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[HOW TO] KODI Linux on Amlogic TV Boxes - Printable Version

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RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - joshua99 - 2015-04-08

Hi, yes it is a single core "Amlogic meson3 8726M SKTSH". I found this one on Matricom's site

"https://www.dropbox.com/s/9uz02182f8jjccb/Kodi%20Alpha%20Build%20v4.zip?dl=0" It is " Kodi Alpha build v3 Linux by Hydra" & it seems to work ok but has 3 files in it compared to just the one image file in your link.
cheers. Josh.


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - raymw - 2015-04-09

Yes I looked at that download joshua99, but I see it is an older alpha version of Hydra whereas the link I sent you is dated 31 Dec 2014 which I believe is the full release of this Helix 14.0 build. You should not need those extra two files if you simply put your M3 box into recovery mode by pressing and holding the reset button whilst you power up with NO SD card loaded until you get the recovery screen displayed. Then simply insert your SD card and install the .img file from there in the normal way, and that is exactly what I did from my old Frodo 12.0 installed Sumvision Nano Slim+ M3 box. As you say this maybe does not work on non Geniatech boxes but that is a bit surprising to my limited knowledge.

If you could not do that before maybe you now can from your Aplpha Hydra version you now have wroking. As always try it at your own risk of course..

I wonder if PIVOS will update this to Helix 14.2 ??


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - prangija - 2015-04-09

Recently I installed the EMBER build on my ATV1200. The changelog for version 1.0 states that the bug with random freezes while idle was fixed, but for me this still happens and it's by far the most annoying thing. I need to power off the device at least once a day because of this. Is anyone else still experiencing this on EMBER build?


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - AuXBoX - 2015-04-09

(2015-04-09, 06:52)raymw Wrote: Yes I looked at that download joshua99, but I see it is an older alpha version of Hydra whereas the link I sent you is dated 31 Dec 2014 which I believe is the full release of this Helix 14.0 build. You should not need those extra two files if you simply put your M3 box into recovery mode by pressing and holding the reset button whilst you power up with NO SD card loaded until you get the recovery screen displayed. Then simply insert your SD card and install the .img file from there in the normal way, and that is exactly what I did from my old Frodo 12.0 installed Sumvision Nano Slim+ M3 box. As you say this maybe does not work on non Geniatech boxes but that is a bit surprising to my limited knowledge.

If you could not do that before maybe you now can from your Aplpha Hydra version you now have wroking. As always try it at your own risk of course..

I wonder if PIVOS will update this to Helix 14.2 ??

Try M3_HELIX_020515.zip


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - redi - 2015-04-09

(2015-04-09, 10:12)prangija Wrote: Recently I installed the EMBER build on my ATV1200. The changelog for version 1.0 states that the bug with random freezes while idle was fixed, but for me this still happens and it's by far the most annoying thing. I need to power off the device at least once a day because of this. Is anyone else still experiencing this on EMBER build?

I haven't bothered testing, because the solution for me (before) was to use an active screensaver, instead of 'dim'. I use the fanart screensaver and I haven't had any freezes yet (both with mx Linux and ember).

however I also shut down my atv520 when I'm done, so it's not constantly running anyway.


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - joshua99 - 2015-04-09

(2015-04-09, 11:36)AuXBoX Wrote:
(2015-04-09, 06:52)raymw Wrote: Yes I looked at that download joshua99, but I see it is an older alpha version of Hydra whereas the link I sent you is dated 31 Dec 2014 which I believe is the full release of this Helix 14.0 build. You should not need those extra two files if you simply put your M3 box into recovery mode by pressing and holding the reset button whilst you power up with NO SD card loaded until you get the recovery screen displayed. Then simply insert your SD card and install the .img file from there in the normal way, and that is exactly what I did from my old Frodo 12.0 installed Sumvision Nano Slim+ M3 box. As you say this maybe does not work on non Geniatech boxes but that is a bit surprising to my limited knowledge.

If you could not do that before maybe you now can from your Aplpha Hydra version you now have wroking. As always try it at your own risk of course..

I wonder if PIVOS will update this to Helix 14.2 ??

Try M3_HELIX_020515.zip

@ raymw, tried the link again as you suggested but there was no file showing when I clicked on the sd card to update. Thank you very much for the time & trouble you have taken anyway, much appreciated.
@ AuXBoX tried the link you posted & it worked with no problems will now have a play with that & see what happens.Again thank you very much for your time, trouble & patience, much appreciated.
Cheers. Josh.
When I've finished playing with the Gbox I'll get back to the Nano & see if I can bring that back to life. So if you can think of anything else I can try on the Nano to bring it back I'd be very grateful. Josh


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - raymw - 2015-04-10

Hi Joshua99 , of course make sure the update file when you look at it on your PC has the .img suffix then it should be available in the recovery mode when you look at your SD card. Anyway with the new M3 Helix build from Auxbox it now seems a dead issue. Yet to try this new M3 Helix build but many thanks AuxBox for posting it mate. I have downloaded it already so will try it soon but remember my M3 box already has the earlier Hydra Helix 10 build installed as I said before..

Any luck with your CMX box you had bricked the other day when unable to find any reset button ?? Still reckon the new EMBER convert upgrade should work for you IF you can find a way to boot so it boots from the SD card or goes into recovery mode. My G18Ref MX box is working fine in EMBER. Going to get another one for testing, but this time, now I know where the reset button is hidden, I will try to flash the next box direct from the default Android straight to the new EMBER using the convert file set. Likely will not be for a few weeks though as have too much else on my plate right now.


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - AuXBoX - 2015-04-10

(2015-04-10, 07:53)raymw Wrote: Hi Joshua99 , of course make sure the update file when you look at it on your PC has the .img suffix then it should be available in the recovery mode when you look at your SD card. Anyway with the new M3 Helix build from Auxbox it now seems a dead issue. Yet to try this new M3 Helix build but many thanks AuxBox for posting it mate. I have downloaded it already so will try it soon but remember my M3 box already has the earlier Hydra Helix 10 build installed as I said before..

Any luck with your CMX box you had bricked the other day when unable to find any reset button ?? Still reckon the new EMBER convert upgrade should work for you IF you can find a way to boot so it boots from the SD card or goes into recovery mode. My G18Ref MX box is working fine in EMBER. Going to get another one for testing, but this time, now I know where the reset button is hidden, I will try to flash the next box direct from the default Android straight to the new EMBER using the convert file set. Likely will not be for a few weeks though as have too much else on my plate right now.

No good with those MXII boxes. No way of doing it. Even opened them up and shorted pins but never really got anywhere
just never get these boxes.

What do you reckon of the g18ref box though. No freezing like the atv1200 or 520?


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - raymw - 2015-04-10

(2015-04-10, 10:16)AuXBoX Wrote:
(2015-04-10, 07:53)raymw Wrote: Hi Joshua99 , of course make sure the update file when you look at it on your PC has the .img suffix then it should be available in the recovery mode when you look at your SD card. Anyway with the new M3 Helix build from Auxbox it now seems a dead issue. Yet to try this new M3 Helix build but many thanks AuxBox for posting it mate. I have downloaded it already so will try it soon but remember my M3 box already has the earlier Hydra Helix 10 build installed as I said before..

Any luck with your CMX box you had bricked the other day when unable to find any reset button ?? Still reckon the new EMBER convert upgrade should work for you IF you can find a way to boot so it boots from the SD card or goes into recovery mode. My G18Ref MX box is working fine in EMBER. Going to get another one for testing, but this time, now I know where the reset button is hidden, I will try to flash the next box direct from the default Android straight to the new EMBER using the convert file set. Likely will not be for a few weeks though as have too much else on my plate right now.

No good with those MXII boxes. No way of doing it. Even opened them up and shorted pins but never really got anywhere
just never get these boxes.

What do you reckon of the g18ref box though. No freezing like the atv1200 or 520?

Yes they are certainly okay as much cheaper though no HDMI cable included in the box which offsets the price advantage somewhat.

As to freezing well with EMBER Helix 14.2 that really is a thing of the past as croniccorey has fixed that now for sure with the G02Ref boxes. Running my ATV1200 and 1220 boxes with no screensaver, or just with the Dim one, and never any freezes now, wonderful Big Grin EMBER is for me the way to go right now. Have even donated to the good cause as well and waiting for the auto update to the Donators Edition when it is released any time now.

Well the Generic MX box I use seems wonderful and the supplier confirms they are the original design ones the rest being copies,


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - macfunk - 2015-04-12

Hi folks

Well it seems i may have finally tinkered too far after the last update to the new Ember build on my ATV1200 (Sumvision X2 branded).
Successfully updated to the newly released build after reverting to Android first then running the convert to Ember build.
All seemed well, restored all my userdata files and addons from a backup - nice and easy.
Only thing i'd noticed is, that after a couple of reboots I was getting a lot more freezing than i'd had running Auxbox's awesome Helix builds (although to be fair this only seemed to happen whilst using a streaming addon)

It also seemed (to me) to be just a touch slower and ever-so slightly less responsive than the previous Helix builds I'd been running.
I decided to delete all my userdata and restore to factory settings and start from a fresh Ember build again to see if that would make a difference and in doing so, I ended up bricking my box. Used the restore to factory settings feature in the Ember System settings menu and now the box won't boot up at all. I still get the red status light and the amber network light flashing but that's it - no signal output at all. Can't seem to get into recovery mode at all (after multiple attempts with the reset button)

Have also tried the revert to Android 4.1 method via SD card a few times as well - still nothing. Having read here about a lot of users that have had to resort to creating a bootable SD card (shortening pins, etc) it seems this is my next option. Because i'm a mac user i don't think it's possible to create the bootable card with the files and instructions i've downloaded (can it only be done in Windows?) Will get hold of a PC and I'll give it shot - just wanted to check with you guys it's worth a try, given i'm still getting lights on the box, I've assumed there may still be life in the old dog yet?

Cheers


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - Grand Total - 2015-04-13

(2015-04-12, 23:19)macfunk Wrote: Having read here about a lot of users that have had to resort to creating a bootable SD card (shortening pins, etc) it seems this is my next option. Because i'm a mac user i don't think it's possible to create the bootable card with the files and instructions i've downloaded (can it only be done in Windows?) Will get hold of a PC and I'll give it shot - just wanted to check with you guys it's worth a try, given i'm still getting lights on the box, I've assumed there may still be life in the old dog yet?
I've been down this route and shorting pins is the only way I was able to recover my ATV1200. You are also going to need this Android Bootcard.

You should be able to prepare a boot card on a Mac using the Mac dd command instead of the included MSDOS dd.exe utility. All you have to do is reproduce the actions in the uboot_MX.cmd files to create a suitable boot card.


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - macfunk - 2015-04-13

(2015-04-13, 02:34)Grand Total Wrote:
(2015-04-12, 23:19)macfunk Wrote: Having read here about a lot of users that have had to resort to creating a bootable SD card (shortening pins, etc) it seems this is my next option. Because i'm a mac user i don't think it's possible to create the bootable card with the files and instructions i've downloaded (can it only be done in Windows?) Will get hold of a PC and I'll give it shot - just wanted to check with you guys it's worth a try, given i'm still getting lights on the box, I've assumed there may still be life in the old dog yet?
I've been down this route and shorting pins is the only way I was able to recover my ATV1200. You are also going to need this Android Bootcard.

You should be able to prepare a boot card on a Mac using the Mac dd command instead of the included MSDOS dd.exe utility. All you have to do is reproduce the actions in the uboot_MX.cmd files to create a suitable boot card.

Many thanks Grand Total - will give it a go and let you know if it works!


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - bodgit - 2015-04-13

(2015-04-13, 13:58)macfunk Wrote:
(2015-04-13, 02:34)Grand Total Wrote:
(2015-04-12, 23:19)macfunk Wrote: Having read here about a lot of users that have had to resort to creating a bootable SD card (shortening pins, etc) it seems this is my next option. Because i'm a mac user i don't think it's possible to create the bootable card with the files and instructions i've downloaded (can it only be done in Windows?) Will get hold of a PC and I'll give it shot - just wanted to check with you guys it's worth a try, given i'm still getting lights on the box, I've assumed there may still be life in the old dog yet?
I've been down this route and shorting pins is the only way I was able to recover my ATV1200. You are also going to need this Android Bootcard.

You should be able to prepare a boot card on a Mac using the Mac dd command instead of the included MSDOS dd.exe utility. All you have to do is reproduce the actions in the uboot_MX.cmd files to create a suitable boot card.

Many thanks Grand Total - will give it a go and let you know if it works!

Same think happened to me using the ember build and restore to factory settings on a Sumvision X2, thankfully shorting the two pins on the board and the Android boot card unbricked the box.
It took several attempts to get to boot but eventually it worked.


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - macfunk - 2015-04-13

(2015-04-13, 17:40)bodgit Wrote:
(2015-04-13, 13:58)macfunk Wrote:
(2015-04-13, 02:34)Grand Total Wrote: I've been down this route and shorting pins is the only way I was able to recover my ATV1200. You are also going to need this Android Bootcard.

You should be able to prepare a boot card on a Mac using the Mac dd command instead of the included MSDOS dd.exe utility. All you have to do is reproduce the actions in the uboot_MX.cmd files to create a suitable boot card.

Many thanks Grand Total - will give it a go and let you know if it works!

Same think happened to me using the ember build and restore to factory settings on a Sumvision X2, thankfully shorting the two pins on the board and the Android boot card unbricked the box.
It took several attempts to get to boot but eventually it worked.

Big Grin Thanks to all you guys - my ATV1200 is alive again!
The shorting pins and SD bootcard method worked perfectly after only a couple of attempts (Initially thought it hadn't worked until i saw the status LED change to green from red) Took about 20-30 seconds for the green android to appear, then proceeded to flash the firmware as usual (never thought i'd be so delighted to see that bloody Android logo!)
Again - thanks to all who contribute and assist on this forum and their amazing expertise and knowledge. It'll also stop my wife from looking at me with both worry and disdain as i've been acting like there's been a death in the family for the past couple of days..sad but true!

Bodgit - very interesting to note that the same thing happened to you using the new Ember build. I would feed this back to Croniccorey & Josh5 but don't have privileges on their XDA forum page to do so but it's worth bearing in mind to anyone else using this build on a ATV1200 to avoid doing a restore to factory settings via their system settings menu.

Now to upgrade back to Auxbox's brilliant 14.1 Helix build for me!

Cheers


RE: [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - bodgit - 2015-04-13

(2015-04-13, 19:13)macfunk Wrote:
(2015-04-13, 17:40)bodgit Wrote:
(2015-04-13, 13:58)macfunk Wrote: Many thanks Grand Total - will give it a go and let you know if it works!

Same think happened to me using the ember build and restore to factory settings on a Sumvision X2, thankfully shorting the two pins on the board and the Android boot card unbricked the box.
It took several attempts to get to boot but eventually it worked.

Big Grin Thanks to all you guys - my ATV1200 is alive again!
The shorting pins and SD bootcard method worked perfectly after only a couple of attempts (Initially thought it hadn't worked until i saw the status LED change to green from red) Took about 20-30 seconds for the green android to appear, then proceeded to flash the firmware as usual (never thought i'd be so delighted to see that bloody Android logo!)
Again - thanks to all who contribute and assist on this forum and their amazing expertise and knowledge. It'll also stop my wife from looking at me with both worry and disdain as i've been acting like there's been a death in the family for the past couple of days..sad but true!

Bodgit - very interesting to note that the same thing happened to you using the new Ember build. I would feed this back to Croniccorey & Josh5 but don't have privileges on their XDA forum page to do so but it's worth bearing in mind to anyone else using this build on a ATV1200 to avoid doing a restore to factory settings via their system settings menu.

Now to upgrade back to Auxbox's brilliant 14.1 Helix build for me!

Cheers

Auxbox, any chance of a 14.2 build please. Wink