[WIP] Ubuntu on the Thrive!

DeMiNe0 · 08:12 PM

[WIP] Ubuntu on the Thrive!

Hey guys!

A friend of mine who is into phone roms and modding, showed me Ubuntu running on his Nexus Android Phone, and thought about how cool it would be to get Ubuntu Running on the Thrive! With a bit of Research I found that there is an ARM port of Ubuntu. The reason why that is an awesome thing is because Linux has this cool thing called chrooting. chrooting is the process of running another version of linux within another running linux OS instance. The downside of chroot is that you can chroot an os made for your phones architecture. In this case, the Terga 2 IS Arm based, so we're all set to go on that. With a few hours of toying around, I have successfully gotten Ubuntu running on my Thrive.

What you'll Need:

- Basic working knowledge of linux.

- The Arm Port of Ubuntu. ubuntu.zip
Original Dev's Site: Download File - ubuntu_zip - DownloadAndroidROMs.com
Mirror 1: MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service
Mirror 2: http://www.zettech.net/ubuntu.zip
Mirror 3: ubuntu.zip - download now for free. File sharing. Software file sharing. Free file hosting. File upload. FileFactory.com

- A *ROOTED* Thrive, with busybox installed and atleast 3gb of spare space in the *INTERNAL* storage... Not the SDCard Storage. You can find out how to do this all at this thread: http://www.thriveforums.org/forum/to...hrive-now.html

- A computer with adb setup and the correct working drivers for your thrive. If your Thrive is rooted, than you should have working drivers, unless you rooted it from another pc, in which case you can look at the root thread in this development forum for help. You can check to see if ADB is working by typing "adb devices" at the command promt. A few lines that look like this should pop up.
List of devices attached
286416746464667 device
^ The numbers will look different. Thats OK. If the list is empty, you have a driver issue or connection issue with adb.

How to do it:

1. Download and extract the ubuntu.zip file from one of the above links to your hard drive.

2. Connect your thrive to the PC and Connect your Thrive to a Wifi Access Point.

3. A new storage device should show up. This is your thrive. Now place the ubuntu folder you just extracted in the root of the thrives storage device. NOTE: This is *NOT* actually the sdcard your storing the files on. This is the devices internal memory. (don't put it in the /sdcard-disk0 folder.)

4. Open up an adb shell. Do this by typing "adb shell" at the command promt. A "#" should appear, indicatng you are at a root shell on your thrive.

5. Type "cd /sdcard/ubuntu"

6. Type "sh ubuntu.sh" This is the script that sets all of the permissions for the ubuntu image. You *WILL* see errors on this part. Ignore them.

7. Type "bootubuntu". You should now see a command line that looks like this:
# bootubuntu
bootubuntu
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
Setting /etc/resolv.conf to Google Open DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Setting localhost on /etc/hosts
READY TO ROCK AND ROLL BABY!
Brought to you by NexusOneHacks.net and the open source community!

* Congrats. You have Ubuntu running on your thrive now... Now for a better way to control it...

8. Update the OS:

Code:

apt-get update

9. Change the root password:

Code:

passwd root

^ Set this to a secure password. Wouldn't want anyone sploit'en ya eh?

10. Find your Thrives IP Address:

Code:

ifconfig

^ It should be listed as "inet addr" under the wlan0 interface. (See? Told ya you would need basic linux skills. :P).

11. Install SSH:

Code:

apt-get install openssh-server

^ Once thats installed, you should be able to ssh to your thrive by either connecting to 127.0.0.1 from a terminal emulater on the thrive, or your thrives IP from a PC on the same network.

12. Install and start a VNC Server:

Code:

apt-get install tightvncserver

Code:

export USER=root

^Tell's what user to start VNC as.

Code:

vncserver -geometry 1280×720

^This starts the VNC server. It will ask you for a password. Remember this password. You may also try 1280x800 if 1280x720 gives you issues.

Now that VNC is installed and running. You should be able to connect to it from a VNC client on port *5901*. If connecting from the Thrive itself, you can connect to 127.0.0.1, or you can connect from a PC by using the thrives IP.

What the issues are:

Ok... So I literally *JUST* got VNC up and running as I am writing this post. I'm actually just on my way out the door to go home for the weekend hahah, so I'm sure alot of these issues can be fixed with minor tweaks. I'm also sure there are more issues out there. I just wanted to get this posted up though so that people can start playing with it.

- VNC Resolution and colors are set incorrectly. This I believe is just an issue with the default configuration file for VNC. I believe the color quality setting just needs to be raised and the resolution adjusted to the native resolution of the thrive.

- Has to be install to Main memory: This is because the script that sets all of the permissions is hard coded with /sdcard/ubuntu as the location for the installation. /sdcard/ isn't actually the sdcard on the thrive. It's internal memory. I'm certain that a quick edit of the sh script will fix this. Is it really a good idea to run ubuntu off a slow, and limited write capacity sdcard?

All of the above issues i'll look at tonight when I get home! Happy hacking guys!

Boogersugar83 · 15th August 2011, 06:17 AM

I cant seem to get vnc working the client keeps failing

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wrek · 16th August 2011, 01:16 AM

can you use the onscreen keyboard or do you have to use an external?

Boogersugar83 · 16th August 2011, 01:47 PM

What you mean like the keyboard in ubuntu or while im in the vnc client
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wrek · 16th August 2011, 02:32 PM

I mean, can I put ubuntu on the tablet and use the tablet as a Ubuntu tablet or do I need to hook up a keyboard or use VNC in order to use the tablet?

With Android, I have a keyboard built into the software. Does Ubuntu have one?

Boogersugar83 · 17th August 2011, 04:14 AM

Im not sure I havent made it that far. But you need to use a vnc client

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DeMiNe0 · 17th August 2011, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrek

I mean, can I put ubuntu on the tablet and use the tablet as a Ubuntu tablet or do I need to hook up a keyboard or use VNC in order to use the tablet?

With Android, I have a keyboard built into the software. Does Ubuntu have one?

You download a VNC Client for Android, and connect to your Ubuntu Instance via that. VNC should support whatever on screen keyboard you have installed.

wrek · 17th August 2011, 04:25 PM

Ok, so it's not really a "Ubuntu" I can walk around with... not yet anyway.

DeMiNe0 · 18th August 2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrek

Ok, so it's not really a "Ubuntu" I can walk around with... not yet anyway.

Well to an extent it is. You can use VNC right from the Thrive to connect to Ubuntu. Ubuntu would still be running locally on the thrive as well. You can also use a terminal emulator to ssh to ubuntu as well.

In all Honesty, I only posted this to show that the thrive does indeed have the power to run Ubuntu. The version of Ubuntu it runs is the ARM version; which doesn't have many working applications for it yet.