GTA04 Installation¶

Prerequisites¶

In order to install Replicant on your device, it is assumed that you have a computer running a GNU/Linux operating system, a spare microSD card (at least 1GB) and everything necessary to connect the card to the computer. Moreover, it is assumed that anyone performing the installation knows how to use command lines in a terminal and has basic knowledge about it.

Downloading the files¶

The first step in the installation process is to download and set up the files that will be used to install Replicant to the device. The files must be downloaded on your computer first.

1. Find out what the latest image is: check out the Last image part of the general table on GTA04
2. Download all the files listed for the device (including the checksum and the signatures) on ReplicantImages for the latest image
2. Make sure you have added the Replicant release key to your GPG keyring
3. Check the signature of the files:

gpg --armor --verify path/to/replicant-4.2-gta04.zip.img.asc path/to/replicant-4.2-gta04.zip
gpg --armor --verify path/to/bootable.zip.asc path/to/bootable.zip
gpg --armor --verify path/to/replicant_gta04_install.sh.asc path/to/replicant_gta04_install.sh

4. Make sure the check succeeds, do not install anything if it doesn't!
5. Check the checksum of the files:

md5sum -c gta04.md5

6. Make sure the check succeeds, do not install anything if it doesn't!

Installing ADB¶

In order to install Replicant from the device using sideload, the ADB tool has to be installed on the host computer.

If it's not installed, you can follow the instructions on the ToolsInstallation to install it:

Preparing the microSD card¶

In order to install Replicant on the microSD card, it has to be set up with the base bootable files first:

1. Connect the microSD card to the computer (e.g. using an USB card reader)
2. Make sure that the bootable.zip file is placed within the same directory as the replicant_gta04_install.sh script
(or change the FILES_BASE variable in the script to the correct path)
3. Make sure that the /media directory exists and can be used for creating boot, system, cache and data sub-folders
(or change the MOUNT_BASE variable in the script to the correct path)
4. Setup the card using the installation script (you can provide the block device node as a second argument):

./replicant_gta04_install.sh setup

Note: you might want to run this command as root, since operations will fail with an unprivileged user!
5. If you didn't provide the block device node, select which device to use for installation
6. Confirm that you want to proceed with the installation
7. The script should report that the process was completed and that the card can be removed
8. Disconnect the microSD card from the computer

Installing the system¶

Once the microSD card is prepared, it is possible to insert it in the phone though no system is installed yet. It is possible to install Replicant either from the host computer or from the device.

From the host computer¶

1. Connect the microSD card back to the computer (e.g. using an USB card reader)
2. Make sure that the replicant-4.2-gta04.zip file is placed within the same directory as the replicant_gta04_install.sh script
(or change the FILES_BASE variable in the script to the correct path)
3. Make sure that the /media directory exists and can be used for creating boot, system, cache and data sub-folders
(or change the MOUNT_BASE variable in the script to the correct path)
4. Install the system to the card using the installation script (you can provide the block device node as a second argument):

./replicant_gta04_install.sh install

Note: you might want to run this command as root, since operations will fail with an unprivileged user!
5. If you didn't provide the block device node, select which device to use for installation
6. Confirm that you want to proceed with the installation
7. The script should report that the process was completed and that the card can be removed
8. Disconnect the microSD card from the computer
9. Insert the microSD card in the device and power the device on: the device should boot normally (the power light should stay orange for a short time and then switch green)

Your device should now be running Replicant!

From the device¶

1. Insert the microSD card in the device and power the device on: the device should boot normally (the aux light should stay orange for a short time and then switch green)
2. Make sure the device boots to recovery
3. Connect the USB cable to both the computer and the device
4. Select install zip (using the AUX key to navigate and the power key to select)
5. Select install zip from sideload
5. Back to the host computer, load the system zip with sideload:

adb sideload path/to/replicant-4.2-gta04.zip

6. Make sure the file is being transfered
7. Select Go Back (if necessary) to get back to the general menu
8. Select wipe data/factory reset
9. Confirm the data wipe by selecting Yes -- delete all user data
10. Select Reboot system now to reboot the device

Your device should now be running Replicant!