Yoga Book & GnuRoot Debian

[Tiggi2017]

Hello community!

For those who are interested in installing a linux system (debian) on a NON-ROOTED Android device:

I managed to install GnuRoot referring to this tutorial:

https://www.xda-developers.com/guid...a-gnulinux-environment-on-any-android-device/

At first i had graphical errors when starting LXDE (like missing icons) due to missing libraries during the installation process.

I show you the steps for installing it, referring to above tutorial, but i added some new terminal commands, because there were libraries and dependencies missing when installing LXDE.

1) First install GnuRoot and XSDL server from playstore.

2) Let GnuRoot start and doing its installation. Then type in following terminal commands:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata <----- if you wanna change your locales
apt-get install libffi6 <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
apt-get install execstack <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
execstack -c /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libffi.so.6 <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
apt-get install lxde-core <------- alternatively apt-get install lxde (for full LXDE with its apps)

3) start XSDL and make your configs (resolution etc.), let it run in the background

4) now type in GnuRoot following terminal commands:

export DISPLAY=:0 PULSE_SERVER=tcp:127.0.0.1:4712
startlxde &

5) switch back to XSDL and then wait until the GUI (aka LXDE) starts

It still shows some bugs like "No Session for PID # xxxx" whenever i log in. So i hope that i can get help to install it better (correctly) from the community.







Alternatively:
In the last few days i managed to let GnuRoot Debian run LXDE and connect to it via VNC viewer by running a VNC server locally. So if you dont want to use XDSL, but VNC instead, you can follow these instructions:

Download "GnuRoot Debian" and "VNC Viewer - Remote Desktop" in playstore.

Start GnuRoot, let it do its things and then type in the these shell commands:

For installing LXDE:
apt-get update
apt-get install apt-utils
apt-get install dialog
apt-get install sudo
sudo apt-get install libffi6
sudo apt-get install execstack
sudo execstack -c /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libffi.so.6
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install lxde-core


For installing VNC-Server:
sudo apt-get install tightvncserver
su - root
tightvncserver :1 (<---- just start the VNC-Server in order to create the xstartup-file)
sudo apt-get install nano
nano ~/.vnc/xstartup

an editor will show up and add this line at the bottom of the xstartup-file
/usr/bin/lxsession -s LXDE &

save the file and continue with these commands:

vncserver -kill :1 (<--- kill the server)
tightvncserver :1 -geometry 1280x720 -depth 24 (<--- start it again with this resolution, you can choose any resolution you want)

Now open VNC-Viewer and create a new item in order to connect to the VNC-Server
type in this adress: localhost:1

There you go... you are connected to the VNC-Server running by GnuRoot Debian. Have fun... I installed LibreOffice and Gimp as desktop solution. Working great with the Halo keyboard and with a bluetooth mouse

 

[boofman]

Does the keyboard work?

 

[Tiggi2017]

Does the keyboard work?

Yes. Halo Keyboard works, as well as the touchpad. It simulates a "right click" of a mouse by touching the pad with two fingers. But i can't recommend using the touchpad. I use a Bluetooth mouse, and it works well with GnuRoot. You can work just like with a normal Linux environment.

Furthermore I got Libreoffice, GIMP, Firefox ESR and Evince (pdf-Reader) working. Unfortunately i didnt get Chromium (32-bit) working.

 

[bisharat]

ok what about the wacom pad i.e. the create pad itself? does it work in linux?

 

[boofman]

Okay, so it works similar to a Virtualbox, but is more lightweight as it uses the Linux system that's running behind android in principle, right? Well, it makes the Android YB much more better than the Windows variant if that's the case, as it makes it a lot easier to use a real desktop environment inside of Android without having to reboot..

I'm weighing the pros and cons of going through all these trouble though, as the only reason I would want to have a linux desktop running would be more about using Office apps more than anything, and now with MS Office for Android, that would shorten the gap. I love Linux and have a Mint dual boot on my other machine, but the advantages in using the YB ultraportable Android with MS Office should suffice..

 

[Tiggi2017]

@bisharat:
I tried the wacom pad within linux using gimp. but it recognizes the pen only as normal mouse input. sometimes it lags, so drawing (on a professional base) doesn't work that well. and: in linux the pressure used with the pen (i.e. the intensity of the drawn line) isn't recognized as well.
@boofman:
The reason why i installed a linux system on the yoga book was: i tried every reasonable office solution in the app store or other sources, but i haven't found one that can work offline and which can work nearly as good as LibreOffice. As i have to read a lot of Magazines / Journals and as i have to write a lot of papers and making presentations, the installed linux system sufficed as Office solution.
And i plug in an external monitor (if needed) through the mini-hdmi, so i can have a light-weight mini office computer upon my android system for work. I think this is a good alternative, as I still don't see any possibilities to dual boot this device (aka Android and Win10).

 

[Tiggi2017]

-- message deleted --

 

[bisharat]

ok so if possible can u post a video on how to install it and how to uninstall it (in case anything goes wrong)?

 

[Tiggi2017]

ok so if possible can u post a video on how to install it and how to uninstall it (in case anything goes wrong)?

i just wrote a small tutorial in the first post. its similar to this tutorial:

https://www.xda-developers.com/guid...a-gnulinux-environment-on-any-android-device/

but i added some new commands.

uninstalling is very easy. just uninstall it through the application manager of the yoga book and delete the "GnuRoot" folder in your sdcard.

 

[boofman]

@bisharat:
I tried the wacom pad within linux using gimp. but it recognizes the pen only as normal mouse input. sometimes it lags, so drawing (on a professional base) doesn't work that well. and: in linux the pressure used with the pen (i.e. the intensity of the drawn line) isn't recognized as well.

@boofman:
The reason why i installed a linux system on the yoga book was: i tried every reasonable office solution in the app store or other sources, but i haven't found one that can work offline and which can work nearly as good as LibreOffice. As i have to read a lot of Magazines / Journals and as i have to write a lot of papers and making presentations, the installed linux system sufficed as Office solution.
And i plug in an external monitor (if needed) through the mini-hdmi, so i can have a light-weight mini office computer upon my android system for work. I think this is a good alternative, as I still don't see any possibilities to dual boot this device (aka Android and Win10).

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, I can see where you are coming from, and as a matter of fact, I use my YB Android pretty much the same as you do: hook it up to a monitor and sometimes use it on a projector for presentations.

The issue I have with LibreOffice is that there are times the formatting gets messed up when opened in MS Office (where majority of my officemates use) unless saved in a PDF Format which you can't edit.

For now, MS Office for Android works though a bit lacking in features as compared to the Win10 version, but gets the job done in a pinch.

Dual-boot is one thing we can look into, but for now though, your solution is worth a try and should be a better option.

 

[Tiggi2017]

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, I can see where you are coming from, and as a matter of fact, I use my YB Android pretty much the same as you do: hook it up to a monitor and sometimes use it on a projector for presentations.

The issue I have with LibreOffice is that there are times the formatting gets messed up when opened in MS Office (where majority of my officemates use) unless saved in a PDF Format which you can't edit.

For now, MS Office for Android works though a bit lacking in features as compared to the Win10 version, but gets the job done in a pinch.

Dual-boot is one thing we can look into, but for now though, your solution is worth a try and should be a better option.

yeah, thanks. the thing with ms office is that you have to have an account the the features arent that superb. but you are right, most people use ms office and the format is messed up when continuing working with LibreOffice. thats why i only write documents and make presentations with LibreOffice. when publishing i always convert to pdf.

alternatively i also tried crossover with.... well... not so good results. its lagging and therefore disturbing the workflow. furthermore i just got Libreoffice working with crossover (more or less working...), gimp or other free graphic apps dont work.

having Linux on an Android system is a good way to have an Office computer in one's pocket. i also look forward to a possibility to dual boot the device.

 

[s01q]

deleted

 

[nan0s7]

Hello community!

For those who are interested in installing a linux system (debian) without root:

I managed to install GnuRoot referring to this tutorial:

https://www.xda-developers.com/guid...a-gnulinux-environment-on-any-android-device/

At first i had graphical errors when starting LXDE (like missing icons) due to missing libraries during the installation process.

I show you the steps for installing it, referring to above tutorial, but i added some new terminal commands, because there were libraries and dependencies missing when installing LXDE.

1) First install GnuRoot and XSDL server from playstore.

2) Let GnuRoot start and doing its installation. Then type in following terminal commands:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata <----- if you wanna change your locales
apt-get install libffi6 <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
apt-get install execstack <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
execstack -c /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libffi.so.6 <------ this is one of the missing libraries, otherwise LXDE will have errors during its installation
apt-get install lxde-core <------- alternatively apt-get install lxde (for full LXDE with its apps)

3) start XSDL and make your configs (resolution etc.), let it run in the background

4) now type in GnuRoot following terminal commands:

export DISPLAY=:0 PULSE_SERVER=tcp:127.0.0.1:4712
startlxde &

5) switch back to XSDL and then wait until the GUI (aka LXDE) starts

It still shows some bugs like "No Session for PID # xxxx" whenever i log in. So i hope that i can get help to install it better (correctly) from the community.

Edit: I see that it's via an Android device. Never mind

Was this done on the Android version or the Windows 10 version of the Yoga Book? Because this may be the breakthrough of getting Android on the Windows 10 version, and then enabling me to do research with a custom ROM.

 

[s01q]

Yoga Android: "It still shows some bugs like "No Session for PID # xxxx" whenever i log in. without the possibility to close the message windows." smae as the starter herein. anyone else? how to solve that?

 

[Tiggi2017]

Yoga Android: "It still shows some bugs like "No Session for PID # xxxx" whenever i log in. without the possibility to close the message windows." smae as the starter herein. anyone else? how to solve that?

For me, i can close that error message. But it is still annoying and i cannot get rid of that.

 

[Tiggi2017]

@nan0s7

Unfortunately it is for the android device only. Still waiting for a possibility to dual boot the device. I hope for a breakthrough soon....:fingers-crossed:

 

[s01q]

For me, i can close that error message. But it is still annoying and i cannot get rid of that.

stupid me. Can close it

 

[nan0s7]

@nan0s7

Unfortunately it is for the android device only. Still waiting for a possibility to dual boot the device. I hope for a breakthrough soon....:fingers-crossed:

Hope so... this device has so much potential =D

 

[s01q]

Hope so... this device has so much potential =D

but then dual boot with linux or HaikuOS

 

[nan0s7]

but then dual boot with linux or HaikuOS

I'm aiming for Android first ;P