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Root [Merit] Merit kernel and boot.img zips?

nickdalzell

Extreme Android User
is there any way to get hold of a working kernel and boot.img zip file? or one of the supercharged versions that are in some of the modded ROMs listed here? i'm wanting to flash a new ROM (Cyanogenmod) but use the Merit kernel and boot.img hoping it would work...so far none of the current ROMs i try will get past the ZTE logo screen, which leads me to think an incompatible kernel is the culprit. if i flashed the ROM and then flashed a new kernel and boot i am confident i may get this thing nipped!
 
one.three ran on phone pretty well it just had some broken apps & wasn't as smooth as the stock ROM. I went back to the stock ROM & flashed Anthony's kernel. I think all is good now. I also went to the Holo ICS launcher & have been running this way for at least a month I'm sure.
 
is there any way to get hold of a working kernel and boot.img zip file? or one of the supercharged versions that are in some of the modded ROMs listed here? i'm wanting to flash a new ROM (Cyanogenmod) but use the Merit kernel and boot.img hoping it would work...so far none of the current ROMs i try will get past the ZTE logo screen, which leads me to think an incompatible kernel is the culprit. if i flashed the ROM and then flashed a new kernel and boot i am confident i may get this thing nipped!


dude, you don't know what you are doing...

give it up on cyanogenmod already.

if you want it so bad, you are going to have to 1) build a dev environment, 2) download the repo, 3) build the sdk, and 4) build the rom yourself.

you'll never get it doing what you have posted above... and if you're trying CM from some other device, well that's just altogether nonsensical...

just because you flash some unknown CM7 and then flash a new boot.img and kernel does not mean that you will get CM7 working on your phone. it doesn't work like that. i don't understand why you don't believe all the information i have given you over the last week???

but you can dump your own boot.img, and in fact it's in a nandroid of your device. as far as the kernel, i could upload it for you, but it won't do you any good.
 
Stayboogy it is quite clear you are dead-set on hating every chance at making CM 7 work. but your opinion i do not share. CM 7 has features that i haven't been able to implement without adding apps which take up valuable space and RAM in doing so. you have made it clear over and over again that you don't care. but i do. and i'm not giving up. i would like to TRY making it work. i know from my past logcats that the phone kernel panics because the kernel from a ZTE Blade ROM are not compatible. so i was thinking of trying to see what making a Merit/Avail Kernel over top of a KANG ROM or RC would do. i heard someone somewhere mention they got a French Avail to run CM but not sure the details (i neverk knew open source had classfied stuff but..) but i'm not giving up. if the Merit will never have a CM 7 ROM i will just replace the phone. it's my favorite companion to GB ROMs and i refuse to use a device without it. i'm still holding out hope it will be available some time....but i'm only giving it months before i just reactivate my old Optimus V and live with the horrid signal from Sprint

I am not *Nix expert but i do know Android is Android...the only thing that is changed is the kernel--the drivers, boot images, for parts of the phone/tablet. Android runs on top of a kernel much like Linux Window Managers and X run on top of the kernel. the kernel so far is what is bootlooping. it panics because the drivers are not compatible. so whether CM 7 would boot or not is not going to be an issue if i can't even get it to attempt to start. which is why i plan on trying a working Merit boot.img and custom kernel that does boot. sure, i may get looping at the CM 7 logo but it would still be progress.

Stayboogy, i can see you and i will disagree with this but since you're not the only dev, and since Android is a community effort with respect to ROMs and other things, i would greatly appreciate it if you would not hijack every thread i make regarding any progress or chance at CM 7 to show your opinion. the first time was enough.
 
Stayboogy it is quite clear you are dead-set on hating every chance at making CM 7 work. but your opinion i do not share. CM 7 has features that i haven't been able to implement without adding apps which take up valuable space and RAM in doing so. you have made it clear over and over again that you don't care. but i do. and i'm not giving up. i would like to TRY making it work. i know from my past logcats that the phone kernel panics because the kernel from a ZTE Blade ROM are not compatible. so i was thinking of trying to see what making a Merit/Avail Kernel over top of a KANG ROM or RC would do. i heard someone somewhere mention they got a French Avail to run CM but not sure the details (i neverk knew open source had classfied stuff but..) but i'm not giving up. if the Merit will never have a CM 7 ROM i will just replace the phone. it's my favorite companion to GB ROMs and i refuse to use a device without it. i'm still holding out hope it will be available some time....but i'm only giving it months before i just reactivate my old Optimus V and live with the horrid signal from Sprint

I am not *Nix expert but i do know Android is Android...the only thing that is changed is the kernel--the drivers, boot images, for parts of the phone/tablet. Android runs on top of a kernel much like Linux Window Managers and X run on top of the kernel. the kernel so far is what is bootlooping. it panics because the drivers are not compatible. so whether CM 7 would boot or not is not going to be an issue if i can't even get it to attempt to start. which is why i plan on trying a working Merit boot.img and custom kernel that does boot. sure, i may get looping at the CM 7 logo but it would still be progress.

Stayboogy, i can see you and i will disagree with this but since you're not the only dev, and since Android is a community effort with respect to ROMs and other things, i would greatly appreciate it if you would not hijack every thread i make regarding any progress or chance at CM 7 to show your opinion. the first time was enough.

it's not opinion, it's fact. what you're wanting to do is not how it's done. why can't you understand that???

i think it would be cool if you got it working, it's just that it's not going to work the way you are going about it.

even if you did get it to boot, and even if it seems "functional" to you, it won't be. it requires specific files from our phones to work, many of which do not exist. i'm just trying to tell you that you're not going to be able to do by using CM7 from another phone and swapping boot.img files. it doesn't work like that.

if you want CM7, you will need a dev environment, cyanogenmod repo, and the sdk built. then you will need to pull five dozen files from your phone, then you will need to edit about 10 .mk files in the sdk, then you will need to build and fix the several errors of missing dependencies when you build, then you will need to edit the build because it won't work, and then it still might not work. i've already done all this. i'm not telling you what i think, i'm telling you WHAT I KNOW

i'm not trying necessarily to discourage you, but i am telling you that your presuppositions about how it works and how it's built and ported are nowhere near correct. i've been trying to tell you this over and over but you assume that you're correct and you're not. that's all there is to it.

i'd like to see someone get it working, but it's not going to happen by doing a little two minute swap of a file and rewriting an updater-script. it doesn't work like that.

and i'm not hijacking your thread, and actually telling you how it works, which apparently you don't care, which means you won't make any progress.
 
Stayboogy it is quite clear you are dead-set on hating every chance at making CM 7 work. but your opinion i do not share. CM 7 has features that i haven't been able to implement without adding apps which take up valuable space and RAM in doing so. you have made it clear over and over again that you don't care. but i do. and i'm not giving up. i would like to TRY making it work. i know from my past logcats that the phone kernel panics because the kernel from a ZTE Blade ROM are not compatible. so i was thinking of trying to see what making a Merit/Avail Kernel over top of a KANG ROM or RC would do. i heard someone somewhere mention they got a French Avail to run CM but not sure the details (i neverk knew open source had classfied stuff but..) but i'm not giving up. if the Merit will never have a CM 7 ROM i will just replace the phone. it's my favorite companion to GB ROMs and i refuse to use a device without it. i'm still holding out hope it will be available some time....but i'm only giving it months before i just reactivate my old Optimus V and live with the horrid signal from Sprint

I am not *Nix expert but i do know Android is Android...the only thing that is changed is the kernel--the drivers, boot images, for parts of the phone/tablet. Android runs on top of a kernel much like Linux Window Managers and X run on top of the kernel. the kernel so far is what is bootlooping. it panics because the drivers are not compatible. so whether CM 7 would boot or not is not going to be an issue if i can't even get it to attempt to start. which is why i plan on trying a working Merit boot.img and custom kernel that does boot. sure, i may get looping at the CM 7 logo but it would still be progress.

Stayboogy, i can see you and i will disagree with this but since you're not the only dev, and since Android is a community effort with respect to ROMs and other things, i would greatly appreciate it if you would not hijack every thread i make regarding any progress or chance at CM 7 to show your opinion. the first time was enough.

I don't think stayboogy's comments can be considered hijacking a thread, you are grasping at straws on that point so I would consider backing off of that. Posting relevant information to a post topic is not hijacking period. His advice at the very top is good advice on what you are trying to accomplish. You really need a dev environment, it will take some work but in the end it will be the best way to accomplish your goal.

Trying to hack and slave several pieces of different software together in order to make it work on the merit while possible, is extremely error prone and time consuming. All stayboogy was really saying is that if you really want to do something then it's best to start out the right way and go from there.

Also this post has been up for several days and stayboogy at this point is the only one who has responded with relevant information. So instead of trying to start a for lack of a better term "pissing contest" (sorry mods) Maybe you should consider his advice. If you ask a question in public and receive an honest answer, contrary to what you think the answer should be, that doesn't mean you must respond. Simply ignore it and go on if that is your way of doing things.
 
i am just a bit irked that Stayboogy comes on EVERY thread i make regarding CyanogenMod to either tell me why it won't work, or why he thinks the ROM sucks. on one other he tried to tell me that i can slap a few apps and scripts onto ANY ROM and end up with every built-in feature of CM 7. that is not the case, a lot of features i find REQUIRE CM 7 or something it has that stock ROMs don't. such as unlocking every possible menu in Android and not living with the invisible ones on Stock ROMs, or having built-in CPU overclocking, tweaks to lock screens and menus, certain themes, EVERY menu in Android unlocked (greyed out or otherwise) and many other features. there are things about CM 7 that i CAN NOT GET on a Stock ROM. i do know menus are hidden, i noticed the 'wifi tethering and hotspot' menu, one i figured was exclusive to CM 7, was showing and working in one.three. but that was it. if it were possible to pull off EVERY single trick in CM 7 on a stock ROM (and i am talking well beyond wifi tether and making the CM 7 boot animation default) i would. but so far there are things that will be missing in any stock build and that isn't good enough. i know Stayboogy isn't the only dev working on making CM 7 a possibility on our phones, but i would like it if any thread regarding it didn't have his opinion on how 'good' it is or not ending every thread. it's starting to get on my nerves.

So far i'm happy with the SpeedFreak 1.1 ROM, which finally stopped my phantom booting. (which meant it was NOT a hardware problem). but it's not CyanogenMod. it is quite clear Stayboogy is not the least bit interested in developing the ROM or using it period. but his 'never gonna happen on the Merit' posts are annoying
 
i am just a bit irked that Stayboogy comes on EVERY thread i make regarding CyanogenMod to either tell me why it won't work, or why he thinks the ROM sucks. on one other he tried to tell me that i can slap a few apps and scripts onto ANY ROM and end up with every built-in feature of CM 7. that is not the case, a lot of features i find REQUIRE CM 7 or something it has that stock ROMs don't. such as unlocking every possible menu in Android and not living with the invisible ones on Stock ROMs, or having built-in CPU overclocking, tweaks to lock screens and menus, certain themes, EVERY menu in Android unlocked (greyed out or otherwise) and many other features. there are things about CM 7 that i CAN NOT GET on a Stock ROM. i do know menus are hidden, i noticed the 'wifi tethering and hotspot' menu, one i figured was exclusive to CM 7, was showing and working in one.three. but that was it. if it were possible to pull off EVERY single trick in CM 7 on a stock ROM (and i am talking well beyond wifi tether and making the CM 7 boot animation default) i would. but so far there are things that will be missing in any stock build and that isn't good enough. i know Stayboogy isn't the only dev working on making CM 7 a possibility on our phones, but i would like it if any thread regarding it didn't have his opinion on how 'good' it is or not ending every thread. it's starting to get on my nerves.

So far i'm happy with the SpeedFreak 1.1 ROM, which finally stopped my phantom booting. (which meant it was NOT a hardware problem). but it's not CyanogenMod. it is quite clear Stayboogy is not the least bit interested in developing the ROM or using it period. but his 'never gonna happen on the Merit' posts are annoying

You have done an excellent job explaining your motives for wanting CM7. No further explanation of them is necessary. Now pardon me for pointing out what I consider to be the obvious.

Your personal determination to make CM7 work is commendable, and if the determination persists I assume that eventually you will be successful. Stayboogy's personal opinion of CM7 should have and is not meant to have any real bearing on your quest to accomplish your goal. He is simply stating his opinion of it, as an example when he was determined to get a right side up CWM working on the merit, we discussed it thoroughly and experimented with it in more or less the same way you are with CM7. And inevitably stayboogy came to the conclusion that a dev environment was absolutely necessary to accomplish the task at hand properly.

Simply because he doesn't hold CM7 in high regard doesn't mean he is trying to stop you from making it work. If that were the case he never would have offered the advice about getting the dev environment. He is simply trying to save you a bunch of wasted time and effort, which will eventually become frustrating to the point that you may give up. He was offering advice based on his own personal experience. So in essence stayboogy is your biggest advocate even though he doesn't share your opinion of CM7's use.
 
like i said in previous threads i understand his view. but often he makes the claim that either 1) i can live with the stock ROM (which i cannot. i like CM 7's feature list! and things like enabling the mobile network mode and 2G menus aren't happening without kernel hacks!) and 2) that CM 7 will never happen on the Merit (i find that one the hardest to believe.

the 2nd point really gets on my nerves. i do hope the possibility of CM 7 on Merit/Avail doesn't begin and end with Stayboogy.

oh sure i can plug in 12 different apps that take up valuable internal storage space to do half of what CM can do, like making the CM boot animation the default (which is a lot like replacing Windows 7's animation with a MacOS animation--just looks stupid because it overall is not changing anything) and adjusting the CPU clock. i may be able to find some way to flash a kernel that enables the mobile data mode menu to do the 2G Only thing. but there will always be things missing that i cannot stand. i don't like limits. CM 7 and up were my only means of easily making every option and customization of Android possible. living with the modified, rooted Stock ROMs and their limits is not an option.
 
like i said in previous threads i understand his view. but often he makes the claim that either 1) i can live with the stock ROM (which i cannot. i like CM 7's feature list! and things like enabling the mobile network mode and 2G menus aren't happening without kernel hacks!) and 2) that CM 7 will never happen on the Merit (i find that one the hardest to believe.

the 2nd point really gets on my nerves. i do hope the possibility of CM 7 on Merit/Avail doesn't begin and end with Stayboogy.


your hopes of "unlocking" settings that aren't there will never happen.

you apparently don't believe me, but i've personally made my own kernel and have been through all the tweaks that are available for it, there is no such tweak that makes these options available--as far as kernel editing is concerned anyway.

and just because they become available doesn't mean they do anything. and i'm almost certain that if you found a way to make them available they still wouldn't work...
 
like i said in previous threads i understand his view. but often he makes the claim that either 1) i can live with the stock ROM (which i cannot. i like CM 7's feature list! and things like enabling the mobile network mode and 2G menus aren't happening without kernel hacks!) and 2) that CM 7 will never happen on the Merit (i find that one the hardest to believe.

the 2nd point really gets on my nerves. i do hope the possibility of CM 7 on Merit/Avail doesn't begin and end with Stayboogy.

oh sure i can plug in 12 different apps that take up valuable internal storage space to do half of what CM can do, like making the CM boot animation the default (which is a lot like replacing Windows 7's animation with a MacOS animation--just looks stupid because it overall is not changing anything) and adjusting the CPU clock. i may be able to find some way to flash a kernel that enables the mobile data mode menu to do the 2G Only thing. but there will always be things missing that i cannot stand. i don't like limits. CM 7 and up were my only means of easily making every option and customization of Android possible. living with the modified, rooted Stock ROMs and their limits is not an option.

LOL, I think you might should re-read what I wrote a little better. As for CM7 on the merit beginning and ending with stayboogy. You missed my point, make it begin and end with you if that is your choice. But follow stayboogy's advice and get a dev environment! Otherwise it won't even begin with you. Simple as that.
 
I know this has nothing to do with CM7 but I flashed Anthony's kernel which allowed me to increases the clock speed to 864. It helped with a lot of my problems.
 
overclocking is nice but as for CM 7 i could do that without installing an app. to pull of a majority of CM's tricks would require apps all over. from CPU, to lockscreen disable, to themes, to ROM editing--all of those are built-in to CM. beyond that, CyanogenMod is as open to me as Android can get. all limits from the carrier are GONE, all features in the build of Android are available, and it even includes a multitude of tweaking tools--without needing a single app--it's a lot like how ROM Toolbox includes things normally in separate apps, such as terminal emulator, CPU tools, and backup.

is there any way to get the files i asked for so i can at least try? i understand there are setbacks but i still like to try without the 'never gonna happen' stuff...

Stayboogy, you may not have had success with menu kernel unlocks, but obviously some have made the wifi hotspot menu visible, or added in there, and some phones have the mobile network modes and use 2G networks only enabled, and reading info in XDA posts, it is a kernel setting. it's like a reg hack in windows, a value of 0 means disabled, as in not visible, and 1 means it shows in the list of menus. so it can be turned on or off-whether it actually works or not stands debate--but i know i can dial a dialer code and force my phone in 2G only data mode, but it's tedious to keep doing it every time i restart the device, and it would be a lot easier to control in the menu.

and in the case of my Kindle Fire, the menu was originally not there, (use 2G networks) and after CM 7 it shows, albeit greyed out (because no cellular or 3G radio exists, which makes perfect sense)
 
I just brought it up because I thought it might help you while you were trying to get CM working.

Wish I knew how to help in your project because it sounds great. Good luck.
 
i may have to wait for the Cyanogen team and that may or may not happen--the ZTE Merit is not a popular phone both for being regarded as cheap as well as being associated with the 'evil' Tracfone (who has improved and opened their devices especially those running Android beyond their limits but sadly their reputation is sealed :( ) so it is debatable whether it is worth their time. i have, however heard there is a private beta going for the Avail, and a possible final release. but it's all rumor and speculation. if it won't happen, i'll go back to Sprint and my Optimus V as having a device without CM is unnacceptable IMO. some may be able to live without it (that's why other ROMs are out there to begin with) but it gives me far too many tools/options to leave out.

sadly however i am stuck at a standstill without any source for just the zip of the kernel and boot.img's. people keep telling me 'it won't work' but i want to find out for myself. i'm just attempting a MacGyver method that may or may not work. but i'm not the kind to give up without trying.

my incentive for getting a Merit was due to it using AT&T (which is far better signal in my area, when i moved a little over a year ago my Sprint phone met a big large 10-mile dead zone) and it being cheap, and visually similar and rugged to the Optimus V (same size, matte finish and scratch resistant cover) and was on sale for $50!! but...if the amount of customization for it won't happen because CM 7 won't happen, then i'll just learn to accept the limits of Sprint and use a phone that has tons of damage but still has the ability to run CM 7.1

Now i may be rushing things...first of all the ZTE Merit showed up only a couple of months as a 'new' phone in stores here in this country town (hence it's opening week $50 price). and i do know this town has a history of getting 'new' items as late as 5 years from release. so...it's possible the Merit is a new phone, or one over 5 years old tops. i am not sure. i do know Tracfone's reputation sadly precedes them despite the many improvements to their services...it's like how Buick has the 'grandpa' image even with sporty versions of their cars.
 
I hope you get it & share because you're passion for it has got me interested in it also. I wish I knew something about programming. Valueforvalue(I love the name by the way) has given me some direction of where to start. I just need to get the time to get setup but really wish I had a mentor because a lot of this is Greek to me.

I was happy with the upside down CWM but stayboogy's passion made me give in after a while & try his. I've been happy I did.
 
I will caution everyone here right now--I'm a deer lover, NOT A developer. i barely know how to twiddle around in Linux source code (and the last successful attempt was years ago on a PIII 600). basically i know how to MacGyver a few things here and there, and fail 90% of the time. but sometimes, if i am darn lucky, i succeed. now the results are probably going to be the same. i may get stuck at the ZTE logo, or i may get as far as the CyanogenMod boot animation. but don't expect success, i am a realist too. i will likely fail miserably. i have no idea how to edit kernel or init scripts, and any attempt at doing it on a desktop system has ALWAYS resulted in an unbootable kernel. (kernel panic).

There are a few things, that i, as a trainee, would like to know:

1. How do i get logcats of a boot-looping system? (sure if it worked and then failed i could install an app that does that and look at it after--but if the system doesn't boot?) is this possible in CWM?

2. What app or software on my computer do i need to edit a kernel? (say CM attempts fail and i want to try some playing around the settings of a different ROM?)

that's where i am at right now. i would happily let everyone know what the results are if there are any. if i do get lucky and manage to make it to the lock screen, i will make a list of what does and doesn't work, and should i get stuck, i will happily send a nandroid of the image to anyone who wants to muddle around further.

EDIT and UPDATE:

I got out of the normal ZTE logo bootloop, but now it's booting straight into Clockworkmod. here's some of the log i got:

ro.baseband = unknown
ro.carrier = unknown
ro.bootloader = unknown
ro.hardware = blade
ro.revision = 0
init.svc.recovery = running
init.svc.adbd = running

I:Checking for extendedcommand...
I:Skipping execution of extended command, file not found...
mtd: successfully wrote block at c4b2c00000000
I:Set boot command ""

What this is telling me is that it booted fine, but the init scripts didn't know what to go after that so it defaulted to the CWM recovery. or am i not reading this right? i flashed this kernel after i flashed the ROM of CM 7, but the line i'm most interested in is the one stating init.svc.recovery. that points to booting clockworkmod, like it didn't have any command to boot CM 7
 
You should be able to get a full catlog of your boot up with adb. Just look through the commands. It appears that the adb service is booting properly on your phone so it should work.
 
yeah it boots fine, first i get the ZTE logo, but then all it boots is ClockworkMod. i flashed the kernel.zip AFTER i flashed the CM build. is it possible that when i flash *any* ZIP it does a wipe beforehand? is there a way to flash both?

I am currently trying to download the Android SDK, but even though i have installed Java JDK, and the file is in C:\windows\system32\java.exe and the Path is set, it still complains that it cannot find that file even though it exists. is there a trick to get past that problem? i am running Windows 7. this is halting any effort to create a build environment

the idea is to learn the process of making a basic vanilla copy of Android build for a specific device. i was thinking of trying to see if i can build a basic copy of Android Eclair 2.1 and see if i can successfully make it work on my old Coby Kyros tablet, to see what it involves. if successful, i am at least able to understand the basics.
 
yeah it boots fine, first i get the ZTE logo, but then all it boots is ClockworkMod. i flashed the kernel.zip AFTER i flashed the CM build. is it possible that when i flash *any* ZIP it does a wipe beforehand? is there a way to flash both?

I am currently trying to download the Android SDK, but even though i have installed Java JDK, and the file is in C:\windows\system32\java.exe and the Path is set, it still complains that it cannot find that file even though it exists. is there a trick to get past that problem? i am running Windows 7. this is halting any effort to create a build environment

you can't build a dev environment in windows.

you need linux. and the best is unbuntu 10.10 for this. it doesn't have anything to do with the android sdk.

you need the cyanogenmod sdk to build CM.

if you want detailed information on how this is done let me know and i'll give you a detailed list of dependencies and how to get them.

but you first need Unbuntu 10.10

if you are on Windows (which you are) and you have or can get vmware player, it's best to do it in a virtual machine.
 
yeah virtual machines are good, but when it comes to Linux my head spins. there is no real way to install things there without a lot of command line jargon. now you're giving me the nightmare of dipping my toes into makefile territory all over again...yeesh...what i won't do for Cyanogenmod.

if you are willing to help get me started (such as finding the links to those thigns you just said) i would be happy to learn--knowledge is power. do i need to burn a CD for Ubuntu to work or is there some virtual hard disk somewhere lying around? i haven't burned CDs (don't even have any on hand) in a long, long time. smartphones and SD cards made the need obsolete
 
yeah virtual machines are good, but when it comes to Linux my head spins. there is no real way to install things there without a lot of command line jargon. now you're giving me the nightmare of dipping my toes into makefile territory all over again...yeesh...what i won't do for Cyanogenmod.

if you are willing to help get me started (such as finding the links to those thigns you just said) i would be happy to learn--knowledge is power. do i need to burn a CD for Ubuntu to work or is there some virtual hard disk somewhere lying around? i haven't burned CDs (don't even have any on hand) in a long, long time. smartphones and SD cards made the need obsolete

you need the Ubuntu 10.10 iso Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) and click the link "PC (Intel x86) desktop CD" and download it.

then get vmware player: Download VMware Player 5.0.0 - FileHippo.com link is on the right

then install vmware and then install ubuntu

get that done, then PM me.
 
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