UPDATE:
This guide is outdated, please do not use it anymore! There is a new and updated procedure that is easy to follow. The files linked to in this guide will be no longer available.
After spending most of the weekend reimplementing the init-script and cutting out everything that needed Archos binaries I spent this whole monday adapting the bitbake recipes and fixing minor bugs.
Ladies and Gentlemen! I present the public beta version of the openAOS Boot Menu for generation 7 hardware!
The openAOS Boot Menu now runs on 7th generation Archos devices!
As this is just a beta version (in the true meaning of this word!) some functionality around it is still missing. For now you have to set up most things yourself. For today just a short introduction (prerequisite is an Linux PC and an unpacked Archos Android firmware):
- Install the gen7 SDE on your device. Make sure Ångström boots.
-
Reboot your device while holding down the [VOL -] button.
- Press the [VOL -] button 5 times to reach the “Developer Edition Menu”. Then Press [Power]
- Press the [VOL -] button 2 times to reach the “Flash Kernel and Initramfs” entry. Then Press [Power] ONCE. Wait 2 seconds.
- The screen now should say “connect your device…” – Please do so and mount the device on your desktop PC.
- Download those four prepared files into the main directory of your device.
- Copy the previously unpacked androidroot.cramfs.secure and bitmapfs.cramfs.secure into the main directory of your device.
- Unmount the device safely. (Else you might damage the files!)
- Press the [Power] button – The screen will flash briefly and say “Kernel and initramfs updated”.
- Press the [Power] button – The device will now reboot.
- The Boot menu should now appear. Select Ångström or just wait 10s.
- Press Other then Root shell – a root terminal appears
-
Now execute the following commands (this should be easy if you have some previous shell experience). Be very careful while typing on the on-screen keyboard. If you have one attach an USB-keyboard or see update at the bottom!
tar -xvzf /mnt_data/ubitools.tar.gzchattr -c /mnt_data/androidroot.cramfs.securechattr -c /mnt_data/bitmapfs.cramfs.secure./ubidetach /dev/ubi_ctrl -m 5./ubiformat /dev/mtd5 -y./ubiattach /dev/ubi_ctrl -m 5 -d 0 -O 2048Make sure you get that right: …-d [ZERO] -[CAPITAL-O]…./ubimkvol /dev/ubi0 -N system -mmkdir /mnt/ubimount -t ubifs -o rw ubi0:system /mnt/ubicp /mnt_data/androidroot.cramfs.secure /mnt/ubi/cp /mnt_data/bitmapfs.cramfs.secure /mnt/ubi/
- Now reboot the unit and go back into recovery (see step 2, this time select “Access HDD using a PC“)
- Connect it to your Linux PC and fire up a partition manager
- Make sure you are editing the right drive!
- Create an new ext3 partition in the empty space at the end of the drive. Make sure it is created as type primary and is the second partition (e.g. /dev/sdc2)! The unit will not boot Android if the partition is e.g. sdc3 or sdc5!
- Now mount that partition and copy some of the remaining contents of the firmware onto it (lang*.alz and the upselling directory)
- Unmount the drive and reboot your Archos device.
- Congratulations you should now have an dual-booting gen7 device!
The final version will hopefully automate 99% of the above process. If you know some shell scripting and want to help. Please let me know. I won’t have much time over the next few weeks myself.
PS: I should have mentioned that you can of course also generate an script put it onto your device together with the other four files in step 3 and then run it instead of step 10. /bin/sh script
PPS: I’m working on an clean commit of the sources used to build the files. Please allow me a day or two as I currently have other priority tasks.
Tags: android, Ångström, avos, boot-menu, build, gen7, gpl, menu, multiboot, multiroot
Hello,
this howto works nearly perfect, until i create the second partition. After that i am getting nothing, except the openAOS Screen. I am really sure that i have done nothing wrong at creating the second partition. Any ideas?
Regards from Germany
I’m having the same problem with my 32GB Archos. After creating the partition and adding the files, it freezes on the openAOS logo. In fact, just making the partition causes it to freeze. Selecting “Reapir disk” or “Check disk” allows it to get to the boot menu, but Android does not boot and the new partition is deleted.
Did you manage to get it working, hotkey?
We just published some new instructions that should be easier to follow.
Boot-Menu setup for gen7
I have an Problem at Step 4:
I unpacked the archos5_firmware.aos (1.9.xx) with the aos-tools and got this massage
“WARNING: androidroot.cramfs.secure: Signature is invalid.
Extracted 134 blocks from /home/philipp/Dokumente/firmware_archos5.aos.”
but I cant find the extracted blocks.
Is there any other chance to get this two files, maybe a download?
Thanks for every answer.
please note that this is just a warning not an fatal error – this means that the unpacked files you are looking for are now in /home/philipp/Dokumente/firmware_archos5/root/cramfs/
I have the same problem! Please. I dont know how to extract or unpack the .aos file. all i need to finish my dual booting froyo archos 5IT 32G. are the cramfs, and system files/directories. what i really need is a download of them.
I’m stuck on step 14: I have no empty space left at the end of the drive (ARCHOS 32 GB ext 3)
what did I miss ?
thx for your help !!
Are you in the recovery menu (Developer…/Access Disk)? There should be about 200M or so of unused space at the end of the device behind the primary partition.
“15. Now mount that partition and copy some of the remaining contents of the firmware onto it (lang*.alz and the upselling directory)”
Could you please elaborate on this step? Do we copy only the files to the main directory of the partition or the folders to the main directory?
Just kinda confused on that step, only specific files or does it really matter if I just copy over all the folders?
Just as a side not when I boot into Android that screen just stays blank, I don’t know whether it is because I’m misunderstanding step 15 or if I have messed up along the way?
You copied over the two cramfs files into the ubi0:system partition?
As it says, the lang*.alz and the upselling directory go into the second partition.
It works very well ! Fine !
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Worked great for me!
Took me a little while to realize that I needed to extract the android and bitmap cramfs files from an Archos update file (.aos file). For others uninitiated in this community- you need to build the aos tools using these instructions: http://archos.g3nius.org/index.php?title=The_aos-tools_Toolchain
then use that to unpack from an Archos update package using
aos-unpack firmware_archos5.aos
Then retrieve the androidroot.cramfs.secure and bitmapfs.cramfs.secure mentioned in the tutorial from the resulting ./firmware_archos5/root/cramfs/ folder.
Tested. Works like a charm.
Very nice work. Hope helps come for an RC version
tested it out, lengthy process without a keyboard, but.. it works!
Thanks for the feedback!
Yes, for now it’s not very comfortable. I do have ideas how to automate most of it though, but Lack the time to implement it.
Wonderfull
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