yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Acer Iconia A500] blackthund3r:
lol it's funny I was just thinking through how I could dual boot two versions of Android because I actually want to do the same thing (CM9 and CM10).

I guess there's three ways of doing it, all of which would require ROM modifications (theoretically trivial ones but modifications at the very least):

1) Repartition the tablet. Whilst doing so I would think the best option would be to have partition scheme as follows:

BCT (3M)

PT (4K)

EBT (4M)

GP1 (1M)

SOS (5M)

LNX (8M)

APP - Current System Partition - Shrink 600M down to about 400M (CyanogenMod builds are pretty small. 300M each would probably do it)

CAC (Current Cache) - Currently 1224M which is huge. 700M here would suffice

MSC (4M)

FLX (400M) - Neither CM ROM uses FLX. Instead, we can use it for the second system! That way we have mmcblk0p3 for system #1 and mmcblk0p6 for system #2

AKB (8M) - Used to be 10M but since it's being used for a second kernel it may as well be the same size!

UDA (Fill rest of tablet) - with these settings there will actually be more user data space (around 500 ~600 MB more!) due to a smaller cache. HOWEVER, the cache will have to be divided inside the OS so one uses /cache as normal (therefore no hacks) and the other uses /cache/system2

2) place the new system in chroot

Since the system partition is probably big enough for two CM ROMs, you can place CM9 in /system and CM10 in /system/CM10 and chroot to that folder at kernel level. Once inside the chroot, the kernel initrd would need to mount the rest of the partitions accordingly (ie cache and data). All cache data for CM10 (ie OS #2) would have to go in /cache/system2 (you can just mount cache /CAC then ln -s /CAC/system2 /cache)

3) Install the system to a MicroSD card

This is being done with Linux at the moment, but why not? Format a MicroSD to ext4 and push the system files there (or partition it. Set it up so all system files are in mmcblk1p1 like for Linux then the user can just reformat that partition to change to Linux). Then set the initrd to set mmcblk1p1 (ie first partition of the MicroSD) to the root partition, don't mount mmcblk0p3 and mount everything else as normal. All cache data for CM10 (ie OS #2) would have to go in /cache/system2 (you can just mount cache /CAC then ln -s /CAC/system2 /cache)

HOWEVER

Some versions of Android may not be directly compatible with one another. We'd have to ensure that the dalvik-cache is kept in cache and not the main data folder or there will be issues. If the data causes issues then those ROMs would have an issue. I'm sure you could dual boot waydownsouth's CM9 and the unmentionable CM9 without a hitch.

Just my two pence on the issue. So to answer the question: YES it can be done BUT nobody has a proper method for doing it yet. But it would be awesome :D
[Acer Iconia A500] RebelebeR:
Wow... I guess I am spoiled a bit by my dual boot and more if I want on my pc. It's pretty easy and painless. I appreciate the thought you gave to my question, and the time you took to answer it, but maybe I will wait to try it until someone makes a way to do it a little easier or until I get bored out of my skull and decide to attack it. :) Maybe I am trying to advance a little too soon since it took a lot of searching to find a comfortable way to install the boot loader + recovery + cm10, about 6 hours actually. I didn't expect it to be as hard to figure out as it was since I rooted, installed fff, twrp, and jandycane on my kindle fire in less than an hour, but I had a blast figuring it all out. Thanks again for your response.
[Acer Iconia A500] Raptor.X:
Okay. Here's what I did. I did not try to see if Acer Recovery Installer sees CWM, but I attempted to reboot into CWM. And I still had the Thor CWM from the patched ICS bootloader. :)

So I wiped everything and reinstalled the Evil Alex ROM successfully. I'm not planning on restoring my backup anymore, I prefer going on a fresh install and just restore my apps and their data with Titanium Backup now.

Nevertheless, I won't try it again since everyone's confirming that it shouldn't have worked this way. ;)
[Acer Iconia A500] blackthund3r:
Ha you're very welcome. I'm glad I finally got to think it through to be honest. As soon as I get access to a laptop again (parental confiscation; long off-topic story) I'll take a look. I definitely can't be bothered to repartition right now but working with the initialisation scripts shouldn't be too bad to see of I can relocate a ROM to /system/system2
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
Oh, that's awesome m8:thumbup::thumbup: yup, clean install is the way to go and TB restore....

and u still have the unlocked BL or did u have to flash that again?

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:27 PM ----------

Wow, I didn't think it could be done m8....I have a couple of weeks free b4 I start a new job....I couldn't think of a better way to spend it, lol

****MOD EDIT****
[Acer Iconia A500] Moscow Desire:
Ok Guys, you were correct. Waaaayyyyy off topic.

In the interest of better "house-keeping", I'll clean the thread a little ;)

No Offense ;) We all enjoy a little drama... however....

Blackthund3r, if you are going to try and "dual boot" 2 different roms, you might want to create a new thread on that issue if you're going to go that way. This thread is for the bootloader itself with functionality and issues. Might be better to create a different thread for ..... additional features ;)

MD
[Acer Iconia A500] blackthund3r:
Ha had fun there MD? ;P and dw good idea on your part x)

And I'll do that once I have something to release. It's a waste of development forum front page space to have "something might be here one day" thread imho. Still, ROM dual booting would be VERY cool haha
[Acer Iconia A500] Moscow Desire:
Theoretically, I believe it can be accomplished. 1. Bootloader has to know this. 2. Partition of internal memory (see bootloader). 3. Perhaps kernel, maybe not. 4. CWM will have to be modified as well to take into consideration 2 partitions.

So, when you get something in order, start a new thread. Personally, I think it's a great idea. Would save having to restore a previous backup every time you test a rom.

Start a new thread please, when you get something. ;)

MD
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
no offense taken....humble apologies MD!!!!:angel:
[Acer Iconia A500] Vintage144:
somehow while in the bootloader , my secondary kernal is corrupted , the primary hold my tegraowners JB rom , can I just format that kernal or what do I need to do to get it back to where it needs to be ,the only thing I tried to do was dual boot?
[Acer Iconia A500] blackthund3r:
If you don't need the dual boot (ie you only need the JB ROM kernel installed) you can leave a corrupted second kernel in place - no problem. Under ICS+ the second kernel partition isn't needed at all by the tablet so it's safe to ignore it and just use the main kernel :)
[Acer Iconia A500] v1perfan:
Updating the Bootloader from v3 to v8

Hi All,

So I FINALLY managed to get my bootloader updated so I could install a new rom. When I did the update it was v3. I see there's a v8 bootloader to which I would like to update. Is there an easy way to do this task?

I've searched the forums, but I can't find anything that talks about updating the bootloader - all of the articles I've seen deal with installing it. Any advice or links would be appreciated.

Thanks!
[Acer Iconia A500] ziggy34:
Just install like you did v3, if you have v4 or above, you can flash newer boot loaders from recovery.
[Acer Iconia A500] v1perfan:
Thanks....the problem is the file names are different, so I'm unsure if I need to rename or not.

In the v3 archive, I have file names such as bootloader.bin, ics_boot_unlk.bin, recovery_thor17_403.img. In the archive I downloaded for v8 (a500_a501_bootloaders_apx_ics_v8_blue.zip) I have bootloader_v8_blue.blob, bootloader_v8_blue.bin and bootloader_apx.bin.

I followed this guide (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1522384) and used the files in the archive "nvflash-A500-ICSbootloader-V3-Custom-CWM-installation.zip" to do the first round. How do I proceed from here?

Thanks.
[Acer Iconia A500] yaworski:
The blob file is for updating from fastboot/recovery. You need to flash bootloader_v8_blue.bin (there is also green version available, it's the background's color in boot menu). You need to do exactly the same thing as you did to install v3 but replace bootloader.bin with bootloader_apx.bin and ics_boot_unlk.bin with bootloader_v8_blue.bin in command line. You can skip recovery install part and do that later from fastboot if you want.
[Acer Iconia A500] v1perfan:
Awesome. Thanks! That worked like a charm. Now I know for the future. Thanks so much!
[Acer Iconia A500] warfenix:
Thank you civato you the man!
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
In this case I'm only the messenger , the people making this possible are the man.!!
[Acer Iconia A500] sincerity:
okay im thoroughly confused....I am running Taboonay 3.0.1 right now....I want to flash flexreaper and update to ics bootloader. I am confused bc I see guides if you are on the leaked ICS but I don't think I am right? I think I am still on HC bootloader.

Help please!

Thanks!
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
You don't need ICS bootloader to run FLEXREAPER-R12.5 , but I do recommend it.

FLEXREAPER got auto detection for what booloader you got , so it installs the correct kernel.
[Acer Iconia A500] sincerity:
okay...so if I want to upgrade....to avoid the aforementioned issues.....?

Thanks!
[Acer Iconia A500] blacwin22:
What exactly are the advantages to upgrading from the HC bootloader? I'm trying to weigh the balance since I only run flex reaper and don't need the bl to run it, kinda the same dilemma I have with doing that stupid "wire trick" to s-off my rezound when everything is fine without s-off
[Acer Iconia A500] Skrilax_CZ:
Main advantage is that you no longer have to worry about ending up in unrecoverable state, such as when on HC bootloader you corrupt both boot / recovery partitions (such as not running itsmagic etc.) - you can recover with fastboot easily.
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
Can only confirm this as I flashed and kinda bricked my tablet twice today (testing this rom I made for easy installing the ICS bootloader) but was able to recover it with fastboot.
[Acer Iconia A500] Euclid's Brother:
I agree. Now that ICS is out, I think it's time to leave HC behind. I've been using the leaked version of ICS for weeks (months?) and have been very happy with it. Personally, I don't see much of a need for HC anymore. And with the new bootloader, like Skrilax and civato said, It's SUPER easy to recovery from a general uh oh.
[Acer Iconia A500] gotroot801:
I flashed this using civato's guide, and now I can't load any ROM whatsoever. I've flashed several through CWM (which does boot), but every one I've flashed hangs at the bootloader screen without proceeding to boot a kernel. Thoughts?
[Acer Iconia A500] Euclid's Brother:
You'll need to flash the ICS kernel for whichever ROM your trying to load. Civato has his in his OP. The bootloader detection in his rom may not work with this bootloader. IIRC, it looks specifically for the 0.03.11-ICS version.
[Acer Iconia A500] gotroot801:
That did it. I'm guessing that installing Flexreaper added something that was missing from CM9, since I was able to get CM9 working again by flashing that over Flexreaper. Strange, but whatever works...

Next issue: I can't seem to get fastboot on OSX or Linux to see the tablet when the bootloader is in fastboot mode. Both work with my Galaxy Nexus. I'd like to be able to get another recovery installed other than CWM - I'd been using RA before this, then TWRP, but neither load through Acer Recovery Installer, so that only leaves fastboot as an option.

Edit: OK, so it would appear that TWRP and presumably RA don't work with the new bootloader. Still bugs me that "fastboot devices" turns up nothing, though...
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
Problem solved in R13.
[Acer Iconia A500] BakaNeko59:
Okay - I hope I'm not the only one ignorant of this. Everyone mentions the fastboot capability of this bootloader and how it is now impossible to brick the device. But no one has explained exactly how fastboot is used in the real world. Do you have to be running ADB on the PC, or some other app? Having the command list is great, but how do you use it? Any real examples of how to unbrick, for instance?

Thanks,
[Acer Iconia A500] Skrilax_CZ:
Added small info to first post. Fastboot is part of Android SDK, just like ADB. To unbrick (assuming both recovery / kernel screwed up), flash recovery with fastboot, then back backup using the recovery.
[Acer Iconia A500] gotroot801:
Of course, Windows works.

Any a500 owners with Linux have better luck?
[Acer Iconia A500] Maldune:
I still have problems getting this bootloader to be recognized in Windows. Perhaps I need an other fastboot build than I'm currently using, I don't know I'm not much of a Windows person.

I couldn't get fastboot to connect on Linux until I tried a newer binary which was shared here.

As a test I've now rebuild fastboot on my own Linux desktop, but I can't try that version until later when I'm home.
[Acer Iconia A500] veer01_42:
Could you do a small writeup on how to go about using fastboot....? im fricking clueless sorry to say :(
[Acer Iconia A500] Maldune:
Here is a good place to start
[Acer Iconia A500] gotroot801:
This link yielded a working fastboot binary for Linux. Now if only there was something to do with this tablet in fastboot mode other than brick and unbrick my tablet...

Thanks for the help, Maldune.
[Acer Iconia A500] Skrilax_CZ:
The only think I can imagine is that you used old APX bootloader, which corrupts AKB partition holding the secondary kernel image (nullifies the checksum).
[Acer Iconia A500] jurassic98:
Need Help. Nexus stuck on bootloop. Bootloader Locked. Can turn USB Debugger mode

Help! My Galaxy Nexus sudden going through BootLoop (at Google logo).

I have new born baby photos and video that I need to pull them out to my PC.

This is original phone so I bootloader is still LOCKED.

I can not unlock bootloader because it will wipe all my photos.

Please help.

Here is what I have done..

1) Install the drivers (both for fastboot and ADB):

2) Download ClockworkMod 5.5.0.2 for Galaxy Nexus *GSM Edition* to C:\Android and rename it to recovery.img:

3) Download and extract the Android SDK so that I have fastboot.exe and adb.exe to C:\Android:

4) Open a command prompt in C:\Android

5) Turn off your phone and reboot into fastboot mode (vol up + vol down + power) and plug into PC

6) Type: fastboot boot recovery.img

Obviouly .. it complain that

c:\Android>fastboot boot recovery.img

downloading 'boot.img'...

OKAY [ 0.680s]

booting...

FAILED (remote: Bootloader Locked - Use "fastboot oem unlock" to Unlock)

finished. total time: 0.690s

c:\Android>

So my bootloader is LOCKED ..what do I do? I do not want to unlock since it will wipe/lose all my photos/video.

Also, I can get turn on Android Debugger Mode on my Nexus because it is doing the bootloop. Therefore my pc won't regnize adb driver nor adb.exe will not works due to bootloop at Google Logo.

ALSO, I cleared my cashe from recovery mode & then selection,

wipe cache partition

Still same issue.

Yes ... I can get to bootloader and download mode. (combination vol+, vol- + power).

HELP ME..!

Thank you

:rolleyes:
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
Would love to help but you'll have more luck and success posting in

the nexus forums ;) as far as the acer tab is concerned flashing the BL

Will not wipe yr stuff but getting the bootloop fixed might.

Good luck!!
[Acer Iconia A500] Moscow Desire:
Well for starters, this is the a500 forum, so being unfamiliar with your device, it might be unwise to give advice. You are best to post in the Nexus forum.

However, I don't think that doing an fastboot OEM Unlock will wipe your userdata or data/media partitions. At least it didn't on my iconia a701. Everything was still there, just got a small red warning that "warranty blah blah blah..."

At least with Fastboot OEM unlock you might have a small chance to flash a kernel.img and hope that's the issue. Or you could erase cache. Maybe even fastboot a system.img (if you can get one from somebody). But other than that, well..... Fastboot isn't designed to "pull" data like ADB.

But being in a bootloop with no USB Debugging, well, it don't look good mate.

Wish I had better news.

MD
[Acer Iconia A500] Skrilax_CZ:
Whether fastboot oem unlock wipes data / cache is up to the phone manufacturer, usually it's done so any DRM protected content is wiped.
[Acer Iconia A500] mixednuts:
V8 Bootloader - stock Acer logo (black & white) 1280x800...

Hi all - been using Skrilax's v8 bootloader, with this custom logo, and been meaning to post it for quite some time. My small contribution, I guess.

For those interested, the link below is a 1280 x 800 PNG with a black background and white stock Acer logo (you'll have to look in the initial OP post for Skrilax's bootlogo change tool):

download: stock_logo_bw_1280_800.jpg

For those too lazy to figure out the tool you can download a BIN of Skrilax's V8 bootloader, with the logo modification depicted above, already done by me - bootloader_v8_bw_stock_logo.bin (link not working for now)

OR

[new, 09/24/2012] a custom recovery flashable ZIP - download: a500_cwm_update_v8_bw_stock_logo.zip

(Felt compelled to add the ZIP since civato posted ZIPs - thanks alot civato :) )
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
Custom V8 bootloaders

Installation:

Flash with CWM (custom recovery) , this only works if you are on V5 or higher. People on V4 and lower can't use this.

More to come.

See attachments

Scare-REFLEXX

You don't want RE-FLEXxx name

Hardrock-Reflexx

SkullClown
[Acer Iconia A500] mixednuts:
Hilarious! Couldn't stop laughing when I saw it - good job!!
[Acer Iconia A500] awakennow2001:
amazing, everytime i think of upgrading my tablet u come out with something amazing!!!!!! Thank you for your this :laugh::laugh::laugh:
[Acer Iconia A500] mamumami:
hi, i rooted a501 using timmydean v4 (file was called "HC_RollbackRom_3.2.1_Gen2_tdV4.7z"), which came with cwm recovery, and afterwards i installed this Patched ICS bootloader V8 using cwm v5, but when i go into recovery now, screen stays at booting recovery kernel image, acer recovery installer says now my bootloader version is : 0.03.14-MUL. before it was 3.0.1. do i have a patched recovery if not, what should i do now to get patched ics recovery? help?
[Acer Iconia A500] Vintage144:
@skrillax No I didnt , it was working fine , I tried to set the second as the primary and then it corrupted , I suppose I could format now (I havent yet) , the primary works good and the BL seems to work fine I havent had any other problems having the changed the kernal a few times testing , and the rom from ics to jb , everything works good , orginally the keranl gave lots of sod but thats differetn issue , would it matter to format the secondary and how would I be able to get it back?
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
u must use nvflash to flash the bl and install a custom recovery for the first time....use any one of the method's - civs manual nvflash or apxflash tool...if u have probs re-run tdv4
[Acer Iconia A500] Vintage144:
when I reboot into the bootloader it now goes into fastboot only , before it would show a list of options , I have recovery still (which is good) but the BL only boots to the primary unless I specify booting into the bl and then its fb only?
[Acer Iconia A500] Moscow Desire:
It sounds like you are on an earlier version of the unlocked bootloader. Like version 4 or something.

The menu system didn't get implemented till version 6.

MD
[Acer Iconia A500] mixednuts:
Are you using the reboot menu within the ROM to reboot into the bootloader? Try it manually (with device off, power button + volume up).
[Acer Iconia A500] Skrilax_CZ:
I suppose you're not on V5 (dualboot w/o bootmenu). Rebooting to bootloader from Android (i.e with "reboot bootloader" or from the GUI menu) will go into fastboot. (The bootloader recognizes a message to reboot into bootmenu, but kernel has to be patched accordingly to parse it.)

To get the bootmenu, hold power + volume up.

If someone wants to patch the behaviour, patch the kernel and add an option to reboot bootmenu (for instance in here: https://github.com/ezterry/AcerTabKernel/blob/master/kernel/sys.c#L365 (yeah, Acer crapness, it's ofc not supposed to be in THAT file ... yo why they make reboot notifiers to just look pretty :angel: ), add an option to write "BootmenuMode" into the message. For GUI the framework_base needs to be patched via overlay to include the bootmenu option as well (it's present & translated in CM).
[Acer Iconia A500] Vintage144:
It was doing it originally , I had the full menu , recently it stopped , even if I manually reboot ,I get a green screen that just has one command which is fast boot (not directly into fastboot, if just lists fastboot) , i must have doen something else , I tried formatting the second partition when it stopped and said it was corrupted , but I still had the bl options available and although the rom works fine and recovery is fine this puzzles me!

Not trying to start something ,but I like to give what I can to the devs ,just in case theyve never seen a particular action before! Thanks all for the help!
[Acer Iconia A500] Moscow Desire:
Hey mate. No problem. Sometimes strange things happen.

MD
[Acer Iconia A500] civato:
V8 JellyBean (flash with CWM , only V5 or higher)
[Acer Iconia A500] Zatta:
That is the firstbest one i have seen, thanks for this one too!

Taptalked u see .. əəs n pəʞlɐʇdɐʇ
[Acer Iconia A500] mixednuts:
You've got the Jelly Bean fever!!
[Acer Iconia A500] demmo81:
i do everything here as u said but when its trying to go to download mode bootloader nothing happen on the screen at all :(

although it go to APX mode :(

help please
[Acer Iconia A500] Diablo67:
I'm having a heck of a time installing a custom ICS bootloader,i used the APX flash tool,followed all the directions,it goes into APX mode and says its flashing the bundle,then it says all done and when i try to boot into recovery it goes to my home screen on my rom instead,so i installed the latest TWRP recovery,using the Acer Recovery installer and it worked,but i still cant get the bootloader to install,im on 3.0 GB bootloader and i used Iconiaroot app to root it about a year ago,heck i might not be rooted,im still confused how this works,even when following directions,i dev for the HTC EVO,but damn this Iconia is a bugger to figure out.Hahahaha.Thanks for your help.

EDIT:I figured it out,AfterOTA worked for me,i guess it just takes a little hit and miss to get this thing to work,hahaha.
[Acer Iconia A500] mixednuts:
Yeah, the locked boot loader, and the different versions, make the Iconia a little tricky. But, what's with the bold?? :D
[Acer Iconia A500] dibb_nz:
GB 3.0 wow!!!

The normal procedure after flashing the bootloader/recovery pkg is to boot straight to recovery and flash yr chosed ics/JB rom

afterOTA is for when you've OTA'ed to ICS - i'm sure gersma will be surprised to learn it works from 3.0!!! Anyway you got working so thats the main thing -

oh one other thing if you want to go back to GB/HC and you have the MUL 3.14 or stock ICS bootloaders you have to downgrade or rollback using an EUU - you can't just "flash" a rom via recovery to revert...other than that happy tabbing!!!

PS Guard that cpuid/sbk with your life!!!!!!!