On 01/28/2011 01:20 PM, Earlence wrote:
> so what exactly is used and how do i get its code?
Arun is wrong. See my answers below.
> On Jan 28, 8:24�am, "Arun K. Singh" <arun...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It has to be u-boot or a proprietary enhancement of same at best...
>> implementing a proprietary boot loader for Linux doesn't make much
>> sense ...
>>
>> Best Regards,
>> Arun K. Singhwww.crazydaks.com
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 12:38 PM, Earlence <earlencefe...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 1. What bootloader is used for the Linux kernel on android phones?
The bootloader for all Android phones that
I know of are proprietary, and are developed by the respective
phone manufacturer (or chip vendor)
.
>>> 2. where can I get its source code?
I don't think you can.
>>> 3. Is it vendor specific and closed source?
Yes, see above.
>>> 4. If so, how do these guys on XDA manage to replace it with another
>>> bootloader?
I'm not sure that they do. The bootloaders in the Android phones
I've worked with support booting from one of 2 flash partitions
('boot' or 'recovery').
I believe (but I'm not sure) that the XDA guys utilize the recovery
partition to install a secondary bootloader (or linux image) to provide
features for this systems (like backups, upgrades, re-flashing, etc.)
What is in the recovery partition normally is a special program
(not Linux or Android) that allows for reflashing. Many people
don't understand that this is a separate program from the first-stage
bootloader.
You might want to ask the XDA guys for more information about what
they did.
>>> 5. Keeping the above point in mind, is it possible to use an open
>>> source bootloader like LK or UBoot on an unlocked device?
I don't know. It depends on how the device is unlocked.
If the phone manufacturer put the initial bootloader in ROM,
then no. Also, some vendors utilize signing, making
changing the bootloader very difficult.
-- Tim
=============================
Tim Bird
Architecture Group Chair, CE Linux Forum
Senior Staff Engineer, Sony Network Entertainment
=============================
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