[Motorola Droid 4] greekchampion04:
How to install ubuntu on the Droid 4

Note to mods: this thread is a branch off of this thread

Huge thanks to zacthespack for creating the ubuntu installer app and original boot script and to zeroktal for modifying the script to work on the D4 and helping me get it working on my device.

I decided to take my experience in setting this up and put it into a how-to so that others could enjoy the experience of having ubuntu on the Droid 4. If zackthespac or zeroktal have any problems with me making and putting this guide up, please let me know and I will remove it.

Knowledge Required:

working knowledge of command line

working knowledge of vi

OR the ability to learn how to use both

Tools Required:

A rooted Motorola Droid 4

BusyBox (Android Market)

Terminal Emulator (Android Market)

Android VNC Viewer (Android Market)

Ubuntu Installer App (Android Market)

zeroktal's ubuntud4.zip file (attached to this post and mediafire)

Vi Cheat Sheet (lagmonster.org)

Step by Step:

Install BusyBox, Terminal, and Android VNC Viewer

Install and run Ubunutu Installer App

Follow the on-screen instructions and click next

Download either the Small or Large image to your phone, (use zeroktal's ubuntud4.zip file instead of the boot script provided in the guide) after the image downloads (will take a while because the file is HUGE) click next

For this screen, the instructions differ from the app.

1. With your D4 plugged into your PC in USB Mass Storage, create a directory (folder) called ubuntu in the EXTERNAL sdcard's root*

2. Extract the image you downloaded to that directory

3. Download and extract the attached .sh (ununtud4.zip) to that directory

4. Disconnect your phone from your PC

5. Open terminal and run the following commands:

su [ENTER]

mount -o remount,rw,exec,suid /dev/block/vold/179:1 /mnt/sdcard-ext [ENTER]

cd /mnt/sdcard-ext/ubuntu [ENTER]

sh ubuntud4.sh [ENTER]

960x540 [ENTER]**
​

If you get an error message: ubuntud4.sh: 45: syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting "then") see troubleshooting section below.​

killall -TERM Xtightvnc [ENTER]

vncserver :1 -geometry 960x540 [ENTER]**
​

6. Open androidVNC app and enter the following settings:

Nickname: Anything you want

Password: ubuntu

Address: localhost

Port: 5901

Color Format: 24-bit color (4 bpp)

7. Hit connect

8. Hit your menu soft button and then set input mode to touchpad

9. You have ubuntu on your Droid 4!

To "shut down" ubuntu:

press the menu button, select disconnect in VNC

In terminal type this command 3 times (terminal will close itself when you are done):

exit [ENTER]

To "start up" ubuntu again:

Follow steps 5-8 above

Troubleshooting:

If you get the error message: ubuntud4.sh: 45: syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting "then") you are about to have fun with vi at the command line.

Do the following from inside terminal:

su [ENTER]

cd /mnt/sdcard-ext/ubuntu [ENTER]

vi ubuntud4.sh [ENTER]
​

If you see ^M or ^ at the end of any line (remember to scroll all the way to the right to see the end of long lines) remove it. once you do that, everything should work just fine. (See the Vi Cheat Sheet above for help with Vi)

Note: Vol Up + E is [ESC] by default in this terminal emulator

Notes:

* It does not have to be on the external SD, but if you put it on the internal SD you will have to modify things as needed-- if you dont know what needs to be changed, just put it on the external SD.

** Screen size can be whatever you want it to be, but 960x540 is the size of the D4 screen.

*** This is a fairly involved process... especially when it comes to editing the .sh file in vi things can get very frustrating and hard, but just take your time and you will get it. As always, doing anything with root access on your phone, especially on the command line has risks. I am not responsible if anything goes wrong with your phone... proceed at your own risk!