Posts Tagged ‘Ångström’

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Debugging Archos devices just got a lot easier.

Monday, July 12th, 2010

UPDATE:

This guide is outdated, please do not use it anymore! There is a new and updated procedure that is easy to follow and integrates g_serial debugging. The files linked to in this guide will be no longer available.

I’ve been talking about this idea for a while now, but today I finally had the right mood to work on it and I think I’ve found a sufficiently flexible solution for now.

I’m loading the kernel modules (musb_hdrc and g_serial) in the initramfs. Fortunately there was enough space left for that.

I’ve created 3 separate serial interfaces using g_serial.

  1. /dev/ttyGS0 – unused (root shell on Archos Android firmware)
  2. /dev/ttyGS1 – unused
  3. /dev/ttyGS2 – kernel messages. this is simply ‘cat /proc/kmsg’

You can now attach terminals or logs to this in your images. Usually by editing /etc/inittab and adding a line like:

s2:235:respawn:/sbin/mingetty --autologin root ttyGS0

If you need to disable this you can just kill the ‘cat’ process and if running stop the getty’s. After doing that you can remove the g_serial and then the musb_hdrc module. You can then e.g. reload musb_hdrc to have it act as a host controller again.

The important changes are in the initramfs. The zImage is only needed if you want the root shell for Android. Get the files here.

Enjoy your easy debugging! No need for serial dongles anymore!

Cheers

Thomas, your friendly neighborhood ArchDruid
PS: As a bonus this zImage will boot Archos 2.0.x firmwares. There will be some problems with transparencies though. We’re going to fix that in the long run though.

PPS: If there is demand I can generate a set for gen6 too.

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Posted in Ångström, ArchDruid, gen6, gen7 | 5 Comments »

Yet another ‘just for fun’ P.o.C. – Windows 95 on Gen6.

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Where/when will this madness end? — right here, right now… ;p

This was my final proof of concept attempt at a windows OS on the Archos 5.

I successfully managed to boot Windows 95 using dosbox, and an image file of win95.

Dosbox is a really hefty program on the A5imt (taking up over 70% cpu usage and over 40% ram), so this was a crawling process.  Im sure it would work better with other emulators, but none have yet to be successfully compiled for the A5IMT.  With that said, and keeping in spirit of the original hardware this was meant to run on — the load time is like watching paint dry.

Video: (8 minute long vid, so grab some coffee)

Process:

–Make directories “/dos/95″ on root of unit (mnt_data || rootfs_source)

–Copy image of win95 (in this case W95.IMG) to /dos/95

–Start up dosbox

Run the following commands in dosbox:

  • ver set 8.0 (must trick win95 into thinking ms-dos version is >=7.x.x)
  • mount c /rootfs_source/dos (setting up env.)
  • c:
  • imgmount e c:\95\W95.IMG -t hdd -fs fat (mounting boot image to fs – setting up parameters)
  • boot -l c (booting image off c:)

Then wait….

It will perform scandisk upon booting, let this run.

wait some more….

Ahh…  Success!

Touchscreen is nerfed, and the start menu doesn’t show, so good luck with that.  I haven’t tested out a mouse with it (nor will I) – only a keyboard, and that seems to have basic functionality (asides from the cursor keys not doing what they’re suppose to do), albeit extremely slow.

Have fun, and remember, this is for educational purposes only!!  >=]

~Spz0

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Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Proof of Concept:: Win3.1 running on Gen6 w/Angstrom + DosBox

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

After reading the post on a Gen7 booting win3.1, I thought I would give it a shot on a Gen6.

DosBox has serious RAM implications on Gen6 hardware, so I opted to install the windows files from my PC and transfer them over to the Archos 5 IMT.

The Result?

The process was very similar to the post listed below:

I installed DosBox on my PC.  copied the Win3.1 files from the ISO, ran DosBox and mounted the folder where the Win3.1 files reside.  I then created another folder called Windows, and mounted that to a separate drive letter in DosBox.  I then ran the setup, and went through the installation process, installing the OS to the “Windows” directory I created/mounted.

Once finished, I transferred the new “Windows” directory over to my unit,, booted up angstrom and ran DosBox.

I then mounted the “Windows” directory to “C:”, then cd’d into it and ran “win.com”.

Success.  :)

Cheers

~Spz0

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Posted in Ångström, gen6 | 8 Comments »

Engadget asked and someone delivered it seems… Win 3.1

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

When engadget reported about our adventures they jokingly said – but it doesn’t run windows 3.11 yet.

Well who knows if that inspired this guy or not, but sure there is now a report of Windows 3.1 running on an Android device.

Thanks to aDosBox this should be possible across Android devices – including the Archos5 IT. Didn’t expect it to happen that fast. I took a look at bochs but it wouldn’t compile for me. I ignored dosbox for some reason – which is also available for Ångström. Ok what’s next? Surprise me! OS/2? Or at least a video of someone running dosbox and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on an Archos5 IT?

bootnote: as stated on the adosbox page it currently does not run on devices without a keyboard. Plain dosbox under Ångström works just fine (cf. Spz0′s funny adventures on his A5).

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Posted in Ångström, ArchDruid, gen6, gen7 | 2 Comments »

Follow-up: New kbd layout for e17 wm (beta2 release)

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

As a follow-up post to the Demo build of Enlightenment 17, I have made a new keyboard layout specifically designed for the Archos 5/7’s screen resolution.  I have also addressed a few troubling issues in regards to the illume kbd itself.

List of improvements:

  • The dimensions are now 800×220 so there is more viewing area above the keyboard.
  • Decreased the size of the keys a touch (not a problem since the interpretive skills of illumes kbd are amazing), and increased the font size on the keys themselves
  • Moved the placement/size of the “popup” keys (when a key is initially pressed –the popup display that grows from the current key pressed) to compensate for the new container size.
  • Moved some bottom row buttons around to center the space-bar for easier use with both thumbs.
  • Removed the “Terminal” kbd layout, since it is no longer compatible with the new 800×220 container.
  • Added a keyboard icon to the top shelf (replacing the “qwerty” text).

Some Screenshots:

custom e17 kbd container (800×220)

e17 topshelf keyboard icon

Since I had to recode the illume bits to make changes to the top shelf and the letter sizing/placement, it is necessary to download the new beta version, as opposed to just releasing a .kbd file.  Props go out to raster from #e for some advice on edje  :)

You can download the image  >>>HERE<<<

**note:  I’ll be updating the parent post with the new beta2 build as well.

Note::

[ If you wish to run this along side your current build, rename image to "illume.img" and make the appropriate entry in "menu.lst" Otherwise just overwrite your "rootfs.img" and your good to go.]

As always, input and suggestions are welcome.

~Cheers

Spz0


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Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

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