Zen's Backtrack 5 For HD2 (and other) Android Smartphones
V0.3
----------------------------------------------------------
New app for loading this (and other) Linux Systems! - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.linux.autoloader
Image and app support can be found here --> http://www.zenfulapps.com/
Packed - 640mb
Unpacked - 2.6gig (fits on 3.3 img now.)
--GRAB THE UPDATED SCRIPTS ATTACHED TO THIS POST, THEY ARE NOT PACKAGED INTO THE ZIP--
--Scripts are set to load from EXT4 partition, when i modify them for the .img's ill add them to the script pack--
--if you have .img mounting scripts from previous versions, they will work, as long as file names and directories match--
V0.3 Download
http://www.zenfulapps.com/Android/backtrack5-0.3.7z
(MD5 is still the same
MD5sum (of .7z file) - 9a4796f0ed96e03579c2b4a684d026f5
--------------------
Script pack contains
--------------------
btgo - mounts BT5, and askes how you would like to start, CLI or VNC
bts - stops BT5, and unmounts everything for it.
btl - used to login to bt5 after it has been mounted, to avoid all those "resource busy" messages
mkcore - directory installation and swap file creation
-------------
What you need
-------------
Rooted Android Smartphone
Linux on PC
Busybox installed on your device
SDcard adapter or reader, if neccesary
----------
Lets begin
----------
There are 3 different ways you can do this:
1. Fresh install on EXT4 Sdcard partition ( I HIGHLY recommend this method if possible, much better, a bit faster (no double loops to write to)
2. Create Fresh .img
3. Replace old BT5 system .img
=========================================
1. Fresh install on EXT4 Sdcard Partition
=========================================
This portion of the guide is to install BT5 on a FRESH EXT4 partition on your SDcard. Throughout this porcess, you will:
Backup your current sdcard (EVERY PARTITION, this is why we use PC-linux and not windows)
Fully erase and repartition your SDcard
Replace Android system and user data
Install BT5 on third partition
prepare system for chroot and VNC connection
----------------------------------------
Boot into your Linux operating system. **I DO NOT recommend using virtualbox or vmware, as drivers for usb and SDcard connections arent direct, things can go wrong.**
Shutdown your phone, and remove your SDcard. Do not use adb, or any other tools to do this.
insert your SDcard into your computer (adapter or reader yada yada) and mount every partition.
Make careful note of what is on which partition. safest way to back everything up is through the command line with the command
Code:
sudo cp -Rfvp /media/your-sdcard-partition/* /where/your/backup/folder/is
Do this for each partition, whether you have 1, 2, 3, or more.
In my case, my backup directory looks like this:
Code:
[[email protected] sdcard-backup]$ ls -l
total 12
drwxrwxr-x. 2 hookup-cellular hookup-cellular 4096 Sep 13 18:48 ext2
drwxrwxr-x. 2 hookup-cellular hookup-cellular 4096 Sep 13 18:48 ext4
drwxrwxr-x. 2 hookup-cellular hookup-cellular 4096 Sep 13 18:48 fat32
(ignore the empty directory sizes, my TRUE backup folder is MUCH more vulgar and i wont display it publicly, people may tear thier eyes out )
After everything is backed up, open your partition manager (in Gnome it is gparted, cant remember the name in others)
Navigate to your SDcard, and DELETE every partition. every one.
afterwards, recreate them using this strategy:
partition 1 - FAT32 size = total sdcard size minus ext2 and ext4 partition sizes
partition 2 - EXT2 size = 256mb, 512mb, 1gb, depending on how you like your apps2sd
partition 3 - EXT4 size = size you want for linux, minimum should be 4gb (mines at 10gb, i like my linux and got 3 different ones on it at the same time.)
When you are done, copy back your fat32 and ext2 stuff using the SAME COMMAND AS ABOVE (sudo cp -Rfvp from/here to/here)
Now, unzip/tar the .tar.gz package. I recommend extracting it to your pc before trying to put it on your sdcard.
Using the copy command above, put the extracted files onto your sdcard's EXT4 partition.
Double check the partition (navigate to it in nautilus or whatever filemanager your using) and ensure that it has the system copied over properly. You should see /boot /etc /root /sys so on and so forth, NOT just one folder with all of those inside of it.
Insert your SDcard, power on your phone, go to terminal emulator, and enter this:
Code:
su
cd /sdcard/scripts
sh mkcore
Swap file is damn near neccessary if your planning on using any GUI tools (armitage, zenmap)
Your directory structure is now in place, swap file created, and you start BT5 by typing (from /sdcard/scripts OR /data/linux):
Code:
sh btgo
=================================
2. Fresh Image Creation
=================================
for this, we use the dd command and mkfs.ext4 command.
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/path/to/where/you/want/the/img bs=1M count=3300
Change this command as needed, running it as is wont do anything good. Change the of= to where you want your img to be located.
next is mkfs.ext4
Code:
mkfs.ext4 /path/to/where/you/want/your/img
select yes when it cautions about "not a block device"
When this is finished, mount it using these commands:
Code:
su
-your password-
mkdir -p /mnt/bt5img
mount -t ext4 /path/to/your/img /mnt/bt5img
now, extract the BT5 package to a place on your Computer. When finished, run this command:
Code:
sudo cp -Rfvp /path/to/bt5/core/* /mnt/bt5img/
changing parameters accordingly.
After this, copy the .img to /sdcard/bt5 and run the start scripts from your terminal emulator.
================================
3. Replace Existing Image
================================
Mount your bt5 image, erase what is inside of it, and copy in the new system:
Code:
su
-your password-
mkdir -p /mnt/bt5img
mount -t (your ext type) -o loop /path/to/your/bt5/img /mnt/bt5img
rm -Rfv /mnt/bt5img/*
cp -Rfvp path/to/bt5/core/* /mnt/bt5img/
unmount your .img, place it on your sdcard, and your all set.
==============================
Changes in v0.3
==============================
- Trimmed alot of fat, fits inside of 3.3 image now, though space is SEVERLY limited (removed CUPS and sound stuff, who needs to print from within thier phone anyways?)
- various small changes for performace improvements.
- a few new tools installed, but not tested
- restored my personal version that i nuked. It works now.
NEW STUFF TO COME, STAY TUNED!!!
First off, My apologies for starting a second thread on this, I've made ALOT of changes and i feel the first thread is dead and useless. (Reprimand me if needed
-pics coming once I find my camera could be a small while-
---------------------------------------
Backtrack5 for HD2 - v0.2
Customized by z3n
My goal: the perfect stealth
tool in your pocket
just one tap away
---------------------------------------
========================
Codename
Squeaky Wheel
========================
Updated, check second post for changelog
========================
DOWNLOAD
========================
Please use the scripts attached at the bottom of this post instead of the packaged ones, and i havent had a change to update the full image zip with it (uploads take a while )
V 0.2
Part 1 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D0MQVAS4
Part 2 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M2MRYLAH
MD5 - 06225e18cdbfee6f88daf7e9ee3a1163
SHA1 - eeba19e53565a1643703cf8938be2f8cfc12db9a
V 0.1
Part 1 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=83B22Y00
Part 2 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SB98AA19
mirror - (NOT interchangeable)
Part 1 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HU320Z81
Part 2 - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QN9C560Z
Checksums of bt5.img
MD5 = 863e6db99e5207a81ad0df7d13998235
SHA1 = c84d8f27df8b9b51059e5a6b09e65853f11de970
7zip required to extract.
Just over 1gb packed, unpacked is 4.9gb.
========================
INFO
========================
This is my first release of a customized, working, mostly stable BT5.
Many things have been added, taken out, and configured to be used within the Android system. For a full list, please see the bottom of this post.
Mounting is different than most other linux .img installations, allowing for a full (and expandable) image.
V 0.2 Now has a swap file created when you run the mkdirectory script. This swap file is necessary, as with all my tests, When you run VNC with most of the major tools, there's a high chance of the phone running out of memory (im running no extra apps, completely stock Hyperdroid)
(if you have a swapfile already, you can say no to creating another, just make sure that the file is located at /data/bt and named btswap.)
**This image is in ext4, make sure your kernel supports it!**
**Everything tested on Hyperdroid-CM7 by pongster**
==============
INSTALLATION
==============
You need:
-Full Nandroid Backup in case something goes batty
-16gb HD2
-ext4 support on your ROM/kernel (lost my ext2 image due to my own stupidity, will create another matching one later)
-Linux on PC (to create the ext4 partition)
-Busybox (from market)
-VNC Viewer (from market) (optional)
FAT32/EXT4 Split card
---------------------
1.
Back up your HD2 and SDCard to safe places (off of the phone and sdcard)
2.
Boot your linux installation and open partition manager. erase all the partitions on yor SDcard. Then create them in this order.
1. FAT32 - size of this is total sdcard size minus 6.5g (for bt image) minus 100mb for aps2sd
2. ext2 - 100mb
3. ext4 - 6.5 gb
3.
Copy the bt5.img to the root of your third partition.
copy the bts folder to the root of your FAT32 partition.
4.
if this is your first time using this script/image, run the mkdirectory script first with
Code:
su
sh /pathtoscripts/mkdirectory
Load up your android terminal and type
Code:
su
cd /path/to/scripts
sh go
5.
Now it asks you if you want to log in to the console or start vnc automatically. (check log for port, usually 5901 or 5902)
DEFAULT VNC PASSWORD IS: toortoor
DEDICATED SDCARD
----------------
Same as everything above, minus the FAT32 partition.
"sh ded"
starts for dedicated SDcard instead of
"sh go"
Proper Shutdown Procedure
=====================
Stop script has been modified to shutdown backtrack and all of the (usual) programs that stop things from unmounting properly.
Exit any VNC connection you currently have.
1. Run sh stop (from your scripts location)
2. Reboot phone as a precaution.
One thing i did personally to make this easier was load the scripts onto /data/bt, so switching SDcards or locations doesnt matter.
(I also changed the terminal start directory to my scripts folder easy quick access)
=======================
Main Features I've gotten to work
=========================
-Clean mount/umount, as long as VNC and MySQL are killed BEFORE exiting the chroot - stop script kills these now
-Apps no longer disappear for good with sdcard removed, only disappear until SDcard is reinserted (apps2SD/loop device problem, any ideas?)
-MySQL for metasploit
-Metasploit working
-Armitage working, missing some "Attack" options (looking into it)
-Zenmap installed
-OpenVPN installed
-Traffic analysis possible with tcpdump (local only)
-Enables possibility for FakeAP attacks
-macchanger works (kinda, phone needs a reboot for original MAC to return)
-Armitage Launcher placed on Desktop (takes a while to load, be patient)
-Terminal Launchers in various places (updating may randomly remove your terminal, synaptic placed on desktop as standby to redownload terminals
-guake installed (drop down Terminal, makes commands easier to see while working) (not configured to a key yet)
This probably works with other Android phones too. If you change the scripts, and as long as it has a external SDcard you can partition.
if your using a different phone, this is untested unless specified otherwise.
-boot and shutdown scripts run clean as long as VNC and MySQL are shut off(in almost all cases)
@ XDA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1152994
PASSWORDS
------------
MySQL - user: root pass: toor
VNC - User: root pass:toortoor
sys pass - user:root pass:toor
(I know, standard ones, but this should answer a few questions)
===============================
Thanks
===============================
anantshri - for the original scripts and BT5 img for android
BT dev team - (of course )
and all of you
===============================
Information, bugs, and oddities
===============================
One important thing, While performing heavy operations, its normal for your screen to not turn on for a while if it turns off. Dont panic, just give it some time to finish whatever you were running and your phone will be back to normal again. DO NOT PULL THE BATTERY UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
To avoid this, get wakelock (known to cause problems) or set your screen timeout to some large number.
Swap file will help with alot of this.
These are the features I've tested out so far.
No major changes to anything, (except new packages) just configuring everything i see.
If you find anything you want added in or that is acting odd, please let me know. Same goes for if you fix something!!
Overall
-------
-Repo's activated, most things work (upstart processes fail, for now)
-startvnc and stopvnc no longer give that pesky USER error
-startvnc starts mysql database for metasploit
-stopvnc stops mysql (mostly, invoke ps -A and look for mysqld. Kill it with fire(-9) if need be)
-network traffic is capture-able with tcpdump, with wifi hotspot activated
-working on adding in a swap partition on sdcard (if possible)
-openoffice installed
-openVPN installed (the quieter you become...)
-Removed Zoho Web services
MySQL
-----
default user - root
default pass - toor
-Starts automatically with startvnc
-stops automatically with stopvnc
-start manually by invoking "mysqld"
-Only runs as root (for now)
-Console hangs when it is manually loaded or shutdown, service continues running though. killall --signal 9 mysqld if needed.
Metasploit
----------
-Loads up alright (45-90 seconds)
-MySQL already set as default DB
-Must manually connect to MySQL DB each instance of metasploit by invoking (from msf) db_connect root:[email protected]
-working on a possible way to limit cpu consumption to prevent system hangs(cpulimit does some nasty things)
-So far, this is the only connection string ive been able to get to work: root:[email protected]
Armitage
--------
-Takes forever to load (30 seconds for connect screen, 4 minutes or so for main client)
-Causes system hangs frequently (to minimize this, leave the vnc server on your screen, and set the display timeout to 10 minutes-switch it back when done to conserve battery life)
-So far, this is the only connection string ive been able to get to work: root:[email protected]
-Can Crash phone if running too big of an operation (Max Phone memory problem, fixed in v.2 with swapfile added)
Zenmap
------
-Slows phone down (incredibly bad with more complex scans, of course)
-Some Complex scanning options can crash phone (Nothing damaging has happened)
-will attempt to throttle cpu usage in the future
-Can Crash phone if running too big of an operation (Max Phone memory problem, fixed in v.2 with swapfile added)
Aircrack-ng suite
-----------------
-Aircrack-ng works
-Airodump-ng doesnt work (needs monitor)
-Airdecap-ng untested
-Airdecloak-ng untested
-Airbase-ng doesnt work (needs monitor)
-Airmon-ng doesnt work (needs monitor)
-Aireplay-ng doesnt work (needs monitor)
-Airdriver-ng doesnt work (yet)
-Airolib-ng works (doesnt do anything yet)
-Airserv-ng doesnt work (needs monitor)
-Airtun-ng doesnt work(needs monitor)
Plus lots of stuff for the future, stay tuned!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1152994
In the future
=========
-nessus
-Booting via HD2 Toolbox by d4n14l (sp?)
-Custom kernel (WAYYYY down the road, but working on it)
and more
--Copyrighted by z3n, 2011
(just kidding, but it looks good )
Looks good will give it a go.
Thanks for sahring
I we could get our wifi card into monitor mode --> awesome!!!!
Thanks to z3nful & everyone made this possible!
Enjoy everyone
The next release is going to be faster, stabler, and more useful
I'm also working on a round-about way for packet injection and monitor mode
Stay tuned
Sent from my Hyperdroid Pocket Laptop
cool.. good job man..
Are you trying to patch the wifi drivers ? =D
Holy crap.....this is a dream in the making Bring on monitor mode and packet injection
I've done some researches.. and found out that many devs have tried making the driver to work on the Monitor mode.. but they failed to do that.
It looks to me that Backtrack on HD2 is kinda useless.
Not useless, just last night I ganked my roommates computer with my phone
As far as monitor mode and injection go, sadly, they may be right that its not possible, but I got some ideas that may make it work, I just need to hammer out some kinks in BT first
And who needs monitor when you can fakeAP?
"Make them hand you the keys and you don't have to break their Window(s)™"
Sent from my Hyperdroid Pocket Laptop
A m a z i n g
Next release is going to be even better this 5gig image is almost full, so I'm going to expand it to 6gig, along with instructions on how to expand your own image if that's to large or want even more space.
Btw, Wine should be good to go in the next one
stay tuned!!
Sent from my HD2 "Pocket Laptop"
I would love to see some Sceenshots (or better: a video) here!
Lol will do, gotta go find my 10 year old Polaroid I've been using this phone or all my pics and videos, so this could be tricky
Sent from my HD2 "Pocket Laptop"
good to see development beyond just starting up the image... I would be taking some pointers from here for my device too....
hope you don't mind that....
Not at all, I've been trying to track down your name again so it can add you to the credits part, as the basis of the scripts was yours lol, I just changed the loops and mounting structures around a bit, and added some stability checks.
The scripts for this image are slightly out of date but I got new ones going up once I have time they should fix a few of the small eerrors people get while mounting
My next version is a little ways out (works gotten crazy busy lately) but it'll be out eventually
Sent from my HD2 Pocket Laptop
Not Booting!
Hi Thank you for sharings this up!!! this is like a dream for alot of people.
i have followed all your steps but i have a problem when i run the scripts, the folders dont get created because when i run go i get a bounch of folder not found.
my SD card had some differences is a 16GB
with
Fat32
Ext-sd/ EXT2 -->1GB
EXT3 --> 100MB
EXT4 --> 6.5GB
could this setup causing the script to look on the wrong partitions? i have alot of time with out playing with Shell scripting but i would like to know if that is the place i should start looking for a fix
-edit- just double checked (forgot scripts were on my phone... its been a long week lol) and you should just need to change the mount -t ext4 /dev/block/vold/179:3 to /dev/block/vold/179:4
Also, did you run the new mkdirectory script? If you have the one packaged with the image its out of date. The attachment on the fist post has the updated ones
Ignore all mmcblk's
For another "buffer" partition, you need t point the sdcard parts (mmcblk0p* and vold/179:*) to what yours are in /dev/block. In your case I think you just need to change any vold/179:3 to 179:4. If you go to /dev/block/vold it will have folders from each partition (they are numbered 0 and up, but 1 would be your fat32, 2 is ext2 so on and so forth)
When I'm near my computer ill figure out the full ones for you
Sent from my HD2 Pocket Laptop
can I get it for Htc desire..??
It should work, as long as you have a big enough sdcard, your phomes kernel suppers ext4, and you might have to change a few small variables
Sent from my HD2 Pocket Laptop
Related
Updated April 7th, 2011
All credit to sibere and droidzone and other devs who've developed the Data2SD codes.
Before you do anything with your phone, Pls nanodroid fisrt!!! And flash your phone at YOUR OWN RISK
It's been a while since this post last updated.
In fact, developers of HTC Desire have already create a stable method to implement Data2sd or whatever you call it, which gives you full use of EXT space to install APPs while improving I/O speed at the same time.
The theory is explained here, in case you want to take a further look at it
[DEV][DATA2SD] More space (and more I/O) for your Desire (Updated/EXT4/Flashable ZIP)
And thanks to sibere and droidzone 's great work, now we could make any ROM we like run with Data2sd. here they provide us Flashable ZIP files to make it done
[DATA2SD] Flashable zips for converting any Rom to Data2SD
Updated Instructions and Zips (14/Mar/2011)
I've streamlined the installation procedure so as to make it more generic and compatible with the newer StarBurst zips.
Basic Installation Steps for Data2SD
1. Install your ROM
2. Install the A2SD Killer (specific for your ROM)
3. Next step differs depending on whether you're reflashing your Rom on an existing install, or whether you are installing for the first time.
If you're installing the ROM for the first time:
· Reboot once after running the A2SD Killer
· Setup the timezone, language etc (But not your Google Account/Market)
·Reboot to recovery once again and install the Data2SD Installer
If you're reflashing the ROM (after having installed Data2SD once previously)
·Do not reboot after running the A2SD Killer
·Install the Data2SD Re-Installer right away
·Now reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download Link:
http://hotfile.com/dl/110226722/85a18a8/Data2SDv11.zip.html
http://www.easy-share.com/1914241904/Data2SDv11.zip
Important Notes from droidzone
Fully supports Cyanogen
Fully supports Clockworkmod3.0+ (Edified)
I wanted to consolidate all the flashable zips for Data2SD into one place, so that I will find it easy to update the links as I modify the scripts, and to also help Sibere to point his link to this post from OP, so that he doesnt need to reupload each file as they are modified.
Once again, I must assert that Data2SD is totally Sibere's work with other devs who've developed Data2SD code of their own. In my opinion, however, this is the best!
My contribution is conversion of his excellent code into flashable scripts which may be installed via Recovery. So you dont have to type out the code.
The flashable zip is packed as a package of zip files. Each zip file within the package is seperate flashable zip
There are the following files:
Killer, Installer and Reinstaller files for Sense Roms
A2SDKillerV11_Sense.zip
Data2SDInstallerv1.3_Sense.zip
Data2SDReInstallerv1.3_Sense.zip
Installer and Reinstaller files for AOSP Gingerbread Roms and CM7 nightlies (excluding Cyanogen 6 and MIUI 2.2 , but including Cyanogen 7 nightlies and MIUI 2.3.3 )
A2SDKillerV11_GB.zip
Data2SDInstallerv1.3_GB.zip
Data2SDReInstaller1.3_GB.zip
Installer and Reinstaller files for Cyanogen 6 and MIUI 2.2 (Not for CM7 nightlies or MIUI 2.3.3), which are Older Version
A2SDKillerV9.zip
Data2SDInstaller_cyanogen.zip
data2sd-Reinstall_cyanogen.zip
Whether you are trying this method for Sense or AOSP Roms, the installation procedure is same. Only the file is different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Following droidzone's instruction, I tried these flashable ZIPs with MIUI 1.4.1(Gingerbread 2.3.3)
A2SDKillerV11_GB.zip
Data2SDInstallerv1.3_GB.zip
And it's working just fine. No random reboots, no data or APP lost or system crash after reboot. It's stable and fast!
One more note, you can ignore the previous information below...
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
updata from
melethron's post, and his update package data2whatever.zip included.
you can buy melethron a beer if you want. All credits to melethron!
I test the script with new install MIUI N1 12.24,
so far no reboot issues, or data corruption.
[DATA2whatever] Flashable All-in-one-Solution for Data2sd (HUGE update (dec 23th))
data2whatever v0.2
Features:
- Supports: Ext2, Ext3, Ext4 (and if kernel supports it: ) btrfs, ReiserFS
- Supports loop device as optional addon (as siberes data2sd)
- Flashable zip for many app2sd ROMs (no long setup required)
- It does a e2fsck (disk check) on every boot and creates a logfile on the sdcard (/sdcard/e2fscklog.txt)
- looks nice if you do a logcat on boot
- no "settings lost on reboot" bug like in my old or siberes script
- changes the scheduler for the sd-card and internal to noop for better performance on sd.
- Nandroid Backup of EXT2/3/4 external with AmonRa 2.0.0.1 or any clockwork recovery.
- Removes the common app2sd scripts on its own
Requirements
- A second partition (same as app2sd - Min 512 mb - 1024mb is highly recommended - max 2048 MB or there will be issues with market) in any format (as long as the kernel supports - ext2/3/4 support is default in most kernels - Ext4 or ReiserFS is recommended).
- An app2sd or non app2sd ROM (data2sd versions wont work) (this SHOULD work with most or at least many ROMs . Roms that are confirmed to work can be found in the post below. Please report to me it it works or not so i can update this thread. If it doesn't work i try to make it compatible asap. )
Installation
1.) Full wipe (at least needed on first installation)
2.) Flash the app2sd Version of the ROM of your choice
3.) DONT REBOOT
4.) If you rebooted then start over at 1.)
5.) flash the attached "data2whatever.zip"
6.) now reboot
ADDITIONAL INFO: Even without "life on the edge" you should watch the first 4 "don't"s of "life on the edge". The normal script use the same disk safety methods as NTFS on Windows or EXT4 on linux. But as you know you shouldnt just switch off the computer because there can still be issues in very rare cases. Reboots with tools like "snqs power menu" is the same as a batterypull (or pulling the ac plug on PC) and this isn't good in general (and this also applies for using it with app2sd). If you want to go to recovery just make a normal shutdown and switch the phone on with "volume down" button pressed.
Optional life-on-the-edge add on
you can find this add on in melethron's original post, and try it on your own risk
This patch has the same effect as sibere's and ownhere's script (loop device - the way ownhere does in v4 doesnt work though). Other than those scripts it this addon doesnt need any repartitioning or other setup (like FAT or a third partition) and can simply be installed or removed with a flashable zip. All you need for this is a normal ext 2/3/4 partition (as above ^^). Ext4 is recommended for this (as above) since it is the fastest of those 3. This patch is more risky than normal ext3/4 considering the possibility of data loss. If you want to use this add-on you should watch the following (this also applys to ownheres and sibere script and is NOT more risky than their scripts):
- DON'T use the reboot of snq's powermenu (or any other reboot app)
- DON'T use anything in the "ROM Manager" that makes it reboot.
- DON'T do adb reboot / abd reboot recovery / adb reboot bootloader
- DON'T pull the battery while the phone is on (this should be obvious)
- DON'T remove the "sync" mount options for the Quadrant "boost" (this is a fake boost anyway)
All of this is like a powerloss for the sd-card and has a high change of data corruption.
From my test with this i give you an estimate what can happen if a powerloss occurs or any of the 5 points above happen:
- 50% general chance of corruption that will be autofixed on boot (not a problem)
- 10% chance of forcecloses after reboot of some apps (this can be fixed by deleting the app data or restoring it with titanium (or other) backup)
- REALLY tiny chance (didnt happen for me in over 40 "simulated" powerlosses) that partition gets corrupted (needs complete repartitioning of the microSD so all data on it will be gone then)
As long as you watch the 5 points above and as long as you don't drop the phone and the battery jumps out this will be safe.
Installation of the addon:
- Flash the "life-on-the-edge.zip" any time after you installed "data2whatever".
Installation of the addon:
- Flash the "life-on-the-edge-UNPATCH.zip" any time after you installed "data2whatever" and the addon. (this will revert back to the normal script)
Personal remark: While this is a improvement over normal ext4 it is not the "holy-grale" of a data2sd lag fix. I'm not using this myself and use a ReiserFS as second partition instead which is more safe and completly feels the same as a "loop" device considering performance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dec14 info update:
I uploaded A mod script for CM6.1 stable by Carrol
Carrol changes the script to create a ext4 loop device on EXT4 partition.
Code:
$BUSYBOX mkdir /mnt/asec/extdata
if [ ! -e /data/data2sd.ext.finish ];
then
echo "+++Need create ext4 loopback device for data, please wait... this is 1/5 size of your ext partition"
extsize=`$BUSYBOX df /dev/block/mmcblk0p2|$BUSYBOX grep mmcblk0p2|$BUSYBOX awk '{print $2}'`
datasize=`$BUSYBOX expr $extsize / 5 / 1024`
$BUSYBOX dd if=/dev/zero of=/data/ext4 bs=1048576 count=$datasize
/system/xbin/mkfs.ext4 -b 4096 -m 0 -F -L userdata /data/ext4
/system/bin/tune2fs -o journal_data_writeback /data/ext4
/system/bin/e2fsck /data/ext4
#/system/bin/tune2fs -O ^has_journal /data/ext4
#$BUSYBOX mount -o loop,errors=continue,noatime,nodiratime,nosuid,nodev /data/ext4 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX mount -o loop,barrier=0,nobh,nouser_xattr,errors=continue,noatime,nodiratime,nosuid,nodev /data/ext4 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX chown 1000.1000 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX chmod 771 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX cp -a /data/data /mnt/asec/extdata/
sleep 1
$BUSYBOX umount /mnt/asec/extdata
sleep 1
$BUSYBOX touch /data/data2sd.ext.finish
fi
/system/bin/e2fsck -y -v -f /data/ext4
#$BUSYBOX mount -o loop,sync,errors=continue,noatime,nodiratime,nosuid,nodev /data/ext4 /mnt/asec/extdata
#$BUSYBOX mount -o loop,errors=continue,noatime,nodiratime,nosuid,nodev /data/ext4 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX mount -o loop,barrier=0,nobh,nouser_xattr,errors=continue,noatime,nodiratime,nosuid,nodev /data/ext4 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX chown 1000.1000 /mnt/asec/extdata
$BUSYBOX chmod 771 /mnt/asec/extdata
Note that this script is for CM6.1 stable only, only ONE EXT partition needed on your SDCard, and it will be formated into EXT4, do nanodroid before you try
Also a CM6.1 ROM with Data2Ext by Carrol can be found here
CM6.1 ROM with Data2Ext by Carrol
download: http://rom.anshouji.com/htc/N1/bbs.anshouji.com-N1-data2sd-20101213.zip
________________________________________________________
ownhere Data2Ext script V4
Data2ExtV4
2010/12/12 update V4 script:
/data/:ext4, disable journaling
/data/data:ext4 loopfile on ext4 device, enable journaling on ext4 device, disable journaling on ext4 loopfile, for fast and stable sqlite3 access.
really smooth this time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a version for Desire, which is here [DATA2EXT] [11/Dec] FULL BENCHMARK, V4, Improve the efficiency of IO
While improving IO efficiency, it moves all userdata to EXT so to avoid insufficient ROM space, cos the whole EXT is recognized as the internal ROM.
with ownhere's v4 script, I got my miui rom working, no data lost or crash after reboot/battery-removed:
1. miui rom 12.03 clean installation（a2sd+ script removed）, then flash update.zip of v4 script. working. applying 12.03 to 12.10 and 12.10 to 12.11 ota packages, working.
2. miui rom 12.11 clean installation, flash v4 update.zip, working.
3. miui rom 12.11 with a2sd+ running, 38 apps installed and /data/data moved to ext. The v4 update.zip can still do the job.
However, one problem is that Root explorer couldnot display Chinese filenames of APK , showing only ？？？. and if install those apks via root explorer, it just reports errors...
Another thing i am not sure of is not knowing how much v4 script could improve when there is only 1 ext partition. According to ownhere, 2 ext partitions are needed to make the best out of his v4 script...
I attached the v4 updtae.zip - Data2ext_update.zip ，in case you might wanna try:
1. BEFORE you try this package, you need to remove the app2ext script(file like 04apps2sd or 01 apps2sd) from /system/etc/init.d, or you would only get bootloop going on and on
2. And of course, Nanodroid...
3. disable signature checking in recovery...
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I tried merging those files into MIUI N1 ROM.
When N1 boots for the 1st time, everything's working just fine.
Now we know the previous script is faking the Quadrant score...
Quadrant bechmark really rocks with I/O scoring 8000+ and a total score @ 3000+
But after reboot, there came some issues:
System config could not be saved;
Home button wouldn't work;
Flight mode and Quiet mode missing in the reboot menu...
Could someone pls help to rewrite the script to fit in N1 ROM?
I think people using N1 would interested in such a script or rom that brings N1 more I/O performance and more space for Apps.
But I have no knowledge of coding, don't know how to fix the issues above.
So I add download link of the script CREATED by ownhere, not by me, hoping someone could make a N1 MOD...
data2ext.zip
data2ext.zip is not a flashable package
Thanks!
mattrb said:
This goes in Q and A.
Also the answer is darktremor. A simple search of the the Nexus One Android Development gets that answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but I don't think Darktremor Apps2SD script could do the job.
Since there is difference between Apps2SD and Data2Ext:
Apps2SD moves
/data/app, /data/app-private and /data/dalvik-cache to EXT
And with some commands /data/data could also be moved to EXT
But Data2Ext moves
/data/app to EXT4
/data/data to a virtual EXT2 device on EXT4, which is the trick to improve IO efficiency working at peak level...
SO I don't know if there is a answer fort this in Q&A...
this comes up after searching
G1 data2sd instruction works for the N1 i suppose ?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=527636&highlight=app2sd
**There is NO booting into recovery and wiping of the phone!**
My bad for not being clear on the wipe instructions!
1) (optional) If you are to wipe it (your choice it is not required), then press menu->settings->SD card & phone storage->scroll to bottom of screen and select "Factory data reset". This will wipe the /data partition only removing all apps and settings. BACKUP YOUR /data dir to sd, First or you will need to down load all your apps again to include paid apps!!
2) place data2sd.img in root of SDcard (fat32)
3) terminal in or adb shell in.
4) cp /sdcard/data2sd.sh to /data/local/bin - to copy the script to your user-space
5) chmod 0750 /data/local/bin/data2sd.sh - to make it executable
6) /data/local/bin/data2sd.sh or data2sd.sh may work to run the script
7) once the install is done it should tell you to reboot. If you had the ddms debugger running, you can observer the log as it is working.
8) done. It may boot a little longer if you clean-slate installed and then restored your apps by copying them back into /data/app and /data/app-private which has the affect of reinstalling everything, and thus the boot will take a while if you have alot of apps like I do. Again you can observe this as the Android boots if you have the debugger running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also confused, how does darktremor move all of that to ext? Please explain. I thought darktremor moves apps to ext. If you fail, then you sir are an idiot and gtfo.
A "simple" reread (If that's even enough, maybe 100x more for you) would've told you want he wanted.
Sorry for invading your post jayfallen!!
I for one, am glad you posted this and would like to try it once you get it going.
Try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853001
I recommend only moving the data of non-essential apps and those apps which DO NOT contain security sensitive data (games, Google Earth, etc. should be fine).
I edited the thread title, and added download link of the script created by ownhere.
someone might wanna take a look, if you're interested in bring your N1 more I/O performance and more space for Apps.
Thanks for everyone replying this thread. I will try your suggestions.
eVil's hd rom~
it's not work on the evil's hd sense?i try that last night~ but it's very hard!!!
i m abt to try this
http://www.miui.com/thread-10723-1-1.html?extra=page=1
wish me luck
the thread @ miui.com was posted by me earlier...
that rom is just experimental, if you don't reboot, everything works fine.
once rebooted, config lost and homebutton lost...
I don't know how to fix, that's why I start this thread @ xda, hoping someone could make it work for N1...
Wow this I want
Not sure if this can help..
Found a post on HiAPK (a Chinese Android discussion forum)
here's the link to the post:
http://www.hiapk.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=717815&extra=page=1&filter=type&typeid=211
And here's the link to the ROM:
http://rom.anshouji.com/htc/N1/bbs.anshouji.com-N1-data2sd-20101208.zip
The rom is said to be based on Cyanogen Mod 6.1 Stable, with data2EXT enabled by default.
The attached screenshot comes from a user of the data2Ext rom, note that the internal storage has 0.9GB left.
luciefer said:
it's not work on the evil's hd sense?i try that last night~ but it's very hard!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That because the current script will only move system/app to ext. There is nothing else in there to tell it to move any other folder, thus failing.
there's been new development...
as houzuoguo mentioned, a CM6.1stable+data2ext mod ROM is out, but there're still some issues
ownhere update his script to V3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859419
1.change loopback device to real partition for powersave and better write performance.
2.disable second partition's journaling.
3.You need 3rd partition for /data/data. But even without the third partition of this script can also work(not stable). My partition settings:second partition:1.5G, thrid partition:0.5G
meanwhile, another new approach is coming out:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=868102
NILFS2 - data2nilf2 will be much faster then data2ext and won't have Lags.
whoa
i m glad there are so many new development out everyday
feel so good knowing the n1 is not being left behind
speaking of this is pretty freaking awesome
houzuoguo said:
Not sure if this can help..
Found a post on HiAPK (a Chinese Android discussion forum)
here's the link to the post:
http://www.hiapk.com/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=717815&extra=page=1&filter=type&typeid=211
And here's the link to the ROM:
http://rom.anshouji.com/htc/N1/bbs.anshouji.com-N1-data2sd-20101208.zip
The rom is said to be based on Cyanogen Mod 6.1 Stable, with data2EXT enabled by default.
The attached screenshot comes from a user of the data2Ext rom, note that the internal storage has 0.9GB left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...
That is a huge improvement in IO!
Lets hope this reaches a stable state soon
I wonder why quadrant weighs so much on disk IO for the total score.
Would this be possible on other devices? lets say the g2?
Would someone mind explaining what tangible improvements this makes? Obviously there is an impressive boost in Quadrant scores, but I'm unsure what difference it makes to the actual operation of the device.
bcpk said:
Would someone mind explaining what tangible improvements this makes? Obviously there is an impressive boost in Quadrant scores, but I'm unsure what difference it makes to the actual operation of the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
App2sd u get 512mb for ext3.
Data2ext u get at least 2gb for apps and stuff
Lol. Are u serious. For io scores it cheats. See the script. Fake ext2 for quadrant
truth to be told，they say TTL 2000+ and IO 3000 is the actual scroe...
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This is new Android distribution based on Linux, Android and Archos stock os, using SDE from Archos.
Features:
Easy install method for external (SDcard) and Internal storage
EXT4 (much faster than ext3, can store files >4GB comparing to FAT32)
Full read/write access to every part of system
root (su + superuser.apk) out of the box
new services like: samba, sshd, vpnc, openvpn, dvbt, nfs4
3G/usb tether support
Possibility to remove some google/Archos apps
Swap memory in RAM (CompCache) or on disk by default or when you need it
No 300MB limit for apps (and no faulty app2sd required)
You can have SD card Class 8/10 - that can be much faster than internal flash (check this thread)
Many new new kernel modules (usbserial, ntfs, 3G modems, nfs4, cifs, hfs, iptables etc.)
DVB-T support for selected tuners
updated modules, firmware (like WiFi)
User friendly UrukConfig application
... and much, much more - to much to mention all here - please read changelog
Since 1.0 release main documentation source for UrukDroid is on it's WiKi. Please use it as a first and primary information source for UD.
Link to project (googlecode) page is: http://code.google.com/p/urukdroid
Update (10.09.2015)
Since code.google.com is no longer working (read only for limited time) - here are working links to latest (and final) release of UrukDroid: Dropbox,
I hope that new, much more detailed and complete documentation will help you use UrukDroid at it's full potential.
Changelog, proposed futures
Changelog:
UrukDroid 1.6 (02.01.2012) "DOV FUS LOS Wahl ko Daar Sivaas!"
[CHANGE] Incorporated changes from Archos firmware 2.4.19, 2.4.65, 2.4.80 and 2.4.81
[CHANGE] Updated superuser apk and binaries
[FIX] Fixed some library linking
[NEW] Changed top bar button size to 32px permanently
[NEW] New overclock module from milestone-overclock to change CPU voltage and max frequencies on the fly
[CHANGE] Added overclock support to CPUGovernor service
[FIX] Restored proper busybox binary
[NEW] New patches on kernel from December update from Archos git
[NEW] Full iptables support (with NAT, conntrack etc) - so everything is now possible (redirect, proxies etc)
[NEW] Full kernel timing for power consumption monitoring
[NEW] Recompiled WiFi? and HDMI drivers
[NEW] Added python 2.7, iotop (for watching i/o operations), PowerTOP (for power consumption monitoring - but it's not as useful as on x86)
[NEW] Added ntfs-3g support - full read/write support for NTFS file systems (need to be used manually, vold does not use it)
[CHANGE] Added UrukDroid? Rescue Menu - Repair submenu with disabling overclocking (for those who made their device unbootable with overclocking) and Dalvik cache cleaner
[NEW] New feature in cpugovernor script (genconf, current)
[CHANGE] New features in update subsystem
scripts now tries to keep /data/.tmp directory cleaner,
for those with disk shortage /data/.tmp can be now symlink to directory on sdcard
updater now checks if you have enough free space in /data/.tmp before it begin installation
update process now can be during bootup (better one) if you have enough free space on rootfs, or on running system (not so nice - this is default behavior until UD 1.6 release)
[CHANGE] restoring backup in Rescue Menu now erases partition before restore (until now it was just overwriting)
[FIX] added (again ) xbox pad kernel support (was missed out in new kernel compilation)
[FIX] fixes scp/sftp-server (on some configuration refused to start child processes)
UrukDroid 1.5 (16.0.2011) Manamana!
[CHANGE] Since UrukDroid? 1.1 (both beta1/2/3 and release candidate 1/2/3) had stability and compatibility issues - that I was unable to trace down (too many changes on changes etc.) - I've decided to implement all stuff from beginning on fresh OS. Since all "reverse engineering" stuff was already made and I already have required knowledge - It should be the fastest method. So entire system is cleaned up, updated to latest binaries - and so far looks good . That's why I've bumped version to 1.5 - just to make it a bit more visible it's not a straight continuation of 1.0/1.1.
[FIX] No more "soft reboots" (system reloaded it's graphics UI part)
[FIX] No more turning off WiFi issue (but it happens that WiFi can't pop in after full reboot - another reboot is required)
[FIX] CIFS startup on boot (Issue 57)
[CHANGE] Update process should be now more chatty and report more errors
[CHANGE] Reverted back WPA service (which enable UrukDroid? WPA supplicant with AdHoc? support) - since some people reported problems with adding new networks with Uruk version of WPA supplicant.
[CHANGE] Merged changes from Archos 2.3.28 OS
[NEW] New wpa_supplicant - hopefully with all features and without most of known problems (sometimes it still refuses to start)
[CHANGE] Updated modules and kernel
[FIX] Fix camera support for A43
[CHANGE] Merged changes from Archos 2.3.26 OS
[CHANGE] Redesigned services to output more reliable status
[FIX] Mediascanner fixes (did not rescan data sometimes)
[NEW] Introduced in 1.0 "Rescue Menu" now fully functional (RM)
[NEW] RescueMenu now have Alternative OS? boot feature
[NEW] RescueMenu now have "bare metal" backup/restore functionality
[NEW] Update process will now communicate with user with help of UrukConfig
[NEW] Enabled cgroups
[FIX] "Moved" boot image on A101
[FIX] 3Gmodem_init.sh fixes
[NEW] You can dissable boot from SDCard by naming any of it's partition "noboot" ('[email protected]:/root# e2label /dev/block/mmcblk2p1 noboot')
[NEW] patch (by Sibere) increasing USB current in Host mode
[NEW] New default apps in UrukDroid 1.5: WiFi Manager, FileExpert, QuickPic, Opera browser
UrukDroid 1.0 (30.04.2011)
[FIX] sshfs missing files fix
[FIX] EasyInstall: changed datafs max size from 2GB to 1.95GB (for market to work), fixed partition sizes for A101 16GB when doing internal install with resize, fixed installation for A70H devices
[NEW] small script to copy UrukDroid files from SDCard (external) to Internall (copy_from_sd_to_internal.sh)
[CHANGE] Changed behaviour of dvb service (device configuration)
[FIX] Added some missing modules for DVB support
[CHANGE] New kernel modules for more dvb devices (but it requires manual loading and testing)
[NEW] rsync tool
[CHANGE] swap service now can work on swap partition (or like before on swap file), also after mounting sdcard ext4 partition
[NEW] Ad-Hoc WiFi connection support by default (networks are visible with "*" on beginning of it's SSID)
[CHANGE] Some new progress indicators during install/upgrade
[NEW] Simple Animation during late phase of bootup
[NEW] New service: cifs (to load cifs modules)
[NEW] Added cgroups kernel setting
[NEW] Moved some modules dependencies (cifs,ntfs,dvb) to /etc/modprobe.d
UrukDroid 0.7 (28.02.2011) you're damn right it's a gift!!
[NEW] NFSv4 client support
[NEW] FS-Cache (cachefilesd) support for NFS (local disk cache for NFS files)
[NEW] sshfs support
[FIX] OpenVPN fix - thanks to nenadr
[FIX] PPtP fix - thanks to nenadr
[NEW] vpnc tool for using Cisco VPN connections
[NEW] vpnc UrukDroid service
[CHANGE] Updated to libc6 2.11 (and all binaries recompiled/changed because of it - big change)
[NEW] new gnu tools: nmap
[NEW] EasyInstall now allows installing UrukDroid on internal (mmcblk1) storage in A70 and A101
[NEW] Integrated 3G USB modem and RNDIS USB tethering service by nenadr
[CHANGE] New iobench.sh (with new bonnie++ test)
[CHANGE] Changed device fingerprint to work better with google market (enable download some missing apps)
[CHANGE] Merged Archos 2.1.8 firmware changes
[CHANGE] Changed DVB subsystem support and kernel/modules dependencies to work with new v4l2 modules (it will brake compatibility with most other kernels probably)
[FIX] Changes it UrukUpdate mechanism to work every time when file is moved to "/data/UrukUpdate"
[NEW] Added required modules and iptables service configuration for DroidWall (firewall) application
[NEW] sudo subsystem for launching properly some root tasks
UrukDroid 0.6 (11.02.2011) Eye of the Uruk... in new logo
[CHANGE] Merged changes from Archos firmware 2.1.2/2.1.3/2.1.4
[CHANGE] DVB support with LiveTV.apk from chulri (for selected cards, there are more modules then listed in /etc/uruk.conf/dvb - but it requires to do some experiment and report it back)
[CHANGE] Changed Uruk service to work better with new UrukConfig
[NEW] New services: openvpn, mediascanner
[NEW] IO Benchmark tool: iobench.sh
[NEW] Possibility to turn off mediascanner and use it on demand only
[FIX] Fixed mount_sdcard.sh script to work with 2.1.2 ext3 partitions
[NEW] Updated boot sequence with progress during upgrade/install
[NEW] You can hide soft buttons (Archos buttons) with UrukConfig
[NEW] Easy Install method - no need to know anything about Linux - just plug and wait...
[NEW] Kernel modules for 3g dongle
UrukDroid 0.5 (27.01.2011) Tom Bombadil... in red
[NEW] CompCache (aka ramzswap) support
[NEW] New CPU governor - interactive. Ported from XDA CyanogenMOD
[NEW] DVB: applied patches by chulri, Siano SMS1XXX USB support
[NEW] DVB: modules from outside kernel tree
[NEW] Some more GNU tools: gzip utils, zip utils, unzip utils, nc (NetCut for DVB streaming)
[CHANGE] New services model - so they can be easily run/configured with help of UI
[NEW] New kernel modules: usbnet, lzo
[NEW] Mediascanner modification - it should has much, much smaller impact on system performance
[NEW] sqlite3 (3.5.9) installed, for easy database file manipulation
[NEW] after restart of UrukDroid it will boot once again to Uruk without need of pressing any buttons, to boot on stock OS please use boot menu
[FIX] mount_sdcard.sh fixed so it will mount first ext4 partition on sdcard if exist, and will not interfere with Vold if its vfat
[CHANGE] New update/upgrade/flash model - everything done on UrukDroid - no boot menu required
[NEW] New application to configure UrukDroid - UrukConfig.apk. Installed with this release. Can be uninstalled in default way.
[FIX] Fixed corrupted logo in A101
[NEW] Unified kernel for UrukDroid on SDCard and internal storage (A70S/A101)
[CHANGE] Services ENABLED with this release: CpuGovernor, CompCache
UrukDroid 0.4.2 (21.01.2011)
Just extracted as a separate update file GoogleMarket
UrukDroid 0.4.1 (15.01.2011) Myyy preciousssss...
Some more tools like: bc, proc utils, vim, tcpdump, bzip2, tar etc.
Android apps (Market, Maps, Talk, Calendar, Contact, Feedback, Locator, Updater) by default
Samba (3.2.5) support for sharing /mnt/storage (internal and sdcard storage) from Archos
Dropbear SSH server
Backported modprobe, depmod etc. tools for modules management
WiFI driver recompiled, WiFi HW firmware update (from 6.1.0.0.335 to 6.1.5.44.7)
Initial DVB-T support (Afatech AF9005, Afatech AF9015, DiBcom DiB0700, Terratec CinergyT2/qanu)
Bootlogo with progress steps
Cleanups of initramfs and rootfs
EXT4 drivers backported from 2.6.30 - some mount changes (to prevent config files corruption)
Initial A70H support
SDCard/HD layout changed
Autoupgrade service and installation helper
ADB fixes
Removed two apps. TelephonyProvider.apk, Phone.apk
Since 0.4 all services are DISABLED by default, to enable it edit proper config file in /etc/uruk.conf/
UrukDroid 0.3 (9.01.2011) Rise my Uruk... not yet Hai
iptables, ntfs support
some more USB modules: usbserial, pl2303
fixed bluetooth problem (not working in Uruk 0.2)
automounting improvements (much more bulletproof)
new configuration files (/etc/uruk.conf/) to enable/disable features
new Uruk services (/etc/uruk.d/)
some more GNU utils openssh-client, coreutils
USB charging enabled (NOT tested!!!) - It would required much more power then standard USB in PC can give, use USB wall/car charges or double/triple USB cables
UrukDroid 0.2 (5.01.2011) Go GNU release
"smart" automounting script (that will mount ext4/vfat third partition from sdcard in RIGHT place, AFTER internal storage is mount)
plenty of useful GNU tools: whole e2fstools (mkfs, fsck for ext2/ext3/ext4), parted (for partition resize, format etc.), vfat tools, new toolbox, mtr, top, strace, bash - and much more (look in /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/sbin)
swap memory ON by default (50MIB file /swap01.file)
required compiled libraries libparted, libncurses, libe2fs... etc. (look in /usr/local/lib)
new text editor in text mode: nano (my favourite)
some init.rc cleanups
kernel changes (mostly toward console output)
fixed small (but problematic) misconfiguration in Archos (yep original one) Android in linking /etc/mtab
UrukDroid 0.1 (30.12.2010) Initial "release"
recompiled kernel with ext4, nfs4, fb console
added su and superuser.apk
bootup changes (to make it work)
Features planed in next releases:
backup scripts
proxy settings
CynanogenMOD parts backported
OC/UC kernel be default
FAQ or Tips & Tricks
More information you can find in seperate thread on this forum - FAQ + Question/Awnsers
How to upgrade from previous releases
To upgrade from 0.5 you should download special upgrade file (UrukDroid-0.6-upgrade.tbz2) from first post. You need to place this file in directory "/data/UrukUpdate".
First method:
Put it on your internal storage by any means - this is /mnt/storage (also visible as /sdcard/). Then use file manager (like Astro or RooteExplorer - not build in one) or do as follow in terminal (or over ssh)
Code:
su
cd /sdcard/
mv UrukDroid-0.6-upgrade.tbz2 /data/UrukUpdate/
Second method:
Use UrukConfig to enable SSHD (if you don't have it started already), and use any SCP/SSH client (like WinSCP, or plain scp on Linux) to copy file (default username is "root", password is "UrukDroid") to "/data/UrukUpdate".
In both cases upgrade will start automatically; alter kernel, initramfs and when finished, device will reboot itself.
How to enable/disable and configure UrukDroid services?
UrukDroid services are configured by text files, that can be found in /etc/uruk.conf/ directory. You can use file manager like RootExplorer or Terminal to edit them, but most convinient way is to use SSHD service and some ssh client (for example putty).
You can also use UrukConfig application - build in since 0.5 release. After you do some changes, restart service (/etc/uruk.d/service_name stop/start) or simply reboot Archos. Since 0.5, by default only CompCache and CPUGovernor are enabled.
Currently available services
samba - it's SMBD server allowing mounting your Archos storage directory on your PC. Default user is "storage" and password "UrukDroid"
sshd - SSH server allows you to connect to your Archos with any ssh client, work on terminal. It also allows to copy files with scp/sft. Default user is "root", password "UrukDroid"
swap - this service enable swap memory. It can make Archos a bit less responsive but memory manager won't kill application so quickly (co you can use WWW browser, email an communicator simultaneously - for example of course)
iptables - this pseudo service will load necessary modules to use iptables (firewall) features
ntfs - if you plan to connect NTFS formatted devices to your Archos - enable this service
dvb - this service load necessary modules to watch TV on your Archos. This service requires configuration from your side - it won't work "as is". Please read and edit config file (/etc/uruk.conf/dvb)
compcache - Start/stop CompCache swap memory service. Compcache is a compressed part of memory, where less used object reside. Usual compression ratio is 70%
cpugovernor - Changes default CPU governor and it's parameters. Governor decides how to scale CPU frequency. Since 0.5 there is new "interactive" governor.
openvpn - It's an implementation of popular free VPN service for Uruk. It will act like the one used in Archos stock config with difference it will work all the time - whenever you go, and you have full flexibility of configuration. Config file resides in /etc/openvpn/archos.conf.
VPNC - It's open implementation of Cisco VPN service. You should edit /etc/vpnc/archos.conf file.
NFS4 - NFS v4 client service allows you to mount remote file storage with use of NFS (much faster then SMB for example). You can also enable use of cachefilesd sub-service - that will cache locally, files transferred with NFS (for smooth playback of movies for example)
How to remove some default apps?
App started at the boot time are stored in /system/app, I've already removed some of them by moving it to /system/app.old/ - but you can do it by your own - but remember - some of them are actually required to run system
Some filesystems benchmarks (that's the reason why I wanted ext4 so badly)
Write tests (I've testes different filesystem and partition sizes)...
Tests on Archos:
internal 8GB
0,71Mb/s ext3,ordered,noatime
5,45Mb/s fat32
Lexar 16GB
2,63MB/s ext3,ordered
6,25MB/s ext4,ordered
Test on computer (the same lexar card)
2.93Mb/s 1GB,ext3,noatime
2.78Mb/s 1GB,ext3
3.04Mb/s 1GB,ext2
8.62Mb/s 1GB,vfat
7.61Mb/s 1GB,btrfs
7.87Mb/s 1GB,ext4
7.87Mb/s 16GB,ext4
Card is 16GB SDHC Lexar class 6 only - so this toshiba nand inside is not state of the art either :/
How to roughly check your filesystem write speed
Go to directory where you can write and were is more then 100MiB of free space and do the line. It will sync devices (flush all write caches), write 100MiB file filled with zeros, and fush caches once again to measure real write speed without buffers. Then easy math... and my laptop disk has write speed 16,66MiB/s
Code:
[email protected]:/tmp$ sync; date; dd if=/dev/zero of=test.file bs=1M count=100 2>/dev/null; sync; date
Wed Jan 5 19:02:28 CET 2011
Wed Jan 5 19:02:34 CET 2011
[email protected]:/tmp$ bc -q
scale=4
100/(34-28)
16.6666
quit
UrukDroid configuration system
I've created (or recreated, since Google threw away existing Sytem V and other solutions) something that works like rc/init.d system. It's old fashion, but for only few services will do it's job.
There are few location to remember:
/system/etc/uruk.d/ - directory with services
/system/etc/uruk.conf/ - directory with configuration files
/system/etc/init.d/ - symlinks Sxxserice/Kxxservice (like S01swap) to be run during startup process
Proper path is /system/etc/ but it's symlinked on every Archos to /etc - so you can also work on /etc/uruk.d, /etc/uruk.conf etc.
To enable iptables support (load proper module) it's enought to edit /system/etc/uruk.conf/iptables
To change swap memory settings edit /system/etc/uruk.conf/swap
How to mount ext4 under Windows?
There is project called "ext2read" that claims to work with ext4 also (I've only tested it with ext2 long time ago - it worked) http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/ - please write some commends if you use it.
What is current directory/disk layout?
/ -> SDCard first partition (512M) - for root filesystem
/data -> SDCard second partition (1GB) - for installed apps
/mnt/storage -> internal 6GB partition - for data used by installed apps
/mnt/storage/sdcard -> SDCard third partition - anything you want, nothing by default
/mnt/sdcard2 - proposed mount point for other volumes, not used by default
And there is something called symbolic links (symlinks) - witch is kind of Win shortcut used on UN*X extensively.
/sdcard -> /mnt/storage
/storage -> /mnt/storage
/mnt/sdcard -> /mnt/storage
So you can enter /sdcard - and you are be using files from /mnt/storage. You can also create symblinks by yourself
Code:
ln -s /source destinations
How to gather data report from UrukDroid
Best way is to use SSH. For this, please start "sshd" service on UrukDroid by using UrukConfig application or by editing /etc/uruk.conf/sshd file.
First start will take one minute or so - since sshd has to generate unique encryption keys.
If you use Windows download putty.exe (ssh client) and run it. Write your Archos IP (it has to be visible in network) and connect.
Use
Login: root
Password: UrukDroid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you can write Linux commands and cut/paste results for help/debug purpose.
Thanks!
I think you talked me into it! I'll play with it tomorrow.
I've found this on Nook Color thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=888216
Can someone test is it worth to do on Archos? I think we don't need phone service running in background. Ill try this tomorrow when i get back to home but maybe someone can test earlier?
sorry for asking,but what is the point in doing step 3,i mean what does it actually do?
This is backup of install instruction, leaving more space for custom approach. Instruction in first post is now much simpler with less 'if/or'.
Material for this thread came from discussion here. So please be kind read also this thread before getting to work
This is mini how-to boot modified Archos Android from SD card, using SDE. It's base on 2.0.71.
Since this Android mod/distribution required some name - let it be Uruk-Droid
Why bother:
ext4 (much faster than ext3, can store files >4GB comparing to FAT32)
full r/w access to every part of system
root (su + superuser.apk) out of the box
possibility to remove some google/Archos apps (already done partly)
swap memory when you need it
no 300MB limit for apps (and no faulty app2sd required)
you can have SD card Class 8/10 - and that's much faster storage than internal flash (inside is something equal class 6 or 4)
Warning
Be aware that this modification requires SDE and probably some Linux knowledge.
By doing described below steps you probably can't brick your Archos - but do it on your own risk.
Root access on your devices makes it less secure form malicious software (user more head - less fingers )
Known problems:
Android automounter (vold) does not recognize EXT4 in stock firmware - so it will claim SD card is damaged (it's just a message) (FIXED)
Before you start:
Read about SDE on forum
Install some terminal emulator from Market (eg. "Android Terminal Emulator")
You should have 2.0.71 already installed (I'm not sure if it's required but only with that configuration tested)
All operations described here, done on Linux or Android should be done from root user (you can switch to that user in terminal by typing "su" or "sudo su" command)
If you don't have Linux - find any recent Rescue CD, Live CD or Virtual disk (VirtualBox or VMware) - distributions does not matter
SD card partition design
First of all, preferably buy card class 6+. So it won't be slower than internal storage
I'm currently using 3 partitions
0,5GB / (rootfs)
1GB /data
rest /mnt/storage/sdcard/
but You can create one big partition instead - I've made my configuration because of easiness to backup and upgrade (rootfs is easy to upgrade later on, /data has only runtime data and application, rest is for movies etc.) Size of /data partition determines how many apps you can install on your device.
Here it's how it looks on fdisk
Code:
linux-machine:~# fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 16.0 GB, 16012804096 bytes
199 heads, 44 sectors/track, 3571 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8756 * 512 = 4483072 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 121 529716 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 122 362 1055098 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 363 3571 14049002 83 Linux
Step one
Create at least one primary partition on SD card with fdisk, gparted, parted or any other partitioning tool. Assuming your SDCARD is visible as /dev/sdb (on Linux box - check "dmesg").
Code:
su (go root)
fdisk /dev/sdb
fdisk options (it's interactive):
p (print existing partitions)
d n (delete partition by it's number 1,2,3 etc)
n (create partition, you will be asked about type (primary, secondary - go primary), number (give first available), start sector (just enter will set first possible), size (you can give it as +1M, +2G etc)
w (write all changes, until you give this command no changes are made on disk physically)
Format partitions as EXT4 - but without huge_file option (it won't work with this feature since it requires special kernel option that brakes compatibility with existing modules).
Code:
su (go root)
mkfs.ext4 -O ^huge_file /dev/sdb1
If you created more partitions - do those steps for everyone.
Code:
mkfs.ext4 -O ^huge_file /dev/sdb2
mkfs.ext4 -O ^huge_file /dev/sdb3
Kind of "session log" for this steps you can find in this post.
Step two
Extract content of rootfs.tar.gz onto first partition on SD card (it HAS to be first one). Do it from root account on Linux/UNI*X box - or you won't transfer all permissions properly (mainly +s on su/superuser.apk).
assuming your SD Card is visible under Linux as /dev/sdb (you can check it by typing "dmesg" after you connect it)
open terminal/shell - go root: su, or sudo su
create mount point: mkdir /tmp/sdcard
mount it (if it's not mounted already) for example: mount /dev/sdb1 /tmp/sdcard
go to /tmp/sdcard directory: cd /tmp/sdcard
extract rootfs: tar -zxf /path_to_file/rootfs.tar.gz
exit directory: cd
umount your card: umount /tmp/sdcard
Flash initramfs.gz and zImage from SDE boot menu:
reboot Archos70, hold up or down volume key until you see Recovery menu,
choose "Recovery System"->"Developer Edition Menu"->"Flash Kernel and Initramfs",
connect Archos to PC and copy initramfs.gz and zImage to device
Reboot and hold up or down volume, choose "Developer Edition".
You should see all yours apps etc. - it should look like your Archos , but with su/superuser.apk etc. (check it on terminal emulator by typing "su" and enter).
Before go to next step make sure you have booted to SDE system AND it has root access! (check "su" in terminal, run root explorer or titanium backup)
Step three
It's kind of optional - since you have already working system - but it's not fun yet
Now you should copy /data files onto SD card. Use terminal emulator (from market can be "Android Terminal Emulator") or sshd (QuickSSHd and log into your tablet) and do:
If you have ONE partition
Code:
su
cp -rp /data/* /data.new/
If two or more
Code:
su
mount -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk2p2 /data.new
cp -rp /data/* /data.new/
umount /data.new/
Poweroff device.
Step four
Put card into computer and:
one partion
remove /data
rename /data.new to /data
On Linux it may look like this:
Code:
su (or sometimes "sudo su")
mkdir /tmp/sdcard
mount /dev/sdb1 /tmp/sdcard
cd /tmp/sdcard
rm -rf data
mv data.new data
edit /init.rc (it's /init.rc on Android - on Linux box it's going to be something like /tmp/sdcard/init.rc) - use any editor to modify file - do it as a root!
Code:
su
vi /tmp/sdcard/init.rc (edit the file)
umount /tmp/sdcard/
What to edit:
Code:
# Comment this
# mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 /data noatime nosuid
# Uncomment this
# mount ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk2p2 /data noatime
mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 /data.old noatime nosuid
two or more partitions
edit /init.rc (it's /init.rc on Android - on Linux box it's going to be something like /tmp/sdcard/init.rc) - use any editor to modify file - do it as a root!
Code:
su (or sometimes "sudo su")
mkdir /tmp/sdcard
mount /dev/sdb1 /tmp/sdcard
cd /tmp/sdcard
vi init.rc (edit file)
umount /tmp/sdcard
What to edit:
Code:
# Comment this
# mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 /data noatime nosuid
# Uncomment this
mount ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk2p2 /data noatime
mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 /data.old noatime nosuid
If you have third partition on SDCARD, whether it's EXT4 (recommended) or FAT32 it should by automounted since 0.2 version.
Reboot - it should work
End
Stuff you can do later:
Vold - automount daemon on android is quit.... crappy - to let go message about "sd card damaged" edit /etc/vold.fstab and hash the line "dev_mount_lun volume_sdcard /mnt/storage/sdcard...."
Other partitions - if, by any reason, you have more partition on SD card (more then 3) you can also mount it putting in init.rc (there are some potential issues with vold to be solved)
for ext4
Code:
mount ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk2p5 /mnt/sdcard2 noatime nosuid
For fat32 partition preferably tweak with Vold config (/etc/vold.fstab) - or add something like this (in init.rc)
Code:
mount vfat /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/sdcard2 uid=1000 gid=1015 fmask=0000 dmask=0000
Files (UrukDroid-0.3):
Megaupload.com
initramfs.cpio.gz
zImage
rootfs.tar.gz
Dropbox.com (there can be server error because of download limit)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1017593/ArchosGEN8/UrukDroid-0.3/rootfs.tar.gz
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1017593/ArchosGEN8/UrukDroid-0.3/initramfs.cpio.gz
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1017593/ArchosGEN8/UrukDroid-0.3/zImage
Nm you said it's faster, interesting... I may test that out.
IMHO you should point out that it is a great security risk for having access to root without any password.
BTW this comment is not meant to insult you in anyway, but I think it is only fair to people that will use it and to cover your own ass.
Maurice
Does this require a clean system to do the SDE Root? what happens to everything already installed etc.
MoonPhantasm said:
Nm you said it's faster, interesting... I may test that out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was already link to my write speed tests (now I've pasted it to second post) - read speed is about the same. In quadrant I have something about ~2300 (one of quadrants test is I/O benchmark) - but that's not my goal - so I don't care much about that kind of speed.
divx118 said:
IMHO you should point out that it is a great security risk for having access to root without any password.
BTW this comment is not meant to insult you in anyway, but I think it is only fair to people that will use it and to cover your own ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course your are right - but that's kind of obvious, and that's the reason why superuser.apk requires to specify what process can gain root access (I know it's not strong security - but better something than nothing)
Is there any way to do this on the a32, or can will there be a solution for the 32.
I had SDE installed before, but I used the uninstall developer edition option in the boot menu. Now, regardless of if I use the .aos file from archos that has SDE, whenever I reboot holding a volume button, I get to a menu that says "Archos A101IT Recovery", and "Would you like to recover your system?" with the following options:
No
Update Firmware
Repair System
Format System
I select update firmware, and all I get is an update failed error.
I don't know what to do. I have a basic linux knowledge, so I have my sd card properly formatted, without the huge file option. I've extracted the contents of rootfs.tar.gz to the first partition.
Any ideas on what to do?
$aur0n said:
I don't have that problem since I use Linux everywhere
My mmcblk2p3 is also EXT4 partition (since fat 32 has 4/2gb file size limitation it's only place where I can put bigger files - mainly movies. It's one of ther reasons why ext4 is good for the task).
To mount (vfat or ext4) during but of Archos put in init.rc
Code:
mount ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/storage/sdcard noatime nosuid
or
mount vfat /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/storage/sdcard
just after mount of /data.old for example..
/mnt/storage/sdcard is the place where automounter would normally mount this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try to add it to init.rc, but it wouldn't mount.
Running "busybox mount -t vfat /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/storage/sdcard" after boot seems to work however.
Is /mnt/storage mounted yet at that point? It seems to be separately mounted ("mount" shows /dev/block/vold/179:9 mounted on /mnt/storage, but I can't find any line related to that in init.rc)
Since "Preparing internal storage" appears after boot, I assume the SD card has to be mounted after that (unless I mount it somewhere else, which would break compatibility with some apps)
Actually, I'd prefer if the SD card was mounted on /mnt/storage, and the internal storage on /mnt/storage/internal, is there a way to do that?
Edit: Ah, I checked that /etc/vold.fstab file. It seems to be what I need to edit to auto mount the SD card, but I'm not sure what I need to edit.
The line currently reads:
dev_mount_lun volume_sdcard /mnt/storage/sdcard auto /devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun1 /class/block/mmcblk2
"auto" seems to be the partition number, I tried to change this to different values as well as changing mmcblk2 to mmcblk2p3, but they result in the same SD card damaged message. Is this a no-go and just won't work or am I doing something wrong? Either way, it seems like it's the only way to mount the SD card at boot if I want it mounted to /mnt/storage/sdcard.
Edit 2:
Adding these 2 lines to init.rc and commenting out the equivalent lines in /etc/vold.fstab seems to work:
mount vfat /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/storage
mount vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /mnt/storage/internal
Now I have the SD card mounted on /sdcard
However, the settings won't show the space information now, so I have to connect it to the PC to check free space. Is there a better way to do it?
Jdbye said:
I did try to add it to init.rc, but it wouldn't mount.
Running "busybox mount -t vfat /dev/block/mmcblk2p3 /mnt/storage/sdcard" after boot seems to work however.
Is /mnt/storage mounted yet at that point? It seems to be separately mounted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this mount point (/mnt/storage/sdcard) is not ready yet at this point - that's why I've changed it to /mnt/sdcard2 in howto. It's not good solutions (since probably some tools won't find media - like movie player) - but the only one for now. Vold is crappy, and even so it should mount _first_ usable partition (with auto option) but it does not want to do that. I can't check it, since I don't have vfat on sdcard, but probably the only solution is to do separate script/service with delayed mount - that's what I'm going to do for now, later on (in next release).
Q: However, the settings won't show the space information now, so I have to connect it to the PC to check free space. Is there a better way to do it?
A: (kind of joke) - user "df -h" in terminal, probably some more smart tools with gui are also able to show space used by "other" devices.
hurrpancakes said:
Any ideas on what to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it's some Archos SDE bug and you should report it (I thing that after uninstall of SDE and second install you should see developer menu back - if not,
it's error or faulty "watermarking" at work)
jab12 said:
Is there any way to do this on the a32, or can will there be a solution for the 32.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess - it may also work for you. All gen8 devices have the same kernel and system - so give it a try.
xShadoWxDrifTx said:
Does this require a clean system to do the SDE Root? what happens to everything already installed etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything that is installed on INTERNAL 8GB storage is untouch. So even when sde fails to boot, you can go back to original Archos Android and work on that.
When you follow my instr. you should see second Android with all yours application installed but on ext4 with root etc. etc.
$aur0n said:
I guess it's some Archos SDE bug and you should report it (I thing that after uninstall of SDE and second install you should see developer menu back - if not,
it's error or faulty "watermarking" at work)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the error may lie in the fact that I have to access my sd card by mounting it through my a101. Tomorrow (or later today, rather) I will get a sd card reader so I won't have to rely on using the tablet.
Hi, thanks for howto.
Can we keep the superuser mode explained in this topic http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=880321&page=13 And use your method (in case i forgot m'y sd card And need root access)
Dictionary for n00b - What is.../What does ...mean?
Start read from 1st to last one and don't jump from one to another. If you will read all, it bring complex knowladge, if not you can be confused
Read summary to make sure, that you know everything if you think that some part(s) is not necessary to read for you!
If you post link here, please link to 1st post! Than everybody can know, what he/she can find here
Atin001 helps with some updates/corrections in Dictionary - take a minute to thanks him also.
Did you miss something here? Send me PM what you want to have here!
Basics of Unix-like system (ROOT)
su, root, rooting, superuser app - what is it, why we need it
sh, bash, user/root shell - what is bash, sh; what is user shell; what is root shell; how I can recognise it each other
Bussybox - what BusyBox is, basic list of commands from BusyBox
(in progress) Kernel - what is going on? Do I need it?
Android platform and it's specifics
adb shell - what is it, for what it is
Android SDK - what is it, tool which provides, where to download
Tools for work with Android adb shell - Terminal Emulator, ADB shell from Android SDK and how to use it
Custom recovery
What custom recovery is - what custom recovery is
Tools which custom recovery provides - list of tools with description which custom recovery bringing
ADB as root user
USB-MS Toggle
Backup/Restore
Flash ZIP from sdcard
Wipe menu
Partition sdcard + etx2, ext3, ext4 filesystem description
Mounts
Others
Is it save to install? - possible problems, why should I try it?, backup/restore of original recovery
How this whole thing works - Drellisdee's installation steps description/elaboration
Custom ROMs (generally)
What custom ROM is?
Is save install custom ROM? - potencional problems
What I need for install?
What can custom ROM brings - kernel, update, performance, customization, theme, ....
what is ...
deodexed, zipaglined, png-optimized
JIT, HW:acceleration, VM.Heap Size, stagefright
apps2sd + dalvik2sd
custom kernel (recompiled, ...)
Android versions (collecting informations)
List of versions of Android for Optimus One (official&unofficial) - what we can install into our device
What version can be rooted and how? - version list, how to root, which version can be rooted, which can't
Sources (collecting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history
Tools which you must have
Android SDK Tools (adb shell)
Terminal emulator
KDZ Updater tool
...
So I'm on way, where I can start doing advanced stuff?
Follow Noejn's sign-post You can find here main point for start.
If you now know basic "words of android world" you can take a look on really great tutorial how to root, install recovery and so on.
Have you some questions? Make sure that you look on Mihir287's FAQ
1. Basics of Unix-like system
su, root, rooting - what is it, why we need it
sh, bash, busybox - what BusyBox is, basic list of commands from BusyBox, bash, sh
Kernel - What is it?
su
Also referred as substitute user - is command for changing of the account in current terminal (usually black screen with blinking cursor). Default account is root account. So if you insert into terminal 'su' and hit enter, you will become root user.
root
Root alias superuser or poweruser is special user account for system administration. Similar to windows having its administrator account, unix-like system have system have the root. With this user you can do anything and if you will run command for delete whole system, unix will just do it! No asking, no confirming. So, watch your steps!
rooting
Rooting is just enabling power of root for applications or our proposes. You can read great article about Rooting on androidpolice. Kepp on your mind, that some steps described on this page are NOT compatible with our Optimus One!!
Superuser app
After rooting is done, you will see new app called superuser in app drawer. This app can delegate applications to use su (root) feature. When app ask for first use, popup window will appear asking if the application should be allowed to use root permission.
sh, bash
is a command-line interpreter or shell that provides a traditional user interface for the Unix operating system and for Unix-like systems. So simply, it is some interface, which can execute command(s), which you have entered. Many shells exist, but in scope of android you can (as far as I know) use only sh (standard - Bourne-shell) or bash (compiled in BusyBox or separately on XDA). Both are basically same, but bash has much more future and it is comfortable. It's too big to describe here, so if you are interested in learning more, follow links in sources section.
user/root shell
How do I know if I'm root or normal user? It's simple. Root's shell is ended with # (usually it's shell looks like "bash-3.2# _") and user's ends with $ (usually bash-3.2$ _). In terminal emulator you also can have only [path]($|#) (for root for example "/etc # _")
BusyBox
also called "The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux" is a tool which brings into Android basic tools known from unix system, but is much more smaller than standard tools is. But this "packing" brings also limits in possibilities in comparison to standard tools in unix-system (missing special modes of tool, color output and so on). Many application use this. For example busybox grep (filtering of text) is needed for application called Market enabler.
BusyBox commands
list of commands is really wide, so it's not possible explain all, so I pickup only top few. (hint: if you want what some command do, just search on google for "man <command_name>" for example man mv or enter command here
cd - cange directory - same like in windows. You can switch directory. example: cd /sdcard
ls - list of files in actual directory (have few switches like for example: ls -l /sdcard/*.png (detailed listing)
cat - print file into standart output (like more in windows) Example: cat /sdcard/data.txt
vi - editing of file. But on limited phone keyboard (no keyboard) it is little harder Read more about vi
cp - copy of one or more file. Example: cp /sdcard/bike.jpg /sdcard/media/bike-wallpaper.jpg
mv - moving/rename files, Example: mv /sdcard/bike.jpg /sdcard/media/renamed-moved-bike.jpg
rm - delete file (rm -R for recursive, or for delete whole folder), Example: rm -R /sdcard/wallpaper-bad/*
find - search for files, Example find / -name "best-chopper-ever.avi"
mkdir - make directory - creates directory, Example: mkdir mynewdir
chmod - changes access of files
less - similar like cat, but you can scroll in it and it doesn't produce any output. Example: less /sdcard/funnytext.txt
Please, take due note that man pages are documentation of unix tools. For BusyBox's tool help, just enter BusyBox <command_name> -h.
Many time, when is BusyBox installed, are also symbolic links created. It means, that is not necessary do BusyBox <command>, but only <command> will be enough.
Kernel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_%28computing%29
Work in progress...
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
su (Unix); wikipedia.org
Superuser; wikipedia.org
Bourne shell (sh); wikipedia.org
Bourne-Again shell (bash); wikipedia.org
BusyBox; benno.id.au; BusyBox.net
Kernel; wikipedia.org
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
2. Android platform and it's specifics
adb shell - what is it, for what it is
Android SDK - what is it, tool which provides, where to download
Tools for work with Android adb shell - Terminal Emulator, ADB shell from Android SDK and how to use it
ADB (shell)
ADB - Android Debug Bridge is a versatile tool lets you manage the state of an emulator instance or Android-powered device. It is a client-server program that includes three components:
A client, which runs on your development machine. You can invoke a client from a shell by issuing an adb command. Other Android tools such as the ADT plugin and DDMS also create adb clients.
A server, which runs as a background process on your development machine. The server manages communication between the client and the adb daemon running on an emulator or device.
A daemon, which runs as a background process on each emulator or device instance.
Generally it can be compared with standard cmd prompt in windows (you can write commands which will be executed locally, for example in Terminal Emulator) or it can be just like SSH in unix-like system (you connect to terminal through adb client (in Android SDK) and commands will be run remotely.
Android SDK
Android software development kit is complex set of tools for developing app on Android. It includes fully usable emulator of Android OS on your PC, where you can do everything. You can install/delete apps, browse web page in embedded web browser, play games or make your own application in Eclipse (widely used IDE for development). Of course, with emulator you can use also GPS or camera. Emulated android phone is just like "normal" phone.
Android SDK tools
Fully emulated Android device
Android Development Tools Plugin (Eclipse IDE)
Android Virtual Devices (AVDs)
Hierarchy Viewer
layoutopt
Draw 9-patch
Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (ddms)
Android Debug Bridge (adb)
Android Asset Packaging Tool (aapt)
Android Interface Description Language (aidl)
sqlite3
Traceview
mksdcard
dx
UI/Application Exerciser Monkey
monkeyrunner
Android
zipalign
Tools for work with Android adb shell
You have two ways ho to connect into ADB service - locally and remotely.
Locally - for local access you will need some application which can connect to local adb shell.
Terminal Emulator (free) - probably most commonly used app from market, which works and looks like standard unix shell.
ConnectBot (free) - same as Terminal Emulator, but it can be also used for connecting via SSH or telnet
Remotelly- For remote connection you need phone configuration adjustment:
Home desktop -> [menu button] -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging [ON].
Also you need connect your phone via USB (or finds on market some widget/app, witch enable using ADB also via wi-fi)
adb tool from Android SDK
After download Android SDK, extract archive somewhere (in example I extracted it in c:/AndroidSDK). Then follow instruction on developer.android.com for installation of SDK Platform-tools (contains adb). After installation click on start menu and in Run... (in Windows7 in search bar) enter 'cmd' and press Ok or [enter]. Then write in cmd line:
Code:
cd c:\AndroidSDK\android-sdk-windows\tools [enter]
now you can enter following command to connect to phone's adb shell if you don't have more connected device (virtual or real-one)
Code:
adb shell
If you have more then one, you need explicitly say which one should be used for connection. So list connected devices with
Code:
adb devices
which shows you serial number of connected devices. Than use
Code:
adb -s <serial-number> shell
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
ADB; android-dls.com; developer.android.com
Android SDK; wiki.androidforum.cz [CZ]
Basic adb/shell commands for noobs; forum.xda-developers.com
15 Useful Android Terminal (ADB Shell) Commands; gadgetsdna.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
3. Custom recovery
What custom recovery is
Tools which custom recovery provide - NAND backup/restore, formatting of SDcard, partitioning (ext1,ext2, ext3), wiping, flashing of Custom ROM, ...
Is it save to install that? - potential problems, backup/restore of original recovery
How this whole thing works - installation description (not how-to install, just explanation of what is done during installation)
What custom recovery is
Recovery is image (binary data) stored in internal memory. This image contains something like "program" maybe better say "tool", which can boot-up independently on Android system. In other words, when this tool is running (booted up), than Android system is not. This tool is part of phone system, and in PC terminology recovery can by compared to BIOS with some added features. This recovery state can be reached on all phone, but if you don't have custom recovery, it will do so-called HW reset and automatically restart itself into standard boot mode. So what is difference between original recovery and custom recovery? Custom recovery didn't call master reset after start and also didn't restart itself.
Tools which custom recovery provides
Let's go check what custom recovery brings (I will describe Drellisdee's custom recovery so another recovery can brings another menu and tools)
In Drellisdee's post is picture of main screen with list and description of tools so let's look on it:
ADB as root user
what is root user, and what is adb, you should already know. If not, follow link on main post.
USB-MS Toggle :mounts sdcard as mass storage
It just mounts your phone as USB-mass storage (USB disk) so in PC you will see new disk where you can see folders based on mountes (lower) and were you can upload what you want.
Backup/Restore:
Nand Backup : runs a nandroid backup of data, cache, boot, system
Nand Backup + .android secure : backs up above plus .android_secure on sdcard (froyo native apps on sd)
//Native app which notify "application can be moved into SD card" if you can move some app. It's good to use, if you used it.
Nand + ext backup : data, cache, system, boot, plus apps2sd on ext partition (old style apps2sd)
//old style apps2sd is used on some custom ROM because can move every application into SD card instead of Froyo's apps2sd
Nand Restore : browse to and select nandroid backup to restore
Absolutely GREAT feature. With NAND you can do 1:1 copy (image) of your actual system (phone's memory). It means, that you didn't backup only SMS, contacts or apps, but whole system with all configuration, customization, wallpapers, system's tweaks... just everything - it creates image of whole phone system. This image will be written to your SD card which you are then free to copy around and back up on your computer.
What it means? You find custom ROM which looks awsome so you create NAND backup and install new ROM, but after few hour/days... you know, ROM before was better. So you boot into recovery, use NAND restore of your old ROM backup and .... woala you have your system just like before backup - as if nothing had happened. For about 2 minutes!! It sounds great, isn't? But one, little problem exist. You can not use for restore only some part of backup. You have to restore all, or nothing.
Flash Zip From Sdcard: Update.zip must be in root of sdcard
This tool is designed for install of custom ROM or for tweaks. If you have instruction to install via custom recovery, and file have .zip extension than you should use this menu. Never unzip file, because file contain meta-information about itself with some validate-checks so if you edit it, or unpack and pack back, it shouldn't work. And of course you can't select *.zip file if it doesn't exist because you unpack it, also you have not to rename it to update.zip, you can just select file to update in list of .zip files. And, at the end, file have to be in root (main folder) of sdcard.
Wipe Menu:
Wipe data/factory reset: wipes data & cache
- wipe of users data (contacts, apps, configuration, ...) and cache (caches of applications)
Wipe cache
- wipe cache only
Wipe Dalvik cache : Wipes Dalvik cache in all possible locations if moved by apps2sd
- wipe of Dalvik cache?
Wipe SD:ext : Wipes Apps2sd ext partition
- if you used Partition SDcard option, you can wipe it here
Wipe Battery Stats
- If you think, that your battery life is too short, you can try delete battery stats. Than let phone fully charge. (more)
Wipe rotate settings
- wipe senzor setting (acceleration, ...)
Wipe .android secure : Wipes froyo native .android_secure on sdcard
- wipe information about moved apps
Partition Sdcard:
Partition SD: Partition's sdcard for apps2sd (this formats card so all non backed-up data is lost)
- will create ext2 partition (you will be asked for size of ext2 and cache)
Repair Sd:ext
SD:ext2 to ext3 : coverts apps2sd ext2 partition to ext3 (requires kernel support for ext3)
SD:ext3 to ext4 : same as above but ext3 to ext4 (requires kernel support for ext4)
ext2 - file system for the Linux kernel (no journal, fast but not recovery of I/O error)
ext3 - file system for the Linux kernel (journal, slower than ext2 because of journal, but provides recovery on I/O error)
ext4 - file system for the Linux kernel (journal, enhanced version of ext3)
Links/thanks
----------------------------------------------------
How to increase battery life; androidforums.com
Comparison of file systems; wikipedia.org
ZeroXtreme's filesystem answer (thanks); forum.xda-developers.com
----------------------------------------------------
Mounts:
Gui mounts to avoid typing in terminal to mount and cd into a dir to mount system, data, cache, sd-ext (if exists), sdcard
Other:
Fix apk uid mismatches
//I'm not sure, can somebody helps?
Move recovery log to SD
Toggle Signature Verify : Turn of signature checking on flashing zips
Key Test : Output keycodes for debugging recovery
I thing that this is clear enough.
Is it save to install that?
Well, nothing isn't without any risk. Anyway, from what I know, nobody has had any problems, if Drellisdee's steps are followed, but you have to have P500, not derivate from Sprint, for example. From my point of view the installation of recovery is without any problems. After update with KDZ_FW_UPD tool I had rewritten also recovery. But this tool is really dangerous, so try to avoid to it.
Anyway, original recovery can be backuped before installation of custom recovery and this can be done by command
Code:
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2 of=/sdcard/<name-of-old-recovery>.img bs=4096
for example:
Code:
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2 of=/sdcard/my-original-recovery.img bs=4096
For restore,just use same step (command) that you used for flashing, but replace name of .img file.
Code:
flash_image recovery /sdcard/my-original-recovery.img
NOTE: You don't have to do other commands before and after as you done for install of recovery!!
So, where can problems arise?
loss of warranty - LG service have much more advanced software and hardware and they can check what problem caused - make dump of memory and so on
bricking of phone - if something goes wrong, then phone may not start at all
deletion of all data if installation fails - if old recovery remains, than hw reset will be performed
custom recovery doesn't work at all - incompatible devices
Why to try?
NAND backup/restore - the most useful tool ever
you can install custom ROM
high count of successful flashing of custom recovery
for now (what I read on forum), when you had said that you brick your phone by standard LG tool, your warranty repair was approved
How this whole thing works (description of installation's steps)
Let's see on how to:
Copy flash_image and recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img to the root of your sdcard
Nothing hard I think.
via adb shell or terminal type this from root su # shell. (Do not type the # as its just for reference to show you need a root # shell not a $ user shell)
Ok, it seems that it doesn't make sense, isn't. But what is root and su we already knows, same as user shell and root shell. Also follows commands probably aren't some "normal" task, so some special user approve will be necessary - so it probably means use of root. So, enter 'su [enter]' for become a root.
Code:
[B]# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system[/B]
// remounting of filesystem for write
[B]# cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image[/B]
// print contend of flash_image into /system/bin/flash_image (it is just copying)
[B]# chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image[/B]
// set up file access for running (basic of unix-like systems)
[B]# mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak[/B]
// rename install-recovery as install-recovery.sh.back
// NOTE: many guys haven't this file, so they get error: [I]"failed on '/system/etc/install-recovery.sh' - No such file or directory"[/I]
// it's normal. If it happens, just ignore it and continue.
[B]# mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system[/B]
// remount of filesystem into read-only mode
[B]# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img[/B]
// using of program/script flash_image for flashing of recovery image
// you can do by same way also restore of your original recovery
[B]# reboot recovery[/B]
// reboots into recovery mode
I think, that was also nothing hard. As was said "#" on beginning means that root's shell should be used for running that command. Maybe you remember what I had written, that if you run something on root's account, it doesn't ask for confirmation and will just do it. Same with responses. If there is nothing to say, then nothing will be said. So if command runs without any problems, nothing will be shown. If something doesn't work, than you will be informed.
Key combo to boot custom recovery from powered off is vol_down + home + power and release keys at LG splash.
Nothing special I guess. But I recommend keep vol down + home keep pressed until custom ROM menu appear.
Note this recovery and the one for the LG Vortex have a service that instantly reboots out of recovery once you load it & I disabled it and thats why you get a E: "Bad Boot Message" on inital startup. Its completely fine.
IMPORTANT NOTE!! Too many of n00bs asking "I have problem, E: "Bad Boot Message appeared, what I should do?" Read ALL carefully before every action!!
Recovery Key mapping:
Up & down : vol-up and vol-down
Select : Menu
Backup : Back
Key map for moving in menu (touch screen doesn't work... )
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
Drellisdee's custom recovery description; androidforums.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
4. Custom ROM (generally)
What custom ROM is?
Is it save to install custom ROM? - potential problems
What I need for install?
What can custom ROM brings - kernel, update, performance, customization, theme, ....
what is ...
deodexed, zipaglined, png-optimized
JIT, HW:acceleration, VM.Heap Size, stagefright
apps2sd + dalvik2sd
custom kernel (recompiled, ...)
What custom ROM is?
Custom ROM is every somehow changed manufacturer's ROM or ROM compiled from source code of Android. "Change/s" can starts with adding/removing default application and can extend to kernels, cpu over/under-clocking, enable/disable features (ROOT, HW acceleration, ...), themes (frameworks, color, ...), keyboards and many other features.
Custom ROM is mostly distributed like signed ZIP package with included installation script for custom recovery. This ZIP is flashed via custom recovery tool.
Is it save to install custom ROM?
Yes, it is. May be I can say, that installation of custom ROM is almost mandatory, because it cost you only few minute if you will not be satisfied - you can just restore your old ROM from NAND backup, if you will be satisfied, you can keep it. And yes, you can also use backup tools like for example Astro for backup of your apps or Titanium Backup backup everything (SMS, call list, preferences, APNs, ...) and restore this in your new ROM (NOTE: In this case it's strongly recommended that both ROM should have same or very similar source/base ROM).
So, it is really simple:
1) Do NAND backup
2) Try new ROM
3) Keep new, or restore old one.
What I need for install?
1) Rooted phone
2) Installed custom recovery
3) Signed .ZIP file of ROM compatible with recovery
#) RECOMMENDED: NAND backup of your actual ROM
What does custom ROM bring
Custom ROM brings almost every feature you can image.
ex:
optimization for maximal power (games), long battery life, calling, texting, playing videos,...
awsome look - changed icons, colors, animations, wallpapers, menu, ....
simple work - feature that will short some work (add restart button, reorganized menu, shorts, gestures, ...)
allow tweaking - overclok/underclok your device, ROOT, ....
It's really not possible describe here every possibility what you can do/get with custom ROM.
what is ...
deodexed - needed for using themes. If you want replace/change some file in system (change theme) you need deodex file which you want change. In most cases it's going on services.jar which contains definition of colour for clock for example.
APKs zipaligned - optimization of APK archive, so it takes less memory and is much faster.
png-optimized - png files takes less memory, are loads faster
JIT - just-in-time compilation also known as dynamic translation, is a method to improve the runtime performance of computer programs, but it takes some time to convert into it on start.
HW:acceleration - using of HW acceleration for rendering GUI. Little increase battery consumption.
VM.Heap Size - maximum memory an application can consume
stagefright - In Android 2.2 new media framework that supports local file playback and HTTP progressive streaming
Apps2SD - (mostly DarkTremor's a2sd) If you create ext partition on your SD card, you can mount it like internal memory (you will have more space on phone memory) and move app on SD.
Dalvik2SD - move of Dalvik into SDcard (saves space)
custom kernel - compiled standard unix kernel (can bring support for features like support ext4 for example)
Links/thanks
----------------------------------------------------
P500 custom ROM list; forum.xda-developers.com
What's Deodex and Odex?; forum.xda-developers.com
What Is Zipalign In Android And How To Make Apps Zipaligned; www.addictivetips.com
PNG compress; http://www.gotow.net/creative/wordpress/?p=79
Just-in-time compilation; wikipedia.org
VM Heap size; forum.cyanogenmod.com
stagefright; developer.android.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
Thanks
Very good and hard work
Hats off to you.
rakesh_4utoo said:
Very good and hard work
Hats off to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks You are welcome!!
very very nice guide, cant wait for you to finish it :X ! Thx alot dude for all the hard work!
Very good work!
Please post it on czech androidforum.cz
Thank you,
David Ullmann, Czech Republic
Very nice. A bit rough around the edges but I'm sure most people can understand it easily enough ^__^ Good job. It came like two days too late for me though since I already asked my questions everywhere on xda to install void
raylgo said:
Very nice. A bit rough around the edges but I'm sure most people can understand it easily enough ^__^ Good job. It came like two days too late for me though since I already asked my questions everywhere on xda to install void
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can be happy and proud, that you probably inspired me!
While backing up the old recovery what do you mean by:
recovery-dump-T
My first line went ok in terminal emulator but second line didn't go ok. That's why I am asking this.
Your the Man! Thank You So much! all are much clearer to me now! now lets gets things started!
lekhwani said:
While backing up the old recovery what do you mean by:
recovery-dump-T
My first line went ok in terminal emulator but second line didn't go ok. That's why I am asking this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is just example
I think this post should be read for evey noob even before powering his mobile on !
Great work !
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
Quite helpful for noobs like me
So...because I wrote what I wanted, you can make suggestions what are you missing here.... I'm looking forward...
how long should the recovery flashing take?
bazo666 said:
how long should the recovery flashing take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Few minutes
hm, i left it running for like half an hour and nothing happenned. then i unplugged the phone from usb and closed the adb shell, because i had to go.
but the phone boots fine so i think nothing has flashed.
what can be the problem?
I just wanted my Archos Gen8 to have the latest stock firmware, root access, iptables support (for Droidwall) and a 1GB ext4 data partition. I will show you how to create this setup yourself. This howto describes all steps for a Linux PC with a working adb connection to the Archos Gen8. I am sure all steps can be done from a Windows PC too, but I cannot help you there: I only speak linux. [edit: Harfainx has written a thread on http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=54637 that explains how to do these steps on windows; if you to do this from windows and have iptables and ext4, use my attached kernel and ext4 modifications instead of Harfainx' suggested chulri kernel]
[Archos] = do on tablet
[Linux] = do on PC
[Shell] = do in a terminal on PC
[ADB] = do in a adb shell from PC
[GParted] = do in gparted in PC
[Editor] = do in your favorite text editor on PC
All credits for this procedure go to other people (see end of this post); my only contribution is this write up, and the compilation of the new kernel.
1. Use chulri's root method to obtain root+rw with the latest Archos firmware on your Archos Gen8 (download the proper firmware version, and take care to rename the downloaded firmware file to firmware_archos_android_gen8.aos).
2. Install the matching version of my kernel + initramfs (see links below)
reboot Archos device and hold down "Vol-" button after screen went black
Go to "Recovery Menu" and then "Developer Edition Menu"
choose "Flash Kernel and Initramfs"
connect your Archos device by USB to your computer
upload zImage and initramfs.cpio.gz to your device
safely disconnect the USB connection
press ok on Archos device
reboot
3. Repartition your internal SD card
reboot Archos device and hold down "Vol-" button after screen went black
Go to "Recovery Menu" and then "Repair system” ->"Start USB MSC"
Connect tablet to your linux pc
Resize interal SD card and add an ext4 partition:
[Shell] sudo gparted
[GParted] find Archos device. For me it is found on /dev/sdc
[GParted] select the Archos partition and resize to have 1024MiB at the end left
[GParted] create a new primary partion using all the space you just created, filesystem ext4 and align to MiB
[GParted] apply all selected actions, let it finish and quit gparted.
unplug and reconnect your device so Linux finds it again.
Format the ext4 partition with some nice settings (if your device was on /dev/sdb replace /dev/sdc2 with /dev/sdb2 below):
[Shell] sudo mkfs.ext4 -b 4096 -E stride=64,stripe-width=64 -O extent,^huge_file -m 0 -L data /dev/sdc2
[Shell] sudo tune2fs -c -1 -i 0 -m 1 -O ^huge_file -o journal_data_writeback /dev/sdc2
[Shell] sudo e2fsck /dev/sdc2
press ok on Archos device
reboot
4. Make your new ext4 partition your /data partition
Boot up your Archos and proceed through the startup wizard; do not put too much effort in this because all information you enter now will be lost after this step.
Open options->applications and enable debugging support.
Connect the Archos to your linux PC
[Shell] adb shell
[ADB] su; stop; cp /init.rc /sdcard/
[Shell] adb pull /sdcard/init.rc
Modify init.rc:
[Editor] Open the just downloaded init.rc
[Editor] Replace the "mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p4 /data noatime nosuid" with "mount ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk1p2 /data rw noatime nosuid nodev barrier=0 data=writeback nobh"
[Editor] save file and close
[Shell] adb push init.rc /sdcard/
[ADB] cp /sdcard/init.rc /init.rc
[ADB] start
reboot
5. Now your device should start up and use your new ext4 partition as /data. In my case after reboot I had to force another reboot (hold on/off for 10sec) for the system to properly boot and come up with the Archos startup wizard again (the previous startup’s data is lost because we have a new /data partition).
6. Enjoy!
All credits for this procedure go to other people; my only contribution is this write up, and the compilation of the new kernel.
Rooting method: chulri
1GB data partition: chulri and wdl1908
Ext4 format flags: Sibere
Proper compilation of iptables and ext4: $aur0n and woti23
Howto compile the kernel yourself
Compiling this kernel yourself is not very hard.
1. Set-up chulri's development enviroment
2. Configure the new kernel
[Shell] cd $ARCHOS
[Shell] make kernel-config
[Config] In Networking support -> Networking options -> Network packet filtering framework (Netfilter)
Core Netfilter Configuration -> Netfilter Xtables support: y; Xtables -> "owner" match support: y
IP: Netfilter Configuration -> IP tables support: y; Packet filtering: y; REJECT target support: y; LOG target support: y
[Config] In Filesystems
The Extended 4 (ext4) filesystem: y
Ext4 extended attributes: y
[Config] save changes and exit
[Shell] make kernel-build
After compilation, locate your kernel zImage and flash it together with chulri's initramfs.cpio.gz (which is also provided in the zip in the first post).
Recommendations to speed up your tablet
Now that you have your Archos Gen8 as you want it, I can recommend two additions to speed up your system.
1. You now have a fast, big ext4 data partition which you should use for all applications:
[Shell] adb shell pm setInstallLocation 1
2. Replace the default Launcher *ANY* launcher but the Archos one. Personally I recommend the Zeam launcher, since it is really lightweight:
Get your copy of zeam, install it, press "home" button and make it default to zeam.
[ADB] su; cd /system/app; mv Launcher2.apk Launcher2.apknot
The last step makes sure that the Archos launcher does not startup anymore, saving your memory. The last steps also removes the default Archos wallpapers, so make a copy of the one you want or get some nice new ones.
Since the device setup of this thread uses unionfs to make changes to the /system, you could also just remove /system/app/Launcher2.apk. To restore it you can remove /mnt/system/unionfs/system/app/.wh.Launcher2.apk. (Thanks to skeeterfood for pointing it out.)
Great work! Thumbs up!
Thanks for this awesome tutorial!!!!!!
Thanks to all the people who work on our Archos Gen8 devices!!!!
is the performance comperable to urukdroid? i really like urukdroid but the mediascanner issue drive me nuts .
Anyway great work and thanks for the tutorial, now a kernel to be able to overclock and it would be awesome
cHarOn99 said:
is the performance comperable to urukdroid? i really like urukdroid but the mediascanner issue drive me nuts .
Anyway great work and thanks for the tutorial, now a kernel to be able to overclock and it would be awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if performance is comparable to UrukDroid; I've used Uruk 1.0 for some months but I haven't run any benchmarks. The reason for that is that Quadrant keeps giving errors in fixed landscape mode and I always used fixed landscape because the stock Archos launcher takes for ever to redraw on screen rotation.
Now of course I replaced the Archos launcher with Zeam, and now redraws on screen rotation are very fast. Replacing the Archos launcher in UrukDroid with Zeam would of course give you the same improvement. Anyway, with the configuration described above @800MHz (I could set it at 1GHz but I didn't) I get Quadrant scores of 1810. If you run it on UrukDroid, we can compare.
Definitely my system is booting much faster now than than it did before, but that might just be Zeam.
Right now sibere is making kernels for UrukDroid which give a nice performace improvement; perhaps he is willing to make kernels for stock too, or help me a bit along? Also when I have some more time, I hope to port some of Ardatdat's kernel improvements to the latest firmware kernel. Maybe someone else is working on that already?
WhoDunnit said:
I don't know if performance is comparable to UrukDroid; I've used Uruk 1.0 for some months but I haven't run any benchmarks. The reason for that is that Quadrant keeps giving errors in fixed landscape mode and I always used fixed landscape because the stock Archos launcher takes for ever to redraw on screen rotation.
Now of course I replaced the Archos launcher with Zeam, and now redraws on screen rotation are very fast. Replacing the Archos launcher in UrukDroid with Zeam would of course give you the same improvement. Anyway, with the configuration described above @800MHz (I could set it at 1GHz but I didn't) I get Quadrant scores of 1810. If you run it on UrukDroid, we can compare.
Definitely my system is booting much faster now than than it did before, but that might just be Zeam.
Right now sibere is making kernels for UrukDroid which give a nice performace improvement; perhaps he is willing to make kernels for stock too, or help me a bit along? Also when I have some more time, I hope to port some of Ardatdat's kernel improvements to the latest firmware kernel. Maybe someone else is working on that already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, Zeam is the best Launcher for Archos . When installing UrukDroid, my Archos is longer battery life, LCD is more sensitive and it very fast . Another devices, when you increase speed of cpu, battery life is softer .
I don't think Uruk firmware had been cooked with stock kernel, stock kernel's not stability.
thanks for the reply, personally i don't care about quadrant which is the worst benchmark at all , you already answered the question good enough for me, you said booting is faster and general the feel is fast, thats for me a better benchmark result then any syntetic test which gives you results like in the lottery .
I use Golauncher on the A43 and it works also good, i never used the stock launcher .
I think i will try your solution out and look forward to some kernel improvements if you make one, if not then also fine.
Thanks again
i prefer VTL.Launcher. it is based on adw, but better configurable. i remove ALL soft buttons, all panels and the notificationbar. instead i use Button Savior to have HOME/BACK/SEARCH/MENU buttons.
runs pretty smooth and i can use fullscreen.
any launcher goes
Right, that's the beauty of android: Anything can be replaced and modified to your own taste. I modified my recommendations above about replacing the default launcher with Zeam: *ANY* launcher is better that the Archos default one. My only reason for recommending Zeam is because it is lightweight.
Bottom line: replace the launcher with any alternative and you will have a smoother system.
I love open source and, of course, linux(android) and the power of freedom it has. i hope it will never become mainstream as Windows or Mac is.
Thats the reason why i donate as much as i can to oss projects instead buying expensive Windows software.
And thats why i have big respect to all people who made our computerworld a little bit better to use! Call me a idealist, i am proud to be one! If we were no idealists things like Android wouldn´t exist.
OK, enough
back to topic!
WhoDunnit said:
Now that you have your Archos Gen8 as you [*] [ADB] su; cd /system/app; mv Launcher2.apk Launcher2.apknot
[/LIST]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might as well just do:
[ADB] su; cd /system/app; rm Launcher2.apk
since it's really not deleting the file, but instead creating a .wh.Launcher2.apk file in /mnt/system/unionfs/system/app/ that causes unionfs to hide the file. You can always get it back by removing the /mnt/system/unionfs/system/app/.wh.Launcher2.apk file.
-John
Is the ext4 1 gig of data for extra app space?
skeeterfood said:
Might as well just do:
[ADB] su; cd /system/app; rm Launcher2.apk
since it's really not deleting the file, but instead creating a .wh.Launcher2.apk file in /mnt/system/unionfs/system/app/ that causes unionfs to hide the file. You can always get it back by removing the /mnt/system/unionfs/system/app/.wh.Launcher2.apk file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, thank you. I added it to the steps to follow.
darren1 said:
Is the ext4 1 gig of data for extra app space?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the idea: All (non-system) apps and data will be stored in the 1GB ext4 partition.
WhoDunnit said:
That's the idea: All (non-system) apps and data will be stored in the 1GB ext4 partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, thanks.
A70H Compatible?
Thanks for all the work. Looks great and I'm about ready to try it but need to know first, will this work on the A70H (250gb version)?
H_Scrappy said:
Thanks for all the work. Looks great and I'm about ready to try it but need to know first, will this work on the A70H (250gb version)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been suggested that you shouldn't perform this operation on the hard-drive versions. Constant app re-writes on the hard-drive could be a cause for early drive failures.
Nice write-up here WhoDunnit. I did a Windows-based write-up last month over at the ArchosFans forum. Now it looks like people have some options for methods to create their partitions on both Linux and Windows. More information is always a good thing
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=54637
Harfainx said:
I I did a Windows-based write-up last month over at the ArchosFans forum. Now it looks like people have some options for methods to create their partitions on both Linux and Windows. More information is always a good thing
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=54637
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, great. I added a link to your thread so people can find answers if they want to do this from windows.
What is the Touchpad Toolbox?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2756314
A set of Scripts (programs) that allows:
Easily manage LVM, one of the greatest features of the TP.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LVM
Create Android, WebOS volumens, or total reset.
It can make a fresh /boot directory installation adding moboot.
Reflash the battery Firmware
Install specific, older version of recovery and Rom.
How is done?
https://webos-internals.org/wiki/Angstrom_on_Touchpad
A small Linux OS is built into an img (ext2) file system and is loaded into memory as a RAMDisk.
Angstrom v2015.01
Built from branch: master
Revision: 038d832
Target system: arm-angstrom-linux-gnueabi
This information is from the file angstrom-version located in the /etc folder of the RAMDisk.
Following this instructions will unpack the RAMDisk and Kernel, then can be repack as it would with any Android system.
All this is done on Linux ubuntu 18.04 x64 system. If you have any other OS you can install Linux as a virtual machine.
1 .Create a directory
hptoolbox
2. Unzip TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.zip to the directory hptoolbox (http://downloads.codefi.re/jcsullins/cmtouchpad/tptoolbox/TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.zip
3. Open terminal in the hptoolbox directoty and paste the following commands.
Code:
dumpimage -i TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.bin uImage.kernel
dumpimage -i TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.bin -p 1 RAMDisk_Compress
dd if=RAMDisk_Compress of=RAMDisk.xz bs=64 skip=1
xz -d RAMDisk.xz
## The RAMDisk which is 67.1MB is a Linux rev 0.0 ext2 filesystem data img file.
4. Creat a loop disk to have read and write access of the RAMDisk
Code:
sudo udisksctl loop-setup -f RAMDisk
## Mapped file RAMDisk as /dev/loop16 (this is only on my system and it will be different on others)
5. Mount the 67 MB Loop Device, it can easly be done using Disks
6. Open your file manager as sudo in (my system is nautilus, it can be different on other Linux)
Code:
[email protected]:~$ sudo nautilus
[sudo] password for ubuntu:
7. The settings for the ToolBox are in /usr/tptoolbox.
You have complete control on all the files, but read what each script says on top:
Code:
# This script is Copyright (c) 2014 James Sullins, All rights reserved.
# James (JC) Sullins, aka jcsullins
# No modifications or distribution without permission
To repack the Kernel and RAMDisk
1. Unmount the RAMDisk img and Detach the loop device
2 Open terminal in the hptoolbox directory and paste the following commands.
Code:
mkimage -A arm -T ramdisk -C none -n RAMDisk -d RAMDisk uImage.RAMDisk
mkimage -A arm -T multi -C none -n "Tenderloin ToolBOX Modified" -d uImage.kernel:uImage.RAMDisk uImage.ToolBox_Modified
In my system I can not make RAMDisk using xz compression but it works uncompress is just a 70MB file.
If the RAMDisk is compress using (( xz -9 RAMDisk )) then the file size will be as the original but it will not be recognized by the kernel at boot.
3. To load using the novacom driver:
Code:
novacom boot mem:// <uImage.ToolBox_Modified
Many thanks to jcsullins for creating the ToolBox ,which allowed many users to easily transition to Android from WebOS and gave new life to a device that could have been in landfills many years ago. In my opinion this has been the greatest Tool for the TP and finding out how it works made it even more amazing!
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
What is the Touchpad Toolbox?
--SNIP--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've done a great job figuring that out HP_TOUCHPAD! As a result, if Sullins agreed (assuming he would even answer the request), the TPToolbox could be modified fairly easily to handle the latest ROMS, GAPPS, and RECOVERIES. For example, it turns out that there is an unused parameter that would allow TPToolbox to install the zipfiles without any checks. Additionally, it is simple to bypass having to install a GAPPS with the ROM, or to keep all checks but the one that checks for a compatible GAPPS..
shumash said:
You've done a great job figuring that out HP_TOUCHPAD! As a result, if Sullins agreed (assuming he would even answer the request), the TPToolbox could be modified fairly easily to handle the latest ROMS, GAPPS, and RECOVERIES. For example, it turns out that there is an unused parameter that would allow TPToolbox to install the zipfiles without any checks. Additionally, it is simple to bypass having to install a GAPPS with the ROM, or to keep all checks but the one that checks for a compatible GAPPS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, and yes the ToolBox can be modified very easily only if JSullins agreed.
But there is only one section that needs to be modified to update the toolbox and make compatible with all ROMS now and forever. In my opinion there is no need for the Toolbox to install any ROMS as that is the work of TWRP to do and it does it well.
This is the only modification that needs to be done to update the toolbox and make it useful forever!
In the folder toolbox/bin/make_boot (open the script)
add the following under this line : (do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot /mnt/boot/uImage.moboot)
Code:
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.TWRP /mnt/boot/uImage.TWRP
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/android.default.recovery /mnt/boot/android.default.recovery
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot.default /mnt/boot/moboot.default
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.ToolBOX /mnt/boot/uImage.ToolBOX
copy the files to /usr/tptoolbox/data/
uImage.TWRP
android.default.recovery
moboot.default
uImage.ToolBOX (this is the toolbox.bin, renamed it to be loadable from the moboot menu.
save the script.
I do not need to tell you "the Linux Guru" what is going on, but just for the record.
When recreating the boot it will install TWRP into boot and also the ToolBOX.
Reboot and now you have TWRP and also the ToolBOX in the moboot menu and you can install any ROM using TWRP.
This will make it super easy for all users to start fresh!
Complete reset (it will install TWRP, recovery by default) nothing extra for the user to do!
Reflash battery firmare
Resize Android volumens
Reboot and install ROM
I do not think it can be any easier for anyone than this and the change is minimal!
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
Thank you, and yes the ToolBox can be modified very easily only if JSullins agreed.
But there is only one section that needs to be modified to update the toolbox and make compatible with all ROMS now and forever. In my opinion there is no need for the Toolbox to install any ROMS as that is the work of TWRP to do and it does it well.
--SNIP--
I do not think it can be any easier for anyone than this and the change is minimal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like what you're suggesting, but it's not that easy. I think you're creating a different application. The python scripts need to be modified to remove the "Install Android" option. Making users decide how to (re)install non-datamedia (DM) or DM ROMS by themselves was one of the things HPToolbox solved. I think that a better way is just to prevent all the checks that are done for three zips, gapp/rom capatibility, etc. and let users install the gapps themselves, although I can see a way to expand the allowable gapps dictionary to include the latest versions
Additionally, unless you resize /boot (which is fixed in one of the python scripts and may require lots of other changes), users who want to retain WebOS (there may be one or two left.) won't be able to install Android because there won't be enough room having uImage.TPToolbox there.
shumash said:
I like what you're suggesting, but it's not that easy. I think you're creating a different application.
There is no changes to the menu is only adding uImage.TWRP to be copy to boot.
In the Toolbox MAIN MENU
The option: Complete Data Reset
Call the script: toolbox/bin/make_boot
It will completely erase and format boot then copy files located in (/usr/tptoolbox/data/) over to /boot
It is part of the toolbox option and how it works. Nothing needs to be added or the main script modified.
By adding this code to the already (toolbox/bin/make_boot) script
Code:
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.TWRP /mnt/boot/uImage.TWRP
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/android.default.recovery /mnt/boot/android.default.recovery
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot.default /mnt/boot/moboot.default
And copy those files to (/usr/tptoolbox/data/).
When the user select the option in the MENU to Complete Data Reset, it will do as always the only difference is, it will install TWRP automatically, which in my opinion it needs to be there to install and back up.
The python scripts need to be modified to remove the "Install Android" option. Making users decide how to (re)install non-datamedia (DM) or DM ROMS by themselves was one of the things HPToolbox solved.
The Install Android can be there as is and do as you are suggesting which is to remove the limitation and be able to install any recovery or gapps
I think that a better way is just to prevent all the checks that are done for three zips, gapp/rom capatibility, etc. and let users install the gapps themselves, although I can see a way to expand the allowable gapps dictionary to include the latest versions.
Yes that is perfect and the way it should have been from the beginning, to allow installation of any ROM. There is nothing malicious that anybody can do to brick the device. Reloading the toolbox (novacom boot mem:// < uImage.Toolbox) will recreate everything even if /boot is destroy.
Additionally, unless you resize /boot (which is fixed in one of the python scripts and may require lots of other changes), users who want to retain WebOS (there may be one or two left.) won't be able to install Android because there won't be enough room having uImage.TPToolbox there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct if uImage.Toolbox ( 11 MB ) file is copy to boot and TWRP there will be 8 MB left for one uImage boot file, only one OS will be able to boot.
That could be an option and does not need to be copy to boot, but it could make it easier for "Android only users" to have it handy and no PC will be required to load it again.
Here is another simple quick modification to avoid confusion and make it easier.
When you select Install Android, the USB media is mounted and a directory /ttinstall is created. At the same time the directory is created a shortcut (link) can be place of a landing web page where the links to all ROM and Recovery can be download from, that the user can click and download the correct Recovery, ROM and gapps.
Make it super easy and avoid confusion of what to install and where to get it from. It could be a landing page any where that can be updated.
This is another issue to think about. To load any uImage to fix a problematic TP, a PC is need it with novacom drivers install.
This is the command that will fix any TP:
novacom boot mem:// <
If novacom is not install in the user PC or not working properly nothing can be done.
Idea.
Create a basic Linux OS, bare minimum that will run anywhere. Have the novacom install and the toolbox in it, with a basic browser to get the files.
The Linux OS can be distributed as a Live CD (.iso) that can be booted on any PC. This will guarantee that the novacom driver will work and load the toolbox or any other uImage into the TP.
I made my own live CD of Ubuntu 18.04 ( is a 2GB file ) that has everything set up and do any kind of work on the TP and be able to use it on any PC.
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
__SNIP__
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All good ideas, but this is much easier.
shumash said:
All good ideas, but this is much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crazy complicated !
Take a very close look at the steps.
" 1) complete data reset"
Before this happens the novacom driver needs to be install. It used to be an easy one to do, but with new OS, windows or Linux it can get complicated. Nothing can be done unless this driver is properly install and the environment is properly set to load the uImage. This can easily create errors and frustration and not a successful install.
The universal Java installer used to work, not any more. It will be great to have a portable novacom driver, but I do not know if that is even possible to load and work in different OS.
But anyways doing the first steps is to load the Toolbox to do a complete data reset.
Well if the toolbox is modified, once the complete data reset is done uImage.TWRP will be already copy into boot.
The only thing you have to do is reboot the device select TWRP and do the installation as regular.
No more steps need it, and nothing else to download or install.
One step and done!
But now you need to run:
TWRP_TmpLoad_v03_win.bat
Then install TWRP, because is temporally loaded in memory.
What it does is loading uImage.TWRP using:
novacom boot mem:// <uImage.TWRP
The same way the Toolbox gets loaded in the first place.
If the Toolbox restriction gets remove then it will install TWRP, and then reboot.
Like I said the magic command is:
novacom boot mem://
Any boot uImage can be load it that way, but the only thing that will reset everything is the Toolbox.