Thursday 29 December 2016

Cherry Picked Patches for Cherry Trail Devices

Benefits Bay Trail devices as well.

UpdateThis work is superseded by my 'isorespin.sh' script which can respin an official ISO suitable for use on Intel Atom devices.

I've updated my 4.9.0-11.12 kernel to include Len Brown's patch to address kernel freezes (https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051#c628), Laszlo-Fiat's patch to stabilize the RTL8723BS driver (https://github.com/hadess/rtl8723bs/issues/76) and Hans de Goede's patches to address wifi issues (https://github.com/hadess/rtl8723bs/issues/80).

To upgrade your kernel download the shell script and after making it executable (enter 'chmod 755 <script>') you can install it as 'root' (by entering 'sudo <script>'). Once the script has finished executing the device will need to be rebooted to use the updated (patched) kernel.

4.9.0-11.12 (superseded)

Additionally I've respun yesterday's Ubuntu 17.04 (Zesty Zapus) Daily Build (Alpha 281216) ISO to include this updated 4.9.0-11.12 kernel together with firmware to support the Broadcom BCM4330 wifi chip (e.g. Tronsmart Ara X5) and the Broadcom BCM43340 wifi chip (e.g. ASUS EeeBook X205TA).

To try the ISO download it from the link below (in red) and write it to a USB using either 'Rufus' in Windows or 'dd' in Linux.

Ubuntu 17.04 Alpha 281216 (Daily Build) ISO (superseded)
Ubuntu comes with everything. All the essential applications, like an office suite, browsers, email and media apps come pre-installed and thousands more games and applications are available in the Ubuntu Software Centre.

To turn on wifi for mini PCs with Broadcom wifi chips it is often necessary to reload the driver. In a terminal window enter 'sudo modprobe -r brcmfmac' followed by 'sudo modprobe brcmfmac'.

Thursday 22 December 2016

Updated Xenial Kernel 4.4.0-57.78 Upgrade Script

UpdateThis work is superseded by my 'isorespin.sh' script which can respin an official ISO suitable for use on Intel Atom devices.

I've upgraded my Xenial kernel upgrade script in line with the latest Ubuntu Xenial kernel.

To upgrade your kernel first download the shell script for the kernel version you require and after making it executable (enter 'chmod 755 <script>') you can install it as 'root' (by entering 'sudo <script>'). Once the script has finished executing the device will need to be rebooted to use the updated (patched) kernel.

4.4.0-57.78 (superseded)

Updated Yakkety Kernel 4.8.0-32.34 Upgrade Script

UpdateThis work is superseded by my 'isorespin.sh' script which can respin an official ISO suitable for use on Intel Atom devices.

I've upgraded my Yakkety kernel upgrade script in line with the latest Ubuntu Yakkety kernel.

To upgrade your kernel first download the shell script for the kernel version you require and after making it executable (enter 'chmod 755 <script>') you can install it as 'root' (by entering 'sudo <script>'). Once the script has finished executing the device will need to be rebooted to use the updated (patched) kernel.

4.8.0-32.34 (superseded)

Updated Zesty Kernel 4.9.0-11.12 Upgrade Script

UpdateThis work is superseded by my 'isorespin.sh' script which can respin an official ISO suitable for use on Intel Atom devices.

I've updated my 4.9.0-11.12 kernel to include a small patch that hopefully will improve RTL8723BS wifi. 

To upgrade your kernel first download the shell script for the kernel version you require and after making it executable (enter 'chmod 755 <script>') you can install it as 'root' (by entering 'sudo <script>'). Once the script has finished executing the device will need to be rebooted to use the updated (patched) kernel.

4.9.0-11.12 (superseded)

To get audio running on a Mini PC with a headphone jack using the RT5640 codec (for example Tronsmart Ara) after using a kernel upgrade script simply:
  1. Open the URL https://github.com/plbossart/UCM in a browser
  2. Click the green coloured 'Clone or Download' button on the right and download as a 'zip' file
  3. In a terminal window go to the download directory and enter 'unzip UCM-master.zip'
  4. Install by entering 'sudo cp -rf UCM-master/bytcr-rt5640 /usr/share/alsa/ucm'
Then reboot, plug in your headphones and select sound using 'Sound Settings' and choose 'Headphones playback'. 

Updated 17.04 Alpha 131216 ISO

UpdateThis work is superseded by my 'isorespin.sh' script which can respin an official ISO suitable for use on Intel Atom devices.

I've updated my 4.9.0-11.12 kernel to include a small patch that hopefully will improve RTL8723BS wifi. This new kernel has been included in a respin of my 17.04 Alpha 131216 ISO.


To try the ISO download it from the link below (in red) and write it to a USB using either 'Rufus' in Windows or 'dd' in Linux.

Ubuntu 17.04 Alpha 131216 (Daily Build) ISO (superseded)
Ubuntu comes with everything. All the essential applications, like an office suite, browsers, email and media apps come pre-installed and thousands more games and applications are available in the Ubuntu Software Centre.


A new look for 2017

When I started my blog my intention was for it to be the 'dynamic' update content partner to my 'static' core content pages on my website. Then some posts started to be linked from external sites so to simplify click-throughs I decided to 'maintain' them. That in itself became cumbersome when highlighting what had changed for return viewers. Now there is a problem with new comments not displaying on one of the blog postings so I've decided to reorganize and return to a multi-media format approach for sharing my work.

My website (www.linuxium.com.au) will contain the latest and complete documentation of my development work. All download links will be current and provide the most recent versions.

My blog (www.linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com) will highlight new development work which has been updated to my website. Additionally each blog posting has a comment facility where discussions can occur.

My social media G+ (https://plus.google.com/+IanMORRISON), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Linuxium) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/linuxium) accounts will be updated each time I post on my blog and serve both as notification media and for those wishing to subscribe for updates.

Comments including praise, criticism and suggestions are welcome on all media. Requests can be emailed and technical issues should be reported as comments on the relevant blog posting. The best way to help when reporting a technical issue is to include the name of your device and a copy of the output from 'dmesg' (which is basically a log of kernel messages). The easiest way to share the log is by using the 'pastebinit' command (see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Pastebinit). After installing the command by entering 'sudo apt install pastebinit' you can share the kernel messages log by entering 'dmesg | pastebinit'. This will paste a copy of the output from 'dmesg' to Ubuntu's Pastebin and provide an URL to access it. So when reporting a technical issue please include:
- Outline of issue
- Name of device
- URL from pastebin (e.g. http://paste.ubuntu.com/23646692)

Finally I am totally dependent on donations to continue my work so a donation link (http://goo.gl/nXWSGf) rather than adverts is included on all sites. Please use this to donate.