[Tuto] [EN/FR] Install/Installer nBoot + ControlX (+Linux)

[critor]

P.S. I really think you should disable that text. It looks really bad on a red background to have the white stripe.

The text indeed does look bad, I agree with you.

But I don't think removing the "preparing file system, please wait" and "loading operating system" strings is the right solution.
It's useful debug information.
And anyway, other strings can still be displayed and will still look bad, like "Operating System not found. Install OS now.".

A better solution could be to draw the strings inverted : white on black.

[critor]

Now using 3 of the 12 Manuf splash elements *in* ControlX 4.4.4 :
- static background #1
- progress bar background
- progress bar foreground
(see https://hackspire.org/index.php/NAND_Memory_Layout for a full list of all 12 elements)

But of course, although there are still in RAM, once the Boot2 has been launched these elements stop being used.

Here is how it looks like :

[Bisam]

That's much better looking...

[critor]

Thanks.

Now with the other official boot splashes :


But for now, we have no appropriate splash installer.
nsNandMgr/BtMg are just able to reflash the whole manuf data (except for vital fields which are ignored), thus the nBoot and Splash zones are going to be reflashed together.
So the Manuf image your are flashing needs to include both nBoot and the new targetted splashes.
Except for the nBoot one, all other Manuf images hosted on TI-Planet do not include nBoot, and thus flashing them will uninstall nBoot (which can be dramatic on TI-Nspire CM calculators).


In theory, ControlX is perfectly able to handle custom boot splashes, as it doesn't check the appended TI-Certificate signatures.
Except that :

• we currently have no appropriate editor for this
• we will need to define some format, as the nBoot installation does overwrite the beginning of the official format data

[GalacticPirate]

Awesome I wonder if the B&W "preparing file system, please wait" etc. messages have a counterpart on newer Manufs that we could use

[critor]

As the splash data is fully supported, ControlX can now use Manuf splash icons in its menus to give you some more information/feedback :








As there might be tools someday to reflash the Manuf with custom boot splash, I've added a safe mode : hold to ignore the boot splash.
Might be useful in case of bugs / invalid/corrupted boot splash information (which could crash/freeze ControlX).


Can be used together with if needed :


In this case, reflash the Manuf to fix the boot splash, or you'll have to hold at each reboot.

[critor]

Also works with the TI-Nspire CX Color EVT prototype Manuf and its different icons :

[critor]

Moved the ControlX version a bit :


It's to have a correct display with the TI-Nspire CM prototypes splash and its huge "CM EVT1" string :

[parrotgeek1]

.

[critor]

I'd like the status line to be kept visible in the menu.



Some little new thing, I've worked on the Linux launching code.

It shouldn't use the 2nd 32MiB memory bank anymore.
Meaning that in theory, Linux can now work on 32MiB SDRAM models, thus TI-Nspire Color and TI-Nspire CM.

For the moment it's freezing on TI-Nspire CM :

But it still means the executable Linux image now completely fits within the RAM, or it would have frozen/crashed before this screen (within the memcpy/move instructions), which is also shown but for a short time on TI-Nspire CX calculators.