Multiboot Linux on Infinity tf700 v0.8.3

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Hi, Guys

Currently I'm working on preparing Linux boot and rootfs image for tf700 device.
Project is based on Nexus 7 Ubuntu installer, Linaro distribution and Hundsbuah kernel.

Release version 0.8.3

Developers thread is here

Warning!

• You can brick your device or loose all your data. I'm not to be held responsible if you damage or brick your device. Please, be careful.
• This manual has been prepared for the advanced users. You are an advanced user?
  • You have linux experience
  • If there is a problem - you contact support and provide all the necessary information (devices info, steps to reproduce, logs)
• Please, change password for ubuntu user at first login. Default password is "ubuntu".

Components:
This system consists of several components:

Installer (v0.8.3)
- is standart Android ZIP update file with Aroma interface.
Features:

• Pretty simple touch interface
• Installing and usage Linux without a keyboard or dock
• Detailed localization of install process (rus, eng)
• Any device to install rootfs (usb media, sdcards or internal virtual disk file)
• You can skip rootfs preparation and install only bootimage (if dualboot has been replaced by another installation)
• Data2sd option supported
• Use android /data partition as /home directory for users
• Autobackup of old virtual rootfs image file and ubuntu user
• Select boot priority - you can select default system to boot (Basic or Linux)

Next release features:

• Review of initrd options scheme
• Install additional system to directory
• Rootfs archive finder search maxdepth 3

Bootimage (v0.8.3)
- contains Linux kernel (zImage) and initial ramdisk (initramfs). It is created during installation and stored in a special LNX partition on your device.
Features:

• Support of many basic systems - Android (CleanROMv3.x, CleanROMv3.x+Data2SD, CM10.x) and Ubuntu-Touch
• Any media booting - you can boot SDcard, microSD or usbdisk
• Virtual Disk multiboot - possible to select need virtual disk (up to 9)
• Android & Ubuntu-Touch booting - can boot android system init from media or virtual disks
• File system checker - before mounting filesystem should be checked by fsck.
• Hundsbuah kernel - v2.1 optimized kernel

Next release features:

• Support for 4.2 android (CleanROMv4.x)
• Run additional system from directory

RootFS archive
- compressed tar archive with root file system of OS. It is unpacked during installation to a prepared ext4 filesystem (in file or media device).

• Ubuntu 12.10 (v0.8.0)
  Archive contain prepared Ubuntu 12.10 environment with last updates, based on Unity (3d) with Cube Desktop. You can install any software (like lxdm or xfce) to improve desktop performance, but (for now) only Unity will be supported.
  Features:
  • Pad-mode - you can use your device as pad without dock
  • Keyboard remapping - Special keys is replaced to default (Esc, F1-12, Ins, Print, Break, Del, Home->Alt, Search->Meta4) by evdev keymap.
  • WiFi - You can connect to internet or lan through wifi
  • Touchpad 2 fingers scrolling - Move 2 fingers up-down to scrolling. 2 finger tap - is mouse 3rd button.
  • Touchscreen - Supports right click by touch one finger and click by second finger.
  • OpenGL ES - 3D, games (eduke32, Jagged Alliance 2) and nice browsing by Chromium
  • Audio and Video up to 1080p - Use nvgstplayer to HW decoding FullHD video
    • nvgstplayer --sas="audioconvert ! pulsesink" -i <videofile> - Fullscreen mode
    • nvgstplayer --svs="nvxvimagesink" --sas="audioconvert ! pulsesink" -i <videofile> - Window mode
  Problems:
  • Unity has some problems with performance and ram eating - this is place for optimizations.
  • Going to suspend is freezing device
  • HDMI FullHD is not working (but HD is ok)
  • Bluetooth not working
  • Disable speaker if headphones connected
  • Totem is not support nvidia gstreamer plugins
  • No flash player - only HTML5
  • Skype and any proprietary software (we need ARM binary, not x86)
• Ubuntu-Touch preview (v0.5.2 2013/03/25)
  Features:
  • Smooth touch interface
  • WiFi support (fixed)
  • Frontal Camera
• Ubuntu 13.04 - development
  First release features:
  • Packages for specific tf700t and tegra3 components (tf700 ppa)
  • Wayland + Weston + libhybris optional support

Install Manual:
For now installation is very simple)) No console operations needed!

Requirements:

• Access to recovery & zip upgrade
• > 3Gb free space in tf700 /sdcard folder or external storage

Process:

1. Get linux-install-0.8.3.zip (12 Mb), (mirror) MD5: 46e458791d232dafa7df49a7b506beca
2. Get need rootfs:
   • Ubuntu: rootfs-ubuntu-12.10-0.8.0.tar.lzma (687 Mb), (mirror) MD5: 6dbf50fe8623ceef3e5771e01ba52938
   • Ubuntu-Touch preview: rootfs-ubuntu-touch-tf700t-0.5.2_20130325.tar.lzma (444 Mb), (mirror) MD5: d50b7fe310f0feb23729e9f857e5c157
   • Arch (workdowg): arch linux thread
3. Copy linux-install-*.zip and rootfs-*.tar.lzma to your SDcard or /sdcard on your tf700
4. Reboot to recovery mode
5. Run linux-install-*.zip
6. Next, next, next ))
7. Wait, wait...
8. Done, now you can reboot and see four penguins!
9. If you have a problem with installation process - please, save install log and attach it to your help request message with good description.

Uninstall:
Really? I feel so sad
To complete uninstall multiboot & linux you need:

• Reinstall your Android distributive or kernel part of it (this is replaces bootimage with multiboot)
• Remove /data/media/linux directory with linux root file systems

Epilogue:
Currently we have basic linux environment with graphics and internet. For now, Android is more friendly to the user on a Tablet PC, but we can tilt the balance to Ubuntu advantage.

If you have any question about usage - please, post it here.

Really appreciate you effort! Why not post this in the developers forum, where you might get some good inputs from other brainy people like yourself.

Originally Posted by rahulunni

Really appreciate you effort! Why not post this in the developers forum, where you might get some good inputs from other brainy people like yourself.

I would like to prepare this howto (after stabilization and fixing minor bugs) for general users. But thanx for you response - brainy people do not come here?

How does this vary from the other Ubuntu effort? Why not combine resources?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1988170

Originally Posted by danger-rat

How does this vary from the other Ubuntu effort? Why not combine resources?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1988170

That would be great! At the moment I'm trying to run their environment using fastboot and find differences. I already sent message to jaybob413 and we try to combine our resources.

Originally Posted by rabits

I would like to prepare this howto (after stabilization and fixing minor bugs) for general users. But thanx for you response - brainy people do not come here?

I am sure they do. Just that the developers forum seemed more appropriate. Anyway, good luck and will wait for your work to finish!

Originally Posted by rabits

fastboot boot boot.img

Good idea to boot via fastboot, that should save the hassle of permanent reflashing the kernel - however it doesn't work for me, at least with the kernel from the other Ubuntu project.

First try: use a raw kernel+ramdisk image (starting with "ANDROID!"):

that@ws ~/android/tf700/ubuntu $ fastboot boot blob.LNX
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  2.829s]
booting...
FAILED (remote: ()
finished. total time: 2.830s

Second try: use the complete blob:

that@ws ~/android/tf700/ubuntu $ fastboot boot blob
creating boot image...
creating boot image - 6281216 bytes
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  7.318s]
booting...
FAILED (remote: ()
finished. total time: 7.319s

Fastboot itself works, because after that I issued "continue" and it booted the installed Android kernel just fine:

that@ws ~/android/tf700/ubuntu $ fastboot continue
resuming boot...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.000s

Any idea?

What's also interesting is that last time I flashed stuff with fastboot some weeks ago, "fastboot devices" used to show all "??????" and I had to use the well-known "-i 0xb05" option. Today "fastboot devices" showed a proper serial number and I could omit the option (also tried specifying it anyway, but it did not make any difference). Maybe that was repaired with a recent bootloader.

You typically have to include the device ID in the fastboot command for this device... might be worth a try?

For example:
fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash recovery twrp.blob

Not quite sure what the syntax is to boot an image...

Originally Posted by danger-rat

You typically have to include the device ID in the fastboot command for this device... might be worth a try?

Read my post to the end...

Originally Posted by _that

that@ws ~/android/tf700/ubuntu $ fastboot boot blob.LNX
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  2.829s]
booting...
FAILED (remote: ()
finished. total time: 2.830s

Any idea?

I see - you use blob. It's wrong - you need to unpack blob (see the blobunpack on this forum). Fastboot can flash only images. Blob - is used from zip and sdcard.