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I didn't think it belonged in Dream Android Development, so I'm putting it here. If it needs to be moved, move it.
Is it possible to boot anything other than Android on the Dream?
I've seen the Nokia N900 and its Maemo 5 firmware, and I'm absolutely drawn to it, thanks to its debian-based OS (sudo apt-get install anything), it's X-based graphics system (REAL linux GUI programs), and all the apps it already has (Native Gizmo > Hacky Sipdroid).
I've also taken a look at other Linux-based open phone firmwares.
What is keeping us from doing this? If it's drivers, do they exist for another similar Linux-based firmware?
Could we dual-boot Android and this other OS using a third-stage bootloader which loads as a kernel from within the BOOT: partition?
I've seen the (albeit extremely hackish) method of getting Debian on the G1, chrooting into a loop-mounted FS and using a loopback VNC to spring into a KDE/Gnome/LXDE UI, but it's slow, still has Android and its apps loaded into memory, and very hackish and unstable.
I'm more than willing to test anything firmware-wise on my phone as long as it doesn't mess with my SPL.
The possibilities are nearly limitless - WINE under Linux means true "Windows Mobile" without the WinCE kernel.
Or perhaps WinMo/WinCE can be booted on the Dream?
It's more of a question of whether or not it's possible right now than a concept or implementation, but once that's answered, I'll either throw some time into testing and porting, or kick back and enjoy the Android as it is.
For starters:
- How does the SPL hand off to the BOOT: partition and its kernel/initrd?
- What devices need what drivers? What should be thrown into the kernel?
- Do things need reverse-engineering or is it all straightforward and documented?
- How can we use the space provided without messing with the SPL? (use cache partition for OS? Modified recovery that doesn't depend on cache partition?)
- Is dual-booting between Android possible? Can this be switched and launched before Dalvik and the Android stuff loads on the Android kernel?
- Can this be done with other Android-powered, rooted devices?
Have you seen wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/OpenMoko_on_HTC-Dream or lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2009-August/052529.html? (Crap, I can't post links) Looks promising since Angstrom is a very powerful embedded distro, but it's a one-man project now. I hope some people will join it or start a similar project.
G1 is a great device, however, I can see only a few people hacking on OS alternatives for it. You always got to have either an active community or a company in order to complete such a project.
The Android hackers community is very vibrant, however, people are not really interested in bringing a fully-featured Linux distro to G1 or other Android phones. Android is too trendy itself
The Debian/Ubuntu opportunity that we have now is nice, but it looks like an addition to the Android which takes a lot of memory and CPU.
I have just set up a small Ubuntu environment booting on my G1 together with Android. I combined the userspace prepared by Paolo Sammicheli (xdatap1.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/jaunty-under-android/) with Bayle Shanks's instructions (bayleshanks.com/wiki.pl?tips-computer-android-g1_debian_cyanogenMod). I am going to use it for mutt, vim, some coding. X11/VNC experience has been frustrating so far.
I am pretty sure though that there will be more people wanting to use alternative OSes on their phones: Moto Droid and Nexus are powerful enough for a full desktop environment.
vaskas said:
Have you seen wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/OpenMoko_on_HTC-Dream or lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2009-August/052529.html? (Crap, I can't post links) Looks promising since Angstrom is a very powerful embedded distro, but it's a one-man project now. I hope some people will join it or start a similar project.
G1 is a great device, however, I can see only a few people hacking on OS alternatives for it. You always got to have either an active community or a company in order to complete such a project.
The Android hackers community is very vibrant, however, people are not really interested in bringing a fully-featured Linux distro to G1 or other Android phones. Android is too trendy itself
The Debian/Ubuntu opportunity that we have now is nice, but it looks like an addition to the Android which takes a lot of memory and CPU.
I have just set up a small Ubuntu environment booting on my G1 together with Android. I combined the userspace prepared by Paolo Sammicheli (xdatap1.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/jaunty-under-android/) with Bayle Shanks's instructions (bayleshanks.com/wiki.pl?tips-computer-android-g1_debian_cyanogenMod). I am going to use it for mutt, vim, some coding. X11/VNC experience has been frustrating so far.
I am pretty sure though that there will be more people wanting to use alternative OSes on their phones: Moto Droid and Nexus are powerful enough for a full desktop environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i really think it lies in what you want from your phone... i know you say you use your ubuntu env for things such as vim and mutt, but everything that vim and mutt can do, can already be done under android..
the biggest challenge is getting people to latch on to an alternate distro which offers MORE than android, which has yet to come to surface... ultimately this is a phone.. not a netbook...and for a phone android is pretty dam sweet...
although in terms of geek work, running ANY other os on non native hardware is cool....albeit not really worth it
anybody were successful by using the internal-memory-image from the openmoko wiki?
I always get kernel panic, when booting it. I flashed it with flash_image boot/system, does this matter? In the wiki they use fastboot.
scheich, I only tried the SD-card way (see my post in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=624392)
It shouldn't really matter whether you use fastboot or flash the image. The kernel panic could occur due to the inability to find the root filesystem. Try reflashing the yaffs2.
By the way, why did you choose to put OpenMoko in the internal memory? Are you going to use it exclusively or as the primary OS on the device?
Some of what you suggest can be done, but not recommended.
1) Nokia/Maemo is a bad fit for a phone. It is a real HOG. It is also shoehorning (with a sledge hammer) a desktop OS into a phone. It just doesn't work right. Android exists because a totally new UI model was needed to work optimally with a phone's physical form.
2) WINE will NEVER work since the CPU in the phone is ARM and not x86. If you want to run windonkey programs (can't imagine why you would), you would have to run a PROCESSOR EMULATOR, and this will be REALLY REALLY REALLY slow and memory intense.
TylTru said:
I didn't think it belonged in Dream Android Development, so I'm putting it here. If it needs to be moved, move it.
Is it possible to boot anything other than Android on the Dream?
I've seen the Nokia N900 and its Maemo 5 firmware, and I'm absolutely drawn to it, thanks to its debian-based OS (sudo apt-get install anything), it's X-based graphics system (REAL linux GUI programs), and all the apps it already has (Native Gizmo > Hacky Sipdroid).
I've also taken a look at other Linux-based open phone firmwares.
What is keeping us from doing this? If it's drivers, do they exist for another similar Linux-based firmware?
Could we dual-boot Android and this other OS using a third-stage bootloader which loads as a kernel from within the BOOT: partition?
I've seen the (albeit extremely hackish) method of getting Debian on the G1, chrooting into a loop-mounted FS and using a loopback VNC to spring into a KDE/Gnome/LXDE UI, but it's slow, still has Android and its apps loaded into memory, and very hackish and unstable.
I'm more than willing to test anything firmware-wise on my phone as long as it doesn't mess with my SPL.
The possibilities are nearly limitless - WINE under Linux means true "Windows Mobile" without the WinCE kernel.
Or perhaps WinMo/WinCE can be booted on the Dream?
It's more of a question of whether or not it's possible right now than a concept or implementation, but once that's answered, I'll either throw some time into testing and porting, or kick back and enjoy the Android as it is.
For starters:
- How does the SPL hand off to the BOOT: partition and its kernel/initrd?
- What devices need what drivers? What should be thrown into the kernel?
- Do things need reverse-engineering or is it all straightforward and documented?
- How can we use the space provided without messing with the SPL? (use cache partition for OS? Modified recovery that doesn't depend on cache partition?)
- Is dual-booting between Android possible? Can this be switched and launched before Dalvik and the Android stuff loads on the Android kernel?
- Can this be done with other Android-powered, rooted devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vaskas said:
scheich, I only tried the SD-card way (see my post in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=624392)
It shouldn't really matter whether you use fastboot or flash the image. The kernel panic could occur due to the inability to find the root filesystem. Try reflashing the yaffs2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried reflashing the system image. Also the older image on the ftpserver. The same. I will try the sdcard installation.
vaskas said:
By the way, why did you choose to put OpenMoko in the internal memory? Are you going to use it exclusively or as the primary OS on the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two reasons:
1. Thought that would be the faster way to get it work. I used BART to backup my android installation.
2. Thougt, I would get a bit more perfomance in using the internal memory.
I really would like to use SHR(or other) as primary OS, because I had an GTA02, depends on what is(could) work(ing) on the dream.
would it be possible to boot ubuntu netbook remix? it uses far less resources.
zenstitution said:
would it be possible to boot ubuntu netbook remix? it uses far less resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NBR is targeted at x86, but Ubuntu MID edition is installable. It's similar to the netbook remix. We'll have to wait before we have a proven/stable installation method though.
I would really like to see another OS on my Dream as well - just in addition to android
Che123 said:
I would really like to see another OS on my Dream as well - just in addition to android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you can try the OpenMoko port (it's in the alpha stage now): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5521417
The more people get interested in the alternative OS, the sooner we'll get one.
vaskas said:
Well, you can try the OpenMoko port (it's in the alpha stage now): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5521417
The more people get interested in the alternative OS, the sooner we'll get one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really hot stuff - but i don't want to loose my recovery
But i will definetly keep an eye on it!
edit: Adding a bootmngr like grub for selecting boot OS (android/openmoko/recovery) would be really nice Or adding bootoptions to the current amon_ra Recovery would be a soloution too. But I'm no dev, so I don't even know if it is possible.
Can you dual boot or any other way to have 2 different roms installed at the same time,so i can switch back and forth?Like windows either at boot or logging in and out of 2 different desktops.
Maybe find a way to split the partitions.Any suggestions would be great.
Duel= 2 roms fighting. Make it dual. Thought it was funny, no malice intended.
lol - duel - dual...
It would be interesting if that was possible. There would have to be another program in there to act as the buffer between both OS's though - that would take control of the start-up, hold on a page that has both options and then would boot the option you want.
Not sure if that's possible since some files are right on the root and in order to have an OS work it can't have files in the same directory - they would just overwrite each other.
But, I too, have wondered if it would ever happen. Be a great way to test new ROM's if you didn't always have to overwrite the existing ROM but rather, you could place a new ROM in a special directory and then run it from that - or partition the internal memory with the new partition available to boot from and store.
partition the internal memory with the new partition available to boot from and store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats exactly what i was thinking,partition the system os,i rebuild computers and a little system modding in windows,but this is a linux based os,so it would be a little odd for me.I'm gonna look into this a little more.
You may try to contact the guys who developed boot manager. www.init2winitapps.com they have a listing of supported devices and a request form. Works on the thunderbolt 5 slots for 5 roms, I'm unsure how difficult it would be to add support for the iconia.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
ibsk8 said:
You may try to contact the guys who developed boot manager. www.init2winitapps.com they have a listing of supported devices and a request form. Works on the thunderbolt 5 slots for 5 roms, I'm unsure how difficult it would be to add support for the iconia.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,i submitted the idea,lets see if they will run with it,hopefully they will find interest.
Hello Diabblo,
Any update on that?
I think the idea of dual boot (or 5al boot) is just fantastic!
I have beside my iconia a501 a poor old zt180s and it can triple boot on android, ubuntu and WinCE!
Best,
Inji.
inji75 said:
Hello Diabblo,
Any update on that?
I think the idea of dual boot (or 5al boot) is just fantastic!
I have beside my iconia a501 a poor old zt180s and it can triple boot on android, ubuntu and WinCE!
Best,
Inji.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im guessing that device has a open non encrypted boot loader. The Iconia was encrypted at birth with the 3.2 push they tightened security even more from whqt I have read.So this is likely never happening unless acer changes ttjere boot loader policy.not likely to happen.
hope this helps you understand more of this issue.
I'm dual-booting my A500 right now with ICS and Ubuntu. The method for dual-booting is a replacement recovery.img which contains a Linux kernel and acts as a bootloader for Linux. Ubuntu itself runs from a rootfs.img on the internal storage (there's also recovery.img's available to run from external SD too). If I want to run Android, I just boot my tab normally. When I wanna run Ubuntu, I hold vol+ as I'm turning it on to force the modded recovery to load. It's a pretty cool setup more info in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1158260
Dear Erica Renee and Bloodflame,
Thanks a lot for your answers. Ok, I got it with the encrypted bootloader.
Will try the method described by Bloodflame.
Actually, since I got these tablets my main use of them is flashing new ROMs... I don't really have the use of new ROMs but I think it's so exciting!
Cheers,
Inji.
I don't believe the encryption is the problem.
The current boot loader is available unencrypted in update packages if anyone want to have a look at it.
Replacing the boot loader on the device is done as part of a down grade procedure described elsewhere on this forum.
So unless I'm missing something, the problem is more likely time and interest. Someone need to care enough about it and have the time to make some other boot loader work. Or patch Acer's. Either way it is likely to require quite a bit of time and patience.
So let me see if I have this correct. Acer's hardware bios code is 'locked down' enough to keep the average code manipulator out? A custom boot loader needs to be dev'd that can communicate correctly to be able to handle Android recovery and a linux/android boot screen etc. ? Could someone elaborate more blatantly if I am incorrect...
★★★★[INFO]ANDROID ROM & How they Work★★★★
Parts of a ROM
i. The kernel.
Android (like many other Smartphone operating systems) runs on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel was created in the early 1990’s by a gentleman named Linus Torvalds in Helsinki, Finland. It’s incredibly stable, incredibly friendly, and incredibly difficult for the layman to understand and modify. Thankfully it’s also very popular so it has been ported on to a multitude of hardware, including our Android devices.
Think of the kernel as an interface layer between the hardware and software on your device. The kernel decides when things happen, such as the LED indicator gets lit or when the soft button's LED gets lit. An application sends a request to the operating system to blink the LED. The operating system then sends the request to the kernel, which makes the light flash for the amount of time requested by the OS.
What sounds like a round-about way to get things done is also what makes the system so scalable and robust. Application developers only have to code in a way the operating system understands and the kernel makes it work on the hardware. This also keeps the application running in it’s own user-space and separate from the kernel. That means when you run the latest uber-cool app that wasn’t designed for your particular OS version, or is still very beta and it crashes, the kernel gives you the option to Force Close the application and the kernel can run untouched.
In a standard Android ROM (we will leave developer images and the like for another discussion) the kernel is bundled along with a set of instructions that tell the device how to load the kernel and the OS during boot. This is the boot.img that you see inside a zipped ROM that your not able to easily open. The device knows to extract this image to internal memory (the ramdisk) and follow a series of scripts (init scripts) to load the kernel and then the other portions of the OS. That’s what’s happening while you’re watching the boot animation. Interestingly enough this is done the same way for a PC, your smartphone, an Android tablet, or even a smart Linux powered toaster. If you’re feeling exceptionally geeky, plug your Android phone into the USB port on your PC and let the PC boot from the USB device. No, it doesn’t actually load, but you can watch the animation while it tries to match up the hardware support with what’s inside your PC. As I said, Linux is amazingly scalable and as a result so is Android.
What is a kernel? If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't something unique to Android -- iOS and MacOS have one, Windows has one, BlackBerry's QNX has one, in fact all high level operating systems have one. The one we're interested in is Linux, as it's the one Android uses. Let's try to break down what it is and what it does.
Android devices use the Linux kernel, but it's not the exact same kernel other Linux-based operating systems use. There's a lot of Android specific code built in, and Google's Android kernel maintainers have their work cut out for them. OEMs have to contribute as well, because they need to develop hardware drivers for the parts they're using for the kernel version they're using. This is why it takes a while for independent Android developers and hackers to port new versions to older devices and get everything working. Drivers written to work with the Gingerbread kernel on a phone won't necessarily work with the Ice Cream Sandwich kernel. And that's important, because one of the kernel's main functions is to control the hardware. It's a whole lot of source code, with more options while building it than you can imagine, but in the end it's just the intermediary between the hardware and the software.
When software needs the hardware to do anything, it sends a request to the kernel. And when we say anything, we mean anything. From the brightness of the screen, to the volume level, to initiating a call through the radio, even what's drawn on the display is ultimately controlled by the kernel. For example -- when you tap the search button on your phone, you tell the software to open the search application. What happens is that you touched a certain point on the digitizer, which tells the software that you've touched the screen at those coordinates. The software knows that when that particular spot is touched, the search dialog is supposed to open. The kernel is what tells the digitizer to look (or listen, events are "listened" for) for touches, helps figure out where you touched, and tells the system you touched it. In turn, when the system receives a touch event at a specific point from the kernel (through the driver) it knows what to draw on your screen. Both the hardware and the software communicate both ways with the kernel, and that's how your phone knows when to do something. Input from one side is sent as output to the other, whether it's you playing Angry Birds, or connecting to your car's Bluetooth.
It sounds complicated, and it is. But it's also pretty standard computer logic -- there's an action of some sort generated for every event. Without the kernel to accept and send information, developers would have to write code for every single event for every single piece of hardware in your device. With the kernel, all they have to do is communicate with it through the Android system API's, and hardware developers only have to make the device hardware communicate with the kernel. The good thing is that you don't need to know exactly how or why the kernel does what it does, just understanding that it's the go-between from software to hardware gives you a pretty good grasp of what's happening under the glass. Sort of gives a whole new outlook towards those fellows who stay up all night to work on kernels for your phone, doesn't it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ii. The operating system.
Once the kernel is loaded, the init scripts tell the Operating System to load. Android is the user interface for a custom built Java virtual machine called Dalvik. Dalvik was written by Dan Bornstein, who named it after the fishing village of Dalvik in Iceland, where his family originated from. The debate of which Java VM is superior is best left for another discussion, so I’ll simply say that DalvikVM is a register-based machine versus true JavaVMs which are stack based.
The Dalvik machine creates executable files (.dex files) which can be interpreted by the OS and run by the end user. These .dex files are OS version dependant. That simply means that applications and core functions built to work with one version of Android may or may not work well with other versions. Google provides the tools through it’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for applications to communicate with the OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iii. Core functions.
No smartphone would be complete without a set of functions that allow the device to be used as intended. Things like the phone and dialer interface, the calendar, the messaging system are core functions of the Operating System. In Android, these are run on top of the kernel as separate applications. The merits (or lack of) of providing these needed functions as separate applications is once again best left for another discussion, but this is what allows developers like HTC or Motorola to replace the standard functions with alternatives that provide a different look and feel from stock. HTC’s onscreen keyboard or Motorola’s MotoBlur contact list are great examples of this. The “little guy” isn’t left out of the mix either. Handcent SMS or Chomp SMS can integrate into the OS very well, as most of us already know.
An additional set of Core Functions are provided by Google. Popularly called GoogleBits, things like Gmail, sync, Gtalk and the Android Market are applications written by Google that give an extra set of useful functions to the OS. You’ll find these on all smartphones, as well as many other Android devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iv. Optional applications.
These are applications provided by the manufacturer to give the device even more usability. Things like the Amazon MP3 store, PDF readers, Corporate Calendar etc. allow you to do even more with your device. Remember - Droid Does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B. How is a ROM packaged?
In most cases a ROM will come packaged in a .zip file. The recovery image’s kernel (yes, it has one too!) has the ability to unzip and copy the contents into the correct place. Inside this zip file is a folder (META-INF\com\google\android\) that contains a script prepared by the ROM “cooker” (another of those techie terms - it means the person(s) who developed the ROM) that tells the system what to format, what to copy and where, and any file operations that need to be done. Each device does things a bit differently, but this script is where it all gets done. More on this folder later.
You’ll also see a /system folder. This is the meat of the ROM. It has the necessary OS files, the Core functions, and any optional applications the cooker decided to include. The folder is structured the same way it is on your device - /system/app, /system/framework, etc. The whole tree is usually copied over and the existing /system folder is overwritten. The cooker uses the script to tell the kernel to erase the existing system folder, copy the new folder over, and set the file permissions.
Sometimes you will also see a data folder. This usually is space set up for optional applications, including optional system tools like busybox or SuperUser white list. These applications could be placed in the /system folder, but placing them in the data folder makes it easier for the end user (you and I) to remove or update them as needed.
You’ll also notice a META-INF folder. This contains the update script we talked about earlier, as well as secure keys that need to be provided so the device knows the update can be trusted. A special note needs made here. Trusted means that the update is trusted to be in the correct form to load the device. It in no way means the ROM is safe from malicious code. Anyone is able to use a set of test keys and create a ROM that will flash and run your device - even those people with bad intentions. Flashing and running a custom 3rd party ROM is putting faith in the cooker that he or she not only knows what they are doing, but are honest as well. Also, some Motorola custom ROMs will have a small update.zip stored inside this folder to be run on first boot of the device.
Finally we are left with the boot.img file. This is the kernel and ramdisk image we discussed earlier. Your phone copies this over to be decompressed and run when the device boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. How do I install a ROM?
In this section we’re discussing how to install a custom 3rd party ROM. ROMs from the manufacturer usually have a utility that runs on your PC to flash and load the new image.
A. Got Root???
Yes ?:good:!!!
Custom ROM’s simply will not load on devices that aren’t rooted. In theory, it may be possible to sign a 3rd party ROM with the keys that the stock recovery image will flash, but for the most part you need to have flashed a custom recovery image before you can change your device’s ROM. Instructions and tutorials on how to root your device are all over the internet. Some are good, some are bad. The hacking forum is a great place to go and learn more about rooting and how to successfully get it done on your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
B. Recovery
Most Android devices have had a custom recovery image written for them. This will overwrite the stock recovery image, allowing you to flash 3rd party ROMs as well as giving extra functionality. Help with finding and flashing the custom recovery image for your device can also be found in the hacking forum. The installation of a custom recovery image also allows for a very important function. Backup and restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.C. Nandroid
Nandroid is a set of bash scripts and code written by that copies the state of your system and stores it in a folder on your SD card. You can then use the restore function of Nandroid to restore to this point at any time. This is a priceless feature and reason enough to root your phone. It’s included by default in most custom recovery images, and the code is freely available to use if you’re inclined to write your own recovery image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In most situations, using Nandroid to back everything up is easy:
1. Verify you have a memory card with enough free space (~300MB to backup, ~500MB to restore).
2. Reboot your device into recovery. It’s slightly different for each device, once again hacking forum FTW!
3. Navigate through the menu and select the Nandroid Backup function.
4. Apply your choice and wait for the device to tell you it’s finished.
It’s always good practice to copy the entire nandroid folder from your SD card to a safe place. You can then copy it back to the SD card if the card is ever damaged, lost or erased.
D. Copy and Flash
You’re rooted, have downloaded a custom ROM, have your system backed up and are now ready to flash your device. This is not nearly as scary as it sounds.
1. Mount your SD card to your PC, and copy the .zip file to the root folder of the card. Don’t unzip the file, and don’t look for a folder called root. The root folder in this case means the base folder, what you will see when you mount your card to a PC or the device.
2. Reboot your phone into recovery.
3. Navigate through the recovery menu and select the flash update option. Depending on your recovery image, the file may need to be named update.zip, or you may be able to select any zip file on your card as long as it’s the correct format. The cooker knows this as well and if the ROM needs to be named update.zip it will be.
4. Apply your choice and wait for your device to tell you it’s finished.
5. Reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It’s worth noting that many times a new ROM will require that you wipe and factory reset your devices data. While inconvenient, it’s often necessary to get rid of the old data as it may be incompatible. As long as you’re using the cloud for calendar and contacts, they will be re- downloaded and stored back on your device automatically.
Dirty flash and Clean flash
A dirty flash is only wiping cache and davlik then flashing your ROM....
a Clean flash is at LEAST factory reset/data wipe + wiping davlik(factory wipe takes care of /cache also)... Maybe doing a format /system also.
***Odin***
Odin is the ROM Flashing Tool for SAMSUNG smartphones. ROM files flashable with Odin come with .tar extension.
Most of the ROMs you are going to flash with Odin are the official stock Samsung ROMs (or leaked stock ROMs). Custom ROMs are rerely flashable by Odin because they come with .zip extension that Odin does not recognize (it recognizes .tar files).
Custom kernels, however, are sometimes provided in .tar format by their developers (e.g. CF-Root kernels), so that they can be flashed by Odin. When your phone is new and running official firmware you most often cannot flash a custom ROM to it because a Samsung phone often requires a custom recovery and root rights that are included in a custom kernel to be able to flash custom ROMs. That's why Odin often comes in handy in rooting and flashing a custom firmware to your phone because you (often) can flash a custom kernel with it that already includes root and custom recovery and enables you to flash custom firmware (custom ROMs). I use the word "often" very frequently in the previous sentence because every Samsung smartphone is different and requires various procedures for rooting it and flashing custom ROMs (see the section about using Odin below).
If it comes to stock ROMs, the best source of stock (official) Samsung ROM files is located at this excellent website: SamMobile.com/firmwares (link). It requires registration (it's free) and I encourage you to set up an account there because you will most likely use this site several times during your stay at XDA. You will most likely come across 1 .tar or 3 .tar file ROMs there, flashable by Odin. Refer to the Odin flashing guide below for more info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
****Heimdall****
What is Heimdall?
Heimdall is a cross-platform open-source tool suite used to flash ROMs onto Samsung Galaxy S devices.
How does it work?
Heimdall uses the same protocol as Odin to interact with a device in download mode. USB communication in Heimdall is handled by the popular open-source USB library, libusb-1.0.
Why “Heimdall”?
The flashing software Odin is named after the king of gods in Norse mythology. Loke, the software component on the Galaxy S that provides functionality to flash, may also to be named after an important character in Norse mythology, often translated as Loki. As such I have named my flashing software Heimdall, after the Norse god, and guardian of the Bifrost Bridge.
What platforms does Heimdall run on?
Linux, OS X and Windows (XP, Vista, 7 etc.)
Why use Heimdall when we can use Odin?
Odin is generally unreliable and only runs on Windows systems. Furthermore, Odin is leaked Samsung software that is not freely available or well understood by the community.
Is Heimdall safe?
No matter what method you chose, flashing firmware onto your phone has a lot of potential for disaster. We have tested Heimdall with a variety of phones flashing several different firmware versions resulting in a 100% success rate. As such we believe that Heimdall is generally reliable. However keep in mind, just like any flashing software, Heimdall has the potential to brick your phone if not used correctly.
How do Galaxy S phones get bricked when flashing?
Besides the inherent risks like power outs, accidental removal of the USB cable etc. The Galaxy S appears to be running extremely unreliable USB control software.
A failure to flash does not automatically equate to a bricked phone. However if you're extremely unlucky and the flash fails whilst transferring the primary boot-loader, secondary boot-loader or params.lfs (all quite small) than you've got yourself a paper weight that you're hoping Samsung will replace.
Please be extremely careful mixing files from different firmware releases. Don't do so unless you're certain it will work!
What Galaxy S variants has Heimdall been tested with?
We’ve tested Heimdall with a Galaxy S GT-I9000 (8 GB) from the United Kingdom and Galaxy S GT-I9000 (16 GB) from Australia. We don’t personally have access to any other devices to test with, however users have confirmed Heimdall functions correctly with the AT&T Captivate, Bell Vibrant, Telstra GT-I9000T, Epic 4G and the Galaxy Tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^
CWM Errors and Solutions
ERRORS encountered in CWM Recovery
.
What is CWM Recovery ?
ClockworkMod Recovery is a custom recovery for many Android devices. It is considered to be the most popular recovery for Android due to its easily-ported nature, and integration with ClockworkMod ROM Manager by Koush(Koushik Dutta). The easiest way to recognize it is by the printed name when it first starts, and the background logo of a gear and hat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 6
This is usually caused by CR/LF EOL(Windows style End Of Line) in updater-script. Change it to LF EOL(Unix Style EOL) using Linux command: dos2unix updater-script, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ERROR STATUS 7
This is usually caused by a corrupt download, or bad file signature. Re-downloading (or re-signing) the ZIP will usually fix this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have been consistently seen and heard people facing error “Status 7″ error while trying to flash or install
custom ROMs or firmware packages on their Android smart phones or tablets with ClockworkMod Recovery. Many
of the users are nowadays facing this problem with CWM Recovery while flashing .zip files of modded or custom
Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) or Jelly Bean (JB) ROMs on their devices. So, you have also downloaded a custom ROM,
placed its .zip file in your phone’s or tablet’s SD card, booted into ClockworkMod Recovery, selected – “install zip
from sdcard” and then chosen the .zip file of the ROM to get it installed on your device. But instead of getting
flashed successfully, if you are facing the issue mentioned below, then just keep reading this article to find out
what’s wrong and fix up the problem :
Finding update package…
Opening update package…
Installing update…
Error in /sdcard/custom-jelly-bean-rom.zip (Status 7)
Installation aborted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or the following error right after CWM recovery shows –
Installing update…
assert failed: getprop(“ro.product.device”) == “I9103″ || getprop(“ro.build.product”) == “I9103″ || getprop
(“ro.product.board”) == “I9103″
Error in /sdcard/android-4-1-1-ics-rom-latest.zip (status 7)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if you are facing any of these errors while trying to install the desired custom ROM package on your Android
phone or tab, then you may try a various things or steps which may turn out to be the workaround of this
problem. Here are a few tips to get this “Status 7” error fixed in ClockworkMod Recovery and flash the ROM
successfully on your device :
(1) First of all, make sure your device’s bootloader is unlocked. If it is already unlocked but you are still
not able to flash the ROM, then just extract the .zip file of the ROM into a new folder, find the boot.img file from
that directory and flash it up on your phone or tablet via fastboot on your PC.
(2) Make sure that you are having the appropriate Radio or Baseband version installed on your device which is
supported by the custom ROM you are trying to flash. Most of the ROMs requires the latest version of Baseband, so
just update or upgrade your device to the latest Baseband version and then try to install the ROM once again.
(3) Update your device to the supported / latest build of official firmware before trying to install the ROM. You can
do it from – Settings > About Phone / Device > Software Update.
(4) Make sure you are having the supported or required kernel installed on your phone or tab. If it’s not, then flash
a new kernel right away and try to install your custom ROM once again.
(5) Is the ROM which you are trying to flash really works ? Find out whether it is working for other users or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Error Status 0
Well sometimes while flashing some ROMs especially the cooked ones we get Error status 0 in the CWM Recovery
this error is an indicator of Wrong Update Binary.This is usually caused by an incompatible update-binary in edify ZIPs. Replacing it with a compatible one, then re-signing the ZIP, will usually fix this error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partitions
Now it's time for the partitions :good:
Let’s start with a list of standard internal memory partitions on Android phones and tablets. These are:
/boot
/system
/recovery
/data
/cache
/misc
In addition, there are the SD card partitions.
/sdcard
/sd-ext
Note that only /sdcard is found in all Android devices and the rest are present only in select devices. Let’s now take a look at the purpose and contents of each of these partitions.
/boot
This is the partition that enables the phone to boot, as the name suggests. It includes the kernel and the ramdisk. Without this partition, the device will simply not be able to boot. Wiping this partition from recovery should only be done if absolutely required and once done, the device must NOT be rebooted before installing a new one, which can be done by installing a ROM that includes a /boot partition.
/system
This partition basically contains the entire operating system, other than the kernel and the ramdisk. This includes the Android user interface as well as all the system applications that come pre-installed on the device. Wiping this partition will remove Android from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode to install a new ROM.
/recovery
The recovery partition can be considered as an alternative boot partition that lets you boot the device into a recovery console for performing advanced recovery and maintenance operations on it. To learn more about this partition and its contents, see the ‘About Android Recovery’ section of our guide to ClockworkMod recovery.
/data
Also called userdata, the data partition contains the user’s data – this is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping.
/cache
This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and app components. Wiping the cache doesn’t effect your personal data but simply gets rid of the existing data there, which gets automatically rebuilt as you continue using the device.
/misc
This partition contains miscellaneous system settings in form of on/off switches. These settings may include CID (Carrier or Region ID), USB configuration and certain hardware settings etc. This is an important partition and if it is corrupt or missing, several of the device’s features will will not function normally.
/sdcard
This is not a partition on the internal memory of the device but rather the SD card. In terms of usage, this is your storage space to use as you see fit, to store your media, documents, ROMs etc. on it. Wiping it is perfectly safe as long as you backup all the data you require from it, to your computer first. Though several user-installed apps save their data and settings on the SD card and wiping this partition will make you lose all that data.
On devices with both an internal and an external SD card – devices like the Samsung Galaxy S and several tablets – the /sdcard partition is always used to refer to the internal SD card. For the external SD card – if present – an alternative partition is used, which differs from device to device. In case of Samsung Galaxy S series devices, it is /sdcard/sd while in many other devices, it is /sdcard2. Unlike /sdcard, no system or app data whatsoever is stored automatically on this external SD card and everything present on it has been added there by the user. You can safely wipe it after backing up any data from it that you need to save.
/sd-ext
This is not a standard Android partition, but has become popular in the custom ROM scene. It is basically an additional partition on your SD card that acts as the /data partition when used with certain ROMs that have special features called APP2SD+ or data2ext enabled. It is especially useful on devices with little internal memory allotted to the /data partition. Thus, users who want to install more programs than the internal memory allows can make this partition and use it with a custom ROM that supports this feature, to get additional storage for installing their apps. Wiping this partition is essentially the same as wiping the /data partition – you lose your contacts, SMS, market apps and settings.
With this, we conclude our tour of Android partitions. Now whenever you install a ROM or mod that requires you to wipe certain partitions before the installation, you should be in a better position to know what you’re losing and what not and thus, you’ll know what to backup and what not.
You should at least post the source of such a large copy paste post.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom
Good job man, this saves me the time to do all this researches.
Keep it up
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
sos_sifou said:
Good job man, this saves me the time to do all this researches.
Keep it up
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO tell me if you have some suggestions for the thread.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
I think that this is a pretty good summary of the basics. I even converted it to epub and stocked it on my e-reader for reference
You can get to the details if you want? Adding some info about flashing softwares like odin and the Linux based one (i don't remember it name)
The different recoveries available and their advantages vs désavantages
How to protect yourself from malicious applications, starting from knowing what are permissions...
Keep it up mate
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
sos_sifou said:
I think that this is a pretty good summary of the basics. I even converted it to epub and stocked it on my e-reader for reference
You can get to the details if you want? Adding some info about flashing softwares like odin and the Linux based one (i don't remember it name)
The different recoveries available and their advantages vs désavantages
How to protect yourself from malicious applications, starting from knowing what are permissions...
Keep it up mate
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heimdall?
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Tha TechnoCrat said:
Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you have a point, it's just the scientist in me with source-referral-ocd.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
adytum said:
I guess you have a point, it's just the scientist in me with source-referral-ocd.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DO tell me if you have any problems or if you want something to be added.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Thread updated with Odin and Heimdall information.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Tha TechnoCrat said:
Source? How do you post a source for an article which is compiled from 10+ sites? Plus my own addition?
Started from the bottom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By listing ALL the different sources? And obviously crediting yourself with bits you've added.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
You should make the title of the thread more presentable though.
Simone said:
You should make the title of the thread more presentable though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would like some suggestions.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Tha TechnoCrat said:
Would like some suggestions.
"Thanks button is just to avoid "THANKS" posts in threads. Nothing more than that. Don't ask in signature or post for it and defeat the purpose why it was introduced"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should think of your own. That would be the best
Make it more professional looking, though.
Everything else is good.
Guys I have got my Note 2 finally. Will compile some guides for it too.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
You bought a note 2? Congrats mate !
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
sos_sifou said:
You bought a note 2? Congrats mate !
Best regards
Sifou
Using a Samsung N7100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks buddy. Get ready for more guides
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Let's get this rolling with a good old fashioned Q&A discussion, shall we? Ask a Question, Answer a Question. Whatever you want.
Thanks to @Vioner we now have a place to do it.
Cheers:laugh:
Having hardware issues? Download this Windows application and post thumbnail of a screenshot. CPU-Z
We partially did it Here's a disclaimer how this "subforum works".
Does Phoenix OS really have a forum on xda?
No, it's an ET - Enhanced Tag
O_G said:
Enhanced Tags (ET) is a tagging system that pulls multiple threads into a single discussion forum. They are used to evalute a device for full forum eligibility and enable easy access to threads for members, as well as add the device to the device search function.
If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works almost as a forum, because it appears as one in dynamic search bar, but it's really a pseudo-forum. Of course it also gathers up all Phoenix OS tagged threads under this ET or allows for creating threads with the ET.
Unfortunetly you won't be able to visit Phoenix OS ET via Tapatalk
We need more people and content onboard if we want to get a real exclusive forum.
Not really good then...
Better than it was. We now have a Tag. I can promote better with one. It's kind of what I do! I Still can't add it to my device list yet, though.
At any rate, it's better than a swift kick in the ass!
Is this to include arm versions, too?
bg260 said:
Is this to include pre-installed hardware versions, too? If not does XDA know that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you with Phoenix OS team? (just for general knowledge)
YechiamTK said:
Are you with Phoenix OS team? (just for general knowledge)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not.
YechiamTK said:
Are you with Phoenix OS team? (just for general knowledge)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now there is no one from Phoenix team here on XDA. We'll let you know when some officials join us.
@bg260 if your post is the last, then instead of adding a new one, please edit the existing.
And I don't understand your question:
bg260 said:
Is this to include pre-installed hardware versions, too? If not does XDA know that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you asking about Phoenix OS for ARM devices? As in the ET disclaimer, these should have threads in the specific device forum, not here. Here we can discuss only software side of Phoenix or hardware but for PC.
Phoenix OS ET Description said:
Phoenix OS Discussion
Phoenix OS, much like Remix OS is designed to run on x86/x64 tablets or larger screen devices with features often found only within desktop OS’s. These features include a comprehensive start menu, fully resizable multi-window support and keyboard shortcut functionality. Phoenix OS provides the desktop UI functionality, with the benefit of access to the vast array of games and applications available to the Android operating system. This discussion forum is intended for threads related to the PC version of Phoenix OS, threads and questions related to device builds should be posted within the allocated device forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the input.
How can I dual boot with Ubuntu? I had Remix dual booting, but am unable to get Phoenix to do so?
It can be achieved with exact same methods as with Remix. Remix, Android-x86 and Phoenix OS boot all the same way. Each may have a different installer, but all can be installed using one same method.
I'm here just to thank @Ventricle for his work.
I'm now happy with latest Remix OS version but I'm considering Phoenix when it upgrades to Marshmallow.
Does Phoenix OS has a dedicated instant communication channel for the users?
Does Phoenix OS has a dedicated instant communication channel for the users?
Yes! We recently created an official Slack team. Read about it here: [ANNOUNCEMENT]Phoenix OS Slack Team - official communication channel for community
Does Phoenix OS come pre-rooted?
Since release 1.1.0 we can easily toggle root ON/OFF in developer settings.
Can I modify the system files?
Since release 1.1.0 we can modify /system partition freely without any additional modifications - all you need to do is enable root in developer settings.
Wifi Tethering
I dont know if this could be done or not... Am wondering though, can/will phoenix os provide wifi tethering and share internet connection from ethernet??
I am getting an Error while booting up Phoenix OS ,
I have follow all proper command as Phoenix OS needed to Install on Any Machine but it is not booting up,
It is Stuck on A N D R O I D [email protected]
after 2 minutes screen goes blank and A BLACK SCREEN WITH A BLINKING COURSER Huh
What is happening with me Please help me??
Am Using An old Laptop with Pentium M, with 768 MB RAM
And Please don't teach me for reinstalling or restart the process, i have already done many times, and because The OS packed in EXE file so there is not way to edit GRUB file,
Kindly help me out to get rid out,
I know it's a very old machine but is there any way to install this OS on this Machine
krish0008 said:
I am getting an Error while booting up Phoenix OS ,
I have follow all proper command as Phoenix OS needed to Install on Any Machine but it is not booting up,
It is Stuck on A N D R O I D [email protected]
after 2 minutes screen goes blank and A BLACK SCREEN WITH A BLINKING COURSER Huh
What is happening with me Please help me??
Am Using An old Laptop with Pentium M, with 768 MB RAM
And Please don't teach me for reinstalling or restart the process, i have already done many times, and because The OS packed in EXE file so there is not way to edit GRUB file,
Kindly help me out to get rid out,
I know it's a very old machine but is there any way to install this OS on this Machine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try my iso. you can unpack with WinRar and change grub.cfg, but you shouldn't have to.
Burn it to a USB with the provided installer.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/unofficial-phoenix-os-v1-1-0-bootable-t3458491
krish0008 said:
I am getting an Error while booting up Phoenix OS ,
I have follow all proper command as Phoenix OS needed to Install on Any Machine but it is not booting up,
It is Stuck on A N D R O I D [email protected]
after 2 minutes screen goes blank and A BLACK SCREEN WITH A BLINKING COURSER Huh
What is happening with me Please help me??
Am Using An old Laptop with Pentium M, with 768 MB RAM
And Please don't teach me for reinstalling or restart the process, i have already done many times, and because The OS packed in EXE file so there is not way to edit GRUB file,
Kindly help me out to get rid out,
I know it's a very old machine but is there any way to install this OS on this Machine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also edit your Grub at time of boot.
It will usually tell you to "edit grub highlight the boot option then tap "TAB" key and I have also seen "E" key
This will drop you into a command like screen where you can edit your grub file for a ONE TIME run of the ISO image of choice.
@Vioner, bg260
does phoenix os is compatible with tincture key mapper because it close every time i open after welcome message in 1 second.
Removed. For safety.
For some reason i'm happy with Phoenix until Remix fix their in game mapping too & play services
Can i install any audio enhancer? prefer viper4android
**dont want to risk trying because of a lot of data & apps here
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).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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).