Database Develop

How do you compile a boot.img from a kernel source?

With the Note 3 using device tree (dtb) files, what is the new process to create a bootable kernel image without having to build the entire Android stack along with it? I'm working on porting kexec-hardboot to the CyanogenMod hlte kernel. I've compiled my kernel and it produces a zImage and a zImage-dtb. It also provides several msm8974-sec-hlte-r0X.dtb files in the arch/arm/boot directory which I assume are the compiled device tree images for the various HLTE revisions. I extracted a working kernel using the tools here: https://bitbucket.org/itsmikeramsay/mkbootimg/src and examined the extracted dt.img in a hex editor to find that it appears to contain all of these dtb files together. What tool is used to build this combined dtb image? I tried repacking the kernel I extracted with only my new initramfs (containing the kexecboot binary) and that worked, but repacking it with my new kernel (zImage) along with the old dt.img did not.
EDIT 1: I found this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2469510 Looks like it could be what I'm after.

below, good luck

CalcProgrammer1 said:
With the Note 3 using device tree (dtb) files, what is the new process to create a bootable kernel image without having to build the entire Android stack along with it? I'm working on porting kexec-hardboot to the CyanogenMod hlte kernel. I've compiled my kernel and it produces a zImage and a zImage-dtb. It also provides several msm8974-sec-hlte-r0X.dtb files in the arch/arm/boot directory which I assume are the compiled device tree images for the various HLTE revisions. I extracted a working kernel using the tools here: https://bitbucket.org/itsmikeramsay/mkbootimg/src and examined the extracted dt.img in a hex editor to find that it appears to contain all of these dtb files together. What tool is used to build this combined dtb image? I tried repacking the kernel I extracted with only my new initramfs (containing the kexecboot binary) and that worked, but repacking it with my new kernel (zImage) along with the old dt.img did not.
EDIT 1: I found this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2469510 Looks like it could be what I'm after.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I struggled with this for like a month. Download me
This is an updated version of the mkbootimg tools with support for device tree images. I think this is exactly what your looking for. You should be able to just overwrite the zImage and proper headers and it'll boot. Good luck! Message me if you have any issues. The older mkbootimg has issues parsing the device tree tables since it doesn't recognize them.

I got it working. The tools I posted work as well (not sure if they're the same or not, didn't check). My problem was not my build process but that my kernel/ramdisk made boot.img too large (>11.0MB) which made it fail to boot. I enabled XZ compression instead of LZMA and that took 3MB off my kernel size and allowed my build to fit, then it worked fine.

How to use the tools suggested
I was able to use xiaolu/mkbootimg_tools to create a recovery image, and flash my phone successfully. I want to know how to create a boot.img with code that I have compiled myself. I created my own dt.img, thanks to Xiaolu, and placed it in the recovery image mentioned above. I am trying to port a compiled code into my phone.

Permissive for sm-n7505

Hello, how are you all doing?
So I have tried dozens of ways to set my SELinux to permissive on my Samsung Note 3 Neo SM-N7505 (lollipop 5.1.1) but no success..I have tried:
1-Using apps, no success
2-Unpacking boot.img and editing kernel cmdline, no success (probably because my bootloader is locked not sure)
3-Using setenforce and other commands, no success
4-Using init.d support, no success
HELP ME OUT GUYS!..I really need to change my selinux
Thanks

Anyone?

The SELinux bootparam is disabled in kernel config by default.
I build an forced permissive Kernel for you:https://www.amazon.de/clouddrive/sh...TX3ciUcR3FPbUoaVZb?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy
Sources: https://github.com/davidmueller13/kernel_SM-N7505
Just unpack boot.img, replace zImage and repack.
I don't know if it's working without problems, because i dont't own the device and can't test it.

Thank you so much for replying and making the kernel! I really appreciate your hardwork even if it didn't work
I know how to extract boot.img but how do i replace the zlmage and then repack it again ..Please guide me (IN DETAILS LOL!)
Thanks

So I unpacked my boot.img and all I see is ramdisk and kernel..no zImage..where is it?
Why does your zImage has a .bin extension and not .img?
Is the Kernel file in my boot.img the zImage?..if so, should I delete it and replace it with your zImage ( rename it to kernel)?
Thanks

Depending on your Unpacking Tool, the zImage can be named differently. So just rename it to kernel and repack.

Should I change the extension of your zImage?..it is .bin not .img

It should have the same name and extension as the zImage in the unpacked boot.img, otherwise the your unpack tool will not find it.
But i actually didn't gave and see any extension at the file name of my uploaded file.
If you want, your can send me your boot image and i will repack it for you.

Does it contain private informations like my photos lol?

HelpMe101007 said:
Does it contain private informations like my photos lol?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, of course not.It includes only the kernel, the initrd (Ramdisk), on many devices an device tree image and some information like commandline, pagesize etc.
Your User-Apps, App data etc. are on the data Partition (your photos are most likely at data/media).

Here is my boot.img. All I want is SELinux to be permissive nothing else.

And I would really appreciate it if you can make the new boot.img in tar.md5 so I can flash it easily with Odin.
Thanks !

https://www.amazon.de/clouddrive/sh...rRxVAbaPRKIc81SK9H?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy

Caused bootloop

Try this first (it's SELinux Enforcing):https://www.amazon.de/clouddrive/sh...kV4YVLHXJq5ewLL5Lb?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy
If it works, try this:https://www.amazon.de/clouddrive/sh...bHN6WQ2p0fpGLU0sOd?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy
If the first is working, but the second not, we try it with selinux bootparam enabled.
What kind of bootloop. Does the device pass the Splashscreen (Model Number) and show bootanimation?

No it doesnt pass the splash screen

First one is not working

HelpMe101007 said:
First one is not working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's really strange, because it's just straight compiled from Samsungs Kernel Sources with linaro 4.8 (passes without errors) in contrast to the first try with a lot of fixes for compiling with 4.9.
Please try this last one, it's just repacked, so wen can see, if there is the problem:https://www.amazon.de/clouddrive/sh...fC3hJtzBPimxd4OQmW?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy
It's really unlikely, but not impossible, that Samsung released broken kernel Sources.
(I also noticed some file size difference of nearly 10 KB).

Maybe the way I am flashing is wrong?..I put your tar in AP in Odin then flash it, correct?

Your untouchedboot caused bootloop as well but a weird one.My phone did make it to the Home screen but then immediately rebooted and kept rebooting at the boot animation ( it passed the splash screen)

[Solved]Patching sepolicy issues? On Honor Emui8.0 (Oreo8)

Update:
Solved.
EMUI8 using split sepolicy, there isn't sepolicy in ramdisk.img, you get get sepolicy from vendor.img /etc/selinux/precompiled_sepolicy and rename it to sepolicy.
when patching sepolicy using supolicy, add --sdk=26 or it won't work.
Code:
adb shell
su
supolicy --file /sdcard/sepolicy/sepolicy /sdcard/sepolicy/sepolicy_out --sdk=26
My model is Honor V10(EMUI8.0 with Oreo8.0)
Since there is not a custom recovery , so i have to make a boot.img with supersu inside to root.
But I came up with two problems:
1. i found no article about how to patch init manually, so i have to get the init from mate 10's root boot.img, but i'd like to learn how to patch the init manually
2. i patch the sepolicy , but it seems not work
the stock vendor.img/etc/selinux/precompiled_sepolicy is here
my patched sepolicy is here.
I will describe all my detail modifications below, please someone point out where i did wrong. Thanks thanks a lot:good::good::good:
This is my stock boot.img, i get it from the official full-ota update files
This is my modified boot.img
All i modified is listed below:
1. Unzip the update.zip
2. Unpack it with Huawei Update Extrator
3. Extract ramdisk.img, vendor.img, recovery_ramdis.img
4. Unpack ramdisk with bootimg.exe
5. replace init
6. copy res/.su dir
7. copy /sbin/fbe_bypass.sh /sbin/launch_daemonsu.sh /sbin/tar
All the files above i get from @mankindtw 's mate 10 's root boot.img)
8. patch sepolicy which i get from vendor.img /etc/selinux/precompiled_sepolicy and recovery_ramdis.img
on a rooted phone (supersu 2.82 sr5) and patch sepolicy follow this guide
9. rename the patched sepolicy to sepolicy and put into initrd(this is bootimg.exe's unpack dir)
10. modify the cpiolist.txt file, add the added dirs and files
11. repack the bootimg with a name boot-root-b122.img
12. fastboot flash ramdisk boot-root-b122.img
But it does not work, i can't get root.
I've tried to replace other's sepolicy , and it can get root right, but have some other issues( Looking at the screen, it will keep turning on does not work)
So anybody can point what should i do ?
How to patch the stock sepolicy right?
How to patch init manually?
Is there any other mistakes i've taken?

You can take a look at this boot image. Its taken from a KangVip P10 Oreo Rom. He patch his kernel too for rooting.
Maybe it helps.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=745849072291699627

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0 LTE (2016) SM-T285 Lineage OS complete build guide

For SM-T285 users that want to build Lineage OS for their own device I have posted a complete build guide here:
https://github.com/lineage-gtexslte/build_guide

jedld said:
For SM-T285 users that want to build Lineage OS for their own device I have posted a complete build guide here:
https://github.com/lineage-gtexslte/build_guide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the ROM update!
I started from scratch and when I compiled, I got this error:
fixdep: error opening config file: ../../../../../../kernel/samsung/gtexslte/scripts/genksyms/parse.tab.c: No such file or directory
I have had this error before and had to copy the file from another folder, but I should not have to do this.
So, I copied the file to folder where it was missing.
New error:
target Prebuilt: am (/home/gcrutchr/taba/out/target/product/gtexslte/obj/EXECUTABLES/am_intermediates/am)
Symlink: /home/gcrutchr/taba/out/target/product/gtexslte/system/bin/app_process -> app_process32
clang++: error: unable to execute command: Aborted (core dumped)
clang++: error: linker command failed due to signal (use -v to see invocation)

gcrutchr said:
Thanks for the ROM update!
I started from scratch and when I compiled, I got this error:
fixdep: error opening config file: ../../../../../../kernel/samsung/gtexslte/scripts/genksyms/parse.tab.c: No such file or directory
I have had this error before and had to copy the file from another folder, but I should not have to do this.
So, I copied the file to folder where it was missing.
New error:
target Prebuilt: am (/home/gcrutchr/taba/out/target/product/gtexslte/obj/EXECUTABLES/am_intermediates/am)
Symlink: /home/gcrutchr/taba/out/target/product/gtexslte/system/bin/app_process -> app_process32
clang++: error: unable to execute command: Aborted (core dumped)
clang++: error: linker command failed due to signal (use -v to see invocation)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's your gcc version? might need to use gcc 6

jedld said:
What's your gcc version? might need to use gcc 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gcc version 8.1.1 20180712 (Red Hat 8.1.1-5) (GCC)

gcrutchr said:
gcc version 8.1.1 20180712 (Red Hat 8.1.1-5) (GCC)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
later versions of gcc may not work with lineage 14.1, I had to downgrade mine, though for another project.
you can do:
Code:
sudo apt-get install gcc-6 g++-6 g++-6-multilib
sudo update-alternatives --install
inform me if this works and I'll update my guide. Might consider making a docker based build if issues like this happen often.

jedld said:
later versions of gcc may not work with lineage 14.1, I had to downgrade mine, though for another project.
you can do:
Code:
sudo apt-get install gcc-6 g++-6 g++-6-multilib
sudo update-alternatives --install
inform me if this works and I'll update my guide. Might consider making a docker based build if issues like this happen often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I am on Fedora Linux (uses less resources) and have been using gcc 8xx for some time. I compile LineageOS 14.1 for Note 3 (ha3g) and the Note Pro 12.3 (v1a3g) and have no problems. But, I will investigate further.
Ok...so I had issues building the kernel...could not find some include files.
So...I decided to use build_kernel.sh script to to make boot.img. The resultant file is about 1.4 MB smaller, there is no init file in the ramdisk folder and the boot.img-ramdisk.cpio.gz in the split_img folder is about 1/2 the size of your recent boot.img file.
Not sure when to go from here.

Okay, so I followed the instructions - after upgrading Fedora to v29 - but, this time I used Docker. Had to make some script changes for Fedora, but got most everything installed. The "work" directory is empty. I was able to make a working system.img that installed with the built .zip file. The kernel would not boot - hung on the logo screen. I restored the 10/17 boot.img and the system booted up. Now, I will work on the boot.img file. I did notice this time that the boot.img file was about the same size as the 10/17 boot.img file I downloaded. So, that's an improvement. I just finished modifying the build_kernel.sh file. So, I installed the kernel I made and it still hung on the logo screen. So, back to square 1 regarding the kernel.

gcrutchr said:
Okay, so I followed the instructions - after upgrading Fedora to v29 - but, this time I used Docker. Had to make some script changes for Fedora, but got most everything installed. The "work" directory is empty. I was able to make a working system.img that installed with the built .zip file. The kernel would not boot - hung on the logo screen. I restored the 10/17 boot.img and the system booted up. Now, I will work on the boot.img file. I did notice this time that the boot.img file was about the same size as the 10/17 boot.img file I downloaded. So, that's an improvement. I just finished modifying the build_kernel.sh file. So, I installed the kernel I made and it still hung on the logo screen. So, back to square 1 regarding the kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you able to obtain a logcat with the failed boot? Possible issue is that the external kernel modules did not get compiled

jedld said:
Were you able to obtain a logcat with the failed boot? Possible issue is that the external kernel modules did not get compiled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, not sure how I got it to compile. Having problems with docker. Cannot run python or any other dev command. Stuck as root user. So am trying to learn about docker. I do not think I was in docker when it compiled. Will get back to you after I figure this whole mess out.
27 October 2018
After reading the Docker documentation and playing with Docker, I removed it from Fedora. It is just too complicated to use even though it sounds simple. After removing Docker, I did a make clean and a make mrproper in the kernel folder. I ran 'brunch gtexslte'. The compile completed after I copied mkbootimg to the out folder - for some reason it is not getting copied there during the make process. This time the boot.img was over 9mb. It still will not boot. I will get log files today. I will also check to make sure the system files work with the good boot.img.
Question how do I update the system folder to the latest builds of lineage 14.1?
Your repo xml file restricts the source to your repo.

Okay!
Fixed boot.img not booting.
If you unpack boot.img, the file 'boot.img-imgtype' has an invalid image type. In the file, it says 'AOSP-PXA'.
It should say 'AOSP'.
I do not know where this is getting added. I have done a grep and could not find it.
As a side note, I used the build_kernel.sh script to make the kernel.
Question: How do I apply the security updates without manually following the (-) (+) in the diff file?

I am now able to do a complete make and install using the generated .zip file.
Here are the steps:
1. Setup your environment - I am using Fedora, but these instructions will work for any flavor of linux
2. Make sure you have the linaro gcc toolchain (32-bit) installed, and you have modified kernel/samsung/gtexslte/build_kernel.sh
3. Run: build/envsetup.sh, then brunch gtexslte
4. If the brunch stops near the end, copy mkbootimg from system/core/mkbootimg to out/host/linux-x86/bin
......or you can write a shell script to copy the file, as I did, before starting the build
5. After the build completes, cd into kernel/samsung/gtexslte
6. Run make mrproper, to clean the kernel folders
7. Run build_kernel.sh
8. After the kernel (zImage) is built, you need to make the boot.img
9. @jedld has posted how to do this in his build instructions
10. Now that you have a boot.img, you need to modify it.
11. Unpack boot.img
12. In the file 'boot.img-imgtype' , you need to change 'AOSP-PXA' to 'AOSP' - without the quotes
13. Repack boot.img
14. Replace boot.img in the lineage*.zip file with the one you just modified
15. Copy the lineage*.zip to you Tab-A, reboot into recovery and install it.
Here is my script for copying the mkbootimg file into the out folder, BEFORE I run brunch gtexslte:
if [ ! -d "out/host" ]; then
mkdir out/host
mkdir out/host/linux-x86
mkdir out/host/linux-x86/bin
fi
cp system/core/mkbootimg/mkbootimg out/host/linux-x86/bin

@jedld
Update on normal kernel build:
The reason the boot.img - when building via brunch gtexslte - will not boot is a bad zImage. If I replace the zImage from a bootable boot.img, the bad boot.img will boot okay.
Now I need to figure out what the problem is.

you can get the incremental diffs from linux.org

jedld said:
you can get the incremental diffs from linux.org
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this for kernel changes or security patches?

gcrutchr said:
Is this for kernel changes or security patches?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My mistake, I meant kernel.org not linux.org. The incremental diffs contain changes to the mainline kernel which can contain security fixes and/or bug fixes. This is different from android specific patches which google releases separately as kernel patches. The kernel started out from the stock sources provided by samsung on 5.1.1 and then I added google's N and Oreo patches on it (patches related to selinux and oreo binder enhancements). I also added incremental diffs from kernel.org, it started out at 3.10.58 and then I applied incremental diffs until I got to 3.10.107. Unfortunately 3.10 is EOL now, upgrading the kernel to the 4.10 series will take a lot of work.

The SM-T285 Lineage OS is excellent. Is it possible to get the FM radio working? I have tried everything but can't get it to work. I would appreciate your help.

akasarf said:
The SM-T285 Lineage OS is excellent. Is it possible to get the FM radio working? I have tried everything but can't get it to work. I would appreciate your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably not implemented in the kernel.
Just downloaded Radio FM from PlayStore and installed it. It works!!

I meant if there is a working FM radio tuner app that works without the internet on Lineage
gcrutchr said:
It's probably not implemented in the kernel.
Just downloaded Radio FM from PlayStore and installed it. It works!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Samsung Galaxy Active Tab2 (SM T395) Latest Android 9 Pie full ROOT using Magisk

If there's anyone out there with some experience of rooting, and your reading and wanting to know if it's possible to update to the very latest Android 9 Pie on the Samsung Galaxy Active Tab2 (SM T395).
https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/g...are/SM-T395/BTU/download/T395XXU4CSF1/275287/
Well I can confirm it's possible as I have just done it. :good:
Make sure OEM unlock is on > developers page
Make sure USB debugging is on
Make sure FRP lock is off i.e no google accounts attached to device
Install Magisk apk on your device and patch the boot.img ( remove the boot.img from the boot.img.LZ4 file from the stock AP)
Software needed to remove the boot.img file from the LZ4 file - https://glamourrom.eu/how-to/extract-lz4-image/
Convert the patched boot.img into a recognisable MD5.tar file
Software needed to make MD5.tar file - http://www.droidthunder.com/convert-img-to-tar-md5/
Then reflash the patched boot.img using Odin on PC.
You DO NOT NEED TO RE COMPRESS TO LZ4 file !
Your device will show a verification reset page, all data on your device will be reformatted. :crying:
Nice quick and easy method for those of you who know what your doing
If you don't know what your doing, then don't try.
Happy rooting :good:

Hi tsam19,
Thank you for your guide.
With extracting the lz4 image, do you extract it to boot.img or boot.img.ext4?
When I try to reflash the patched boot.img it freezes on boot.img. any ideas?