Database Develop

repacking boot.img?

Being a linux noob, i am trying to repack a boot image i have created for my Sapphire. I extracted Cyanogen's boot.img, extracted that and added a couple of things in, deleted a couple of things and now i want to repack it and am unable to. I am following the instructions from:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
i have downloaded the mkbootimg.zip froma thread here but am unsure what to do with it- i have extracted it to the working directory but when i type
Code:
[email protected]:~/Desktop/boot$ mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz -o boot-new.img
i get the error:
Code:
bash: mkbootimg: command not found
i have the kernel and ramdisk-new.gz in the working folder (boot) along with mkbootimg.
What am i doing wrong? I am sure it's a nice simple thing about what i have to do with the mkbootimg program...
thanks
Scott

Put ./mkbootimg etc etc
This is a linux related question. And could have been posted in DREAM Q&A. I know you wanted an answer but help keep the forum clean.

sorry but i thought this was related to android development- i am trying to develop a bit of android for myself.
anyway tried the
Code:
./mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz -o boot-new.img
and got
Code:
bash: ./mkbootimg: Permission denied
so i tried it with sudo infront of it all and got:
Code:
sudo: ./mkbootimg: command not found

I guess there's some gray area. Your trying to develop and are having a problem along the way.. lol
Maybe my syntax is off, still learning linux myself. Try a space between . And / eg: ". /mkbootimg". What distro are you using. (I don't need super user permissions to execute it on my ubuntu box). The only thing I run as su is make when using jf build environment.
You could also put it in a tools folder and include it in path. Or just drop it in bin.

Custom Boot Image
MontAlbert said:
sorry but i thought this was related to android development- i am trying to develop a bit of android for myself.
anyway tried the
Code:
./mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz -o boot-new.img
and got
Code:
bash: ./mkbootimg: Permission denied
so i tried it with sudo infront of it all and got:
Code:
sudo: ./mkbootimg: command not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you post your question here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443994

LucidREM said:
did you post your question here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443994
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no i thought that thread hasnt seen action in ages. Bit late now either way hey?
just tried a different tact...
Code:
./repack-bootimg.pl boot.img-kernel /home/scott/Desktop/boot/new boot-new.zip
4293 blocks
sh: mkbootimg: not found
damnit!
maybe i will try and drop everything in bin and try it from there....

mkbootimg is not in your path, that is why you are getting the error when doing sudo. Do the following
1) cp ~/mydroid/out/host/linux-x86/bin/mkbootimg ~/android-sdk-linux_x86-1.5_r2/tools
2) export PATH=$PATH:~/android-sdk-linux_x86-1.5_r2/tools
3) chmod 755 ~/android-sdk-linux_x86-1.5_r2/tools/mkbootimg
Now you can run your command WITHOUT using sudo. There's no reason to put mkbootimg in /usr/local/bin or /bin as it doesn't have anything to do with your system. It is a development binary and should be contained with the rest of your dev binaries. If you want to make that path permanent put step #2 in your ~/.profile or ~/.bash_profile depending which one your system uses
**EDIT**
If you get any errors of file not found well then that's b/c I have no idea how your system is structured so I can't guess where your original mkbootimg is located or where its going. You need to change the directory paths that I used above to match your own. Also, you won't need to do ./mkbootimg as that only works if that binary is in the exact same directory that you're in

thanks- will try that now....

When I repack boot.img's I just cp mkbootimg to my working directory and invoke it using ". /mkbootimg command" works without issue for me. Eventually ill setup my tools directory to be included in path as its more practical.

Hi all,
Here is my concern I have de-compiled without a problem then I modified the boot.img images cwm but impossible to re-compile.
I get an error every time. I'm running Ubuntu.
If someone could help me it would be nice.
Thank you in advance.

MontAlbert said:
sorry but i thought this was related to android development- i am trying to develop a bit of android for myself.
anyway tried the
Code:
./mkbootimg --cmdline 'no_console_suspend=1 console=null' --kernel boot.img-kernel --ramdisk ramdisk-new.gz -o boot-new.img
and got
Code:
bash: ./mkbootimg: Permission denied
so i tried it with sudo infront of it all and got:
Code:
sudo: ./mkbootimg: command not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is old, but if someone else has a similar issue this might help.
The 'command not found' thing when the executable is in fact there and has the right permissions can happen when the 32bit binaries aren't installed on the system. They are part of the ia32-libs package, which you can install with
Code:
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

[HACK] compiled mkbootimg and unpack/repack linux scripts for boot.img

want to edit your boot.img?
included files in zip: mkbootimg (i compiled this file from android source), unpack-bootimg.pl, repack-bootimg.pl
i edited the repack script to compile the nexus s img correctly.
Code:
--base 0x30000000 --pagesize 4096
first dump original boot.img:
Code:
cat /dev/mtd/mtd2 > /sdcard/boot.img
then drag/drop to your linux box to edit file.
use unpack script:
Code:
./unpack-bootimg.pl boot.img
you will end up with 2 compressed files and 1 folder.
finished editing and want to repack boot.img, for example:
Code:
./repack-bootimg.pl <kernel> <ramdisk-directory> <outfile>
most info and scripts pulled from here: http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images, thanks to the original author.
test your new boot.img:
Code:
fastboot boot boot.img

Two things:
1. if you have any bad blocks in your boot partition, this method will fail to extract the boot.img (you need to skip bad blocks, but cat will just get an error)
2. you can replace just the kernel (leaving the ramdisk and parameters intact) using:
Code:
% fastboot flash zimage zImage
The bootloader will read-modify-write the boot partition, replacing the kernel only.

how would you skip bad blocks? i never thought of a phone as having bad blocks.

k0mpresd said:
i never thought of a phone as having bad blocks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All flash devices can have bad blocks. But it usually isn't something the end user would notice, unless there are so many and something is wrong that you're losing drive space.
edit: more info here if your curious http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory

hmm, very strange thing happening to me. I've only gotten my boot.img to compile and boot successfully once with this method, but now I can't seem to get it to compile? I keep getting errors of the file name or file type. I'm using the correct usage.. If I compile manually with mkbootimg on the cmd line it'll compile but it won't boot. Just bootloops at the Google splash..

Jroid try my Matr1x kernel and see what happens
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

The problem seems to be compiling the boot with the perl scripts, not the kernel itself.

Try manually:
Once unpacked do the boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz with the following command (moved to the ramdisk folder):
Code:
#sudo find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../<your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
Then cd ../
And repack:
Code:
#./mkbootimg --kernel <your boot name>.img-kernel.gz --ramdisk <your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz --base 0x30000000 --pagesize 4096 -o boot.img

you can replace just the kernel (leaving the ramdisk and parameters intact) using:
Code:
% fastboot flash zimage zImage
The bootloader will read-modify-write the boot partition, replacing the kernel only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't work on the Nexus S.

python08 said:
It won't work on the Nexus S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly, i'd love to be able to do this for some testing but it doesn't allow me.
EDIT: yes it does. Swetland is right

Chamb' said:
Try manually:
Once unpacked do the boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz with the following command (moved to the ramdisk folder):
Code:
#sudo find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../<your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
Then cd ../
And repack:
Code:
#./mkbootimg --kernel <your boot name>.img-kernel.gz --ramdisk <your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz --base 0x30000000 --pagesize 4096 -o boot.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tied compiling a boot both manually (with cmdline) and with the perl scripts and have used a simple kernel.gz and ramdisk.cpio.gz for my file names.. doesn't really matter what I name it as long as it has the correct file format in this .gz and .cpio.gz right? the manual compile goes fine with base 0x30000000 and pagesize 4096
however, it does not boot and will bootloop at the Google splash

Used boot.img extracted from (what ROM ?) cat /dev/mtd/mtd2 ?
Is the phone start with this boot.img (unchanged) if you flash it by typing "fastboot flash..." ?
After that, just try to unpack and repack the boot.img without changes on ramdisk or kernel, if it works that means your changes suck (^^).
These commands (or perl scripts) work perfectly for me.

Lol I will try doing that. The boot.img I used is from stock 2.3.4, edited the ramdisk (specifically init.rc & init.herring.rc)
Like I said, first time I used the perl scripts I edited my ramdisk, threw in a netarchy kernel, it compiled fine and booted. Now if I use the perl script to repack with an aosp kernel, it gives me an error about file name and/or extension being wrong. Or complains it can't find mkbootimg when its there and executable. I'll re run it again and post errors
Sent from my Nexus S

he guys where is the boot image located? not the animation, the google logo at the start of the booting!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

ok so when I used the repack-bootimg.pl script, it kept giving me this error:
Code:
boot.img-kernel.gz Not a directory at ./repack-bootimg.pl line 13.
So I ran mkbootimg manually, without a cmdline comment as stated above. It compiled
and booted beautifully all stock with no init.rc or init.herring.rc edits.
however when I compile a boot.img coupled with a stock kernel and a modified ramdisk, I get a non-booting boot.img. One came out at 2.9 mb and the other at 5.6 mb neither boots using the same cmd that compiled the working boot. Must be my edits.. I literally only changed about 1 line in init.rc and another line in init.herring.rc that causing it not to boot.
By the way, I got some info on a stock boot.img using the unpackbootimg binary (not the perl script) and here's what it outputs:
Code:
#BOARD_KERNEL_CMDLINE console=ttyFIQ0 no_console_suspend
BOARD_KERNEL_BASE 30000000
BOARD_PAGE_SIZE 00001000
I enter that pagesize and it says it's not a valid value when I compile boot.img's

Borky_16 said:
he guys where is the boot image located? not the animation, the google logo at the start of the booting!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
part of the kernel
to change-https://github.com/morfic/Samsung-logo

ogdobber said:
part of the kernel
to change-https://github.com/morfic/Samsung-logo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i know thanks for the link a helping source though!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

Sorry for the Control C Control V of it, but I just found this topic now..
I`m facing this problem when I try to unpack boot.img..
I have done it 2 days ago but dunno why, now I can`t..
Follows what is happening..
Code:
[email protected]:~/NS-bootwork$ ./unpack-bootimg.pl boot.img
Found a secondary file after the ramdisk image.
According to the spec (mkbootimg.h) this file can exist,
but this script is not designed to deal with this scenario.
The Kernel is built, as a zImage and the WLAN as a bmc3429.ko..
Just repeating, I have built this Kernel 2 days ago in the same way, without any problems, but now I`m struggling on the message after inputting ./unpack-bootimg.pl boot.img..
Dunno what else to try, I re-downloaded the unpack-bootimg.pl from 2 different sources, and still the same error..
Any ideas?
Many thanks..
P.S.: Ubuntu 11.04 x64..
EDIT
Well, I already solve it!
That is what I did..
As unpack-bootimg.pl was not working (don`t know why) I used split_bootimg.pl script, splitting the boot.img and created new ramdisk img..
Code:
./split_bootimg.pl boot.img
mkdir ramdisk
cd ramdisk
gzip -dc ../boot.img-ramdisk.gz | cpio -i
find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../newramdisk.cpio.gz
Then after just compiled the Kernel with
Code:
./mkbootimg --kernel zImage --ramdisk newramdisk.cpio.gz --base 0x30000000 --pagesize 4096 --cmdline _console_suspend=1 console=bull's -o newtestboot.img'no
Witches includes " --cmdline _console_suspend=1 console=bull's" to not break BT functionality, in the case of Nexus S..

I found the tools here work well: http://glandium.org/blog/?p=2214
...if you then use the code originally posted above:
Code:
sudo find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../<your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz
./mkbootimg --kernel <your boot name>.img-kernel.gz --ramdisk <your boot name>.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz --base 0x30000000 --pagesize 4096 -o boot.img

[Q] How to convert stock ROM from rfs to ext4?

Hi sorry if i sound noob but i would like to try converting my stock rom from .rfs to ext4 without breaking anything (My setup is exactly as described in my signature). I understand that ketut has created a script to make this happen.
ketut.kumajaya said:
Just want to share my command list to convert Galaxy Ace firmware from rfs to ext4.
Code:
cd /home/user/rfs2ext4
dd if=/dev/zero of=system.rfs bs=4096 count=53696
losetup /dev/loop0 system.rfs
mkfs.ext4 -T ext4 -b 4096 -m 0 -J size=4 -O ^resize_inode,^ext_attr,^huge_file,^has_journal /dev/loop0
tune2fs -c 100 -i 100d -m 0 /dev/loop0
mkdir /tmp/ext4
sudo mount /dev/loop0 /tmp/ext4
chmod 755 fix-*.sh
cp fix-*.sh /tmp
mkdir /tmp/rfs
sudo mount -o loop source/system.rfs /tmp/rfs
sudo cp -a /tmp/rfs/* /tmp/ext4
cd /tmp/ext4
sudo ../fix-system.sh
cd /home/user/rfs2ext4
sudo umount /tmp/ext4
sudo umount /tmp/rfs
dd if=/dev/zero of=data.rfs bs=4096 count=46400
losetup /dev/loop0 data.rfs
mkfs.ext4 -T ext4 -b 4096 -m 0 -J size=16 -O ^resize_inode,^ext_attr,^huge_file /dev/loop0
tune2fs -c 100 -i 100d -m 0 /dev/loop0
mount /dev/loop0 /tmp/ext4
sudo mount -o loop source/data.rfs /tmp/rfs
sudo cp -a /tmp/rfs/* /tmp/ext4
cd /tmp/ext4
sudo ../fix-data.sh
cd /home/user/rfs2ext4
sudo umount /tmp/ext4
sudo umount /tmp/rfs
dd if=/dev/zero of=csc.rfs bs=4096 count=6464
losetup /dev/loop0 csc.rfs
mkfs.ext4 -T ext4 -b 4096 -m 0 -J size=4 -O ^resize_inode,^ext_attr,^huge_file /dev/loop0
tune2fs -c 100 -i 100d -m 0 /dev/loop0
mount /dev/loop0 /tmp/ext4
sudo mount -o loop source/csc.rfs /tmp/rfs
sudo cp -a /tmp/rfs/* /tmp/ext4
cd /tmp/ext4
sudo ../fix-csc.sh
cd /home/user/rfs2ext4
sudo umount /tmp/ext4
sudo umount /tmp/rfs
tar -H ustar -c boot.img recovery.img data.rfs system.rfs > CODE_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar
md5sum -t CODE_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar >> CODE_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar
mv CODE_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar CODE_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar.md5
tar -H ustar -c csc.rfs > CSC_S5830OXXKP7_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar
md5sum -t CSC_S5830OXXKP7_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar >> CSC_S5830OXXKP7_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar
mv CSC_S5830OXXKP7_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar CSC_S5830OXXKP7_CL375596_REV03_blackhawk.tar.md5
tar -H ustar -c arm11boot mibib oemsbl qcsbl > APBOOT_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03.tar
md5sum -t APBOOT_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03.tar >> APBOOT_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03.tar
mv APBOOT_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03.tar CAPBOOT_S5830XWKPN_CL375596_REV03.tar.md5
tar -H ustar -c amss > MODEM_S5830XWKP6_CL375596_REV03.tar
md5sum -t MODEM_S5830XWKP6_CL375596_REV03.tar >> MODEM_S5830XWKP6_CL375596_REV03.tar
mv MODEM_S5830XWKP6_CL375596_REV03.tar MODEM_S5830XWKP6_CL375596_REV03.tar.md5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My question is how do you do it? Do you create a .sh script with this and then just run it using script manager or do you have to run this script in recovery?
Thanks

you can do this without scipt it's easy, first,flash CF-Root kernel in recovery , then go to the app drawer then open the EXT4 app, then covert to ext4 this operation will take about 2-3 min in recovery,of course you need to have CWM4,at the end it wiil reboot you phone so enjoy it
Press the thanks butom if I helped

that ketut's script can only be use on odin files, cannot be use on already installed rom. btw cfroot ext4manager app should be able to do it directly from the phone.

slaid480 said:
you can do this without scipt it's easy, first,flash CF-Root kernel in recovery , then go to the app drawer then open the EXT4 app, then covert to ext4 this operation will take about 2-3 min in recovery,of course you need to have CWM4,at the end it wiil reboot you phone so enjoy it
Press the thanks butom if I helped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
already have CF Root kernel and CWM 5.0.26
an0nym0us_ said:
that ketut's script can only be use on odin files, cannot be use on already installed rom. btw cfroot ext4manager app should be able to do it directly from the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ketut mentioned it is possible to do so on a pre-existing ROM but he doesn't recommend it haha.
Hmmm, i do not know why i don't have the ext4manager app even though i am on CF Root b82 kernel. Do i have to download the ext4manager app separately?
=====================================================================================================================
EDIT
I found the ext4manager on chainfire's post. Will install v1.3 and do the necessary file system conversion... and pray it works!
=========================================================
Update
It was my tardiness that led me to use chainfire's original ext4manager where i should have been using the version modified by ketut!
It worked like a breeze, install and the whole thing was done under a minute in recovery. I am very very happy with the results for i managed to gain about 400 points in Quadrant. Well, i couldn't get a OC kernel to work with my Stock ROM but this mod is ain't exactly that bad in coaxing out some performance.

slaid480 said:
you can do this without scipt it's easy, first,flash CF-Root kernel in recovery , then go to the app drawer then open the EXT4 app, then covert to ext4 this operation will take about 2-3 min in recovery,of course you need to have CWM4,at the end it wiil reboot you phone so enjoy it
Press the thanks butom if I helped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey i have installed and tried that but it seems like ext4 manager is showing no ext4 partitions found ? did it converted to ext4 or still am on rfs

Lijop said:
hey i have installed and tried that but it seems like ext4 manager is showing no ext4 partitions found ? did it converted to ext4 or still am on rfs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you use ext4manager from ketut's thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=714285&d=1315543936
ext4manager MUST detect your cf root kernel. if it does, it will automatically show the various partitions and the file system applicable.

happily1986 said:
did you use ext4manager from ketut's thread?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=714285&d=1315543936
ext4manager MUST detect your cf root kernel. if it does, it will automatically show the various partitions and the file system applicable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CF-Root-S5830-v3.7-b82-ex. am using this. chainfire stuff

Lijop said:
CF-Root-S5830-v3.7-b82-ex. am using this. chainfire stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats just the kernel itself. scroll down and find CF Root S5830 ext4 v1.3 in the post by ketut if you want to. btw the link i posted earlier on is the actual download link for the ext4 manager that has been modified to work for S5830 by ketut.

Will this method work on all Galaxy ACE versions. My wife has the version for Latin America, same as the one sold in Brazil and Chile.
Not sure about the ROM version for this one though.

Does stock ROM kernel even support ext4???

could u help for installing CF Root ?
i have a stock rom 2.3.3
thanks in advance

http://acetips.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/flash-cf-root-ace-gb/

ducutu said:
http://acetips.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/flash-cf-root-ace-gb/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like a Michael Jackson music video...

[MOD][P31XX] How to patch stock kernel to install CWM

After installing stock versions of 4.0.4, 4.1.1, or 4.1.2, the kernel will mount the recovery partition as read only so that ClockWorkMod (or any other recovery) will not install properly. Here are the commands to fix the kernel so that it mounts the recovery partition as writable and turns off secure mode:
The following commands below assume that you have already downloaded your desired firmware from sammobile.com and have extracted the boot.img (kernel) file from it using the tar utility. This tutorial is for Linux only and tested on Ubuntu 12.04.
Code:
unmkbootimg boot.img
mkdir ramdisk
cd ramdisk
gunzip -c ../initramfs.cpio.gz | cpio -i
patch -p1 < ../ro.secure.diff
find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../initramfs-new.cpio.gz
cd ..
mkbootimg --kernel kernel.gz --ramdisk initramfs-new.cpio.gz --base 0x80000000 --cmdline 'console=ttyO2,115200n8 mem=1024M androidboot.console=ttyO2 vram=20M omapfb.vram=0:16M androidboot.carrier=wifi' -o new_boot.img
Contents of patch (ro.secure.diff):
Code:
--- ramdisk/default.prop.org 2013-02-18 03:40:22.442572189 +0100
+++ ramdisk/default.prop 2013-02-18 03:40:56.158572156 +0100
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
#
# ADDITIONAL_DEFAULT_PROPERTIES
#
-ro.secure=1
+ro.secure=0
ro.allow.mock.location=0
ro.debuggable=0
persist.sys.usb.config=mtp
I have attached also below an example of the flash-able zip file used for installing the new boot.img through ClockworkMod. Just replace the boot.img inside the kernel.zip file with the new boot.img that you just created from the directions above and sign the zip (signing is optional).

[HOWTO] Build insecure (or permissive) kernels for Nexus 6 Marshmallow

Hi all,
I am trying to get an insecure kernel for Nexus 6, marshmallow 6.0, and I stuck at a bootloop.
The AOSP tag android-6.0.0_r1 builds without any errors. Then I flash the produced insecure boot image on a nexus 6, which had the latest 6.0 factory images.
Has anyone managed to do this procedure?
Btw, I am compiling the AOSP sources, and not the kernel sources.
In AOSP, I think, the kernel/zImage is precompiled, and the aosp build system bundles it into a boot image.
So, if someone has managed to build a working insecure boot.img from any marshmallow branch please let me know.
Or has done the same thing from kernels sources, also let me know.
EDIT:
How to compile an insecure kernel:
0. This will use the precompiled kernel found in aosp sources.
So we are not actually compiling. But this title might help some folks googling the topic.
2. modify device/<maker>/<codename>/fstab.<codename>/, and remove verify tag from system
3. make -jN bootimage
Alternatively, you can follow the procedure by ziddey, and removing the verify tag from fstab.shamu, allows the kernel to be booted!
NOTE: insecure kernel is not permissive.
How to compile a permissive kernel:
0. Now we will actually compile the kernel.
1. Download the kernel sources, and checkout the branch you want. Do these modifications.
Finally compile the kernel. (There are many tutorials for kernel compilation online)
2. copy the kernel (arch/arm/boot/zImage-dtb) to your aosp_dir/device/<maker>/<codename>-kernel/
3. Disable verification (as w/ insecure kernel)
4. make -j8 bootimage
How to compile an insecure and permissive kernel:
Not sure about this. I 'd play with configurations in aosp_dir/device/<maker>/<codename>,
or maybe try an eng build. If anyone knows just post it!
I have tried these with the kernel branch "android-msm-shamu-3.10-marshmallow-mr1",
and the aosp tag "android-6.0.1_r21".

I have also tried to unpack and repack the boot.img using unpackbootimg and mkbootimg from https://github.com/osm0sis/mkbootimg.
I have extracted ramdisk, edited the default prob, repacked ramdisk, and packed using:
Code:
mkbootimg --kernel su_boot.img-zImage --ramdisk su_boot.img-ramdisk.gz --cmdline 'console=ttyHSL0,115200,n8 androidboot.console=ttyHSL0 androidboot.hardware=shamu msm_rtb.filter=0x37 ehci-hcd.park=3 utags.blkdev=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/utags utags.backup=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/utagsBackup coherent_pool=8M' --base 00000000 --pagesize 2048 --kernel_offset 00008000 --ramdisk_offset 02000000 --tags_offset 01e00000 --board "" -o ins_su_boot.img
Have I missed anything?
*EDIT* also tried w/ 'abootimg'. Still no luck.

Screwing around with random files found on the internet is not going to solve your problem. Use the program from *AOSP*. And make sure your parameters match (I'm not going to verify them for you). Bootloops are always cute, what did you change? Typically running make bootimg should make you a good bootimg from AOSP sources.

Well, turns out that in this case, that assumption is not correct.
The first issue is that the verity keys are not present in a custom built boot.img. At least not ones without also involving an entire system build (not that they would match the system partition that you already have).
So to solve that, edit the fstab file in the shamu device tree to remove the verify parameter from the system partition. Once that is done, it should no longer randomly reboot.
UNFORTUNATELY, that may not be enough to make the whole thing work properly still, since there appears to be some other differences between the AOSP userdebug's boot.img and the google user build. You will be able to adb in, but the android subsystem won't run.

These utilities I have used were the ones that have been successfully used to pack/unpack boot images by others. I have also done this successfully in the past, for another device running earlier versions.
Yeap. That's the problem. A kernel build from AOSP sources does not work out of the box with the rest of the system, if it is a production build. This used to work for Lollipop, but I guess they tighten security up.
Building zImage from kernel sources is still not a solution for me, as I can't properly pack/unpack a Marshmallow boot.img
The problem might be something very stupid, OS specific, and I don't want to waste any more time on this.
For now I will live with SuperSu and adbd insecure.
Maybe at some point I might try to remove the verification to see whether the rest of the stuff play nicely.
Thanks for your time!

[edit]
Answer is root. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64110288&postcount=1283
[/edit]
I spent a while tonight trying to figure this out as well. Simply dumping boot.img and recreating it works fine. But something goes wrong when unpacking/repacking the ramdisk. Stripping bootsize from bootimg.cfg so abootimg recalculates it doesn't help.
1. I did find that mkboot "works": https://github.com/ModdingMyMind/mkbootimg_tools
Simply run `mkboot boot.img boot` to dump to dir boot. Make changes to ramdisk, and then run `mkboot boot newboot.img` to create a new image. However, for whatever reason, this causes at least one issue for me. The sbin dir, despite being 755 in the ramdisk is 750 again in Android. Not sure what's going on here since I can redump newboot.img and confirm that sbin is 755.
2. I looked at seSuperuser/super-bootimg and found https://github.com/seSuperuser/super-bootimg/blob/master/scripts/bootimg.sh
The relevant part is in doneBootImgEdit(). Looking at the comments, Husson found that appending the changes to the inflated ramdisk cpio and then deflating it works. I just tested this and indeed it does work.
Husson only appends new/changed files; as a test, I tried appending the entire new ramdisk onto the old one, and sure enough, it bugs out again. Will have to investigate why this happening later, but for now, this is good enough.
As well, abootimg also comes with the tools abootimg-pack-initrd and aboot-unpack-initrd, which takes care of gzip/cpio. Of course, since the packing part doesn't work, we can't use it.
So, here's an example. Say you want to change fstab.shamu (to remove /system verification and/or /data forced encryption):
Code:
# extract boot.img
abootimg -x boot.img
# unpack the extracted initrd.img to ramdisk dir
abootimg-unpack-initrd
cd ramdisk
# make your changes to ramdisk/fstab.shamu here....
echo fstab.shamu | cpio -o -H newc > ../initrd2
cd ..
# inflate initrd.img
cp initrd.img initrd.gz
gunzip initrd.gz
# append and create new initrd.img
cat initrd initrd2 |gzip -9 -c > newinitrd.img
# strip bootsize from bootimg.cfg
sed 1d bootimg.cfg > newbootimg.cfg
# create new boot.img
abootimg --create newboot.img -f newbootimg.cfg -k zImage -r newinitrd.img
newboot.img should be a working boot image. If modifying multiple files, it may be easiest to create a different dir with those files and use find . |cpio -o -H newc > ../initrd2
Hope this helps. And if anyone can explain why this is necessary / how to recreate initrd from scratch, I can continue being lazy.
Thanks @phhusson
[edit]
Damn. I tried applying a different init file and it ate ****.
[/edit]

ziddey said:
I spent a while tonight trying to figure this out as well. Simply dumping boot.img and recreating it works fine. But something goes wrong when unpacking/repacking the ramdisk. Stripping bootsize from bootimg.cfg so abootimg recalculates it doesn't help.
1. I did find that mkboot "works": https://github.com/ModdingMyMind/mkbootimg_tools
Simply run `mkboot boot.img boot` to dump to dir boot. Make changes to ramdisk, and then run `mkboot boot newboot.img` to create a new image. However, for whatever reason, this causes at least one issue for me. The sbin dir, despite being 755 in the ramdisk is 750 again in Android. Not sure what's going on here since I can redump newboot.img and confirm that sbin is 755.
2. I looked at seSuperuser/super-bootimg and found https://github.com/seSuperuser/super-bootimg/blob/master/scripts/bootimg.sh
The relevant part is in doneBootImgEdit(). Looking at the comments, Husson found that appending the changes to the inflated ramdisk cpio and then deflating it works. I just tested this and indeed it does work.
Husson only appends new/changed files; as a test, I tried appending the entire new ramdisk onto the old one, and sure enough, it bugs out again. Will have to investigate why this happening later, but for now, this is good enough.
As well, abootimg also comes with the tools abootimg-pack-initrd and aboot-unpack-initrd, which takes care of gzip/cpio. Of course, since the packing part doesn't work, we can't use it.
So, here's an example. Say you want to change fstab.shamu (to remove /system verification and/or /data forced encryption):
Code:
# extract boot.img
abootimg -x boot.img
# unpack the extracted initrd.img to ramdisk dir
abootimg-unpack-initrd
cd ramdisk
# make your changes to ramdisk/fstab.shamu here....
echo fstab.shamu | cpio -o -H newc > ../initrd2
cd ..
# inflate initrd.img
cp initrd.img initrd.gz
gunzip initrd.gz
# append and create new initrd.img
cat initrd initrd2 |gzip -9 -c > newinitrd.img
# strip bootsize from bootimg.cfg
sed 1d bootimg.cfg > newbootimg.cfg
# create new boot.img
abootimg --create newboot.img -f newbootimg.cfg -k zImage -r newinitrd.img
newboot.img should be a working boot image. If modifying multiple files, it may be easiest to create a different dir with those files and use find . |cpio -o -H newc > ../initrd2
Hope this helps. And if anyone can explain why this is necessary / how to recreate initrd from scratch, I can continue being lazy.
Thanks @phhusson
[edit]
Damn. I tried applying a different init file and it ate ****.
[/edit]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess, and the reason why I tried appending without further thinking, is that the new initramfs files contains SELinux labels, which standard GNU/Linux cpio tool doesn't support.
One would have to investigate the changes in mkbootfs done recently.
Also, I guess mkboot is using Android's mkbootfs, which forces the permissions by itself I think.
Though the fact that extracting back give the result you expected is weird.
In super-bootimg I chose to change init.rc to chmod /sbin

Wow. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64110288&postcount=1283
Just tested and sure enough, everything is working.
Thanks @shoey63

Hopefully a final update:
The difference is in ownership. Unpacking (cpio -i) as a regular user will not preserve the ownership. However, repacking (cpio -o) does.
To repack, add -R 0.0 to cpio (i.e. --owner root.root).
e.g.
Code:
find . |cpio -o -H newc -R 0.0 | gzip -9 > ../newinitrd.img
I just tested and this works just fine without being root.

ziddey said:
Hopefully a final update:
The difference is in ownership. Unpacking (cpio -i) as a regular user will not preserve the ownership. However, repacking (cpio -o) does.
To repack, add -R 0.0 to cpio (i.e. --owner root.root).
e.g.
Code:
find . |cpio -o -H newc -R 0.0 | gzip -9 > ../newinitrd.img
I just tested and this works just fine without being root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erf that's weird, I'm pretty sure I always ran the script as root...
Anyway, thanks for the info! I'll probably update my scripts with it

I just wanted to post that using root to extract the cpio file fixed the boot failure for me on my Nexus 9 with 6.0.1. You also need to use root to find the files and create the cpio file because some files are only accessible by root of course. I guess that should have been obvious (usually needed for /dev nodes) as @phhusson said, but this time I didn't do that until reading here.
To unpack the boot.img file I used: https://github.com/osm0sis/mkbootimg.git
To pack the boot.img file I used: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/master/mkbootimg
I'm not sure you need the official google packer, but I just happened to use when it worked.
EDIT: I needed to update boot.img and I tried it using the osm0sis packer and it worked.

Hey guys. Thanks for the replies!
I needed a permissive kernel this time, and I have played around with the sources and your recommendations and got it working. :good:
The post by ziddey might be the easiest way to make any kernel bootable, by disabling the verification from fstab.
(and uses just one packing/unpacking tool)
You can do the same thing from sources, again by modifying the fstab on aosp.
You can build an insecure kernel by using the pre-built kernel (is aosp),
or compile and then pack a permissive one.
This procedure wasn't working for me back then when I tried it (hence this thread). I am not sure if it was my fault or the initial marshmallow release had differences from the sources. More info on the first post.