#boottogecko

This is my Samsung Galaxy S II running my orange theme on BootToGecko.

BootToGecko is NOT CONSUMER READY!

It's a pre-pre-pre alpha system, much like the iPhone would've been back in 2003, when the definition of 'smartphone' was a PocketPC.

BootToGecko Features

Here's what it does do at the moment:

Make calls

Send texts

Browse the web

Install a selection of Mozilla Open WebApps

And now, what it DOESN'T do:

App notifications (e.g. Mail, Twitter)

Stay stable (occasional crashes send it into stock BootToGecko mode)

Play your music/video (SD card support is still being tested)

Build Environment Requirements

I'm currently using a Dell XPS 15 (L502X) which dual-boots Ubuntu 11.10 (x64) and Windows 7 (x64) and is, overall, a pretty sweet machine.

I'd suggest atleast 4GB RAM, plenty of storage space, and a strong internet connection.

The Steps I Took

If there's a problem in the steps (I might've forgotten something) or a step simply doesn't make sense, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP!

Install Ubuntu 64-bit I created an ext2 partition for the Ubuntu installation, and an 8GB swap partition as recommended. This isn't required, however, and you can simply install inside Windows for an easier process.

Boot into Ubuntu You won't be seeing Windows for some time, so say your goodbyes.

Install Mozilla's Build Environment packages Just copy these commands into a Terminal and press Enter. Press 'Y' when prompted and it should take care of the rest.

sudo apt-get build-dep firefox sudo apt-get install git mercurial libasound2-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libnotify-dev libxt-dev libiw-dev mesa-common-dev autoconf2.13 sudo apt-get install ia32-libs gcc-multilib g++-multilib bison flex gperf lib32z-dev lib32ncurses5-dev lib32ncursesw5-dev sudo apt-get install libidl-dev lib32gomp1 autoconf2.13 ccache libx11-dev lib32readline-gplv2-dev

Install OpenJDK

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

From the Software Centre, it's easy enough to find. I used version 6 rather than 7 since it's been around longer. Mozilla recommend 7, so you can use the above command to get that version, if you want.

Download Android SDK From the Android Developers' page, download the .tar.gz file, extract it, and copy the 'android-sdk-linux' folder to your /home directory (mine's called '/nikhil') I've never gotten the hang of adding PATH variables, but if you do, go right ahead and perform your ./bashrc magic. I have a workaround that'll be explained later.

Edit Android config files to allow your SGS II to interact with Ubuntu

sudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

This will open an empty file in Ubuntu's default text editor. Add the following line:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="04e8", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

Save and close the file. Now run the following command to make the file readable.

sudo chmod a+r /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

Install Heimdall Run the .deb file from https://github.com/downloads/Benjamin-Dobell/Heimdall/heimdall_1.3.1_amd64.deb It's a program that easily interfaces between Ubuntu and the Galaxy S II. It's a quick download from the website, and an easy install since it's a .deb file.

Backup your Galaxy S II My Galaxy S II has been rooted since day one, and it's time for you to do the same. ClockWorkMod's ROM Manager is a fantastic tool that eases the backup/restore process, and you should definitely get it. Once you have it, backup your phone using the CWM app from Google Play, or reboot into Recovery Mode and make a backup there. Then, mount the SGSII as a drive via USB and copy over all the files from your phone.

Install Git

sudo apt-get install git

Easy to find in the Ubuntu Software Centre, it's a one-click process to install.

Create a new 'BootToGecko' build folder This is where everything will be done. I put mine in '/nikhil/B2G' but anywhere is fine.

Install 'Open in Terminal' to drastically improve your productivity

sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal nautilus -q

This feature used to be present in older versions of Ubuntu, but seems to have been removed by default, for whatever reason. It lets you open the current folder in Terminal, saving you having to manually change directory by typing.

Change working directory to the BootToGecko directory Navigate to your BootToGecko folder, right click open space and select 'Open in Terminal'. This opens a command prompt and you enter all the subsequent commands here.

Use Git to 'Clone' the BootToGecko repository from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/andreasgal/B2G.git

This takes a few minutes, after which you can open the /BootToGecko folder and see it filled with stuff.

Use the 'make sync' command to actually build BootToGecko; this takes AGES!

make sync

TIME TO BREW A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE! From what I can tell, this command downloads the majority of BootToGecko files and then compiles them. My internet connection died a few times during this step; this meant I had to stop the command using CTRL+C and then run 'make sync' again. The good thing is, it only restarts the interrupted file, so you only lose a few hundred megabytes, tops.

Plug in the phone and run the Galaxy S II specific commands

export ANDROIDFS_DIR=sgs2-android make config-galaxy-s2

This pulls a lot of files from your phone, so that a suitable version of BootToGecko is built. I had a tough time with this step, since it didn't recognize my firmware version. Eventually, an Ubuntu restart and a phone restart solved the problem. If it still doesn't work, restore your phone to the original stock firmware and try again.

Build the kernel

make kernel

Takes a few minutes, just be patient.

Reboot the Galaxy S II into 'Download Mode'

adb reboot download

This gets the phone ready for any kernel changes. An android image should be displayed, along with some text saying 'Download Mode'.

Flash the BootToGecko kernel using Heimdall

heimdall flash --kernel boot/kernel-android-galaxy-s2/arch/arm/boot/zImage

A one-line command that should do all the work for you. Watch the phone display for a progressbar which should fill up quickly.

Reboot the Galaxy S II into 'Recovery Mode'

adb reboot recovery

This should reboot into ClockWorkMod, or the equivalent Recovery manager.

Build and flash the base OS

make gonk

'Gonk' is the codename for the base Operating System which BootToGecko is built upon. On top on Gonk is 'Gaia', the actual system that manages what you see on the display, such as the lock-screen/home-screens etc.

Finally, build and flash the rest of BootToGecko

make flash

Be patient, and make sure the phone is connected to the computer while this command runs. Once it finishes, it will automatically reboot the phone into Recovery mode and install the final bits of BootToGecko.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

adb commands don't work, 'adb could not be found' This is easily fixed. Go to the 'android-sdk-linux/platform-tools' folder and copy the 'adb' file. Paste it into the BootToGecko folder. Now, whenever you need to run an adb command, add a './' to the front. The './' denotes that adb is located in the current folder, and thus links to the file you just copied.

A '500 - Server error' page is displayed This means that BootToGecko cannot access the 'Gaia' interface, either on the phone or online. For me, this was due to an error while building BootToGecko's 'Gaia' front-end.

make install-gaia

This command re-builds and installs the Gaia interface. Read the output to see if any error has occurred. If there is an error, it means the command was unable to find 'adb'. Fix this problem by either adding adb to Ubuntu's PATH variables, or editing the 'Makefile' at '/B2G/gaia' and changing line 14 to:

ADB?=./adb

And copying the 'adb' file to the '/B2G/gaia' folder as well. This means Gaia will now build using the copy of adb stored in its own folder.

Final notes

Don't expect to use BootToGecko as an everyday OS. It's just an enthusiast's toy for now, but I'm expecting ridiculous amounts of development within the next 6 months.

Once the BootToGecko phones land in the market, expect high quality releases that will easily compete with Windows Phone, Android and iOS.