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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)
I'm sorry it took so long, I got lots of stuff to deal with. Good things are worth waiting for (i heard)
First off: You are responsible for any of your actions! Changes that are needed to boot Ubuntu on your folio will void your warranty!
Special Thanks goes to DerArtem for posting his Kernels, Weeds2000 for eMail support, topogigi for wifi hacking and last but not least the Ubuntu-Touch Team on IRC that made it possible for me to tweak the touchscreen driver.
However, the system you are about to create is not fully functional, there are still things missing (a working sound driver for example). Its nice to play with it anyway
Heres a quick walk-through:
We will flash a kernel to the toshiba folio tablet which makes it possible to boot from an sdcard or USB-stick (You have to choose one, we need at least 2GB, I'd recommend 4GB so you can install fancy stuff like OpenOffice etc.).
We will then create a root filesystem with rootstock, which will hold our Ubuntu system (similar to your hard drive-Ubuntu).
Finally, we have to tweak that filesystem and change passwords, copy wifi driver etc.
Then we're able to boot a beautiful Ubuntu.
Things you will need:
- A Computer running Linux (Debian / Ubuntu would be great. If you're not running Linux on your computer, running it on the folio would make absolutely no sense. Please don't ask, I don't know how to install it in Windows.)
- The files i added to this post
- A SD-Card, 2-4 GB should be fine.
- optional: A second SD-card, 128MB would be enough (for flashing)
- A USB hub (If you want to boot from USB AND use a keyboard.
- Some time... =)
The first thing you should do is flash one of the update.zip files; choose update-sdmmc.zip (this will boot your folio from sdcard) or update-usb.zip (this will boot from a usb pen drive), open it and unpack the content to a sdcard (This has to be a SDcard, we're gonna flash our device from there.)
Backup all your data on your folio (I'm serious! It'll be gone!) and turn it off.
Put the SDcard in its slot and turn the folio back on. Press + hold both power and volume up.
Follow instructions to do a system update (If you've never done this before you shouldn't start now =) )
When it reboots, your folio will show some funny black and white linux text stuff and hang somewhere. Congratulations! You just bricked your tablet. Now lets see how we can fix it... Turn it off (Keep power pressed for about 5 seconds) and take out the sdcard, put it in your PC.
It's getting messy now, so grab a beer and let's go:
Open a Terminal on your linux computer.
Code:
#echo "Hello world!"
If your console says "Hello World" you got it. Awesome! =)
Code:
#sudo apt-get install rootstock gparted
This will install rootstock, the tool we're gonna need to create our filesystem, as well as gparted, a tool for partitioning our flash drive. You can also install rootstock-gtk, the graphical version. Try it if you like:
Code:
#sudo apt-get install rootstock-gtk
I heard that ubuntu-netbook won't work because there are drivers missing, would somebody try that and report please?
If your beer is already empty when this is done, you need a faster computer. Tell your wife the guys at xda-developers told you so
Back to the terminal:
Code:
#sudo rootstock -f MyCoolHostName -l myCoolUserName -p myCoolPassword --seed xubuntu-desktop -i 2G --notarball
This will create our filesystem with a user called "myCoolUserName" and (theoretically) his password "myCoolPassword" and install a basic xubuntu-desktop. I had to change the password manually because it didn't work this way... We'll do that later.
Rootstock will download lots of packages (You could also set it up with "--seed ubuntu-desktop", then youll download even more packages or "--seed ubuntu-minimal" or kubuntu... I still didnt find a list of seeds online :-/
The creating will take quite some time, get another beer.
When this is done, you'll get a file like this : "qemu-armel-201104112120.img". We will now mount this image: (make sure the directory /mnt/ does exist and is empty:
Code:
#ls -la /mnt )
Code:
#sudo su
(its simpler to be root for now)
Code:
#mount -o loop qemu-armel-201104112120.img /mnt/
(You are aware that your filename is different, are you? Try this:
Code:
# mount -o loop qemu-armel-*TAB*
and your terminal will automatically fill in your filename. Awesome linux, huh? =)
)
Code:
#cd /mnt/etc/
#mv fstab fstab.bak
#echo "proc /proc proc defaults 0 0" > fstab
#echo "dev /dev tmpfs rw 0 0" >> fstab
Note that the first time we create a file called fstab (echo asdf > fstab), then we add one line to this file (echo asdfasdf >> fstab)
Now we need to copy our wifi-driver over. Remember I told you to write down the directory you put them in? =)
Code:
#cp /home/YourUserName/Desktop/FolioStuff/firmware /mnt/lib/firmware
We will now do something stupid: We chroot into our arm-based system from an intel-system. But since we're only changing passwords, we should be OK.
Code:
#cd /
#chroot /mnt/
#passwd myCoolUserName
#passwd
#exit
That's it, we're out of the chroot.
It's now time to prepare the SDcard (The steps are the same for a USB Flash drive, I think you'll figure them out.)
Find out how your SDcard can be accessed (You should still be root):
Code:
# fdisk -l
In my card reader, it's "/dev/mmcblk0", it could also be "/dev/sdb1" in your computer.
Now there are two possibilities:
1. You know what youre doing. Then it's easy: You wipe the only partition (or, if there are more than one, the first partition) on your sdcard and format it with ext3:
Code:
#mkfs.ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1
Note: The device is called /dev/mmcblk0, the partition itself /dev/mmcblk0p1 (Partition 1)
2. You are not sure about this. No problem, start gparted: (as root!)
Code:
#gparted
In the upper right corner, select your flash drive, delete all partitions and create one formatted with ext3. Close gparted.
Mount your freshly created partition somewhere (i chose /mnt2/):
Code:
#mkdir /mnt2/
Code:
#mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt2
We can now copy our filesystem over. Make sure you use exactly the same flags (rfp for recursive, force, preserve (attributes))
Code:
#cp -rfp /mnt/* /mnt2/
OK, that could work. Unmount the sdcard:
Code:
#umount /mnt2/
Put it in your folio and cross your fingers.
Wifi drivers will be up soon...
It's recommend to add build-essentials to your rootstock image too..
Because then you can easily build the wireless lan drivers on your devices..
Maybe I'll post a howto this afternoon!
Is this Ubuntu really usable (for daily work) with the folio 100 (touch, response speed, ecc.)?
Thanks.
Yup, it's usable for everyday work. It's quite fast on the Folio 100, I've been pretty impressed when I tested it a few weeks ago.
Thanks ph84
It seems most difficult than expected but, great job !
Only i have 1 question, bricking the tablet sounds dangerous... is possible break out the tablet and get a rock?
Thanksss!!!!!
if ubuntu is installed on sd, does that mean that we can dual boot foliomod from nand and ubuntu from sd/usb?
Hm... I'm using Ubuntu 11.04 and I'm getting this error at the end of the rootfs creation :
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
E: Second stage build in chroot failed !
E: Please see the log to see what went wrong.
I: Cleaning up...
.....
I: Umounting temporary Image
umount2: Dispositivo o risorsa occupata
umount: /tmp/tmp.zaZ1j1Tgt6/tmpmount/proc: device is busy.
(In some cases useful info about processes that use
the device is found by lsof(8) or fuser(1))
umount2: Dispositivo o risorsa occupata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any idea where I can find the log?
And this procedure will build in the tablet a dual boot? Or dualboot is another procedure?
what is the *.rar????
No it's for singleboot only...
You can only start Ubuntu installed on SD-Card/USB-Stick with this procedure...
I don't know wether the boot-partition is locked when you are booting ubuntu/android..
If not it should be possible to build some applications to flash the boot-partition on the running system to change from ubuntu to android
When I do the rootstock step,I got this error!!!Please help!!!
I: Base system installed successfully.
I: First stage install done
I: Using Chroot for installer
Adding 'local diversion of /usr/sbin/invoke-rc.d to /usr/sbin/invoke-rc.d.rootstock'
Generating locales...
en_GB.UTF-8... done
Generation complete.
Generating locales...
en_US.UTF-8... done
Generation complete.
/bin/installer: line 53: syntax error near unexpected token `+'
E: Second stage build in chroot failed !
E: Please see the log to see what went wrong.
I: Cleaning up...
.....
I: Umounting temporary Image
I: A logfile was saved as //rootstock-201104140706.log
I: Done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you upload an *.img for us in this forum?
or a databank,etc?
mhmm it always hangs in the xulrunner configuration.. bahh someone know a solution for this? or does i realy have to chroot the rootfst and install everything manualy =(? Cant find any solution on google for this bug =/
sony_tornado said:
what is the *.rar????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nvm, I was talking crap...
schnudergof said:
mhmm it always hangs in the xulrunner configuration.. bahh someone know a solution for this? or does i realy have to chroot the rootfst and install everything manualy =(? Cant find any solution on google for this bug =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just try rootstock without the parameters on --seed..
Maybe it will work..
You wont have a Desktop Enviroment like Gnome or something but you wont need that for installing the wireless drivers...
And after installing wireless drivers you can install ubuntu-desktop or something with apt-get!
Ok, I have been looking at rootstock, and if you install rootstock-gtk and than click on tasksel there is a whole list of seeds to chose from. I Think im going to try build the netbook build.
On a side note:
We will now do something stupid: We chroot into our arm-based system from an intel-system. But since we're only changing passwords, we should be OK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with chroot your only changing the root of your file system, your not running anything from there.
But its its in no way a complaint to your awesome guide! Thanks and keep up the good work!
shidima_101 said:
with chroot your only changing the root of your file system, your not running anything from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats right but when you change your root shell to the rootstock-fs you can also use sudo apt-get update/install and install it into the rootfs!
ph84 said:
Meanwhile, open another terminal. (This is linux! We're gonna multitask since our computer is capable of handling that!) Go to where you stored the attached files, for example
Code:
#cd /home/YourUserName/Desktop/FolioStuff
and unpack them:
Code:
#rar x *.rar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where/what is the "attached files"?
Thanks
Just go to the first page, press STRG+F and type attached into the search window...
I hope you will find the attached files.. Else you dont have to try installing ubuntu on your folio >_<
°EraZoR° said:
Just go to the first page, press STRG+F and type attached into the search window...
I hope you will find the attached files.. Else you dont have to try installing ubuntu on your folio >_<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The files I found are only *.zip for update bootloader. Where is *.rar file?
Thanks
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.
Hi there,
I would like to update my kernel from a new firmware image for the Cubox-i4 pro.
Scenario:
2 images:
Android 4.2.2 kernel 3.0.35
Android 4.3 kernel 3.10.30
Both boot fine on my device, but the android 4.3 firmware sucks. Sometime it just do.
I was able to get root on my device and have full access to all the partitions.
/dev/sdb1 /boot
/dev/sdb2 /system
/dev/sdb3 /data
i made a backup of both boot images:
sudo dd if=/dev/sdb1 of=/boot-4_2_2.img
sudo dd if=/dev/sdb1 of=/boot-4_3.img
(Of course, with the right firmware installed, also all other partitions are in images)
Installed the 4.3 firmware and tested the device.
Here it come:
I have a fully working firmware on the device, kernel 3.0.35. And images of all partitions.
inside boot-*.img i find:
uEnv.txt
uImage
ramdisk.img
boot.scr (only in the 4.3 image)
I have tried:
Action: Copy files directly into the right partition.
Result: I can see the kernel loading, resulting in a blank screen.
Action: dd image to partition.
Result: I can see the kernel loading, resulting in a blank screen.
Action: Copy only uImage directly into the right partition.
Result: I can see the kernel loading, resulting in a blank screen.
Action: Copy only uImage + uEnv.txt directly into the right partition.
Result: I can see the kernel loading, resulting in a blank screen.
As you can see, only blank screen.
After dd-ing the original boot.img back, everything works well.
I have no adb through usb available. (there is on tcp. but everything needs to be loaded for that.
Can someone give me some clues/tips where to go from here?
I need kernel 3.10.30 for HDMI-CEC and some hardware drivers.
Greetings,
Elkan
No wise words from here?
*bump*
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.