Getting Started With Android Illuminate

Linux Box Solutions Blog - Android Articles

LAST UPDATE: 6/22/2011

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. By running this firmware mod, you agree that there is the possibility that you may brick your device and neither Linux Box Solutions, Inc. nor Viewsonic are responsible for supporting you if that occurs. In this case, it is required that you learn and setup nvflash prior to running this mod.

What this is

This is a Android 3.0 Honeycomb Based ROM which requires the 1.2 Bootloader to be NVFlashed to your Tablet before loading this ROM. This will flash your boot.img, recovery, bootloader and system, so be aware of this. You are also REQUIRED to wipe your user data after you flash to this ROM, so please BACKUP ALL DATA before attempting this.

This ROM is running the Clemsyn 1.2 Based Android Honeycomb Kernel.

Recommended Pre-requisites

Have your device on a stock 1.2-based ROM / mod baseline. For example, build 4349 is the latest 1.2-based stock ROM, as of this writing. Details on how to return to a stock 1.2-based ROM are here:http://linuxboxsolution.com/c../icetab/article/linux-box-solutions-nvflash-gtablet

Other 1.2-based ROMs should also work safely (ie. Century Eyes, Mountain Laurel, Brilliant Corners, Bottle of Smoke). A 1.1-based source is more risky (see below).

Installation of Android Illuminate

- Just drop the Update.zip and the Recovery folder in to the Root of your internal SD Card.

- Reboot into recovery mode by holding the power button and the Volume + button at the same time until Android Stock Recovery or ClockWorkMod Recovery loads.

- (Android Standard Recovery) Use the Volume +/- buttons to move up and down the menu to pick your Selection which will be apply update.zip from Internal SDCard, and press the power button to apply the update. Once update finished device will reboot automatically. (ClockWorkMOD Recovery) Use the Volume +/- buttons to move up and down the menu to pick your Selection which will be apply update.zip from Internal SDCard, and press the Home button to apply the update. Once the update completes you will be lead back to the main menu of ClockWorkMod which you will select Reboot Device and hit the home key to reboot.

- The device should take some time to initialize (ten to fifteen minutes, so be patient), then will boot into the GUI. If it gets stuck (and it likely will if you came from a different ROM and did not do a factory reset before loading this ROM), reboot into recovery one more time and wipe data / factory reset and reboot. If using Alpha 1.4 or below I would NOT recommend setting up any Wifi at the initial setup screen, wait until after the setup before doing that (some users, myself included, have had issues doing this at the initial setup screen so I would skip it).

This ROM still has not been tested for mounting to a PC via USB but once this ROM has been flashed to your device this can be done in the ClockWorkMod Recovery.

Btw, as long as you stay on the 1.2 dev branch, you can add 4349 stock or any other 1.2 based ROM in there and use cwm to install, without risk of brickage. Remember to do a wipe data/factory reset or you will most likely have problem when switching to a different ROM!

Installation for 1.1-based stock/mod users (ie. TNT Lite 4, VEGAN-Tab, G-Harmony, Calkulin's ROM etc.)

- Ensure that your device is running build 3588 standard recovery. This is a requirement to minimize the risk of a soft-brick - I cannot stress this enough! gADAM 1.3.0+ and TNT Lite 4.3.0+ have a Recovery Pack built-in to allow you to easily add standard recovery, if you are using clockworkmod. Do NOT use clockworkmod to flash up to a 1.2-based ROM or you WILL soft-brick your device. For other 1.1-based mods, you can install the 3588 Recovery Pack or flash 3588 standard recovery via an update.zip file. Or, flash to 3588 stock (with stock recovery) for the safest baseline.

I want to stress this, as this is important - BE VERY CAREFUL on a 1.1 source. If you flash with clockworkmod from a 1.1 ROM to a 1.2 ROM like Android Illuminate, YOU WILL SOFT-BRICK your tablet 100% of the time. If you are not sure if your device has 3588 stock recovery, don't take the risk -- flash to 3588 stock before you attempt this mod!

Other than these caveats, the installation is the same as 1.2 users, above.

Backout

This is a 1.2-based mod and I would recommend that you backout to the latest stock ROM (4349, as of this writing). Please see this post on instructions on how to flash to a stock 1.2-based ROM: http://linuxboxsolution.com/c../icetab/article/linux-box-solutions-nvflash-gtablet
If you want to backout to a 1.1-based ROM or mod, you MUST have a standard 1.2-based recovery (like 3991 or 4349). Since this ROM installs a 1.2-friendly clockworkmod, then you need to remove it - see the "Recovery Pack" section on how to backout to standard recovery. Again, running stock 4349 is your best best to get to a "gateway" 1.2 ROM before you jump back to a 1.1 ROM/mod.

Once a standard 1.2-based recovery is confirmed installed, you can use any of the following ROM's to backout to a "legacy" 1.1-based firmware: 3588 stock, TNT Lite 4.3.0+ or gADAM 1.3.0+. You would just use the standard instructions for these (ie. add the update.zip and recovery folders to the root of your drive, and reboot into recovery). Other 1.1-based ROM's may not work (ie. VEGAn or any of the GB ROMs), so PLEASE tread carefully here!

I have tested all of these scenarios and the backout does work, most of the time. However, as always, there is a risk here so I would HIGHLY recommend that you setup and master nvflash BEFORE you attempt backing out. That's just in case the backout fails and you need an emergency procedure to unbrick your device.

NOTE FOR TNT LITE 4.3.0+ / gADAM 1.3.0+ -- recovery will be broken, after the downgrade. In this case, just run their Recovery Pack and you can fix it (see the TNT Lite first post on XDA, for details).

Also see gojimi's post on backing out from a 1.2-based ROM to a 1.1-based ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1036956

1.2-Based Recovery Pack

I have left Roebeets back out pack where he had included part of the 4349 recovery pack in the ROM in case you need to backout to standard recovery. To do this, either use adb or a Terminal Emulator, then type "su" and then this:

fixrecovery.sh

(this adds back standard recovery)

He restricted it to only the standard recovery portion, to minimize disk space usage.

Video Preview Will Be Posted Once Finished being Uploaded.

NVFlash 1.2 Flash Pack Will be Uploaded Soon? (This will come with a Linux and Windows based NVFlash that provides a way to make custom boot Images to Remove the Viewsonic Birds. Will include a tutorial on how to customize this image to what ever you want before flashing.)

Coming Soon: NVFlash 1.2 on Windows and Linux with Step by Step Installation of 1.2 Based ROM.

DOWNLOAD LINKS

Android Illuminate Alpha 2.0 Download Link: http://linuxboxsolution.com/...downloads/linux-box-solutions-android-downloads/Android-Illuminate-Alpha-2.0/ (LBS 1.8 Honeycomb Kernel, USB Mass Storage, Further Video Playback Improvements)
Android Illuminate Alpha 1.6 Download Link: http://linuxboxsolution.com/...downloads/illuminateA1.6 (Further Performance Enhancements, Initial Boot More Stable, Pulled Boot Animation for Stock HC Boot Animation, Vital Player Added for some HD Playback from SDCard, Quickoffice HD Introduced Polaris Office Pulled, Wifi Stable, Accessibility Enabled and Working, 2nd Calendar Removed)
Android Illuminate Alpha 1.5 Download Link: Zipped Link: http://linuxboxsolution.com/...downloads/illuminateA1.5 (Wifi Fixes & Initial Boot More Stable)
Android Illuminate Alpha 1.4 Download Link: hhttp://linuxboxsolution.com/...downloads/illuminateA1.4 (Wifi Configuration Changes)
Android Illuminate Alpha 1.3 Download Link: http://linuxboxsolution.com/...downloads/illuminateA1.3 (First Release)

Features: as of Illuminate Alpha 2.0

*Features upto Bottle of Smoke 3.3 are the same*

New Features:

-New Linux Box Solution 1.8 Honeycomb Kernel (Overclockable to 1.4Ghz)
-USB Mass Storage
-Wifi Connectivity Stable
-Hardware Acceleration
-Improved Audio Playback
-Improved Video Playback
-Overall Performance Improved
-Some HD Playback with Vitalplayer
-Accessibility Features Enabled and Working
-OpenGl enabled by Default and working Properly
-Basic Google Apps Reinstalled
-Es File Explorer Default File Manager now as it allows for Root Access to the file system
-Clemsyn Kernel (Overclocked upto 1400ghz with CPU Master) 6/22/11 Removed to Introduce Linux Box Solution 1.8 Honeycomb Kernel
-Tethering Enabled (Wifi Hotspot Turns Wifi Off & Trying to figure out a way to keep the both enabled if possible! Have not tried Bluetooth Tethering or USB Tethering!)

NOTICE: Flash still not currently Working please see the third Reply to this thread to view what has been said about Adobe Flash as of late. Also working with a couple inside guys specializing in Tegra 2 devices to see if we can get proper HD drivers & Codecs ported to Honeycomb properly for the Gtablet. Come to find out the Flash not working is NOT an OpenGL issue or a Stock Browser Issue it is strictly because Flash 10.3 for android does not support Honeycomb yet, and will not be supported until Google Releases Honeycomb Source Code.