Monday, September 2, 2013

Linux on Android Installation Notes

Recently when I was browsing google play, I found this app " Complete Linux Installer". Never did I expect it is so easy to install Linux system on Android phones. Just tested Ubuntu 10.10 on my old Android phone (lenovo lephone p700), and it works! Although the screen size is very small and the control is awkward, an almost fully functional Linux distribution was installed on the phone. And now I can use FireFox to browse the web, GIMP to draw and Emacs to edit texts, really cool!

Here are some notes for installing Linux on android phone (make sure your phone is rooted first):
1. Download and install the Complete Linux Installer app on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zpwebsites.linuxonandroid

2. Choose and download one Linux distribution on Android:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxonandroid/
I chose Ubuntu 10.10(ubuntuV5-image.zip):
http://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxonandroid/files/Ubuntu/10.10/
After downloading, unzip and copy the file "ubuntu.img" to your phone's SD card.

3. Install Android Terminal Emulator:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm
and android-vnc-viewer:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=android.androidVNC

4. Now, run the Complete Linux Installer app on your phone, go to Launch->Settings-Add, to add the file path of "ubuntu.img". After that, choose the added distribution from Launch,tap Start Linux.

5. Finally, open android-vnc-viewer, fill the Address with "localhost", Port"5900", Password "ubuntu", then tap "Connect". Now you're entering the Linux desktop.

Links:
http://www.linuxonandroid.org
solve the "Error: Unable to mount the loop device!" problem:
http://www.geekpeek.net/linux-on-android-2/
http://superuser.com/questions/220164/how-to-stop-the-d-key-from-minimizing-all-windows-in-ubuntu-10-10-when-connect
http://forum.linuxonandroid.org/index.php?topic=41.0
http://linuxonandroid.org/sudoroot-issues-how-to-fix/
http://sourceforge.net/p/linuxonandroid/wiki/Linux%20Image%20FAQ/

If you're trying ubuntu 10.10 on your android device and want to install some new software via the ubuntu software center:
How to install software or upgrade from old unsupported release?
http://askubuntu.com/questions/91815/how-to-install-software-or-upgrade-from-old-unsupported-release
Requires installation of untrusted packages?
http://askubuntu.com/questions/184117/requires-installation-of-untrusted-packages

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