Linux on 7" mini netbook ARM-VT8500 ?

[shade_emry]

OK everyone, i have been following this thread with great intrest, and i've decided to divulge how to unbrick the semi-bricked machines, below is the instructions...

NOTE:: this will recover the netbooks that have no boot screen what so ever, apprently the wat the arm processor is set up, their is a built in pieace of code that always cehcks the sd card for boot, so if your gona create a boot device, u need to look at the script as it tells the arm processor how to behave since it lacks a "bios" or like what we are used to.

you can download the program and update it. the netbook will work. This is the update program link:
http://zeng.h1.28823.cn/VT8505Software.rar
http://zeng.h1.28823.cn/VT8500Software.rar

Please make sure if your netbook CPU is the version of WM8505 or VT8500.
If your CPU is WM8505, Please download the http://zeng.h1.28823.cn/VT8505Software.rar

if your CPU is VT8500. Please download the http://zeng.h1.28823.cn/VT8500Software.rar

If you are not sure. You can download VT8505Software.rar . if the software update failed , you can download other software to try.

After you get the software, you need to find a SD card （memory card or USB memory ）which is more then 512M to copy the software to setup the software.
Please do as follows:
1. Please decompressing files , open the VT8500 or VT8505 folder. Then copy the directory “script” to your SD card.
(Very important, you only need copy the script folder to your SD card. don't include the VT8500 or VT8505 folder.)
2. Turn off your netbook,
3. Insert the SD card to your netbook.
4. Turn on your netbook. Then the software will setup to your netbook Automatically. Usually it will take several minutes completed setup.
5. After completed setup. It will show a windows call your turn off the netbook. Then turn off it.
6. Put the SD card out of the netbook.
7. Then turn on the netbook and all should be OK.


I hope this helps, now remember if you wan to do a "u-Disc boot" the arm processor is set up to look (or in most cases) to the back of the notebook for a boot device.

Now if someone could be nice enough to copy these files somewhere, like megaupload or rapid share, that would be amazing, i got the feeling these programs will not be at the said links for to long.

Also, you can modify the script to install almost any flavor of linux or android that is compatible with ARM processor tech. i don't know exactly how this is done, but my buddy is buying these laptops off of ebay, loading them with the said os'es and selling them locally, ill ask him if he can divulge how he does it.

[celem]

...i've decided to divulge how to unbrick the semi-bricked machines...

Thank you for offering to help. In my case, it does not work. Your VT8500 script appears to be identical to that of Dr Navi and behaves the same, namely, the "script" reloads wince but when I boot everything looks good until the final icon is painted on the desktop, then the screen goes blank and the system remains on. Thus your provided script isn't compatible with benigntech's model number BV07-8500 hardware that dwinston91 and I have. The VT8505 script will not load. Nonetheless, thank you for posting it. Maybe your buddy has an inside track to the files for a BV07-8500 hardware machine?

...remember if you wan to do a "u-Disc boot" the arm processor is set up to look (or in most cases) to the back of the notebook for a boot device..

Are you saying that if I insert into the USB slot located on the rear of the machine a bootable ARM Linux on a USB-Flash stick, that it will boot?

...Also, you can modify the script to install almost any flavor of linux or android that is compatible with ARM processor tech. i don't know exactly how this is done, but my buddy is buying these laptops off of ebay, loading them with the said os'es and selling them locally, ill ask him if he can divulge how he does it.

Now we would all LOVE it if you can pass that information along. Anything would be helpful.

Thank you for jumping into this discussion.

[celem]

I will be away for 2+ weeks, starting tomorrow morning, so don't think that my lack of response is a lack of interest. I'll catch up when I return.

celem

[shade_emry]

Well looks like i learned how to flash these netbooks.

It also looks like as shown here, that the script allows writting to the nand directly as shown below..so this is extracted from file scriptcmd from the files posted in the above post, keep in mind this executed on my netbook that was completley bricked, so the netbook indeffinetly looks to the sd card before anything boots. the scriptcmd file can be opened with notepad or nano, whatever your prefrence is.

in this case mmc 0, is the sd card .

textout 60 250 "2. Upgrading normal mode ..." ffff00
fatload mmc 0 FFFF8 script/normal_nk.nb0
nand writeblob FFFF8 0 ${filesize}
textout 60 280 "......Upgrade normal mode successful!" 00ff00

if we note, it allows a direct write to the nand...

So taken this all in effect, we have learned how to write to the nand and flash it now, we learned what boot device is first in line. now come creating an android .bin or .nb0 . Seeing that android or even a small handfull of linux distros are out that are coded around the arm processor, we can take these apart and learn how their created. now, anyone know any good links or do i need to learn some more chinese

[shade_emry]

I would assume so, just got off the phone with my buddy, apprently theirs another file availble that he'll have to dig up for your board, sorry about notposting tha one, i'll have him find it if he can.

as for the usb, try makeing a bootable sd card, he said something about that as well.

[shade_emry]

celem try double flashing it, i had to do that to get it to work, install it, then do it again, then allow it to boot up put the memory card in it and it should ask if you want to format the flash dsk. the flash disk being the netboks disk. after that reboot and all should be normal. if not, then we can always hope my bud finds that other file.

[celem]

..try double flashing it... then allow it to boot up put the memory card in it and it should ask if you want to format the flash dsk. the flash disk being the netboks disk. after that reboot and all should be normal....

No joy! I did the script load twice, each indicating successful loads, then rebooted with the SD card in a third time but canceled the file load, then rebooted. Same as before. I feel that the load works correctly and my problem is simply hardware incompatibility. I have no sound and something is different in the screen blanking. The SMART BOOK logo when booting is also different - the original load displayed, as I recall, a Windows screen but no brand name - I assume that SMART BOOK is some sort of brand name.

[xaviergo]

Just for your information, on the msdn you can find some information on how to build a windows ce environnement from scratch. Choosing the right processor, etc... But I think that some stuff are brand specific.

As far as I am concerned, I have an ARM920 processor, so I don't think the script file will help. The via is a 400 MHz one while the ARM920 is at 266 Mhz.

What I found interresting is the "ARM info center" website. There is stuff about the "ARM Firmware Suite", I wonder if the program that asks me to press F1 is part of this software suite.

I will be able to give you the password when I get an aswer from the chinese compagny.

[celem]

...this is extracted from file scriptcmd from the files posted in the above post,...

The scriptcmd file contains some binary data at the start. I am unable to open with a text editor. I can open it with OpenOffice but the saved file will not boot the machine, so OpenOffice altered it in some incompatible way.

I noticed that there was a setenv command after the binary data and wondered if it was needed but not being executed because a new-line didn't preceed it. So, I used a hex-editor and changed the binary 01 preceeding the setenv to a 0A. The boot was no longer recognized, thus the binary data is important. shade_emry, did you successfully edit the scriptcmd file? If so, how did you deal with the leading binary data?

'##V{w��J��S###
########�_L�####Script Created by Win32#################setenv lcdparam 1,30000,5,800,480,48,40,40,3,29,13,1,D8110004|0x40 00000,D8110024|0x4000000,D8110044|0x4000000,D81100 3c|0x2,D811005c&~0x2
setenv board_name VT8500_PuZhi
setenv TouchIC 0
setenv NoBootProgressBar 0
setenv NoBootInformation 0
setenv battvoltlist 6774,6889,7377,7498,7538,7599,7650,7698,7763,7821, 7939
...

[shade_emry]

the screen blinking or blanking is a symptom i had, i fixed it by unplugging the lcd cable to the main board and back in, the no sound i beleve looks to be a problem with the driver that was included with this program, and the smartbook logo is something im unsure about, anyway, ill see if i can talk jacob to posting here, he did something with the script file and built a bianry image containing android more info later!