yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
[location of the boot image named boot.img] means the full path to the boot.img file, at the root of where pmOS_boot is mounted. This step would be better done in a terminal or command prompt. Since I haven't known about what operating system you use, I'll give you some examples of what I mean (these are not going to be what you'll actually use):

Windows example: E:\boot.img

Various Linux examples: /media/ubuntu/pmOS_boot/boot.img, /run/media/ubuntu/pmOS_boot/boot.img
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
Thank you very much, I have managed to install linux on the Iconia A500, but when I start it asks for a username and password, what should I put as username and password???
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
The original image (this one is based off the one for Raspberry Pi computers) should've prompted you to set your keyboard configuration, time zone, and then to create a new account, where you will enter a username and password of your own. Did that screen even show up? You may have to start over with reflashing the image if you forgot the username and password you entered earlier from that screen.
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
Sorry for so many inconveniences, I did the whole procedure again and when I start this screen appears, what happened. Please
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
It seems that either the microSD card you used is not inserted, or it's not flashed properly. You need to like, start over the whole flashing process, and make sure you're using an appropriate program for this. After that, insert the microSD card that you used. It is possible to install the OS onto the internal storage, but I encourage using microSD cards to make things less tedious. Have you inserted your microSD card back in yet? If successful, you should eventually be brought to a screen for setup, starting with choosing the system language.
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
Thanks, if I did the whole procedure again, I get to the language setup screen but when it starts with the keyboard setup the setup program gives an error and exits. Then as it starts and it asks for username and password and I put the ones that I configure and it gives me a password error. I am done. Sorry for the question the image file will not be corrupted and something????
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
Hello, these are the errors that it gives me during the configuration, again I apologize for so many inconveniences, thank you.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
You have to redownload the image from the original location, and maybe you'll have to use a different microSD card. You can use any 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB microSD card. The pmOS_root partition can be resized to take up any remaining space.

I looked at all three of the errors, and the first one I cannot read, because it's in Spanish. I'm sorry about all of the troubles you're running into; I hope you won't give me a bad impression if I try my best and still cannot help you in the end.
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
The error says: "Sorry the installer crashed, after closing this window you will be able to file a bug report using the built in bug reporting tool.

This will collect information about the system and the installation process. Details will be sent to our bug tracker and a developer will address the issue as soon as possible".

Thank you very much for everything you have done, I will keep trying. Hoping that maybe later you'll get another distribution
[Acer Iconia A500] Zarosky:
tengo el mismo problema, probe con dos microsd distintas y nada
[Acer Iconia A500] mariohce:
You too, we'll have to wait for the author to compile another image and then test it. I don't know if he will since he posted a message that the theme will be discontinued. A pity because the tablet still gives to use it some more time.

Tu también, tendremos que esperar que el autor compile otra imágen y luego probarla. No se si él lo hará ya que posteo un mensaje que el tema será discontinuado. Una pena porque la tablet todavía da para usarla algún tiempo más.
[Acer Iconia A500] supergonzo74:
Hi 38BC,

don't want to hijack this thread but I tried above procedure on Acer A700:

As documentation around the web is really sparse can you outline the process of enlarging boot partition LNX (on A700 also corresponding to /dev/block/mmcblk0p2) with the help of nvflash? This might be useful for A500 users as well.

Also until now I was unable to change partition labels with tune2fs - don't recall exact error msg at the moment - could you eventually post your command? UDA on A700 corresponds to /dev/block/mmcblk0p10.

Fastboot flashing bootimage via 'fastboot flash boot boot.img' (as there's no secboot partition on that evice) device is un-bootable afterwards and also 'fastboot boot boot.img' transfers the image but bootloader remains stuck in '...booting downloaded image...' not moving any further.

Plz note that I don't habe Skrilax_CZs bootloader but stock acer JB-653b3d3 bootloader in unlock mode.

Any help highly appreciated or should I bury my plans of getting the Arch Linux Image running in my hardware

Best Regards,

supergonzo74
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
That's a different tablet model compared to what the OS images are intended for. It may have some minor but significant differences that instructions won't work 1:1 for. BTW, can you tell me what makes the A700 different from the A500. Those differences can mean that OS images built for the A500 won't work for the A700 without rebuilding them. Since this is also likely one of those devices that doesn't have NEON support, I stopped most of my development work for them. I wish I could push back against planned obsolescence from most hardware manufacturers, but they way more power than I as an individual will ever have. Even if you could get an OS image running for your tablet, the performance won't be as good as the more recent ones. I feel that you'll have to get some newer hardware in order to achieve what you want.

You use the command e2label if you want to change the name of any ext[2-4] partition.
[Acer Iconia A500] supergonzo74:
I also refuse to accept all these devices going to the trashcan after a lifespan of only some years just because some folks wanting to maximize profits. According to my research the A700 is based in Tegra 3 architecture that should have full NEON support in place ...so I suggested giving it a try. Is NEON support still compiled-in in your images kernels so that it could just be enabled by config directives or would I have to compile anyways in order to utilize it?

Is my understanding correct that boot and root partitions get identified solely by their labels and beging unable to boot my image is probably just the consequence of me being unable to set these?
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
Is this still a working way to get linux on the A500 using the given compiled image or am I just spinning my wheels? I have read all the posts and tried not enabling wifi, etc, but the setup always crashes. I eventually get to a point where it has a login screen but the username and password I set earlier does not work. I tried hitting CTRL F4 as suggested but it does not default to a command prompt. Is there a default username and password that will work?
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
This works as it gets you logged in, but to add a user you have to be root and there is no default root password so you cant add yourself. My attempts seem to have installed everything as it works even though the installer crashes, but it never saves the username and password you create so you cant gain control of the system. I know very little about linux in general....so there is that. LOL.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
You also have to be holding ALT, so it should be CTRL + ALT + F[1-6] to get you to a virtual terminal, or F[3-6] if the desktop environment is GNOME. The Ubuntu MATE image doesn't supply a default username and password. You might also want to check your microSD card to make sure it's not a counterfeit advertising more storage than it actually has. Once their storage gets full, they may overwrite other files. A tool like F3 or h2testw can check for this.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
In that case, it isn't as bad as I thought. OS images and kernels would still need to be recompiled for the A700, however, since it's entirely different hardware from the A500. I think it is the labels that they are identified by, not like their UUIDs; I haven't messed with this stuff because I know that on mobile devices not focused on working with real Linux distros it may be more dangerous in case something goes wrong, at least requiring some other tool to recover. This is one reason why I'm enthusiastic about devices like Purism's Librem 5 and Pine64's PinePhone (Pro), as they are designed to work with Linux distros out-of-the-box.
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
I had figured out the CTRL ALT F4 and got a terminal window and was able to log in with "oem, oem" but that account doesn't let you create a user. It says you must have root. The setup crashed doesn't seem to actually create a user account as it has never allowed me to log in with anything I put into the fields. The underlying system seems to be working fine, but with no way to log in and take control. I did try another microSD card. Same result. The first one I used was a 64gb so it should have had plenty of room. Is there a way to bypass the setup and create everything via command line?

Just to be sure I did things right, I used BalenaEtcher to flash the provided image to a microSD which created 2 partitions. I brought that into a LiveUSB linux session and copied the boot.img file directly from the first partition and flashed it onto the tablet using fastboot. Then I booted using the secondary partition. Did I miss any step that could be my issue?
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
I think you should be able to use CTRL + ALT + T during the setup screen to access a GUI terminal. Yes, you did flash the OS image correctly.

Yes, it is possible to create a user account without the need to going into the setup screen, but this requires another computer and any Linux distro, container (including WSL on Windows), or VM. This may be a complex procedure, but I'll try to get it to you:

Mount the root partition, the 2nd one on the microSD card.

chroot /[location of the mounted partition]

, which gets you a root terminal running from this partition.

adduser [follow on-screen prompts]

gpasswd -a [the username you chose] sudo

Repeat this command for the following groups, replacing 'sudo' with each group name:

adm

cdrom

dialout

disk

dip

lpadmin

plugdev

sambashare

You can do anything else you wish, and it's possible to get an internet connection from here, but this would make the instructions longer. When you're done, hit CTRL + D or type the command 'exit'. You'll be returned to the terminal on the host OS.

Unmount or eject the microSD card so it can be put back into your tablet.
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
EDIT: So I have been following the white rabbit on this. I setup all the things that the installer would have done then rebooted to the installer and got to almost the end where it hung. The system now boots into the desktop, but my wifi is gone completely now. I assume the needed files are present on the system, but I cant figure out how to access them. The lspci command comes back with "cannot open /proc/bus/pci" "lspci: cannot find any working access method. Seems strange as I had just set it up before rebooting and almost completing the installer again. Now the installer does not show up anymore, but WIFI is non-existant.

==========================================================================================

Tried puppy linux but it didnt support gpasswd. Go figure. LOL. I then used KALI and completed the adding of my username. I rebooted and did a CTRL+ALT+T as the installer still errored out. I then figured out that my username was present with password but was not in any useful groups. I was able to add it to the groups you showed using the oem account after doing a sudo su. Then I did a startx and got the desktop to come up. Then I got connected to wifi. My only issue now, I think, is that it keeps taking me to the installer whenever it boots up. How can I cancel out the installer and have it just bring up the desktop? Also, I noted I cant hook up a powered hub to use both a keyboard and mouse. When I do the power goes out on the hub and the only time I tried it froze the system. Is that normal?
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
Most ARM devices lack PCI or PCIE components, though a growing amount of them are including PCIE. This tablet, thought it has a mini PCIE slot is present only on models with cellular data access, doesn't have it. The Wi-Fi card is attached through SDIO, basically presenting itself like a SD card, but without storage. 'lspci' won't work on systems like this.

The firmware files are located like this: /lib/firmware/[kernel version]/brcm/

Sorry, I wrote my advice on a standard Ubuntu 22.04 installation, and it may be possible that more minimalist Linux distros not include certain commands. If 'gpasswd' is not present, 'usermod' should work instead. It's syntax is different, so run it like this:

usermod -aG adm,disk,dialout,cdrom,sudo,dip,plugdev,lpadmin,sambashare [your username]

You should be able to use powered USB hubs normally. If something like that happens, it's likely a hardware failure or a power surge that happened.

The installer comes as a package, so it can be removed. This command may work, but I haven't tested it yet:

apt-get remove ubiquity*
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
I appreciate your time and help. I tested the remove of ubiquity and it did remove some stuff although more stuff seemed to not be installed already. But it still boots right back to the installer "system configuration" start window that I have tested opening a terminal from at different sections of the installer. The only time I got the installer to not come back up on reboot was when the wifi was gone. My whole aim in this is to see how this device would function as an octoprint server since it has the full USB A connection which makes it perfect to connect to a 3d printer. Octo4a wouldnt work on it as android but that could just be android. Anyway, the fight moves on. Is there an easy way to get the wifi back working if I get to that point again?
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
Thanks, I like helping other people with computer stuff. Is the WI-Fi card soft-blocked or hard-blocked, which will determine how to turn it back on? Or is it that the missing firmware files keep the card off the whole time?

Alternatively, I could sell you my A500 tablet if you really want to get one working for use as an OctoPrint server as you intended on doing. However, there exist other single-board computers that could serve the same-purpose that may fit your needs better.
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
EDIT: Right after i posted this I got it to finish the setup error process and tried to send it but got a no network error. I figured it would just go to the desktop with no wifi, but the wifi was there. Then I restarted to check to see if it would go back to setup and it didnt, but no wifi. Then I did a hard shutdown, booted back up and wifi is on and it is showing icons for the partitions which it has never done before and is showing my usernames home folder. It also is showing that a new version of Ubuntu is available and would I like to upgrade. Is upgrading advisable or not? There is also a red circle with a minus sign talking about Error: BrokenCount > 0 and unmet dependencies. Have I made it to the land of "working"?!

I actually have a Stream 8 tablet loaded with linux and it is more powerful than the A500, but I have an A500 so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try it. When the wifi was gone it didn't show the icon in the top right corner and I couldnt find anywhere in the settings to turn it on. I'm not even close to proficient in Linux so I poked around using different commands to try to see if it was detected. I currently have it working, but it boots into the setup each time. So I guess it is "soft blocked"? A smart person would just install octoprint and see how or if it works, but I'm kind of obsessive with getting the thing in a stable rebooting pattern before testing what I really want. LOL. Another strange thing is that after a shutdown it always comes up with "cant find boot partition". Then if you restart it again....it comes up. I guess that is why its called the secondary boot partition....because it takes 2 times to work. Da dum dum ching....LOL.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
When you are able to reach the login screen, that means that you have completed the setup process, and hence your system is ready to use and now in a working state. Yes, there is a new Ubuntu LTS version 22.04 out, but I currently suggest not upgrading for this tablet for now. However, there are certainly system updates that should be installed, especially if they include security updates.
[Acer Iconia A500] emailcraigs:
OK, I am up and working. Got Octoprint installed. But I cant get the system to create /dev/ttyusb0. My 3d printer is recognized as being present as QinHeng Electronics HL-340 USB-Serial Adapter but it wont create the ttyUSB for it. I've read stuff about Ubuntu Kernel having left out some stuff for this and having to rebuild a kernel, but I have no idea how that happens. LOL. Could that be an issue with the kernel used for this image? dmesg -w shows "new full-speed USB device number 5 using ci_hdrc" when I plug and unplug, but then never creates the ttyusb0. My Stream 8 runs xUbuntu and it works on that one so I think it just seems like I'm missing something. Something I hope I can install because building a kernel might be out of my depth.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
I think I ran into that same problem before, but this problem isn't limited to this tablet. At this point, the problems you're having are becoming less and less relevant, but I'm glad you could eventually repurpose your A500 tablet again. Alternatively, it may be a problem with the 3D printer controller board, but it can be worked around by using a (micro)SD card. Though that will defeat the purpose of using OctoPrint.
[Acer Iconia A500] I_did_it_just_tmrrow:
I own a Acer Iconia Tab A100. I think it has the same CPU and board but a bigger rom/ram.

Should it be possible to flash the prebuild pmOS mate images?
[Acer Iconia A500] chrisdroid33:
Hi @Worldblender and folks,

I also own an A500 and would like to install linux on it.

I have downloaded your image Ubuntu20.04 but it looks like I'm not flashing the SD correctly.

The .xz file contains an .img file with which contain 3 files:

0.img

1.img

2

I uncompressed the .xz file and then flashed the SD (64GB) with the .img using Rufus on windows.  I entered the boot loader « teamwin TWRP v 2.8.8.0.0 »

Power Menu / Fastboot -> it reboots and boots to the installed Android

So I flashed the SD again with balena etcher on macOS using the img.xz file directly, with the same result.

I don’t know how to check if I have 2 partitions as windows nor macOS can see the SD contents once flashed

What utility do you use for flashing ?

Is there any additional setting to be made on the boot loader? Is my version of TWRP v 2.8.8.0.0 good enough ?

Thank you for your help.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
No, because unless they have the exact same hardware inside, then builds made for one device won't work for another, unless the image in question is a generic image.

You don't use TWRP for these images. You need the Skrilax custom bootloader (it loads up before you would load TWRP) flashed, which the procedure for is more complicated with. However, the boot.img explained below can be flashed in place of a recovery, but you will not be able to manage your Android system if this is done until you replace it with your recovery.

To check the disk layout, for your case on Windows, Disk Manager via Computer Management will let you see the partition layout of all of your disks. There should be only two partitions, one holding the boot files, and another containing the OS itself. The first partition contains a boot.img that which needs to be flashed onto one of the internal storage partitions (primary, secondary, or recovery - I prefer the secondary). Fastboot can help you with this. Let me know if something needs more explanation.
[Acer Iconia A500] chrisdroid33:
Thank you for you feedback.

If I understand correctly I need skrilaxCZ/A500_bootloader (https://github.com/SkrilaxCZ/a500_bootmenu) . I don't seem to have found instructions on how to install it. Can you share details on how to install it?

So boot on skrilax , then I need to flash boot.img from the sd card using skilax (?) to the internal storage (so I lose android: I will need to recover again with the android image if I want to restore it)

On next reboot will I need a bootloader or will simply boot on the internal storage with ubuntu ?

Sorry if I probably have misunderstood some steps.
[Acer Iconia A500] Worldblender:
Yes, you need that particular bootloader for the most optimal experience. After installation, you will not lose access to your Android system, since you will have access to a secondary boot partition where the boot image for booting Linux distros will be flashed to.

Here are the instructions from https://xdaforums.com/t/a500-in-2020-root-bootloader-custom-rom-links-working.4039271/, copied here for your convenience:

1. BOOTLOADER

Before you start unlocking the bootloader , you will need to get your CPU ID which we later convert to SBK needed for flashing the bootloader.

I have managed to obtain CPU ID number by the following steps :

Install File Manager+ on A500 (or any other file manager) ; link to File Manager+ : play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alphainventor.filemanager&hl=en

Make sure you have ticked to see hidden items in settings

Go to : System /sys/firmware/fuse/acer_cpuid and open as text with HTML Viewer (best option)

OR

With File Manager+ navigate to System /mnt/external_sd/dmesg.txt

Long press on the dmesg.txt file and share it / send it to yourself via mail

Open the file on your PC and CTRL + F (find) the word "androidboot.serialno" , that is your CPU ID.

That 15char number is your CPU ID (example : 37c7084407fb2d7) which you can convert to SBK number with SBCalc.

You should get something like this at the end : 0x16796E00 0x88991201 0x67D0F603 0xC2DD2003

Sometimes there might be a 0 infront of your CPU ID , just delete it.

Note : Copying my CPU ID / SBK will not work , every tablet has It's own unique one.

SBCalc : https://dropbox.com/s/g4ay6hfvym1jxwy/SBCalc.zip?dl=0 thanks to Vache

originaly from this thread : https://www.xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1810618

Now when you extracted and got your CPU ID and SBK , we can start with flashing the bootloader.

Nvflash tool : https://dropbox.com/s/jecamd2w91nx3k7/A500-Bootloader-Nvflash.zip?dl=0 thanks to KaijiKun

Extract everything to a new folder on your desktop

Replace the recovery image(recovery.img) inside the nvflash folder with this one : https://dropbox.com/s/0gd9jhi8ufzhpbc/update-recovery-TWRP-rev2.0-beta4.zip?dl=0

Inside the folder you will see a HowTo text file , open it and just follow the instructions.

After you ran A501 A.bat , power off your tablet , and go to recovery mode - Volume down + power button then release power button after 3 seconds while still holding volume down. If it doesn't go directly to recovery menu by TWRP , select "BOOT RECOVERY" from the green menu

Follow the instructions from HowTo.txt to wipe the system

Power off your tablet , unplug the USB cable and put it in APX mode again. When in APX mode, reconnect the USB cable

Run A501 B.bat and enter your SBK again

When everything is completed both when runing A and B bat file you should get "PASS" written on your screen , dont mind if you get any small red text below that.