[Q] DUAL BOOT UBUNTU And JELLY BEAN AND GUIDE

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technolust109

Senior Member
May 22, 2011
342
15
Melbourne
hey guys, for those that havnt seen it today Ubuntu has been released for the Nexus 7 and for both 8GB and 16GB Models! wondering if anyone in the community has figured out how to dual boot it or if it is even possible? thanks all!

Heres the link of how to install if your wondering


What you will need:
Nexus 7 Tablet (8GB or 16GB)
Standard MicroUSB Cable (should come with the device)
Ubuntu Nexus 7 Desktop Installer installed on your development system
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Later
Optional

Micro USB Host Cable (OTG Cable) - used for attaching keyboard, mouse, etc. Directions on how to get and use one of these are towards the bottom of this page.
Ubuntu Nexus 7 Desktop Installer
A simple one-click installer has been provided, and is available in a PPA.


sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-nexus7/ubuntu-nexus7-installer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-nexus7-installer
Usage instructions for the installer are provided below.

Unlocking the Nexus 7
The Nexus 7 ships with a locked bootloader. You must unlock it in order to flash different images to the device. Fortunately, this is a trivial process, and you only need to do it once.

Warning: Unlocking the bootloader erases all data and resets the device to factory defaults.

Reboot the Android device into the Android boot loader. To do this, hold the volume down button and press the power button. Continue holding the volume down and power buttons until you see the boot loader UI. The device now displays the boot loader GUI, which looks like this:


Verify fastboot lists the device:

$ sudo fastboot devices
1234567891234567 fastboot
Start the bootloader unlock process:
sudo fastboot oem unlock
You are prompted on screen to unlock the bootloader on the Android device screen. Follow the on-screen directions to continue. Your screen should now look like this:


Complete the process by rebooting:

sudo fastboot reboot-bootloader
Or simply press the power button.

Installing Ubuntu on Nexus 7
Once all setup has been completed, the installation can start. To install, ensure the Nexus 7 is in fastboot mode, plug it into your computer (and make sure NO OTHER DEVICES are plugged in).

Find the installer in the dash (search for 'nexus'):

This will provide a Graphical Interface for installing Ubuntu. This tool will download the latest image automatically, and flash it accordingly. The flashing step should take about 2 minutes. Once the flashing is complete, the device will reboot and finish the installation. This step can take 10-15 minutes.

Returning your Nexus 7 to Stock Android
Warning: Disconnect ALL other mobile devices connected from your computer or they might get erased too. This will erase ALL DATA on your Nexus 7.

In case anything happens while developing, the system image for Nexus 7 can be found here: https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz

After downloading the above tarball, uncompress it with the following:

tar zxvf nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz
Then, place your machine into fastboot mode and run the resulting script:

cd nakasi-jro03d/
sudo ./flash-all.sh
You may get the following warnings, which you can ignore, the restoration will continue anyway.

archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'
archive does not contain 'system.sig'
Troubleshooting the Install
If you have problems installing the image, please use the following troubleshooting steps:

Detach the USB cable, restart the tablet back into fastboot mode, and re-attach the USB cable.
If problems persist, reboot your host PC.
If you still have issues, try a different USB cable.
If you have a 16G tablet, try using the 8G image.
If you still have issues after doing all this, return the image to stock using the directions above and re-try.
If none of that works, ask a question on Ask Ubuntu using the mobile tag, or ask for help in the #ubuntu-arm channel on freenode. If you believe it's a bug, file a bug against ubuntu-nexus7 in Launchpad.
 
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transformador

Senior Member
Feb 17, 2012
189
43
Ehm, do i miss something or is this ubuntu only installation?
Edit: i mean, not dual boot, but only ubuntu
 

technolust109

Senior Member
May 22, 2011
342
15
Melbourne
what do you mean ubuntu only install?
sorry if you mis understood, but i posted the guide there but i am also curious if theres a dual boot avaliable.
 

jonnyg1097

Senior Member
Oct 1, 2010
1,454
117
35
Toronto
is bluetooth not usable in the in ubuntu while installed?

And I saw this install method over at androidcentral.com and I dont recall it being dualboot. It did a complete install of ubuntu only and erased android from the device
 

breakingspell

Senior Member
Dec 1, 2010
405
133
As of right now, dual-booting is not an option, however, this build did just come out today, and in the coming weeks, we'll likely have many updates and options, so i'd hang tight. Needless to say, it's a great experience
 

jonhcox

Member
Sep 14, 2012
22
0
Download and follow the instructions in the complete Linux installation guide. (Its an app in the play store) It works pretty well and you can use Ubuntu, Debian and a few others without wiping your system. I prefer the Ubuntu lite version. Something else to try out :)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
 
Last edited:

RealPariah

Senior Member
Aug 4, 2010
899
313
Folks, it's not that hard of a question when you actually read what the poster states. CURRENTLY, THERE IS AN INSTALLER THAT INSTALL UBUNTU TO THE NEXUS 7, BUT DOING THIS WILL CAUSE THE DEVICE TO BE FULLY WIPED FIRST REMOVING ANDROID. HE IS WONDERING IF THERE COULD BE [OR IS] AN INSTALLER THAT INSTALLS UBUNTU ALONGSIDE ANDROID TO BE ABLE TO BOOT THE DEVICE TO EITHER OS AS THE USER WISHES [ ALSO ASKING IF DUAL BOOTING BETWEEN THE 2 IS EVEN POSSIBLE.SO HE KNOWS IF IT IS WORTH HIS TIME TO INVEST IN MAYBE FIGURING IT OUT ON HIS OWN]. I am going to assume some form of dual booting would be possible as Linux bootloaders are generally very capable of booting OSes that use environments totally different from itself.

I am wondering the same thing as I am a very good technical user who can deal with a lot of issues, but have never gotten deep in to the programming side of things. I am shocked that for such an alpha build [really flaky Bluetooth, [Wi-Fi is solid] Unity crashes quite often and nVidia has had sucky Linux driver support for years now [wish they would take Linux more seriously but hey at least they have drivers]]. All leads to a painful experience for most [especially if you are not a nerd or techie and not used to dealing with very new alpha Linux type issues, if you don't mind it it does work].

Why wouldn't they have set it up as a dual boot to begin with? That way if you know something you need to get done can be done in Android and not in Ubuntu then you could just restart and choose the different OS. Not to mention if this is for modders and enthusiasts to test bed things on the tablet then they are going to most likely be some Android developers to start who would love to say use Eclipse to develop Android code for whatever and then oh no restart in to Android to I dunno test their work.

All that to say PLEASE SOMEONE WITH THE KNOW HOW let's figure out a way to fully dual boot a NATIVE Linux [not that install a loop file system and have it use VNC server to view the session junk you see on the Play Market, it's quaint and all, but not nearly as nice as a full Linux with full access to the hardware [I use it too, much love to backtrack] but am dying to dual boot an Android/More full [ I REALLY want Backtrack 5+ but Ubuntu would be worth keeping around until Backtrack gets around to working out their builds to be dual boot on some Android based systems] Linux as needed.
 
Last edited:

GinoAMelone

Senior Member
Jun 6, 2008
283
52
Cleveland, Ohio
The approach that the Boot Manager app uses would probably work. They modify the /boot partition to point to a different device for /data than normal. Then you can switch between ROMs by flashing a different /boot partition. They automatically bundle the /boot partition into an update.zip and store them next to the image file on you SD card.
 

Nikguy

Senior Member
Sep 5, 2012
60
4
I would like to try this but what's the best/easiest way to back up my system? (I.e. app and game save data as well as for directory bind and folder structures). I tried clockworks backup process before, but I either did it wrong or it doesn't cover everything.

Can I just copy paste everything from my root folder?
 

technolust109

Senior Member
May 22, 2011
342
15
Melbourne
I would like to try this but what's the best/easiest way to back up my system? (I.e. app and game save data as well as for directory bind and folder structures). I tried clockworks backup process before, but I either did it wrong or it doesn't cover everything.

Can I just copy paste everything from my root folder?

you might want to try and use titanuium backup and copy out the entire "titanium backup" folder onto your computer, so when you revert back to android you should be able to copy it back in and restore from titanium backup. hope it works. :)
 
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    hey guys, for those that havnt seen it today Ubuntu has been released for the Nexus 7 and for both 8GB and 16GB Models! wondering if anyone in the community has figured out how to dual boot it or if it is even possible? thanks all!

    Heres the link of how to install if your wondering


    What you will need:
    Nexus 7 Tablet (8GB or 16GB)
    Standard MicroUSB Cable (should come with the device)
    Ubuntu Nexus 7 Desktop Installer installed on your development system
    Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Later
    Optional

    Micro USB Host Cable (OTG Cable) - used for attaching keyboard, mouse, etc. Directions on how to get and use one of these are towards the bottom of this page.
    Ubuntu Nexus 7 Desktop Installer
    A simple one-click installer has been provided, and is available in a PPA.


    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-nexus7/ubuntu-nexus7-installer
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install ubuntu-nexus7-installer
    Usage instructions for the installer are provided below.

    Unlocking the Nexus 7
    The Nexus 7 ships with a locked bootloader. You must unlock it in order to flash different images to the device. Fortunately, this is a trivial process, and you only need to do it once.

    Warning: Unlocking the bootloader erases all data and resets the device to factory defaults.

    Reboot the Android device into the Android boot loader. To do this, hold the volume down button and press the power button. Continue holding the volume down and power buttons until you see the boot loader UI. The device now displays the boot loader GUI, which looks like this:


    Verify fastboot lists the device:

    $ sudo fastboot devices
    1234567891234567 fastboot
    Start the bootloader unlock process:
    sudo fastboot oem unlock
    You are prompted on screen to unlock the bootloader on the Android device screen. Follow the on-screen directions to continue. Your screen should now look like this:


    Complete the process by rebooting:

    sudo fastboot reboot-bootloader
    Or simply press the power button.

    Installing Ubuntu on Nexus 7
    Once all setup has been completed, the installation can start. To install, ensure the Nexus 7 is in fastboot mode, plug it into your computer (and make sure NO OTHER DEVICES are plugged in).

    Find the installer in the dash (search for 'nexus'):

    This will provide a Graphical Interface for installing Ubuntu. This tool will download the latest image automatically, and flash it accordingly. The flashing step should take about 2 minutes. Once the flashing is complete, the device will reboot and finish the installation. This step can take 10-15 minutes.

    Returning your Nexus 7 to Stock Android
    Warning: Disconnect ALL other mobile devices connected from your computer or they might get erased too. This will erase ALL DATA on your Nexus 7.

    In case anything happens while developing, the system image for Nexus 7 can be found here: https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz

    After downloading the above tarball, uncompress it with the following:

    tar zxvf nakasi-jro03d-factory-e102ba72.tgz
    Then, place your machine into fastboot mode and run the resulting script:

    cd nakasi-jro03d/
    sudo ./flash-all.sh
    You may get the following warnings, which you can ignore, the restoration will continue anyway.

    archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
    archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'
    archive does not contain 'system.sig'
    Troubleshooting the Install
    If you have problems installing the image, please use the following troubleshooting steps:

    Detach the USB cable, restart the tablet back into fastboot mode, and re-attach the USB cable.
    If problems persist, reboot your host PC.
    If you still have issues, try a different USB cable.
    If you have a 16G tablet, try using the 8G image.
    If you still have issues after doing all this, return the image to stock using the directions above and re-try.
    If none of that works, ask a question on Ask Ubuntu using the mobile tag, or ask for help in the #ubuntu-arm channel on freenode. If you believe it's a bug, file a bug against ubuntu-nexus7 in Launchpad.
    1
    Change your thread title,its misleading.
    1
    I would like to try this but what's the best/easiest way to back up my system? (I.e. app and game save data as well as for directory bind and folder structures). I tried clockworks backup process before, but I either did it wrong or it doesn't cover everything.

    Can I just copy paste everything from my root folder?

    you might want to try and use titanuium backup and copy out the entire "titanium backup" folder onto your computer, so when you revert back to android you should be able to copy it back in and restore from titanium backup. hope it works. :)
    1
    Finally my version of dual-booting Android and Ubuntu is working too! It seems I was almost there when I had the bootloops when trying to boot Android.

    It's been a lot of trial-and-error, but as far as I see these were the important steps which made my Nexus 7 dual-boot Android/Ubuntu. Try them at you own risk:

    Start with updating to 4.2 and unlocking. Maybe 4.2 isn't essential, but it should be something for which you have the boot image.
    Flash a custom recovery using fastboot, boot it and mount /data
    Extract rootfs.tar.gz from the Ubuntu rootfs.img (using simg2img to convert it to ext4 and mounting the ext4 image as a loop filesystem)
    Copy rootfs.tar.gz to /data
    Reboot to bootloader
    Flash the Ubuntu boot.img to recovery using fastboot.
    Start recovery. Ubuntu will now install.
    (It seems the Ubuntu install touches the boot partition at this point, making it unable to boot Android.)
    Reboot to bootloader.
    Flash the original boot image (mine was 4.2) to boot using fastboot.

    Now enjoy dual boot! :D Normal boot will start Android, recovery boot will start Ubuntu.

    There may be an easier way to do this, but this is more or less what worked for me.