[Multiboot] [Update 14/6/11] Create, manage and boot your ROM options via CWM!

Introduction

This thread describes an experimental mod that allows you to boot into other boot images stored in your sdcard. It's a good reason for users to upgrade to CWM recovery since it allows for much more extended functionality. It's also another good reason for devs to support CWM recovery.
Our 'petit' X10mini does not have enough internal memory to store more than one android image, thus we have to use the sdcard for this.


WARNING:

This mod is experimental, and for advanced users only. Use it at your own risk


Requirements (READ THEM CAREFULLY):

- CWM recovery pre-installed
- You need a FAST enough sdcard. I'd suggest not using this mod if your sdcard is less than Class 6
- Your sdcard should have enough free space. Each 'boot option' that you create reserves 400MB of space in your sdcard
- In order to create a new boot option, you need a flashable zip of the ROM you wish to boot to, as well as a patch for it's ramdisk.tar (if this is a custom ROM, stock ROMs don't need this). The flashable zip of the ROM is the same that is used for usual ROM installation. The patch should be provided by the ROM's cook.



Instructions for devs only

To create a bootable image, you have two options:
- Make use of CWM recovery (which can create boot images from update.zip) and provide a patch for your ROM that makes sure: app2sd is disabled, ramdisk.tar does not mount mtd* partitions under /system, /data, or /cache. This patch is also flashable via the new multiboot menu of CWM. If you need more info, see the attached MiniCM7-multiboot.zip
OR
- Manually create ext2 system.img, data.img and cache.img for users to push under /sdcard/clockworkmod/multiboot/<name>/


Multiboot mod Installation

- Flash the attached CWM multiboot zip via CWM


Multiboot ROM Installation

The following scenario is provided as a proof of concept in order to install MiniCM7 as a boot from sdcard option
- Reboot into the new recovery and navigate to the new 'multiboot' menu. There you'll see the following options:

• Select default boot option
• Unset default boot option
• Create boot option from zip
• Delete existing boot option
• Flash zip to boot option

- Select multiboot->Create boot option from zip and then pick the MiniCM7 flashable zip (which you can find in the MiniCM7 thread). Be patient, this step reserves the space and flashes the selected zip to the system.img in the sdcard
- Select multiboot->Flash zip to boot option, pick your newly created boot option and then pick the MiniCM7-multiboot.zip. This will flash the patch needed for MiniCM7 in order to make it run from sdcard. You can use this option in order to flash any zip you want to any of the boot options you have already created
- Select multiboot->Select default boot option and pick your newly created boot option
- Reboot (first boot will take some time depending on your sdcard speed).
To verify you have booted to your newly created boot option, check 'adb shell mount', it should say that /system /data and /cache is mounted from /loop* devices and not from mtd*


Uninstall

- Practically, if you flash a ROM image it will revert CWM / chargemon to its original state. There is not problem in keeping this CWM / chargemon version though.
- To revert booting from your phone's memory instead of the sdcard, navigate to multiboot->Unset default boot option
- To remove installed boot options, navigate to multiboot->Delete existing boot option and pick you choice. Alternatively remove the boot option you want from /sdcard/clockworkmod/multiboot/

twins.7 said:

wao great experiment NAA,
perfect time to install stock 2.1 and miniCM7

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IMHO, stock 2.1 should be installed as a 'multiboot option' and MiniCM7 in the internal phone's memory - not the other way round.

I'm hoping some dev could chip in with an update.zip for a stock 2.1 ROM that can be installed as a multiboot option

twins.7 said:

why?

can I use this step below?
- backup my stock in recovery
- copy the backup file to multiboot folder

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No you can't do that.

You need to install the boot option from an update.zip.

Already created backups have a different fs type that can't be mounted seperately.

gatobadio said:

Hello nobodyAtall, can we install CM7 and CM6 in this multiboot? if yes how to do that? ( I have cm7 2.0.2 installed ) Thanks

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We need to 'edify' MiniCM6 first for that

parthabhatta said:

just shifted to optimus 2x as my main device but decided to keep my Mini for my daughter and guess what (for nAa's absolute marvels) to keep my tweaking going on.
Great achievement nAa for that. you have made this small device a great value. addition. Thanks to you for that.

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It's cause of SE having crippled it so badly that it's interesting to work on this stuff