Android X86 on Asus N10Jc

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Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 25, 2019, 12:04:54 PM3/25/19
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I've installed Lubuntu, and keeping XP (for older, retro PC games). But they both performs awfully on this thing.

I've installed Android x86 previously on this. And the performance is really satisfying. This is exactly what I need.

However, I was stuck at Android 6.0 and other newer Android-x86 always stuck at "detecting android"

So I decided to leave it until I have urge to play around with my N10J.

Yesterday I downloaded Android-x86 8.1, still stuck at "detecting Android"

====

Then it came up in my mind, all these times I haven't tried "dd" option in rufus.

Used dd options, then it booted to Android just fine! Wohooo!

I noticed you add taskbar launcher, which is a very nice touch for desktop/laptop user for sure.

Currently seems to be a bit rough around edges compared to Android-x86 6.0, since it crashed multiple times. But I'm fine dealing with it for now. As long as Chrome can be run at lightning speed, some games and some light word processing on this for now.

====

In the end just want to say thanks and congratulate you for this great project, this is truly a way to revive old computer (even better than lightweight linux)

And in conclusion, for those who got stuck at "detecting android" try the "Write in DD Image mode" option in rufus to get it running.


Cheers.

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 25, 2019, 1:34:34 PM3/25/19
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I might add a note, Android-x86 R1 still very unstable compared to Android-x86 7.1 R2

I can't even get google play opened, and full screen any app without crashing and Android restarting

So after went back and forth between the two versions I decided to stick to 7.1 R2 for now.

Still, waaaaaay much smoother than Lubuntu or Windows XP on this thing





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Josaphat Soekahar
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Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 25, 2019, 2:46:48 PM3/25/19
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Spoke too soon I guess. Chrome crashed very often on Android-x86 7. Although it crashed far less than Android 81.

Android 6 is undetected even with DD write option on this thing.

So I guess I'm going back to 4.4

It's snappy at least and can run some pretty good games nevertheless.

And another note, I don't know about the 64 bit versions though as I don't want to run multiple OS on my main computer/laptops.

Chih-Wei Huang

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Mar 25, 2019, 11:19:24 PM3/25/19
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Josaphat Soekahar <fjos...@gmail.com> 於 2019年3月26日 週二 上午2:46寫道:
>
> Spoke too soon I guess. Chrome crashed very often on Android-x86 7. Although it crashed far less than Android 81.
>
> Android 6 is undetected even with DD write option on this thing.
>
> So I guess I'm going back to 4.4
>
> It's snappy at least and can run some pretty good games nevertheless.
>
> And another note, I don't know about the 64 bit versions though as I don't want to run multiple OS on my main computer/laptops.

If your CPU is capable to run 64-bit version, you should try it.
Most of the development is concentrated on 64-bit version since 5.1.
The 32-bit version is less tested.


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Android-x86 project
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Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 26, 2019, 1:23:04 AM3/26/19
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N10J is using a single core 32 bit atom N270 CPU so I cannot use 64 bit on it. Just have this laying around unused I decided to give Android-x86 another try. My netbook is 12 years old (bought it circa 2007), just looking around to utilize it until it's broken.

But now I don't have any spare 64 bit machines to test the 64 bit version.

It is understandable to focus on 64 bit as every other OS (specially the major ones)  are phasing out their 32 bit counterparts (ubuntu for example). Most other major linux distros will also follow suit. 

So the problem I had with Android x86 8.1 and 7 32bit is acceptable. Perhaps it's time for you to abandon 32 bit as well. I'm okay with 4.4 x86 on this old junk as it runs most apps I need on it quite well.

Anyway while you're here, is there any recommended way to mount NTFS partition to Android x86 4.4? I've looked into SDCARD=/dev/block/xxx option but with no success. I can't quite understand what is "kernel commandline". Going through your documentation also didn't find anything about mounting other partitions. I cannot find /etc/void file.

Another question is, is there any way to set the UTC settings?


Thank you



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Chih-Wei Huang

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Mar 26, 2019, 2:18:21 AM3/26/19
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Josaphat Soekahar <fjos...@gmail.com> 於 2019年3月26日 週二 下午1:23寫道:
>
> N10J is using a single core 32 bit atom N270 CPU so I cannot use 64 bit on it. Just have this laying around unused I decided to give Android-x86 another try. My netbook is 12 years old (bought it circa 2007), just looking around to utilize it until it's broken.
>
> But now I don't have any spare 64 bit machines to test the 64 bit version.
>
> It is understandable to focus on 64 bit as every other OS (specially the major ones) are phasing out their 32 bit counterparts (ubuntu for example). Most other major linux distros will also follow suit.
>
> So the problem I had with Android x86 8.1 and 7 32bit is acceptable. Perhaps it's time for you to abandon 32 bit as well. I'm okay with 4.4 x86 on this old junk as it runs most apps I need on it quite well.
>
> Anyway while you're here, is there any recommended way to mount NTFS partition to Android x86 4.4? I've looked into SDCARD=/dev/block/xxx option but with no success. I can't quite understand what is "kernel commandline". Going through your documentation also didn't find anything about mounting other partitions. I cannot find /etc/void file.

NTFS is supported in 4.4.
For USB disk just plug in it, then it will be mounted automatically.
If you meant to mount NTFS partition on a fixed harddisk,
add SDCARD=xxx to cmdline where xxx is the device node of that partition.
To edit kernel cmdline, press 'e' on the boot menu,
add the string to the end of the line with 'kernel'.

> Another question is, is there any way to set the UTC settings?

Set what?
If you meant to change the timezone, isn't it in the Settings?

Mauro Rossi

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Mar 26, 2019, 4:12:55 AM3/26/19
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Hi,


On Monday, March 25, 2019 at 6:34:34 PM UTC+1, Josaphat Soekahar wrote:
I might add a note, Android-x86 R1 still very unstable compared to Android-x86 7.1 R2

I can't even get google play opened, and full screen any app without crashing and Android restarting

If the problem is related to NVIDIA GeForce 9300M, could you try the 32bit iso
oreo_x86_mesa-18.3.5_nouveau_playstore_fix.iso and report on its stability?


Mauro

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 26, 2019, 12:10:01 PM3/26/19
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On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 1:18 PM Chih-Wei Huang <cwh...@android-x86.org> wrote:
Josaphat Soekahar <fjos...@gmail.com> 於 2019年3月26日 週二 下午1:23寫道:
>
> N10J is using a single core 32 bit atom N270 CPU so I cannot use 64 bit on it. Just have this laying around unused I decided to give Android-x86 another try. My netbook is 12 years old (bought it circa 2007), just looking around to utilize it until it's broken.
>
> But now I don't have any spare 64 bit machines to test the 64 bit version.
>
> It is understandable to focus on 64 bit as every other OS (specially the major ones)  are phasing out their 32 bit counterparts (ubuntu for example). Most other major linux distros will also follow suit.
>
> So the problem I had with Android x86 8.1 and 7 32bit is acceptable. Perhaps it's time for you to abandon 32 bit as well. I'm okay with 4.4 x86 on this old junk as it runs most apps I need on it quite well.
>
> Anyway while you're here, is there any recommended way to mount NTFS partition to Android x86 4.4? I've looked into SDCARD=/dev/block/xxx option but with no success. I can't quite understand what is "kernel commandline". Going through your documentation also didn't find anything about mounting other partitions. I cannot find /etc/void file.

NTFS is supported in 4.4.
For USB disk just plug in it, then it will be mounted automatically.
If you meant to mount NTFS partition on a fixed harddisk,
add SDCARD=xxx to cmdline where xxx is the device node of that partition.
To edit kernel cmdline, press 'e' on the boot menu,
add the string to the end of the line with 'kernel'.

Thank you, kind sir!

I will test it right away.

I also really appreciate you got involved directly in your community. 

again, thank you. 
 

> Another question is, is there any way to set the UTC settings?

Set what?
If you meant to change the timezone, isn't it in the Settings?


I don't mean to be rude, you're obviously far way more technical savvy than I do. But I'll try to explain what I mean here. 

UTC settings is what makes windows time screwed up when using it alongside Linux. It's  "Universal Time Clock" or some sort. It is said that windows was set to a different configuration (localtime? I don't know), and BIOS was also set in local.

I don't exactly know the exact technical ordeal about these two standards both OSes used. But it's been around since dual booting Windows and Linux become available. Ubuntu and windows can play along, if Ubuntu was set to UTC=no in /etc/default/rcS. I got my ubuntu-windows dual boot play along well, but Android x86 set the time to UTC again.


I also don't know how this ordeal came along on recent OSes, whether it's solved or not (Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18) but perhaps you should look up for it and implement better solution on the next Android release. Or at least provide the settings file within OS. As I said I don't have any spare 64 bit machine to play with, and I don't want to mess up my main workstation/laptop with dual boots. So I don't know how's this ordeal status nowadays.

I think I saw some requests on this on previous posts, awhile back, within this group. So take it as another input from me.
 

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Android-x86 project
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Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 26, 2019, 12:14:25 PM3/26/19
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Thanks!

Is this a mod from the official Android x86 project?

And yes the netbook uses 9300M GS

I don't know what is the problem, seems the display works fine (on the launcher).

It can run with intel HD but I don't like swtiching the graphics back and forth, with manual switches. 

Google Play crashed a lot, but it gets stable along time on 7.1. Chrome cannot render web pages properly on it though.  

I'll try it and will report how it turns out. 

Do you have any plan to upstream this?

Mauro Rossi

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Mar 26, 2019, 4:04:49 PM3/26/19
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Hi,


On Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 5:14:25 PM UTC+1, Josaphat Soekahar wrote:
Thanks!

Is this a mod from the official Android x86 project?

And yes the netbook uses 9300M GS

I don't know what is the problem, seems the display works fine (on the launcher).

It can run with intel HD but I don't like swtiching the graphics back and forth, with manual switches. 

Google Play crashed a lot, but it gets stable along time on 7.1. Chrome cannot render web pages properly on it though.  

I'll try it and will report how it turns out. 

Do you have any plan to upstream this?

The commit on frameworks/base to prevent Null Pointer Exception in Playstore is already merged in oreo-x86



During my tests I can use apps (Clash Royale, Sky Force, Sky Force Reloaded) with mesa 18.3.4/mesa 18.3.5 with old mutex locking patches ported
and the results are good, having removed one serious blocker,
however there are still some issues causing Android GUI restart (zygote crash) and less frequently System Freeze (with keyboard leds blinking) or System instant Reboot

Once we isolate the remaining issue Android GUI restart (happening randomly when clicking Back and Menu)
and pass Android CTS multithread tests,
we would have nouveau back for android.x86 users.

It is really annoying that nouveau is so unstable, but some developers are helping and nouveau Mailing List was informed (again)
because they know very well that the problem IS THERE.

In parallel I am testing mesa 19.0/mesa-dev with new experimental mutex locking patches,
but at the moment Android CTS multithreading tests are still failing,
we're trying to understand why.

Mauro

Chih-Wei Huang

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Mar 26, 2019, 10:25:07 PM3/26/19
to Android-x86
Josaphat Soekahar <fjos...@gmail.com> 於 2019年3月27日 週三 上午12:09寫道:
> I don't mean to be rude, you're obviously far way more technical savvy than I do. But I'll try to explain what I mean here.
>
> UTC settings is what makes windows time screwed up when using it alongside Linux. It's "Universal Time Clock" or some sort. It is said that windows was set to a different configuration (localtime? I don't know), and BIOS was also set in local.
>
> I don't exactly know the exact technical ordeal about these two standards both OSes used. But it's been around since dual booting Windows and Linux become available. Ubuntu and windows can play along, if Ubuntu was set to UTC=no in /etc/default/rcS. I got my ubuntu-windows dual boot play along well, but Android x86 set the time to UTC again.
>
> https://askubuntu.com/questions/720445/ubuntu-15-10-assumes-bios-clock-is-set-to-utc-time-regardless-of-utc-no-in-etc
>
> I also don't know how this ordeal came along on recent OSes, whether it's solved or not (Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18) but perhaps you should look up for it and implement better solution on the next Android release. Or at least provide the settings file within OS. As I said I don't have any spare 64 bit machine to play with, and I don't want to mess up my main workstation/laptop with dual boots. So I don't know how's this ordeal status nowadays.
>
> I think I saw some requests on this on previous posts, awhile back, within this group. So take it as another input from me.

That issue was fixed since 6.0.

techno kang

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Mar 27, 2019, 1:57:58 AM3/27/19
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I have this vexing case. Whenever I activate Google Play Store, it asks for 'Sign In'. After I have done that, it goes 'Checking information...", then "Google Service has stopped', asking for 'Sign In' again, in a loop. Where's the problem?
Could it be that I have 'nomodeset' as boot option? I read from somewhere that this means I am not using the Graphics Processor. But without that option, cannot boot into Oreo.

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 27, 2019, 4:59:10 AM3/27/19
to Android-x86
That issue was fixed since 6.0.

Is there any way to workaround this issue on 4.4?

In the mean time I'll try to set my windows and Linux to UTC, and see if all three play along nicely (XP, Lubuntu and Android-x86). I'll report again my findings here.

Even though the netbook is super old, but I intend to use it for some small tasks for works (mostly writing with Office).

With the snappiness, I'll use the Android-x86 for the main OS.

Thanks

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 27, 2019, 4:59:45 AM3/27/19
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Okay, I'll let you know how it will turn out

Thanks again.

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 27, 2019, 11:42:33 AM3/27/19
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Hey, Mauro.

Tried your ISO, it was a promising start. The fixes seems to make it *just a little bit* more stable.

I got crashes on the vanilla android x86 8.1 32 bit right at the first setup screen, while your fix got me through it without a hitch. But as it enters "checking info" it reboots. That instant reboot you said. So, no I won't install it on top of my Android x86 4.4.

I also tried Phoenix OS, which got better UI for desktop/laptop, but (even though I haven't experience it) it is said the ads are unbearable. But most of all it refused to update google play services, on which Android x86 4.4 did.  

Look, this thing (asus N10J) is 12 years old today. I cannot even sell it for decent money anymore lol. I'm keeping it since I can still play older games on it (early 3D era games). 

It's just being left untouched for all these years, I figure I want to just use it because I own it anyway. I don't particularly NEED this thing anymore. And 32 bit processors are already stopped being produced like a decade + ago. Mame and retroarch works great on it so that's enough for me now. Older libreoffice still works on Windows XP and my Lubuntu is updated to 18.04 on this. Android 4.4 still supports a more recent app, runs very snappy compared to those two. What more can I ask for?

If I do need a low-end computers, there're bunch of much more modern mini PCs and chinese tablets available for dirt cheap out there, and all of them supports 64 bit. I would get one of those instead.

So, it's probably best for Chih Wei (and the Android x86 team) and you to just drop 32 bit support by now and focus entirely on 64 bit.

All in all, great job for Android x86 for reaching this far!

Thanks for the great OS, Android x86 team👍 

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 27, 2019, 4:12:35 PM3/27/19
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Eh one more report. I'm kind of OCD person when involving these kind of thing. I simply had to try it.

So I decided to gamble and test install Mauro's ISO. I can pass the initial setup without crashing when installed.

On the live mode, I can't get pass the "checking info" message (Mauro's ISO).

On the vanilla oreo, the initial setup crashes multiple times. Had to try it several times until I can pass the initial setup.

So it looks promising at first. But when I did enter Android, and chose taskbar launcher, it crashed and restarted on its own. Now it even hangs on "launching android" (or something like that). Sometimes it won't load up the launcher. But the restarts are too often it's unbearable.

As I recall on the vanilla build I can get to Chrome, but the websites I open didn't load (or rendered?). Then it went restarting too often.

So yeah, the final word is : I understand building an OS is definitely NOT a simple task. Add maintaining 2 builds at once on top of that, now that's a job for superman.

Thus my suggestion is, just drop the 32 bit builds, and focus on 64 bit. My netbook is a relic of the past anyway. And other OS maintainer started to phasing out 32 bits. People who still holding on to their 32 bit PCs for their daily driver are either cheapskates or just simply don't understand technology.

I'm just keeping this netbook because I can play 16 bit games, 2D arcade games and older Windows games (early 3d). Probably also do some light word processing and browsing on it.

Cheers!

Josaphat Soekahar

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Mar 29, 2019, 12:23:09 PM3/29/19
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Another report from me (probably the last one)

Decided to give CM 14 32 bit version a go. It's VERY stable, google play runs well and no restarts at all within hours of using it. First boot or live mode took VERY long though.

But after I login to the OS, chrome works good, bluetooth works, wifi is very stable, no disconnects or anything.

However, no websites displayed at all on chrome, even when the progress bar finished. Lineage OS browser works a little bit better though. I cannot remember whether it loads up the website correctly or not. since Chrome is the first one I install on it.

So, there. Android 4.4-R5 is the best option for VERY OLD 32 bit systems. It's still far better than Lubuntu and Windows XP, combined.

Should you fix the CM14 browser rendering bugs? No. IMO just leave it and focus on 64 bit development instead. Phase out 32 bits.

But I don't get it why you want to develop LineageOS-x86 too.

Vanilla Android and LineageOS is very similar at best. I'm using Lineage on my daily driver phone, I kinda like it but I would prefer vanilla android in the long run.

Heck most android skins are just the same. I would prefer Android-x86 develop something else, like proper desktop mode (taskbar launcher does it job decently though, but the navbar really irks me) or some sort, but focusing only one build at a time.

It is a good choice for lower end computers, with tons of software library available at play store. I haven't touched Chromium OS, neither I'm interested on it. 

Just another input from me BTW.

Chih-Wei Huang

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Apr 1, 2019, 2:30:47 AM4/1/19
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Josaphat Soekahar <fjos...@gmail.com> 於 2019年3月30日 週六 上午12:23寫道:
>
> Another report from me (probably the last one)
>
> Decided to give CM 14 32 bit version a go. It's VERY stable, google play runs well and no restarts at all within hours of using it. First boot or live mode took VERY long though.
>
> But after I login to the OS, chrome works good, bluetooth works, wifi is very stable, no disconnects or anything.
>
> However, no websites displayed at all on chrome, even when the progress bar finished. Lineage OS browser works a little bit better though. I cannot remember whether it loads up the website correctly or not. since Chrome is the first one I install on it.
>
> So, there. Android 4.4-R5 is the best option for VERY OLD 32 bit systems. It's still far better than Lubuntu and Windows XP, combined.
>
> Should you fix the CM14 browser rendering bugs? No. IMO just leave it and focus on 64 bit development instead. Phase out 32 bits.
>
> But I don't get it why you want to develop LineageOS-x86 too.

LineageOS-x86 (cm-x86) was made by another developer Jaap
but it's discontinued since Jaap stopped maintaining it.

> Vanilla Android and LineageOS is very similar at best. I'm using Lineage on my daily driver phone, I kinda like it but I would prefer vanilla android in the long run.
> Heck most android skins are just the same. I would prefer Android-x86 develop something else, like proper desktop mode (taskbar launcher does it job decently though, but the navbar really irks me) or some sort, but focusing only one build at a time.
>
> It is a good choice for lower end computers, with tons of software library available at play store. I haven't touched Chromium OS, neither I'm interested on it.
>
> Just another input from me BTW.


Josaphat Soekahar

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Apr 1, 2019, 10:39:08 AM4/1/19
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Okay. So yeah I'll stick to my suggestion then, just focus on 64 bit builds. I'm currently VERY happy with 4.4 on my old junk (n10j). It's enough to revive this old crappy junk for casual use.

Another suggestion, very sorry if a lot people already asking this : I know RemixOS is dead. And you probably attempted this before, but is it possible to ask Jide (RemixOS) to open source their OS and integrate their modifications to yours? Or perhaps you take over the Remix OS development entirely? Rather than being left forgotten in the dust.

They did use your distro as the base for Remix OS anyway.

Thanks!

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