[MOD] MultiROM v31x [13/02/2015]

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Olivier

Olivier

Recognized Developer / Retired Forum Moderator
Nov 6, 2011
2,664
6,942
vh3puLb.png

MultiROM is a one-of-a-kind multi-boot mod. It can boot any Android ROM as well as other systems like Ubuntu Touch, once they are ported to that device. Besides booting from device's internal memory, MultiROM can boot from USB drive connected to the device via OTG cable. The main part of MultiROM is a boot manager, which appears every time your device starts and lets you choose ROM to boot. You can see how it looks on the left image below and in gallery. ROMs are installed and managed via modified TWRP recovery. You can use standard ZIP files to install secondary Android ROMs and MultiROM even has its own installer system, which can be used to ship other Linux-based systems.

Features:
* Multiboot any number of Android ROMs
* Restore nandroid backup as secondary ROM
* Boot from USB drive attached via OTG cable

You can also watch a video which shows it in action.​


WARNING
It is dangerous. This whole thing is basically one giant hack - none of these systems are made with multibooting in mind. It is no longer messing with data partition or boot sector, but it is possible that something goes wrong and you will have to flash factory images again. Make backups. Always.​



IMPORTANT
  1. I'm not responsible for anything, you do all this on your own risk.
  2. Many Stock-based ROMs will fail to install because their boot.imgs cannot be unpacked using normal tools or use unsupported compressions. Please contact me in that case, but do note I can't add support for each Stock-based ROM out here.
  3. Once you have flashed and set up MultiROM, don't flash another boot.img using fastboot or normally. Always go to "Advanced -> MultiROM" to flash ROMs/kernels or other mods.
  4. If you want to uninstall MultiROM, just flash the MultiROM uninstaller.
  5. Don't try to flash ROMs with Stock boot.imgs (supported by LBs). They need special unpacking tools and are therefore currently not supported. I haven't yet tried flashing other Stock ROMs. Besides, I have configured MultiROM to only support boot.imgs that use the 2 stage boot method (boot.imgs with recovery ramdisks inside).
  6. This is still a work in progress. Don't ask for ETAs please.
  7. Your device must not be encrypted.
  8. To all devs maintaing Stock-based ROMs: Feel free to use my patched stock kernel to add MultiROM support to your ROMs.
  9. When booting another ROM, you'll notice that in some cases, you can enter the recovery of the boot.img of the ROM. Please don't use it, flash everything using MultiROM TWRP.



INSTALLATION
  1. Make sure you are on OmniROM
  2. Flash my modified kernel
  3. Flash the MultiROM installer
  4. That's it. You can now go to "Advanced -> MultiROM" to start flashing other ROMs.



Adding ROMs
Go to recovery, select Advanced -> MultiROM -> Add ROM. Select the ROM's zip file and confirm.​



Using USB drive
During installation, recovery lets you select install location. Plug in the USB drive, wait a while and press "refresh" so that it shows partitions on the USB drive. You just select the location (extX, NTFS and FAT32 partitions are supported) and proceed with the installation.
If you wanna use other than default FAT32 partition, just format it in PC. If you don't know how/don't know where to find out how, you probably should not try installing MultiROM.
If you are installing to NTFS or FAT32 partition, recovery asks you to set image size for all the partitions - this cannot be easilly changed afterward, so choose carefully. FAT32 is limited to maximum of 4095MB per image - it is limitation of the filesystem, I can do nothing about that.
Installation to USB drives takes a bit longer, because the flash drive is (usually) slower and it needs to create the images, so installation of Ubuntu to 4Gb image on my pretty fast USB drive takes about 20 minutes.
Enumerating USB drive can take a while in MultiROM menu, so when you press the "USB" button in MultiROM, wait a while (max. 30-45s) until it searches the USB drive. It does it by itself, no need to press something, just wait.​



Updating/changing ROMs

1. Primary ROM (Internal)
  • Flash ROM's ZIP file as usual, do factory reset if needed (it won't erase secondary ROMs)
  • Go to Advanced -> MultiROM in recovery and do Inject curr. boot sector.
2. Secondary Android ROMs
If you want to change the ROM, delete it and add new one. To update ROM, follow these steps:
  • Go to Advanced -> MultiROM -> List ROMs and select the ROM you want to update.
  • Select "Flash ZIP" and flash ROM's ZIP file.



SOURCEs
MultiROM - https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/multirom/tree/master (branch master)
Modified TWRP - https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/android_bootable_recovery (branch master)
Kernel w/ kexec-hardboot patch - https://github.com/omnirom/android_kernel_sony_apq8064 (branch android-4.4)​


FAQs can be found here.



CREDITs
  • Tasssadar
  • Kr3i0s
  • omnirom
  • Everyone else mentioned here.

XDA:DevDB Information
MultiROM for Sony Xperia ZL, Tool/Utility for the Sony Xperia ZL

Contributors
Olivier
Source Code: https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/multirom/tree/master


Version Information
Status: Beta
Current Beta Version: 31x

Created 2014-09-02
Last Updated 2015-02-13
 
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Olivier

Olivier

Recognized Developer / Retired Forum Moderator
Nov 6, 2011
2,664
6,942
Changelog

DOWNLOADs
You can get everything from my build server.


CHANGELOG

Code: 
[b]13/02/2015:[/b] Updated to v31x | Updated adb | Print error when multirom crashes | Added support for multiple entries per path in fstab | Set is_second_boot also if mrom_kexecd=1 is present in /proc/cmdline | Support interlaced PNGs | Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.5 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.5.0)

[b]17/01/2015:[/b] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.4 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.4.0), fixed "Swap ROMs" feature

[b]08/01/2015:[/b] Inserted dummy line instead of removing to prevent breaking IFs (fixes the installation of AOSPA 5.0)

[b]04/01/2015:[/b] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.3 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.1.3)

[b]08/12/2014:[/b] Fixed the installation of L-based ROMs as secondary ROMs

[b]04/12/2014:[/b] TWRP upstream

[b]28/11/2014:[/b] Moar TWRP upstream, updated to MultiROM v30x, fixed klog saving and text size on emergency reboot screen

[B]28/11/2014:[/B] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.1 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.1.0) | Fixed perms of extract_elf_ramdisk

[B]23/10/2014:[/B] Upstream: Updated to v29x | Added "DirtyUnicorns icon" | Added device hook to allow incomplete fstab file | Bind mount /realdata to /data for rom quirks to work properly

[B]02/10/2014:[/B] Added support for external sdcard

[B]27/09/2014[/B]: Fixes for recovery, updated to MultiROM v28x (device-specific version)

[B]02/09/2014[/B]: Initial public release.
 
Last edited:
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R

ryanrudolf

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2012
273
149
Thanks for this, it gave new life to my ZL! Multiboot rocks! I've managed to run Omni, CM11 and Carbon KK , so far so good. Are you also by chance doing a stock kernel for ZL that works with multirom, just like your stock kernel in Z? Hope you could also create stock kernel for ZL, really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
 
F

francarl

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2008
364
35
What about adding MultiRom support to 4.4.4 stock kernel? Should we wait for new kernel source release from Sony?
 
R

ryanrudolf

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2012
273
149
Olivier said:
I'd need you to upload a stock boot.img/kernel.elf in that case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Will this work, it is based on stock .283 but with added features -

http://www.mediafire.com/download/1bf5bhjbtbvxhnk/Advanced_stock+kernel_for_KK_10.5.1.A.0.283.zip

Features:
Dual recovery - CWM Philz Touch 6.48.4/TWRP 2.7.1.0 (vol up - CWM / vol down - TWRP)
Init.d suport
Debugging enabled by default
Disable debugging notification icon in the status bar
Kernel insecure (ro.secure=0)


Kernel taken from here - http://xdaforums.com/xperia-zl/orig...ed-stock-kernel-kitkat-4-4-t2873475#undefined

I've also informed the developer if he is ok with it being modified to have kexec patch.
 
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F

francarl

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2008
364
35
stock rom as primary rom

ryanrudolf said:
Will this work, it is based on stock .283 but with added features -

http://www.mediafire.com/download/1bf5bhjbtbvxhnk/Advanced_stock+kernel_for_KK_10.5.1.A.0.283.zip

Features:
Dual recovery - CWM Philz Touch 6.48.4/TWRP 2.7.1.0 (vol up - CWM / vol down - TWRP)
Init.d suport
Debugging enabled by default
Disable debugging notification icon in the status bar
Kernel insecure (ro.secure=0)


Kernel taken from here - http://xdaforums.com/xperia-zl/orig...ed-stock-kernel-kitkat-4-4-t2873475#undefined

I've also informed the developer if he is ok with it being modified to have kexec patch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thank you.
So could this kernel be used to start stock rom 10.5.1.A.0.283 as primary rom?
 
Olivier

Olivier

Recognized Developer / Retired Forum Moderator
Nov 6, 2011
2,664
6,942
Hey guys, a new update is up. There have been many changes, you can now install ROM to the external sdcard. Enjoy!
 
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R

ryanrudolf

Senior Member
Nov 12, 2012
273
149
thanks for this! im using latest update and also lightning kernel and CM11 as primary rom, it works good! im thinking for stock kernel to work as secondary rom, we have to modify the mount points? edit the ramdisk? just trying to understand before i try to do it on my own. really wanted to have working CM11 as primary and stock as secondary. thanks again
 
Olivier

Olivier

Recognized Developer / Retired Forum Moderator
Nov 6, 2011
2,664
6,942
ryanrudolf said:
thanks for this! im using latest update and also lightning kernel and CM11 as primary rom, it works good! im thinking for stock kernel to work as secondary rom, we have to modify the mount points? edit the ramdisk? just trying to understand before i try to do it on my own. really wanted to have working CM11 as primary and stock as secondary. thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do the following (once my stock-based kernel is available): Install a stock rom as primary, back it up and restore it as secondary ROM.
Kr3i0s said:
Thanks @olivier. Ext SD support is great.
I was wondering if we will get stock rom support as primary in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will as soon as I get enough time.

Gesendet von meinem Xperia Z mit Tapatalk
 
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francarl

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2008
364
35
Olivier said:
You can do the following (once my stock-based kernel is available): Install a stock rom as primary, back it up and restore it as secondary ROM.

I will as soon as I get enough time.

Gesendet von meinem Xperia Z mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

sorry for asking, but do you have any news on this? thanks
 
Olivier

Olivier

Recognized Developer / Retired Forum Moderator
Nov 6, 2011
2,664
6,942
MultiROM v29x is up!
As for the Stock-based kernel: I have decided not to support Stock ROMs officially, but you can always use the lightning kernel by nikhil18 to have a Stock-based kernel with kexec-hardboot support.
 
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    Olivier
    Olivier
    vh3puLb.png

    MultiROM is a one-of-a-kind multi-boot mod. It can boot any Android ROM as well as other systems like Ubuntu Touch, once they are ported to that device. Besides booting from device's internal memory, MultiROM can boot from USB drive connected to the device via OTG cable. The main part of MultiROM is a boot manager, which appears every time your device starts and lets you choose ROM to boot. You can see how it looks on the left image below and in gallery. ROMs are installed and managed via modified TWRP recovery. You can use standard ZIP files to install secondary Android ROMs and MultiROM even has its own installer system, which can be used to ship other Linux-based systems.

    Features:
    * Multiboot any number of Android ROMs
    * Restore nandroid backup as secondary ROM
    * Boot from USB drive attached via OTG cable

    You can also watch a video which shows it in action.​


    WARNING
    It is dangerous. This whole thing is basically one giant hack - none of these systems are made with multibooting in mind. It is no longer messing with data partition or boot sector, but it is possible that something goes wrong and you will have to flash factory images again. Make backups. Always.​



    IMPORTANT
    1. I'm not responsible for anything, you do all this on your own risk.
    2. Many Stock-based ROMs will fail to install because their boot.imgs cannot be unpacked using normal tools or use unsupported compressions. Please contact me in that case, but do note I can't add support for each Stock-based ROM out here.
    3. Once you have flashed and set up MultiROM, don't flash another boot.img using fastboot or normally. Always go to "Advanced -> MultiROM" to flash ROMs/kernels or other mods.
    4. If you want to uninstall MultiROM, just flash the MultiROM uninstaller.
    5. Don't try to flash ROMs with Stock boot.imgs (supported by LBs). They need special unpacking tools and are therefore currently not supported. I haven't yet tried flashing other Stock ROMs. Besides, I have configured MultiROM to only support boot.imgs that use the 2 stage boot method (boot.imgs with recovery ramdisks inside).
    6. This is still a work in progress. Don't ask for ETAs please.
    7. Your device must not be encrypted.
    8. To all devs maintaing Stock-based ROMs: Feel free to use my patched stock kernel to add MultiROM support to your ROMs.
    9. When booting another ROM, you'll notice that in some cases, you can enter the recovery of the boot.img of the ROM. Please don't use it, flash everything using MultiROM TWRP.



    INSTALLATION
    1. Make sure you are on OmniROM
    2. Flash my modified kernel
    3. Flash the MultiROM installer
    4. That's it. You can now go to "Advanced -> MultiROM" to start flashing other ROMs.



    Adding ROMs
    Go to recovery, select Advanced -> MultiROM -> Add ROM. Select the ROM's zip file and confirm.​



    Using USB drive
    During installation, recovery lets you select install location. Plug in the USB drive, wait a while and press "refresh" so that it shows partitions on the USB drive. You just select the location (extX, NTFS and FAT32 partitions are supported) and proceed with the installation.
    If you wanna use other than default FAT32 partition, just format it in PC. If you don't know how/don't know where to find out how, you probably should not try installing MultiROM.
    If you are installing to NTFS or FAT32 partition, recovery asks you to set image size for all the partitions - this cannot be easilly changed afterward, so choose carefully. FAT32 is limited to maximum of 4095MB per image - it is limitation of the filesystem, I can do nothing about that.
    Installation to USB drives takes a bit longer, because the flash drive is (usually) slower and it needs to create the images, so installation of Ubuntu to 4Gb image on my pretty fast USB drive takes about 20 minutes.
    Enumerating USB drive can take a while in MultiROM menu, so when you press the "USB" button in MultiROM, wait a while (max. 30-45s) until it searches the USB drive. It does it by itself, no need to press something, just wait.​



    Updating/changing ROMs

    1. Primary ROM (Internal)
    • Flash ROM's ZIP file as usual, do factory reset if needed (it won't erase secondary ROMs)
    • Go to Advanced -> MultiROM in recovery and do Inject curr. boot sector.
    2. Secondary Android ROMs
    If you want to change the ROM, delete it and add new one. To update ROM, follow these steps:
    • Go to Advanced -> MultiROM -> List ROMs and select the ROM you want to update.
    • Select "Flash ZIP" and flash ROM's ZIP file.



    SOURCEs
    MultiROM - https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/multirom/tree/master (branch master)
    Modified TWRP - https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/android_bootable_recovery (branch master)
    Kernel w/ kexec-hardboot patch - https://github.com/omnirom/android_kernel_sony_apq8064 (branch android-4.4)​


    FAQs can be found here.



    CREDITs
    • Tasssadar
    • Kr3i0s
    • omnirom
    • Everyone else mentioned here.

    XDA:DevDB Information
    MultiROM for Sony Xperia ZL, Tool/Utility for the Sony Xperia ZL

    Contributors
    Olivier
    Source Code: https://github.com/XperiaMultiROM/multirom/tree/master


    Version Information
    Status: Beta
    Current Beta Version: 31x

    Created 2014-09-02
    Last Updated 2015-02-13
    View
    12
    Olivier
    Olivier
    Changelog

    DOWNLOADs
    You can get everything from my build server.


    CHANGELOG

    Code: 
    [b]13/02/2015:[/b] Updated to v31x | Updated adb | Print error when multirom crashes | Added support for multiple entries per path in fstab | Set is_second_boot also if mrom_kexecd=1 is present in /proc/cmdline | Support interlaced PNGs | Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.5 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.5.0)

[b]17/01/2015:[/b] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.4 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.4.0), fixed "Swap ROMs" feature

[b]08/01/2015:[/b] Inserted dummy line instead of removing to prevent breaking IFs (fixes the installation of AOSPA 5.0)

[b]04/01/2015:[/b] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.3 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.1.3)

[b]08/12/2014:[/b] Fixed the installation of L-based ROMs as secondary ROMs

[b]04/12/2014:[/b] TWRP upstream

[b]28/11/2014:[/b] Moar TWRP upstream, updated to MultiROM v30x, fixed klog saving and text size on emergency reboot screen

[B]28/11/2014:[/B] Updated to MultiROM TWRP 2.8.1 (incl. upstream <-> TWRP 2.8.1.0) | Fixed perms of extract_elf_ramdisk

[B]23/10/2014:[/B] Upstream: Updated to v29x | Added "DirtyUnicorns icon" | Added device hook to allow incomplete fstab file | Bind mount /realdata to /data for rom quirks to work properly

[B]02/10/2014:[/B] Added support for external sdcard

[B]27/09/2014[/B]: Fixes for recovery, updated to MultiROM v28x (device-specific version)

[B]02/09/2014[/B]: Initial public release.
    View
    11
    Olivier
    Olivier
    SUPPORTED KERNELs

    OmniROM (and DirtyUnicorns, which is based off Omni)
    lightning kernel by nikhil18
    View
    5
    Olivier
    Olivier
    MultiROM v30x is up, enjoy!
    View
    5
    Olivier
    Olivier
    MultiROM v29x is up!
    As for the Stock-based kernel: I have decided not to support Stock ROMs officially, but you can always use the lightning kernel by nikhil18 to have a Stock-based kernel with kexec-hardboot support.
    View

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