Database Users

G1 Hardware Hack - extending Ram? anyone thought about that?

Has anyone ever thought about whether it would be possible to increase the ram/upgrade memory in a G1. As outlandish as this might sound.. similar things have been done for a variety of devices.... if possible it would probably be the number one speed booster out there? or are there certain limitations out there that would make that impossible... Anyone ever opened up a G1?

This might be what you are looking for
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=566410
Theres some ram on the g1 that isnt being utilized by default.. this hack, for specific roms, can push the g1 to use more of the rom that it initially comes with. as far as a PHYSICAL upgrade im not too sure how that would work out.. never opened a g1, due to warranty void

This does happen a lot nowadays. Original Xbox's (before v1.6) had extra 'spaces' for RAM chips.
Simple to do, if you can find the right RAM for your device, which was hard enough for the Xbox until a German manufacturer was found.
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Upgrading_Xbox_RAM_HOWTO
Edit: Also remember, this only works if there is an extra 'space,' piggybacking does not work 99% of the time (and I doubt there would be enough space within the housing...)

so the question would be is there anyway to open the g1 remove a ram chip and solder on a higher capacity one.... I mean wouldnt that be awesome...

alec.baldwin said:
so the question would be is there anyway to open the g1 remove a ram chip and solder on a higher capacity one.... I mean wouldnt that be awesome...
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no it has to be the same type maybe hero/magic ram would work who knows

alec.baldwin said:
so the question would be is there anyway to open the g1 remove a ram chip and solder on a higher capacity one.... I mean wouldnt that be awesome...
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I was actually referring to how the Xbox got more RAM, by adding ANOTHER RAM chip. Possibly higher capacity would work, but I don't know **** about drivers or software compatability blahblahblah. I'm only good for actually putting it together not knowing how it works :3

phuKKah said:
I was actually referring to how the Xbox got more RAM, by adding ANOTHER RAM chip. Possibly higher capacity would work, but I don't know **** about drivers or software compatability blahblahblah. I'm only good for actually putting it together not knowing how it works :3
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There is nowhere to put it.
Ram and rom come integrated on the same chip: samsung k522f1gacm-a060
You need to find a compatible chip (as mentioned, the one from magic or hero *might* be compatible), you also need to program it with something... which you may need to hack together since there is no such thing as a dream with 256MB ram, etc.

hmmm....ok... so not possible to replace the chip flash a custom rom? Maybe we can have some bricked g1's donated to see what can be done...

alec.baldwin said:
hmmm....ok... so not possible to replace the chip flash a custom rom? Maybe we can have some bricked g1's donated to see what can be done...
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Good idea

alec.baldwin said:
hmmm....ok... so not possible to replace the chip flash a custom rom? Maybe we can have some bricked g1's donated to see what can be done...
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Click to collapse
I never said it wasn't possible. I simply said that what is there must necessarily COME OFF in order to put another one in its place.
And yes, you most definitely CAN program these chips outside the board, as long as you have the right equipment to do so, but the big question is to "program it with WHAT?".

Well according to this video our phone uses standard DDR ram made by Samsung. So I belive this is very possible.
Anyone wanna donate a bricked phone for tinkering hehe.
http://pockethacks.com/htc-g1-disassembly/

sxfx said:
Well according to this video our phone uses standard DDR ram made by Samsung. So I belive this is very possible.
Anyone wanna donate a bricked phone for tinkering hehe.
http://pockethacks.com/htc-g1-disassembly/
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As lbcoder has stated, finding a compatible chip isn't the problem.. it's a matter of what do you program onto the chip? Simply replacing the current chip with a blank one wouldn't do anything.

WELL, I don't know if this will work but I tune cars, where you use a eeprom reader get a dump off the old chip into a hex editor and then just burn it onto a new chip with changes made and just stick the new chip with new maps on it.
Would it be possible to do something like this with this chip? Just do a complete dump of one to another?

sxfx said:
WELL, I don't know if this will work but I tune cars, where you use a eeprom reader get a dump off the old chip into a hex editor and then just burn it onto a new chip with changes made and just stick the new chip with new maps on it.
Would it be possible to do something like this with this chip? Just do a complete dump of one to another?
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Click to collapse
Yea thats the way it would be done. You'd have to hex-edit the dumped rom to address the right amount of memory for the new chip and it should work. I'm certainly not going to be trying this myself but it would be an interesting experiment.

Anyone know someone who has the smarts to do that... find me someone and I'll find you a few bricked g1s ...probably the only way to get them unbricked anyway.... or I have a g1 here whose wifi does not work. I bet you there are a ton of g1s out there where this or that does not work but that would be fully suited for something like that.
Anyway lets find a genius or a few that are brave enough to go where no one has gone before... I'd be pretty certain, that twice or four times the Ram would be a pretty dramatic experience.... imagine the possibilities with ram discs.... etc...

alec.baldwin said:
Anyone know someone who has the smarts to do that... find me someone and I'll find you a few bricked g1s ...probably the only way to get them unbricked anyway.... or I have a g1 here whose wifi does not work. I bet you there are a ton of g1s out there where this or that does not work but that would be fully suited for something like that.
Anyway lets find a genius or a few that are brave enough to go where no one has gone before... I'd be pretty certain, that twice or four times the Ram would be a pretty dramatic experience.... imagine the possibilities with ram discs.... etc...
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Believe it or not guys, my wife can do this. LOL. (I did marry the perfect woman, she also fixes my cars, folds the laundry and gives the best blowjob on earth). I digress <grin>.
If someone wants to donate a couple of bricked phones, I can get the chips swapped out. The issue of hex editing doesn't scare me at all I've been doing that for years, but finding the right addresses could be interesting. I'd probably need help with that as it is a lot different then bipassing a cd check on a video game

i work with embedded devices and here are my 2c about this, but take this lightly, I havent looked at how the G1 is setup on a board yet, nor do I know what hardware it is running.
if there is external ram, then perhaps it is a matter of swapping out the chips, given that they have the same pinout/packaging, etc.. if that was the case, you wouldnt get even another bit of more addressing because to get another bit, another wire is required to address it.
if the ram is internal on the microcontroller, then it would need to be swapped out, and good luck desoldering/soldering a BGA chip by hand. if you manage to find a new MCU with more internal ram to put on, the pinouts would have to be identical or else things might not work. additionally, you would need to have some method to kind of bootstrap the MCU because they typically come blank from the manufacturer.

Ok this is getting interesting... the easiest way to find out is probably contact HTC.. does anyone know someone, or is there a way to contact an engineer... or can anyone look up the specs? If it is using standard ddram by Samsung.. there might be a possibility.
Let me see what I can find for bricked G1's than we might have redir's wife take a look at it.. or John5788, if you'd volunteer. PM me your contact info...

We could just check the service manual, no?
edit: i tried to upload it, but the upload script here blows..
mediafire to the rescue! [download service manual here]

i just looked through the service manual, nothing specific about the ram/mcu locations. everything is just located on the mainboard without any sort of diagram. the people that look at the service manual dont need to know the device at that sort of hardware level.

JTAG Wildfire

my first post on the forum, so far xda has been a great source of information & tips for me, so, a big thanks to everyone here...
now, onto my project, the htc wildfire...
i've been given this as a dead unit as somebody had attempted to install a non-android operating system to it.. so far i have managed to revive the handset & successfully installed a working firmware, but, the remaining problem is a completely blanked imei number.. i.e all zeros... boo hoo indeed...
so, i need to get the imei off the serial sticker into the board again. i know there's gonna be people saying.. ahhh you need to use smti or riff or whatever box, but that isn't my way and i aint about to trash a bundle of cash on a one off thing.. i've jtag'd plenty of things before without buying anything other than the occasional components here & there.. i prefer to tamper & recycle bits i already have.
to kick this off i've stripped the wildfire & photographed the pcb & tagged all the jtag points i think i'm gonna need, aswell as a pinout of a standard 20pin header - i've already got buffered & un-buffered jtags to use so my last problems here are making the connections to the pcb - very very tricky soldering or make a pogo style plug & then physically dumping the relevant area of memory, editing the imei data & putting back into the board. its no small order i know, but hey, its cost me nothing & i like to have a go - its more of a hobby thing..
i'm sure somebody out there's already had a go at this without buying those expensive boxes. so anybody wanna share there tips & knowledge ???
i will add to this thread as & when i make some more progress... next few days i expect...

Can't help you sorry but this post will bump it
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App

This is a project and a half!
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk

Random pont could the msm 7225 be replaced with a 7227 or snapdragon
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brilldoctor said:
Random pont could the msm 7225 be replaced with a 7227 or snapdragon
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
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..i couldn't tell you tbh,, your first check there would be to look at the pinout of both chips & see if they match.. to do the swap (if its even possible) you would of course need specialist tools as its a bga chip - i.e tiny balls of solder underneath the body of the thing..

thevolatile1 said:
..i couldn't tell you tbh,, your first check there would be to look at the pinout of both chips & see if they match.. to do the swap (if its even possible) you would of course need specialist tools as its a bga chip - i.e tiny balls of solder underneath the body of the thing..
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Click to collapse
You don't want to see my facial expression to the thought of that!

,,,well it's been a while.. after been ill for a while & hospitalized (grr) i may actually get round to some more wildfire tampering..
i've dug my gear out & had another look.. so far i have manufactured myself a fresh lpt wiggler style jtag unit since the one i previously used to tamper sat & cable & modems & xboxs etc wasn't working correctly - didnt have sufficient lines !!! it's a bit of a frankenstein since i've mounted all the components thru a piece of card & housed it inside an old cotton bud plastic box.. lol.. i'll post up a pic of the monser soon as i find my sdcard reader... but hey.. it works..
my efforts so far using ocr commander - settings are lpt - wiggler @380khz, arm926t. a scan of the jtag chain reveals dev count 1, ir length 4, id code c01b30e1.
i've also attacked it with h-jtag which gave me a completely different id code of 0x7e667fdf - i never rated h-jtag so i'm disregarding that & deleting the prog from my lappy!
state of play now - i have uninterupted jtag access with no errors thru ocd but im now brickwalled !! can anybody recommend a decent jtag utility program that will allow me to dump the all important portion of the memory holding the imei data & does anybody have a clue at what location that data is held once i get it out of the phone.. i hate sitting & rummaging through page after page in winhex... comments & clue gratefully welcomed..

,,oh,, before somebody points out - i know the msm7225 fitted in the wildfire is arm 1136 instruction v6.. but ocd read it all good as arm 926.. im guessing they use same instruction set or that the differences are so negligible that it just doesnt care...

Has there been any progress with this? I was thinking of doing the same with my phone

..no more work was done on this project... i ended up getting a riffbox very very cheap.

This project is too extreme and amazing for the developers here. Please take this to the general android hacking section. Before you confuse us any more!

Could I build a phone?

It's a wild, stupid question but if I brought a screen for the Sensation XL, the processor from a Galaxy S II and the body (modified to be big enough) from a galaxy nexus how much work would be needed in to making this super phone?
Rip the other components from other phones.
I know that software and components would be problematic to say the least, but could it be done? Is it POSSIBLE?
Sent from my Wildfire S powered by .sense using my fingers.

GPU, correct power stuff, all that stuff. technically you could but it's a lot more than 3 words.

Possible: Yes.
Probable: NO.

Could be the new thing in phones! like in desktops.
It would be great though!

I'm guessing you'd need to build your own drivers and kernels and all that goodstuff. I think it is possible but itd be way to much work.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710 using XDA App

Alex530 said:
I'm guessing you'd need to build your own drivers and kernels and all that goodstuff. I think it is possible but itd be way to much work.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710 using XDA App
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Android should have a universal kernel. That would be awesome.
Sent from my Wildfire S powered by .sense using my fingers.

Well, let's start from the beginning:
You need a SOC. I doubt you can find a SOC by itself, so you would have to take it from another phone. Another option is getting a mainboard from a device, and you can find spare mainboards.
Next, you need to do some research on how the display is connected, what parts you're going to use, if their way of connecting is supported by your mainboard, etc.
Then, you have to find a way to write something to that SOC. If you don't have a mainboard that's programmed, you'll need to make the partitions manually, which means you will need a programmer (not as in someone who can write code, but a device which can write stuff to NAND chips using JTAG or something like that) to write a NAND to that SOC's MTD.
And what you have to write to that NAND? You'll need a bootloader, so you could stick with a SOC from a HTC and use the default HBOOT, or I would prefer a clean bootloader. You could check the source code of cLK for HD2, which is a really decent bootloader.
Next up, you have to get hardware working. In other words, building a kernel. Get the Linux kernel, find all the parts for all of the hardware, and actually get it up and running. And I can tell you, this is a hell of a job. Compiling a kernel from source is easy, but implementing all of your hardware in a kernel is pretty difficult. You will have to get a barebone up and running, make it dump a log to somewhere in the RAM or NAND, read that dump out, check what it's saying, and you know where to continue. This will cost a LOT of time.
Once your kernel is running and it can echo something to the screen (which is already hard by itself), you have to build an Android image from source, which is not hard at all, and extract that image to a partition on the NAND. And then, set up the rootfs path in your kernel correctly so it knows where you put that filesystem of Android.
And then, boot it up, hope that logcat can tell you something, perhaps Android will boot, but the chance is pretty small that it will the first time you try. And when you finally get into Android, you have to get all the hardware working there again.
And then you have a working Android device, but I'm afraid you can't make this thing legal, as you need an IMEI, and as far as I know, extracting and messing with IMEI's (or ESN's as they're called in the USA I believe) is not allowed, so you do have to know something about all of that stuff to get a GSM radio up and running.
It's possible, but I suggest you start with replacing a display of an HD2 with a display from a Desire for example, try to get it working, continue replacing stuff, and you know if you're able to do this.
If you want it, you could get somewhere, but it will cost a lot of money (I think it'll cost about 600$), without knowing if it will do the trick.

Are you seriously saying "Could I ...." or you meant "Can I ....?

votinh said:
Are you seriously saying "Could I ...." or you meant "Can I ....?
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Meh'
It's just words, there not going to be important in this instance.
If I were building a rocket then yes, words are important.
But I'm asking is it POSSIBLE to build a phone.

Possible... the simple way, get a working motherboard of s2 or gnote, get its display spec and wiring dia, get the display u need.. get its spec and wiring dia. Cross refer the two disp. If it match in some way, get it fixed to the board, build/get a body for the thing. Done.
Nearly impossible.. if any thing is not matching , and u fit it, well u gonna get a burned disp /board. And since u r doing some R&D, u will have to spent a lot, may be as much as for getting 2-3 top rated phones.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium

good luck!! tell use when u built ur phone!

DustByte said:
good luck!! tell use when u built ur phone!
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Just a question lol! I wouldn't because of all the work involved with software and legal sh*t.

Benjamin! I thought I fired you! (Long story on WFSDev, he threw a chair at me, I became a Dalek)
It's possible, but like the others said, it would take a lot of work. You'd need your own drivers, kernels (probably ask NHB) etc. but it's possible. Check out these links:
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html
http://www.kandroid.org/online-pdk/guide/build_system.html
http://www.android.com/developers/branding.html
http://droidgamers.com/index.php/ga...custom-android-phone-well-at-least-in-germany
I remember some other links for manufacturers on the Android website, but I couldn't find them. Good Luck!

Bad-Wolf said:
Benjamin! I thought I fired you! (Long story on WFSDev, he threw a chair at me, I became a Dalek)
It's possible, but like the others said, it would take a lot of work. You'd need your own drivers, kernels (probably ask NHB) etc. but it's possible. Check out these links:
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html
http://www.kandroid.org/online-pdk/guide/build_system.html
http://www.android.com/developers/branding.html
http://droidgamers.com/index.php/ga...custom-android-phone-well-at-least-in-germany
I remember some other links for manufacturers on the Android website, but I couldn't find them. Good Luck!
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Hehe lol, nice following me up there boss man!

Probable no :-\
Wysłane z mojego GS Note ♥

well..
if you really have money you could ask some manufacturer to make a phone that suits you..
i mean, if you really have money.. xD

I'll think the closest your going to get is if you're buying one of the arm development boards. You should get android up and running but you're pretty far away from any mobile device

Some company like motorola should make a program and you choose the specs and they make it for you.
Sent from my MB870 using xda premium

weldawadyathink said:
Some company like motorola should make a program and you choose the specs and they make it for you.
Sent from my MB870 using xda premium
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This is awful because of the licensing, test and certification requirements. Phones are only cheap because of economies of scale which you lose there. It isn't like a desktop where you can swap pieces easily. It is more akin to an even more ****ed laptop.

Chaosz-X said:
And then you have a working Android device, but I'm afraid you can't make this thing legal, as you need an IMEI, and as far as I know, extracting and messing with IMEI's (or ESN's as they're called in the USA I believe) is not allowed, so you do have to know something about all of that stuff to get a GSM radio up and running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, IMEI is for GSM and ESN is for CDMA, so we actually have both in the U.S.

US Army deploys the Atrix!

The US army is deploying smartphones to help troops to get a better sense of the ground condition. The phone of choice is the Motorola Atrix!
Link
So, can I control UAVs from my phone? :laugh:

Glad to see the Atrix getting love from at least someone. Kinda sad how underrated it is.

lol, i saw that article over at engadget.
yes, the atrix is a hugely underrated phone, but thats only because only a small percentage of smartphone users root or know about rooting.

Awesome! Even tho I have moved on to the note, I still have my atrix. Love that phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app

Hopefully they get a TPU case with it as well...
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ccrows said:
Hopefully they get a TPU case with it as well...
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Probably more like a ballistic case! Zing!
~Sent from my Unlocked, Rooted, Faux 1.45gHz Motorola Atrix 4G~

Poor choice
While I love this phone, and you'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers before I switch, I think that this is a bad choice. Unless they've somehow managed to fix the instabilities with Android in general and the quirks of the Atrix in specific, I wouldn't want to depend on this phone for my life in a combat zone. Even with running stock (rooted), I still have the occasional (but frequent enough) random reboot.
Thoughts?

wingmanjd said:
While I love this phone, and you'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers before I switch, I think that this is a bad choice. Unless they've somehow managed to fix the instabilities with Android in general and the quirks of the Atrix in specific, I wouldn't want to depend on this phone for my life in a combat zone. Even with running stock (rooted), I still have the occasional (but frequent enough) random reboot.
Thoughts?
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They may have chosen it out of convenience, since Motorola makes great hardware and the Atrix is the only model in recent history with an unlockable bootloader (Photon wont work since most of the world is GSM). I'm kinda surprised they just didnt make their own hardware though, they certainly have the funds to do it.

So we have very high tech smartphones strapped to soldiers. Next thing you know they'll all have Heartbeat Sensors from Call of Duty.

The military looks to buy off the shelf prior to developing for themselves. I think the Atrix is a pretty reliable phone.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium

wingmanjd said:
While I love this phone, and you'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers before I switch, I think that this is a bad choice. Unless they've somehow managed to fix the instabilities with Android in general and the quirks of the Atrix in specific, I wouldn't want to depend on this phone for my life in a combat zone. Even with running stock (rooted), I still have the occasional (but frequent enough) random reboot.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every single phone I've owned (iPhone 2g, 3g, 3gs, atrix 4g and note i717) have had random reboots. These are computers, reboots happen.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app

Maybe the military wanted a phone with a fingerprint scanner?

palmboy5 said:
Maybe the military wanted a phone with a fingerprint scanner?
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Indeed it played a role I'm sure. It's nice to have that security hardware in case someone drops their device.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

wingmanjd said:
While I love this phone, and you'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers before I switch, I think that this is a bad choice. Unless they've somehow managed to fix the instabilities with Android in general and the quirks of the Atrix in specific, I wouldn't want to depend on this phone for my life in a combat zone. Even with running stock (rooted), I still have the occasional (but frequent enough) random reboot.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The development was in the operating system which they needed to make secure. I am sure they are picking what they feel is the best hardware, (and the Atrix I feel is a good choice), and the operating system news is 6 months or so old which is when the announcement was made by the NSA that they had developed a secure Android OS. It's been known for a long time the military was starting to replace BB with Android phones.

I would want a more reliable phone to show where my buddys are when I'm in combat. Having a phone that over heats in 65 degree weather, and they are using it in 100+ degree with GPS on?? Digitzer problems too.
Kind of a weird choice when there is more "rugged" phones, like the Samsung Rugby.

Motorola may have used it as a marketing scheme to show how reliable the ATRIX really is. Even though it is not, still a great phone though
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

Motorola is a nice American sounding company. They have been around for a while. They made the first car radio I think. This may have something to do with decision. Taking a off the shelf phone is good budget wise. Hopefully it helps our troops deployed throughout the globe

affiatic said:
Motorola is a nice American sounding company. They have been around for a while. They made the first car radio I think. This may have something to do with decision. Taking a off the shelf phone is good budget wise. Hopefully it helps our troops deployed throughout the globe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motorola has worked with the military before and manufactures many military grade electronics.
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ar31791 said:
Motorola has worked with the military before and manufactures many military grade electronics.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app
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Then why are they using the Atrix of all phones?

nerfman100 said:
Then why are they using the Atrix of all phones?
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Click to collapse
1. Unlocked Bootloader - They can run whatever software they want, and they do.
2. American company - No worries about espionage e.g. (Huawei)
3. Good specs - Atrix might not be the newest phone, but it is by no means outdated.
4. Cheap - Motorola can't really sell the Atrix anymore, so the US army might have gotten it cheap at bulk.

İs there same problem with your phone

There is pysical a problem on the phone. I am turkish and I dont know english term of this problem.... phone case opened a little from power side. What can I do, if I sent to service, will they change it.I bought it 20 days ago. İn turkey, you can want change in 30 days.... sorry poor english....

It all depends on how this happened and how well you'll fight to get a new one! I mean if it happened because of miss usage (fell to the ground for example), I don't think they'll replace it. Even if it didn't fall, they might try to say it did to avoid replacing it, so here comes your fighting and convincing skills!
Try your luck, and hopefully you'll mange to get it replaced.
Sent from my SGS IV using Tapatalk 2

Actually in the manual there is stated that this space may get a little bigger because of some production process. Check it in the in-build manual, you can find it in widgets.
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mist813 said:
Actually in the manual there is stated that this space may get a little bigger because of some production process. Check it in the in-build manual, you can find it in widgets.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
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I couldnt understand anything from your message.....

ayky33 said:
I couldnt understand anything from your message.....
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I'm sorry
Here, quote from user manual for sgs4:
A small gap appears around the outside of the device case
• This gap is a necessary manufacturing feature and some minor rocking or vibration of parts may occur.
• Over time, friction between parts may cause this gap to expand slightly.