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Installation Guide
Installation of the XDAndroid project releases is fairly simple. This short, concise guide will outline what must be done to boot into an XDAndroid system on your device.
Contents
Downloading and Unpacking
Download an XDAndroid project release from the files repository (North American Mirror). The latest release is Version 2.2.2 FRX07 and may be downloaded directly from here.
The XDAndroid project releases are typically packed as Zip files. Zip and most other archives may be unpacked by the 7-Zip program.
XDAndroid currently requires a MicroSD card for use. This SD card needs to be inserted into your phone and must remain in the phone while XDAndroid is running. It should be formatted (Full Format) FAT32. The card should also be at least 1 Gigabyte.
Create a directory in the root of the MicroSD card (ie, X:\ on Windows, where X is the card reader's drive letter) named andboot. Unpack the entire XDAndroid release package into this directory.
It is recommended that you update the various components of XDAndroid with incremental updates. Please see Incremental Updates for information on updating those pieces.
An introduction-setup guide for Android on SD is available on the forums, note that this guide was designed for the Touch Pro 2 (RHOD), however, as XDAndroid spans across multiple devices, build-wise, it is quite universal. Make sure you stick to your devices specific section, if in need of help, run a search to see if anyone else has had your problem (which is very likely), otherwise, post in the appropriate thread in your device's category.
Configuring XDAndroid
The XDAndroid release package is unified. This means the project can release a single package which supports all of the devices capable of running the system. As a consequence, the user must do some minor configuration to tell the system which device it will be running on.
This configuration is done within a startup.txt file in the andboot directory. For convenience, a variety of startup.txt files have been provided in the STARTUP CONFIG directory under the andboot directory. The appropriate startup.txt may be copied into the andboot directory. In STARTUP CONFIG is a directory for each supported device. See the table below to find which directory serves certain devices.
| Directory | Devices |
|---|---|
| RAPH | GSM Touch Pro |
| RAPH800 | CDMA Touch Pro |
| FUZE | AT&T Fuze (GSM Touch Pro) |
| DIAMOND | GSM Touch Diamond |
| DIAM500 | CDMA Touch Diamond |
| BLACKSTONE | Touch HD |
| TOPAZ | GSM Touch Diamond2 |
| RHODIUM | GSM Touch Pro2 |
| TILT2 | AT&T Tilt2 (GSM Touch Pro2) |
Once the proper startup.txt is in place, the system may be booted.
Booting the System
Currently, the XDAndroid system must be booted while running Windows Mobile, using HaRET in a manner similar to loadlin. That is, it is not currently possible to boot XDAndroid immediately from the BIOS (à la GRUB or LILO). This is because XDAndroid is not currently able to properly initialize all of the hardware devices, and depends on Windows Mobile to do so.[1]
For this guide it is assumed that the XDAndroid base files within the andboot directory. Please note that you will need to add "rel_path=andboot" to your startup.txt (not including the quotes).
Using the Windows Mobile File Manager (or your preferred alternative), navigate to your MicroSD card and into the andboot directory.
Run the program haret in the andboot directory. This will load the Linux kernel into your device's memory and begin executing it. This will cause Windows Mobile to shut down immediately and ungracefully (though due to the TFAT filesystem on the device's storage, there should be no worry of data loss).
During boot, you should see console text scroll along the screen. This text is white on a black background and is part of the normal boot process.
The first boot into XDAndroid will take some time. The device must do a number of things: create a data filesystem where apps and settings are stored; unpack the current kernel's modules; calibrate the screen; and set up and execute the Android system.
The screen calibration is a rudimentary five-point location check very similar to what Windows Mobile does on first boot of a newly installed ROM. The program will prompt the user to tap each consecutive box in the center, firmly and shortly. After this calibration is complete, the system will begin running Android.
Once the system begins to run Android itself, you will see a boot animation instead of the old console text. At this point, the first boot of Android must do quite a bit of work to install and optimize packages, configure default settings, and provision the device for the user. Overall first boot time will likely be up to 5 or 10 minutes.
Initial Android Setup
After all the waiting, the system will present a setup wizard. This will guide the user through the needed configuration for Android services and programs, as well as provide a simple tutorial for using the screen and keyboard. Follow the prompts as needed to set up your system, activate (or deactivate, if desired) location-based services, and optionally add a Google account for Market and Sync usage.
After finishing the wizard process, your XDAndroid system is fully configured and ready to use. Congratulations!
