings
Avanox said:
ok I Installed Kernel and initramfs.cpio.gz
But what about installing cm9 image?
1. I did extract "CYANOBIZ_BETA2.6_A101.img" and copyd it to the root.
2. I did uncompressed data.img.tar.gz, I choosed one of the 3 images and renamed it to data_ICS.img
3. I did copy the 2 files to the root.
But what now how to install it? That's not specificly said how you must do it.
Can you help me ?
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to also drop the menu.lst file on the internal memory and have the cm9 image named as CYANOBIZ_BETA2.6.img then just got to recovery and boot the developer edition firmware and you will be greeted by a boot menu with just one item, click power and it will boot and that's it.
You don't really install anything, the tablet will boot from the img file and use the data.img file as the data partition, that's all (and if you decide to move any apps to the sd card aka internal memory don't boot in an other android os like stock because the android_secure folder will be wiped, though I am not sure CM9 allows you to, I know CM7 does).
Also I have uploaded kboot and it is on the thread in the development section if you want to use that for more flexible multi-boot (or at least to have the multi-boot menu loaded at every normal boot without needing to enter recovery to boot ics), although now it will be a bit hard to obtain the uruk kernel in case you still want to boot that, it is possible, you just need a linux computer or the ext2fsd driver in windows, I can't really give you the kernel from my installation of it since I understood yours is on the sd card and mine is on the internal memory.
And if you would like I can give you kboot already set up with the stock root kernel and all the 3 ics kernels to make it easier for you.
Ow ok will try tomorrow.
Euhm yeah urukdroid is no more on tablet I think I installed last sde firmware.
The kboot is that for switching between then Linux similar system and android 2.2 and android 4 and maybe urukdroid if I reinstall it (not necessary for the Moment?)
Yeah I will try out that kboot you may send it to me if you want. Maybe it's cool feature
Thanks in advance
Greetings
Ranomez said:
You need to also drop the menu.lst file on the internal memory and have the cm9 image named as CYANOBIZ_BETA2.6.img then just got to recovery and boot the developer edition firmware and you will be greeted by a boot menu with just one item, click power and it will boot and that's it.
You don't really install anything, the tablet will boot from the img file and use the data.img file as the data partition, that's all (and if you decide to move any apps to the sd card aka internal memory don't boot in an other android os like stock because the android_secure folder will be wiped, though I am not sure CM9 allows you to, I know CM7 does).
Also I have uploaded kboot and it is on the thread in the development section if you want to use that for more flexible multi-boot (or at least to have the multi-boot menu loaded at every normal boot without needing to enter recovery to boot ics), although now it will be a bit hard to obtain the uruk kernel in case you still want to boot that, it is possible, you just need a linux computer or the ext2fsd driver in windows, I can't really give you the kernel from my installation of it since I understood yours is on the sd card and mine is on the internal memory.
And if you would like I can give you kboot already set up with the stock root kernel and all the 3 ics kernels to make it easier for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avanox said:
Ow ok will try tomorrow.
Euhm yeah urukdroid is no more on tablet I think I installed last sde firmware.
The kboot is that for switching between then Linux similar system and android 2.2 and android 4 and maybe urukdroid if I reinstall it (not necessary for the Moment?)
Yeah I will try out that kboot you may send it to me if you want. Maybe it's cool feature
Thanks in advance
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If urukdroid was on the internal memory and you just installed the sde firmware it was not removed and I can send you my uruk kernel, if you first went to recovery and did a full format and then installed the full firmware and then the sde then it is no more on the tablet.
If it was on the sd card then nothing affected it unless you put the card in the pc and used something like minitool partition wizard to delete all partitions and I can not give you the kernel.
Yes, kboot is a chroot based multi-boot menu (think GRUB but unable to boot non-linux kernels, I think) and it allows booting android 2.2, 2.3, 4.0 and linux distributions as ubuntu (although the ubuntu for archos files are gone but you can still use it to boot the kernel from OpenAOS and boot debian from that bootmenu, which will be the same boot menu you will get from android 4.0 though you can not boot stock or debian from that as the kernel is different, well you might be able to boot it but most things won't work, like wi-fi and the likes).
Ok, I will send you my already set up kboot but first tell me if your urukdroid instalation was on the sd card or internal memory and what you exactly did to the tablet cause then I might be able to throw in my uruk krenel and thus you will also once again have access to that as well.
Hello first of all I wanted to say I just got into android 4.4.
But when I start it up I get a lot of messages that are saying.
This application doesn't work anymore.
Any idea what this could be?
Hmm after looking I restarted it and now it works better the android 4.4
But how do you put something on the internal memory if I connect them with usb to laptop I can't acces the root with all my files.
Greetings
R
anomez;65030979 said:
If urukdroid was on the internal memory and you just installed the sde firmware it was not removed and I can send you my uruk kernel, if you first went to recovery and did a full format and then installed the full firmware and then the sde then it is no more on the tablet.
If it was on the sd card then nothing affected it unless you put the card in the pc and used something like minitool partition wizard to delete all partitions and I can not give you the kernel.
Yes, kboot is a chroot based multi-boot menu (think GRUB but unable to boot non-linux kernels, I think) and it allows booting android 2.2, 2.3, 4.0 and linux distributions as ubuntu (although the ubuntu for archos files are gone but you can still use it to boot the kernel from OpenAOS and boot debian from that bootmenu, which will be the same boot menu you will get from android 4.0 though you can not boot stock or debian from that as the kernel is different, well you might be able to boot it but most things won't work, like wi-fi and the likes).
Ok, I will send you my already set up kboot but first tell me if your urukdroid instalation was on the sd card or internal memory and what you exactly did to the tablet cause then I might be able to throw in my uruk krenel and thus you will also once again have access to that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avanox said:
Hmm after looking I restarted it and now it works better the android 4.4
But how do you put something on the internal memory if I connect them with usb to laptop I can't acces the root with all my files.
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is clearly stated that you can't access the internal memory via msc on the ics thread, only the sd card, and that is also true for any firmware that boots from an img file since the img is on the internal memory and that would mean cutting the system's access to itself=crash.
Ranomez said:
If urukdroid was on the internal memory and you just installed the sde firmware it was not removed and I can send you my uruk kernel, if you first went to recovery and did a full format and then installed the full firmware and then the sde then it is no more on the tablet.
If it was on the sd card then nothing affected it unless you put the card in the pc and used something like minitool partition wizard to delete all partitions and I can not give you the kernel.
Yes, kboot is a chroot based multi-boot menu (think GRUB but unable to boot non-linux kernels, I think) and it allows booting android 2.2, 2.3, 4.0 and linux distributions as ubuntu (although the ubuntu for archos files are gone but you can still use it to boot the kernel from OpenAOS and boot debian from that bootmenu, which will be the same boot menu you will get from android 4.0 though you can not boot stock or debian from that as the kernel is different, well you might be able to boot it but most things won't work, like wi-fi and the likes).
Ok, I will send you my already set up kboot but first tell me if your urukdroid instalation was on the sd card or internal memory and what you exactly did to the tablet cause then I might be able to throw in my uruk krenel and thus you will also once again have access to that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello again,
Owkey now if I start up my tablet android 2.2.1 startsup
(firmware version: 2.4.83)
I did set the iso file from cyanobiz_BETA2.6.img on my internal memory.
So cm9 boots nice on the tablet but I must go first to the SDE (by pushing volume + ) then a see a white menu -> developer edition -> and chose cyonade and it start good
Urukdroid was installed on my sdcard but that doesn't start anymore as standard at moment. don't know why?
Before I started with cm9 I installed the latest SDE firmware for archos 10.1 gen8. (and the procedure to runb cm9)
Would it work with your kboot file so I can choose between:
android 2.2 (Archos),
Android 4 (CYANOBIZ)
Angstrom (openAOS)
urukdroid 1.6 (not in the menu)
Greeetings Avanox
Avanox said:
Hello again,
Owkey now if I start up my tablet android 2.2.1 startsup
(firmware version: 2.4.83)
I did set the iso file from cyanobiz_BETA2.6.img on my internal memory.
So cm9 boots nice on the tablet but I must go first to the SDE (by pushing volume + ) then a see a white menu -> developer edition -> and chose cyonade and it start good
Urukdroid was installed on my sdcard but that doesn't start anymore as standard at moment. don't know why?
Before I started with cm9 I installed the latest SDE firmware for archos 10.1 gen8. (and the procedure to runb cm9)
Would it work with your kboot file so I can choose between:
android 2.2 (Archos),
Android 4 (CYANOBIZ)
Angstrom (openAOS)
urukdroid 1.6 (not in the menu)
Greeetings Avanox
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kboot will make it load at boot so it will go to the boot menu instead of stock 2.2 from where u can choose what to boot or (after a period of time) it will just boot your last selection.
Yes from Kboot you can choose to boot any of those though I really wouldn't recommend Angstrom (I don't even think you can still find a rootfs.img for it, if you still have it on your internal memory please upload) cause it is really limited and also I don't think OpenAOS made a kernel for Angstrom and it'll be quite hard to get the kernel from the SDL aos package (though I do have a kernel that can boot it directly, compiled from the stock 2.2 sources, NOT by me). In theory you can edit the menu.lst to launch Angstrom for it but remember you must edit it with Notepad++ and not any other windows text editor (notepad, word, etc) and you will need to know the format for booting a linux image file (I can tell you what that is) and just add the OpenAOS CM7 (gingerbread) kernel also and use that to boot Angstrom, never boot ANYTHING ELSE when loading the boot menu with the ICS kernel, you will have the same options but you must always remember you CAN'T launch anything else than ICS when launching the OpenAOS boot menu with the ICS kernel. But if you are actually interested in running linux I'd say just go the debianlxde way (download from OpenAOS site) as it is so way much better than Angstrom.
To boot UrukDroid you will need to either have linux installed on your PC/laptop or boot a live cd, put the MicroSD Card in a card reader and connect it and then search the uruk partitions to find the zImage and initramfs.cpio.gz (they might have some slightly different names) and put those in a new folder in the kboot os folder, of if you want I could probably unpack the UrukDroid install and update packages to find the right kernel for you but as I can't really remember what tools I need for doing that you will have to wait about 2-3 weeks (I have exams and also bought myself a Nintendo New 3DS XL that I plan to hard mod after I finish with the exams and do a nand dump and try to edit the firmware and flash it back to see what I can obtain so that's gonna take me about 1-5 days as I am not the best with soldering things on motherboards). You will also have to wait that exact same amount of time if you want me to tell you from where on the UD partitions to find the kernel files as I do not know myself and will have to search for them.
Hello,
I'm willing to try and build a custom rom, but I've been diving through the site for a few days and I still don't get it. I believe I do have the required background to do this: programming, linux, etc. and I have wide experience as a phone user, etc. It's just that either I'm not reading what I need or the way I want it. The problem, I believe, is that all I find are guides telling me to install this and those tools and then open this and that and voila! you got your rom. But they're not explaining WHAT exactly goes into those roms, or what is expected to go there, what's the purpose of those contents, etc., and I can't really catch with that. I feel at a loss and hate wasting my time turning around for nothing.
1. I don't understand the difference between a flashable rom and one that is meant to be installed through recovery, although I can see they're different. Do they both models contain the same kind of data? Is there any restriction to what one model can contain over the other one? If so, how would I convert from one to the other? But please, don't tell me to use this or that tool. I just need the theory behind it. Something of sorts like: "You need to extract this or that from this tarball, then mount this image, then the directory tree there goes in that directory over the other model of rom"
2. update-binary: Okay I guess this is run when installing from recovery, and this takes care of installing the rom, right?wrong?. Is this a per-rom thing, per-device thing? generic? If it's per-rom, how to generate it? do I need to compile something? Is there any generic source code that can be used as a start?
3. Although I have a basic understanding of how the Linux directory tree works, I know Android works on top of a heavily modified Linux. So can you explain briefly how the directory tree works? For instance, I believe /data/data is where Android apps install to, in /system/bin or xbin I can find busybox binaries/symlinks if present. /dev and /proc look the same as in Linux. I don't know about /sys. Also how are both rom models deployed to this tree? What is basically being copied?
4. If I were to compile a kernel, where do I find the Android kernel sources? or is it just a generic Linux kernel? where can i get a basic config for the device? Last time I checked my device hadn't /proc/config.gz but maybe I could get it from another rom with it enabled or something. What toolchain and where to get it? Oh and if you know of a native arm version of gcc or whatsnot, I'd prefer that. Setting up IDEs or toolchains is a nightmare. I don't like crosscompiling. But crosscompiling or not, a directory with all needed binaries without needing to set up system variables nor other stuff, would be amazing.
I surely have a lot more questions that I can't get from the back of my mind now, and I'll have yet more as you explain. But the point of my questions was mainly trying to explain the degree of the loss I'm at, so you can assist me better.
If it looks like a foolish petition, well, that's because I'm quite stubborn and can't catch things that don't go my way. I really need to understand the basics before I can move into actually doing something. I want to build a rom for the right reasons(to me). It's not just about packing a set of apps or themes with it, but about learning and doing other stuff like trying to fix things that are not supposed to work for the device in that Android version, etc.
If you can't help, congrats for reading through here anyways But any help is greatly appreciated :good:
oxiroxt said:
Hello,
I'm willing to try and build a custom rom, but I've been diving through the site for a few days and I still don't get it. I believe I do have the required background to do this: programming, linux, etc. and I have wide experience as a phone user, etc. It's just that either I'm not reading what I need or the way I want it. The problem, I believe, is that all I find are guides telling me to install this and those tools and then open this and that and voila! you got your rom. But they're not explaining WHAT exactly goes into those roms, or what is expected to go there, what's the purpose of those contents, etc., and I can't really catch with that. I feel at a loss and hate wasting my time turning around for nothing.
1. I don't understand the difference between a flashable rom and one that is meant to be installed through recovery, although I can see they're different. Do they both models contain the same kind of data? Is there any restriction to what one model can contain over the other one? If so, how would I convert from one to the other? But please, don't tell me to use this or that tool. I just need the theory behind it. Something of sorts like: "You need to extract this or that from this tarball, then mount this image, then the directory tree there goes in that directory over the other model of rom"
2. update-binary: Okay I guess this is run when installing from recovery, and this takes care of installing the rom, right?wrong?. Is this a per-rom thing, per-device thing? generic? If it's per-rom, how to generate it? do I need to compile something? Is there any generic source code that can be used as a start?
3. Although I have a basic understanding of how the Linux directory tree works, I know Android works on top of a heavily modified Linux. So can you explain briefly how the directory tree works? For instance, I believe /data/data is where Android apps install to, in /system/bin or xbin I can find busybox binaries/symlinks if present. /dev and /proc look the same as in Linux. I don't know about /sys. Also how are both rom models deployed to this tree? What is basically being copied?
4. If I were to compile a kernel, where do I find the Android kernel sources? or is it just a generic Linux kernel? where can i get a basic config for the device? Last time I checked my device hadn't /proc/config.gz but maybe I could get it from another rom with it enabled or something. What toolchain and where to get it? Oh and if you know of a native arm version of gcc or whatsnot, I'd prefer that. Setting up IDEs or toolchains is a nightmare. I don't like crosscompiling. But crosscompiling or not, a directory with all needed binaries without needing to set up system variables nor other stuff, would be amazing.
I surely have a lot more questions that I can't get from the back of my mind now, and I'll have yet more as you explain. But the point of my questions was mainly trying to explain the degree of the loss I'm at, so you can assist me better.
If it looks like a foolish petition, well, that's because I'm quite stubborn and can't catch things that don't go my way. I really need to understand the basics before I can move into actually doing something. I want to build a rom for the right reasons(to me). It's not just about packing a set of apps or themes with it, but about learning and doing other stuff like trying to fix things that are not supposed to work for the device in that Android version, etc.
If you can't help, congrats for reading through here anyways But any help is greatly appreciated :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not terribly knowledgeable about all of this, but I will take a crack at it. Others can feel free to correct me.
1. "Flashing" is usually done through the recovery from a zip with an update script inside. That script is in a language called "edify". Read more about Edify Here and Here.
The only other common way that I know of installing a ROM is through fastboot in the bootloader, but that is normally only used with official factory images. Also, I think Samsung ROMs are often flashed with a proprietary program called Odin.
2. I think that the update-binary is standard across all recent devices. I think it is just an interpreter for the Edify scripting language. Old versions of android used a somewhat different scripting language and required a different file. You can probably pull the binary out of another recent zip and use that. The main thing you have to worry about is the update script (instructions for what the zip does) and the folder structure of the zip.
3. I am not confident to explain much here, but the apps and their data are stored in different places. User apps are stored in /data/app with app data stored in /data/data, I think. System apps are installed in /system/app. There is more files stored on the "sdcard" partition which can be internal or external, depending on the device.
4. Kernel sources are usually provided in the source code from whatever repo you are using. Different ROMs use different bases. Here is some info about grabbing the AOSP kernel sources with git: http://source.android.com/source/building-kernels.html
Many of the more popular ROMS have specific build instructions on their individual github pages (Cyanogen, Paranoid Android, etc), so you might what to look at those, too. Also, depending on the individual devices, there might be proprietary binaries sourced from the device or hardware manufacturers for things like camera drivers, graphics chips, etc.
If you want a walk through of the basic build process google has a tutorial. The last time I checked there seemed to be some outdated info, but it might give you a general idea of the build process. http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can give you more info, but that is all I got
synesthete said:
I am not terribly knowledgeable about all of this, but I will take a crack at it. Others can feel free to correct me.
1. "Flashing" is usually done through the recovery from a zip with an update script inside. That script is in a language called "edify". Read more about Edify Here and Here.
The only other common way that I know of installing a ROM is through fastboot in the bootloader, but that is normally only used with official factory images. Also, I think Samsung ROMs are often flashed with a proprietary program called Odin.
2. I think that the update-binary is standard across all recent devices. I think it is just an interpreter for the Edify scripting language. Old versions of android used a somewhat different scripting language and required a different file. You can probably pull the binary out of another recent zip and use that. The main thing you have to worry about is the update script (instructions for what the zip does) and the folder structure of the zip.
3. I am not confident to explain much here, but the apps and their data are stored in different places. User apps are stored in /data/app with app data stored in /data/data, I think. System apps are installed in /system/app. There is more files stored on the "sdcard" partition which can be internal or external, depending on the device.
4. Kernel sources are usually provided in the source code from whatever repo you are using. Different ROMs use different bases. Here is some info about grabbing the AOSP kernel sources with git: http://source.android.com/source/building-kernels.html
Many of the more popular ROMS have specific build instructions on their individual github pages (Cyanogen, Paranoid Android, etc), so you might what to look at those, too. Also, depending on the individual devices, there might be proprietary binaries sourced from the device or hardware manufacturers for things like camera drivers, graphics chips, etc.
If you want a walk through of the basic build process google has a tutorial. The last time I checked there seemed to be some outdated info, but it might give you a general idea of the build process. http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can give you more info, but that is all I got
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG Finally some light! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the info. I didn't get much right now, I'll need to read through your post a few times before I get it all, haha. I'll be sure to check the links too. Thank you!