Thanks to a more great work from notaz and skeezix, SuperZaxxon Beta 2 is ready to be tested!
Compared to SuperZaxxon Beta 1, this release has more bugfixes for the new kernel 3.2:
The default kernel 2.6 has also seen a bugfix:
And of course there are more additional fixes and changes:
And here's a list of currently known issues:
I encourage everyone to try out the new firmware release and help us to hunt down remaining bugs of the experimental kernel.
Most programs should now also run using the new experimental kernel - but please report any that don't work yet here on this thread.
If possible, add the contents of /tmp/pndrun_xxx to your post.
If you switch on your Pandora, it will automatically boot using the standard old kernel.
To boot the new experimental kernel, press R (shoulder button) while switching on the Pandora and select to boot the experimental kernel.
When you see the green boot-screen, you can be sure you are booting the experimental kernel!
The stand-out new feature here is the 3.2 kernel with aggressive power saving and real suspend support. Now if you boot 3.2 and leave your padora sitting around doing nothing, it will automatically enter low power state and use under half the energy it used to use, potentially doubling battery time (could provide even more) in such cases. There is also real suspend support, which is activated by flipping the power switch. I haven't properly tested how long it can stay suspended, but it sould last at least several days - you are welcome to test. Note that currently there is a limitation that you must not run any PNDs while suspending or things may break. I suspect some use cases like paying games and listening mp3s might give noticeably better battery time too.
So here it is, available as full flash:
Download SuperZaxxon Beta 2
Please note: Flashing the new firmware will put your unit back into a default state. All your settings and users will be lost. Of course, this does not apply to PNDs which save their stuff on the SD-Card.
For those running from SD cards, you first need to install the new bootloaders (unless you already did that for SuperZaxxon Beta 1)
You can do this by copying everything from above zip to root of SD card, but leaving out rootfs.img and rootfs.md5 and then following usual reflashing procedure. Then everything but NAND rootfs will be reflashed.
To install it, simply extract the archive onto the root of your SD Card.
Insert the SD Card into the left slot. Keep R (shoulder) pressed while switching on your Pandora and select "Boot from SD1"
If "Boot from SD1" doesn't appear, try to reformat the SD Card using Panasonic SD Formatter, recopy the files and retry.
You can also use the SD Installer and run the OS off SD Card.
Grab the image needed for the SD Installer here
Enjoy
Compared to SuperZaxxon Beta 1, this release has more bugfixes for the new kernel 3.2:
- Added Overclocking support (not overvolting!)
- Partly fixed sound issues
The default kernel 2.6 has also seen a bugfix:
- Hopefully fixed the touchscreen-crashing that sometimes happened
And of course there are more additional fixes and changes:
- notaz' SDL (hardware accelerated) has been updated to be compatible with more recent kernels (i.e. 3.2).
- notaz' SDL both supports nubs and touchscreen as mouse as well now.
- MiniMenu: Added List-Mode (lists all your apps instead of showing icons).
And here's a list of currently known issues:
- Bluetooth not working when using experimental kernel
- WiFi automatically starts when booting with experimental kernel (can be switched off afterwards)
- MiniMenu: Doesn't properly add / remove apps when you remove / insert an SD Card. Simply select "Rescan Application" in the MiniMenu-Mainmenu after you swapped cards
I encourage everyone to try out the new firmware release and help us to hunt down remaining bugs of the experimental kernel.
Most programs should now also run using the new experimental kernel - but please report any that don't work yet here on this thread.
If possible, add the contents of /tmp/pndrun_xxx to your post.
If you switch on your Pandora, it will automatically boot using the standard old kernel.
To boot the new experimental kernel, press R (shoulder button) while switching on the Pandora and select to boot the experimental kernel.
When you see the green boot-screen, you can be sure you are booting the experimental kernel!
The stand-out new feature here is the 3.2 kernel with aggressive power saving and real suspend support. Now if you boot 3.2 and leave your padora sitting around doing nothing, it will automatically enter low power state and use under half the energy it used to use, potentially doubling battery time (could provide even more) in such cases. There is also real suspend support, which is activated by flipping the power switch. I haven't properly tested how long it can stay suspended, but it sould last at least several days - you are welcome to test. Note that currently there is a limitation that you must not run any PNDs while suspending or things may break. I suspect some use cases like paying games and listening mp3s might give noticeably better battery time too.
So here it is, available as full flash:
Download SuperZaxxon Beta 2
Please note: Flashing the new firmware will put your unit back into a default state. All your settings and users will be lost. Of course, this does not apply to PNDs which save their stuff on the SD-Card.
For those running from SD cards, you first need to install the new bootloaders (unless you already did that for SuperZaxxon Beta 1)
You can do this by copying everything from above zip to root of SD card, but leaving out rootfs.img and rootfs.md5 and then following usual reflashing procedure. Then everything but NAND rootfs will be reflashed.
To install it, simply extract the archive onto the root of your SD Card.
Insert the SD Card into the left slot. Keep R (shoulder) pressed while switching on your Pandora and select "Boot from SD1"
If "Boot from SD1" doesn't appear, try to reformat the SD Card using Panasonic SD Formatter, recopy the files and retry.
You can also use the SD Installer and run the OS off SD Card.
Grab the image needed for the SD Installer here
Enjoy
