[HOWTO] Loop mount - Gen8 General

OK, I spent a couple of hours figuring out how loop mounting works. The problem is that the mount command in both toolbox and busybox supports only one loop device. I modified the toolbox version to allow the specification of a new loop device.
Here is how to make a 500mb loop-mounted ext2 system at /mnt/myloop , with the system being stored in /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img
Step 1. Make sure you have root. Download bettermount*.zip to your PC from here. Copy the "bettermount" file from the zip file to /data/local/ (or some other location). One way of doing that is with:
Code:
adb push bettermount /data/local
on the PC. Or you can mount your device to USB, copy bettermount to storage, and then in a root shell copy it to /data/local. Or if you have RW root, you can install bettermount in /bin or some other convenient location.
Start a shell on the device, either via adb or an on-device terminal (not recommended unless you have an external keyboard). Switch to root:
Code:
su
Then make bettermount executable:
Code:
chmod 755 /data/local/bettermount
The following steps assume you're still in your root shell.
Step 2. Create ext2 file system in a file. (Skip this if you already have one.)
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/storage/sdcard/myext2system.img bs=1M count=500
mke2fs /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img
mke2fs will give you a warning that this isn't a block special device, but just press "y" and "enter".
Step 3. Create a loop device node for the ext2 file system. The problem here is that the OS uses loop device nodes for apps moved to external storage and one for the system squashfs, and it only has enough loop device nodes for those purposes--any loop device nodes in /dev/block are already in use. On the assumption that you aren't going to have more than 253 apps moved to storage, we're going to create a loop device node numbered 255. If you like, you can check that there isn't already one with that number with
Code:
ls /dev/block/loop*
So, let's create the loop device node:
Code:
mknod -m640 /dev/block/loop255 b 7 255
Step 4. Create a mount point:
Code:
mkdir /mnt/myloop
Step 5. Mount myext2filesystem.img:
Code:
/data/local/bettermount -t ext2 -orw,exec,noatime,nodiratime,sync,loop=/dev/block/loop255 /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img /mnt/myloop
Enjoy your new file system at /mnt/myloop !
You will have to repeat Steps 3-5 after every boot, or else you can make a script that runs every time you boot. You could simply put the commands for 3-5 into a Script Manager script set to run on boot, or there may be some better, more unixy way (but I haven't had any luck editing startup scripts).
What to do with your shiny new filesystem? Well, you could move not just apps but also their libraries to external storage (you can also do that by remounting your external storage in exec mode).

arpruss said:
OK, I spent a couple of hours figuring out how loop mounting works. The problem is that the mount command in both toolbox and busybox supports only one loop device. I modified the toolbox version to allow the specification of a new loop device.
Here is how to make a 500mb loop-mounted ext2 system at /mnt/myloop , with the system being stored in /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img
Step 1. Make sure you have root. Download bettermount*.zip to your PC from here. Copy the "bettermount" file from the zip file to /data/local/ (or some other location). One way of doing that is with:
Code:
adb push bettermount /data/local
on the PC. Or you can mount your device to USB, copy bettermount to storage, and then in a root shell copy it to /data/local. Or if you have RW root, you can install bettermount in /bin or some other convenient location.
Start a shell on the device, either via adb or an on-device terminal (not recommended unless you have an external keyboard). Switch to root:
Code:
su
Then make bettermount executable:
Code:
chmod 755 /data/local/bettermount
The following steps assume you're still in your root shell.
Step 2. Create ext2 file system in a file. (Skip this if you already have one.)
Code:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/storage/sdcard/myext2system.img bs=1M count=500
mke2fs /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img
mke2fs will give you a warning that this isn't a block special device, but just press "y" and "enter".
Step 3. Create a loop device node for the ext2 file system. The problem here is that the OS uses loop device nodes for apps moved to external storage and one for the system squashfs, and it only has enough loop device nodes for those purposes--any loop device nodes in /dev/block are already in use. On the assumption that you aren't going to have more than 253 apps moved to storage, we're going to create a loop device node numbered 255. If you like, you can check that there isn't already one with that number with
Code:
ls /dev/block/loop*
So, let's create the loop device node:
Code:
mknod -m640 /dev/block/loop255 b 7 255
Step 4. Create a mount point:
Code:
mkdir /mnt/myloop
Step 5. Mount myext2filesystem.img:
Code:
/data/local/bettermount -t ext2 -orw,exec,noatime,nodiratime,sync,loop=/dev/block/loop255 /storage/sdcard/myext2filesystem.img /mnt/myloop
Enjoy your new file system at /mnt/myloop !
You will have to repeat Steps 3-5 after every boot, or else you can make a script that runs every time you boot. You could simply put the commands for 3-5 into a Script Manager script set to run on boot, or there may be some better, more unixy way (but I haven't had any luck editing startup scripts).
What to do with your shiny new filesystem? Well, you could move not just apps but also their libraries to external storage (you can also do that by remounting your external storage in exec mode).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of busybox were you testing with? I haven't had a problem with multiple loop devices...

I've been using the stock busybox: 1.7.2.
Do you use -oloop=/dev/block/loopNN to specify the device?
I just tried 1.16.0 from the Titanium Backup website. No luck. I created /dev/block/loop222. Then:
Code:
# /tmp/busybox mount -t ext2 -oloop=/dev/block/loop222 /storage/10.img /mnt/myloop
mount: can't setup loop device: No such file or directory
# bettermount -t ext2 -oloop=/dev/block/loop222 /storage/10.img /mnt/myloop
# (works!)
I also tried just plain -oloop, without the =/dev/block/loop222, and it didn't work.

arpruss said:
I've been using the stock busybox: 1.7.2.
Do you use -oloop=/dev/block/loopNN to specify the device?
I just tried 1.16.0 from the Titanium Backup website. No luck. I created /dev/block/loop222. Then:
Code:
# /tmp/busybox mount -t ext2 -oloop=/dev/block/loop222 /storage/10.img /mnt/myloop
mount: can't setup loop device: No such file or directory
# bettermount -t ext2 -oloop=/dev/block/loop222 /storage/10.img /mnt/myloop
# (works!)
I also tried just plain -oloop, without the =/dev/block/loop222, and it didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't remember if mount was symlinked to busybox at the time, but I just used the standard "mount -o loop disk1.img /mnt/disk". I may have even been on a custom kernel and had a crosscompiled mount, so good work, this is probably going to be a common problem for people.

The problem with busybox seems to be that it thinks /dev/block/loop0 is free, but it's not. Doing losetup -f returns /dev/block/loop0.

If you could mount the loopdevice in init.rc this would be the easiest way to expand the 300MB /data problem with archos.
Also it might be the best way in CM7 until its stable for the persistent Data between revisions.

fzelle said:
If you could mount the loopdevice in init.rc this would be the easiest way to expand the 300MB /data problem with archos.
Also it might be the best way in CM7 until its stable for the persistent Data between revisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had no luck adding anything to init.rc with the rw root.
Moreover, /storage and /storage/sdcard get mounted quite late in the boot process--late enough that I think one can't just move the /data directory there. I suppose one might be able to mount them earlier in the process, but I haven't been able to figure out how to run anything in an init script. If anybody knows how to do it, please speak up!
What one could do, however, is mount the loop from an app's on-boot notification, and then symlink individual app files.

It looks like with a better busybox than the one included with the device, one can also use losetup to specify the loop device--see here.

I built a full 1.18.5 version of Busybox, and it does loop mounting just right. You can replace Step 1 of my HOWTO with fetching my modified busybox and putting it in /data/local, from http://code.google.com/p/busybox-for-android/downloads/list
Then step 3 is not needed.
Step 4 should be replaceable with the very simple:
Code:
/data/local/busybox mount -orw,exec,noatime,nodiratime,sync,loop /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img /mnt/myloop
Or if you're pressed for time, and want to use default mount options:
Code:
/data/local/busybox mount -oloop /storage/sdcard/myext2system.img /mnt/myloop
But if you want to implement this is inside an app, depending on your license needs, you may want to use the longer method, since busybox is GPL while bettermount is Apache 2.

Related

need write to /system or something EXEC path

I was the first person I know on the internet to compile nmap for android and this guy ( http://wjholden.com/nmap/ ) took it to the next level got a new phone ( CM6 with OC ) nbow it does not work
* can't write to /system even with rw remount
* if I boot recovery I can' write to /systm but its just a temp fs so failsause ...
* can't ADB shell (read below ) to find out where system is really mounted OR mount the real /system my self ..
* remouted / but anything I add gets wipped on reboot ...
* onlything that works is remount / , copy nmap and then add PATH hackery to EXEC nmap ... on EVERY reboot ...
NOTES BELOW:
Code:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=701589&page=4
I think its because /system is protected in CM5+ ? even with remount
command... ?
let me know what I need to copy where in recovery mode to /system to
get yours to run properly :/
you could also have your installer check for this and have notes etc ..
# uname -a
Linux localhost 2.6.29.6-cyanogenmod #1 PREEMPT Fri Sep 17 16:05:39
PDT 2010 arm v6l GNU/Linux
# ls
ls
NMAP FOR ANDROID CROSS COMPILE ARM.html
NMAP.zip
nmap
nmap-4.01-1.spec
nmap-mac-prefixes
nmap-os-fingerprints
nmap-protocols
nmap-rpc
nmap-service-probes
nmap-services
# cp * /system/bin
cp * /system/bin
cp: can't create '/system/bin/NMAP FOR ANDROID CROSS COMPILE ARM.html': Out of m
emory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/NMAP.zip': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-4.01-1.spec': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-mac-prefixes': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-os-fingerprints': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-protocols': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-rpc': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-service-probes': Out of memory
cp: can't create '/system/bin/nmap-services': Out of memory
# df /system
df /system
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/block/mtdblock3 245760 240824 4936 98% /system
# mount
mount
...
/dev/block/mtdblock3 on /system type yaffs2 (rw)
Code:
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /
rm -Rf /nmap
mkdir /nmap
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/nmap' > path
cd /nmap
wget http://rmccurdy.com/stuff/G1/BINS/NMAP/NMAP.zip
unzip NMAP.zip
chmod 777 /nmap/*
export PATH=$PATH:/nmap
echo run /nmap/path before you start nmap
nmap -vvv 127.0.0.1
rmccurdy.com/nmap.sh (tested on CM6 / mytouch slide )
in normal mode ..
Code:
bash
localhost / # mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /system
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /system
localhost / # cd /system
cd /system
localhost system # for i in `ls` ;do mkdir $i\\nmap ;done
for i in `ls` ;do mkdir $i\\nmap ;done
mkdir: can't create directory 'app\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'bin\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'build.prop\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'etc\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'fonts\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'framework\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'lib\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'lost+found\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'media\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'usr\nmap': Out of memory
mkdir: can't create directory 'xbin\nmap': Out of memory
in "Android system recovery (2e)" :
( note: /system is also a vfs I think .. I adb push to it and reboot and the file is gone ... )
Code:
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\nmap>adb shell
- exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\nmap>
You can't write in /system in normal boot mode as security is on (s-on), remounting rw does you no good.
In recovery you will need to mount /system from clockwork before you can do anything.
I do have Clockwork Recovery 2.5.0.1 but I am not sure how to get to a shell and or find /system mount path as I can't adb shell ( read above ) so I can't remount or mount /system
rmccurdy.com/nmap.sh * this is what I am using for nmap as of now ..
Usage:
bash -x /sdcard/nmap.sh localhost
etc ...
There's an option in clockwork under partitions to allow you to mount the system. I'm not sure why but a lot of people have an issue getting into su with adb when they are in recovery, the constant /system/bin/sh error is annoying. Also, if I remember right, yaffs2 is not what you use to mount the system when using that command. It's mtdblock3 or something like that if I'm thinking along the correct lines here.
Maybe you should try putting it in a zip file as a script and running it that way since you use a different command (and much easier) to mount the system and write to it. Then again, I'm not sure what you're trying to so so I could just be talking out of my a$$
I can't do anything usefull in recovery ... reboot and apply update.zip but I dont how how nor do I really want to make a .zip / script to mount system etc .. do you know a zip I can work from as an example
rmccurdy said:
I can't do anything usefull in recovery ... reboot and apply update.zip but I dont how how nor do I really want to make a .zip / script to mount system etc .. do you know a zip I can work from as an example
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The slide doesn't have S-Off, most HTC phones have them now...So you have to wait for Alpharev 2.0 to be released.
Ace42 said:
The slide doesn't have S-Off, most HTC phones have them now...So you have to wait for Alpharev 2.0 to be released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but in recovery we can mount the system and write to it. Phones with s-off can do that while booted normally because the NAND is unlocked and the system is no longer protected.
You can do it one of two ways. This one is easiest if you know linux commands but are unfamiliar with update-script format. Make an update script and put this in there:
Code:
show_progress 0.5 0
run_program PACKAGE:example.sh
show_progress 0.5 10
You don't have to use the show_progress line, it's just for aesthetics.
Make a .sh script, name it whatever you want and put the linux commands you want to execute in the script. For example:
Code:
#!/sbin/sh
#
##############################################
mount /system;
rm -rf /nmap
mkdir /nmap
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/nmap' > path
cd /nmap
wget http://rmccurdy.com/stuff/G1/BINS/NMAP/NMAP.zip
unzip NMAP.zip
chmod 777 /nmap/*
export PATH=$PATH:/nmap
echo run /nmap/path before you start nmap
nmap -vvv 127.0.0.1
exit 0;
Or what ever you're trying to get done. I'll upload an example file of all this since hands on is always better. Looking at this though, you may want to have the files in the zip (in the directories they will be installed to) because wget probably wont work since the radio is off while in recovery.
interesting thanks ! ... do you have to resign it and all or can you just edit and rezip it ?
rmccurdy said:
interesting thanks ! ... do you have to resign it and all or can you just edit and rezip it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you're using clockwork you just edit and zip. Might be easier to use an archive explorer to open (without uzipping it) then drag and drop, but do what's easiest for you.

[HOW-TO] Make Ext4 from Recovery Without Losing FAT32 Data

I've seen a lot of threads detailing how to create an Ext4 partition using Gparted but if you don't want to download the image and would rather do it all on your phone, here's how:
This entire procedure should take less than 5min so you can go back to messing with your phone in other ways.
REQUIRES:
CLOCKWORK MOD RECOVERY
ADB
FINGERS
I am not responsible for any damage done to your phone doing this process. =.=
1. Download the zip file provided.
2. Extract the zip file to the same folder you have ADB in. (You should now have a folder named ext4 in the same folder you have ADB)
3. Reboot the phone into MAGDLR. Then select the option to boot into the recovery.
4. Make sure that /system/ is mounted using the option to mount partition in Clockwork Recovery.
5. Open a command (cmd) prompt and cd into your folder with ADB.
6. Run these commands in the command prompt. (Commands are in BOLD)
adb push ext4 /system/etc/
adb shell
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print (make note of the total size of your partition here)
resize 1 0 xxxx (where xxxx is the size you want for your FAT32 partition. It should equal total size of your partition that you gleaned from print minus 1024 for the ext4 partition you're about to set up)
mkpartfs primary ext2 xxxx yyyy (where xxxx is where your previous partition ended and yyyy is the total size of your sdcard)
.... (Let it do its thing. Shouldn't take more than a minute)
print (Make sure that everything is correct: You have a fat32 partition running from 0 to xxxx and an ext2 partition running from xxxx to the total size of your partition)
quit
Now to utilize the two files we previously pushed to /system/etc/
chmod 777 /system/etc/tune2fs
chmod 777 /system/etc/e2fsck
/system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 <- You now have ext3
/system/etc/tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 (Note: CAsE SEnSitiVE)
/system/etc/e2fsck -fpDC0 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 (Note: CAsE SEnSitiVE) <- You now have ext4
7. You can check that it's truly ext4 by:
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print (It should now read that you have a FAT32 and an ext4 partition.)
quit
You're all done! Now you have a 1GB ext4 partition for all your data and apps. If you know what you're doing, these same steps can be modified so that you have two ext4 partitions if you'd like. You can also alter the size of your ext4 partition to something smaller if you don't have that many apps to install or have a smaller SDcard (512MB should be sufficient in most cases, 1GB is slightly overkill IMO)
i will try with my HD2. I need more space to install app on sd not on phone. Thanks so much
Hi, I follow your instruction but when I get a "Permision deined" error when I type in the following commond
/system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
Can you please help?
Many many thanks!!
justj said:
Hi, I follow your instruction but when I get a "Permision deined" error when I type in the following commond
/system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
Can you please help?
Many many thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crap. I forgot a step. You have to type
chmod 777 /system/etc/tune2fs
chmod 777 /system/etc/e2fsck
prior to using those files. That should fix the permission denied error.
I've edited the OP to reflect the changes, thanks for pointing that out.
Thanks man
Thanks Bro I have successfully make ext4 and I am enjoying my new Rom
Using HTC Desire runnymede 5.0
Amazing. I will keep it for future reference, although I partitioned my SD with CWM recovery and Gparted.
What kind of partition is made when using CWM? I made a 1GB partition on my card that way, and it works great. But I've heard good things about having it as ext4. How does this guide reflect the fact that I already have an SD-EXT on my card that's not necessarily ext4?
Thanks!
please help
please help me i cant get it to work... its same with /system mounted and unmounted...not even one 3rd app is working for me on my win 7 64x when i want to create ext4 this is my last hope. card is brand new 8gb ultra speed its working fine so cant be problem there. it seems like chmod 777 will delete that file..
Code:
C:\Users\OgziR\Desktop\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20130522\sdk\platform-tools>adb
push ext4 /system/etc/
push: ext4/tune2fs -> /system/etc/tune2fs
push: ext4/e2fsck -> /system/etc/e2fsck
2 files pushed. 0 files skipped.
1573 KB/s (603400 bytes in 0.374s)
C:\Users\OgziR\Desktop\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20130522\sdk\platform-tools>adb
shell
~ # /system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
/system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
/sbin/sh: /system/etc/tune2fs: Permission denied
~ # chmod 777 /system/etc/tune2fs
chmod 777 /system/etc/tune2fs
~ # /system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
/system/etc/tune2fs -j /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
/sbin/sh: /system/etc/tune2fs: not found
~ #
Hye... I have 2 question...
My phone is a HTC HD2 running an NexusHD2.ICS.CM9.HWA.V2.3 ROM... The cmd prompt cant seem so fine my device. Do have any advice on this???
Secondly, what do i do with the ext4.zip file??? I mean, do it extract it, or put in same folder with ADB??
Btw, i am Super Noob on this, so i apologize if my question offends anyone... 1000 apologizes...
OK, first of all, do you have adb installed correctly? If cmd prompt can't find your device that is the most likely problem.
As for what to do with ext4.zip, you need to extract it to your adb folder.
Sent from my Vivid 4G using xda app-developers app

[TUT] Linux in chroot on your iconia

So, many of you want to run a full-size linux on your iconia. Unfortunately due to the fact that acer are a bunch of stupid mofos not releasing kernel source code and do not allow to flash unsigned ROMs we'll have to run it in chroot within android.
First thing to do is to get yourself a rootfs of linux. You can use angstrom, ubuntu.. I'm building debian using multistrap, the config is below. You'd better use pre-built ubuntu/backtrack and skip up to somewhere between steps 4 and 5, unless you have experience with dpkg and apt-get.
Code:
[General]
arch=armel
directory=/home/alexander/builds/multistrap
cleanup=false
retainsources=true
allowrecommends=false
noauth=true
unpack=true
aptsources=Grip
debootstrap=Debian
[Debian]
packages=screen openssh-server alsa-utils wireless-tools wpasupplicant nmap netcat
source=http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian
keyring=debian-archive-keyring
suite=sid
[Grip]
packages=locales
keyring=emdebian-archive-keyring
source=http://www.emdebian.org/grip
suite=sid
Now we need to get it to iconia somehow. Running it from microsd would be incredibly slow and internal ssd is formatted to vfat. So let's loop mount it.
1. Create the loopback image
Code:
#700 mb
dd if=/dev/zero of=debian.img bs=10M count=70
mkfs.ext2 -f debian.img
2. Mount it as you always do.. on your desktop yet
Code:
mkdir /mnt/debian
mount -o loop -t ext2 debian.img /mnt/debian
3. Copy the desired files.. As a root user, you can cd to the rootfs (generated by multistrap) and
Code:
tar cvp . | tar xvp -C /mnt/debian
4. unmount the image.. (umount /mnt/debian) and copy to the /sdcard. I copy to the /sdcard/linux/debian.img. Also, I use the /sdcard/linux/uroot directory to mount the image on the tablet.
5. now, you need adb or terminal emulator and superuser permissions ('teh rewt')
Now let's make some script, name it android_sh and put it to /bin in /sdcard/linux/uroot. And make it executable (chmod +x /bin/android_sh)
Code:
#!/bin/bash
export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
export USER=root
export HOME=/root
export TERM=linux
if [ -z "`pidof Xtightvnc`" ] ; then
vncserver -geometry 1280x740 -depth 8
else
kill -9 `pidof Xtightvnc`
rm /tmp/.X11-unix/X*
rm /tmp/.X*lock
fi
/bin/bash -
Ok. now make another script, in /sdcard/linux
Code:
#!/bin/sh
LOOPBASE=/sdcard/linux
LOOPFILE=debian.img
LOOPTARGET=uroot
cd $LOOPBASE
if [ -z "`grep $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET /proc/mounts`" ]; then
echo "mounting $LOOPFILE"
mount -o loop -t ext2 $LOOPBASE/$LOOPFILE $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET
else
echo "$LOOPFILE already mounted"
fi
for i in dev proc sys
do
echo "processing $i"
if [ -z "`grep $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET/$i /proc/mounts`" ]
then
echo "mounting $i"
mount -o bind /$i $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET/$i
else
echo "$i already mounted"
fi
done
if [ -z "`grep $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET/dev/pts /proc/mounts`" ]
then
mount -t tmpfs none $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET/dev/pts
fi
echo "chroot into $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET"
chroot $LOOPBASE/$LOOPTARGET /bin/android_sh
now, execute it (sh /sdcard/linux/chroot.sh). You should be in root shell now. If you're building debian using multistrap, configure the packages (dpkg-configure -a). Remember I told you to keep out of debian? Dash package is somewhat broken so you may need to lurk through mailing lists to make it install.. And you need to manually add your sid/testing mirrors to the aptitude config.
So what now? Install tightvnc server (in debian/ubuntu, use apt-get update; apt-get install tightvncserver), exit the shell and launch chroot.sh again.
If you're building rootfs yourself, don't forget to install some x desktop environment. I use lxde on debian, it is lightweight and starts automatically with tightvnc
Now, you can use the vnc client on android to connect to your X11. When chrooting, tightvnc wil tell you the number of x session, so use it as the last digit of the port (5901, 5902 etc). I welcome suggestions on how to improve the android_sh to cleanly kill all tightvnc servers and remove temporary files so that the port number is always the same
In the end you may or may not get something similiar to this:
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9076/img3159qm.jpg
P.S.
I recommend you to install Hacker's Keyboard which will give you the tab key, esc and arrows simultaneously and allow to use cool software like vim and emacs without pain
https://market.android.com/details?id=app-org.pocketworkstation.pckeyboard
U.B.D.Man...
Cool...But I got stucked at the first step. Where can I get debian.img?
you create a new file named debian.img using dd, then you format it to ext2 using mkfs.. well. you can just take backtrack image from xoom. essentially it's just ubuntu with some software added
I'm just curious why you chose ext2 as opposed to ext4? Given that the filesystem is actually a file on a filesystem, I sort of understand ext2, especially considering you can mount it with the ext4 driver now.
This probably sounds like a stupid question, but for some reason I cannot use bash?
It may be that my paths are not configured properly, but i dont have a bin at the "/" level. I have looked in /system/bin and /system/xbin, but have not found bash there either.
I installed busybox and have been able to perform root tasks, so I am not sure what I missed.
because.. you don't have bash.. you should have it in your chroot. if you need it in android, just install it (like http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=537827)
I installed bash according to the link you posted, but I still don't have a /bin outside of /system. I did change the above scripts to reflect this by saying:
#!/system/bin (but then I get the error 'event not found')
My prompt reads: "sh-3.2#" after reboot, which I understand is bash replacing the stock terminal.
I tried creating the /bin directory in the root, but even with root terminal, it said it was read only. Do I have to remount the root and then create a /bin directory?
When I rooted, I don't remember their being a lengthy discussion about bash installation, or the creation of a /bin directory.
I welcome all suggestions, as I am trying to learn more about the inner workings of the tablet, but still have little experience.
you need bash only in the linux in chroot and therefore do not need to modify scripts.
anyway,
mount -o remount,rw /system
cp bash /system/bin
chmod 755 /system/bin/bash
mount -o remount,ro /system
then you can start bash by typing 'bash' in shell
Hello,
I have tried and I still can't get it run. I am not used to Linux stuffs and scared that I may screwed up my tab. Can you please pack the required files and upload it so that we can follow easier? something like this http://www.secmaniac.com/may-2011/backtrack-5-on-motorola-xoom-in-10-minutes-or-less/ would be great.
Thank you.
PS: I sincerely want to get BackTrack on my tab so that I can run R on this
moved to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1094237
sp3dev said:
because.. you don't have bash.. you should have it in your chroot. if you need it in android, just install it (like http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=537827)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up installing bash, but I still had problems with chroot and getting the scripts to run, so I decided to reverse what I was doing. In the process of trying to remove the bash shell and replace with the stock sh, I must have messed something up.
I tried a factory reset, and when I loaded back up again, I can't get wifi to connect. My suspicion is that there is at least two separate things wrong:
-My shell is somewhere in permission limbo or non-existant
I try running >adb shell and I get:
"- exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -"​
-The permissions on my wpa_supplicant are probably messed up, hence I can't connect to wifi
Any suggestions?
Well I tried a few more things:
-Tried copying over bash to /system/bin, got an error that it is a read-only file system. Funny, because I need shell (chmod?) in order to repair the shell, those bastards.
-Tried installing apk using adb, got same message about 'sh' missing. I think I will have to reflash a system.img, but I can't seem to find the Wifi-US with a working link.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Hey guys, could you upload and send me the link of a video of this working? Cause I love the idea of it but I'm not sure if its really practical
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

[Q] Mounting & Changing Permissions Using Terminal Emulator on Android Phone

How to properly MOUNT the system so I can change its permission? (USING TERMINAL EMULATOR)
I know the first command for it (mount) (I dont know what command follows)
Because I need to first mount the system before changing permissions.
How to change permissions for a system app (for example SystemUI.apk)? After doing some changes into my SystemUI.apk, I push it into my system and it has different permissions.
I want to change its permission into rw-r--r
In the emulator:
Code:
$ su
# mount -o remount,rw /system
# chmod 0644 /system/app/SystemUI.apk
or:
Code:
$ su
# cd system/app
# mount -o remount,rw /system
# chmod 0644 SystemUI.apk
- What does the "0" in 0644 stands for?
Can you elaborate how that mount works so I can properly use it.
mount -o (what this for) remount (and this) ,rw (this also) /system(its the directory, the one I understand)
klmiciano said:
- What does the "0" in 0644 stands for?
Can you elaborate how that mount works so I can properly use it.
mount -o (what this for) remount (and this) ,rw (this also) /system(its the directory, the one I understand)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Permissions for system files go beyond simply rw-r-r. Since Android is essentially Linux, Linux permissions do exist in Android. Alongside the Owner, Group and Other permissions, of which you set rw, r and r respectively, special permissions which are the Sticky bit, GID and UID exist as well. However, since these special permissions are not required for the functioning of Android, the 0 in 0644 is to disable all three of them.
-o in mount is essentially a flag. Flags are options to obtain different outcomes for each command. For example,
Code:
ls -s
not only lists the files in the current directory, but also lists the files' sizes in kB. I am not sure about -o in this case, however.
Remounting is required as your system is already a mounted filesystem, but as read-only (ro). Hence you have to remount it as read-write (rw), in order to change the properties of its files.
This is some good stuff. I need to learn more.
The last time I use the chmod command. I didn't include the '0'. I've only type
chmod 644 (blahblah)
Btw, Thank you for teaching me this stuff.
More power.:laugh:
NightRaven49 said:
Permissions for system files go beyond simply rw-r-r. Since Android is essentially Linux, Linux permissions do exist in Android. Alongside the Owner, Group and Other permissions, of which you set rw, r and r respectively, special permissions which are the Sticky bit, GID and UID exist as well. However, since these special permissions are not required for the functioning of Android, the 0 in 0644 is to disable all three of them.
-o in mount is essentially a flag. Flags are options to obtain different outcomes for each command. For example,
Code:
ls -s
not only lists the files in the current directory, but also lists the files' sizes in kB. I am not sure about -o in this case, however.
Remounting is required as your system is already a mounted filesystem, but as read-only (ro). Hence you have to remount it as read-write (rw), in order to change the properties of its files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guide probably helped me as well

Unable to mount System as rw in 7.1.1 DP

I am trying to create an overlay folder under /system/vendor so that I can throw a layers apk there to hide the nav bar. I am currently using the build.prop method which doesn't work nicely with the Now on Tap action of Swipe Navigation which is what I am ultimately trying to fix.
I tried using Solid Explorer to simply create the new directory like I did previously in 7.0 and 6.x but was unable to do so (action failed). I decided to try using the terminal and create the folder and move files from there but got the message that the system was read-only. I then attempted to mount system a few different ways all of which failed. I did use su before entering these commands.
Code:
angler:/system/vendor $ mkdir overlay
mkdir: 'overlay': Read-only file system
angler:/system/vendor $ mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
mount: '/dev/block/platform/soc.0/f9824900.sdhci/by-name/system' not user mountable in fstab
angler:/system/vendor $ /system/bin/mount -o rw,remount,rw /system /system
mount: '/system' not in /proc/mounts
angler:/system/vendor $ /system/bin/mount /system
mount: bad /etc/fstab: No such file or directory
Googling around didn't yield much in the way of solutions other than these different methods of mounting system. Am I just unable to mount system as rw in 7.1.1 currently, and if so, is there another way to accomplish what I want?
I'm trying to find thread I read this from, so if I find it I'll post link to it. When I was on early 7 previews that was set up with systemless root I went into twrp and then went to terminal and typed the following, touch su. When your in terminal cd to both bin and xbin and type command "touch su" without quotes. Then reboot and you should be able to use something like es file explorer to get into and write in /system. Hope that helps.
Found it, look to post = 15
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p/help/es-file-explorer-doesnt-understand-t3242775
Unfortunately that did not end up working for me, thanks for looking up the link for me though!
On Nougat the rw mount command should be typed like this:
mount -o rw,remount /system
then for touch:
touch sbin/su
Thank you blitz for clarifying.
Hmm... it seems like the mount worked but the touch did not. I ended up using just "touch su" but ran into a different error with mkdir. I think I may just be out of luck for now. Thank you both for your help!
Code:
~ # mount -o rw,remount /system
~ # cd /system/bin
/system/bin # touch sbin/su
touch: sbin/su: No such file or directory
/system/bin # touch su
/system/bin # cd /system/xbin
/system/xbin # touch su
/system/xbin # cd /system/vendor
/vendor # mkdir overlay
mkdir: cannot create directory 'overlay': No space left on device
AbuShabanov said:
Hmm... it seems like the mount worked but the touch did not. I ended up using just "touch su" but ran into a different error with mkdir. I think I may just be out of luck for now. Thank you both for your help!
Code:
~ # mount -o rw,remount /system
~ # cd /system/bin
/system/bin # touch sbin/su
touch: sbin/su: No such file or directory
/system/bin # touch su
/system/bin # cd /system/xbin
/system/xbin # touch su
/system/xbin # cd /system/vendor
/vendor # mkdir overlay
mkdir: cannot create directory 'overlay': No space left on device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish but still:
The touch sbin/su means creating an empty file called su in the sbin subdirectory under the current directory. So if there is no subdir named sbin under /system/bin, then it's not going to work
Secondly, you should know about the ls command: ls -la lists the files in the current directory, and remember than in unix and linux terminology, a directory is also a file so you'll also see directories (including current "." and parent "..")
Third, you should know about the df command which shows filesystem disk space usage. df -h will show you how much free space you have an all of your filesystems, including system.
Last, with great power comes great responsibilities. Running the wrong command as root will easily make your system unusable.
I have substratum installed and inside /system/vendor there is a link (again a file) called overlay which links to directory /system/overlay where apks are.
rchtk said:
I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying to create an overlay folder under /system/vendor so that I can throw a layers apk there to hide the nav bar.
rchtk said:
I have substratum installed and inside /system/vendor there is a link (again a file) called overlay which links to directory /system/overlay where apks are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you on the 7.1.1 (NPF10C)? If so it sounds like you have accomplished what I am trying to do. I'm only familiar with the basic unix commands as I haven't actively used it in about 5 years. Would you mind sharing how to create the link to /system/overlay from /system/vendor, or does Substratum take care of that? Offhand it sounds like a symbolic link but my terminology is pretty rusty.
AbuShabanov said:
I am trying to create an overlay folder under /system/vendor so that I can throw a layers apk there to hide the nav bar.
Are you on the 7.1.1 (NPF10C)? If so it sounds like you have accomplished what I am trying to do. I'm only familiar with the basic unix commands as I haven't actively used it in about 5 years. Would you mind sharing how to create the link to /system/overlay from /system/vendor, or does Substratum take care of that? Offhand it sounds like a symbolic link but my terminology is pretty rusty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes 7.1.1.
Substratum created the overlay directory and the link to it.
Manually that would be:
mount -o rw,remount -t auto /vendor
mount -o rw,remount -t auto /system
mkdir /system/overlay
cd /system/vendor
ln -s /system/overlay
mount -o ro,remount -t auto /vendor
mount -o ro,remount -t auto /system
But links do take a very small amount of bytes (roughly name and target) so for that, you'll need some space in your vendor partition (no space left on /vendor). check with "df".
I have 3.8MB free (that's an original vendor + overlay link)
rchtk said:
mount -o rw,remount -t auto /vendor
mount -o rw,remount -t auto /system
mkdir /system/overlay
cd /system/vendor
ln -s /system/overlay
mount -o ro,remount -t auto /vendor
mount -o ro,remount -t auto /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this works and I was able to mount system and vendor, create the link, move the apk file, etc but it appears that the apk itself is not working on NPF10C. Thank you for your help and the refresher on the unix commands!

Categories

Resources