[LIVE][USB][T100] Asus T100-TA Magic Stick

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cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
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Migration Institute
Asus T100-TA Magic Stick

35417-ubuntuandroid.png


Since development and hacking for the Asus T100 tablet has been rather slow these past few months, due to the many problems that plagued the kernel and missing drivers, I decided to make a simple-to-use toolchain that works well on the device out-of-the-box. Thus, I have bundled a fully working Ubuntu live CD image and an Android-x86 build into a single usb stick format (I call it the "Magic Stick"), to allow easy testing, booting and updating stuff on the tablet. You can also use it to recover your device and perform maintenance activities without the usual hassle. And you can use it for showing off to your friends and co-workers by triple booting your tablet.

T100 Magic Stick Features:

  • Dual-boot directly from USB stick into Android or Ubuntu!
  • Test and play with both systems to see if you like them
  • Ubuntu 15.04 Live:
    • Updated 4.0 kernel (thanks to Kirill Belyaev for the kernel build)
    • No more internal HDD errors (no more rpmb issues)
    • Suspend working!
    • Installer working with grub installation! Finally!!
    • microSD Card working correctly
    • Wi-Fi working stable since boot
    • Battery reporting
    • Hardware buttons
    • Additional tools by default (gparted, mc, uefi, efibootmgr, grub2)
  • Android CM13.0.2-rc1 Live:
    • No more internal HDD errors (no more rpmb issues)
    • Wi-Fi working
    • Bluetooth working
    • Battery reporting
    • Hardware buttons working
    • Google Services! (Play Store etc.)
    • Pre-rooted!
    • Writable system partition
    • Persistent data saving on stick (1GB internal storage)
    • Rotation sensor working
  • Shrink and change partition layouts
  • Install and repair bootloaders, grub2 and UEFI
  • Install, repair, debug and update any operating system

Download and Install:

The installation procedure is extremely simple:
  1. Download the Magic Stick zip file from here: T100 Magic Stick download
  2. Extract the ZIP file
  3. Copy the contents of the extracted folder to a USB stick (at least 3GB free space required)
  4. Disable secure boot in the UEFI firmware configuration (tap F2 at startup to enter configuration)
  5. Boot from the USB stick (tap F2 at startup and choose the stick as boot device from the menus)

Thanks and credits:
  • Kirill Belyaev, Povilas Staniulis, rbg, Chih-Wei Huang, Brain WrecK, pstglia for their work and contribution + their dedication and their builds.
  • The whole Asus T100 Ubuntu Google+ Community (chck us out!);
  • The whole Android-x86 Google Group (check us out!);
  • Everyone else who contributed patches, fixes, ideas and suggestions!

Download:
v2.0-beta1: Download

Cheers,
C.
 
Last edited:

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
Changelog:
  • v1.5: Ubuntu: no changes or improvements, sorry...
  • v1.5: Android: microSD card support
  • v1.5: Android: no more FC bugs at boot...
  • v1.5: Android: display driver improvements (some games and apps which didn't work will start working now)
  • v1.5: Android: better overall performance (+2500 points in Antutu than previous version)
  • v1.5: Android: better browser support (chrome, firefox etc.)
  • v1.5: Android: streaming support less buggy
  • v1.5: Android: latest 4.4.2-r3 build included (much more stable)
  • v1.5: Android: improved bluetooth support (some issues still reported, though)
  • v1.4: Ubuntu: added bluetooth support (seems unreliable)
  • v1.4: Ubuntu: updated packages to latest versions
  • v1.4: Ubuntu: fixed Software Center problems
  • v1.4: Android: data is saved to the stick (1GB internal storage only!)
  • v1.4: Android: added bluetooth support (tethering not working, yet)
  • v1.4: Android: added accelerometer sensor support
  • v1.4: Android: added rotation sensor support
  • v1.3: Ubuntu installer does not crash anymore!
  • v1.3: Added suspend support in Ubuntu
  • v1.3: Updated to Ubuntu 15.04
  • v1.3: Added sound for Ubuntu
  • v1.2: Initial release

Known Issues:
  • Ubuntu: suspend doesn't work as it should, no bluetooth, no rotation, no camera, no microphone;
  • Android: suspend doesn't work as it should, no bluetooth, no rotation, no microSD, no camera, no microphone;
  • Android: at boot, Google text-to-speech will FC a couple of times. This is fixed once you log into google play and update the GApps;
    [*]Android: sometimes the keyboard dock is not enabled at boot. This is caused by a race condition at boot and I won't fix it. If you run into it, reboot and try again; (didn't encounter it anymore)
  • You tell me...

Frequent Questions:
  • Can I remove the stick after boot?
    Answer: No. This works like a live CD.
  • Will my data be saved?
    Answer: In Ubuntu no. This works like a live CD. In Android yes, you can store up to 1GB of data (due to popular request).
  • Can I install Ubuntu?
    Answer: Yes. This works like a live CD.
  • Can I install Android?
    Answer: Yes, but not using the built-in installer.
  • How can I install Android-x86?
    Answer: Manually, but it's easy. Maybe I will create a step-by-step guide later...
  • Will Android work with ART (before or after install)?
    Answer: No.
  • Can I install xposed framework?
    Answer: Yes, but not on the live version, you must install Android locally first.
  • How can I update the Android-x86 version on the stick?
    Answer: Replace the files in the "x86" folder on the stick.
  • How can I update the Ubuntu version on the stick?
    Answer: You can't (not easily anyway).
 
Last edited:

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
Windows Tools:
I recommend you download these and save them onto the USB stick you create yourself, to always have them on hand. I did not include them on the stick as they are licensed separately (even if "free") and all credits go to their respective authors. I also recommend downloading the Windows 8.1 drivers for the T100 and saving them to the same stick, just in case you have to re-install Windows. Just make a separate folder on the stick and save whatever you want there. It won't break any functionality.

  • EasyUEFI - Download
    A tool which helps you manage UEFI boot entries, paths and configuration for booting with ease
  • Ext2Fsd - Download
    A tool which helps you mount ro/rw the Android/Linux partitions in windows as regular drives
  • unsqashfs 4.0 - Download
    A tool to extract the ".sfs" and ".squashfs" images to regular ".img" files (to make system.img writable, mountable etc.)
  • Advanced reboot script - Download
    A Windows batch file that reboots the system so you can select the boot device using your touchscreen (boot in Android/Ubuntu directly without the dock attached etc.)

Linux how-to resources:
 
Last edited:

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
Android How-to / guides section:
This section contains a set of guides to help you with some basic tasks and activities to easily manage your own installation(s) of Android. This is the part where the Magic Stick itself will prove to be useful and how you can use it to customize and repair or update anything. The Ubuntu related stuff is not documented here, as documentation and forums are available on the internet.

WARNING: These guides are not extremely detailed and include only the activities which have to be performed. Each configuration is different and you need to understand what you are doing to make sure you don't break anything. Worst case scenario is that you will lose all your data. However, you will still be able to boot the Magic Stick to repair or re-install everything (thank me later!)

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any loss of data and you are at your own risk while using the tools, guides and information provided here. Back up your data and do not play around with systems that you use on a daily basis. Only follow these guides if you feel comfortable with the instructions and completely understand what you need to do at each step.

Make the Android system partition writable

When you download an Android-x86 release, you will find in the ZIP or ISO a bunch of files, including a file called "system.sfs" or "system.img".
  1. If you have a file called "system.img" you can stop now, your Android system partition is writable and you can skip to the final step.
  2. If you have a file called "system.sfs", then use the unsquashfs command to convert it into a writable format:
    • If you are using Windows, download the unsqashfs tool above and extract the zip. Drag and drop the "system.sfs" file on top of the unsqashfs executable to extract the system.img (you can find it inside the generated folder)
    • If you are using Linux, make sure squashfs-tools are installed and run this command from the folder containing the "system.sfs" file:
      Code:
      unsquashfs ./system.sfs
  3. That's it, now you can mount the system.img file generated under linux using this command:
    Code:
    mount -o loop ./system.img /path/to/destination/

Resize the system partition

Usually, the system partition of Android-x86 is made as small as possible (you don't want to download "free space", right?) so if you want to add gapps or other packages to the system partition there will be no space left. Here's how to increase the size of the system partition:
  1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
  2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
  3. Browse to the folder containing the system.img file (using 'cd' or 'mc')
  4. Extend the system.img file by 200MB. Replace 200 with the amount of MB you want to add:
    Code:
    dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=200 >> ./system.img
  5. Run gparted to also extend the partition inside the file:
    Code:
    sudo gparted system.img
  6. In gparted, right click on the partition and select the option to shrink it down by only one MB (so it registers a change) and apply the changes
  7. Close gparted. You're done.

Make space to install Android

Creating a new partition onto which to install Android usually requires shrinking an existing partition. If you want to install Android on the tablet (not the dock base) you will have to shrink the Windows system partition. Here's how to do it in a reasonably safe way:
  1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
  2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
  3. Run gparted as root:
    Code:
    sudo gparted
  4. In gparted, right click on the Windows system partition and select the option to shrink it down by at least 2GB. Make sure the partition actually has 2GB of free space, otherwise the process will not work.
  5. Right click the free space and create a new partition and select to format it as ext4. It's important to make it ext4, so keep this in mind. Also give it a name such as "android".
  6. Apply the changes and wait for the partition to be created.
  7. Close gparted. You're done.
  8. To have the partition available in Ubuntu Live, you have to mount it manually or just reboot (to have it mounted at boot automatically)

Install Android locally

Make sure you have the system.img, kernel, ramdisk.img and initrd.img files available. Make sure you have an ext4 partition mounted. The Android-x86 installation is in fact a simple process of copying the ISO/ZIP files onto the destination partition:
  1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
  2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
  3. Copy the four relevant files to the ext4 partition using your method of choice
  4. That's it, Android-x86 is installed (but not yet bootable!)

Enable data saving for Android

To enable data saving for Android-x86, you have many choices. However, the simplest one is to use an ext4 partition and create a dedicated "data" folder for android. Make sure Android-x86 is installed onto an ext4 partition:
  1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
  2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
  3. Navigate to the root of the partition (the mount point folder)
  4. Create a folder called "data":
    Code:
    mkdir -p data
  5. You're done, Android will save data persistently across reboots.
Note that this only works for ext4 partitions.
Note that using ext2 or ext3 will output errors for Google Play if you use Lollipop builds.
You have been warned.

Install the grub2 boot loader

Resizing partitions and copying (read installing :D) Android is a very simple process. However, the bootloader installation is a much more complicated business (usually!). Here's how to make sure everything is installed correctly:
In progress...

Add the Android menuentry to grub2

Once we have grub2 installed and ready to go, it's time to make Adroid-x86 bootable as easily as possible:
In progress...

Update Android with new releases

Once Android is set up and ready to go, all you need to do to update it properly is to overwrite the existing files and reboot. Make sure you have the updated system.img, kernel, ramdisk.img and initrd.img files available. Make sure you have the Android ext4 partition mounted:
  1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
  2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
  3. Copy the four relevant files to the ext4 partition using your method of choice, overwriting the existing ones
  4. That's it, Android-x86 is updated


Cheers,
C.
 
Last edited:

gbuscrizist

Member
Mar 26, 2008
17
0
Seattle
I am having some problems with this. Granted I am trying to use it for install on the Dell Venue 8 Pro. This tablet is a bay trail base, with most of the same hardware, minus the wireless/bt card. This works fantastic as a live cd, but when I install it I get problems. Is the ubuntu image only i386? When I was trying to change the kernel from the G+ group I kept getting the architecture mismatch (Kernel.deb file is amd64 and system is i386). Also the bootloader is kind of weird. All of the grub settings are correct, but if I want to boot ubuntu from the mmc I have to enter the advanced menu, then boot recovery mode. When recovery mode boots, I hit resume boot and then I am magically loaded into my installed system. Am I doing something wrong here?
 

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
The live image is i386 only. For the grub boot loader, try copying the entry contents into the stick boot menu and see if it works as intended. The menuentry file on the stick is in ./boot/grub/grub.conf.
I'll be releasing a new version of the stick with Ubuntu 15.04 (i386) and some additional sound fixes in the next few hours as well.

Cheers,
C.
 
Last edited:

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
The HP omni problem comes from the kernel, which I did not build and I do not maintain. Also, I don't have a HP omni, so I can't test it out.

The bottom line is that I can not promise to make it work, but I will update the kernel when possible. Keep in mind that this is a Asus T100 tool. Follow the thread and when an update for the kernel is posted, try the new version.

Cheers,
C.
 
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KILLplay

Senior Member
Jul 19, 2010
70
5
Everything runs perfectly. Flawless Android and I'm still testing around Ubuntu. You've helped revitalize my T100! thanks!
Now I just need to figure out how to install the bootloader. Seems simple enough but your instructions say it may be a bit complicated so maybe I'm missing something
 

alphaeagle777

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2009
455
47
Port Richey
For some reason, after Ubuntu installed coulnd open the software manager and didnt have synaptics, also is there a way to turn of the white led,
second do i copy all the android files into the Ubuntu drive or i need to partition the ssd for another partition for android( what are the chances of 5.0/5.1)

thanks for the files and works good, only issue, not home dev but Linux/Ubuntu, that is not finger scroll friendly, and click and hold for right click(context menu) beside chromium that scroll with out having to hold the scroll bar like the rest of the system
 

Macro le noir

Member
Dec 5, 2011
11
2
Installation on hdd

I have installed ubuntu on my t100 on the hdd. It works great so manu thanks for that but I have on issue, I need to let the usb stick in on boot in order to make it boot. If I don't grub is in rescue mode saying that : "error : no such device : 25dc1ad7-c268…"
 

FiendFyre

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2012
352
396
Is there any way to get touch screen working on a Toshiba Encore 2 Write? I know this thread is for the Asus T100, but I tried this flash drive image out on my device and it ran, minus touchscreen. It booted up fine and everything. If anyone is able to help me out, it would be greatly appreciated! I think the issue stems from the device having a Wacom touchscreen, but I can give any information needed!
 

cheatman

Senior Member
May 21, 2007
589
2,161
Migration Institute
@feduss: The connection problem did not appear in my tests and I am able to log into Google Services without any problems. Skip the account creation during the initial setup wizard and create it later and see if it works.

@alphaeagle777: try installing plasma-active. You can see it in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOMmp8iEaqY

@Macro le noir: Make sure you select /dev/mmcblk0 as the drive to install the grub2 boot loader during installation. Otherwise, the installer may detect the USB stick grub boot loader and install the OS selection menu for Ubuntu from there.

@FiendFyre: The stick will never have Encore 2 support unless one of the kernel developers include it in the configuration. I am not building the kernels myself, so it is best to ask the Android-x86 group for more info.

Cheers,
C.
 
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Macro le noir

Member
Dec 5, 2011
11
2
@Macro le noir: Make sure you select /dev/mmcblk0 as the drive to install the grub2 boot loader during installation. Otherwise, the installer may detect the USB stick grub boot loader and install the OS selection menu for Ubuntu from there.

Cheers,
C.

Thanks for the reply. It was the correct issue, I didn't pay attention during installation. To solve the problem I juste reinstall grub at the right place.

edit : I speak to fast. Just reboot work, not after a shut down.

edit2 : after reinstalling ubuntu with grub at the rigth place, it still doesn't work. Can you explaim me how to install grub correctly ?
 
Last edited:

krispin

Account currently disabled
Sep 24, 2007
334
46
GB
meettomy.site
Grub entry

Hi cheatman, thanks for your great work and nice tutorials. Now I am trying to figured out, how to edit grub to add entry for android. It is situated in /dev/mmcblk0p5 in folder android. I have alrready installed ubuntu on keyboard HDD. Thanks.
 
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  • 42
    Asus T100-TA Magic Stick

    35417-ubuntuandroid.png


    Since development and hacking for the Asus T100 tablet has been rather slow these past few months, due to the many problems that plagued the kernel and missing drivers, I decided to make a simple-to-use toolchain that works well on the device out-of-the-box. Thus, I have bundled a fully working Ubuntu live CD image and an Android-x86 build into a single usb stick format (I call it the "Magic Stick"), to allow easy testing, booting and updating stuff on the tablet. You can also use it to recover your device and perform maintenance activities without the usual hassle. And you can use it for showing off to your friends and co-workers by triple booting your tablet.

    T100 Magic Stick Features:

    • Dual-boot directly from USB stick into Android or Ubuntu!
    • Test and play with both systems to see if you like them
    • Ubuntu 15.04 Live:
      • Updated 4.0 kernel (thanks to Kirill Belyaev for the kernel build)
      • No more internal HDD errors (no more rpmb issues)
      • Suspend working!
      • Installer working with grub installation! Finally!!
      • microSD Card working correctly
      • Wi-Fi working stable since boot
      • Battery reporting
      • Hardware buttons
      • Additional tools by default (gparted, mc, uefi, efibootmgr, grub2)
    • Android CM13.0.2-rc1 Live:
      • No more internal HDD errors (no more rpmb issues)
      • Wi-Fi working
      • Bluetooth working
      • Battery reporting
      • Hardware buttons working
      • Google Services! (Play Store etc.)
      • Pre-rooted!
      • Writable system partition
      • Persistent data saving on stick (1GB internal storage)
      • Rotation sensor working
    • Shrink and change partition layouts
    • Install and repair bootloaders, grub2 and UEFI
    • Install, repair, debug and update any operating system

    Download and Install:

    The installation procedure is extremely simple:
    1. Download the Magic Stick zip file from here: T100 Magic Stick download
    2. Extract the ZIP file
    3. Copy the contents of the extracted folder to a USB stick (at least 3GB free space required)
    4. Disable secure boot in the UEFI firmware configuration (tap F2 at startup to enter configuration)
    5. Boot from the USB stick (tap F2 at startup and choose the stick as boot device from the menus)

    Thanks and credits:
    • Kirill Belyaev, Povilas Staniulis, rbg, Chih-Wei Huang, Brain WrecK, pstglia for their work and contribution + their dedication and their builds.
    • The whole Asus T100 Ubuntu Google+ Community (chck us out!);
    • The whole Android-x86 Google Group (check us out!);
    • Everyone else who contributed patches, fixes, ideas and suggestions!

    Download:
    v2.0-beta1: Download

    Cheers,
    C.
    21
    Changelog:
    • v1.5: Ubuntu: no changes or improvements, sorry...
    • v1.5: Android: microSD card support
    • v1.5: Android: no more FC bugs at boot...
    • v1.5: Android: display driver improvements (some games and apps which didn't work will start working now)
    • v1.5: Android: better overall performance (+2500 points in Antutu than previous version)
    • v1.5: Android: better browser support (chrome, firefox etc.)
    • v1.5: Android: streaming support less buggy
    • v1.5: Android: latest 4.4.2-r3 build included (much more stable)
    • v1.5: Android: improved bluetooth support (some issues still reported, though)
    • v1.4: Ubuntu: added bluetooth support (seems unreliable)
    • v1.4: Ubuntu: updated packages to latest versions
    • v1.4: Ubuntu: fixed Software Center problems
    • v1.4: Android: data is saved to the stick (1GB internal storage only!)
    • v1.4: Android: added bluetooth support (tethering not working, yet)
    • v1.4: Android: added accelerometer sensor support
    • v1.4: Android: added rotation sensor support
    • v1.3: Ubuntu installer does not crash anymore!
    • v1.3: Added suspend support in Ubuntu
    • v1.3: Updated to Ubuntu 15.04
    • v1.3: Added sound for Ubuntu
    • v1.2: Initial release

    Known Issues:
    • Ubuntu: suspend doesn't work as it should, no bluetooth, no rotation, no camera, no microphone;
    • Android: suspend doesn't work as it should, no bluetooth, no rotation, no microSD, no camera, no microphone;
    • Android: at boot, Google text-to-speech will FC a couple of times. This is fixed once you log into google play and update the GApps;
      [*]Android: sometimes the keyboard dock is not enabled at boot. This is caused by a race condition at boot and I won't fix it. If you run into it, reboot and try again; (didn't encounter it anymore)
    • You tell me...

    Frequent Questions:
    • Can I remove the stick after boot?
      Answer: No. This works like a live CD.
    • Will my data be saved?
      Answer: In Ubuntu no. This works like a live CD. In Android yes, you can store up to 1GB of data (due to popular request).
    • Can I install Ubuntu?
      Answer: Yes. This works like a live CD.
    • Can I install Android?
      Answer: Yes, but not using the built-in installer.
    • How can I install Android-x86?
      Answer: Manually, but it's easy. Maybe I will create a step-by-step guide later...
    • Will Android work with ART (before or after install)?
      Answer: No.
    • Can I install xposed framework?
      Answer: Yes, but not on the live version, you must install Android locally first.
    • How can I update the Android-x86 version on the stick?
      Answer: Replace the files in the "x86" folder on the stick.
    • How can I update the Ubuntu version on the stick?
      Answer: You can't (not easily anyway).
    11
    Windows Tools:
    I recommend you download these and save them onto the USB stick you create yourself, to always have them on hand. I did not include them on the stick as they are licensed separately (even if "free") and all credits go to their respective authors. I also recommend downloading the Windows 8.1 drivers for the T100 and saving them to the same stick, just in case you have to re-install Windows. Just make a separate folder on the stick and save whatever you want there. It won't break any functionality.

    • EasyUEFI - Download
      A tool which helps you manage UEFI boot entries, paths and configuration for booting with ease
    • Ext2Fsd - Download
      A tool which helps you mount ro/rw the Android/Linux partitions in windows as regular drives
    • unsqashfs 4.0 - Download
      A tool to extract the ".sfs" and ".squashfs" images to regular ".img" files (to make system.img writable, mountable etc.)
    • Advanced reboot script - Download
      A Windows batch file that reboots the system so you can select the boot device using your touchscreen (boot in Android/Ubuntu directly without the dock attached etc.)

    Linux how-to resources:
    11
    Android How-to / guides section:
    This section contains a set of guides to help you with some basic tasks and activities to easily manage your own installation(s) of Android. This is the part where the Magic Stick itself will prove to be useful and how you can use it to customize and repair or update anything. The Ubuntu related stuff is not documented here, as documentation and forums are available on the internet.

    WARNING: These guides are not extremely detailed and include only the activities which have to be performed. Each configuration is different and you need to understand what you are doing to make sure you don't break anything. Worst case scenario is that you will lose all your data. However, you will still be able to boot the Magic Stick to repair or re-install everything (thank me later!)

    DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any loss of data and you are at your own risk while using the tools, guides and information provided here. Back up your data and do not play around with systems that you use on a daily basis. Only follow these guides if you feel comfortable with the instructions and completely understand what you need to do at each step.

    Make the Android system partition writable

    When you download an Android-x86 release, you will find in the ZIP or ISO a bunch of files, including a file called "system.sfs" or "system.img".
    1. If you have a file called "system.img" you can stop now, your Android system partition is writable and you can skip to the final step.
    2. If you have a file called "system.sfs", then use the unsquashfs command to convert it into a writable format:
      • If you are using Windows, download the unsqashfs tool above and extract the zip. Drag and drop the "system.sfs" file on top of the unsqashfs executable to extract the system.img (you can find it inside the generated folder)
      • If you are using Linux, make sure squashfs-tools are installed and run this command from the folder containing the "system.sfs" file:
        Code:
        unsquashfs ./system.sfs
    3. That's it, now you can mount the system.img file generated under linux using this command:
      Code:
      mount -o loop ./system.img /path/to/destination/

    Resize the system partition

    Usually, the system partition of Android-x86 is made as small as possible (you don't want to download "free space", right?) so if you want to add gapps or other packages to the system partition there will be no space left. Here's how to increase the size of the system partition:
    1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
    2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
    3. Browse to the folder containing the system.img file (using 'cd' or 'mc')
    4. Extend the system.img file by 200MB. Replace 200 with the amount of MB you want to add:
      Code:
      dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=200 >> ./system.img
    5. Run gparted to also extend the partition inside the file:
      Code:
      sudo gparted system.img
    6. In gparted, right click on the partition and select the option to shrink it down by only one MB (so it registers a change) and apply the changes
    7. Close gparted. You're done.

    Make space to install Android

    Creating a new partition onto which to install Android usually requires shrinking an existing partition. If you want to install Android on the tablet (not the dock base) you will have to shrink the Windows system partition. Here's how to do it in a reasonably safe way:
    1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
    2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
    3. Run gparted as root:
      Code:
      sudo gparted
    4. In gparted, right click on the Windows system partition and select the option to shrink it down by at least 2GB. Make sure the partition actually has 2GB of free space, otherwise the process will not work.
    5. Right click the free space and create a new partition and select to format it as ext4. It's important to make it ext4, so keep this in mind. Also give it a name such as "android".
    6. Apply the changes and wait for the partition to be created.
    7. Close gparted. You're done.
    8. To have the partition available in Ubuntu Live, you have to mount it manually or just reboot (to have it mounted at boot automatically)

    Install Android locally

    Make sure you have the system.img, kernel, ramdisk.img and initrd.img files available. Make sure you have an ext4 partition mounted. The Android-x86 installation is in fact a simple process of copying the ISO/ZIP files onto the destination partition:
    1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
    2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
    3. Copy the four relevant files to the ext4 partition using your method of choice
    4. That's it, Android-x86 is installed (but not yet bootable!)

    Enable data saving for Android

    To enable data saving for Android-x86, you have many choices. However, the simplest one is to use an ext4 partition and create a dedicated "data" folder for android. Make sure Android-x86 is installed onto an ext4 partition:
    1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
    2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
    3. Navigate to the root of the partition (the mount point folder)
    4. Create a folder called "data":
      Code:
      mkdir -p data
    5. You're done, Android will save data persistently across reboots.
    Note that this only works for ext4 partitions.
    Note that using ext2 or ext3 will output errors for Google Play if you use Lollipop builds.
    You have been warned.

    Install the grub2 boot loader

    Resizing partitions and copying (read installing :D) Android is a very simple process. However, the bootloader installation is a much more complicated business (usually!). Here's how to make sure everything is installed correctly:
    In progress...

    Add the Android menuentry to grub2

    Once we have grub2 installed and ready to go, it's time to make Adroid-x86 bootable as easily as possible:
    In progress...

    Update Android with new releases

    Once Android is set up and ready to go, all you need to do to update it properly is to overwrite the existing files and reboot. Make sure you have the updated system.img, kernel, ramdisk.img and initrd.img files available. Make sure you have the Android ext4 partition mounted:
    1. Boot the Magic Stick into Ubuntu
    2. Open a console using the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut
    3. Copy the four relevant files to the ext4 partition using your method of choice, overwriting the existing ones
    4. That's it, Android-x86 is updated


    Cheers,
    C.
    6
    I haven't abandoned it, but I relocated to another country recently and everything is a bit time consuming lately.

    If there is real interest in this to be updated, I will do it. Let me know.

    Cheers,
    C.