Keripo's Corner Figures, Dollfies, Projects, Gaming, and TYPE-MOON
Project ZeroSlackr is based around the ZeroSlackr Framework, a highly customized, user-friendly iPodLinux system/installation targeted at new users. The project maintains and integrates numerous applications and packs created by the iPL community.
Installation of iPodLinux through ZeroSlackr will not require a reformat of your iPod (i.e. you will be able to keep all your music and files). The ZeroSlackr Framework will only install on iPods formatted on Windows (WinPod in FAT/FAT32) and iPods supported by the iPodLinux project. If you are unsure if your iPod is supported, see the Generations page. Unsupported models include: iPod shuffle (no screen), iPod nano 2G (full metal casing), iPod nano 3G (video-playing), iPod Classic (smooth sides), and the iPod Touch.
| Release Notes wrote: |
| Install: To install the ZeroSlackr snapshot to your iPod, connect your iPod to your computer as an accessible drive and make sure you have full admin permissions. Extract either the .7z or .tar.gz archive directly to your iPod (you do not need the “src” archive). Run the “patch.bat” script if you are on Windows or “patch.sh” if you are on Linux (x86) or Mac OS X (untested). If you wish to install Rockbox, download their latest build for your iPod model (http://www.rockbox.org/daily.shtml) and also extract the archive directly to your iPod. Make sure you have a rough idea of what iPodLinux is (http://ipodlinux.org) and how to use it.Note: Release documents can be found in the “/boot/docs” directory. For documentation for individual packs, read their “ReadMe from Keripo.txt” files. If you want to customize Loader2, modify the “/boot/loader.cfg” file. Please leave feedback and/or bug reports in the corresponding Project ZeroSlackr thread of the iPodLinux forums (http://ipodlinux.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=17). Contains: |
Extra Notes/Issues
– this is for WinPods ONLY (i.e. an iPod partitioned/restored by iTunes on a Windows computer)! MacPods will need to reformat to a Winpod to use this (iPodLinux can also be installed for MacPods through Manual_Installation)
– patch script is untested on Mac OS X and ipodpatcher provided is unpatched
– if you are using Linux (64) or Linux (PPC) you will need to replace the “ipodpatcher” binary with the appropriate (unpatched) one from here
– due to the larger number of SlackrPacks now and thus ZeroLauncher’s larger footprint, Podzilla2-SVN is best launched directly from Loader2 (otherwise things will be slow and MPD will not work whatsoever)
– iBoy direct colour rom launching doesn’t display colour properly for some reason – this is an iBoy issue but can be resolved by choosing “Reset Game” right after loading the rom once
– SBaGen doesn’t have a built-in exit function and thus “exiting” requires a force reboot – I may add one later
– igpSP requires lots of memory; it is best launched directly from Loader2
Fast FAQ
Q: When I run the “patch” script I am told by iPod patcher that my iPod cannot be found when my iPod is clearly connected. Whats up with that?
A: If ipodpatcher says your iPod isn’t connected but it is, you may not have full admin access; find a computer in which you do have admin access. If you have such privileges, iTunes is closed and your iPod shows up as a drive, it is possible that your iPod is not supported by iPodLinux. See the Generations page.
Q: After trying out a few apps I keep getting this “blahblahblah is too big” message or a lot of random numbers and letters or my iPod just freezes. What gives?
A: Due to large number of SlackrPacks now and thus ZeroLauncher’s larger footprint, your iPod will run out of memory (think RAM, not hard-drive space). This is partially due to memory fragmenting in the kernel (for which we need kernel developers – see this thread) and sometimes due to bad programming in the apps (I did not write the majority of these applications and would not know how to fix such). The current solution to this is ‘reboot, reboot, reboot’. See the Key_Combinations page for information on how to force reboot your iPod.
Q: Help, I get a “Can’t write to log on /dev/tty5!” every time I boot into ZeroSlackr! How can I fix of this?
A: This is a busybox-related issue but not one affecting anything (its just a warning message that you can just ignore – it doesn’t do anything bad). I might recompile busybox one day with the message removed, but later.
Q: I installed ZeroSlackr and it works great, but how do I access the Linux partition?
A: The ZeroSlackr Framework uses a userland disk image through the “loop-mount” boot method originally introduced here by DataGhost. More information on it can be found in the ZeroSlackr Framework’s userland readme. For instructions on how to access/edit the userland image, see here.
Q: I’m trying to use your kernel with a normal iPodLinux installation and/or I am trying to use Loader2 args as the wiki page instructs but its not working. Why?
A: The kernel I use for the ZeroSlackr Framework is a modified version of the Experimental_Kernel. See the comments of the “/boot/loader.cfg” file for instructions on how to use the kernel and loader2 args (which I use “autoexec=”).
Q: Your previous “Sneak Peak” and “Testing” pre-releases for Windows users had this nice little just-keep-clicking-“Next” GUI installer. Will there be one for this?
A: No. There won’t be. And no, I don’t plan to make one. If I wanted, it would take 5 seconds, but I won’t because people shouldn’t be that lazy. iPodLinux (and Linux for general) is not for everyone (i.e. the “keep clicking Next” generation) and at least this way (extract and run script) there is some kind of “manual” aspect of things. I will, however, be working on a Java-based package manager (small thread here) for managing SlackrPacks though work is being stalled at the moment while I work directly on ZeroSlackr stuff (I’ll come back to it one day).
Q: All these packs are really cool but the ZeroSlackr SVN keeps getting updated and there are apps that have yet to be added. How can I build my own SlackrPacks?
A: To compile things for ZeroSlackr, follow the Introduction_to_Compiling_for_iPodLinux tutorial. I have not finished adding everything I know to Project ZeroSlackr but if you’re willing to help (and are an experienced C programmer), feel free to contact me via PM.
Q: I’m lame and want my iPod back to “normal”. How do I uninstall this?
A: The only real “installation” that you did was add in the Loader2 bootloader. Everything else is just files copied over to your iPod (no partitioning or other modifications were done to your iPod). To uninstall the bootloader, use ipodpatcher with the “–delete-bootloader” argument. After that you can delete the directories containing ZeroSlackr files (i.e. bin, boot, dev, etc, and ZeroSlackr). More info can be found on Rockbox’s ipodpatcher page.
Q: Installing iPodLinux through Project ZeroSlackr is very easy! Will this ever be officially supported?
A: Project ZeroSlackr is a custom iPodLinux installation created by me (Keripo) but based off the work and ideas of many people. Because of my modifications, it is highly unlikely that it will become official (though I do hope the non-partitioning loop-mount install method becomes adopted as the official install method). Whenever I do make modifications that I believe are beneficial to the iPodLinux project, however, I do try to get the modifications committed upstream by the official developers (i.e. see here if Trac wasn’t down).
Q: Project ZeroSlackr is awesome! How can I thank you?
A: If you’re an experienced programmer, feel free to contact me if you want to help. Otherwise, just leave a word of thanks in this thread. If you’re really generous and want to donate, you can contact me (since I haven’t set up donations on SourceForge) though I would better recommend you instead donate directly to the iPodLinux project via the Donations page. Such money can go towards RE for the newer iPod models, etc.
Downloads
> Project ZeroSlackr Downloads”
– ZeroSlackr-stable-snapshot-2008-04-28 (either .7z or .tar.gz but not -src.tar.gz)
– iDoom PWADs (optional – read the release notes)
– igpSP Slackr Pack (optional – read the post)
> Rockbox builds
(extract the archive directly to your iPod after installing the ZeroSlackr Framework and after the first reboot)
Links
> Project ZeroSlackr SourceForge page
> Project ZeroSlackr SVN
> Project ZeroSlackr CIA stats
> Introduction to Compiling for iPodLinux (ZeroSlackr)
Last updated: May 26, 2008
~Keripo
iPL forums: http://ipl.derpapst.org/oldforums/viewtopic.php?t=29636
Mirror: http://keripo.com/static/projects/ipl/forums/Linux%20On%20iPod%20%20%20View%20topic%20-%20Project%20ZeroSlackr%20-%20Stable%20Snapshot%202008-04-28.htm
