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Root I got Gingerbread working! Kind of.

G

gblues

Member
My adventures in creating a custom kernel are ongoing, but in the meantime I decided to see exactly how far I could push the stock kernel. Since the Gravity SMART uses the same CPU as the Galaxy Ace, I decided to build a franken-ROM. A (very) simplified outline:

1) I downloaded the stock images for the Gravity SMART and Galaxy ACE from samfirmware.com.
2) I extracted the stock kernel, boot splash screen graphic, and kernel drivers from the Gravity SMART boot.img.
3) I unpacked the Galaxy Ace boot.img; replaced the kernel, splash graphic, and kernel drivers with those from the stock boot.img; and repackaged the boot.img.
4) I created a flashable ODIN archive with both my frankenstein boot.img and the system.rfs from the Galaxy Ace.
5) I flashed the result with Odin 4.40 USA.

The phone boots, makes phone calls, and sends/receives SMS. WiFi does not work, time sync does not work, and USB disk mode does not work.

I used a similar technique to get Clockwork Recovery booting. It doesn't quite work right, but it does boot!

I tried to use this technique to get the Galaxy Ace ICS port onto the phone, but it doesn't boot. I suspect it's because the stock kernel doesn't have EXT4 support.

If I can get the "not working" bits resolved, I'll probably create a script and/or detailed instructions on how to do it.
 
Nope, sorry. Two big reasons:

1) Since it's stock Samsung firmware, there's copyright issues. It's licensed for the phone, not to be split apart and redistributed willy-nilly.
2) While the major key features work (making/receiving calls, texts), there are a significant number of issues that make it a poor choice for day-to-day use:

- WiFi doesn't work at all
- Landscape mode is broken
- Games don't work
- Stock web browser doesn't work
- USB disk use doesn't work
- tilt sensor doesn't work
- I had a one-off issue where the SD card wasn't recognized for no apparent reason
- the keymap for the QWERTY keyboard is incorrect (specifically, the ALT-keys, i.e. ALT+A would not give '!'.

But, it still serves its purpose as a proof-of-concept that, if nothing else, we can probably build a Gingerbread ROM using the stock kernel if absolutely necessary. But I'm not done exploring the custom kernel option.
 
Well, for my next trick, I'm trying to get the Galaxy Ace port of Cyanogenmod 7.2 working. I started by downloading CM7.2 and then making a copy of the Galaxy Ace ("cooper") folder and then editing it for the Gravity SMART.

A few late nights later, and I have it compiling successfully. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually boot. I get a black screen with "A N D R O I D" in the middle. On the plus side, CWM recovery does boot, so it's not completely fruitless.

More as it develops...
 
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