Help Bad compiled kernel

[Facu Mo]

Hi guys, I just compiled my own kernel for Alcatel One Touch Idol 6030a, and now, I'm going to test it. Anyway, that devices doesn't have any way to test someting without writing it really into it's flash memory (like fastboot on Qualcomm devices). My question is: Will something happen otherwise than device not booting Android? Should it get hard-bricked (like no PRELOADER)?

It's the first kernel that I compile, so please answer as fast as you can, I want to try it out, or, if someone got riff box, test it by himself.

 

[Hadron]

I don't know that device at all, but I would not think that you would damage the bootloader unless you somehow manage to flash it to the wrong partition. After all, on a Qualcomm device you can completely delete the kernel using the command "fastboot erase boot" and that doesn't hard brick the device.

Now, whether a really screwed-up kernel could then let you damage other partitions I'm less certain of.

 

[scary alien]

Also, if you have the ability to do a "fastboot boot <bootable-image-file>" then you could use that to "softboot" (won't write or flash) anything to your device.

You'll have to take another boot.img file (for your device) and replace that kernel with your own new kernel and then re-pack the boot.img for doing the "fastboot boot boot.img" command (in bootloader/fastboot mode, of course).

Cheers!

 

[Facu Mo]

Thanks for the answers, I've tried 3 or more ways to get FASTBOOT to work on that device, I know that using it will just do a softboot and then, try to boot from the new kernel without really writing anything to the phone. Also, this phone doesn't work like Qualcomm phones do.

In the below spoiler, you can see the "Scatter File" wich contains the partitions list and it's location.

Spoiler: See

PRELOADER 0x0
{
}
DSP_BL 0x40000
{
}
MBR 0x1000000
{
}
EBR1 0x1004000
{
}
__NODL_PMT 0x100c000
{
}
__NODL_NVRAM 0x140c000
{
}
__NODL_SECCFG 0x190c000
{
}
UBOOT 0x192c000
{
}
BOOTIMG 0x198c000
{
}
RECOVERY 0x1f8c000
{
}
SEC_RO 0x258c000
{
}
__NODL_MISC 0x2b8c000
{
}
LOGO 0x2bec000
{
}
__NODL_EXPDB 0x2eec000
{
}
__NODL_PRO_INFO 0x30ec000
{
}
CUSTPACK 0x33ec000
{
}
MOBILE_INFO 0x1d0ec000
{
}
ANDROID 0x1d8ec000
{
}
CACHE 0x375ec000
{
}
USRDATA 0x4aeec000
{
}
__NODL_RSV_OTP 0xffff0200
{
}
__NODL_BMTPOOL 0xffff00a8
{
}

So, basically the PRELOADER, may have something to do as the BOOTLOADER does on Qualcomm devices, but on those MTK, may be UBOOT does that work. So, it's something confusing, it's because I don't try it as fast as I can, because I don't really know how that phone boot's.

Any idea on that way I explain it?

NOTE: Sorry for my english, I'm Argentinian, hehe.

 

[Facu Mo]

Also, I've seen that MTK devices may (and it may not be true) refuse to boot if the file doesn't matches the exact size as the original one.