HOWTO Setup GumStix Buildroot on an existing (X)Ubuntu System

=The Easy Route=

If you want to get things going as fast as possible, the best way to do this is to use the  script from the downloads section of the web site. You can always find the latest version of the build_myphone.sh script for (X)Ubuntu systems at:

http://hbmobile.org/downloads/XU_CURRENT/build_myphone.sh

This script downloads all the packages required to build the GumStix Linux system, then adds support for DirectFB, libpng, libjpeg, freetype, sftp and ppp over  (the middle serial port on the ConsoleLCD.) Then in an orgastic explosion of compilation, it builds everything. If everything goes well, you're left with three files in the  directory:


 * u-boot.bin
 * rootfs.arm_nofpu.jffs2
 * uImage

These are the files you'll need to reflash your myPhone. More information about reflashing can be found at the HOWTO Reflash the GumStix Verdex page.

Note that the current version of (X)Ubuntu we support is 7.10, and the script in the XU_CURRENT directory has been tested with this Linux distro. Users of other Linux distros may have some success with it, but your mileage may definitely vary.

Check your /etc/apt/sources.list before running the script
As a test, I installed Xubuntu 7.10 on a very old laptop that did not have a built in WiFi chipset (remember the days before WiFi?) I'm happy to say the install went well, but it took me a few minutes to realize... if you install on a machine that does not have a working network adapter when you do the install, it will disable network software updates by commenting out various lines in the  file.

If you have reason to believe your network adapter was deactivated when you installed, you may want to check this file out. This file is supposed to look something like this:""

If the lines that start with "deb" are commented out... well... that's bad. To fix the situation, use  or your favorite editor to remove the comments from the front of the "deb" lines and run the command:""

The disk will spin, the lights will blink and you should see the  tool updating its database of software packages.

Okay, Run the Script Already
To run the script, you can use the following shell commands:""

=The Less Easy Route=

"Two roads diverged in a wood And I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference" -- Robert Frost, Road Less Travelled

So if you're reading this far, it likely means there was a problem with the  script; or maybe you're just the kind of person who likes to know what scripts executing on your machine (sometimes with root permissions) are doing. Here's what's going on:

Use apt-get to Install Required Packages
The command""downloads the packages required on (X)Ubuntu to make sure things build right.

Add Soft Links for bash and zcat
For reasons unknown to mortals, the ascended (X)Ubuntu masters chose to make  a soft link to. As we all know, this is an affront to the great work of the secret cabal of bash shell programmers. Or something. But seriously, some of the packages referenced in the GumStix buildroot fail in mysterious ways if  is soft linked to. The fix is to make  a link to.

Also, it seems that some of the packages assume that the command  will be found somewhere on the system. But... the (X)Ubuntu default is to leave  fans wanting.

The following commands change things around so this isn't an issue:""