Tim,
See inline comments:
On Thu, 4 Aug 2011 11:36:48 -0700, Tim Bird wrote:
On 08/04/2011 10:59 AM, Philip Rhoades wrote:
I didn't really get an answer to my question though - I HAVE this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPed
and I want to update IT . . but I never got any responses about how
I
might go about it . . is it actually possible? I have installed
lots of
Linuxes onto bare metal desktops and laptops etc so I presumed it
was a
similar exercise with a tablet? (as long as a compatible system can
be
booted from a USB stick?).
I don't know anything about that device. The likelihood that this
will
be bootable from a USB is very low. ARM devices have no standard
BIOS
which is the same from one device to another.
Roger's info (in another thread) suggests that it is not worth the
effort to try to upgrade the OS.
Here are some things, IMHO, to look for:
* a special boot sequence that allows you to enter "fastboot" mode
If the board supports fastboot, then you are in great shape, and
can start modifying the software
* a boot mode that allows you to install upgrades (either from
internal flash or from USB)
I will try booting with various switch presses etc.
For either of these, you will either need to experiment with the
system, or get information from the product vendor or a community
of people working on it. If you can't find a community of people
working on it, you're on your own.
The company doesn't exist any more and it was probably too
insignificant for a user group (that speaks English at least).
Failing either of the above easy solutions, you need to find a way
to jailbreak the device. Since this is a low-budget tablet,
I doubt the vendors have put much effort into preventing
jailbreaking,
but you will still have to figure out how to do it. I would
recommend
looking at techniques for jailbreaking devices that have been
employed
for other devices. Usually, finding where you can connect to a
serial
port on the hardware is the first step. Unfortunately, many devices
don't even have serial port hardware any more.
OK, I don't know anything about jail breaking but I would have a look
around.
Does the device run adbd?
Don't know . .
Can you access the filesystem
as root? Can you 'su root' if you get a shell on the device?
No - there is nothing resembling a console login.
If
any of these are true, you may be able to get enough access to the
filesystem to rewrite the partitions and install new software.
Obviously
this must be done carefully.
Of course but looks like it is not possible anyway. Although as a bit
of gamble initially and the thing not much besides being a digital alarm
clock, I am happy to try any experiments really.
Thanks!
Phil.
--
Philip Rhoades
GPO Box 3411
Sydney NSW 2001
Australia
E-mail: p...@pricom.com.au
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