Database Develop

[TUT] Ubuntu on Adam Methods - 03/12/11

PLEASE READ FIRST
This post will have info on the chroot method. To find out info on running Ubuntu natively on the Adam, click this link for post #2 below. Enjoy
chroot Method:
chroot Ubuntu on Adam Beta1...
For now project files for chroot method will be located at this Google Code Project site. Files will be posted shortly, stay tuned.
DO NOT attempt this yet until specified as alpha or beta or otherwise stated as ready for testing!!
Liability:
I'm not responsible for what you do with your device, this is a guide or tutorial for general purposes only.
If you do not have a strong understanding of rooting and how to recover a device from scratch DO NOT attempt this until we are our of beta stages. Wait till you see RC status at least.
Verified working with bugs
Directions:
I'm not sure what file format is needed on the SD card, so make sure it has the stock file format from Android.
Make sure you are rooted using the methods listed here or Notion Ink Hacks Forum.
Download necessary files:
- Main scripts: Download from Google Code Project webpage. http://code.google.com/p/chroot-ubuntu-ni-adam-tablet/
- Ubuntu.img file: Download from MegaUpload. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3ZQTCUUN
Create a folder on root of your Adam SD card called "ubuntu" and download the files from the Google Code Project site to this folder.
Unzip "ubuntu.img.zip" package and copy or move "ubuntu.img" file to the ubuntu folder you created above. Delete all the rest of the files. Do this to make sure you do not confuse the scripts I've put together for the Adam.
Plug Adam into your computer and make sure you have a connection to it.
Android SDK installed on a local computer with ADB functioning.
Make sure you do not have the SD card mounted on your computer. Also make sure USB Debugging is turned on, which I think you need for ADB.
Change the name of "bootubuntu[x].[x]" to just "bootubuntu"! DO NOT use the original "bootubuntu" file.
If you haven't already open a command prompt and type:
Code:
adb shell
Enter superuser mode:
Code:
su
Change directory to the "ubuntu" folder:
Code:
cd /sdcard/ubuntu
Run the setup script (You should only have to run this once or whenever new updates to the files are released):
Code:
sh ./ubuntu.sh
Once the script finished you should be good to go, type the following to run Ubuntu:
Code:
bootubuntu
If you see something like the following below, job well done!
Code:
[email protected]:/#
Troubleshooting:
If you get any errors, please FIRST, try rebooting Adam and start back at "adb shell" step 7 and try again.
More to come
If you get any errors, please post at what step number you got an error and post as much detailed info as you can about the error. Myself and others will do what we can to help.
Resources:
http://nexusonehacks.net/nexus-one-hacks/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-your-nexus-oneandroid/
http://tegradeveloper.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/workaround-run-ubuntu-now

Native Ubuntu Method:
More to come, holding this place for future use...

No problem for testing it ... but not before the end of next week
My Adam will be send on 31st of January

There is nothing to test yet. Not until more research is done and files gathered. Not to mention we still need full root and unlock first.
Do not attempt to run the files in that link.
Sent from my Evo

For Rooting Adam it seems that it's done ?
And Don't worry i will not try to use fill that wasn't for Adam.
If you need help ... to search, test ... I will be part of ;o)

Thanks Gkar! Just be sure to follow this thread as any updates will appear here.
Also, root methods have been started but there are bugs. We need Adam users to help with that process first before helping here. Once that process works consistently I plan to get started on this.
Sent from my Evo

Pfffff ... I've just seen on pre-order page that my date has been pulled to 14th feb 2011 and then i will have to wait to test !!

Ubuntu netbook edition
Btw, I am sure you have seen this, but Ubuntu does have a Netbook Edition. It brings all the advantages of Ubuntu to a netbook – using Unity, an innovative user interface super-optimised for smaller screens and also convenient for touch screens.
So, this may be the best version to port to Adam if we can get it going. I unfortunately have no development knowledge to know if it is possible.

Mmmmmh .... i'm using Netbook edition on EEE 901 for my kids but unity isn't mature.
I prefer old version of Netbook edition (10.04 LTS) ... and that's the version used to create Ubuntu Distro for HD2.
Maybe we can ask them for some help.

I'm interested on this too. For the record, I'm keen to get an Adam and wipe Eden, replacing it with Ubuntu. I think Ubuntu 11.04 will be an awesome distro to run on a tablet, and currently Notion Ink's Adam is the only one being made that meets the stats I'd like to see.
The current hacks that exist to get Ubuntu running on the Nexus One (have done that) require running a modified server version from the sdcard, the using VNC to run a virtual session. Has it's plusses (running within Android, for instance), but I'm keen to see Ubuntu running natively. Android isn't mature enough to be a main system yet, whilst Ubuntu is. Cheers.

hope a port is cooming soon

Yeah, I'm very eager to try this too

Maybe a dual boot with Android ?
Looking forward to it

Thanks for your patience everyone. I've been swamped. This weekend I plan to hunt down some files, look at the scripts, and hopefully we can start trying this shortly!

This is one of the main reasons I have been waiting for the Adam for so long. Hopefully we can dual boot Ubuntu as that is what I would prefer, but if not, oh well. I want to have a tablet that acts more like a computer then a glorified smartphone without phone capabilities... Can't wait to see the development of this!

TreTuna said:
This is one of the main reasons I have been waiting for the Adam for so long. Hopefully we can dual boot Ubuntu as that is what I would prefer, but if not, oh well. I want to have a tablet that acts more like a computer then a glorified smartphone without phone capabilities... Can't wait to see the development of this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dual booting is always preferred yes, but that is not what my method will do. This method will be a bootloader running on top of Android. For many reasons this will be easiest for now.

I'm very excited about this, can't wait to have my Adam and following the developent of ubuntu.
I really think, on another hand, that Android and Ubuntu are majors players in the open-source OS and should therefore communicate better.
I want Adam to be the best friend of my Ubuntu desktop. There are so many possible ways to make these OS interact, at least the way iOS talk to Mac OS X.
i can't wait for my Adam to be here to write apps in this direction!

I love that idea as well. Would be cool if there was a way to integrate Ubuntu netbook edition and Android.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Ubuntu netbook edition and the desktop version are now the same thing with the upcoming release. Actually, the whole UI of Ubuntu is getting a major overhaul to be touch centric. Currently, my nexus one running cyanogenmod DOES talk to my Ubuntu netbook. And server. Very well in fact. Tomdroid for notes reads all off my desktop tomboy notes, and Funambol, with syncevolution syncs my calendar and address book.
Have just ordered an Adam with a friend, and plan to hack it extensively until Ubuntu is running in full, natively, as it's primary operating system. Android is useful, but doesn't have the functionality of Ubuntu. Would be useful having android as a secondary system, or within Ubuntu, but I won't hold my breathe.
I agree though, the first step seems to be getting Ubuntu running within android. I'm starting to research how the bootloader needs to be hacked to recognise a usb or dvd drive to boot from, and how it would "see" ubuntu installed on one of the internal drives. Will post back with more info soon, even though this is further down the track.

tillum said:
Ubuntu netbook edition and the desktop version are now the same thing with the upcoming release. Actually, the whole UI of Ubuntu is getting a major overhaul to be touch centric. Currently, my nexus one running cyanogenmod DOES talk to my Ubuntu netbook. And server. Very well in fact. Tomdroid for notes reads all off my desktop tomboy notes, and Funambol, with syncevolution syncs my calendar and address book.
Have just ordered an Adam with a friend, and plan to hack it extensively until Ubuntu is running in full, natively, as it's primary operating system. Android is useful, but doesn't have the functionality of Ubuntu. Would be useful having android as a secondary system, or within Ubuntu, but I won't hold my breathe.
I agree though, the first step seems to be getting Ubuntu running within android. I'm starting to research how the bootloader needs to be hacked to recognise a usb or dvd drive to boot from, and how it would "see" ubuntu installed on one of the internal drives. Will post back with more info soon, even though this is further down the track.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered my Adam Once I saw it figure in XDA forum. My experience with XDA especially with SGS phone has been immensely satisfying. The way Things are going I am sure Adam will be an object of envy before long.

[HowTo] Webtop Root

Head over here and root your phone normally, no webtop open, undocked.
Make sure ADB is Enabled (settings > applications > development, check usb debugging)
dock your phone on the laptop dock
open a cmd prompt on your pc
adb shell
su (accept on phone interface)
passwd (choose a password and confirm it)
sulogin (enter the password you created above)
There ya have it, root access on the webtop! you should see "[email protected]"

Sorry for my ignorance but will this allow me to mirror the screen on a monitor or tv using the hdmi cable?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

That's cool, just wondering what we can do with this!

yokozuna82 said:
Sorry for my ignorance but will this allow me to mirror the screen on a monitor or tv using the hdmi cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet, altough progress on it is being made.

Doubbbbleee Root! Combooo breaker!

I love this forum. Don't even have my Atrix yet, but the excitement is killing me.

I would really not recommend changing the root password just in case moto has scripts or processes that have the password built in. A easier way to achieve [email protected] is
su
/osh/bin/bash
"root" on the webtop
From my understanding the webtop and android are running the same kernel and have access to the same shells (i.e. I can run the webtop bash from within the android terminal), users and other data. Where the webtop differs from android is the use of an actual X11 server, but the server is actually running in android. Try running ps | grep X while the webtop is running but in a android shell, you will see /usr/bin/X as a running process, now run /osh/bin/bash and ps aux | grep X, you will see the same process number associated with /usr/bin/X. We can see that X is running with hdmi out.

wealeat said:
I love this forum. Don't even have my Atrix yet, but the excitement is killing me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same! Get mine on my birthday, March 19th. Can't wait to see what's possible then!

kjbreil said:
I would really not recommend changing the root password just in case moto has scripts or processes that have the password built in. A easier way to achieve [email protected] is
su
/osh/bin/bash
"root" on the webtop
From my understanding the webtop and android are running the same kernel and have access to the same shells (i.e. I can run the webtop bash from within the android terminal), users and other data. Where the webtop differs from android is the use of an actual X11 server, but the server is actually running in android. Try running ps | grep X while the webtop is running but in a android shell, you will see /usr/bin/X as a running process, now run /osh/bin/bash and ps aux | grep X, you will see the same process number associated with /usr/bin/X. We can see that X is running with hdmi out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats not full root access to the ubuntu side tho, that is just root over the android side(ubuntu side is inside the android side). Now we can properly access root inside the ubuntu environment.
So far nothing has failed to run from changing that. Start up, use, shutdown, there are no errors related to sulogin.

designgears said:
Thats not full root access to the ubuntu side tho, that is just root over the android side(ubuntu side is inside the android side). Now we can properly access root inside the ubuntu environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't really make sense, you are either uid 0 or you are not.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

designgears said:
Thats not full root access to the ubuntu side tho, that is just root over the android side(ubuntu side is inside the android side). Now we can properly access root inside the ubuntu environment.
So far nothing has failed to run from changing that. Start up, use, shutdown, there are no errors related to sulogin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would usually be bad practice to presume a known root password when coding something like this. Scripts needing root should get suid set on them, and thus no plain text password would be involved.
So I don't really envisage any issues with a changed root pw

So with root everywhere, can we add an option that shows up when docked,
ie. if i just dock my atrix and i can HD entertainment and listen to music show photos, etc.
if i dock with hdmi, i get the webtop experience in ubuntu, which i love, But being the g33k i am, if i had an addition option that let me load fedora, i would smile very g33ky, and say Look what i can do!...
i guess this is a dev request.
i am using the atrix as my daily driver, but do have a backup phone, so if a dev wants me to test something out with my setup, i would be glad to do anything to better the dev of this device.
regards,
Killster

forgive my ignorance here, but if I am docked into the laptop dock, my microusb port is being used in the laptop dock. How exactly will i be able to sync to my pc (with USB debugging enabled) to run adb? are running some kind of splitter cable?

tchan012 said:
forgive my ignorance here, but if I am docked into the laptop dock, my microusb port is being used in the laptop dock. How exactly will i be able to sync to my pc (with USB debugging enabled) to run adb? are running some kind of splitter cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adb wireless i think

What does this get me?
So what does root access on Webtop grant me that I wouldn't have access to before?

If you have root on your phone you have root on webtop, you are uid 0, so it doesn't gain you anything that you don't already have.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Okay..I Know this is simple but its not somthing to do at 5am I frogot what I entered as the password..
Pulled a
Su
Passwd
********
Sulogin
********
Passwd not found:
Tried every old pass I had on it nothing, any way to spare the phone reset and redo the root password?
Update: Ive tried reseting the phone, re flashing the retail sbf and I am still having problems with this its bugging the hell outta me used the OP preps:
su
# passwd *****
passwd ******
passwd: not found
# sulogin
sulogin
Give root password for maintenance
(or type Control-D to continue): ******
Login incorrect.
Give root password for maintenance
(or type Control-D to continue):
Any ideas?

kennethpenn said:
Doubbbbleee Root! Combooo breaker!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL Nice!

kennethpenn said:
Doubbbbleee Root! Combooo breaker!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL that made my morning. And the original post of course.

Is this working still?

[ROM] Droid Bionic Webtop Natty Narwhal for Lapdock (pre-release)

Hello All, I am currently in the process of finishing up my alpha release of of my webtop ROM. I currently have Maverick Ubuntu and Gnome running seamlessly (not Gnome-panel, Gnome!). I am in the process of sorting the distribution upgrade to Natty. I will update this thread so you know where I am at until the release which will also be here.
Packages upgraded: 1834
Packages left to upgrade 542
I just had 1000 package push without errors. had to divert sysctl but its all moving again. Once these are sorted I will release the alpha build.
Here is some info on the release:
Ubuntu Distribution Type- Complete
Ubuntu Version: 11.10
Working Desktop Environments: Gnome, XFDE, X11. Default is Gnome
Login/Lock Screen status: Bypassed for now
Ubuntu-Setup Status: Still using start scripts from webtop to initiate session
File Managers: Thunar and Nautilus
Web Browsers: Firefox, Chromium, and Epiphany
Tested on ROMs: Stock and Liberty 2.0
Installation type: Webtop2SD
Bluetooth: Working. New BT daemon from Natty fixed issue. Paired with my car and streamed audio. Looks good.
Sound: Not working yet from within ubuntu apps. All droid webtop apps have sound working fine. Videos playback from gallery app in full frame no issues. Im sure there is a fix for this but im waiting to finish the natty upgrades first. Prob wont make the 0.0.1 Alpha release (this release)
Optical media: Currently have an external DVD-RW connected to the lapdock and it can be mounted and unmounted successfully with a script. Right now the OS cant mount it in Nautilus. Thunar can mount it no problem but cant unmount. I just use Thunar and then unplug the drive to clear the mount. Will look for a way to automount currectly. There are permission issues with automounter. This doesnt seem to effect the sdcard storages though.
Repository Versions (source.list): 100% Natty. No Maverick or earlier source lists
Gnome Games: All work
Webtop droid status bar: On top, still functions as original
Add-Ons installed: OpenOffice, RhythmBox, Powerpoint viewer
Install method Im leaning toward: dd from the command line or possibly by script. After installing Webtop2SD and partitioning the sdcard, you will flash an image with DD which will give you exactly what Im working with. I will be posting a full tutorial on how to install.
Linux experience required: Easy install. A caveman could do it
Sdcard EXT partition size (to start) 4GB (exactly 4096MB)
Required on phone: Root, Webtop2SD, Busybox
Ok everyone, so Im rebuilding this again from scratch with all the lessons learned and it should be ready for a test release hopefully this weekend. Im still having some problems making a proper image of the webtop for restore but I will get it sorted. I had to force a downgrade of Xorg Server as it wont accept our graphics drivers (Major version 8). It expects drivers with major version 10 which are not out yet. The latest Ive found are 1.7.X (Major version 8). Its coming along though. I am working on releasing a less bloated version and you guys can add apps that you want later on.

Will this replace the existing Webtop? My guess is yes, but stranger things ahve happened....

This will leave the stock webtop untouched. It will install to the sdcard so as far as stock webtop files, they will be unmodified. When you boot into webtop though, you will run this one instead of the original. Thats what the Webtop2SD app does. This is of course not my app but I will provide links and instructions on how to use this with my webtop Roms. Hope that makes sense. In other words this shouldnt effect upgrade files passing verification on WebTop. The Webtop2SD app does modify a few system files so system would be changed that way, but system alterations will have happened anyway if you're rooted...

Sounds awesome! I can't wait to try it out.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

You've made a believer out of me - I'd love to try it as soon as you have an alpha ready - even partially ready lol.
Only method I have of WepTop though is via an HDMI cable to a 42" TV - that OK?

Sound awesome
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

I am also very interested in unlocking the full penitential of this phone but I just don't have enough language skills to do this on my own. So thanks for putting in the work for those of use who are less than native speakers!

Let me know when you are ready for some testers.... I have the Bionic running Liberty 3 with webtop2sd.
I am really dieing to get more functionality out of the webtop....
Guy

Extremely excited for this release!

any update greek35t?

I can't wait to try this.

Is this still being worked on?

I assume this is either abandoned or forgotten...

i think so too.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

What is the status of this killer project?

I will be stuck with my bionic for over a year, so, since it seems this project was dropped, is there a way to get instructions and anything else so i can do what you did on mine?i don't care if it has flaws.
I'm using eclipse 2.2 and is the only way i got webtop2sd to work.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

SpeKtroNet said:
I will be stuck with my bionic for over a year, so, since it seems this project was dropped, is there a way to get instructions and anything else so i can do what you did on mine?i don't care if it has flaws.
I'm using eclipse 2.2 and is the only way i got webtop2sd to work.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thinks its dead, and for a simple reason niw it is likely it wont be picked back up with ics right around the corner they (motorola) has decided to do away with the nornal means of webtop, it is now webtop 3.0 beta which in a nut shell is simple tablet interface with mouse and keybaord,
Youtube ravr webtop 3.0 beta and u can see what they did with it n the ravr

It looks like the webtop 3.0 is just a mirror of the regular android os spread out to tablet mode. Its faster and angry birds does look cool but I think I would rather have webuntu linux even if its not super fast. If I am right that its mirroring mode maybe they deactivate the old webtop that ran on bionic on the sep rom. Then maybe someone can make a hack to run the old webtop and we can choose between tablet 3.0 or a sudo linux os.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA

[Q] Anybody up for porting Ubuntu?

Since we got a x86 cpu i want to use ubuntu on it, as im from germany i still dont have my I but has anybody tried linux on android?
Adam Outler mentioned something that this would not work...
Btw can somebody tell me what the kernel version is..?
Sorry mods for (possibly) posting in the wrong section :/
//Robert
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Robbilie said:
Since we got a x86 cpu i want to use ubuntu on it, as im from germany i still dont have my I but has anybody tried linux on android?
Adam Outler mentioned something that this would not work...
Btw can somebody tell me what the kernel version is..?
Sorry mods for (possibly) posting in the wrong section :/
//Robert
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel version is 3.0.8.
If you can install linux distros on the backend of rooted ARM devices it should make sense we could do the same....maybe

Ubuntu on a RAZR I ? Linux x86 apps + windows apps with wine without even recompile? I think this devece needs some love. It can be the next HTC HD2 for shure.

I dont understand the htc comparison
But i have your ideas about no need to recompile and wine in mind too...
But i understand adam because linux for android is compiled for arm achitecture so a usual desktop image would make more sense...
Why is the kernel version so low?!
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

What we need to do
I have a friend with this device, after rooting he reports there is no chroot command from terminal. If so we must:
Compile busybox (with more extensions) for x86 and install it alongside root (or after root)
Make a mountable image from an ubuntu clean install and mount it (probably also needs busybox)
chroot into this mounted image
run a vnc X server on a framebuffer
vnc from android
This is how it is done on other android devices, will attempt to compile and try these instructions out this weekend when I meet him but booting native ubuntu is a much better idea (even better if we can make it receive calls ).

And for what Windows on 4,3 inches display? It dont have hdmi.
Odoslané z GT-P7300 cez Tapatalk 2

The micro usb is acting like hdmi with adapter...
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Go look up the HTC HD2. It can run Windows Phone 7 and Android dual-booted (with Linux from SDCard), and was originally the last, albeit most powerful, Windows Mobile 6 phone ever made.
Even though it is four years old, there is a massive and vibrant dev community behind it, making it reach the front page of XDA forums.
However, even the venerable HD2 is getting old, with 1GHz processor and half a gig of RAM that was top-of-the-line years ago, and people have looked in vain for some kind of successor. Hopefully, the Razr I, with an unlockable bootloader and Intel processor, will be the one. But that remains for us to do.

pablocrossa said:
I have a friend with this device, after rooting he reports there is no chroot command from terminal. If so we must:
Compile busybox (with more extensions) for x86 and install it alongside root (or after root)
Make a mountable image from an ubuntu clean install and mount it (probably also needs busybox)
chroot into this mounted image
run a vnc X server on a framebuffer
vnc from android
This is how it is done on other android devices, will attempt to compile and try these instructions out this weekend when I meet him but booting native ubuntu is a much better idea (even better if we can make it receive calls ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tried this out and there is a chroot-compatible busybox after rooting ("busybox chroot" needs to be called as opposed to "chroot" as there is no properly made link), so anyone with this phone can try (using a PC) install Ubuntu without the grub bootloader using manual partitioning on a single ext3 (I am not sure if ICS supports ext4) partition on a microsd, put into your phone, use a root terminal, mount it, mount the adequate dev, dev/pts, proc and sys partitions and chroot right in. You then might want to install a VNC server in Ubuntu to be able to create a VNC X session in a framebuffer and a VNC client on the android side to VNC into localhost (127.0.0.1), but that should work, I didn't have time to try it this weekend If someone gets stuck post and let us see what happens I cannot wait to see if wine can run desktop Spotify with sound, excited a little hehe.
EDIT: So to make this more understandable you must:
Install Ubuntu (using your computer) to a MicroSD, specifying partitions manually and choosing only a single ext3. Right before clicking install there is a button with something along the lines of "Advanced options", disable the install the bootloader (grub) option.
Insert the MicroSD into the phone and open a root terminal
I don't use Android, maybe it automounts in /media/sdcard or /sdcard, if not you will have to find the device and partition name (probably /dev/mmcblk0p1 or /dev/sdb1) and issue "mount /dev/DEVICEPARTITION /media/sdcard"
mount -t proc proc /media/sdcard/proc
mount -o bind /dev/ /media/sdcard/dev/
mount -t devpts devpts /media/sdcard/dev/pts
busybox chroot /media/sdcard /bin/bash
Now a shell from Ubuntu should open. apt-get update && apt-get install vncserver (maybe the DNS settings must be set in /etc/resolv.conf, not yet sure)
vncserver (or start vncserver, something along those lines)
Now from Android install a VNC viewer and vnc into 127.0.0.1 (or localhost)
That should do it, again if you get stuck post here

i had htc hd2, the most amazing phone in the world. I wanna buy the rarz i for the x86 processor in it. But cpu power without community and developers is nothing :|
Sorry for my bad english.

Yesterday we tried something:
We used dd to put an arch linux image on a micro sd card...
Though my laptop wasnt even able to boot from any sd card, this should work on our phone...
but how to make it boot from the sd card? xD
btw you might have noticed, this will make only linux boot, not android, we dont chroot, may somebody build a simple ubuntu img for complete linux installer?
//Robert

so right now i am trying to chroot into an img file, mounting it and then chrooting it but all i get is:
chroot: can't execute '/system/bin/sh': No such file or directory
whats wrong?

Robbilie said:
The micro usb is acting like hdmi with adapter...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Razr i MHL capable???

as far as i know, sadly not no

Ok so finally I got Ubuntu Quetzal running with chroot, still some problems (missing randr extension in vnc) but ill get over this

Hey,
great work. :good:
Good to see there are people with the same ideas. I´ve searched a lot for this thread.
I will also try to get this device for the same reasons when it´s cheaper. Has anybody tried to get Plasma Active or Tizen to run?
I think Active should now be possible through kubuntu Active?
Cheers!

Hi all
At first you can try a application from play store called Linux installer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zpwebsites.linuxonandroid
Otherwise you can wait some weeks for an nexus 7 Ubuntu port witch looks really interesting.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957561
Ahhh maybe have a look at the andrinux project here at xda
[/COLOR]Here's the andrinux link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1387105
Sent from my sweet little Blackbox

Robbilie said:
Ok so finally I got Ubuntu Quetzal running with chroot, still some problems (missing randr extension in vnc) but ill get over this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your post on preparing an arch image (I don't have permision to post in devel forum, maybe because I'm a newbie ), It worked well for me although I had to adjust some things such as path and pts mount
I now have a gcc toolchain and a latex distrib on my phone I had never used arch, found it very good
I've also tried some window managers ... the one I find best for the moment is enlightenment in the touchscreen mode, awesome works great as well.
I would also suggest to use Hacker's keyboard instead of stock android, it is a complete keyboard, very usefull when dealing with terminals ... as for VNC viewer, one should recompile android-vnc-viewer with the patches given in Issues 238 and 239 (can't post links either), it's a lot better
I've had a lot of fun, thanks

First, Complete Linux Installer doesnt work because its images are compiled for arm not x86 (i tried )
Secondly, I did a tutorial here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1966984
the nexus 7 stuff is interesting and we consider making flashable fastboot for the razr i since we dont have cwm or such you know
i am talking to jordan keyes who recently owned a nexus 7 who probably will try out the ubu stuff and i might get some system info
but i would really prefer a dual boot, capable of booting from sd...

I came across this site today:
http://www.pvsm.ru/wine/10369
translated here
I don't know if this could possibly help you any further but I thought that I might as well post it.

[Q] Installing Linux Mint 17 on tf701t?

Hello, recently purchased a asus tf701t laptop/tablet hyrbid and the device itself is perfect. Powerful cpu, good storage and an insane 2k resolution for a 10' inch screen which I don't think has been done before.
However I absolutely hate android (no offense to android developers) and decided to try installing Linux Mint 17 which can be installed on any regular laptop easily. Essentially, I want to get rid of both android bootloader and the OS itself and replace that with Grub bootloader and Linux Mint 17 OS. But android is fighting me every step of the way trying to prevent me from doing just that I unlocked the bootloader so my warrenty is void now.
But beyond that I can't install linux iso because the android bootloader isn't registering the usb stick (with linux iso on it) so I can't launch the linux live iso at all. I tried using cdrom iso using disk to launch through usb and still doesn't come up in the bootloader options. I know its possible to use linux on these devices because I've seen people have done it before on the internet.
I am now at this point starting to consider android itself as malware as the very definition of the word, ....lets start with the fact that they locked the bootloader, prompting me to give ip address just to enable me to unlock the bootloader (malicious and very dodgy). No root access therefore, third party programs are required to enable root which further my belief that android os is more malware than it is a legitimate operating system. Lastly, either possibly no usb driver for bootloader or usb port is locked out by design at bootloader (either way, might explain why I can't use usb linux iso).
What I can't understand is, why google can lock down a device tighter than fort knox on a Asus brand device. This is like buying a brand new car and not being able to open your own car even though you purchased it. What google has done is borderline illegal and I'm abit astonished how they can get away with it...
Sorry for the rant guys I'm abit fustrated atm. Can anyone please help me? I really love linux mint and if its possible to format android and install linux mint on this device I would be eternally grateful

Update: I attempted to flash the device with the command: fastboot -i 0x0B05 flash recovery recovery.img which works...but when I reboot and push power and down volume into bootloader...and try to get into recovery...the screen looks like its about to load into it but then resumes boot of android.
I'm really puzzled by this. So cannot flash a custom recovery for some strange reason

Its not so simple I dont think. You might want to watch whats happening on this thread for now.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/transformer-tf701/general/native-linux-asus-tf701t-t2973119
I would think you would have to completely replace the bootloader with something like uboot maybe if you wanted to wipe the tablet. But I dont think anyone knows. Then you could end up with some permanent brick. There would be no recovery or fastboot option if you were somehow able to get some kind of boot loader on this thing. I have no idea.
Edit: Also there is no arm based Linux Mint afiak.

YayYouFixedIt said:
Its not so simple I dont think. You might want to watch whats happening on this thread for now.
I would think you would have to completely replace the bootloader with something like uboot maybe if you wanted to wipe the tablet. But I dont think anyone knows. Then you could end up with some permanent brick. There would be no recovery or fastboot option if you were somehow able to get some kind of boot loader on this thing. I have no idea.
Edit: Also there is no arm based Linux Mint afiak.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I appreciate the reply. I understand this won't be easy but I'm stubborn that way
Can you give me some advice on where I can start learning how to place a native linux os on the device? Would grub bootloader work with tf701t?

have you considered returning your tf701 and replacing it with the tf700 infinity? you can replace the OS with ubuntu.. theres much more support for that model than the tf701

tf701mega said:
have you considered returning your tf701 and replacing it with the tf700 infinity? you can replace the OS with ubuntu.. theres much more support for that model than the tf701
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, have you used the tf700t? it is good for development, but it could run pretty slow at times. It might of been because of the tegra 3 processor, because the tf300t also had this performance issue. I was barely able to type up documents on a CM Rom because the tablet would lag when typing out and would then force close and corrupt my document.
atleast for me, that was the reason why I went with this one rather than the tf700t. This is just my 2 cents about getting the tf700t. I would suggest trying it out before getting it.
Sent from my K00C using Tapatalk 2

Just how stubborn are you?
How much work do you want to put into this? There are two options, the easy route that you probably will consider imperfect, and the much more complicated route that I'm not certain will work. I'll do my best to explain both.
The method I use is to install a linux distro (in my case, ubuntu) inside a chroot. There are several apps on the android market to help you set this up. The one I used sets up an Xvnc server, so you can view your linux desktop by using an android VNC viewer -- but it's just connecting locally, not going over the network.
This works nicely out of the box, but it's slow, partly because it's using the VNC protocol and partly because there's no 2d hardware acceleration. I tinkered with my setup and installed XSDL, a native android X server with hardware acceleration. I had to modify the linux startup script to skip starting Xvnc and instead connect to XSDL (which is on :0.0 like a normal X server).
This works great and is fairly fast. For me, this is a good compromise between a full-fledged linux laptop and the convenience of android apps written specifically for a multitouch screen. I generally do most of my stuff in Android, but I can drop into my Ubuntu desktop whenever I need more power.
The really big downside is that it's hard to prevent Android's low-memory killer from sacrificing XSDL when I haven't used it for awhile. I've mucked about with various solutions involving oom_score_adj and such, and that helps, but android still ends up killing my X server sometimes.
So, that's the easy method. For the more complicated method, I'm just theorizing, and this stuff may not work. You're going to need to either already have somewhat deep linux knowledge or be willing to learn Here goes.
In this post, I described how I managed to boot my tf701t after the internal memory card died a horrible death. The important bit here is that I learned how to boot any initrd/kernel combination using fastboot, and how to roll that combination into a boot.img so that the tablet always boots it. This is what you'll need to do both for the installation and for future boots into your Linux install.
First off, choose your Linux distro. I don't think you'll be able to use Mint, since, as someone pointed out above, there's no ARM build of Mint. However, there is an ARM build of Debian and Mint has the "debian edition", so maybe there is an ARM version. It may be, though, that the Mint folks only built their special stuff (Cinnamon/mate/whatever) for x86 platforms. I'd recommend Ubuntu as a compromise since I know it runs on the tf701t.
For the initial installation, put the contents of the install ISO onto an SD card -- just copying your bootable USB drive over should work. Now for the tricky bit: you'll need to pull the kernel and initrd ("ramdisk", "initial ramdisk" -- usually initrd-<something>.gz) off of the usb drive and into a working directory on a Linux laptop or desktop (let's call it the "host"). You might get away with just fastbooting this kernel/ramdisk directly. Install the fastboot package for your distro (Ubuntu has one, anyway). Connect up your tablet, put it in fastboot mode (I think that's done by booting with volume up and down held) and do 'fastboot boot <your kernel> <your ramdisk>'.
This will boot the kernel and load up the initrd, which is a tiny little linux filesystem stored in memory. The kernel runs a program called init inside the ramdisk and init takes over and boots into the actual installer. The question in my mind is how it goes about finding the ISO contents. If it searches by filesystem UUID, and there's a good chance that it does, then it will find your the ISO contents on the SD card just fine and the installer will start up.
If not, well, things will get a lot more complicated. Normally what one would do in a case like this would be to pass kernel command-line arguments (you do this in the SYSLINUX bootloader for distros like Ubuntu) telling it where to find the installation media. We can't do that because fastboot doesn't let you pass command-line arguments. Instead, you'd need to extract the initrd on the Host machine, modify the init script in some way to tell it where to find the installation media (probably /dev/block/mmcblk1p1), and then repackage it. I went into somewhat shallow detail on how to do the extract/repackage parts of this, but this is where either prior linux knowledge or a willingness to do some research comes in. Hints: gunzip the initrd, then use the cpio tool to extract it.
Okay, so let's say that you get the installer booting. The next big question is whether it's going to work at all. In theory the graphics chip inside the tf701t is supported by linux, but in practice, maybe it's only supported by a kernel module that Samsung built. Maybe you'd need to substitute the stock kernel. The next question is whether X has a module that will work with the graphics chip. But maybe even if it doesn't you can use a text-mode installer. That would at least let you get a system installed that you could then hack on to try to get X running.
So, let's say you do get linux installed (probably onto the internal SD card, /dev/block/mmcblk0). Now you want to boot it. You'll need to look into the installed system and steal its kernel and ramdisk, and get them onto the Host machine. Or maybe you could just extract them from the debian packages, since I'm not sure how you'd get things off of that internal SD at this stage. As a hint, these may well NOT be the same kernel/initrd as in the installer.
Once you've got the kernel/ramdisk, you can try to boot into them with fastboot. If that works (big if), then you'll want to be able to boot them without fastboot. That's where the 'fastboot flash:raw' command comes in. It takes a kernel/ramdisk, builds an android boot.img out of them, and flashes it to the device. From then on, the device will boot that kernel and ramdisk by default.
So, in theory this could work. The biggest potential stumbling block is whether X is going to natively support the graphics chip. If it doesn't, you may be stuck using the basic framebuffer driver, or maybe that won't even work at all. ...or you could just settle for the chroot method and be done with it
Good luck. I'm very interested to hear whether this works. I'm probably not going to try it myself since I like Android enough that I want to keep it around. I also can't walk you through this in finer detail because of external limits on my time, but I'd be happy to answer theoretical questions and specific technical questions, so long as you're willing to do the legwork of reading manpages and such I hope this works out for you!
Oh, one thing just occurred to me: skip the part in the installer about installing grub. It's not going to work on this device and may cause problems. You'll take care of the bootloader part yourself with the fastboot flash:raw command.

Oh, I see there's already some decent progress in this thread. Also it looks like I totally missed the -c option in fastboot that lets you pass kernel command-line arguments... that'll definitely be a time-saver. Given what I see over in that thread, it looks like we may actually get a reasonable native linux on our TF701t. Not sure how far the OP has gotten on things like mouse/keyboard input, though.
I have to say, I'm pretty excited! It'd be super cool to be able to dual-boot native linux and android on this tablet. Best of both worlds.

lexelby said:
How much work do you want to put into this? There are two options, the easy route that you probably will consider imperfect, and the much more complicated route that I'm not certain will work. I'll do my best to explain both.
The method I use is to install a linux distro (in my case, ubuntu) inside a chroot. There are several apps on the android market to help you set this up. The one I used sets up an Xvnc server, so you can view your linux desktop by using an android VNC viewer -- but it's just connecting locally, not going over the network.
This works nicely out of the box, but it's slow, partly because it's using the VNC protocol and partly because there's no 2d hardware acceleration. I tinkered with my setup and installed XSDL, a native android X server with hardware acceleration. I had to modify the linux startup script to skip starting Xvnc and instead connect to XSDL (which is on :0.0 like a normal X server).
This works great and is fairly fast. For me, this is a good compromise between a full-fledged linux laptop and the convenience of android apps written specifically for a multitouch screen. I generally do most of my stuff in Android, but I can drop into my Ubuntu desktop whenever I need more power.
The really big downside is that it's hard to prevent Android's low-memory killer from sacrificing XSDL when I haven't used it for awhile. I've mucked about with various solutions involving oom_score_adj and such, and that helps, but android still ends up killing my X server sometimes.
So, that's the easy method. For the more complicated method, I'm just theorizing, and this stuff may not work. You're going to need to either already have somewhat deep linux knowledge or be willing to learn Here goes.
In this post, I described how I managed to boot my tf701t after the internal memory card died a horrible death. The important bit here is that I learned how to boot any initrd/kernel combination using fastboot, and how to roll that combination into a boot.img so that the tablet always boots it. This is what you'll need to do both for the installation and for future boots into your Linux install.
First off, choose your Linux distro. I don't think you'll be able to use Mint, since, as someone pointed out above, there's no ARM build of Mint. However, there is an ARM build of Debian and Mint has the "debian edition", so maybe there is an ARM version. It may be, though, that the Mint folks only built their special stuff (Cinnamon/mate/whatever) for x86 platforms. I'd recommend Ubuntu as a compromise since I know it runs on the tf701t.
For the initial installation, put the contents of the install ISO onto an SD card -- just copying your bootable USB drive over should work. Now for the tricky bit: you'll need to pull the kernel and initrd ("ramdisk", "initial ramdisk" -- usually initrd-<something>.gz) off of the usb drive and into a working directory on a Linux laptop or desktop (let's call it the "host"). You might get away with just fastbooting this kernel/ramdisk directly. Install the fastboot package for your distro (Ubuntu has one, anyway). Connect up your tablet, put it in fastboot mode (I think that's done by booting with volume up and down held) and do 'fastboot boot <your kernel> <your ramdisk>'.
This will boot the kernel and load up the initrd, which is a tiny little linux filesystem stored in memory. The kernel runs a program called init inside the ramdisk and init takes over and boots into the actual installer. The question in my mind is how it goes about finding the ISO contents. If it searches by filesystem UUID, and there's a good chance that it does, then it will find your the ISO contents on the SD card just fine and the installer will start up.
If not, well, things will get a lot more complicated. Normally what one would do in a case like this would be to pass kernel command-line arguments (you do this in the SYSLINUX bootloader for distros like Ubuntu) telling it where to find the installation media. We can't do that because fastboot doesn't let you pass command-line arguments. Instead, you'd need to extract the initrd on the Host machine, modify the init script in some way to tell it where to find the installation media (probably /dev/block/mmcblk1p1), and then repackage it. I went into somewhat shallow detail on how to do the extract/repackage parts of this, but this is where either prior linux knowledge or a willingness to do some research comes in. Hints: gunzip the initrd, then use the cpio tool to extract it.
Okay, so let's say that you get the installer booting. The next big question is whether it's going to work at all. In theory the graphics chip inside the tf701t is supported by linux, but in practice, maybe it's only supported by a kernel module that Samsung built. Maybe you'd need to substitute the stock kernel. The next question is whether X has a module that will work with the graphics chip. But maybe even if it doesn't you can use a text-mode installer. That would at least let you get a system installed that you could then hack on to try to get X running.
So, let's say you do get linux installed (probably onto the internal SD card, /dev/block/mmcblk0). Now you want to boot it. You'll need to look into the installed system and steal its kernel and ramdisk, and get them onto the Host machine. Or maybe you could just extract them from the debian packages, since I'm not sure how you'd get things off of that internal SD at this stage. As a hint, these may well NOT be the same kernel/initrd as in the installer.
Once you've got the kernel/ramdisk, you can try to boot into them with fastboot. If that works (big if), then you'll want to be able to boot them without fastboot. That's where the 'fastboot flash:raw' command comes in. It takes a kernel/ramdisk, builds an android boot.img out of them, and flashes it to the device. From then on, the device will boot that kernel and ramdisk by default.
So, in theory this could work. The biggest potential stumbling block is whether X is going to natively support the graphics chip. If it doesn't, you may be stuck using the basic framebuffer driver, or maybe that won't even work at all. ...or you could just settle for the chroot method and be done with it
Good luck. I'm very interested to hear whether this works. I'm probably not going to try it myself since I like Android enough that I want to keep it around. I also can't walk you through this in finer detail because of external limits on my time, but I'd be happy to answer theoretical questions and specific technical questions, so long as you're willing to do the legwork of reading manpages and such I hope this works out for you!
Oh, one thing just occurred to me: skip the part in the installer about installing grub. It's not going to work on this device and may cause problems. You'll take care of the bootloader part yourself with the fastboot flash:raw command.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very stubborn
Sorry I didn't respond sooner as I was away with family for Christmas.
Thank you for the guide, it was extremely helpful. I am still working on getting the device ready so I'll update as I progress.
Thanks again