Related
Hi!
So what it's all about?
There are so many projects dedicated to porting linux to WM devices.
Mostly the only way to boot into linux and kick windows mobile out of RAM is the haret tool.
For thoose who never heard of it is a linux bootloader (it is even more), that is started from within windows mobile.
This is the result of the fact that the native bootcode of the device could not easily be replaced.
Apart from that, there are to many things to consider to rewrite own bootcode for a closed device.
So what if the native bootcode "thinks" it boots in windows mobile again, but it in fact jumps into linux kernel code?
Whaaat, you might think and i thought a lot of it in the last few weeks:
The idea is, to embed a linux kernel in a XIP container and boot it with the native bootloader
So that's crazy stuff and it's even more crazy, that some insane hackers already did some successful attempts.
The project aims to port Android to a device called Meizu M8.
Step into this thread and start reading:
http://www.meizume.com/modding-development/9014-project-port-android-meizu-m8-18.html
One of the developers already has started to push some GIT-repos of the toolset here:
http://gitorious.com/~banxian
Of course there's a lot to investigate and other things to consider:
1. The injected code must be in good shape (kernel needs excellent hardware support)
2. The device will need to be hard-SPLed (no security check)
3. The files must match the Flash layout of the bootcode
4. JTAG support for the device would be mandatory for testing
5. Lots of information about internal Flash structure is required
....
Please tell me what you think about it!
Cheers,
scholbert
That's an excellent idea!
Multiboot would seem to be a better (albeit more complicated) alternative to me though... In their current stage, Linux ports to WM devices tend to be unstable and rather limited in functionality. Replacing a fully functional WM with a semi-functional Android on one's primary device is not as tempting as having both at the same time.
I'd say the first step in this direction is bootstrapping custom XIP from RAM with a patched SPL. Flashing XIP nbX every time custom XIP is patched is slow and tedious. Once a working XIP with booting Linux kernel is available, it should be relatively easy to switch SPL back to normal booting from NAND. Also ULDR XIP can be used as a container for the custom XIP rather than the WM kernel XIP. This way one can boot WM by default and then reboot to ULDR/Linux if required (not quite multiboot, but something close).
The caveat here is that when HaRet is used to boot Linux kernel from under WM, some hardware init could have been carried out by WM kernel at boot time. When WM kernel/XIP was never ran, there's a good chance some of the hardware that works when booting Linux via HaRet won't work anymore Completely bypassing WM kernel initialization means more initialization may have to be done in Linux kernel/custom XIP.
The progress that Meizu people made is certainly impressive, but there's a long way from a 100-byte piece of code that fills the framebuffer to a fully working Linux kernel. I'm not being sceptical here, on contrary I'm pretty sure this is possible, but it will take a lot of time and dedication to make this happen. At any rate, good luck and I'm sure you'll find plenty of support here.
This project, is cool, i am waiting any progress, i want put the android in the MS20(Brazillian KS20 without wifi and 3G)
Hi again,
thanks for the feedback so far
@ stepw:
I really share your thoughts concerning long and dusty road of development.
So perhaps i was in kind of euphoria when i decided to post it yesterday.
Anyway, let's see what the future will bring us
Maybe we should start with some kind of ramloader and place it in XIP area.
BTW, could you be more specific about this ULDR XIP thing?
Sounds interesting and to be honest, never heard of it...
Please consider the thread as a starting point for an open discussion.
Anyway, i will need help, because i'm a horrible hacker.
So maybe i should have written IDEA not PRJ
Have a nice day!
scholbert
As per http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/CEDeveloper/BSP/
ULDR and IPL
For BSPs that are for Windows Mobile products, the ULDR and IPL are required parts of the BSP.
“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” stands for “Initial Program Loader”. This piece of code is launched by the bootloader or executed directly at startup if a bootloader has been removed from a board. The sole job of this program is to choose whether to execute the ULDR software, or load and execute the operating system that is currently on the device. If a user has downloaded new versions of operating system or OEM files, the IPL will be configured to launch the ULDR. Otherwise, it will load and launch the OS.
===
Da_G's thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=520009 has plenty of information about ULDR, although it's more about keeping it rather than about using it for something else.
Replacing ULDR is a valid way to inject another item into NAND partition table. Unfortunately with WM all 4 primary partitions are used in the MBR by default, so taking ULDR out allows for reuse of one of the parition slots for other purposes. IPL already has a way to bootstrap either ULDR or OEM XIP (WM kernel), it should be possible to control boot partition selection from each of the OSes. Manipulating partition type and flags should make it possible to choose the default OS too.
ULDR partition is typically fairly small, but it can be expanded to store Linux ramfs image or even the filesystem. Alternatively, FATFS partition in NAND could be mounted at boot and filesystem image could be located there. Yet another location for it is IMGFS partition, but that calls for a file system driver (read-only at least) that I don't think exists for Linux. Anyway, if at least FATFS can be mounted, access to all user files accessible from WM should also be possible from Linux/Android once it's booted.
Sorry for deviating from the original topic
Hey stepw!
Sorry for deviating from the original topic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey we got an open discussion here...
Thanks for all this useful information so far!!
I knew about starting up WM platform and i also looked deeper into IPL and stuff. What i am missing a little is just these information about XIP and WM image in general.
So i think i'll first step through Da_G'S thread, it looks very promising. Great stuff!
Again leave your technical comments here, because i think it's the only way to get best solution
Best regards,
scholbert
Hi,
I've been working on this for a few days now and have a simple bootloader that loads and runs a kernel on my vogue. Unfortunately the kernel doesn't boot properly because it can't initialise all the hardware correctly but it definitely runs. Attached is my code and a script to insert it into an xip payload with a kernel.
Woooow.....
Hey dzo,
this is a real breakthrough or whatever you may call it.
Really great stuff!
Maybe this won't reach peoples interest right now,
but let me forecast, that someday this will give us the opportunity
to wipe out windows mobile completely if we like to
Anyway i think it would be nice to get some stuff pointed out more clearly.
So let me sum up:
1. Let's assume we got excellent kernel zImage to support the hardware of our device.
We will need to initialize even parts of hardware in this kernel,
that we did not even know about, while testing with haret.
2. We need some hard-SPL bootcode on our device, because we need to avoid security check of the image.
3. We got WM ROM for our device and we got some kitchen to extract it and work with it.
The starting point will be the file OS.nb.payload, because this is pure binary.
(the image like it is stored in NAND flash memory).
The image (OS.nb.payload) itself is organized in different parts and partitions.
At the moment we don't care much about it, because we leave it mainly untouched.
We need to find the entry point from the WM kernel, which is pure XIP code (XIP.bin).
4. We inject a tiny loader for elf binaries at this point, which is also compiled as XIP code (tinboot).
5. We step a bit further and place the kernel zImage (which is an elf file) at a certain offset.
At least this should be the address the tiny loader points at (e.g. offset + 0x8000).
6. We use some kitchen tools to reconstruct a flashable image.
7. We flash this image to our platform, using the same tools we use to flash a cooked ROM.
8. We boot into linux!
Please correct me if i forgot something or made a wrong assumption here.
Would be really nice to get some more hackers and ROM cookers over here to benefit the discussion.
Thanks again dzo!
Best regards,
scholbert
Hi again!
A little research at the forum gives some more details about OS.nb.payload:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=446506
This maybe all well known, but should help to point at it again for a better understanding.
So if we use mtty and type the info 8 command on HTC loaders this prints out these partitions (should be all the same on HTC devices):
Partition[0], type=0x20, start=..., total=... BOOT (ULDR)
Partition[1], type=0x23, start=..., total=... RAWFS (XIP)
Partition[2], type=0x25, start=..., total=... IMGFS (SYSTEM)
Partition[2], type=0x04, start=..., total=... FATFS
TBC
scholbert
dzo said:
Hi,
I've been working on this for a few days now and have a simple bootloader that loads and runs a kernel on my vogue. Unfortunately the kernel doesn't boot properly because it can't initialise all the hardware correctly but it definitely runs. Attached is my code and a script to insert it into an xip payload with a kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's some excellent progress! Did you build your kernel yourself too? Is it mission critical hardware that fails initalization or some minor stuff?
Hey Guys at first sorry for my english i'm not good in it. And I'm a Android newbie I just gained a bit exerience with my Touch Diamond but it's broken now..okay but that's not the probleme....
If got a question:
After about 2 days of searching for an android 2.0 or 2.1 ROM I was a little bit confused of the diffrent news everybody was talking about. I'm root on my Hero. That was the first an last thing I made with my device.
1. Everybody is gonna talk about MoDaCo 3.0 but when I was trying to download his ROM my browser never got a request. Is the site down, where that ROM is hosted ?? Could someone give me a working link with this ROM ??
2. Is there a ROM with Android 2.0 or 2.1 outside or even not ??? And if yes are they working well ???
Would be nice if someone can help me =) thanks a lot.
Please answer soon if you know something about that =)
Greetz BassdoxXx
you can get modaco's roms at his website, www.modaco.com.
in the android development section there are some 2.0/1 roms, none of them works flawless, see for yourself if it fits your needs.
Thanks a lot for your fast answer. =)
The problem that i couldn't open the modaco page was my isp -.- i downloaded it at school
BassdoxXx said:
Thanks a lot for your fast answer. =)
The problem that i couldn't open the modaco page was my isp -.- i downloaded it at school
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What? Does ISP's block that site? Lol, would never happened in Norway
there is a few 2.0+ roms out there for the hero.
most seem to be very usable now.
best sense ui would be lox/behnaam community release on 1.6.
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1448
there are two aosp roms worth looking at.
lox aosp ( im using that on a daily basis)
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1416
jnwhiteh aosp
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1528
Hello all,
I am having very specific request when it comes to choosing a proper rom for install on to my hero.
I am blind. Stock roms are only running Android 1.5. More robust accessibility features are available starting with Android 1.6 and improving even more with Android 2.0.
So for sure I am forced to upgrade my hand set.
There are various roms, some of their authors have even disable google specific features so I know I can't install such a rom.
All the accessibility efforts are being lead by the google developers.
Most likely these accessibility tools won't be usefull to most of you but please can anyone recommend me a rom where market is working and where the following applications can be installed and used?
- eyesfree suite of applications,
- talkback - the google screen reader for android,
- tts service.
All possible help is already appreciated.
sorry for the double posting. I've accidentally posted twice and I am unable to remove the post.
Hope anybody can help me please.
pvdeejay said:
Hello all,
I am having very specific request when it comes to choosing a proper rom for install on to my hero.
I am blind. Stock roms are only running Android 1.5. More robust accessibility features are available starting with Android 1.6 and improving even more with Android 2.0.
So for sure I am forced to upgrade my hand set.
There are various roms, some of their authors have even disable google specific features so I know I can't install such a rom.
All the accessibility efforts are being lead by the google developers.
Most likely these accessibility tools won't be usefull to most of you but please can anyone recommend me a rom where market is working and where the following applications can be installed and used?
- eyesfree suite of applications,
- talkback - the google screen reader for android,
- tts service.
All possible help is already appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am on mcr3.0, i looked in the market, i can find 8 apps for eyesfree, tts is one of these. i didn't try to install one of these, but usually it works. the search for talkback returned nothing.
not that i want to be rude, but wouldn't you be better off with another phone if you are blind? i can not imagine a touchscreen only phone would be suitable for someone who is not able to see... especially because there are great devices out there that have a full qwerty keyboard, and come with android 2.0 out of the box... imho this would be a better solution.
again, the last thing i want to be is rude, but maybe this was your mistake: you posted in the htc hero section of this forum, the hero is a touch screen only device, including a virtual keyboard on the screen. it has only six buttons and a trackball, and two rocker buttons for the volume. just to make clear we are talking about the same device
if you are still up for the hero you could try the 2.1 rom from here: http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=30418&posted=1#post30418
best you try for yourself, it has some drawbacks, but maybe in areas you don't need (afaik syncing with exchange does not work for example, which wouldn't be a problem for me...). otherwise it might be worth to wait another week or two, we all are waiting unpatiently for the official eclair release from htc
keep asking if you need to know more, but maybe open a new thread, since your problems are very specific, and might drown between all the newbies question about "how to root my phone".
Hello,
Thanks for your reply and a great attitude.
Yes it may sound strange I have really got HTC Hero here. I know I'll be having problems with virtual keyboard but also I am afraid accessibility features of Android phones are not really such mastered one can use it daily. For example reading emails and content from the web browser is not yet possible. I just want to try how things work and I would also like to touch the virtual keyboard. If I can memorize computer keyboard and use it daily, typewriter keyboard, nokia mobile phone keyboard, then perhaps I might be able to make some use of this too.
I am sory but here are some more questions:
I haven't yet verified with some sighted friends but... is it possible my hero is running even older version of android like Android 1.5? I've based the assumption that it's most likelly running 1.5 because majority of the devices I was reading on the net are running it.
You've been triyng to locate eyes-free applications on the market but you were unable to find talkback. Are you sure you are running newer version of Android than 1.5?
Talkback is supposed to be installed with Android 1.6 andd 2.0 by default and you should be able to find it in the accessibility menu of your phone. I am not sure how well this applies to the custom roms.
Talkback requires google's accessibility api which is reported to be available on Android 1.6 upwards.
To tell you the full story first I've asked on the eyes-free google group whether some accessibility experts from there can help me but no one knowledgeable enough has replied to my query, so I'm trying my luck here then.
Oh I am really excited since I've got really well formed informative reply.
Thanks again
Edit:
Also, I've seen somewhere in the forums here this leaked HTC rom does not support the market. Has this been rectified already? You know if market does not work then most likelly I won't be able to install these applications I am tallking about.
Also you are mentioning possibility to wait a few weeks until HTC guys role out the official update for Hero. Wouldn't that break chances I will be able to root my device later?
Edit2:
Ooops, I should read better next time. Market works on this rom. The problem is paid apps can't be installed which is hopefully not a big issue for me since most of the accessibility enabled applications are free.
Which of the downloads from Hero 21 do I need?
63.18.55.06JU_6.35.09.26) or No Wipe Download. I will need a wipe I am sure but since this link says nowipe I am ehmmm. confused.
pvdeejay,
Unfortunately there is not an 'official' update for Android 1.6, 2.0 or 2.1 as of yet. There are rumours of one coming out soon, but nothing cast-iron yet.
You are correct in that the Hero runs 1.5. It does say it under Settings | About Phone (bottom item on list)| Firmware Version (bottom on list again), although without a working screen reader, there is probably little use in knowing how to find that.
If you did want to upgrade, I'm sure plenty of people could help find a ROM that would suit. The only issue with that is that you would need a rooted phone with a custom recovery image installed. Unfortunately, a lot of the procedures would not be easy for you, as the software that you might need to use to go through the procedure is probably not designed that well for accessibility tools. I don't know what kind of software you are using, but some of the instructions for making goldcards are quite complex, and involve editing some numbers in a 'table' which could be quite difficult for you, I would imagine.
I'm sure a friend would be able to help you out with making a goldcard/rooting if you did want to install a custom ROM (you'll probably be waiting a while otherwise ). They could even root their phone while doing yours (just share the goldcard between the devices).
Nonetheless, there is probably a ROM out there with little removed from it. I'll have a look just now, but you would need to have your phone rooted to do anything just now.
When it comes to rooting and installing custom recovery image. Do you thing the following instructions might work for me?
These instructions don't require a gold card:
- How to Root HTC Hero and Install Amon Ra Recovery Image
- How to install a custom rom on a HTC Hero
Hello,
Here are some numbers I've asked my friend to read from system -> about screen. The phone interface is in czech so I am unable to get some names translated to english, but I believe some of the geeks will understand these identifiers and might be able to help me what is best:
Code:
firmware: 1,5
63.118.55.O6U|6.35.04.25
2.6.27-a5504199
Build number: 1.76.405.6 146733 CL# 47214 release-keys
Software version: 1.0.0.A6288
pvdeejay,
to sum it up:
the hero definitly runs on android 1.5. there are no roms for older android versions, and a few homebrewn for newer versions, as we said already.
i searched for talkbalk on my 1.5 rom, so it is obvious that i couldn't find it...
about rooting of newer roms: it is just a matter of time, sooner or later there will be always methods of rooting a rom. what i meant by waiting is: wait until the official update is out, then wait a few more hours until the first rooted and customized rom is out
@pvdeejay,
I would have to agree with kendong2 that waiting for the official ROM is probably the best idea for you at the moment. There are no guarantees that an unofficial ROM would help, and it would be another user interface to try and learn.
@kendon,
I noticed he has the original, easily rooted version of the hero. IIRC, that is what I had on my G2 (and had the security unlocked bootloader out the box). If that's the case, would pvdeejay be able to 'fastboot boot' a full system img file for the purposes of testing it out to see if it meets the requirements.
The reason I ask is that I've only ever fastbooted my AmonRA recovery (I didn't flash it, because I never felt any need to). I'm guessing you could fastboot a full img, but I'm not sure about the practical issues of where it would be stored in memory...
Sorry guys originally I believed I am slowly getting into the matter and am begining to understand how flashing / rooting / upgrading home brew firmwares works on these phones.
After these 2 posts I feel like a total noob again.
Now again some very concrete questions:
What about these 2 guides I've posted links to?
Can I somehow got [Recovery] [13-Dec-2009] RA-hero-v1.5.2 installed so I will be able to do nandroid backup and then possibly flash some new roms?
Can I really brick my phone by trying to install amon ra?
Originally I thought the process works as follows:
1) get the custom recovery image installed (that's the amon ra in this case),
2) do a nandroid backup which will dump everything usefull on to the memory card,
3) backup and reformat the card,
4) download a rom, rename it to update.zip, put it onto the root folder of the cart, reboot the hero in recovery mode, do the wipe of the data partition, and run update,
5) reboot again and believe it's good.
Also some very significant bit is the thing you are all calling the radio. I am afraid I've not identified this bit thus it's missing in this summary.
Which files will I need to download if I decide to try Android 2.1 community edition 1.8? Are these files I've copied links to a few posts earlier both needed?
Can you please check this list, identify the things I am missing, and make suggestions and corrections why this may not work on my device based off of those number I tried to put down here?
Even if I won't be able to do this right now I'd be happy to get corrections as I can learn something new.
Of course I won't be doing all this on my own. I will ask my bro to read all the stuff to me and we'll do it according to your advices.
To give some bits about me and my computer skills, I believe I am a Windows power user, Basically I do also understand unix, I know what's bash how the files are arranged in a file system, can use command-line tools, telnet, ssh. I am working as a network administrator here so some background is there really.
Hi pvdeejay,
Answers to your questions here.
You can actually use fastboot to 'temporarily' load up the AmonRA recovery image into memory and run it from there. I do that on my phone, for the simple reason that I can't be bothered ) ) to flash the recovery. Once you get AmonRA running, the first thing you should do is make a Nandroid backup. It will be saved to your SD card, so then get the nandroid directory of your card and save it to your PC (just in case!)
So, here's how you'd go about this.
(Make sure you have the android sdk installed, and that adb and fastboot commands are working). USB cable should be plugged in throughout.
Before you begin, put the ROM you want (ie. Android 2.1 community edition 1.8) into the root of the microSD card (a .zip file).
Code:
adb devices
Should list your phone's serial number
Now turn off the phone, and turn it on with the back key held down (the one at the very bottom right of the device).
You should enter fastboot mode. Now type
Code:
fastboot devices
and you should see the serial number again.
Now type
Code:
fastboot boot AmonRA.img
where AmonRA.img is a file in your present working directory that is the filename of the latest custom recovery image. This does NOT flash your phone, it merely runs the image (pretty much as close as you get to risk free, other than sitting there with a tinfoil hat on )
See screenshot of the recovery image here:
http://www.sizzledcore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/RA-hero-recovery-image-500x375.jpg
Make the Nandroid backup by choosing 'Nandroid Vx.x Backup' and waiting a while.
If your ROM needs a wipe first (most new ones do), select Wipe data/factory reset. You will lose all your user data on the device (but you've got a nandroid backup just in case)
You're now good to go. So choose "Apply sdcard:choose zip"
Now select the custom ROM zip file you downloaded. It doesn't even need to be called update.zip! Choose it from the list and push trackball.
Wait for the update.zip to go in. Do NOT turn off the device or pull the battery. First boot can take a very long time (upto 30 minutes). Just keep it plugged in via USB and wait...
As for radios, see http://android.modaco.com/content/h...-24-11-hero-roms-radios-in-update-zip-format/ and look at the section titled radios. The latest one is in bold. It is a .zip file as well, that you use these exact same instructions for to install (don't do the wipe or anything like that. Just install the .zip file)
anon2122 said:
@kendon,
I noticed he has the original, easily rooted version of the hero. IIRC, that is what I had on my G2 (and had the security unlocked bootloader out the box). If that's the case, would pvdeejay be able to 'fastboot boot' a full system img file for the purposes of testing it out to see if it meets the requirements.
The reason I ask is that I've only ever fastbooted my AmonRA recovery (I didn't flash it, because I never felt any need to). I'm guessing you could fastboot a full img, but I'm not sure about the practical issues of where it would be stored in memory...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is correct so far, i did the same, except i installed the recovery. i play a lot with my phone, the installed recovery image with the nandroid backup is the best i have ever seen for a phone...
@pvdeejay
you always write so much...
i try to answer everything:
the two guides you posted are good for your situation. i never tried flashrec, but from what i read it is safe to use. i installed my recovery image through fastboot, the guide is here: http://android.modaco.com/content/h...ng-the-patched-recovery-image-on-your-device/
i have no idea how this works out for you, but my honest suggestion would be that you have someone seeing assisting you, you CAN brick your phone, though it is not likely if you follow the instructions precisely. the process is not very time consuming at all, so you don't need to bother anyone for days of their time.
edit: and now i read your post to the end and saw that your brother will be helping you, so you are on the right track
once you have the recovery installed you can make nandroid backups, and i would suggest that you do this first thing after installing the recovery, better make a backup too much than one too less...
the 5 steps you described are correct, except there is no need to rename the zipfile anymore, you can select any .zip from your sdcard.
the radio part is the number that begins with 63.18.55.06, then comes two letters and then more numbers. as by now the version can be identified by the letters, with JU being the up-to-date one. in general you can say the newer the better, but you have to try for yourself. start with the newest one, if you have problems go back.
thanks this seems to be pretty doable plus I will easily be able to restore the current data backed using nandroid backup.
Which android SDK do I need the latest one?
The commands I need to type are supposed to be typed on the PC or on the phone? I assume on the PC but I just would like to ensure.
Hero21 1.8 community edition has a recommended radio listed in the first post. Is it necessary to install that one as well? What should I install first the actual rom or the radio? Do I need installing radio at all? Should i do the same with radio i.e. renaming it to update.zip and using amonra to install it?
Also will I be able to use this method even if I install another rom (running amonra without actually flashing it)?
Edit:
sorry guys did not realize renaming to update.zip is no longer needed.
Edit2:
is there an easy way on how to access sd card from windows? I can't just remove the card from phone and insert it into my laptop because I don't have the proper adapter. Previously my boss was using the hero and perhaps it would be nice to backup the sd card first.
Edit3:
uhmmm, installing android sdk is perhaps not as simple as it sounds.
I have just seen this article.
I am on a limited gprs internet connection, can you please suggest sdk features I won't need to save some download bandwith?
- you need only the adb binary (thats adb.exe for windows) from the sdk, the rest is not needed for this.
- install the radio from the 2.1community-rom-thread, it is the newest. install the radio first. DO NOT PULL THE BATTERY until the phone has rebooted completely. if you pull the battery during radio upgrade your phone will be dead. it takes a few minutes, do not panic!
- you can copy the contents of the sdcard via the usb-cable, plug it into your pc and pull down the notification bar...
Do I need to run SDK Setup.exe when I have downloaded android sdk for windows?
Or can I simply run that binary from the command-line without the installation?
Do I need any USB drivers so my phone can be recognized?
I received my HD2 yesterday and have spent most of lastnight and today reading thru the threads and other sites.. but i have used this forum in the past for my other phones and know i can find good links and tutorials here..
I found plenty of Android setup links and NAND information.. but i want to setup a dual boot. I have found that there are differnet ways to do this, one is installing Android on the SD and being able to just open the OS from my windows file manager. Then there is another method that allows you to select the OS when you boot up your phone.
Do both ways require me to flash the phone? Or is there a method to accomplish the dual boot without any mods to the windows OS portion? I am fine with running the Android OS from my file manager as i just want to get a feel for the OS and decide in the future what my main OS will be..
If there is a sticky thread that has all the steps for both methods that will be perfect, as most everything i read were just other threads other members have started. Also, what are the latest most stable files available today for this?
thanks..
cubangt said:
I received my HD2 yesterday and have spent most of lastnight and today reading thru the threads and other sites.. but i have used this forum in the past for my other phones and know i can find good links and tutorials here..
I found plenty of Android setup links and NAND information.. but i want to setup a dual boot. I have found that there are differnet ways to do this, one is installing Android on the SD and being able to just open the OS from my windows file manager. Then there is another method that allows you to select the OS when you boot up your phone.
Do both ways require me to flash the phone? Or is there a method to accomplish the dual boot without any mods to the windows OS portion? I am fine with running the Android OS from my file manager as i just want to get a feel for the OS and decide in the future what my main OS will be..
If there is a sticky thread that has all the steps for both methods that will be perfect, as most everything i read were just other threads other members have started. Also, what are the latest most stable files available today for this?
thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try the "search" feature !!
already tried thanks for it reply
Well so whats the problem? you already know the answer. Just download and setup AOSP on mSD and run it though file manager or do it via bootloader for RAM version. In your case I would SUGGEST you go flash your stock rom to custom rom if you want to heavily use it if not you can use custom WM rom specially designed for AOSP with alot of functions removed.
So go with dualboot WM6.5X(NAND) + AOSP(mSD) and see how you like the flavor before you switch to AOSP fully via NAND.
cubangt said:
already tried thanks for it reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you serious ?????
There are a whole bunch of people here on xda asking the same questions and we have noob guides !!
For SD Card
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881958
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=894423
or
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=913815
PS: hit the thanks button below if this is what you wanted !!
Ive had no luck with dual booting, way too glitchy and I have no reason to keep winmo so I'm gonna go with hardSPL soon
cubangt said:
I received my HD2 yesterday and have spent most of lastnight and today reading thru the threads and other sites.. but i have used this forum in the past for my other phones and know i can find good links and tutorials here..
I found plenty of Android setup links and NAND information.. but i want to setup a dual boot. I have found that there are differnet ways to do this, one is installing Android on the SD and being able to just open the OS from my windows file manager. Then there is another method that allows you to select the OS when you boot up your phone.
Do both ways require me to flash the phone? Or is there a method to accomplish the dual boot without any mods to the windows OS portion? I am fine with running the Android OS from my file manager as i just want to get a feel for the OS and decide in the future what my main OS will be..
If there is a sticky thread that has all the steps for both methods that will be perfect, as most everything i read were just other threads other members have started. Also, what are the latest most stable files available today for this?
thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment, the only real dual booting is available via Magldr, with WP7 on NAND and Android on SD. If you're not looking to try WP7 then forget about that. You just need to look into getting Android running from SD, booting from WM6.5, which is the way we were all doing it before Magldr and NAND builds came along.
All the info you need is in the HD2 Android SD Dev forum, and it's a lot simpler to get going than a NAND version, as it involves nothing but copying files and running a couple of exe in WM. You can then get a "bootloader" for WM that offers the choice of running Windows Mobile, or Android. (This isn't really a bootloader, as it's a Windows Mobile app, so Windows Mobile is already running. When you select to run Android, it dumps WM from the memory and loads Android instead. It's a bit of a blag to call it a bootloader!)
You may find this useful..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=813434
Hope this helps mate
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
Hi there,
I have recently ported postmarketOS [1] to the HTC Desire Z. postmarketOS is a Linux distribution for mobile devices based on Alpine Linux and the primary platform for KDE's Plasma Mobile desktop.
Note that this work is nowhere near ready for productive use, at least not as a phone. It boots, the weston demo UI starts and you can ssh into it via USB or Wifi (use nmtui or nmcli to configure it), but that's pretty much it. I'm posting here in the hope that other developers might be interested in joining this effort. It might be useful as small server for personal use, perhaps to host a NextCloud instance or something like that.
For installation instructions, refer to the Installation Guide at [3] and the wiki page for the HTC Desire Z at [4]. It should be possible to run postmarketOS without installing anything at all on the phone (other than an unlocked bootloader) by installing onto a microSD card and booting via the `fastboot boot` command.
[1] https://postmarketos.org/
[3] https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Installation_guide
[4] https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/HTC_Desire_Z_(htc-vision)
P. S. If you're wondering why I didn't put this in the developers' section where it belongs: It's because I'm not allowed to post there due to being a new member, and for the same reason I can't post proper links. In order to prevent spam, new users are required to spam 10 posts in order to be able to do perfectly legitimate things. How ironic :silly:
First of all, thank you for your time working this out and notifying us, I really appreciate all the people that keep my fine (but old) hardware usable.
I have 3 Desire-Z's (now running cyanogenmod), and would like to try PostMarketOS on one of them.
What is the state of the device? Can I use PostmarketOS to safely browse the web?
Do you have any specific instructions for the microSDcard installation? Is it just installing/running the pmbootstrap command on my linux machine with the correct sdcard device, insert the sdcard into my Desire Z and then starting it with volume-down button pressed, until the (in my case already unlocked) bootloeader menu appears and then running 'fastboot boot <what parameter goes here?>' from the connected linux computer?
Hi C-Base,
Thanks for your interest! I should mention again that this is pretty much a developer thing for now… But in case you want to get your hands dirty and maybe hack on the device a bit, here are my answers:
– What is the state of the device? Please refer to the wiki page, the state is documented there.
– Does it run a browser? I don't know, I've never tried, but I'd guess it wouldn't work. Even if it runs somehow, I'd guess it would probably be unusably slow because I haven't made the hardware graphics acceleration work yet
– Regarding sdcard installation: yes, you pretty much got it right! The last step would be to type "pmbootstrap flasher boot", which is essentially a wrapper for fastboot that will figure out the correct parameters for you. If that doesn't work, you can try "pmbootstrap export". That will copy a bootable image to /tmp/postmarketOS-export/boot.img-htc-vision. You should be able to boot that using "fastboot boot /tmp/postmarketOS-export/boot.img-htc-vision"
If you want to help out, there's a couple things you could do!
– document on the wiki page everything you feel would be helpful to anybody who wants to try this
– get graphics acceleration working with hybris. This is needed for Plasma mobile to run and shouldn't be too hard. You just need to make sure that the relevant hybris packages are installed (GLES, EGL, maybe others) and that the android drivers are in the right place (the relevant binaries should be in this repo: https://github.com/milaq/android_device_htc_vision).
One more thing: for all I know you'd be the first person other than myself to try this on a Desire Z, so definitely let me know if you can get it to boot! I've actually never tried the SD card installation, so it would be nice to hear if that works, and also if the on-screen keyboard (to type in the disk encryption password works).
mberndt said:
One more thing: for all I know you'd be the first person other than myself to try this on a Desire Z, so definitely let me know if you can get it to boot! I've actually never tried the SD card installation, so it would be nice to hear if that works, and also if the on-screen keyboard (to type in the disk encryption password works).
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Hi!
I have pmOS running on my HTC Desire Z and SD card installation works just fine I haven't tested on-screen keyboard so I don't know does that work.
BTW, is there any change this gets mainlined sometime in the future?
Hey jyrithe,
I'm happy to hear that it works for you!
Regarding your question: the SoC is a Qualcomm MSM7230, and the mainline kernel doesn't currently support that. So somebody would have to port the relevant drivers etc. to a modern kernel. I think that this would require access to the serial console, and while that is documented for some Android phones (e. g. many recent Sony Xperia models), the Desire Z doesn't seem to be one of them – at least I haven't been able to find such documentation. I also haven't been able to find public documentation about the actual SoC, and I suspect one would have to figure out how the hardware works by reading the driver code. Given that this is also a rather old SoC at this point, I suspect it's not going to happen. I personally just don't have the time or the knowledge to be able to do this.
Here's a kernel tree that might be of interest though:
https://github.com/msm7x30/android_kernel_qcom_msm7x30
That one is based on Linux 4.4, so it's a much newer version than the 3.0.101 kernel that I used for the pmOS port. Based on the name it seems to support the SoC, but it doesn't include support for the specific board – one would have to write a devicetree file to make that work.
Hi I am trying to boot it up with the HTC Desire Z. I boot up nicely with the nice logo, but after that everything is black. I use "westron" in the pmbootstrap installation and I use android zip recovery way to do this, using with the cwm 6.0.5.
I hope you can help me. I love your energy into this project!!
Hi Dr.RR,
I haven't done any work on this device lately, and I don't plan to. The problem is that afaik there's really only one “useful” UI to run on postmarketOS, and it's KDE plasma mobile. But it's too large to fit on the system partition of this device, so it's impossible to install it until LVM support is in place (this allows to create a root file system that spans several flash partitions, i. e. system and userdata partitions). If you want to get your hands dirty, check this out: https://gitlab.com/postmarketOS/pmbootstrap/issues/60 . (sdcard installations aren't affected by this, but I currently don't have a spare).