Last summer I got Ubuntu 11.04 working on my A43 but didn't post anything about it. With the progress made on kexec and the new kboot bootloader, it is now possible to have multiple kernels for multiple OS'es. This means it just got a whole lot easier to boot Ubuntu without losing the ability to run OpenAOS or UrukDroid Android OS'es.
As far as I'm aware, Ubuntu doesn't work on the 2.6.29-omap1 kernel that Archos uses and is the base for most other development on gen8. However, for A43 and A101 users, OpenAOS member Nicktime made some headway in porting the 2.6.37+ kernel to gen8, but appears to have abandoned the project. I've cloned his repository and have been working to add features that he did not finish implementing. However, his kernel did have the ability to boot an Ubuntu rootfs and it works very well for desktop Linux distributions (this also works on Debian and I would assume other ARM distros as well).
As I have been unable to build an Ubuntu 11.10 rootfs using the rootstock method that Ubuntu describes here, I've started working with the HP TouchPadBuntu rootfs from this thread. This rootfs boots well on my TouchPad and I've removed the TP-specific items from it and added the gen8 items as necessary. The display is working and the touchscreen works as well (calibrated correctly as I copied my calibration from my 11.04 install). It boots into Unity 2D which is the default. I'm having issues getting the wl1271 wireless module up, I have had it running once but NetworkManager said device was not ready despite being able to iwlist scan and see a list of AP's and then connect to them manually.
RELEASE 1
You will need the rootfs and the modifications.
To install, mount your destination partition (should be at least 4GB and ext3 formatted) to a location, then run the following:
Code:
cd /media/UbuntuPartition (change this to wherever your Ubuntu partition is mounted)
tar xzf /path/to/TouchPadBuntuRootfs.tgz ./
tar xzf /path/to/Gen8Modifications.tar.gz ./
If you do not have a microSD card in the slot, you need to edit the file etc/fstab and change anything mmcblk1 to mmcblk0, this is because the SD card will identify as mmcblk0 if it exists, but if it does not exist then the internal storage gets identified as mmcblk0 instead. This is a kernel issue I have yet to find a solution to.
Kernels for Release 1
These boot from partition 3 of internal memory (/dev/mmcblk2p3)
Normal and Rotated 90 Degrees
This boots from partition 1 of external sdcard (/dev/mmcblk0p1)
Normal
These files do not need an initramfs, but to flash to device or to use with kboot you need one anyways. Simply create an empty (0 byte) file named 'initramfs.cpio.gz' and use it for this purpose.
INFO ON KERNEL MMC/SD INITIALIZATION
mmc0 (mmcblk0pX) - Micro SD card
mmc1 (mmcblk1pX, mmcblk2pX) - System and Data blocks of internal memory
mmc2 - wl1271 SDIO interface
I installed the rootfs to an 8GB microSD and boot it using root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 on the kernel command line.
USEFUL LINKS
http://dev.openaos.org/wiki/Gen8Linux2.6.37
https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/archos-gen8-kernel-2.6.37
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304475
http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/OMAP_WiLink_Connectivity_Home
http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/MAC802.11_based_Wilink
TIPS AND TRICKS
Disk Usage Power LED:
It is possible to make the Power LED function as a disk usage LED. This will let you know when the system is reading or writing to the memory and can be incredibly helpful in determining whether your system has locked up or is just being slow.
Simply write "mmc0" or "mmc1" (depending on what interface you wish to monitor) to:
/sys/class/leds/power/trigger (maybe power_led can't remember)
This can be changed in the kernel source in the file "archos-leds.c" as well if you want it to apply during boot time.
Charging the battery on A43:
(as root)
echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/battery/usb_online
echo 3 > /sys/devices/platform/battery/charge_level
Enabling WiFi:
The wl1271 driver from linux-wireless requires firmware files to be placed in /lib/firmware. These files can be downloaded from here. The MAC address on the wl1271 is not stored on the actual wireless chip and instead resides in a configuration file on the system data directory in a file called system/persist.archos.WIFI_mac. This file is in the form:
Code:
Wifi MAC XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
To extract just the MAC address, use
Code:
cut -f3 -d" " /media/data/system/persist.archos.WIFI_mac
Then, to set the MAC of the actual device you can do
Code:
ifconfig wlan0 hw ether `cut -f3 -d" " /media/data/system/persist.archos.WIFI_mac
ifconfig wlan0 up
I'm doing this in /etc/rc.local which is run on boot. This means the WiFi card is prepared when the system boots. However, NetworkManager still sees the card as "not ready" and you must Disable Networking and then Enable Networking before it will start showing AP's. After doing this, the WiFi works properly.
Screen Rotation:
The A43's display is 480x854 ("tall screen" orientation). For Ubuntu it is likely more useful to have a widescreen 854x480 orientation. Fortunately, this is not hard. It involves adding two parameters to your kernel's command line (either via kboot or by adding them to .config and recompiling your kernel). THIS DOES NOT ROTATE THE TOUCHSCREEN INPUT, so make sure you have an alternate input device when using rotation (BT keyboard/mouse, USB keyboard/mouse).
Code:
omapfb.vrfb=y omapfb.rotate=1
Enabling Audio:
This is pretty easy. Audio is installed and ready to go, the only issue is that the default settings in the mixer for this chip happen to disable the output entirely. To fix this, open ALSA Mixer (alsamixer) and turn on either speakers or headphones, then turn on Left Mixer and Right Mixer (hit 'M' to unmute/mute a channel). Finally, turn up the 'PCM' volume and start playing music. I recommend getting rid of Pulse Audio, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do so as it uses a lot of resources and provides little benefit.
PowerVR SGX 530 GPU:
The OMAP 3630 CPU has an on-board PowerVR SGX 530 graphics processor. TI provides an SDK that contains the userspace driver libraries as well as the open-source kernel drivers. There are three modules that must be built (pvrsrvkm.ko, omaplfb.ko, bufferclass_ti.ko) and loaded into the system. Then the userspace stuff must be installed. There is information here that should help. So far I've got the drivers to compile, but they aren't properly loading yet. More work to be done on getting the modules to work.
RC.LOCAL START-UP SCRIPT
This script should enable everything at boot time and should make Ubuntu easier to use on gen8 tablets. It starts WiFi and Bluetooth as well as enables USB charging.
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
#MAC_ADDRESS='00:22:33:44:55:66'
MAC_ADDRESS=`cut -f3 -d" " /media/data/system/persist.archos.WIFI_mac`
ifconfig wlan0 hw ether $MAC_ADDRESS
ifconfig wlan0 up
modprobe btwilink
sleep 10
hciattach /dev/ttyS0 texas 3000000
/etc/init.d/network-manager restart
echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/battery/usb_online
echo 3 > /sys/devices/platform/battery/charge_level
exit 0
You must have /media/data mounted in your /etc/fstab file, the entry should look like this:
Code:
/dev/mmcblk1p4 /media/data ext3 defaults 0 0
If this entry isn't in /etc/fstab, the /media/data partition will not be available at the time rc.local is run, and it will fail trying to read the MAC address. Alternatively, you can uncomment the hard-coded MAC address and use that but it's not as clean.
First off, Thanks for the effort you've put in, I just cant wait to get this up and running on my 101. Hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to sort it out but I've questions, How well does it perform? Is unity actually working? & have you tried any other distros? The reason i ask is because i was gonna buy a linux tab running plasma active but if i could eventually run it reasonably well on my 101 i'd hold out and save a couple.
Cheers again and nice work.
It runs fairly well. Unity works (2D only at the moment, not 3D), but whether that's a good thing or not I'll leave up to you (personally I don't like the Unity interface at all, and I find it slow when in 2D mode). I have GNOME 3.0 Fallback installed which runs pretty smooth and fast as it is fairly lightweight. You can use any non-3D-accelerated interface at the moment (Xfce, fluxbox, LXDE, MATE/GNOME2, etc). I've heard of people running plasma active on other non-accelerated systems (including the HP TouchPad, which is where I got my starting image). I haven't bothered as I prefer a traditional desktop-style interface.
That said, if you're willing to test I'd love feedback on how this performs on A101. I don't have an A101 and I am not sure of the status of A101 support. I'm taking Nicktime's word for it that the kernel supports A101. The actual Ubuntu image should be pretty independent of the device but the kernel needs to specifically support each individual board.
To start I'd just download the TouchPadBuntu rootfs I posted (which despite its name doesn't have anything TouchPad related in it and should at very least boot to login screen on the Archos 2.6.37 kernel without modifications). I'll hopefully get a package of modifications up soon including drivers for WiFi, Bluetooth, and a script to get everything running properly at boot.
As for 3D acceleration, I think it should be possible. There are apparently user-space drivers for OMAP3 that will work under Ubuntu. The bigger issue is getting a version of Compiz/Unity3D/Gnome Shell/whatever accelerated desktop you prefer that is compile for OpenGL ES.
Hey dude, could you give me some instructions as to how you installed the roofs.tgz to the memory card? I've got the new boot loader installed and I'm mad to get this going this weekend. Cheers in advance.
P.s. if there is a link to a tut for it that'd be excellent because I don't mind searching for myself just couldn't find any info on it. Thanks.
EDIT:
First post updated, see it for full installation details and feel free to post any questions or problems you have during or after installation. I really want to know how well this plays on A101 devices, as I don't have one to test with. Also, anyone with kernel experience that wants to take on adding additional devices, go for it! It would be great to get A70 support at least, as that is a popular device that has seen Debian/Angstrom activity in the past.
I tar'd the files to the sdcard, created a folder inside OS called ubuntu and placed the zimage & intramfs inside but it wont boot? I probably missed something so feel free to tear me one .
Wasn't even thinking...Duh...the kernels provided assume the root device is /dev/mmcblk2p3 (my Ubuntu partition on internal SD card). You probably want /dev/mmcblk0p1 (first partition on external SD card). I'll build a new kernel and post it soon, or you can take a shot at compiling your own kernel (my GitHub sources need work, for now I'd go with Nicktime's sources at Gitorious as I realized I broke some things).
Kboot should have a cmdline option where you can specify a kernel command line (and thus a root device) but I couldn't get it to work. To clarify, you ARE seeing the kernel boot messages right? If you aren't then kboot probably isn't set up correctly. Try booting another kernel (such as OpenAOS boot menu) from kboot and see if that works.
EDIT: here
CalcProgrammer1 said:
As for 3D acceleration, I think it should be possible. There are apparently user-space drivers for OMAP3 that will work under Ubuntu. The bigger issue is getting a version of Compiz/Unity3D/Gnome Shell/whatever accelerated desktop you prefer that is compile for OpenGL ES.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know they
http://www.linaro.org/
are working on the Open GL ES port of Unity 3D.
Maybe u can find some sources there
And KDE should also have a builf of KDE Plasma wiht OpenGL ES.
Maybe you could add it? would be awesome.
Archos 70
Does/Will this work on the Archos 70? I'm trying to get it working but all I'm getting is static on my screen when Kboot tries to boot Ubuntu. This could be my fault and I could have just messed up the installation but I don't think so.
Thoughts?
shrewdlove said:
Does/Will this work on the Archos 70? I'm trying to get it working but all I'm getting is static on my screen when Kboot tries to boot Ubuntu. This could be my fault and I could have just messed up the installation but I don't think so.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read the first post, you will see that this currently only works with A43 and A101. This is due to the kernel I'm using, which was ported by an OpenAOS user who hasn't been active in 6 months. Chances of him resuming his project are slim, so I've forked his kernel progress but don't have an A70 to work with. I could attempt to add A70 support to the kernel but I would be blind to the progress and would need testers. There aren't a ton of changes necessary, mainly just need to add the right LCD driver to make the screen work and then update the board file with the changes that have been made to the A43/A101 boards.
Unfortunately, I don't have much time as of late, I've got a senior design project and school work to deal with, plus I've been working on getting CM9 ICS to compile for gen8, and I've also been working on the HP TouchPad Ubuntu port. Adding A70 support to the kernel is low priority for me, but if any A70 owners want to take a stab at the kernel go right ahead, I'll gladly accept changes to the kernel. As far as Gen8 Ubuntu is concerned, my current focus is getting the SGX GPU up and running with TI's Graphics SDK. If successful, this GPU should be able to run hardware-accelerated Unity 3D and Compiz for a fast, fancy desktop experience.
shrewdlove said:
Does/Will this work on the Archos 70? I'm trying to get it working but all I'm getting is static on my screen when Kboot tries to boot Ubuntu. This could be my fault and I could have just messed up the installation but I don't think so.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've the exact same problem with my 101, at first I thought it was an issue with kboot but its able to boot uruk and bull. Every time I choose to run ubuntu it stalls with a static on the screen and I have to force a re-boot. I'm using a 2GB sd with only one partition if thats any help and the zimage in question is the one for boot from sd.
Any input?
Oh! Just looked at my kernel configuration again and I forgot to enable A101 support in the configuration file. I'll build a new kernel later today with A101 support enabled! Sorry about that. Should fix A101 but A70 still needs some real work before it will be supported.
EDIT:
Here it is
http://www.box.com/s/18d0e43877b5877ce79f
CalcProgrammer1 said:
Oh! Just looked at my kernel configuration again and I forgot to enable A101 support in the configuration file. I'll build a new kernel later today with A101 support enabled! Sorry about that. Should fix A101 but A70 still needs some real work before it will be supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, don't apologize. I, and this community, appreciate what your doing. I'd love to have the knowledge to compile my own kernel and have a fully functional distro on this device, but I don't yet have that ability. You do, so any time you give up your time and effort to provide us with something new and cool is fricking brilliant. Keep working and let us know how you get on, but don't cause yourself too much hassle.
Thanks.
I've updated my previous post with an image with A101 support included. I have no way to test it. If any A101 users could take a short video or picture of the device booting Ubuntu I would like to see how it works on that device. I've also looked a bit into A70 support and it looks like the necessary modifications would be relatively straightforward, seeing as all the gen8's have essentially the same core hardware (OMAP3, Wolfson Audio, WL1271 WiFi/BT, MicroSD, POWER/VOL+/-, Power LED, etc). The primary difference (and probably most significant code change required) is the LCD panel, but seeing how the A43 got the short end of the stick on this one, the A70 should be easier to port (A43 has a DSI-interfaced serial LCD while the other gen8's have a DPI parallel LCD, DSI support is flaky at best in this kernel release).
Managed to get it to boot to ubuntu login screen but my usb keyboard doesnt get picked up, I dont know if the touch screen should register at this point but for me it doesnt. I've no bt keyboard but I can't see the device when I scan for bt from my phone either. If you want, I can take a vid of it booting to this point and send it to you. Just in case I get it to work, what are the login details (password) ?
The login is ubuntu/ubuntu (user/pass). I haven't tested the USB yet, and I'm not sure how the A101's host port is set up (the A43 supports USB OTG host but has no dedicated host port). It is a kernel issue for sure. As for the touchscreen, the A101 I think uses a USB touchscreen, so again with the USB issue. You can try forcing automatic login by modifying one of the files on the rootfs (would have to look up which one, can't remember, but should be possible). The fact that it boots is great and the fact that the panel works is also great. I'll look into USB host some more when I get a chance.
Cheers for getting back to me. Is there anyway we can pull something from either the bodhi image or android itself? or would it have to be changed at the kernel?
Pretty sure this is kernel level, the USB driver is being compiled differently than on the stock kernel (musb_hdrc should be a module, but this kernel it is built in, preventing you from loading in different modes). I booted up my A43 with a USB mouse attached, the kernel detected the mouse but then disconnected it before it could be used.
Related
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/TEGRA/AC100
"Adobe Flash
Dropping this library into ~/.mozilla/plugins allows flash playback. It warns though that it is out of date. http://kotelett.no/ac100/phh/Android2.2/libflashplayer.so"
Sounds great! =)
I did put this new Ubuntu Image on my AC100, however some things don't work:
* ppa ac100 produces error 404, package ac100-settings isn't found
* high background load, virtually unusable
* no shortcuts (old Imgae did support)
* no suspend (crashes), no sound yet
* did not get flash to work with above plugin
Anyone ha dmore success?
The flash plugin (even only playback) of this Ubuntu doesn't work for my Linux
Ubuntu 11.10 x Folio100?
Hi,
On http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/oneiric/beta-2/ there is a "Preinstalled desktop filesystem archive" for Toshiba AC100. Is it possible to use drivers used in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=907960 to prepare a version for Folio 100?
Thanks.
semonma said:
The flash plugin (even only playback) of this Ubuntu doesn't work for my Linux
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found a solution, now I have flash in Chromium. Doesn't work in Firefox (probably because I am running Version 7).
Instructions:
put the libflashplayer.so in the Chromium plugin directory (/usr/lib/chromium-browser/plugins), easiest way is by wget command:
sudo wget -O /usr/lib/chromium-browser/plugins/libflashplayer.so http://kotelett.no/ac100/phh/Android2.2/libflashplayer.so
install nvidea-tegra package
as it is not in the Oneiric repository yet I pulled this .deb and installed it via gdebi:
http://ppa.launchpad.net/ac100/ppa/...dia-tegra_12-0ubuntu1~alpha1monson6_armel.deb
I have no idea whether this is correct or latest, but it works to some extend.
Run chromium with
chromium-browser --allow-outdated-plugins
otherwise you get warning
360p Youtube runs smooth but when fullscreen has some slight lags, above resolutions do stutter.
Edit:
Here are some .deb packages of the main developer that seem to be newer. Did not test that. See the Readme: http://people.debian.org/~jak/ac100/README
Edit2:
With Beta 2 image and newest kernel (2.6.38-1000-ac100) the AC100 got quite usable now, sound via headphone works and performance bugs are largely reduced. Still some deadlocks by mmcd. Switching from ext4 to nilfs2 might yield some performance gain? And Debian hf, utilizing the Tegra FPU, also sounds promising.
Thank's a lot pibach, I'll try it this night =)
Brief update:
I added the developer ppa in sources list:
deb http://people.debian.org/~jak/ac100/ unreleased main non-free
and installed the package: xserver-xorg-video-tegra
it pulls in the package tegra-libraries
However I don't see any difference in video performace
nvidia-tegra package is not in there, package is stil unchanged
sudo apt-show-versions nvidia-tegra
nvidia-tegra 12-0ubuntu1~alpha1monson6 installed: No available version in archive
It is from this ppa: https://launchpad.net/~ac100/+archive/ppa
Seemingly this is for natty, does not seamlessly work with oneiric (Error 404 when added to sources.list as ):
"Changelog
nvidia-graphics-drivers-tegra (12-0ubuntu1~alpha1monson6) natty; urgency=low
* sigh, and build for the right release, oneiric doesnt work yet ...
-- Oliver Grawert <email address hidden> Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:55:42 +0200"
However, it does work. Strange.
When I remove that nvidia-tegra package, I get some screen artefacts. Video then plays but very slow
Moreover, I can't find any xorg.conf file to set bit depth to 16 as mentioned in the Unbuntu Wiki.
So any chance to get better video (>360p) and maybe some HTML rendering boost?
Another hint: I got problems with Unity, Dash, Software Center bugging the CPU into performance problems, seems to be some memory lock with mmcd. Chromium 13 is also a lot faster, especially scrolling speed, than firefox 7 (both on smooth scrolling). But also runs into memory / CPU overload. Switching to lubuntu made all much snappier. It requires just 1 command:
sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop
and reboot into that one.
Maximus serves to undecorate the maximized windows -> more screen space
pibach said:
Moreover, I can't find any xorg.conf file to set bit depth to 16 as mentioned in the Unbuntu Wiki.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats probably because linux uses udev and dbus these days to detect your hardware on the fly when you start x.
Sent from my Folio 100 using xda premium
shidima_101 said:
Thats probably because linux uses udev and dbus these days to detect your hardware on the fly when you start x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you're right. But that how it is described in the official ubuntu Wikipage. Strange. I have no glue how to do that nvidia tegra configuration.
When I launch Chromium-browser from terminal I get a lot of these errors:
ERROR:gl_surface_glx.cc(121)] glxQueryVersion failed
ERROR:gl_surface_linux.cc(73)] GLSurfaceGLX::InitializeOneOff failed.
So seemingly GLX Tegra hardware acceleration is not right.
BTW, the people at Arch Linux have more recent kernel and are on the status that suspend is working fine. Plus zram support there to come. See this thread. Don't know to what extend this will make the device snappier. Mine runs already quite snappy under LXDE.
I think with Linux on it the AC100 it is currently one of the best devices around. And you can get it quite cheap.
Edit:
On boot I usually get the error: unity support test closed unexpectedly
Probably something with GLX
Tegra shouldn't have any problems running Unity or Compiz.
Anybody got this to work propperly?
Edit2:
Launching Chromium in terminal:
chromium-browser --allow-outdated-plugins --use-gl=egl --ignore-gpu-blacklist
I get:
libEGL warning: GLX/DRI2 is not supported
To give you a brief status update:
I got suspend/resume to work
Flash works now in Firefox 7.0.1 (was already working in Chrome)
There seem to be a lot of work put into Ubuntu Oneiric and it's ARM version currently and it seems to be quite stable now.
On Folio100?
Is it usable on Folio 100?
The difference is only thouchscreen and Linux was already working (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=907960).
Thanks.
gipposat said:
Is it usable on Folio 100?
The difference is only thouchscreen and Linux was already working (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=907960).
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but also Sound, Keyboard, NvEc, USB all might be slightly different. Isn't it?
pibach said:
but also Sound, Keyboard, NvEc, USB all might be slightly different. Isn't it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I think everything is the same.
Bye
So, has anyone already tried it on Folio?
OK, I've given it a try and the boot image doesn't work, it definitely needs some porting.
hello pibach, thank you for your time testing stuff so we can make it work at the first time.
i installed drivers to make it work with flash, and its nice but sometimes i get a bug (probably due to graphic drivers making the screen get alot of artifacts, and only solution is a reboot, still a proble,m, probably due to alpha stage driver (nvidia could put something out that works decently....)
also, you say this version uses ext4? that should get it a lower performance comparing to nilfs (which i was using with phh's version) maybe disabling the journal? dont really know, will look into it.
how about changing the governor to performance instead of demand?
also...what about an SD card install? with a class 10 card should be fast? any info? worth buying a card to do it?
@Oinquer:
a) I got artifacts too, but only on Unity. I am on LXDE now and that works fine. Don't know why though.
b) I think you can choose ext4 or nilfs2 as you like. Can you point me to some links regarding performance comparisons and some more background info? I would give it a try then.
c) governor can be changed, sure.
d) the android bootloader cannot load from SD. But there might be some solution to do so, don't know. Meanwhile it should be no problem to have dual boot from internal MMC, for example Linux from partition 6 and android from partition 5 (SOS).
hello,
back to you, im using lxde now and installing the driver, hope artifacts go away.
EXT4 as far as i know has some benefits and some disavantages over ext3 and some other filesystems (checked yesterday after post), so performance might not change enough to notice.
governor , did it yesterday to performance, have to check flash playback now, but im not seeing big change except in boot time, that seems a few seconds less.
SD card, last version from phh's could be installed in SD card...and ubuntu wiki from AC100 says that if theres a blank SD card in slot at installation it will ask if you want to install there...im pretty sure its possible, but my sd card is in the trash bin, and cant buy one now...
here im hoping for the FPU stuff for the ac100...its getting there!!! quite usable, theres also a fix to have sound from internal speakers in ac100DOTgrandouDOTnet
will try it after i got everything sorted.
thank you for taking your time.
Sound is working in Ubuntu Oneiric Kernel that is in the proposed repository, works for me, but sound does not wake up after suspend yet.
SD card/USB boot does not work with Androib bootloader that is also used for Ubuntu Oneiric standard install. So you need to find one that can support that. Ccurrently there isn't any solution for that around, AFAIK. But you can put Linux on partition 6 and Android on Partition 5 and uses Android 2.1 bootloader.
I got fed up with crappy wireless reception in a hotel and decided to use my RTL8187 based Alfa USB wireless adapter with my Prime. Here's how it works, pretty rough and open to improvement but it works.
Set up a chroot (ubuntu/debian will work); everything is done within that chroot
Compile and install the drivers for your usb adapter (see the Kernel modules thread for instructions)
apt-get install wicd-curses (or wicd-cli if you prefer), wpasupplicant and dbus plus any of its dependancies
Turn off the broadcom wifi that's controlled by android
insmod your modules (in my case eeprom_93cx6.ko, mac80211.ko, rtl8187)
start dbus and wicd (/etc/init.d/dbus start; /etc/init.d/wicd start)
run wicd-curses (or wicd-cli), refresh the network list and connect to your network
configure dns for android to your dns or to googles (setprop net.dns1 8.8.8.8)
???
Profit
To stop using external usb wifi, reverse the steps; basically:
stop wicd and dbus (/etc/init.d/wicd stop; /etc/init.d/dbus stop)
kill any running dhcp clients (killall dhclient)
rmmod your modules (in my case eeprom_93cx6.ko, mac80211.ko, rtl8187)
To be able to insert mac80211 without it complaining about missing symbols for ewma_init and ewma_add, I had to add lib/average.c to the mac80211 module; it's pretty simple, here's how i did that:
Go to your prime kernel source tree (e.g. /usr/src/linux)
cp lib/average.c net/mac80211/
Edit net/mac80211/Makefile and add average.o to the list of objects for mac80211-y (don't miss the trailing backslash if you add it halfway)
For simplicity sake I've added the modules for an rtl8187 based usb nic to this post. These are built against the 9.4.2.7 kernel source, and work fine for the 9.4.2.11 release (current ICS release as of Feb 07 2012).
Oh and I don't recommend doing this with androids wifi turned on, it kind of breaks it until you reboot your tab. So if you're smart you'll script the above and spit out a nice warning that your broadcom module is still loaded and then exit. I had no problems switching between external USB wifi and built-in wifi as long as I only turned one of them on exclusively.
Enjoy solid wifi on your prime
,can you show screenshots of how much of an improvement it was using a USB wifi device vs. Stock wifi. You should relay this info in the kernel modules thread n SaturnDe can probably clean it up or simplify more or make it easier to implement. He could add it to his driver packs and make a new ATP tweaks version. For quick app enabling of this USB wifi method. This is very cool. I really would like to see how much of an improvement in reception thisngives.
You can't use the external wifi together with the android wifi control, it isn't compatible. So screenshots make no sense. This is why you need the chroot and wicd-curses; that's where you configure your wifi connection, not in android.
As for the increase in reception, it depends on your usb adapter. If you have one with an external antenna that is 6 feet long, you can figure out how much of an improvement that would be. Nothing is stopping you from connecting an even bigger wifi antenna if you want. So, reception increase could be anywhere from a few dB up to long range 5km wifi using powerful long range antennas.
infernix said:
You can't use the external wifi together with the android wifi control, it isn't compatible. So screenshots make no sense. This is why you need the chroot and wicd-curses; that's where you configure your wifi connection, not in android.
As for the increase in reception, it depends on your usb adapter. If you have one with an external antenna that is 6 feet long, you can figure out how much of an improvement that would be. Nothing is stopping you from connecting an even bigger wifi antenna if you want. So, reception increase could be anywhere from a few dB up to long range 5km wifi using powerful long range antennas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I believe you're being told to do it yourself 'darin. I have a nice little wifi usb adapter, I'll give this all a whirl later on after work.
Certainly not a solution for myself, but a simple workaround for those uncomfortable with modding and who don't mind annoying sticks coming from their tablets/laptops. Not saying anything against this, I just always hated using older laptops with usb adapters and don't see me liking it more on a smaller, more stream-lined device.
buxtahuda said:
Certainly not a solution for myself, but a simple workaround for those uncomfortable with modding and who don't mind annoying sticks coming from their tablets/laptops. Not saying anything against this, I just always hated using older laptops with usb adapters and don't see me liking it more on a smaller, more stream-lined device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, this can also be used to run aircrack or other wifi security analysis tools with, which aren't able to ever run with the builtin broadcom adapter. So it has other uses too
infernix said:
FWIW, this can also be used to run aircrack or other wifi security analysis tools with, which aren't able to ever run with the builtin broadcom adapter. So it has other uses too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone tried doing so with their ATP? I'd be very interested to know. I've had a bunch of problems with the build-in card in terms of using the bt5 pentest suite so this might potentially solve some of those problems
Yeap, done with BT5 for arm and ALFA AWUS036H (Rtl8187), apt-get the aircrack tool and bang! : monitoring mode enables
Thanks a lot to the OP for the modules !
what version of linux are you guys using? I was trying to install wicd-cli and wicd-curses through my bt5 and had no success. wicd-curses just can't install on arm bt5 for some reason stating that some dependant libraries are incompatible. wicd-cli gives me an fopen error during install and then craps out when I try to run it.
Thanks for the info, one question tho.
Did you have to do anything special to get the wicd client to run, I get the error 'cannot connect to dbus socket' or something to that effect..
I have tried wicd-cli, -curses, and -gtk
Any help would be appreciated.
Dear Sirs,
This may be newbish, but where can I get the source for the kernel modules the op mentioned. I have obtained my kernel source for my phone, but can't seem to find the source I actually need to compile, rtl8187, etc.
Update:
Alright, I found them, they are part of the compat-wireless package. http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=compat-wireless
I still can get it to compile, but I guess I need to learn a little about cross compiling.
I did find a kernel for my device with the modules already built in, used and voila. Cracked a wep key in about 5-10 minutes. I was happy, happy, happy. Then, a ruinous moment occurred. Almost the very second aircrack-ng finished cracking the key, my phone came up with a low battery warning, I was using a awus036h wifi adapter and it was draining my battery fast, I had about 50% to begin and had the 14% warning hit me about 10 minutes in, funny thing is the warning is usually 14%, but this time was 13%, go figure? Anyway seconds after the warning my phone just blanks, turns off. I plug it in and reboot and the battery is at 0% and stuck there, so a word of warning:
An external wifi adapter my require more usb host juice then the battery can safely supply. I have seen people using powered hubs to circumvent draining the phone battery, I would defintiely recommend the practice.
Ok, if the last poster was noobish then i dont even know where i would be because i need help just deciphering wtf OP said.
I realize the drivers for each wireless adapter are going to be a little different... because each wireless adapter is different, but can someone translate this into non geek? I dont even know where to begin.
Can this work using the ubuntu/backtrack/linux installers from the market? Ive muddled my way through that and got linux working that way, or is this completely different?
I just wanted to say THANKS! I now have my Alpha card working in Monitor mode on my TF300T Transformer PAD and man it feels good! I have never been able to get this to work and have been trying to use an external card in backtrack for a loooong time! Thank you 1 million times!
Hi! Thanks for instructions. I got compile and install driver for my G-Sky (rtl8187) on AllWinner A10 (Ainol Aurora II) with android 4.0.4 and 3.0.8 kernel. All network settings were done with tablet's terminal (without PC). Only one problem remains - I can't undestant connecting to wpa networks - it's too difficult. Here: http_://nuzhen-sovet.ru/content/podklyuchenie-vneshnego-wi-fi-adaptera-k-planshetu-na-android-4 you can read my manual with connection to nonWPA networks on russian (read with google translate).
I am wondering if something like this could be used for the folks concerned with bt\wifi fallout. There are plenty of bluetooth dongles out there that are small enough to leave in the dock full time. I have the fallout I just dont use bluetooth enough to care.
BlackUbuntu 12.04 V4: http://kat.ph/blackubuntu-12-04v4-for-android-s3-tested-t7252750.html
So how would I go about this on the galaxy s3 l710.
My alfa card reads on pcap app.
Hi everyone.
I plan on using the Bolse adapter : http://www.mybolse.com/products_more.asp?id=96 that has an Android driver with my Galaxy Note2.
Do I have to go through all these steps with it considering it has an Android driver?
Thanks
infernix said:
I got fed up with crappy wireless reception in a hotel and decided to use my RTL8187 based Alfa USB wireless adapter with my Prime. Here's how it works, pretty rough and open to improvement but it works.
Set up a chroot (ubuntu/debian will work); everything is done within that chroot
Compile and install the drivers for your usb adapter (see the Kernel modules thread for instructions)
apt-get install wicd-curses (or wicd-cli if you prefer), wpasupplicant and dbus plus any of its dependancies
Turn off the broadcom wifi that's controlled by android
insmod your modules (in my case eeprom_93cx6.ko, mac80211.ko, rtl8187)
start dbus and wicd (/etc/init.d/dbus start; /etc/init.d/wicd start)
run wicd-curses (or wicd-cli), refresh the network list and connect to your network
configure dns for android to your dns or to googles (setprop net.dns1 8.8.8.8)
???
Profit
To stop using external usb wifi, reverse the steps; basically:
stop wicd and dbus (/etc/init.d/wicd stop; /etc/init.d/dbus stop)
kill any running dhcp clients (killall dhclient)
rmmod your modules (in my case eeprom_93cx6.ko, mac80211.ko, rtl8187)
To be able to insert mac80211 without it complaining about missing symbols for ewma_init and ewma_add, I had to add lib/average.c to the mac80211 module; it's pretty simple, here's how i did that:
Go to your prime kernel source tree (e.g. /usr/src/linux)
cp lib/average.c net/mac80211/
Edit net/mac80211/Makefile and add average.o to the list of objects for mac80211-y (don't miss the trailing backslash if you add it halfway)
For simplicity sake I've added the modules for an rtl8187 based usb nic to this post. These are built against the 9.4.2.7 kernel source, and work fine for the 9.4.2.11 release (current ICS release as of Feb 07 2012).
Oh and I don't recommend doing this with androids wifi turned on, it kind of breaks it until you reboot your tab. So if you're smart you'll script the above and spit out a nice warning that your broadcom module is still loaded and then exit. I had no problems switching between external USB wifi and built-in wifi as long as I only turned one of them on exclusively.
Enjoy solid wifi on your prime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, after i read most replies, most don't understand how to get things set up, please describe it a bit more, organize things, like section for requirements, etc.
Explain to Kernel and Kernel Modules and how to build them
For everyone who didn't Understand Step 2, I Will explain and tell you how to do that, Please read it all to Understand:highfive::
What is Kernel?
A Kernel is Simply a Bridge Between Software and Hardware.
So The Drivers are Inside the Kernel itself?
For Short, Yes. In Linux Overall (Android, Ubuntu, etc.), Drivers are Included Inside the Kernel it self, Some say for Performance Improvements.
Your Phone's Android Kernel Include all the Drivers required for your phone to function, And for the Devices that Support USB-OTG there are a Plenty of Drivers Included, However, Drivers like the one's for the RTL8187 Most likely won't be included.
What are Kernel Modules?
Kernel Modules are Files that have *KO Extension That can be loaded Through insmod and Unloaded through rmmod Command-Line Commands, These files is to Extend the Functionality of the Kernel Without Touching/Editing it at all,It Just does some effect Until the Modules are Unloaded/Device Rebooted, Kernel Modules useful Either by Adding a Driver or by adding other things..[/B]
What are the Disadvantages of Kernel Modules?
Well, There's no Difference Expect you need to reload the Kernel Modules after a Reboot or Module Unload, Some Tutorials Show you how can you add a command to load these Modules after each boot up
So A Kernel Module is the Solution for adding a driver without modifying the kernel?
Yes, Kernel Modules is the Solution here, Each USB Device needs it's own Kernel Modules, so you can't Download a Module and Use it, You need to Compile yours.
What is the Requirements to build a Kernel Modules?
1.You need Linux Environment, Use either the Chrooted Linux On you phone, or, better use Ubuntu or any linux Distro on a Computer, Build the Module, and load it on the Chrooted Linux on your phone,
2.You need an Internet Connection in the Linux Environment.
3.You need the Driver Source code for your USB Device. Get them from the Manufacturer if he offer them, if he doesn't, You need to Look in the internet until you find one, if you were unable to find the Source code for you Device but found similar Devices Driver source code, see if the Other Device Driver is Compatible with yours usually a Single Driver work on many Devices, you need to look by your own way
4.You Also need some Programs to install in Order to be able to Compile the Kernel Module, Enter these Commands in a Terminal, Pressing Enter after each Line, and make sure you have the Internet Connection:
HTML:
sudo apt-get install fakeroot
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
For the most Important Part, make the Kernel Module?
1.Unpack the Kernel source code, if it's Extension is bz2 then use:
HTML:
tar jxvf <package-name>
Where <package-name> is the Compressed File name, and make sure you put it in the Home Folder, if it's Extension is gz or tgz the Unpack it with:
HTML:
tar zxvf <package-name>
2. Second, Find config.mk and Open it with gedit or whatever Text editor you like, at first, there is two lines about WPA Support, make sure they end with y rather than n, Save and close.
3.Third, and last, is to Compile the Kernel Module, Open Terminal and use cd command to get inside the folder that contains the Source code, and Simply Execute:
HTML:
sudo make
And now you own the Kernel module, Now copy the Kernel Module to the root of your Internal Storage, Open up a Terminal and Type:
HTML:
cd /mnt/sdcard
insmod <kernel-module-name>.ko
And make sure Internal Wi-Fi is OFF and now your Kernel Module works, Follow the Guys steps to get it working on Chrooted distro
Troubleshooting:
If you find a similar Device Driver Source Code and after Compiling it doesn't work plug the Device in, Open a Terminal and type:
HTML:
sudo lsusb
and Find your Device in the Output and you should find Numbers for it Looks Like 0x148F,0x2070 or whatever, Write them down.
After Step 2 Follow These Steps:
Find usb_main_dev.c and Under #ifdef Section add the Following Line:
HTML:
{USB_DEVICE(0x148F,0x2070)}, /* Your Device name, this is just a Comment. */
Where You should replace 0x148F,0x2070 with the String you just wrote down.
And then Continue Other Steps and it should work.
Please Click "Thanks" Button if i Helped you
Also, if you had any Problems and fixed them Just tell me so i can add them to Troubleshooting Section.
Hi! Im going on vacation in 2 weeks and I want this to work on my Nexus 5. I run CM12. I think I can manage the kernel part myself (there are a lot of nexus 5 kernels which include the driver of my wifi dongle: TP-Link WN722N). but I don't know how to do the next steps (for example step 4 and 5). Can someone give me a detailed tutorial with command lines? I am familiar with terminal.
My step again:
Nexus 5 running CM12
Wifi dongle: TP-Link WN722N
thanks in advance!
Sorry for the extremely noob question, but will this make the wifi adapter work in the chroot or on the entire device?
Well, it only took 2 years lol!
What is Kexec?
Kexec (kernel-execute) is a function of the Linux kernel that allows it to act as a bootloader to boot other kernels. Unfortunately, the standard implementation of kexec doesn't work quite right on most ARM devices due to poor driver support for hardware resets. The workaround is kexec-hardboot, a patch set that allows a kernel to be staged in RAM before performing an actual hardware reset through the phone's bootloader. Upon reboot the kexec-supporting kernel will check the magic location in RAM to see if a previously stored kernel is available, and if so, it will transfer execution to that kernel instead of booting itself.
Why use Kexec
It's a second-stage bootloader. The standard Android bootloader only allows two kernels to be installed at once - boot and recovery. This means that if you want a working recovery, you're only allowed one real OS kernel. If you want to dual-boot (or tri-boot or more) you're screwed. Kexec provides an answer to this. By replacing the boot kernel, kexec (with the kexecboot GUI) acts as a "second stage bootloader" allowing you to boot any number of kernels from any available storage devices. For instance, you have kexecboot in your boot partition and you can keep a kernel for Android installed in your Android system partition as well as an Ubuntu kernel and root filesystem on your SD card and be able to switch between Android and Ubuntu at boot time.
What is kexecboot
http://imgur.com/4GYomKX
Kexecboot is a graphical front-end for kexec. I have modified it to work with the kexec-hardboot patches. It scans all available storage devices for a boot.cfg file in which you define kernels, ramdisks, and kernel commandlines. You control it using volume up and down to move cursor, power to select.
Download
Get it here: https://mega.co.nz/#F!0ct3EaTD!wHWnGo1M_2smyKdzGMIYmw
The code
Kernel builder: https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/kernel_quincyatt_kexec
This repository contains all the things you need to build a flashable kexecboot/kexec-hardboot enabled kernel image. It contains the ramdisk with the kexecboot binary and a script to package a flashable zip file. Included as submodules are the kernel source itself (kexec-hardboot branch, required to build the image) and the kexecboot source (optional, not used by default as you must build it using an ARM system, a pre-built binary is included if you don't want to build your own). The kernel source includes a defconfig called kexec_quincyatt_defconfig that sets the required config options for building a kexec-hardboot kernel.
Kexecboot Configuration File
Kexecboot replaces your boot kernel, so when you power up your phone it will go straight to the Kexecboot screen. The issue is now to provide kernels for kexecboot to boot into. This requires some work on your part, as you will have to store the kernel files (zImage and initrd) in a partition and write a configuration file to tell kexecboot where they are. This configuration file may contain multiple kernels, allowing you to have several different kernels available for the same OS or multiple OSes entirely. If you're coming from an Android system that distributes their kernel as a boot.img, you can use the abootimg program to extract it into a separate zImage and initrd.img binary.
The configuration file must be located on the path /boot/boot.cfg. This is relative to whatever partition/disk you are on, so for instance if you're setting up Android to boot from kexecboot, you would put your configuration file in /system/boot/boot.cfg (/data/boot/boot.cfg would work as well). You can also put a boot.cfg file on your SD card as long as you follow the /boot/boot.cfg path. Kexecboot automatically scans all available partitions for a boot.cfg file before it starts and builds a list of all available kernels across all detected boot.cfg files, so you may have Android in your /system partition and Debian on your SD card and both kernel lists will be shown together.
The Kexecboot web site provides a nice tutorial: http://kexecboot.org/documentation/how_to_write_config
The Note i717 bootloader passes a fairly long string of kernel arguments to the boot kernel. Since kexecboot overrides this for the kexec-booted kernel, you must provide this boot string in your boot.cfg file. Additionally, you may edit or add arguments to the command string here (such as setting console=tty0 instead of the default console=null so you can use the framebuffer console).
For example, here is my /system/boot/boot.cfg for CyanogenMod 11 (with kernel and initrd.img, extracted via abootimg, in /system/boot/)
Code:
# kexecboot configuration file
# CM11 default kernel
LABEL=CyanogenMod 11
KERNEL=/boot/zImage
INITRD=/boot/initrd.img
APPEND="androidboot.hardware=qcom usb_id_pin_rework=true no_console_suspend=true zcache [email protected] [email protected] sec_debug.reset_reason=0x1a2b3c00 pmem_sf_addr=0x7a000000 pmem_sf_size=0x6000000 console=null sec_debug.enable=0 sec_debug.enable_user=0 appsbark=0 msm_watchdog.enable=1 msm_watchdog.bark_time=30 msm_watchdog.bite_time=31 vmalloc=512m hw_rev=12 lpj=67702 androidboot.emmc=true androidboot.serialno=32c245ca androidboot.baseband=csfb"
I'm not sure how much of that you actually need, but you do need at least some of it because with an empty APPEND= it does not boot. You also do have to put the quotation marks around it or else parsing of one of the options will fail.
I'll admit limited understanding of what you're accomplishing here, but seems to me that this could lead to dual booting on the Note. Nice work.
Good luck.
Nice work! Thanks for the work you've done thus far. Unfortunately I have no way to help you out other than morale support! :highfive:
lactardjosh said:
I'll admit limited understanding of what you're accomplishing here, but seems to me that this could lead to dual booting on the Note. Nice work.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much what it comes down to, testing kernels and roms without having to flash into nand. I can't wait for dualbooting from Sd on the Note.
I have ORD , please help!!
My main goal here is native Linux, but if kexec works then you can boot custom Android dev kernels, native Linux kernels, other mobile OS'es, etc. The SGSIII team seems to have found some interesting kexec solutions for the Verizon SGSIII due to its locked bootloader. They've posted a good deal of kexec patches which I'm trying to bring to the Note, including a custom kexec-hardboot option that fully reboots the device into the new kernel (apparently to make sure the radio and such are working).
CalcProgrammer1 said:
My main goal here is native Linux, but if kexec works then you can boot custom Android dev kernels, native Linux kernels, other mobile OS'es, etc. The SGSIII team seems to have found some interesting kexec solutions for the Verizon SGSIII due to its locked bootloader. They've posted a good deal of kexec patches which I'm trying to bring to the Note, including a custom kexec-hardboot option that fully reboots the device into the new kernel (apparently to make sure the radio and such are working).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderful, wonderful work!!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Uh...It all sounded like this:
dual kernel (i'm gonna brick) kexec will allow (me to brick my phone).....with native linux applications ('im gonna brick my phone cause i'm stupid)....LOL
while i know what your doing, that in no way means i will ever understand it...LOL
But i will thank you in advance for what sounds like a sick mod for our notes...
Many thanks Dev !!!!
Kexec is actually (if done right) a good way *not* to brick your phone. To run kernels, you usually have to flash them to a restricted boot section of the memory, and if you flash all non-working kernels (to download, recovery, and main) then you have no way to use your phone, as it won't boot up. If you use kexec, your working kernel is safely stored on the boot partition and your development kernels can be wherever, and if it doesn't boot you can just hold down POWER to hard reboot into your good kernel.
The problem is that it doesn't seem to be working, I think I have the kexec support built properly but haven't been able to boot any kernels without it crashing.
CalcProgrammer1 said:
Kexec is actually (if done right) a good way *not* to brick your phone. To run kernels, you usually have to flash them to a restricted boot section of the memory, and if you flash all non-working kernels (to download, recovery, and main) then you have no way to use your phone, as it won't boot up. If you use kexec, your working kernel is safely stored on the boot partition and your development kernels can be wherever, and if it doesn't boot you can just hold down POWER to hard reboot into your good kernel.
The problem is that it doesn't seem to be working, I think I have the kexec support built properly but haven't been able to boot any kernels without it crashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know you'll crack it ....
And when you do ....you'll be the galaxy note GOD !!!....LOL
your effort is much appreciated Sir ....even if I'm scared to use it , but will anyway ...lol
So I'm still confused as to why my kexec didn't work. I'm going to build a TouchPad kernel with it enabled and repeat the test on it, since I have a known-good kernel to boot against. I'll let you know how that goes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717
Ok, so long-time-no-see but I'm reviving this post! Now that my Note 3 is happily running Cyanogenmod I have no urgent need for my Note 1 and can hack on it!
So far I haven't gotten kexec working, but I do have:
1. Kexecboot (graphical kexec frontend) is working, detects OS images appropriately
2. Framebuffer Console (text-mode display, USB OTG keyboard supported for interactive command line)
3. Overriding bootloader command line (to enable the fbconsole you need console=tty1 but the bootloader passes console=null)
4. Framebuffer console rotation (boot up in landscape or portrait, no way to switch without recompiling at the moment)
5. Most of kexec-hardboot ported from the HP TouchPad port, no clue if it's promising or not as so far it just crashes after a while of nothing
6. Ubuntu 13.04 (desktop edition) rootfs installed on SD card in a chroot, also taken from HP TouchPad
What I'm working on:
1. Kexec-hardboot port (needed to use kexec properly and boot kernels)
2. Fixing fbconsole glitching (framebuffer console displays garbled text that slowly clears up, no clue why...reading /dev/fb0 repeatedly clears up the display immediately and is a dirty hack that works well enough for testing)
3. Networking (either USB Ethernet or integrated WiFi, going to try backported brcmfmac driver)
4. Ubuntu (that's the long-term plan here)
5. Note 3 S800 port if I get everything figured out here
CalcProgrammer1 said:
Ok, so long-time-no-see but I'm reviving this post! Now that my Note 3 is happily running Cyanogenmod I have no urgent need for my Note 1 and can hack on it!
So far I haven't gotten kexec working, but I do have:
1. Kexecboot (graphical kexec frontend) is working, detects OS images appropriately
2. Framebuffer Console (text-mode display, USB OTG keyboard supported for interactive command line)
3. Overriding bootloader command line (to enable the fbconsole you need console=tty1 but the bootloader passes console=null)
4. Framebuffer console rotation (boot up in landscape or portrait, no way to switch without recompiling at the moment)
5. Most of kexec-hardboot ported from the HP TouchPad port, no clue if it's promising or not as so far it just crashes after a while of nothing
6. Ubuntu 13.04 (desktop edition) rootfs installed on SD card in a chroot, also taken from HP TouchPad
What I'm working on:
1. Kexec-hardboot port (needed to use kexec properly and boot kernels)
2. Fixing fbconsole glitching (framebuffer console displays garbled text that slowly clears up, no clue why...reading /dev/fb0 repeatedly clears up the display immediately and is a dirty hack that works well enough for testing)
3. Networking (either USB Ethernet or integrated WiFi, going to try backported brcmfmac driver)
4. Ubuntu (that's the long-term plan here)
5. Note 3 S800 port if I get everything figured out here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long time in the making. Glad to see you're still at it. Hope you are able to get it working. Would be pretty cool. Good luck
If you can get this working up to kernel with freedreno I'd be all over working on getting Plasma Active onto this thing. I've missed having a real linux phone since my n900 died.
Got Bluetooth working from the command line!
Code:
# rfkill unblock all
# hciattach /dev/ttyHS0 any
# hcitool scan
It detected my Note 3 which I had set to visible! Hopefully I can pair a BT keyboard with this and lose the USB OTG dependency. Still working on figuring out WiFi, I have the brcmfmac driver from 3.13 backports compiled and loaded but the WiFi chip isn't being detected so the driver never creates an interface for it. The chip is a Broadcom BCM4330 WiFi/Bluetooth chip, and although both WiFi and Bluetooth share the same chip they use different interfaces to the SoC (UART for BT and SDIO for WiFi).
I plan on doing more research into getting the hardware working before I do any more work on kexec. It will be much easier to debug kexec I think knowing how to use WiFi/BT/USB/etc. The only hardware I'm not going to attempt at all is the modem as I don't use this device as a phone anymore and don't have a SIM card in it. That said, all the rmnetX entries that I think are modem interfaces show in ifconfig -a so maybe it is working.
My kernel source is here:
https://github.com/CalcProgrammer1/ubuntu-kernel-quincyatt
The kexec branch will have the kexec hardboot patches once I figure them out. I've also got a folder set up with a script to automatically build the kernel zImage, build the modules, build the backport driver modules, build the ramdisk from a ramdisk root folder, build the boot.img, and then package that up in a flashable .zip. I'll upload parts of this system as I complete them. I also have an Ubuntu rootfs on my external ext4 (or was it 3?) SD card that I ripped straight off my TouchPad. For now I'm just using a busybox shell in my ramdisk, dropping out of kexecboot into ash, setting up a chroot for the SD card, and chrooting into the Ubuntu rootfs that way. It's not ideal since Ubuntu's init process doesn't run but it does allow me to run all the installed utilites from said rootfs.
Edit: Rii Mini Bluetooth Keyboard paired and working! It was a roundabout way of doing so because dbus and upstart don't work in chroot so I had to use an old package called bluez-compat which provides the hidd command. I sideloaded the .deb with a flash drive. The command to pair a keyboard:
Code:
# hcitool scan
Scanning ...
XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX Bluetooth device name
# hidd --connect XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX &
XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX will be a hex value that is your keyboard's address. You find the address with the scan command and enter it on the hidd command to connect. I didn't have to enter any kind of passcode or pairing key, after running hidd it just started working.
http://imgur.com/2sV3TJr
I got it! I finally managed to get kexec hardboot working! I had to rewrite a bit of code in the kexecboot program to support kexec-hardboot better but I now have a bootloader that is working correctly, if slowly. I'll be posting my kernel source soon (it's a branch off of CyanogenMod's msm8660-common kernel) as well as my modifications to kexecboot itself. The kexec-tools binary I took out of the HP TouchPad port unmodified so I don't have the source for that (though it shouldn't be hard to find). I'll be looking into a Note 3 port soon, basically used the Note 1 as the guinea pig for this experiment.
If, somehow, you could adapt this for the ATT Mega 6.3 so as to bypass the locked tight bootloater.....you would be considered a hero!! People would build statues of you....write songs and name their children after you!!!!!?
Sent from my SM-T310 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Unfortunately you require an unlocked bootloader to install the kexecboot kernel. This isn't going to be a magic bullet for locked bootloaders. People have tried. For devices with exploitable bootloaders, it may help as you won't have to fake-sign kexec-booted kernels though.
CalcProgrammer1 said:
Unfortunately you require an unlocked bootloader to install the kexecboot kernel. This isn't going to be a magic bullet for locked bootloaders. People have tried. For devices with exploitable bootloaders, it may help as you won't have to fake-sign kexec-booted kernels though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grasping at straws, My Friend. Hoping that maybe this could be something like SafeStrap and could be d/l and installed as an APK.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Got Debian booting! I also figured out how to get WiFi working from a non-Android Linux OS so this is definitely on track towards a full desktop OS!
To-do:
* X server, preferably with Freedreno GPU driver eventually
* Audio (q6.* firmware files and possibly an ALSA config)
* Startup scripts for Bluetooth initialization
* Figure out how to rotate the screen
dparrothead1 said:
If, somehow, you could adapt this for the ATT Mega 6.3 so as to bypass the locked tight bootloater.....you would be considered a hero!! People would build statues of you....write songs and name their children after you!!!!!?
Sent from my SM-T310 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wont be having anymore children to name, but I can do a dog. He is too stoopid to know the difference. I can say aluminum foil and he will come running.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using XDA Free mobile app
This is a guide to install Debian Linux on your Nexus Player
NOTE: This guide is for advanced users
This is NOT VNC nor chroot nor Android X server nor anything else like that, but running Linux natively.
D I S C L A I M E R
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use this at your OWN RISK. Experimental software may harm you, your device and others around you. I cannot be held responsible for any damage done. You have been warned!
Installing Linux will most likely VOID YOUR WARRANTY! (If warranty still applies to a five year old device...)
P R O L O G U E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have adapted the Nexus Player's kernel to meet GNU/Linux, namely Debian 10, requirements so far that it has become quite stable by now.
Since the processor is Intel x86 compliant you can run a regular distribution, receive updates, load software, etc. etc. This makes the Dell Venue virtually a desktop PC.
You can install Debian onto a USB stick and dual boot along with Android OR you may install Debian to the device's internal storage (and speed up things significantly).
H A R D W A R E S U P P O R T
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is NOT working:
* Suspend/standby
* Full 3D support
* Cameras
* Microphones (needs proper asound.conf)
* Likely something else
* Dell Venue 7840 users please see notes attached about sound. Be careful not to damage your speakers with high volumes.
R E Q U I R E M E N T S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Dell Venue 7840 or Dell Venue 7040 (obviously) w/ unlocked bootloader
* USB OTG cable and mirco USB cable
* A USB Hub
* An empty USB stick (I suggest at least 16 GB of storage and 40 MB/s read and 20 MB/s write speed. 8 GB is the minimum requirement though.)
* Input devices (i.e. mouse, keyboard)
* Linux PC (or virtual machine)
* Basic Linux/ROM tinkering knowledge, some time and patience...
A lot of stuff has not been tested entirely, I am a little short of spare time lately, so please be patient, I am willing to help as good as I can.
Ready?! Let's go!
S T E P 1: Install the Linux boot image
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Unlock your tablet's bootloader (there are guides online in case you don't know how to do that)
b) Reboot to bootloader, attach the tablet to your PC and flash the device specific Linux boot image to the boot partition.
fastboot flash boot dell_venue_7x40_linux_boot.img
Hint: This will be the only change to your tablet.
Note: You may revert the changes by flashing the stock boot image.
S T E P 2: Prepare SD card (done on the Linux PC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Format the partition on the USB stick with the ext4 file system.
b) Manually mount the partition to e.g. /mnt
c) Download the attached root file system creator, untar it and change to that directory. (sorry had to be a tar inside a zip, XDA forum requirements)
d) Create the rootfs (need to be root):
./bbep_rootfs_creator /mnt your_username your_password
Note: The process sometimes fail, you might have to try more than once.
Note: This will take a long time. To speed things up, you may create the rootfs inside a disk image on your local hard drive and afterwards write the image to the SD card.
e) Download the system image (link: https://mega.nz/file/tK4UiDaB#yfmTgf8qg8e-WKFPfISbKabNeA2vd5cSfTiKCs5Oh2I)
f) Rename the downloaded system image file to system.img and paste it into /mnt
g) Insert the SD card into your tablet.
h) That's it, if you now boot your tablet, it will actually boot into Linux. Please see the debug output messages for hints in case you run into troubles.
Note: The kernel has become quite old. In case the file system gets corruptes, the kernel cannot recover the file system because the current EXT4 version is not entirely supported by the kernel. In that case, please remove the SD card and use another PC with a recent kernel to recover the file system by typing e2fsck -fy
P O S T I N S T A L L A T I O N A N D I S S U E S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) sbin tools
I compiled some tools useful for running Linux on the tablet. Have a look at /usr/local/sbin. Those should be quite self-explainatory.
"toggle_blue_light" is a nifty little feature allowing you to turn on and off the blue pixel (makes the screen a little more easy on the eyes, also eliminates blue light hazard)
b) Keyboard and Dell Venue 7040
Dell has not released the kernel driver for the keyboard, so currently you won't be able to pair the keyboard using Linux. If you happen to own 2 units, you may boot Android on one of the machines and Linux on the other. Trigger the pairing in Android but then connect with the Linux machine. Swap keyboards afterwards. It's a mess...
c) Touchscreen orientation on Dell Venue 7840
Touchscreen orientation on the Dell Venue 7840 might be incorrect. In this case you need to trigger the script /usr/local/sbin/ts_rotate
d) Sound on Dell Venue 7840
Sound on the Dell Venue 7840 needs to be set up manually (you can automate the process with a start up script). You need to call /usr/local/sbin/bb_on_tfa9890.sh as root.
To change the volume use /usr/local/sbin/bb_set_volume.
Be careful with the volume, do not overdrive the speakers. I permanently damaged my 7840's speakers!
e) Compositing
On the tablet, Mate's window manager "Marco" is NOT hw accelerated. Compositing is slow. When watching Videos or browsing the internet, you may want to disable compositing (use mate-tweak) to increase performance.
If you need hw accelerated compositing you may use kwin-x11 but this takes up 1GB of disk space and stability is subpar...
You may reduce the resolution to full HD (still very good picture) by uncommenting the appropriate line in /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-hwc.conf
f) Chromium
Chromium can be accelerated with X11/EGL, but buffer management does not work properly. When resizing the window you may need to restart Chromium, because the buffer allocation may fail.
Chromium does have support for WebGL. It's quite buggy.
g) Firefox
Firefox is not hw accelerated but still gives you decent performance when browsing or watching movies (tested Youtube FullHD and Netflix, works fine).
However when using WebGL, Chromium is much faster (in case it does not crash).
h) VLC media player
Video playback hw acceleration is not supported. To achieve decent performance anyways do as follows:
I) Choose Tools --> Preferences --> Video
II) As "Output" choose "X11 video output (XCB)" and for "Fullscreen Video Device" select "hwcomposer" for best performance.
i) Splashscreen
You can create your own splash screen. Just grap the appropriate raw flash file for your device (see below) and append a valid 24 bit image to the file (using your favorite hex editor). Flash afterwards:
fastboot flash splashscreen your_image.img
Q & A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Does graphics acceleration work?
A: Well, OpenGL ES does work, however a lot of programs do depend on desktop OpenGL which is NOT supported. Graphics acceleration is achieved through libhybris which makes it possible to use Android graphics drivers in GNU/Linux. It might be very buggy. YMMV
Q: What is graphics performance like?
A: Depends. When a program supports OpenGL ES, you get decent performance (e.g. Kwin-X11 window manager, Chromium). Performance is sufficient to watch FullHD movies in Firefox or with VLC or browse the internet. Chromium supports accelerated WebGL.
Q: What is system performance like?
A: Depends. Bottle neck of system performance is the speed of the storage used. Using the internal storage gives huge speed improvements vs. an external USB storage (max ~ 30 MB/s). With internal storage simple tasks like file management, office applications etc. work fine.
S O U R C E C O D E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Halium - https://github.com/halium
* Libhybris - https://github.com/NotKit/ and https://github.com/libhybris/
* Debian - https://www.debian.org/
* Kernel - https://android.googlesource.com/kernel/x86_64/+/refs/heads/android-x86_64-fugu-3.10-nougat-hwbinder , https://github.com/fcipaq/android_kernel_asus_fugu
* Lineage OS - https://github.com/lineageos
C R E D I T S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special thanks goes to the Halium team, especially JBB and NotKit
And to Hybris, Debian and the LOS team
ROM OS Version: Debian 10
ROM Kernel: Linux 3.10.20
ROM Firmware Required: 5.x
Graphics drivers based On: Lineage OS 14.1
Version Information
Status: 7040 ok, 7840 untested
Created 2021-01-30
Last Updated 2021-02-25
Watch the demo on youtube:
20 days now, believe it or not but I have been waiting for something like that...sort of. Well, I'm gonna give it a try and see if I can provide you with some feedback.
Thanks, amazing idea.
Glad to finally get any feedback
Which device are you using? I have made some progress with the 7040 version - the attachable keyboard now works! I'll update the image file later.
Good luck with the installation and don't hesitate to contact me if you run in any difficulties...
I'm running the 7840. You wouldn't manage to get some kind of an installation script would you?
Well... I'm afraid a script is not possible as it includes to many different platforms...
However I can upload an image of the SD card (I'm currently already working on that) so that you would basically just have to put it onto a SD card.
Linux is running quite well now on the 7840. Even Bluetooth is working without any need of configuration...
So please be patient, may take some days...
fcipaq said:
Well... I'm afraid a script is not possible as it includes to many different platforms...
However I can upload an image of the SD card (I'm currently already working on that) so that you would basically just have to put it onto a SD card.
Linux is running quite well now on the 7840. Even Bluetooth is working without any need of configuration...
So please be patient, may take some days...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing to hear that, thanks for your work. Really looking forward to that.
K, you got it! The links to the file system are online now, as well as the new kernels. Let me know how you like it!
PS: The kernel for the Dell Venue 7840 is running with reduced resolution. If you intend to only use the table in portrait mode I can post an boot image running full resolution...
Thank you, I'm currently very busy with exams, I'll look into it the end of this week. Thank you very much for your efforts.
Fingers crossed for your exams!
Also, I've now implemented the ability to set a custom wifi mac and country code using the kernel command line. This can be set by editing the image file with a hex editor (command line is right at the beginning of the file, there is no checksum which has to be recalculated).
Alright, working good so far. Battery drain is pretty high, I assume thats due to the lacking suspension mode. Oh and sound would ofc be nice x). Graphics acceleration would be nice to have and I guess improve battery run time.
Congrats you got it working (first confirmed!)
I find battery performance quite decent when actually running (i.e. using) the system. I get approx 8 hours of uptime, but I agree that standby performance is indeed terrible - as you already stated this is due to the lack of suspend mode. You actually need to shutdown the tablet when not in use.
Graphics acceleration is (I'm quite sure) not going to happen. Linux is lacking a PowerVR open source drivers, many have tried but no success so far afaik.
Sound drivers appear to be tricky. I found at least two pieces of code to be problematic in a 32 bit kernel, but might be working in a 64 bit kernel. However, Intel/Dell seem to do some initializing in user space code which is unavailable. So doesn't look to good for sound...
I installed Linux the the device's internal EMMC (purged Android) which is really boosting performance (internal storage is approx three times the speed compared to the external SD card reader's max speed...)
I tweaked the kernel a litte, it is now possible to choose between full and reduced resolution/color at kernel command line as well as a custom wifi MAC address and country code. I'll upload the updated kernel once I'll return from vacation...
PS: Hope your exams went well!
Awesome! I've been trying to figure out something interesting to do with my 7840. I'll likely have to wait until this weekend to flash it but am looking forward to doing so. Thank you for your work on this.
This is awesome!
I have been waiting for someone to do something exciting with this little guy. Thank you, seriously. I will be flashing this on mine and following along with your progress. This remains my favorite tablet to date (and I have gone through plenty), such a shame dell shut it down and it didn't get too much love from the community.
Well I had some issues with the state of my tablet after the last time I played with it; so things took a little longer to get going than I expected. But I was successful at getting this loaded and so far so good! I am not really seeing any slowness (using a Class 10 U3 mircoSD) but would be interested in the process to purge the Android file system as it would be more convenient at start-up.
I was able to connect to my WiFi using both wireless N and AC standards. In the little bit of testing I have done so far, sound and touch are working quite well. I did notice that the screen rotation script didn't redraw the desktop, but the touch locations seemed to change orientation. I have not yet tried to figure out why.
@fcipaq You have probably already seen libhybris but if not it may be worth looking at for 3D acceleration. I am not completely positive it is relevant as it may be specific to ARM processors. https://github.com/libhybris/libhybris/
It's been a while - sorry! I'm glad to get your feedback. I have been quite busy lately (and still am). I recently made only some minor tweaks/adjustments, e.g. patched to kernel against the blueborne vulnerabilty.
My 7840 is dead now as the connector failed (connected it too many times to my pc) - this is the sacrifice I made But I still have my 7040 up and running - which is basically the same device. I suggest you do a lot of the flashing from the linux command line or buy a magnetic charger cable ($5 on ebay) to reduce wear on the connector - it's quite delicate and really hard to repair (if you find any spare parts at all).
The rotation script is for touch only - this will not alter the screen rotation. The screen rotation (unfortunately) can only be changed by rebooting (or logging our and in again/restarting the X server).
@FairOh: Thank you for the hint. I am aware of that option but it would take quite some engineering effort and that is far beyond what I can do (alone). The current driver does not even give you 2D-acceleration...
I will upload an updated kernel asap as well as I will publish the kernel source so that others may contribute or study...
I benchmarked the internal EMMC and the SD-Card read/write speeds (I used a really fast SD card) and it turns out that the internal storage is about 3-4 times the speed of the external card. I think this is the card reader's limitation.
FYI: If anyone who reads this owns an Asus Zenfone 2 - this is almost the same hardware and a lot of code can directly be ported - I just took a quick glance at the Asus source code... (and to be honest, I took the wifi driver )
No rush, but curious if you have been able to get your source files uploaded/shared. Not that I'm much if a developer, but you gotta start somewhere.
@FairOh: I'm really sorry for my delayed response. I have been very busy lately...
BTW: it was my first project of that kind. I greatly appreciate your interest. Maybe you can figure something out.
Well source code is now online as well as the updated flashable boot images. Feel free to alter the source code in any way, republish, modify, share, learn etc...
I made some remarks inside the archive (readme file) to guide you to a running build quickly. I suggest you use the toolchain (compiler) from google (instructions provided inside the archive), otherwise the code might not compile properly.
Please let me now if you run into any difficulties compiling the code or setting up the build environment...
So far, so good
First of all, I want to thank you so much for your work on this.
I have a 7040 and I was really concerned about Blueborne vulnerability. I tried a few months ago this, but unfortunately I wasn't be able to get working the Bluetooth adapter, so the built-in keyboard/mouse weren't working (Firmware contents were in place, so I didn't really know what happened).
This time, December revision, I run into the same problem and also when I want to update the system, Ubuntu ask me the admin or root user password.
If you don't mind share the admin/root password, I would be very glad to try and fix the Bluetooth adapter in my system and maybe tweaking some system settings.
Finally, I want to thank you again. Our little loved devices can do so much things because of you. Maybe sometime in the future I will be able to dig in the source code and collaborate in these project (First, I have to learn a lot of things, but I think I will).
Glad you like it!
I might have forgotten to mention that the password is simply "password" sorry!
First of all you need to make sure that your bluetooth adapter is working at all (you may try to pair with any bluetooth device). All you basically need to do is to put the firmware files in place.
Connecting to the magnetically attachable keyboard is a whole different story. As Dell has not released the kernel source for the Dell Venue 7040 (but only for the 7840 model) I had to reverse engineer the driver for the keyboard. There are four pins (two inner pins and two outer ones) connecting the keyboard to the tablet. The outer ones are used to supply power whereas the inner ones serve to put the keyboard into pairing mode - using a "secret" protocol which I have not figured out. So here is what I did to get it working anyways:
1. Boot into Android
2. Delete the Dell keyboard from within the bluetooth menu (this will immediately cause Android to try and reconnect)
3. When prompted to enter the pin just click on cancel (the keyboard will remain in pairing mode for another minute awaiting incoming requests)
4. On another Ubuntu PC search for pairable bluetooth devices. Once the Dell keyboard has been detected connected to it.
5. On the Ubuntu PC tar/copy the key files in /var/lib/bluetooth/XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
sudo tar czf btkeys.tar.gz XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
(These are the keys the Ubuntu PC brokered with the keyboard - we are going to reuse these on the Android tablet)
Hint: Both PCs need to have the SAME bluetooth MAC address.
6. Reboot the tablet into Ubuntu and copy the tared file over to /var/lib/bluetooth.
7. Untar this file on the Android tablet in /var/lib/bluetooth
sudo tar xzf btkeys.tar.gz
8. Reboot (The Android tablet now has matching keys to connect to the keyboard).
BEWARE: Booting into Android will result in resetting the keyboard and you will have to do the procedure all over again. You may use electrical tape to disable the two inner pins thus preventing Android from telling the keyboard to go into paring mode)... It's a littel complex... I asked Dell twice to publish the source code but to no avail (did not even receive an answer)
Hi,
Firstly, installing desktop OS's of whatever sort on the Android version (YB1-X90F), insofar as anyone has managed it, is a completely different process and none of what follows is likely to be relevant.
Secondly, it should go without saying that any use of the linked ISO or the information in this post is entirely at your own risk.
There are several threads on xda and elsewhere dealing with attempts to install Linux on the Windows version of the Yoga Book (YB1-X91F). They're pretty consistent in terms of results, both with each other and my own attempts. I have tried the latest and previous LTS or main releases Debian, Ubuntu (all flavours), Mint and Fedora.
Between mine and others' attempts, most distros have the following working, using a Live ISO flashed to USB:
- Boot to desktop and successful install to eMMC
- Display
- Graphics pad responds to touches, but not aligned with screen rotation and probably in need of other calibration.
- USB, including ethernet-to-USB adapter
Some distros/versions additionally have:
- Touchscreen (only newer kernels, I think 4.13 onwards but definitely 4.15 onwards)
- Sound via HDMI
- Not sure about Bluetooth - possibly
The following didn't work with any distos/versions:
- A lot of the ACPI subsystem, meaning that some ICs (e.g. SD Card) don't receive power.
- Wifi
- SD Card
- Sound via headphones or speakers
- Halo Keyboard
- Touchscreen multitouch
- Battery gauge
- OS control of battery charger IC, though the IC sits in autonomous mode so the device still charges
- Display brightness adjustment (always set to max)
- Display auto-rotate
The Mint ISO linked at the end of this post has WiFi, the SD Card, two-finger right click and brightness adjustment working in addition to the OOTB functionality. I've made a lot of progress on the sound - the driver and codec load but it needs some configuration. I have read elsewhere that configuring this incorrectly can blow your speakers which is why I haven't tackled it yet.
The Halo keyboard doesn't work yet, so the Yoga Book can't be used in laptop mode for now. The only real barrier to using it in tablet mode is the lack of a functioning battery gauge. More on this below.
Instructions:
You will need a USB flash drive of at least 2GB, a USB keyboard and mouse and therefore a USB hub as well as a way of attaching it to the micro-usb port. I use an OTG adapter which came with a Samsung phone.
The touchscreen does not work when the Live ISO boots but it does work after installation.
Once Linux is installed on the eMMC, the firmware will boot to GRUB by default rather than Windows. To boot into Windows you have to enter the firmware menu. This should be easy to fix/reconfigure but I haven't got round to it yet. I need to get the volume and power keys working in GRUB first.
- Download the ISO from the link below and flash to USB. I use Etcher on MacOS which flashes in a dd-like manner (other tools make their own changes to the target drive to make it bootable - this isn't needed or desirable).
- Turn off hibernate, fast boot and secure boot in Windows. There are easily found guides on how to do this. It ought to be possible to retain secure boot but I have found doing so a real headache on other systems so didn't try in this case.
- Turn off any secure boot settings in the device firmware (access the menu by powering on with the volume up button pressed down).
- Using the firmware menu, boot from the flashed USB drive. When the desktop boots, use GParted to shrink the Windows partition, leaving at least 11GB (Mint says it needs 10.7GB). I've been messing around with Linux for months now on the YB and have found 11 enough.
- Run the desktop installer. At the partitioning menu, choose 'Something else'.
- Create a new Ext4 partition using all of the free space created previously and map it to '/'.
- Ignore any warnings about a swap partition. If you get stuck on a dialog about forcing a UEFI install, open a terminal and run 'killall ubiquity' then run the installer again with the network connection turned off. If the install doesn't work, you may have to risk the default 'Install Mint alongside Windows....' option. I have never had a problem with this, but I don't quite trust it, or indeed the installer in general.
- If you fail at the point of GRUB install, go back and start again with networking disabled.
- Just reboot as normal.
Changes from Stock ISO (probably not exhaustive)
- New ISO using 18.3 Cinnamon as a base using Cubic
- Updated, inc dist-upgrade as of 6 Sept 18
- Missing Broadcom firmware (for WiFi) added.
- Additions to /etc/skel/.config to put Mint into HiDPI mode
- Florence on screen keyboard added and loads on start
- Touchegg, which enables two-finger right click added and loads on start.
- LightDM settings changed to enable Florence and HiDPI
- Most importantly, a custom kernel (4.18.5) which is responsible for most of the above-OOTB functionality. Some of this is just about enabling the correct Atom ACPI ICs, other bits relate to load order (to get past the lack of brightness control).
Help!
- I really need some help with the battery gauge IC. For now, dmesg is the best bet but I'll follow up with another post with more detail.
- There are other things which need doing, e.g. the keyboard and finishing off the sound but these are relatively straightforward by comparison. The gauge/charger setup is the last low level thing not working.
Custom ISO:
This is my first post. I can't post links! Remove the spaces and ..... :
drive.google.com/ .... open? .... id=1-5vtnKAVpERmzTFIR3TGXe1DgvoFvehc
Help Needed - Battery Gauge/Charger
The issue
The following can be seen by running 'dmesg' after boot using the ISO in my first post, which uses a 4.18 kernel customised for the hardware in the Yoga Book.
The kernel attempts to load the driver for the TI bq24190 battery charger IC. I'm not yet able to post links so search for 'bq24190_charger.c' in the Linux kernel Github repo. The driver throws an error on boot when it hits this code at line 1640. It's expecting a 6 and it gets a 4, the value of BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24190.
bq24190_charger.c
Code:
if (v != BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24190 &&
v != BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24192I) {
dev_err(bdi->dev, "Error unknown model: 0x%02x\n", v);
return -ENODEV;
}
If I remove this check altogether and re-compile the module then the driver proceeds to load but reports zeroes for all status values. It's not clear whether it is, in fact, the right chip and isn't talking to the rest of the hardware or it's simply the wrong driver.
However, at least removing this check allows the Whiskey Cove ACPI IC driver to get a bit further along. Search for 'intel_cht_int33fe.c' in the kernel source. Comments in this file (line 124) confirm that this IC is expected to be paired with a bq24190.
By adding in dmesg warnings and re-compiling the int33fe module I could see that when an unmodified bq24190 driver is used, i.e. the check above takes place and is failed, the int33fe driver fails its own check at line 138:
intel_cht_int33fe.c
Code:
regulator = regulator_get_optional(dev, "cht_wc_usb_typec_vbus");
if (IS_ERR(regulator)) {
ret = PTR_ERR(regulator);
return (ret == -ENODEV) ? -EPROBE_DEFER : ret;
}
regulator_put(regulator);
When I remove the check, it fails at the next check starting at line 145:
Code:
/* The FUSB302 uses the irq at index 1 and is the only irq user */
fusb302_irq = acpi_dev_gpio_irq_get(ACPI_COMPANION(dev), 1);
if (fusb302_irq < 0) {
if (fusb302_irq != -EPROBE_DEFER)
dev_err(dev, "Error getting FUSB302 irq\n");
return fusb302_irq;
}
I have tried various combinations of including the FUSB driver and dependencies as modules/built in but the result is the same. I also tried moving the FUSB check to after the code which tries to link up with the max17047 battery gauge IC, but this fails also.
Some owners of the Android version of the Yoga Book have posted files/screenshots on Telegram which indicate that a different charger, the bq25892 is used. As far as I know i2c devices are simply identified by the fact that they occupy a certain address on the bus. You can see in the datasheet for the bq24190 (sorry, no links!) on page 3 that it uses i2c address 6BH. The datasheet for the bq25890/2 shows on page 5 that the bq25892 also uses 6BH.
I don't know enough about i2c to know whether this is the issue, or how to point Linux to a different driver in the way that you might using a VIDID for a USB or PCI device? It would be really helpful if anybody could definitively confirm which chip we are dealing with.
Some final ACPI errors crop up towards the end of the dmesg output (I've cleared all the others) and I suspect that sorting this will clear them, as well as making the Yoga Book with Mint usable in Tablet mode.
Other things which need fixing:
- There are sound errors in the dmesg output but it also shows that the drivers and codec are loading properly. I can see all the devices which should be visible in amixer from the command line. Because getting the config wrong can blow speakers I've resisted tackling this until I've done further research but if anyone has a solution please let me know.
- Halo Keyboard. This needs either a kernel module to be written or a software layer which runs at least under X. I don't expect this to be hugely difficult - Linux can see the Halo as a wacom graphics pad and take input, albeit not deal with it properly yet. There's also a mystery, generic HID device which by process of elimination must be the button/backlight. However, the generic HID driver loads so it shouldn't be too hard to work out how to talk to it.
- I re-built the ISO using Cubic. When I have tried to make ISOs which use my custom kernel to boot the ISO itself, they don't work. I get garbled graphics and the boot stalls. This is why the touchscreen doesn't work when you live boot (which uses 4.10) but does when you install (because it uses 4.18). This ought not to be insurmountable but I haven't cracked it yet. I've tried doing it manually and using the Debian live-boot commands for both Debian/Ubuntu. Still no luck.
- Until I can get a custom ISO to boot from a custom kernel it won't be possible to install on the SD Card. Otherwise, there's no reason this shouldn't be possible.
- It should be possible to install to another USB device now, but I haven't tried yet. Make sure to use the disable MMC script on the desktop if you don't want to install Grub EFI on the eMMC. Ubuntu and derivatives ignore whatever you choose for this and just use the fist EFI partition they find. Amazingly this bug has been there since 2014!
- It ought to be possible to map the hardware buttons (volume, power) to specific keys in Grub, possibly using a locale. This would allow selections to be made without a keyboard.
android install
This might be related as I was just installing windows on Android version and now reverted back (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=77556606&postcount=44), couple of observations that might help you: On android reinstall back it required to activate halo keyboard to get it working again, there was a phone code entered into the search bar to get it activated which triggered something called easyimage app. In android stock image you can actually find easyimage.zip which I guess is this "fake android update" to install the halo keyboard. Inside the zip are *.so libraries and some files related to halo keyboard and ink pen so you could try to play with those to get it working under classic Linux.
DNX mode allows to boot EFI via a USB cable &*fastboot (I guess windows version have also this as I activated it somewhere in BIOS?) so this can be also alternative version of booting an OS. IMHO Grub can also chainload iso image directly (I did it in past on normal PC, it was a couple of years ago so I can't find the guide to do it now) so in theory you can just place the Linux ISO image as a normal iso file on disk and tell GRUB to chainload that directly. Since it's possible to revert the Windows installation back to Android it might even be possible to dualboot. Android bootloader is also EFI based (kernelflinger) so you could also play with that. TWRP recovery image have full touch support for screen so that might be also a help when digging for configuration or extracting it from the sources.
intense.feel said:
...you can actually find easyimage.zip which I guess is this "fake android update" to install the halo keyboard. Inside the zip are *.so libraries and some files related to halo keyboard and ink pen so you could try to play with those to get it working under classic Linux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really helpful, thank you. I'll have a look at what's there.
Still no progress with the battery gauge...
intense.feel said:
This might be related as I was just installing windows on Android version and now reverted back (https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=77556606&postcount=44), couple of observations that might help you: On android reinstall back it required to activate halo keyboard to get it working again, there was a phone code entered into the search bar to get it activated which triggered something called easyimage app. In android stock image you can actually find easyimage.zip which I guess is this "fake android update" to install the halo keyboard. Inside the zip are *.so libraries and some files related to halo keyboard and ink pen so you could try to play with those to get it working under classic Linux.
DNX mode allows to boot EFI via a USB cable &*fastboot (I guess windows version have also this as I activated it somewhere in BIOS?) so this can be also alternative version of booting an OS. IMHO Grub can also chainload iso image directly (I did it in past on normal PC, it was a couple of years ago so I can't find the guide to do it now) so in theory you can just place the Linux ISO image as a normal iso file on disk and tell GRUB to chainload that directly. Since it's possible to revert the Windows installation back to Android it might even be possible to dualboot. Android bootloader is also EFI based (kernelflinger) so you could also play with that. TWRP recovery image have full touch support for screen so that might be also a help when digging for configuration or extracting it from the sources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently doing on that without the Hardware. my plan is to find the small / light weight linux kernel and port the driver of the HALO. I call this Project HALO port (not on github cuz I just gathering everything until I ready). right now I'm learning to compile the kernel because I never do that (3 years on linux xD). I hope soon I can figure out the protocol it did uses for the HALO (My guess is I2C/SMBus).
Update : I found someone on github just build custom Debian ISO to deploy on USB flash drive and be able to use HALO keyboard (A.K.A Yeti, based on Goodix gt9xx chip). This is his work on github
Woah this is amazing progress! I haven't been on the forums for a while; been working mostly on messing with Windows to make it more efficient and responsive lol.
jimnarey said:
The issue
The following can be seen by running 'dmesg' after boot using the ISO in my first post, which uses a 4.18 kernel customised for the hardware in the Yoga Book.
The kernel attempts to load the driver for the TI bq24190 battery charger IC. I'm not yet able to post links so search for 'bq24190_charger.c' in the Linux kernel Github repo. The driver throws an error on boot when it hits this code at line 1640. It's expecting a 6 and it gets a 4, the value of BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24190.
bq24190_charger.c
Code:
if (v != BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24190 &&
v != BQ24190_REG_VPRS_PN_24192I) {
dev_err(bdi->dev, "Error unknown model: 0x%02x\n", v);
return -ENODEV;
}
If I remove this check altogether and re-compile the module then the driver proceeds to load but reports zeroes for all status values. It's not clear whether it is, in fact, the right chip and isn't talking to the rest of the hardware or it's simply the wrong driver.
However, at least removing this check allows the Whiskey Cove ACPI IC driver to get a bit further along. Search for 'intel_cht_int33fe.c' in the kernel source. Comments in this file (line 124) confirm that this IC is expected to be paired with a bq24190.
By adding in dmesg warnings and re-compiling the int33fe module I could see that when an unmodified bq24190 driver is used, i.e. the check above takes place and is failed, the int33fe driver fails its own check at line 138:
intel_cht_int33fe.c
Code:
regulator = regulator_get_optional(dev, "cht_wc_usb_typec_vbus");
if (IS_ERR(regulator)) {
ret = PTR_ERR(regulator);
return (ret == -ENODEV) ? -EPROBE_DEFER : ret;
}
regulator_put(regulator);
When I remove the check, it fails at the next check starting at line 145:
Code:
/* The FUSB302 uses the irq at index 1 and is the only irq user */
fusb302_irq = acpi_dev_gpio_irq_get(ACPI_COMPANION(dev), 1);
if (fusb302_irq < 0) {
if (fusb302_irq != -EPROBE_DEFER)
dev_err(dev, "Error getting FUSB302 irq\n");
return fusb302_irq;
}
I have tried various combinations of including the FUSB driver and dependencies as modules/built in but the result is the same. I also tried moving the FUSB check to after the code which tries to link up with the max17047 battery gauge IC, but this fails also.
Some owners of the Android version of the Yoga Book have posted files/screenshots on Telegram which indicate that a different charger, the bq25892 is used. As far as I know i2c devices are simply identified by the fact that they occupy a certain address on the bus. You can see in the datasheet for the bq24190 (sorry, no links!) on page 3 that it uses i2c address 6BH. The datasheet for the bq25890/2 shows on page 5 that the bq25892 also uses 6BH.
I don't know enough about i2c to know whether this is the issue, or how to point Linux to a different driver in the way that you might using a VIDID for a USB or PCI device? It would be really helpful if anybody could definitively confirm which chip we are dealing with.
Some final ACPI errors crop up towards the end of the dmesg output (I've cleared all the others) and I suspect that sorting this will clear them, as well as making the Yoga Book with Mint usable in Tablet mode.
Other things which need fixing:
- There are sound errors in the dmesg output but it also shows that the drivers and codec are loading properly. I can see all the devices which should be visible in amixer from the command line. Because getting the config wrong can blow speakers I've resisted tackling this until I've done further research but if anyone has a solution please let me know.
- Halo Keyboard. This needs either a kernel module to be written or a software layer which runs at least under X. I don't expect this to be hugely difficult - Linux can see the Halo as a wacom graphics pad and take input, albeit not deal with it properly yet. There's also a mystery, generic HID device which by process of elimination must be the button/backlight. However, the generic HID driver loads so it shouldn't be too hard to work out how to talk to it.
- I re-built the ISO using Cubic. When I have tried to make ISOs which use my custom kernel to boot the ISO itself, they don't work. I get garbled graphics and the boot stalls. This is why the touchscreen doesn't work when you live boot (which uses 4.10) but does when you install (because it uses 4.18). This ought not to be insurmountable but I haven't cracked it yet. I've tried doing it manually and using the Debian live-boot commands for both Debian/Ubuntu. Still no luck.
- Until I can get a custom ISO to boot from a custom kernel it won't be possible to install on the SD Card. Otherwise, there's no reason this shouldn't be possible.
- It should be possible to install to another USB device now, but I haven't tried yet. Make sure to use the disable MMC script on the desktop if you don't want to install Grub EFI on the eMMC. Ubuntu and derivatives ignore whatever you choose for this and just use the fist EFI partition they find. Amazingly this bug has been there since 2014!
- It ought to be possible to map the hardware buttons (volume, power) to specific keys in Grub, possibly using a locale. This would allow selections to be made without a keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you've seen, but this issue on the above GitHub project that has managed to get the battery gauge working says they're using the BQ27542.
https://github.com/jekhor/yogabook-linux-kernel/commit/f0b7662fa10f012410170c241a9fa91295f54dc1
Hi, I am the author of the repository mentioned above, https://github.com/jekhor/yogabook-linux. My linux porting efforts were focused at kernel, getting battery charger driver and halo keyboard working basically. So, this kernel supports the battery gauge, battery charger (with fast charging mode, yes!). For halo keyboard patch for the goodix touchscreen (touchpad really) kernel was needed, see the https://github.com/jekhor/yogabook-linux-kernel/commit/bd3a5953126fd87e4218550c5a31baafcdc60a38 commit. There is userspace keyboard driver in the Chromium OS which converts touchpad events into keypresses. Forked version suitable for build at GNU\Linux system is here: https://github.com/jekhor/chromiumos_touch_keyboard .
Some patches were accepted to the mainline Linux already:
0e116237aa42 extcon-intel-cht-wc: Make charger detection co-existing with OTG host mode (v5.1)
ff6cdfd71495 ACPI / x86: Make PWM2 device always present at Lenovo Yoga Book (v5.1)
236c765d6abc mfd: intel_soc_pmic_chtwc: Register LED child device (v5.2)
a72a1be0de71 extcon: intel-cht-wc: Enable external charger (v5.2)
Feel free to ask me about this work and to create github issues. This is my spare time project, so I will glad to see other developers connected.
nice project dude was trying it today and touchscreen works good so far,
but i cant get the halo keyboard to work, if i try to use it my mouse only moving from left to right and right to left.
if i can help you with creating some logs or something else, just write me i'm not rly good on linux, but i want to use it on this low power device
edit: and yes i tried to reload the kernel modules (if modprobe is the correct command) but no change
i dont know if the problem is maybe that i have a germany keyboard layout, changing in the menu works for my hw keyboard but on the halo no difference still only mouse movement
blgblade said:
nice project dude was trying it today and touchscreen works good so far,
but i cant get the halo keyboard to work, if i try to use it my mouse only moving from left to right and right to left.
if i can help you with creating some logs or something else, just write me i'm not rly good on linux, but i want to use it on this low power device
edit: and yes i tried to reload the kernel modules (if modprobe is the correct command) but no change
i dont know if the problem is maybe that i have a germany keyboard layout, changing in the menu works for my hw keyboard but on the halo no difference still only mouse movement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... You are second people who reports such problem with this image. What YB version you have? I have YB1-X91L only.
Could you please post an output of the command 'sudo cat /sys/class/dmi/id/*' (use external keyboard for this)?
---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
Arghhh... I have lost one part of goodix touchscreen driver patch and keyboard will works only at YB1-X91L model (not X91F). Wil be fixed.
jekhor said:
Hmmm... You are second people who reports such problem with this image. What YB version you have? I have YB1-X91L only.
Could you please post an output of the command 'sudo cat /sys/class/dmi/id/*' (use external keyboard for this)?
---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------
Arghhh... I have lost one part of goodix touchscreen driver patch and keyboard will works only at YB1-X91L model (not X91F). Wil be fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep i have a YB1-X91F
ok nice, than i will wait for the next release
i found out 2 things that did not work (or not correctly or i'm to stupid xD)
- sound (but i allready see the post in issues )
- the gui and if i tried video it looks like there is no graphic driver installed (dont know how to specify this, but if i just move a window it looks like software rendering, ok my english should be better to explain this but i hope you know what i mean ^^)
if i found something more i will give you feedback
but for now, its rly nice work
thank you so much for this project
here the output from the command above
Code:
08/26/2016
LENOVO
04WT18WW
NO Asset Tag
INVALID
HA0QPQ1T
LENOVO
Not Defined
NO Asset Tag
HA0QPQ1T
11
LENOVO
X91F
dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr04WT18WW:bd08/26/2016:svnLENOVO:pnLenovoYB1-X91F:pvrX91F:rvnLENOVO:rnINVALID:rvrNotDefined:cvnLENOVO:ct11:cvrX91F:
cat: /sys/class/dmi/id/power: Is a directory
(TBD)
Lenovo YB1-X91F
HA0QPQ1T
LENOVO_BI_04_PCG_FM_YB1_X91F
41564e49-494c-0044-0000-000000000000
X91F
cat: /sys/class/dmi/id/subsystem: Is a directory
LENOVO
MODALIAS=dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr04WT18WW:bd08/26/2016:svnLENOVO:pnLenovoYB1-X91F:pvrX91F:rvnLENOVO:rnINVALID:rvrNotDefined:cvnLENOVO:ct11:cvrX91F:
blgblade said:
yep i have a YB1-X91F
ok nice, than i will wait for the next release
i found out 2 things that did not work (or not correctly or i'm to stupid xD)
- sound (but i allready see the post in issues )
- the gui and if i tried video it looks like there is no graphic driver installed (dont know how to specify this, but if i just move a window it looks like software rendering, ok my english should be better to explain this but i hope you know what i mean ^^)
if i found something more i will give you feedback
but for now, its rly nice work
thank you so much for this project
[/CODE]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have uploaded fixed iso (halo keyboard should work): https://github.com/jekhor/yogabook-linux/releases/tag/livecd-test3.1
Yes, no sound, no force-feedback for keypresses.
Don't know about video driver and acceleration, need to check.
jekhor said:
I have uploaded fixed iso (halo keyboard should work): https://github.com/jekhor/yogabook-linux/releases/tag/livecd-test3.1
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, the keyboard is now working, nice thank you
i will follow your progress and try to help if i can ^^
hey all, because @jekhor is using a diffrent keyboard layout (not only mapping are diffrent) i created a modified layout.csv
(on this page --> https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Yoga-Book-Windows/Yoga-book-Window-keyboard-layout-wrong/td-p/3705108 <-- you will see the layout diffrences)
layout.csv as attachmant (as txt because csv is not allowed ^^)
changes:
- Enter key diffrent size
- # moved to the other position
- added the > < | key (dont know the name )
- LeftShift key diffrent size
edit: i created a patch for the filesystem.squashfs file, just unpack the patcher in the /live/ folder on your stick and run it or run it ffrom any location you want and choose the live folder from the app, than you can use the keyboardlayout on the livesystem (sorry, the patcher is windows only)
Thanks for all the hard work
Hey all, just came across this thread recently - really appreciate all the hard work here. I've been trying to install Ubuntu on my Windows powered YogaBook since the beginning, and am amazed at how far your efforts have come. Looking forward to the completed product later on! Can't stand Win10 as it tends to bloat and slowdown. Hopefully Linux runs better on this thing.
Thxxx man
Love the level of involvement in this adforable and light device with great potential in linux
Hope u guys dont lose patience in the development.
Once the wifi, keyboard and touch screen is aredy, i think i will fully change my android yogabook into linux.......
---------- Post added at 02:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:56 PM ----------
Love the level of involvement in this adforable and light device with great potential in linux
Hope u guys dont lose patience in the development.
Once the wifi, keyboard and touch screen is aredy, i think i will fully change my android yogabook into linux.......
Thanks for the effort
Thanks again, all for the effort.
Has there been any progress made so far?
It has been more than 2 full years, one in this forum has been able to achieve in only a few weeks of coding what MOST of us have tried to achieve in years. He has uploaded his ISO of Debian with many things working, however some things are left to be desired : Resume keyboard (tried with script - failed), fix for keyboard keys layout, and the resolution (worked with XRANDR script : working). However, he does not seem either interested in going further or does not have the device to compile against, either way without him we could be stuck with WinBlows on this machine. Until we get him BACK on board, we are stuck in the water... @jekhor ?
Jeff said:
It has been more than 2 full years, one in this forum has been able to achieve in only a few weeks of coding what MOST of us have tried to achieve in years. He has uploaded his ISO of Debian with many things working, however some things are left to be desired : Resume keyboard (tried with script - failed), fix for keyboard keys layout, and the resolution (worked with XRANDR script : working). However, he does not seem either interested in going further or does not have the device to compile against, either way without him we could be stuck with WinBlows on this machine. Until we get him BACK on board, we are stuck in the water... @jekhor ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RN, I use the systemd to fix keyboard resume and very soon I will working on sound driver totally ported from android kernel. Plus I can get the haptic feedback to (partially) works only random left or right motor via using udev rule. Extra, the recent kernel added support for the front facing camera (ov2740).