Database Users

MS Cloning Method to Quickly Restore Data After ROM Upgrade

I'd like to toss this out for discussion. This might already exist, it might not.
Microsoft had system builders use a Disk Differencing technique to extract what exactly had changed after installing applications and customizations.
First, we'd install the OS and create a base image.
Second, we'd install the apps & customizations we wanted for our customers.
Third, we'd create another image. An app would then compare these two images and determine what files were added/changed and what registry additions, deletions, alterations were performed.
I'm hoping we can do the same for ROM upgrades.
1. OLD ROM - Base image.
2. Install apps and customizations - Image "Apps". This will give us our customizations.
3. Install new ROM - NEW base image created. Compare to OLD ROM base image to see what has changed (that we need to look out for that our APPs image might adversly change).
4. Apply Apps image to restore all customizations & applications.
Ideas anyone?

The theory sounds good.
Maybe buzz can comment?

The theory is very feasable, ive used similar building Win PE rescue disks, you have a app that gives you the base bootable image made from a Win XP install CD. then you add home made "modules" ie, your installed apps or networking capabilities etc. then it makes an image for you to use,
that cant really be that difficult to do the same for Win CE,
Ive also seen a M$ webcast thing where the guy took 45 mins to build an entire image for a win ce device,
so yer, it is very feasible that such dev apps exist, after all, they were made and then sold to the hardware vendors before ever being a rom image.
check in msdn for win ce 5 stuff, its a very intresting read, :shock:

it is a good idea, but only for linear ROMs, where each file has always it's own and same place in the rom and such rom is not compressed.
hmm...
but you can do partial rom upgrades with wm5 roms...
...and it would be possible to make registry diff + DOC Storage partition backup, where you actually install programs (so called \Device) and userdata.
buzz

buzz_lightyear said:
it is a good idea, but only for linear ROMs, where each file has always it's own and same place in the rom and such rom is not compressed.
hmm...
but you can do partial rom upgrades with wm5 roms...
...and it would be possible to make registry diff + DOC Storage partition backup, where you actually install programs (so called \Device) and userdata.
buzz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok...Since I'm not a programmer and somewhat of a noob with respect to WinCE, I am NOT constrained by what might be a logical limitation to a programmer or someone in the "know". So, below is my thinking ... outside of the box (er, PDA) style.
But first, I need to grasp further Buzz's post above about the locations of things in ROM. Does this mean that there isn't, for lack of a better example, a FAT for the ROM? That every individual thing is expected to be at some specific, static location that can't change? If so, I see your point. But that tells the system that this location is static? Also, doesn't that make bug fixes difficult as the fix might exceed the designated space in ROM? Or do bug fixes always get re-applied after each reset? Patching in memory is how I'm looking at this. (Remember, I'm a non-programmer...deal with me, please.) LOL
Ok..out of the box time.
1. Can a shim be used to capture calls to a certain location in the ROM and redirect to another location (within the ROM or even the storage card. Linux builds anyone?). Like what HD disk managers did to get around LBA limitations or even boot sector viruses did.
2. Can an emulator be used to simulate/backup/build/test the ROMs on a PC before wiping the PDA? Don't laugh, but if not, could something be done with Virtual PC? Oh..Ok, laugh.
(Should I go hide somewhere?)

[REF] Technical Terms

ULDR
“ULDR” stands for “Update Loader”, and is part of the Image Update system. This system allows deployed devices to be updated with new software after they ship. The Update Loader reads a configuration stored in persistent memory and downloads and installs new versions of operating system or OEM files
IPL
Initial program load - usually paired with Secondary Program Load (SPL), is the boot loader of your phone, much like the BIOS is the boot loader for your PC. Note: IPL/SPL are highly hardware dependent, flashing the wrong IPL/SPL is much more serious than a flashing the wrong ROM. It may be noted that, sometimes a ROM package also contains the IPL/SPL which will be flashed into your phone. Hence be extra careful what you are flashing. Note: although a ROM may also contains the IPL/SPL, `ROM` usually refers just to the OS (eg. the Windows Mobile 5, not the IPL/SPL) and the ExtRom
SPL
Refer to IPL
XIP
(eXecute In Place) is a useful option available with uClinux systems. Its main value lies in providing a means of allowing several copies of a program to be running without duplicating the text segment. Indeed the text segment can reside in flash memory and need not be copied to the system Ram at all. This is useful for tasks that have large program bodies with many executable instances running in the system.
Only the Stack, BSS and data segments of an executable needs to be produced for each running program. The text segment can then reside in flash memory or, if execution speed is an issue, then copy the file system to ram first and mount it from there. If executables in the file system are compiled to support XIP and also flagged in their headers as XIP they will load and execute with just a single copy of the text segment
SYS
HardSPL
SoftSPL

sunny_ag said:
ULDR
XIP
SYS
HardSPL
SoftSPL
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i double that or at least updating the wiki will be appreciated:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=FAQ

can someone explain me the rest...

sunny_ag said:
can someone explain me the rest...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ameet has updates Post #1 with most of them.
Have a look at the SPL Questions wiki page for the difference in Hard / Soft SPL.
SYS (IIRC) is the folders from a dumped ROM that contain all of the files / configurations for the Windows Mobile OS components. Have a look at the cooking sections of the wiki for more info.
Ta
Dave

DaveShaw said:
Armeet has updates Post #1 with most of them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dave, not you too brother Its Ameet
Hey sunny, moved this thread to dev & hacking since it may attract more customers here than the device specific section

ababrekar said:
Dave, not you too brother Its Ameet
Hey sunny, moved this thread to dev & hacking since it may attract more customers here than the device specific section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very sorry my friend, I have updated my post.
I see words and read what I want, rather than what it says.
Dave

developing for the DSTL1 / N21

I want to try developing for the DSTL1 / N21
There are quite a few interesting things we can do...
Success has been been seen by xda-devs such as JesusFreke, Amon_RA, Haykuro, and Cyanogen (yes there others) in the field of Android ROMs. The ground work is there, porting and developing can commence.
Why do this?
Current ROM 1.5 - has many problems...
Unofficial ROM 1.6 - is a GREAT improvement, but makes one hungry for something better...
It would be awesome to have some success in this field. I know this device is capable of so much more, but I believe the implementation of the system is the issue. This is not the phone developers fault, as they have their own company agenda, but we could improve our own performance and satisfaction .
For example, my device (1.6 rooted) lags with having only ~50% CPU utilization and ~50MB RAM free...
Overclocking (i mean forcing full CPU capacity - 624Mhz) the CPU has barely helped and only aided battery drain...
Relevant comparison of G1 vs DSTL1 (N21) are
RAM - G1: 192MB vs DSTL1: 128MB
CPU - G1: 528Mhz vs DSTL1: 624Mhz
These specification comparisons say that G1 can run a better ROM than DSTL1? I don't think so. DSTL1 only loses in RAM, which can be made up for using swap!
Devs had success with techniques using: App2SD, swap, ext3, and BFS (faster file system). I believe we could do something impressive here! There are pros and cons to this.
Developers and Testers would be needed. A team of 5 developers and a few testers should be able to get us on the right track. We would definitely need Linux experience, or the desire and ability to soak up all the info on Google
A Linux kernel is a must for this phone, we would have to compile our own... It would be nice to preserve DUAL SIM, but in reality we might have to give up this luxury, as it is proprietary code, unless a new ROM is made backwards compatible (which is possible).
Cyanogen's Github is available for knowledge osmosis http://github.com/cyanogen
A DSTL1 Recovery by Amon_RA (based on Cyanogen's Recovery) is already in Beta...
Cool things are possible. Could I find some developers willing to donate their free time?
Please limit responses to dev talk.

reserved for later

crzyruski,
Believe it or not the very luxury you talk about giving up(dual sim) is the reason why may of us bother to buy these phones(DSTL1\N21) in the first place. Other wise we might as well go with a mainstream phone such as hero etc.

chrismotto said:
crzyruski,
Believe it or not the very luxury you talk about giving up(dual sim) is the reason why may of us bother to buy these phones(DSTL1\N21) in the first place. Other wise we might as well go with a mainstream phone such as hero etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a possibility that I'm not going to ignore, so I stated it.
The point is that the current OS is lacking. Initially we would want to port and learn from porting of the quality ROMs available now. Those obviously don't support dual-SIM.
Progress needs to start from somewhere. When someone releases a new port or ROM not all pieces work... look at the Eclair (2.0) port, half the features don't work!
If enough heads came together we could probably retain dual-SIM, common this is linux and I've seen the most amazing development come to realization. I just need the teamwork because it might take me a whole year in my spare time...

Having a kernel working
Hi,
the most important IMHO is having a kernel working, built from sources.
Obviously, some closed source drivers must be rewritten, notably the NXP5209 (the GSM modem), if we want the device to be useful (i.e. if we want to make phone call).
My first attempt of booting with a custom kernel was unsucessfull (black screen), which brings to the second point: the lack of some sort of console for kernel debuging.
Any idea regarding the NXP? Anyone is aware of some opensource driver or specs?
Any idea also regarding kernel debugging in the N21/DSTL1?
sfabris

@sfabris
I will try to find info for the questions you have.
My initial work will be to make an emulator so we can test on PC and not our devices (because we need them functional for every day life )
Have you checked out how other modders have done kernel modifications?
Namely JF and Cyanogen?
I can't begin to comprehend so I'm glad you took the initiative with this.
Lets make some progress

sfabris said:
Obviously, some closed source drivers must be rewritten, notably the NXP5209 (the GSM modem), if we want the device to be useful (i.e. if we want to make phone call).
Any idea regarding the NXP? Anyone is aware of some opensource driver or specs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe we have it all wrong???? Maybe its PNX?
PDA DB reports DSTL1 as having Nexperia PNX5209 (ARM946) Phone Controller.
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1714&view=1&c=general_mobile_dstl1
A similar Android with this phone controller is WayteQ X-Phone (TechFaith Lancer)
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1801&view=1&c=wayteq_x-phone_android_techfaith_lancer

crzyruski said:
@sfabris
Have you checked out how other modders have done kernel modifications?
Namely JF and Cyanogen?
I can't begin to comprehend so I'm glad you took the initiative with this.
Lets make some progress
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I'm forced to HTC G1 until I'll wait the replacement for my N21 I'll go in detail on the kernel boot process on other hardware.
A fast way to test kernel in our every day device is kexec which should work also on ARM.

sfabris said:
A fast way to test kernel in our every day device is kexec which should work also on ARM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I understand, kexec is a program that can run a new kernel on the fly...
So I could try a new kernel right from my device without reflashing?
have you tried this? Or is this still theory?

crzyruski said:
As far as I understand, kexec is a program that can run a new kernel on the fly...
So I could try a new kernel right from my device without reflashing?
have you tried this? Or is this still theory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried it on x86, never on arm.
Support is there also for arm, but this not imply that also the Marvell PXA is supported.
It's basically the same way of booting Android from WM via haret.
Fastest way to boot your new kernel or to crash your machine

I have created an emulator.
FYI, LCD density should be 120.
Edit: Technically the density is 133...

files prevent recovery-RA-DSTL1-v1.2.3 from loading
I have been wrestling with the beta recovery-RA-DSTL1-v1.2.3
Amon_RA retrofitted his own recovery image to work for the DSTL1 (N21)...
IT HAS AWESOME POTENTIAL.
Currently ADB RECOVERY SHELL + ROOT is the only thing that is functional.
But I haven't been able to get in touch with him to continue work on it.
The following files prevent me from booting into RA's Recovery, so I remove them:
- e2fsck
- mke2fs
- parted
- tune2fs
Once I am in ADB RECOVERY SHELL I can push them back on and do what I need to do.
Unfortunately the changes are persistent so if I were to reboot and try Recovery Mode again, it won't load
What is so special about those four programs that prevent my recovery from loading?????

is there any ways to update the firmware of N21
hi,
i'm just buy a sciphone n21 (actually is already in our office for 2 weeks but find it now:-( )
and i've to face myself in a situation that i can't use this phone:-( since i buy this phone because:
- i assume that google apps auto sync contact and calendars. unfortunately this phone has not google apps by default.
- and has dual sim support.
so my question: is there any way to upgrade it to a firmware which support is?
can i do anything to use my phone?
thanks in advance.
regards.

crzyruski said:
I have been wrestling with the beta recovery-RA-DSTL1-v1.2.3
Amon_RA retrofitted his own recovery image to work for the DSTL1 (N21)...
IT HAS AWESOME POTENTIAL.
Currently ADB RECOVERY SHELL + ROOT is the only thing that is functional.
But I haven't been able to get in touch with him to continue work on it.
The following files prevent me from booting into RA's Recovery, so I remove them:
- e2fsck
- mke2fs
- parted
- tune2fs
Once I am in ADB RECOVERY SHELL I can push them back on and do what I need to do.
Unfortunately the changes are persistent so if I were to reboot and try Recovery Mode again, it won't load
What is so special about those four programs that prevent my recovery from loading?????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
e2fsck is a filesystem check utility for ext2
mke2fs is for ext2 filesystem creation
parted is a partitioning tool
tune2fs is for change some filesystem parameters (usually checking interval)
I've read that recovery from Amon-Ra creates automatically 3 partitions (ext2, swap and FAT32). So those commands whould probably mean ext2 filesystem creation. I'm sure Amon-Ra could give us more information on this subject because he added them to the image.
Have you checked your SD card?.
PD: I'm waiting for my N21 . So I can't test yet.

andferno said:
e2fsck is a filesystem check utility for ext2
mke2fs is for ext2 filesystem creation
parted is a partitioning tool
tune2fs is for change some filesystem parameters (usually checking interval)
I've read that recovery from Amon-Ra creates automatically 3 partitions (ext2, swap and FAT32). So those commands whould probably mean ext2 filesystem creation. I'm sure Amon-Ra could give us more information on this subject because he added them to the image.
Have you checked your SD card?.
PD: I'm waiting for my N21 . So I can't test yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that insight.
I am not sure what RA's recovery would have done on its own...
but I have initiated and completed successfully a partition of my SDCard that includes FAT32, swap, and ext2.
Now that I have done this, for experimentation really, I don't know how to use it and what it gives me.
Obviously the swap is useless because I would need a cooked Android ROM that would actually utilize swap.
ext2 is probably for apps2sd... which I tried unsuccessfully - probably because of my own mistake.
I will continue trying and report again later.
As far as Amon_RA, he mentioned he was working on upgrading all the recovery images he has put out to the next version - thus we will be in queue until this comes to pass. Maybe we can just skip this version and go to the next

N21 vs DSTL1: stock comparisons
I have completed the comparison of recovery images of the DSTL1 and N21.
For this test I used an original mtd2.img from my DSTL1 and an original mtd2.img from Slemmen's N21.
The recovery images are identical:
Both mt2.img are 4,194,304 bytes
Both mtd2.img-kernel are 2,141,616 bytes
Both mtd2.img-ramdisk.gz are 386,645 bytes
What is also interesting to note is that the two boot images i inspected were also identical.
The DSTL1 boot image is one that came with the 1502 update from General Mobile (which may or may not be identical to the original).
The original N21 boot image, thanks to ikarishinjisan, is identical to the DSTL1 boot image:
Both mt1.img are 4,194,304 bytes
Both mtd1.img-kernel are 2,141,816 bytes
Both mtd1.img-ramdisk.gz are 148,671 bytes
*Notice how both recovery and boot are the same size... must be padded?
*Notice how boot kernel is 200 bytes more than recovery kernel.... interesting...
On a side note:
Bootloader is identical as expected: both ikarishinjisan's and my mtd0.img are 1,048,576 bytes.

If things are going to go custom, it might make some sense to put ext3 filesystems on these things.. ext3 is just ext2 with journalling, which could be helpful since phones can just die/get dropped/lose connection with battery/whatever.

Also, this can be done with the tools already there..
mkfs.ext2
tune2fs -j

dnfm said:
Also, this can be done with the tools already there..
mkfs.ext2
tune2fs -j
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to the Amon_RA's custom recovery?
I can't get tune2fs onto the recovery without trickery, definitely not noob friendly... until we figure out why.
But great suggestion
I'm guessing the ROM must be coded to make use of ext3, otherwise its worthless?

The kernel would need to be configured to support ext3.

This Old iPAQ rx3115 (Other Oldtimers Welcome)

LMAO - No need to say it. I know my iPAQ rx3115 is a dinosaur, but so am I.
However, the damn thing refuses to die and has been a good, faithful workhorse for a loooong time. To me, that speaks to the quality of the hardware. The rx3115 just seems to be built solidly. Sad to say the PocketPC Pro 2003 (SE) operating system is at the bottom rung of the support ladder from M$ and we all know that means it will be phased out soon...
I just can't give up on my trusty rx3115. Hell, even the original battery is still holding a charge really well. And believe me, it hasn't spent a lot of time forgotten and idle despite the constant rotation of new toys that might pass through my hands. It's been used a lot and just keeps on ticking.
So, even though it continues running just fine, I'm now willing to experiment and try to make it more up-to date. Why not tinker with it since all support is fading fast? LOL if I break it now it hardly matters after all these years and I have plenty of other devices to rely on.
So yeah, I'm a bit of a noob (despite being a dinosaur ) who is willing to learn...
First step was to search the Google-sphere. Seems there are a lot more questions than answers out there for rx3115. How to upgrade the OS to WM5 or even WM6.1 Classic? I saw that asked over and over, but very few answers. Most who did reply said, "Try Universal Bootloader and a ROM image for another device..." OK, so that seemed the way to go, but is it?
There are a LOT of dead links for a Universal iPAQ Bootloader out there. I did manage to find a copy @ http://sourceforge.net/projects/ubl/files/ubl/Binaries/ where I selected the GUI version which came as an executable. Double clicking it creates a folder which UBL runs out of.
Caution: My system flagged it as having a Worm in the Vista Driver folders (2... Vista and Vista x64) and the Vista Drivers.exe application.
Who wants Wormy drivers? For that matter, who wants Vista?
I'm not qualified to judge if it is a false positive to some of the developers legitimate code. Maybe someone more savvy might want to take a look at it and make a ruling...
So I sanitized UBL by quarantining and deleting the offenders. Next, I asked Windows 7 to run it under compatibility mode for XP service pack 2. (It looks like it was always an XP box utility anyway.)
Here's a sanitized version of UBL for download. http://www.mediafire.com/file/7anraar1tkc3lz1/BootLoader.rar This is a rar of the extracted file folder (minus the Wormy bits). Just expand it and run "Bootloader.exe" right inside the folder. Maybe someone else will have more luck playing with it than I did.
I could in no way make it communicate with my rx3115 under Windows 7. Mtty always fails to open the port. I tried following the advice of UBL's readme and making a settings.ini file to direct mtty to the right port, but with no luck. IDK - I never wrote an .ini file before. Maybe I messed it up. I tried a few variations (settings/bootloader settings/mtty settings for file names) all with no success.
Then I used a friend's XP system and got closer... UBL gets past the mtty stage and opens the com with my rx3115, but then the ROM flash just hangs at 0%. I tried several times with no further success. And without the ROM being cooked for my specific device, flashing from the SD card is out.
I was hoping to force flash the Kitchen WM6.1 Classic ROM for rx1950 I got from this xda thread by Victory144 and Guifort: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=510764 The ROM size is perfect for rx3115!!!
Heck, I even tried looking at the RUU's from valid rx3115 and rx1950 ROM updates and seeing if I could puzzle out how to cobble something with a Hex Editor. But I'm not really qualified for that.
It's been a lot of years and no one has cooked an upgrade ROM for rx3115 yet. At least as far as I can tell. But even recently I've seen rx3115 owners posting to forums and asking for an upgrade. I know I'm not alone in this desire and that's why I started this thread. Maybe some other rx3115 owners will join this discussion. We might just figure something out.
Something else I've begun looking into is installing Linux on my rx3115. It seems possible and there are a few reports of it being done, but little in the way of tutorials for the challenged. More on that later...
Or... maybe I'm crazy... Doesn't the Samsung s3c2440 CPU meet the minimum system requirements (@ 300mhz) for XP Tablet? CPU's can be overclocked anyway and the s3c2440 should be capable of sustained 400mhz efforts. It is set at that speed in some other PDAs The RAM is right at the bottom edge of requirements as well, IF all 64mb can be freed up for the user. Is there a way to boot XP Tablet off an SD card? Could the RAM/ROM chipsets be instructed to act as two RAM slots for that purpose creating 96mb RAM? Am I just a fool?
I welcome any advice, questions, derisive laughter... whatever...
I'll be checking the thread and updating the reports of my efforts.
Thanx for stopping in.

Maybe I'm missing a step...
If I press Mobile Media (button 1) + iTask (button 4) + Power + Reset
I get a blank white screen with the HP logo in the center and the revision #'s on the top...
From here (Bootloader screen - right???) rx3115 will try to flash ROM from an SD card if one is inserted that has a ROM image. Unfortunately I don't have a valid image except the 1.01.11 ROM of WM 2003 that I want to upgrade away from.
However - and this may be where I'm missing a step - without an SD card inserted I can't get bootloader to show USB connection. I've tried every button and combo of buttons I can to try and get USB to show up on the bootloader screen.
I feel like I'm missing something and that next step will allow Universal Bootloader to force flash a WM6.1 ROM under XP.
Any help? Anyone? How to get USB connection for bootloader with rx3115?

Handhelds.org continues to be down for maintenance. They are the distribution and support site for Familiar Linux, an alternative iPAQ OS. They were supposed to be reopened last week...
Angstrom Linux has shown itself capable of running on iPAQ and I found a very in depth tutorial - LOL - but it's in Spanish. I'm sorry to say me Spanish es no bueno. There's even a video on YouTube of Angstrom on an iPAQ rx3115 - so I know it can be done. Again though, it's in Spanish.
Today I'm checking out a "Live RAMdisk" version of Angstrom. It's like a LiveBoot CD Linux. You can boot and run Linux from storage (SD card) without installing. Instead of "try before you buy," it allows you to test before you install. At least I will get a chance to see how the Angstrom OS handles without having to flash my ROM and then reflash if I want to revert to WM 2003.
They have LiveRAMdisk and install versions supported for iPAQ h2200, h3900, h4000 and hx4700. The h5000 series is still in testing. More information is @ angstrom-distribution.org/taxonomy/term/6
I'm going to try the LiveRAMdisk version for the h2200 series as it's closest to rx3115. Same RAM and ROM, but the h2200 uses an Intel Xscale CPU rather than the Samsung... Still, it's the closest hardware match to the rx3115 out of all the supported models.
I'll post back about how AngPAQ handles.

HandHelds.org is still down. A shame since my research indicates Familiar Linux associates closely with PDAs...
Seems Ubuntu had a project they've abandoned or moved beyond (depending on your perspective), but the hardware requirements are way beyond iPAQ. They do have some stables for anyone interested. Google Ubuntu Mobile or Ubuntu MDI. Might be a nice alternative for some earlier tablet users...
Like they say..... BACKUP your data before any major changes!!!
I did try the LiveRAMdisk version of Angstrom Linux for h2200...
The LiveRAMdisk is a 23mb self executing file that you open from the root of your SD card. It was a non-starter. After booting from my SD card the iPAQ froze. I did a hard reset and freed up as much memory as I could from WM 2003 before trying again. Same result.
No worries, restored from backup and all is OK with my rx3115.
Just to be sure I tried with another method called a Loopback Image. I downloaded an Angstrom/Opie (full PDA style GUI) image and a bootloader from the Angstrom repository as another method of running Angstrom from my SD card. You use 7zip to extract the downloaded .bz2 and it inflates into a robust sized image (96mb in the case of h2200). Add the image and the bootloader to the same location on your SD card (preferably root). Execute the bootloader and run Angstrom off of your SD card. This too failed to run after several attempts...
LOL - another hard reset and restore from back up after each try.
I'm convinced it's a hardware incompatibility due to the difference in processors between h2200 and rx3115. But, darn it, if you look at development boards you find that they use Angstrom on boards with the same Samsung s3c2440 CPU that rx3115 has.
Next step is to try and find some of the Angstrom versions used on those development boards... And hope I get more than a bare-bones, command line only GUI.
If you have one of the supported iPAQs (h2200, h3900, h4000, h5000 or hx4700) it may well be worth your while to try running a Loopback Image from your SD or CF card. A full Linux emvironment when you want and you can always hard reset and restore to get back to Windows Mobile. More information can be found @:
(www) linuxtogo.org/gowiki/WinCeQuickInstall

Well, the Angstrom online builder won't give me Opie in a build for a mini2440 board.
I did find a .tar.bz2 that someone built up from Angstrom and marked as "Angstrom-opie-image-glibc-test-20070620-rx3000.rootfs.tar.bz2" (Thanx whynot). If I can convert the extracted .tar to .img I could try a Loopback Image with it from my SD card... Meanwhile, I suppose I have to start learning how to build up the bootloader myself. *sigh* Did I mention that I'm more of a hardware guy?
Handhelds.org still down.
Despite all the Linux talk I'm still trying to get a higher version of WinCE to install on rx3115... Options are good if you can manage to have them.
Ongoing Questions/Help Sought:
1) Anyone have a cooked ROM (or want to cook one) for iPAQ rx3115 that would flash WM5 or WM6.1 Classic to the rx3115?
2) Any help or suggestions with UBL (Universal BootLoader)?
a) Is the UBL I found @ sourceforge really infected with a worm?
(Note that it is marked as uploaded by the original UBL developer chrismrulz)
b) Am I better off leaving out the suspect Vista Drivers and just using an XP box to run UBL anyway?​
3) Why can't I get rx3115 to acknowledge USB under the iPAQ bootloader screen?
4) Could someone go over to HandHelds.org to knock on their door and tell them to get their site back up already?
5) Anyone know how to. or can suggest software to, Convert .tar to .img?
6) Any other Linux Distros I should be looking at as suitable for iPAQ rx3115?
7) Will anyone else post to this thread or am I just Blogging here?
a) Am I boring all the fine xda members?
b) Or are my bungling attempts at least providing a good laugh? ​

Yesterday I checked out NetBSD (Unix). They have prepared distributions for a wide array of PCs and Devices... I took a chance and tried one for Strong ARM iPAQs (even though rx3115 is Friendly ARM). Another no go... But I will say that they have the nicest bootloader of all the options I've worked with so far.
Now that I have my minimum posts in, thanx to Blogging in this thread and trying to help some seemingly lost first time posters, I can finally post outside links to the forum. HUZZAH!!!!
There are a few things I've got for download by anyone interested.
Here's the Universal BootLoader with GUI for iPAQ from chrismrulz, without the suspect Vista Drivers. So (I believe) it only works on XP boxes.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/7anraar1tkc3lz1/BootLoader.rar
I had tried a few overclock programs recently... ClockWizard, Pocket Hack Master and XCPUscalar.
ClockWizard is freeware and worth exactly that IMHO. I found it buggy to run...
Pocket Hack Master supports a lot of processors including the s3c2440. I got a version from somewhere with a working serial#. Again, I didn't care for it despite rave reviews elsewhere for other devices.
XCPUscalar worked the best for me, even though there is no official support for Friendly ARM. I found a version which is a free install cab of this $ware. There are a few tricks for some to get the scaling feature to work and that helped me get her configured... I included a .txt of the advice.
All 3 overclocks in one .rar file are here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/636a5cl8ofzaa2z/OverClock.rar
As a "best of" I broke out XCPUscalar separately.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/z593cqhbnvegpg9/XCPUScalar.arm.CAB
Along with the advice .txt.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/igoragriu8lc2ha/XCPU tricks.txt
Here's the LiveRAMdisk of Angstrom Linux for iPAQ h2200.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/i61956852696grp/Angstrom-x11-image-liveramdisk-2007.12-h2200.exe
Just load it on your SD card and execute it from there to boot into Angstrom. Check out their guide to installing Angstrom under WindowsCE.
http://www.linuxtogo.org/gowiki/WinCeQuickInstall
Of the two methods (LiveRAMdisc or Loopback Image), I think Loopback Image seems more promising...
Check their Repository to see which machines are supported by stable releases.
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/releases/2007.12/images/
Or visit http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/ for more information. They are heavily into embedded.
Here's the NetBSD files I grabbed all in one .rar file. This executable will boot NetBSD for the following devices: IPAQ h3100, h3600, h3660, h3900, Jornado 720(US/Many Europe/Japan) & Jornado 820(US/Japan).
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ync2ltv3l7oo4si/NetBSD.rar
Inside the folder are the 3 files you need to boot NetBSD under WindowsCE (hpcboot.exe, netbsd-IPAQ.gz and netbsd-IPAQ.symbols.gz) Put all three files on the root of your memory card and execute bootloader to boot into NetBSD.
Also in the .rar is a list of the md5 checksums for each file.
NetBSD has a lot of support for older hardware. Look them up: http://netbsd.org/
Or check out their long list of supported machines.
http://netbsd.org/ports/
If anyone needs a widget for verifying md5 checksums under Windows OS, here's an outstanding one from Jem Berkes. I've used this freeware many times (On XP and Win7). A nice, small footprint program that just works great.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bhebw4ozo6dz767/md5sum checker.rar

rx3115
I have an rx3115 also. I have tried angstrom, with no luck. I am following your progress.

Thanks for the reply, kati. Now I don't feel so lonely.
And I added a Thanks to your meter for your post in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472643
It seems like your post there got a cook interested in our device. I posted some links and PMed him some info. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe he can port over the WM 6.1 Classic ROM that was among the links I sent him. (Thanks tomcug)
Meanwhile...
Handhelds.org is still down.
Angstrom has added a new release (2011.03), but the online builder still won't include Opie in the .tar for mini2440 boards (my best hope for a working Angstrom straight from the source).
I'm still holding out hope for the "Angstrom-opie-image-glibc-test-20070620-rx3000.rootfs.tar.bz2" that I found.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/f2fsd...age-glibc-test-20070620-rx3000.rootfs.tar.bz2
I just need to find the right kernel and HaRet bootloader for it to run from SD card...
I'm basing that work on this document for installing a Loopback Image which I got translated from Portuguese (Thanx Rubberman).
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ci92vshhpojbyb8/AngPAQ rx3115.pdf
And I'm following the progress of whynot on another board where he documents his efforts to port Angstrom onto rx3115.
Here's a couple more things available for download...
The last official WM 2003 update (1.01.11) with installer
http://www.mediafire.com/file/i6k0935chhkgzlh/iPAQ rx3115 ROM 1_01_11.exe
The cooked ROM of WM 6.1 Classic designed for the rx1950. (.nbf file only)
http://www.mediafire.com/file/iu9p815w3yjpy6h/CEOS.nbf
In case any other cooks want to look at it. At 27.82mb it would just fit on rx3115 and may benefit from being trimmed down. Or someone might have more luck flashing it with the UBL mentioned above.
Here's the whole kitchen package from Victory144 and Guifort
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nna2yo92q2beiik/Flasher_Hp_Ipaq_rx1950_ENG_WM6.1.rar
It includes the installer and the .cab for the appropriate version of Mobile Office.
And just the Office cab for any WM 6.x users who may need it
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nmz3sbyuxan7c4e/office_wpc_WM6.CAB
LOL it seems rx3115s are popping up out of retirement (at least from what I see in the Googlesphere). In case any resurrected machines need it, here's the Daylight Savings Time patch for the new DST schedule.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/i51hkr3c8ep8t5e/Daylight Savings Fix.exe
Stay tuned... I'm still working on Linux booting from an SD card.

rx3115 user whynot has been having some luck getting Angstrom to boot from an SD card. I'm trying to get the proper kernel and HaRet from him. Here's his thread:
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/mobile-devices/175821-ipaq-hp-rx3115.html
Today I uploaded ActiveSync 3.7.1 in an attempt to help xda member Orangekid sync an old device under Windows XP. If anyone else wants this fossil it can be downloaded from here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/88xr4pjl14x7883/ACTSYNC_3_7_1.rar

A couple more things I uploaded to help others...
Uedit32 Hex Editor:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/6r8ffn1fq3bh9mu/uedit32.exe
mtty11a a command console for sending commands to iPAQ.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/7srppxvnr728ime/mtty11a.exe
A tutorial on How to install a different language ROM in your PDA I grabbed from another site and turned into a PDF:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/5e48n571jg1adqb/How to install a different language ROM in you PDA.pdf
LOL helping him has helped me... I hope. I may have a better idea of how to use a Hex Editor to change the WM 6.1 ROM and make it installable for rx3115.
I've also learned how to use mtty to make a backup of the ROM image on iPAQ to an SD card. I'll post details here later IF anyone posts that they are interested. I'd rather get back to work on my projects than spend time blogging right now.

LMAO - Handhelds.org is still down. They are one month overdue for coming back online.
I tried a few new ways to get the Kitchen ROM for rx1950 to flash to rx3115. No luck again.
tomcug has apparently given up on cooking a WM6.1 ROM for rx3115...
whynot finally replied to my query with a few tips and hints... I'll be making another run at getting Angstrom Linux to boot from SD card soon...

RumoredNow said:
LMAO - Handhelds.org is still down. They are one month overdue for coming back online.
I tried a few new ways to get the Kitchen ROM for rx1950 to flash to rx3115. No luck again.
tomcug has apparently given up on cooking a WM6.1 ROM for rx3115...
whynot finally replied to my query with a few tips and hints... I'll be making another run at getting Angstrom Linux to boot from SD card soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still following ya I may not have an rx1950 but I think it's cool to see what other people on here can do. I'm rooting for you!

Great thread! I just recently started searching for Linux options for the two H3835's I have gathering dust. I retired them long ago for more modern hardware.
Now my kids (8 and 6) have taken over my (and my wife's), Android phones to play games on every time we get in the car. So I thought I'd see what I could do with the old iPaqs to make gaming devices for the kids. But before I can try to get any games running, I have to get an OS on them.
Anybody out there having any luck with the H3835? It appears from the Angstrom Forums that the "lightning fast" 206mhz StrongArm processor isn't up to the task of running Angstrom.
Handhelds.org is still down, so I can't try Familiar yet. I read somewhere else that the delay in bringing the site back up is due to the developers & site admins being adversely impacted by Nokia's recent decision to cease development on Maemo/Meego in favor of Windows Mobile 7. If that's the case, maybe it will be down permanently?
Sadly, I'm a compulsive tinkerer with old hardware and I may not be able to rest until I get it working or brick the silly things.

Thanks for joining my thread Markedswan.
Yeah, Handhelds.org is still down... Interesting rumor - I think I read on a wiki page that there is a split among the developers over some code. The server owner may have frozen access pending legal clarifications. LMAO - It's supposed to be Open Source.
I too am a relentless tinkerer. I understand the upgrade or brick it mentality.
First thing I did was look up the h3835 specs on www.pdadb.net That Intel StrongARM SA-1110 CPU looked familiar from my research so I double checked...
NetBSD (Unix) supports lots of old hardware. Your CPU is in their Tier I support group (the highest level of support). http://netbsd.org/ports/#ports-tier1 (The hpcarm listing.) Clicking that link shows that your processor is supported. http://netbsd.org/ports/hpcarm/#processors
h3835 is not listed specifically, but your system architecture is the same as the h3600 series. The only difference is you have twice the ROM. The NetBSD package that I tried should boot on h3835 from the SD card.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ync2ltv3l7oo4si/NetBSD.rar
or if you prefer to get it from the source
http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/NetBSD-5.1/hpcarm/
Don't forget the MD5sum checker if you need it. A list of the MD5 sums for each file is in the NetBSD folder.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bhebw4ozo6dz767/md5sum checker.rar
Good luck and be sure to go to http://netbsd.org/ for documentation and support help.

Interesting
Interesting work going on here. Have you tried Android 0.8? It seems to be the most light-weight and flexible choice of Android out there.

Hmmm... That's a thought. I'll definitely look into it. I'm still trying to block out some time to get Angstrom to boot up. I finally got a working (or so my source says) HaRet. I just need the right Linux image.
But I'll give Android 0.8 a try for sure.

I've read that Android was too much for these devices. Memory on Android devices is in the Gigibytes (my phone has 10 GB on board I believe) while the iPaqs have less than 100mb typically (mine has 96mb between the RAM and ROM). I have no idea if that is truly the case though. Maybe with a decent size CF or SD card on board?
Rumorednow: NetBSD looks promising from what I've read on the website. Do you know off hand what window manager options will work with the handhelds? I wasn't seeing anything in the packages specifically for handhelds, maybe I missed something. I'll dig deeper, but thought I'd ask in case you knew.
I have the Compact Flash jacket for my 3835, so was thinking about trying Debian (which I'm more comfortable with) & can boot off a 1 GB Compact Flash card. Debian's site says the ARM version was designed with XScale processors and some of the custom router processors in mind, but the instruction set is specficially called out as being V4 for maximum compatability (the StrongARM in my iPaq uses the V4 instruction set) rather than the V5 native to the XScale series which came after StrongARM was introduced. So maybe it will work? I believe OPIE works with Debian as a window manager and that seems pretty slick and well supported.
I'll be living out of a suitcase for work pretty much all of May, so I'll have some time to tinker on this more in the evenings then. But, maybe someone will have it all figured out by then though?

Markedwsan said:
I've read that Android was too much for these devices. Memory on Android devices is in the Gigibytes (my phone has 10 GB on board I believe) while the iPaqs have less than 100mb typically (mine has 96mb between the RAM and ROM). I have no idea if that is truly the case though. Maybe with a decent size CF or SD card on board?
Rumorednow: NetBSD looks promising from what I've read on the website. Do you know off hand what window manager options will work with the handhelds? I wasn't seeing anything in the packages specifically for handhelds, maybe I missed something. I'll dig deeper, but thought I'd ask in case you knew.
I have the Compact Flash jacket for my 3835, so was thinking about trying Debian (which I'm more comfortable with) & can boot off a 1 GB Compact Flash card. Debian's site says the ARM version was designed with XScale processors and some of the custom router processors in mind, but the instruction set is specficially called out as being V4 for maximum compatability (the StrongARM in my iPaq uses the V4 instruction set) rather than the V5 native to the XScale series which came after StrongARM was introduced. So maybe it will work? I believe OPIE works with Debian as a window manager and that seems pretty slick and well supported.
I'll be living out of a suitcase for work pretty much all of May, so I'll have some time to tinker on this more in the evenings then. But, maybe someone will have it all figured out by then though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The packed android kernel is only 30 or 40 mb if i'm not mistaken. You would have the whole thing from there.

Hi I'm new and registered specifically because of this thread. I gotta agree with you, waaay too little support for the rx3115. I love this iPaq, have 2 of them and I use them for everything (especially with the nifty universal remote feature, I run around and turn things on and off and annoy my girlfriend a lot). As great as I think it is, it really needs some updating in any way possible really.
Great job on pushing forward with all the different options. Anything you need a second tester on just give me a shout, my 2nd one can be used as a guinea pig

Also... What happened to handhelds.org? I check in every day wishing for a shinning ray of hope that they'll be up and running again soon

[Q] Acer Iconia u-boot

Hi All,
Unfortunately as a new user I can't post this in the Dev forum. So I'll put it here for now and perhaps can move it later.
I'm wanting to tinker with uboot on the Iconia. Ideally what I'm hoping to achieve is;
A versatile and usable port of uboot to the iconia complete with documentation (both how to get/build as well as use) and binary files available for download.
1) uboot to replace the default bootloader or the existing kernel image in flash and have the uboot able to load the standard kernel image from the system partition.
2) To have uboot able to run an interactive shell, either over USB or on the local console with a USB keyboard.
3) A boot menu would be nice with control by builtin buttons.
For my build box I'm using the current Debian with GCC 4.1 available
Anyway, if any anyone can help at all please fell free to respond. It is my intention to update this thread as I go, documenting the journey and ultimately publishing the results with how to info.
Tonight I will edit this with a better outline (more verbose) of what I'm attempting to do and some info regarding what my build env is and what info I already have.
Hope to create something useful here for everyone.
Owen.
OK. I'm still checking things out... eppeP, did you get anywhere with the SBK? if not uboot will just have to replace the android kernel and maybe be patched so it can load it from the system partition instead. One guy (lost the thread) said he had to mod the patch to get it to complile, but didn't say how.
As far as a boot menu goes, I'm thinking of a script that will search the boot folder of all mountable volumes and present a menu, much like the Apple boot selector does. Still don't know if its possible though and is somewhat secondry issue anyhow.
Can anyone give info on uboot env storage. also I need to know the partition layout for the internal MMC (got a good idea already but need to be sure and whats the partition layout?)

Have you talked to sp3dev and sc3k? Ive been followng the native linux thread and i believe they are trying to do just that. They would be your best source of help i think

Thanx gh123man,
Yep, I've seen good & exiting posts from sp3dev, muromec and hexeh about this stuff. Unfortunately I can't post in the dev threads cause I'm new to xda forum.
I was kinda hoping they might spot this thread and respond

Sounds like fun, I might be interested in helping.
So far I've been looking into generating the SBK, decrypting BCT/EBT and are just about to start looking at the partition format (there seems to already be some code for this, so that should not take long to get an idea of). So I guess unless I find something more interesting, trying to pick apart the bootloader to get a better understanding of that part might come soon anyway.