Related
Dictionary for n00b - What is.../What does ...mean?
Start read from 1st to last one and don't jump from one to another. If you will read all, it bring complex knowladge, if not you can be confused
Read summary to make sure, that you know everything if you think that some part(s) is not necessary to read for you!
If you post link here, please link to 1st post! Than everybody can know, what he/she can find here
Atin001 helps with some updates/corrections in Dictionary - take a minute to thanks him also.
Did you miss something here? Send me PM what you want to have here!
Basics of Unix-like system (ROOT)
su, root, rooting, superuser app - what is it, why we need it
sh, bash, user/root shell - what is bash, sh; what is user shell; what is root shell; how I can recognise it each other
Bussybox - what BusyBox is, basic list of commands from BusyBox
(in progress) Kernel - what is going on? Do I need it?
Android platform and it's specifics
adb shell - what is it, for what it is
Android SDK - what is it, tool which provides, where to download
Tools for work with Android adb shell - Terminal Emulator, ADB shell from Android SDK and how to use it
Custom recovery
What custom recovery is - what custom recovery is
Tools which custom recovery provides - list of tools with description which custom recovery bringing
ADB as root user
USB-MS Toggle
Backup/Restore
Flash ZIP from sdcard
Wipe menu
Partition sdcard + etx2, ext3, ext4 filesystem description
Mounts
Others
Is it save to install? - possible problems, why should I try it?, backup/restore of original recovery
How this whole thing works - Drellisdee's installation steps description/elaboration
Custom ROMs (generally)
What custom ROM is?
Is save install custom ROM? - potencional problems
What I need for install?
What can custom ROM brings - kernel, update, performance, customization, theme, ....
what is ...
deodexed, zipaglined, png-optimized
JIT, HW:acceleration, VM.Heap Size, stagefright
apps2sd + dalvik2sd
custom kernel (recompiled, ...)
Android versions (collecting informations)
List of versions of Android for Optimus One (official&unofficial) - what we can install into our device
What version can be rooted and how? - version list, how to root, which version can be rooted, which can't
Sources (collecting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history
Tools which you must have
Android SDK Tools (adb shell)
Terminal emulator
KDZ Updater tool
...
So I'm on way, where I can start doing advanced stuff?
Follow Noejn's sign-post You can find here main point for start.
If you now know basic "words of android world" you can take a look on really great tutorial how to root, install recovery and so on.
Have you some questions? Make sure that you look on Mihir287's FAQ
1. Basics of Unix-like system
su, root, rooting - what is it, why we need it
sh, bash, busybox - what BusyBox is, basic list of commands from BusyBox, bash, sh
Kernel - What is it?
su
Also referred as substitute user - is command for changing of the account in current terminal (usually black screen with blinking cursor). Default account is root account. So if you insert into terminal 'su' and hit enter, you will become root user.
root
Root alias superuser or poweruser is special user account for system administration. Similar to windows having its administrator account, unix-like system have system have the root. With this user you can do anything and if you will run command for delete whole system, unix will just do it! No asking, no confirming. So, watch your steps!
rooting
Rooting is just enabling power of root for applications or our proposes. You can read great article about Rooting on androidpolice. Kepp on your mind, that some steps described on this page are NOT compatible with our Optimus One!!
Superuser app
After rooting is done, you will see new app called superuser in app drawer. This app can delegate applications to use su (root) feature. When app ask for first use, popup window will appear asking if the application should be allowed to use root permission.
sh, bash
is a command-line interpreter or shell that provides a traditional user interface for the Unix operating system and for Unix-like systems. So simply, it is some interface, which can execute command(s), which you have entered. Many shells exist, but in scope of android you can (as far as I know) use only sh (standard - Bourne-shell) or bash (compiled in BusyBox or separately on XDA). Both are basically same, but bash has much more future and it is comfortable. It's too big to describe here, so if you are interested in learning more, follow links in sources section.
user/root shell
How do I know if I'm root or normal user? It's simple. Root's shell is ended with # (usually it's shell looks like "bash-3.2# _") and user's ends with $ (usually bash-3.2$ _). In terminal emulator you also can have only [path]($|#) (for root for example "/etc # _")
BusyBox
also called "The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux" is a tool which brings into Android basic tools known from unix system, but is much more smaller than standard tools is. But this "packing" brings also limits in possibilities in comparison to standard tools in unix-system (missing special modes of tool, color output and so on). Many application use this. For example busybox grep (filtering of text) is needed for application called Market enabler.
BusyBox commands
list of commands is really wide, so it's not possible explain all, so I pickup only top few. (hint: if you want what some command do, just search on google for "man <command_name>" for example man mv or enter command here
cd - cange directory - same like in windows. You can switch directory. example: cd /sdcard
ls - list of files in actual directory (have few switches like for example: ls -l /sdcard/*.png (detailed listing)
cat - print file into standart output (like more in windows) Example: cat /sdcard/data.txt
vi - editing of file. But on limited phone keyboard (no keyboard) it is little harder Read more about vi
cp - copy of one or more file. Example: cp /sdcard/bike.jpg /sdcard/media/bike-wallpaper.jpg
mv - moving/rename files, Example: mv /sdcard/bike.jpg /sdcard/media/renamed-moved-bike.jpg
rm - delete file (rm -R for recursive, or for delete whole folder), Example: rm -R /sdcard/wallpaper-bad/*
find - search for files, Example find / -name "best-chopper-ever.avi"
mkdir - make directory - creates directory, Example: mkdir mynewdir
chmod - changes access of files
less - similar like cat, but you can scroll in it and it doesn't produce any output. Example: less /sdcard/funnytext.txt
Please, take due note that man pages are documentation of unix tools. For BusyBox's tool help, just enter BusyBox <command_name> -h.
Many time, when is BusyBox installed, are also symbolic links created. It means, that is not necessary do BusyBox <command>, but only <command> will be enough.
Kernel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_%28computing%29
Work in progress...
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
su (Unix); wikipedia.org
Superuser; wikipedia.org
Bourne shell (sh); wikipedia.org
Bourne-Again shell (bash); wikipedia.org
BusyBox; benno.id.au; BusyBox.net
Kernel; wikipedia.org
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
2. Android platform and it's specifics
adb shell - what is it, for what it is
Android SDK - what is it, tool which provides, where to download
Tools for work with Android adb shell - Terminal Emulator, ADB shell from Android SDK and how to use it
ADB (shell)
ADB - Android Debug Bridge is a versatile tool lets you manage the state of an emulator instance or Android-powered device. It is a client-server program that includes three components:
A client, which runs on your development machine. You can invoke a client from a shell by issuing an adb command. Other Android tools such as the ADT plugin and DDMS also create adb clients.
A server, which runs as a background process on your development machine. The server manages communication between the client and the adb daemon running on an emulator or device.
A daemon, which runs as a background process on each emulator or device instance.
Generally it can be compared with standard cmd prompt in windows (you can write commands which will be executed locally, for example in Terminal Emulator) or it can be just like SSH in unix-like system (you connect to terminal through adb client (in Android SDK) and commands will be run remotely.
Android SDK
Android software development kit is complex set of tools for developing app on Android. It includes fully usable emulator of Android OS on your PC, where you can do everything. You can install/delete apps, browse web page in embedded web browser, play games or make your own application in Eclipse (widely used IDE for development). Of course, with emulator you can use also GPS or camera. Emulated android phone is just like "normal" phone.
Android SDK tools
Fully emulated Android device
Android Development Tools Plugin (Eclipse IDE)
Android Virtual Devices (AVDs)
Hierarchy Viewer
layoutopt
Draw 9-patch
Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (ddms)
Android Debug Bridge (adb)
Android Asset Packaging Tool (aapt)
Android Interface Description Language (aidl)
sqlite3
Traceview
mksdcard
dx
UI/Application Exerciser Monkey
monkeyrunner
Android
zipalign
Tools for work with Android adb shell
You have two ways ho to connect into ADB service - locally and remotely.
Locally - for local access you will need some application which can connect to local adb shell.
Terminal Emulator (free) - probably most commonly used app from market, which works and looks like standard unix shell.
ConnectBot (free) - same as Terminal Emulator, but it can be also used for connecting via SSH or telnet
Remotelly- For remote connection you need phone configuration adjustment:
Home desktop -> [menu button] -> Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging [ON].
Also you need connect your phone via USB (or finds on market some widget/app, witch enable using ADB also via wi-fi)
adb tool from Android SDK
After download Android SDK, extract archive somewhere (in example I extracted it in c:/AndroidSDK). Then follow instruction on developer.android.com for installation of SDK Platform-tools (contains adb). After installation click on start menu and in Run... (in Windows7 in search bar) enter 'cmd' and press Ok or [enter]. Then write in cmd line:
Code:
cd c:\AndroidSDK\android-sdk-windows\tools [enter]
now you can enter following command to connect to phone's adb shell if you don't have more connected device (virtual or real-one)
Code:
adb shell
If you have more then one, you need explicitly say which one should be used for connection. So list connected devices with
Code:
adb devices
which shows you serial number of connected devices. Than use
Code:
adb -s <serial-number> shell
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
ADB; android-dls.com; developer.android.com
Android SDK; wiki.androidforum.cz [CZ]
Basic adb/shell commands for noobs; forum.xda-developers.com
15 Useful Android Terminal (ADB Shell) Commands; gadgetsdna.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
3. Custom recovery
What custom recovery is
Tools which custom recovery provide - NAND backup/restore, formatting of SDcard, partitioning (ext1,ext2, ext3), wiping, flashing of Custom ROM, ...
Is it save to install that? - potential problems, backup/restore of original recovery
How this whole thing works - installation description (not how-to install, just explanation of what is done during installation)
What custom recovery is
Recovery is image (binary data) stored in internal memory. This image contains something like "program" maybe better say "tool", which can boot-up independently on Android system. In other words, when this tool is running (booted up), than Android system is not. This tool is part of phone system, and in PC terminology recovery can by compared to BIOS with some added features. This recovery state can be reached on all phone, but if you don't have custom recovery, it will do so-called HW reset and automatically restart itself into standard boot mode. So what is difference between original recovery and custom recovery? Custom recovery didn't call master reset after start and also didn't restart itself.
Tools which custom recovery provides
Let's go check what custom recovery brings (I will describe Drellisdee's custom recovery so another recovery can brings another menu and tools)
In Drellisdee's post is picture of main screen with list and description of tools so let's look on it:
ADB as root user
what is root user, and what is adb, you should already know. If not, follow link on main post.
USB-MS Toggle :mounts sdcard as mass storage
It just mounts your phone as USB-mass storage (USB disk) so in PC you will see new disk where you can see folders based on mountes (lower) and were you can upload what you want.
Backup/Restore:
Nand Backup : runs a nandroid backup of data, cache, boot, system
Nand Backup + .android secure : backs up above plus .android_secure on sdcard (froyo native apps on sd)
//Native app which notify "application can be moved into SD card" if you can move some app. It's good to use, if you used it.
Nand + ext backup : data, cache, system, boot, plus apps2sd on ext partition (old style apps2sd)
//old style apps2sd is used on some custom ROM because can move every application into SD card instead of Froyo's apps2sd
Nand Restore : browse to and select nandroid backup to restore
Absolutely GREAT feature. With NAND you can do 1:1 copy (image) of your actual system (phone's memory). It means, that you didn't backup only SMS, contacts or apps, but whole system with all configuration, customization, wallpapers, system's tweaks... just everything - it creates image of whole phone system. This image will be written to your SD card which you are then free to copy around and back up on your computer.
What it means? You find custom ROM which looks awsome so you create NAND backup and install new ROM, but after few hour/days... you know, ROM before was better. So you boot into recovery, use NAND restore of your old ROM backup and .... woala you have your system just like before backup - as if nothing had happened. For about 2 minutes!! It sounds great, isn't? But one, little problem exist. You can not use for restore only some part of backup. You have to restore all, or nothing.
Flash Zip From Sdcard: Update.zip must be in root of sdcard
This tool is designed for install of custom ROM or for tweaks. If you have instruction to install via custom recovery, and file have .zip extension than you should use this menu. Never unzip file, because file contain meta-information about itself with some validate-checks so if you edit it, or unpack and pack back, it shouldn't work. And of course you can't select *.zip file if it doesn't exist because you unpack it, also you have not to rename it to update.zip, you can just select file to update in list of .zip files. And, at the end, file have to be in root (main folder) of sdcard.
Wipe Menu:
Wipe data/factory reset: wipes data & cache
- wipe of users data (contacts, apps, configuration, ...) and cache (caches of applications)
Wipe cache
- wipe cache only
Wipe Dalvik cache : Wipes Dalvik cache in all possible locations if moved by apps2sd
- wipe of Dalvik cache?
Wipe SD:ext : Wipes Apps2sd ext partition
- if you used Partition SDcard option, you can wipe it here
Wipe Battery Stats
- If you think, that your battery life is too short, you can try delete battery stats. Than let phone fully charge. (more)
Wipe rotate settings
- wipe senzor setting (acceleration, ...)
Wipe .android secure : Wipes froyo native .android_secure on sdcard
- wipe information about moved apps
Partition Sdcard:
Partition SD: Partition's sdcard for apps2sd (this formats card so all non backed-up data is lost)
- will create ext2 partition (you will be asked for size of ext2 and cache)
Repair Sd:ext
SD:ext2 to ext3 : coverts apps2sd ext2 partition to ext3 (requires kernel support for ext3)
SD:ext3 to ext4 : same as above but ext3 to ext4 (requires kernel support for ext4)
ext2 - file system for the Linux kernel (no journal, fast but not recovery of I/O error)
ext3 - file system for the Linux kernel (journal, slower than ext2 because of journal, but provides recovery on I/O error)
ext4 - file system for the Linux kernel (journal, enhanced version of ext3)
Links/thanks
----------------------------------------------------
How to increase battery life; androidforums.com
Comparison of file systems; wikipedia.org
ZeroXtreme's filesystem answer (thanks); forum.xda-developers.com
----------------------------------------------------
Mounts:
Gui mounts to avoid typing in terminal to mount and cd into a dir to mount system, data, cache, sd-ext (if exists), sdcard
Other:
Fix apk uid mismatches
//I'm not sure, can somebody helps?
Move recovery log to SD
Toggle Signature Verify : Turn of signature checking on flashing zips
Key Test : Output keycodes for debugging recovery
I thing that this is clear enough.
Is it save to install that?
Well, nothing isn't without any risk. Anyway, from what I know, nobody has had any problems, if Drellisdee's steps are followed, but you have to have P500, not derivate from Sprint, for example. From my point of view the installation of recovery is without any problems. After update with KDZ_FW_UPD tool I had rewritten also recovery. But this tool is really dangerous, so try to avoid to it.
Anyway, original recovery can be backuped before installation of custom recovery and this can be done by command
Code:
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2 of=/sdcard/<name-of-old-recovery>.img bs=4096
for example:
Code:
dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2 of=/sdcard/my-original-recovery.img bs=4096
For restore,just use same step (command) that you used for flashing, but replace name of .img file.
Code:
flash_image recovery /sdcard/my-original-recovery.img
NOTE: You don't have to do other commands before and after as you done for install of recovery!!
So, where can problems arise?
loss of warranty - LG service have much more advanced software and hardware and they can check what problem caused - make dump of memory and so on
bricking of phone - if something goes wrong, then phone may not start at all
deletion of all data if installation fails - if old recovery remains, than hw reset will be performed
custom recovery doesn't work at all - incompatible devices
Why to try?
NAND backup/restore - the most useful tool ever
you can install custom ROM
high count of successful flashing of custom recovery
for now (what I read on forum), when you had said that you brick your phone by standard LG tool, your warranty repair was approved
How this whole thing works (description of installation's steps)
Let's see on how to:
Copy flash_image and recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img to the root of your sdcard
Nothing hard I think.
via adb shell or terminal type this from root su # shell. (Do not type the # as its just for reference to show you need a root # shell not a $ user shell)
Ok, it seems that it doesn't make sense, isn't. But what is root and su we already knows, same as user shell and root shell. Also follows commands probably aren't some "normal" task, so some special user approve will be necessary - so it probably means use of root. So, enter 'su [enter]' for become a root.
Code:
[B]# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system[/B]
// remounting of filesystem for write
[B]# cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image[/B]
// print contend of flash_image into /system/bin/flash_image (it is just copying)
[B]# chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image[/B]
// set up file access for running (basic of unix-like systems)
[B]# mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak[/B]
// rename install-recovery as install-recovery.sh.back
// NOTE: many guys haven't this file, so they get error: [I]"failed on '/system/etc/install-recovery.sh' - No such file or directory"[/I]
// it's normal. If it happens, just ignore it and continue.
[B]# mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system[/B]
// remount of filesystem into read-only mode
[B]# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img[/B]
// using of program/script flash_image for flashing of recovery image
// you can do by same way also restore of your original recovery
[B]# reboot recovery[/B]
// reboots into recovery mode
I think, that was also nothing hard. As was said "#" on beginning means that root's shell should be used for running that command. Maybe you remember what I had written, that if you run something on root's account, it doesn't ask for confirmation and will just do it. Same with responses. If there is nothing to say, then nothing will be said. So if command runs without any problems, nothing will be shown. If something doesn't work, than you will be informed.
Key combo to boot custom recovery from powered off is vol_down + home + power and release keys at LG splash.
Nothing special I guess. But I recommend keep vol down + home keep pressed until custom ROM menu appear.
Note this recovery and the one for the LG Vortex have a service that instantly reboots out of recovery once you load it & I disabled it and thats why you get a E: "Bad Boot Message" on inital startup. Its completely fine.
IMPORTANT NOTE!! Too many of n00bs asking "I have problem, E: "Bad Boot Message appeared, what I should do?" Read ALL carefully before every action!!
Recovery Key mapping:
Up & down : vol-up and vol-down
Select : Menu
Backup : Back
Key map for moving in menu (touch screen doesn't work... )
Links/thanks:
----------------------------------------------------
Drellisdee's custom recovery description; androidforums.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
4. Custom ROM (generally)
What custom ROM is?
Is it save to install custom ROM? - potential problems
What I need for install?
What can custom ROM brings - kernel, update, performance, customization, theme, ....
what is ...
deodexed, zipaglined, png-optimized
JIT, HW:acceleration, VM.Heap Size, stagefright
apps2sd + dalvik2sd
custom kernel (recompiled, ...)
What custom ROM is?
Custom ROM is every somehow changed manufacturer's ROM or ROM compiled from source code of Android. "Change/s" can starts with adding/removing default application and can extend to kernels, cpu over/under-clocking, enable/disable features (ROOT, HW acceleration, ...), themes (frameworks, color, ...), keyboards and many other features.
Custom ROM is mostly distributed like signed ZIP package with included installation script for custom recovery. This ZIP is flashed via custom recovery tool.
Is it save to install custom ROM?
Yes, it is. May be I can say, that installation of custom ROM is almost mandatory, because it cost you only few minute if you will not be satisfied - you can just restore your old ROM from NAND backup, if you will be satisfied, you can keep it. And yes, you can also use backup tools like for example Astro for backup of your apps or Titanium Backup backup everything (SMS, call list, preferences, APNs, ...) and restore this in your new ROM (NOTE: In this case it's strongly recommended that both ROM should have same or very similar source/base ROM).
So, it is really simple:
1) Do NAND backup
2) Try new ROM
3) Keep new, or restore old one.
What I need for install?
1) Rooted phone
2) Installed custom recovery
3) Signed .ZIP file of ROM compatible with recovery
#) RECOMMENDED: NAND backup of your actual ROM
What does custom ROM bring
Custom ROM brings almost every feature you can image.
ex:
optimization for maximal power (games), long battery life, calling, texting, playing videos,...
awsome look - changed icons, colors, animations, wallpapers, menu, ....
simple work - feature that will short some work (add restart button, reorganized menu, shorts, gestures, ...)
allow tweaking - overclok/underclok your device, ROOT, ....
It's really not possible describe here every possibility what you can do/get with custom ROM.
what is ...
deodexed - needed for using themes. If you want replace/change some file in system (change theme) you need deodex file which you want change. In most cases it's going on services.jar which contains definition of colour for clock for example.
APKs zipaligned - optimization of APK archive, so it takes less memory and is much faster.
png-optimized - png files takes less memory, are loads faster
JIT - just-in-time compilation also known as dynamic translation, is a method to improve the runtime performance of computer programs, but it takes some time to convert into it on start.
HW:acceleration - using of HW acceleration for rendering GUI. Little increase battery consumption.
VM.Heap Size - maximum memory an application can consume
stagefright - In Android 2.2 new media framework that supports local file playback and HTTP progressive streaming
Apps2SD - (mostly DarkTremor's a2sd) If you create ext partition on your SD card, you can mount it like internal memory (you will have more space on phone memory) and move app on SD.
Dalvik2SD - move of Dalvik into SDcard (saves space)
custom kernel - compiled standard unix kernel (can bring support for features like support ext4 for example)
Links/thanks
----------------------------------------------------
P500 custom ROM list; forum.xda-developers.com
What's Deodex and Odex?; forum.xda-developers.com
What Is Zipalign In Android And How To Make Apps Zipaligned; www.addictivetips.com
PNG compress; http://www.gotow.net/creative/wordpress/?p=79
Just-in-time compilation; wikipedia.org
VM Heap size; forum.cyanogenmod.com
stagefright; developer.android.com
----------------------------------------------------
==========================
Main topic
==========================
Thanks
Very good and hard work
Hats off to you.
rakesh_4utoo said:
Very good and hard work
Hats off to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks You are welcome!!
very very nice guide, cant wait for you to finish it :X ! Thx alot dude for all the hard work!
Very good work!
Please post it on czech androidforum.cz
Thank you,
David Ullmann, Czech Republic
Very nice. A bit rough around the edges but I'm sure most people can understand it easily enough ^__^ Good job. It came like two days too late for me though since I already asked my questions everywhere on xda to install void
raylgo said:
Very nice. A bit rough around the edges but I'm sure most people can understand it easily enough ^__^ Good job. It came like two days too late for me though since I already asked my questions everywhere on xda to install void
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can be happy and proud, that you probably inspired me!
While backing up the old recovery what do you mean by:
recovery-dump-T
My first line went ok in terminal emulator but second line didn't go ok. That's why I am asking this.
Your the Man! Thank You So much! all are much clearer to me now! now lets gets things started!
lekhwani said:
While backing up the old recovery what do you mean by:
recovery-dump-T
My first line went ok in terminal emulator but second line didn't go ok. That's why I am asking this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is just example
I think this post should be read for evey noob even before powering his mobile on !
Great work !
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
Quite helpful for noobs like me
So...because I wrote what I wanted, you can make suggestions what are you missing here.... I'm looking forward...
how long should the recovery flashing take?
bazo666 said:
how long should the recovery flashing take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Few minutes
hm, i left it running for like half an hour and nothing happenned. then i unplugged the phone from usb and closed the adb shell, because i had to go.
but the phone boots fine so i think nothing has flashed.
what can be the problem?
Being new to XDA, I originally posted this information in the General Discussion forum under Changing the XOOM Splash Screen". Having had time to dig around more and read, I think this information is better suited here in the "Chef" area.
I have searched the web and many forums regarding this issue and found many many discussions on how to use utilities to do this and that to the Motorola XOOM Splash Screen. Most of which involved cropping the image to 256x320. This seemed a bit odd on 2 levels. First, no one ever seems to what to explain the process or the whys and wherefores, and second with a 1280x800 screen, having such a small splash screen just seemed odd.
So starting with the utility in :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410040
and found I was randomly able to change my splash screen. I say randomly as it did not always seem to succeed, even though it appeared it had. As there was no feed back to indicate success or failure, one must presume it worked. So I did a bit of digging on how it worked and found that the image is an RGBA image with a depth of 8 for the XOOM. Additionally the image is simple stored on the partition pointed to by :
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/logo
This is simply a link to /dev/block/mmcblkXp4 (where the 'X' is 0 or 1 depending on if and when the external SD card was mounted). I therefore INSIST that the long path to the logo name be used to reference this partition as it will always point to the proper partition as mounted.
Another note -- sdhci-tegra.3 is the internal SD card while sdhci-tegra.2 is the external SD card.
Also, I found that the link above and the utility are only partly accurate. The utility requires you to crop an image to 256x320 before applying it the splash. This is actually not accurate. You can use an image up to 1280x800. The full size of the XOOM sxcreen. As long as you know the secret, and the BIN file isn't over 4M (4,194,304 bytes), which I am going to show you. For some reason I can find a lot of information on special tools to do this, but no one seems to want to just give away the format details. If you're like me, tools are nice, but you like to know what they are doing.
The best tool I found for converting an image to the RGBA format needed is ImageMagicK. If you used the utility I mentioned before, then you already have it installed. I think it's best because of the many features and simplicity. Plus the price is right. To modify the splash as I describe or use the tools I have attached below, you need to have ImageMagicK installed. With it you can do a convert of any image to the proper RGBA format by using the following command:
convert -size <W>x<H> -depth 8 <FILE> <RGBA>
Where <W> is the width of the image. Up to 1280.
<H> is the image height. Up to 800.
<FILE> is the image file (jpg, png, tiff, etc)
<RGBA> the name of the output rgba file, MUST have rgba as the file extension
This will create the RGBA file of the image needed to create the BIN file. This is where the utility in the other post fails out. The RGBA file must be converted to a "BIN" file. Which is basically nothing but the RGBA file with 20 extra bytes at the front. These bytes are:
ID - "SOL:"
xOffset - Offset from the left side of the screen (Being in landscape mode), up to 1280
yOffset - Offset from the top of the screen, up to 800
Width - Image width
Height - Image height
All values are in big endian format. Meaning that the value for 256 would be x'00000100' as opposed to the PC storage mode of little endian which would produce x'00010000'. I am including a windows program as an attachment that will make the BIN file. It is a command line program, and if you run it with no options, you get :
USAGE: MakeBIN.exe <input> <output> <width> <height>
Where -- <input> is the rgba file to be converted to bin
<output> is the name of the bin file to create
Note that for flashing to XOOM logo, the output BIN file
cannot be more than 4 meg in size.
If the width and height of the image are not specified to the MakeBIN utility, it defaults to 256x320. Additionally, the offsets are dynamically calculated to center image on the XOOM.
With this header in the front of the image, you are ready to "flash" the new splash screen. All you have to do for this is use ADB. First push the new file over to the XOOM using something like:
adb push mysplash.bin /data/local/.tmp
Once the file is there, you flash it. Again turning to ADB:
adb shell
This will put you at the command line on the XOOM. From there perform the following:
cd /data/local/tmp
dd if=mysplash.bin of=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/logo
exit
When you return to the command line, you are ready to go. Just reboot the XOOM your preferred way and enjoy your new splash screen. I like to do :
adb reboot
I hope this information has been helpful to others looking to make a bigger splash with the XOOM.
Oh. Two other things to keep in mind. The default background is black. So unless you're going full screen, you want to be sure you're using a black background. Or the second thing comes in handy - Transparency works. As the image is an RGBA format image, the attribute information for the pixel is supplied allowing transparency.
Now. I usually like to back up things before I do changes like this. If you do as well, simply perform the following prior to writing the above image out. This will create a 4M copy of the splash partition. Not all of the partition contains the existing image, but it doesn't hurt to have it all.
adb shell
cd /data/local/tmp
dd if=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/logo of=backup_splash.bin
exit
adb pull /data/local/tmp/backup_splash.bin
You can always reimage it to the partition by following the steps above.
I have attached a Apple image I used as a test. As it is 1280x800, the full screen was presented with my image. It's really an awesome site to see your full screen splash for the first time.
Further, I decided to make things easy. I developed a simple batch script for the Windows command like that will perform all the steps addressed above. It first verifies that the tools it needs are available, the creates the image and will flash it. Each sequence of steps it reported to the command window and you are prompted to perform each block. A "N" or empty response to the continuation questions causes the script to exit. So you could generate the BIN file without flashing it.
This is a very basic script. I could have developed a Windows application, and hidden all these steps so only I knew how to do it. Or even developed a XOOM app that would do it so you'd never know what I was doing. But I think the best way for others to learn about their systems is to know where things are and how they are used.
With that in mind, I have included the batch file in the zip.
Lastly, some information about partition sizes. I mentioned above that the partition size for the XOOM logo partition is 4M. That is to say it is 4,194,304 bytes in length. Why is this important? Because it will hold a full size 1280x800 image. When converted, a 1280x800 image using a depth of 8-bits is calculated as follows:
Size = Width x Height x 4
Why '4'? Because this is an RGBA file. The type says it all. As there is a depth of 8 bits, each color representation is 1 byte in length. 1 for Red, 1 for Green, 1 for Blue, and 1 for the attribute. That makes 4 bytes per pixel on the screen.
We then have to add the 20 byte header that tells the loader where to place the image and how big it is.
In total, the most a full screen splash will EVER be is : 4,096,020 bytes
This leaves 98,284 bytes as a buffer in case someone makes a boo boo.
Following the steps and using the tools I have documented in this thread, you will never make a boo boo and you will have lots of fun putting any image you like as your splash screen. (I'm using a photo of my family).
Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.
Thanks for the info! Nice work my friend.
Hey folks, thanks to @iElvis sharing his or her logo 'data' from the OP6. I have adapted my previous OnePlus programs that let you change the splash screen to work with the OP6. This means that the encoding of the data structure and the encoding of the image data are done. I do not have a OP6 and can not test certain things like where to put the modified file. In the past, flashing was always easy (and always has been especially with the OnePlus models).
My holdup and why I need the XDA/OP6 community support is to find out where to exactly put this modified file. In the past I haphazardly made a super fast in-memory program for altering the splash screen for the Nexus 6p that was (and is currently) at a roadblock for one reason. That reason was Google used ELFs to populate partitions (not short people with pointy ears and green clothing), and at that time utilized separate partitions that the ELFs populate. Not all were ELF generated, but that is outside of the scope of what I do because to a certain point the ones that I wanted to change were generated that way.
This concept of splitting partitions, back then, was just trying to grab a footing on seamless upgrades initially from what I have read up until this newer style. I have put some research into some things involving this, but Google is kind of bland in it's description of what this all means. This is different than the Nexus 6P that I mentioned previously, and if you read that last link, it may be just as easy as flashing it to both partitions logo_a & logo_b. One partition is always active and has two different statuses, which make the device 'ideally' always bootable after an OS update.
Most of my research was done through reading a lot of the open source code put out by the AOSP for "fastboot". You can learn more than you can ever derive from documentation in this realm. I hope to hear some feedback of attempts so that I can delete all of this up above
Please read below so you can better understand this type of encoding being used:
What Is A Raw Image?
A raw image, whether it be a file or an image in memory, is simply pixel data. There is no extra information like width, height, name, end of line... Absolutely nothing, just pixel data. If you have an image that is raw and the resolution is 1080x1920 and you are using a typical RGB24 or BGR24 (like the ones used here), then your exact filesize or size in memory will be 1080x1920x3! We use 3 here because there is one byte for the R or red component, one for the G (green), and one for the B(blue).
What Is A Run Length Encoded Image?
A run length image encoding uses a count ;usually a single byte (char), 2 bytes (short int), or 4 bytes (long int); and then the pixel components. So instead of writing out 300 bytes of '0's to make a line of 100 black pixels. Black is RGB(0,0,0). You could encode this as 100, 0, 0, 0. And only use 4 bytes of data to get the exact same image as the 300 byte raw image. All the run length encoding I've found, except the Motorola style which is a little different, use a run length encoding that is pixel-oriented like this.
Now I've found this new one and it is a byte-oriented run length encoding. This is for runs of bytes, not pixels. You may think, well whats the big deal? When you add a little area of color, you increase the run length encoded image in you logo.bin immensely! You use 6 bytes per pixel if there aren't any runs of color data. If you had an image that was a 1080x1920 black image with a 25 pixel horizontal line in the middle. The encoder would be doing runs of black data efficiently until it reached the red area.
.....0 255 0 255 0 255 0 255 0 255 0 133 /// we've reached the top left corner of the red line /// 13 1 30 1 255 1 // << that was just one red pixel!! in bgr color order (13, 30, 255) <<// And it keeps going through the rest of the red pixels on that line using 6 bytes per pixel, which is the opposite of compression. Before reaching the red line the encoding was decoding to 255 zeros over and over, until finally 133 zeros. 255 zeros is 85 black pixels stored in just 2 bytes!
This type of encoding is ONLY good for grey scale images. It is not good with color, but it still will handle color of course. In grey scale, the Red, Blue, and Green data components are always the same values. All the way from black (0,0,0) to white (255, 255, 255); including every shade of grey in between>>>(1,1,1) (2,2,2) (3,3,3)....(243, 243, 243) (254, 254, 254)<<<
One other difference in this method of run length encoding is that the color byte is before the count, which is backwards from all of the other methods.
The attachment contains the executable that was compiled using mingw32 on a 64 bit Windows 10 PC. The awesome PNG library that I used for generating the pngs is LodePng, the source can be found here.
To use the OnePlus 6 Logo Injector:
Decode your logo.bin:
Code:
OP6Logo -i logo.bin -d
All the PNG 's will be extracted from logo.bin. Edit the PNG(s) that you want to change...
Note:
Your original "logo.bin" file is never changed, it is just read. If the file you try to load isn't a logo file, or a different style, then the program will tell you and exit.
Inject the image(s) back in to the logo.bin:
Code:
OP6Logo -i logo.bin -j fhd_oppo fhd_at
To list whats in your logo file:
Code:
OP6Logo -i logo.bin -l
For a more detailed list:
Code:
OP6Logo -i logo.bin -L
If the colors are messed up use the "-s" switch while decoding.
Code:
OP6tLogo -i logo.bin -d -s
If you had to use the "-s" switch to decode properly, you'll have to use it to inject also:
Code:
OP6Logo -i logo.bin -j image_name -s
Note:
You can put as many names after "-j" as you want, and it's not case sensitive. You also don't have to put the whole name. If you just put "-j fhd" every image in the logo.bin that starts with "fhd" will be injected. There has to be a PNG with the name in the directory though
The size of your modified.logo.bin will displayed along with the original size, if everything went good. The 'splash' partition is 16 MB on the OP6. If you use too much color on too many of the images you will easily go over 16 MB. The program will tell you and delete the "modified.logo.bin" that was created. If for some strange reason you would like to keep it, use the "-B" flag on the command.
The last step is to flash the modified logo file via fastboot with the command
Code:
fastboot flash LOGO modified.logo.bin
Use this at your own risk.
Always make backups.
Always.
Source
Source:
I haven't had a chance to work up a custom splash and flash it just yet, in part because I realized that on this phone, the splash screen only shows up for a split second before it's replaced by the "Your phone is unlocked and insecure, don't put sensitive files on it blah blah" warning. So I'm not sure this is going to do a whole lot for us. I'm going to try later tonight or this weekend and report back. Pretty sure "flash logo" should work fine, but it will flash only to the active partition. We may need to "flash logo_a" and "flash logo_b" to get it on both partitions.
Also, thanks for posting the source. I'm going to see if I can get this to compile in Xcode so we have an OSX version.
Edit 6/10: I can't get it to compile in Xcode, but I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong.
Anyone tested it splash screen
Okay, welp, I'm throwing in the towel on this one. The bootloader warning is not in text like it was on the HTC phones I've modded to remove it. On those phones, the text showed up in the bootloader file in a hex editor, and could be replaced with empty spaces to remove it.
I pulled the boot file from /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/ and searched through it. None of the text in the warning can be found with a simple search. As I suspected, that warning screen looks like it's a function coded into the boot process, which means removing it is probably impossible.
work Fine !
file :
lodepng.h
lodepng.c
OP6Logo.c
# gcc lodepng.c -c
# gcc OP6Logo.c -c
# gcc *.o -o OP6_prog OR # gcc lodepng.o OP6Logo.o -o OP6_prog
# ./adb shell
# su
# cd /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name
# ls --color --all
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 16 1970-01-06 04:29:20.549999999 +0100 LOGO_a -> /dev/block/sde20
# dd if=LOGO_a of=/sdcard/LOGO_a
exit
# ./adb pull /sdcar/LOGO_a ./
# OP6_prog -i LOGO_a -d
MODIFY YOUR PICTURE .....
# ./OP6logo -i LOGO_a -j fhd_
you have modified.logo.bin
Just dd if of and work fine !
And for the Real Splash :
./adb pull /system/media/bootanimation.zip ../
God bless
gao0309 said:
file :
lodepng.h
lodepng.c
OP6Logo.c
# gcc lodepng.c -c
# gcc OP6Logo.c -c
# gcc *.o -o OP6_prog OR # gcc lodepng.o OP6Logo.o -o OP6_prog
# ./adb shell
# su
# cd /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name
# ls --color --all
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 16 1970-01-06 04:29:20.549999999 +0100 LOGO_a -> /dev/block/sde20
# dd if=LOGO_a of=/sdcard/LOGO_a
exit
# ./adb pull /sdcar/LOGO_a ./
# OP6_prog -i LOGO_a -d
MODIFY YOUR PICTURE .....
# ./OP6logo -i LOGO_a -j fhd_
you have modified.logo.bin
Just dd if of and work fine !
And for the Real Splash :
./adb pull /system/media/bootanimation.zip ../
God bless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way to remove bootloader unlocked warning?
NO
Please create flashable zip. Of splash screen
I'm trying this on linux on a 6T boot splash screen but I get a segmentation fault:
Code:
__________________________________________________________-_-
OP6 Logo Injector v1
Written By Makers_Mark @ XDA-DEVELOPERS.COM
_____________________________________________________________
FILE: logo.bin
_____________________________________________________________
RGB is the color order. Use "-s" switch to change it to BGR.
#01: Offset:0
Header=SPLASH!!
Width=1080
Height=1920
Data Length=81798
Special=1
Name=
Metadata=
Segmentation fault
Any idea why?
foobar66 said:
I'm trying this on linux on a 6T boot splash screen but I get a segmentation fault:
Any idea why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For 6T, maybe you need look at this thread
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6t/development/tool-splash-screen-modification-t3874158
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using XDA Labs
I tried to report that the error memory could not be read under Windows 10 and wimdows7. Then I executed the following instructions under Linux and still reported the error. What can I do, oneplus 6, Android 9.0?
gcc lodepng.c -c
gcc OP6Logo.c -c
gcc *.o -o a.out
./a.out -i logo.bin -d
The following are the results of implementation：
__________________________________________________________-_-
OP6 Logo Injector v1
Written By Makers_Mark @ XDA-DEVELOPERS.COM _____________________________________________________________
FILE: logo.bin _____________________________________________________________
BGR is the color order. Use "-s" switch to change it to RGB.
#01: Offset:0
Header=SPLASH!!
Width=1080
Height=1920
Data Length=77716
Special=1
Name=
Metadata=
Segmentation fault
Code:
C:\Users\denie\Documents\logo>OP6Logo -i logo.bin -d
__________________________________________________________-_-
OP6 Logo Injector v1
Written By Makers_Mark @ XDA-DEVELOPERS.COM
_____________________________________________________________
FILE: logo.bin
_____________________________________________________________
BGR is the color order. Use "-s" switch to change it to RGB.
#01: Offset:0
Header=SPLASH!!
Width=1080
Height=1920
Data Length=81798
Special=1
Name=
Metadata=
C:\Users\denie\Documents\logo>
Any ideas?
Does this work?
Prakyy said:
Does this work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no way to hide the Google warning about unlocked bootloaders, if that's what you mean.
iElvis said:
There's no way to hide the Google warning about unlocked bootloaders, if that's what you mean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really... This is what I've been searching all over for for my 6t... Get rid of the stupid bootloader unlock warning. On all my other devices we always used a custom made boot-logo.bin and installed it on slot a and slot b using fastboot.. I guess if it could be covered up it definitely would have by now. ?
Edit added: I just read the thread. From what I've gathered basically this device (6&6t) is designed different and that's why we can't tamper with/cover up the bootloader warning message.
flash713 said:
Really... This is what I've been searching all over for for my 6t... Get rid of the stupid bootloader unlock warning. On all my other devices we always used a custom made boot-logo.bin and installed it on slot a and slot b using fastboot.. I guess if it could be covered up it definitely would have by now. ?
Edit added: I just read the thread. From what I've gathered basically this device (6&6t) is designed different and that's why we can't tamper with/cover up the bootloader warning message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave up after a lot of experimenting. I'm not aware of anyone managing it.
iElvis said:
I gave up after a lot of experimenting. I'm not aware of anyone managing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should get an award for your XDA signature. ?? It's funny because it's real and oh so true! The way some people comment on things never ceases to blow me away. I see some posts and I think to myself, "what the hell?" "Who raised this person!?" There are definitely many different types of humans out there in the world that's a fact. I try and stay out of it as much as possible. ? lol.
It sucks we can't just make a ton of boot logos and cover that up. Oh well the 6 & 6t are awesome devices!! Usually whenever I end up on down the road selling my phone and purchasing another one from eBay or swappa things similar to this begin to be solved and then 15 custom roms all drop outa nowhere all at once. ? Happens every...single...time...haha!! Thanks for giving it a shot! :good:
What is the Touchpad Toolbox?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2756314
A set of Scripts (programs) that allows:
Easily manage LVM, one of the greatest features of the TP.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/LVM
Create Android, WebOS volumens, or total reset.
It can make a fresh /boot directory installation adding moboot.
Reflash the battery Firmware
Install specific, older version of recovery and Rom.
How is done?
https://webos-internals.org/wiki/Angstrom_on_Touchpad
A small Linux OS is built into an img (ext2) file system and is loaded into memory as a RAMDisk.
Angstrom v2015.01
Built from branch: master
Revision: 038d832
Target system: arm-angstrom-linux-gnueabi
This information is from the file angstrom-version located in the /etc folder of the RAMDisk.
Following this instructions will unpack the RAMDisk and Kernel, then can be repack as it would with any Android system.
All this is done on Linux ubuntu 18.04 x64 system. If you have any other OS you can install Linux as a virtual machine.
1 .Create a directory
hptoolbox
2. Unzip TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.zip to the directory hptoolbox (http://downloads.codefi.re/jcsullins/cmtouchpad/tptoolbox/TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.zip
3. Open terminal in the hptoolbox directoty and paste the following commands.
Code:
dumpimage -i TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.bin uImage.kernel
dumpimage -i TPToolbox-2015-01-08-v42.bin -p 1 RAMDisk_Compress
dd if=RAMDisk_Compress of=RAMDisk.xz bs=64 skip=1
xz -d RAMDisk.xz
## The RAMDisk which is 67.1MB is a Linux rev 0.0 ext2 filesystem data img file.
4. Creat a loop disk to have read and write access of the RAMDisk
Code:
sudo udisksctl loop-setup -f RAMDisk
## Mapped file RAMDisk as /dev/loop16 (this is only on my system and it will be different on others)
5. Mount the 67 MB Loop Device, it can easly be done using Disks
6. Open your file manager as sudo in (my system is nautilus, it can be different on other Linux)
Code:
[email protected]:~$ sudo nautilus
[sudo] password for ubuntu:
7. The settings for the ToolBox are in /usr/tptoolbox.
You have complete control on all the files, but read what each script says on top:
Code:
# This script is Copyright (c) 2014 James Sullins, All rights reserved.
# James (JC) Sullins, aka jcsullins
# No modifications or distribution without permission
To repack the Kernel and RAMDisk
1. Unmount the RAMDisk img and Detach the loop device
2 Open terminal in the hptoolbox directory and paste the following commands.
Code:
mkimage -A arm -T ramdisk -C none -n RAMDisk -d RAMDisk uImage.RAMDisk
mkimage -A arm -T multi -C none -n "Tenderloin ToolBOX Modified" -d uImage.kernel:uImage.RAMDisk uImage.ToolBox_Modified
In my system I can not make RAMDisk using xz compression but it works uncompress is just a 70MB file.
If the RAMDisk is compress using (( xz -9 RAMDisk )) then the file size will be as the original but it will not be recognized by the kernel at boot.
3. To load using the novacom driver:
Code:
novacom boot mem:// <uImage.ToolBox_Modified
Many thanks to jcsullins for creating the ToolBox ,which allowed many users to easily transition to Android from WebOS and gave new life to a device that could have been in landfills many years ago. In my opinion this has been the greatest Tool for the TP and finding out how it works made it even more amazing!
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
What is the Touchpad Toolbox?
--SNIP--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've done a great job figuring that out HP_TOUCHPAD! As a result, if Sullins agreed (assuming he would even answer the request), the TPToolbox could be modified fairly easily to handle the latest ROMS, GAPPS, and RECOVERIES. For example, it turns out that there is an unused parameter that would allow TPToolbox to install the zipfiles without any checks. Additionally, it is simple to bypass having to install a GAPPS with the ROM, or to keep all checks but the one that checks for a compatible GAPPS..
shumash said:
You've done a great job figuring that out HP_TOUCHPAD! As a result, if Sullins agreed (assuming he would even answer the request), the TPToolbox could be modified fairly easily to handle the latest ROMS, GAPPS, and RECOVERIES. For example, it turns out that there is an unused parameter that would allow TPToolbox to install the zipfiles without any checks. Additionally, it is simple to bypass having to install a GAPPS with the ROM, or to keep all checks but the one that checks for a compatible GAPPS..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, and yes the ToolBox can be modified very easily only if JSullins agreed.
But there is only one section that needs to be modified to update the toolbox and make compatible with all ROMS now and forever. In my opinion there is no need for the Toolbox to install any ROMS as that is the work of TWRP to do and it does it well.
This is the only modification that needs to be done to update the toolbox and make it useful forever!
In the folder toolbox/bin/make_boot (open the script)
add the following under this line : (do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot /mnt/boot/uImage.moboot)
Code:
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.TWRP /mnt/boot/uImage.TWRP
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/android.default.recovery /mnt/boot/android.default.recovery
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot.default /mnt/boot/moboot.default
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.ToolBOX /mnt/boot/uImage.ToolBOX
copy the files to /usr/tptoolbox/data/
uImage.TWRP
android.default.recovery
moboot.default
uImage.ToolBOX (this is the toolbox.bin, renamed it to be loadable from the moboot menu.
save the script.
I do not need to tell you "the Linux Guru" what is going on, but just for the record.
When recreating the boot it will install TWRP into boot and also the ToolBOX.
Reboot and now you have TWRP and also the ToolBOX in the moboot menu and you can install any ROM using TWRP.
This will make it super easy for all users to start fresh!
Complete reset (it will install TWRP, recovery by default) nothing extra for the user to do!
Reflash battery firmare
Resize Android volumens
Reboot and install ROM
I do not think it can be any easier for anyone than this and the change is minimal!
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
Thank you, and yes the ToolBox can be modified very easily only if JSullins agreed.
But there is only one section that needs to be modified to update the toolbox and make compatible with all ROMS now and forever. In my opinion there is no need for the Toolbox to install any ROMS as that is the work of TWRP to do and it does it well.
--SNIP--
I do not think it can be any easier for anyone than this and the change is minimal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like what you're suggesting, but it's not that easy. I think you're creating a different application. The python scripts need to be modified to remove the "Install Android" option. Making users decide how to (re)install non-datamedia (DM) or DM ROMS by themselves was one of the things HPToolbox solved. I think that a better way is just to prevent all the checks that are done for three zips, gapp/rom capatibility, etc. and let users install the gapps themselves, although I can see a way to expand the allowable gapps dictionary to include the latest versions
Additionally, unless you resize /boot (which is fixed in one of the python scripts and may require lots of other changes), users who want to retain WebOS (there may be one or two left.) won't be able to install Android because there won't be enough room having uImage.TPToolbox there.
shumash said:
I like what you're suggesting, but it's not that easy. I think you're creating a different application.
There is no changes to the menu is only adding uImage.TWRP to be copy to boot.
In the Toolbox MAIN MENU
The option: Complete Data Reset
Call the script: toolbox/bin/make_boot
It will completely erase and format boot then copy files located in (/usr/tptoolbox/data/) over to /boot
It is part of the toolbox option and how it works. Nothing needs to be added or the main script modified.
By adding this code to the already (toolbox/bin/make_boot) script
Code:
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/uImage.TWRP /mnt/boot/uImage.TWRP
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/android.default.recovery /mnt/boot/android.default.recovery
do_run cp /usr/tptoolbox/data/moboot.default /mnt/boot/moboot.default
And copy those files to (/usr/tptoolbox/data/).
When the user select the option in the MENU to Complete Data Reset, it will do as always the only difference is, it will install TWRP automatically, which in my opinion it needs to be there to install and back up.
The python scripts need to be modified to remove the "Install Android" option. Making users decide how to (re)install non-datamedia (DM) or DM ROMS by themselves was one of the things HPToolbox solved.
The Install Android can be there as is and do as you are suggesting which is to remove the limitation and be able to install any recovery or gapps
I think that a better way is just to prevent all the checks that are done for three zips, gapp/rom capatibility, etc. and let users install the gapps themselves, although I can see a way to expand the allowable gapps dictionary to include the latest versions.
Yes that is perfect and the way it should have been from the beginning, to allow installation of any ROM. There is nothing malicious that anybody can do to brick the device. Reloading the toolbox (novacom boot mem:// < uImage.Toolbox) will recreate everything even if /boot is destroy.
Additionally, unless you resize /boot (which is fixed in one of the python scripts and may require lots of other changes), users who want to retain WebOS (there may be one or two left.) won't be able to install Android because there won't be enough room having uImage.TPToolbox there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct if uImage.Toolbox ( 11 MB ) file is copy to boot and TWRP there will be 8 MB left for one uImage boot file, only one OS will be able to boot.
That could be an option and does not need to be copy to boot, but it could make it easier for "Android only users" to have it handy and no PC will be required to load it again.
Here is another simple quick modification to avoid confusion and make it easier.
When you select Install Android, the USB media is mounted and a directory /ttinstall is created. At the same time the directory is created a shortcut (link) can be place of a landing web page where the links to all ROM and Recovery can be download from, that the user can click and download the correct Recovery, ROM and gapps.
Make it super easy and avoid confusion of what to install and where to get it from. It could be a landing page any where that can be updated.
This is another issue to think about. To load any uImage to fix a problematic TP, a PC is need it with novacom drivers install.
This is the command that will fix any TP:
novacom boot mem:// <
If novacom is not install in the user PC or not working properly nothing can be done.
Idea.
Create a basic Linux OS, bare minimum that will run anywhere. Have the novacom install and the toolbox in it, with a basic browser to get the files.
The Linux OS can be distributed as a Live CD (.iso) that can be booted on any PC. This will guarantee that the novacom driver will work and load the toolbox or any other uImage into the TP.
I made my own live CD of Ubuntu 18.04 ( is a 2GB file ) that has everything set up and do any kind of work on the TP and be able to use it on any PC.
HP_TOUCHPAD said:
__SNIP__
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All good ideas, but this is much easier.
shumash said:
All good ideas, but this is much easier.
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Crazy complicated !
Take a very close look at the steps.
" 1) complete data reset"
Before this happens the novacom driver needs to be install. It used to be an easy one to do, but with new OS, windows or Linux it can get complicated. Nothing can be done unless this driver is properly install and the environment is properly set to load the uImage. This can easily create errors and frustration and not a successful install.
The universal Java installer used to work, not any more. It will be great to have a portable novacom driver, but I do not know if that is even possible to load and work in different OS.
But anyways doing the first steps is to load the Toolbox to do a complete data reset.
Well if the toolbox is modified, once the complete data reset is done uImage.TWRP will be already copy into boot.
The only thing you have to do is reboot the device select TWRP and do the installation as regular.
No more steps need it, and nothing else to download or install.
One step and done!
But now you need to run:
TWRP_TmpLoad_v03_win.bat
Then install TWRP, because is temporally loaded in memory.
What it does is loading uImage.TWRP using:
novacom boot mem:// <uImage.TWRP
The same way the Toolbox gets loaded in the first place.
If the Toolbox restriction gets remove then it will install TWRP, and then reboot.
Like I said the magic command is:
novacom boot mem://
Any boot uImage can be load it that way, but the only thing that will reset everything is the Toolbox.
Hey guys,
I made a python script to flash custom logo images as boot logos / charging logos / fastboot logos. This will replace the default Xiaomi startup logos when you reboot or charge your phone.
Requirements:
- Linux/Mac/Win with Python3 installed
- TWRP on your MiMix3
Instructions:
- Go to https://github.com/travisjayday/logo-patcher-mix3
- Download the repo and find logogen.py (this is the python script that patches the logo img)
- Run it with python3 logogen.py and follow the instructions to generate a logo_patched.img
- Move the logo_patched.img to your phone and reboot into TWRP
- Flash it in TWRP onto the Logo partition
- Profit
For more detailed instructions, please read the README.md in the GitHub repo or execute python3 logogen.py --help
Hope you like custom logos!
Have fun!
Thanks for this.
There's something wrong when I tried to patch fastboot image.
Log is below.
C:\logo-patcher-mix3-master>python logogen.py -b new_boot.bmp -f new_fastboot.bmp
Unpacking vendor logo.img file for MiMix3...
Reading bitmap image from new_boot.bmp
Succesfully read bitmap with dimensions (1080x1920x24)
Patching boot image at: 0x5000
Original size: 6220854 bytes
Replacement size: 6220856 bytes
Patched boot logo successfully...
Patching unlocked image at: 0x7b8000
Original size: 6220854 bytes
Replacement size: 6220856 bytes
Patched unlocked logo successfully...
Reading bitmap image from new_fastboot.bmp
Succesfully read bitmap with dimensions (558x992x24)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "logogen.py", line 155, in <module>
main()
File "logogen.py", line 44, in main
if dim != dimens["fast"][1]:
KeyError: 'fast'
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Ah~ Find it!You should type fastboot instead of fast in line 44&45.XD
@Seraph_X thanks for finding and letting me know of this error!
Anyone have any already modded boot logos, that i can just flash?
Hi, I have the phone at MIUI 11, I tried to do this, and it didn't work, luckily I don't have a brick now, hahahahaha.
I got an error message, I didn't know what it said exactly, and it continued with the normal start.
The error appeared, because in twrp the logo partition doesn't appear, so I did it from ADB.
Any ideas?
Thank you.
Done.
It was just a procedural error.
To avoid this, the ideal is that whoever makes this kind of script, make the step-by-step tutorials for donkeys, like me.
I've found a lot of "tutorials" to flash all kinds of things, and unfortunately most of them don't explain almost anything -
We newcomers must beg for help, which in most cases is denied because it is taken for granted what most people do not know.
While it is true that you should not do anything you do not know, it is also true that those who share should be more talkative, and leave everything prepared for those who wish to enjoy their work.
Greetings.
I just realized that my mi mix 3 boot logo become apple logo, i never have bootloader unlocked and just upgraded to miui 11 weeks ago
Is there some kind of virus that did this?