N900 The Perfect Setup
Contents |
Introduction
Since the N900 has been release many developments have been made by the community. This page is to provide a generic guide to getting started with good foundations. This page will mainly link all the useful bits of the wiki and other useful information together.
Hardware
Hardware Accessories
Information on all recommended hardware accessories is here.
Hardware Specifications
Information on the specs can be found here
Recommended Hardware Modifications
One of the most common issues with the N900 is the surface mounted USB port. If you are not careful with it, the port can be ripped from the PCB. Due to the design of the port if this occurs, it can be vary difficult to repair successfully.
Therefore it is highly recommend to reinforce your USB port by soldering the casing of the USB to the PCB. Information on this is covered in great extent on talk.maemo.org
talk.maemo.org Fixing USB Thread
Another common modification is to remove the locking pins on all your microUSB cable connectors. This can be done by filing them down carefully with a small file.
The latter is important, especially if you don't feel confident in taking your N900 apart to reinforce the port.
File System
Firmware
Initial Firmware Setup
So you have your [N900] The first step especially if it's used is to flash the firmware. This can be used to clean off any unstable software and make a clean start.
It's recommended to download the latest Nokia firmware images for your region.
The latest versions are highlighted.
Highly Recommended Further Setup
Importance of CSSU
If you have flashed your firmware as above, your [N900] will now be on the last major Nokia release (PR1.3). From here onwards the Maemo Community are providing vital security updates, fixing bugs and generally moving the device forward. This is known as CSSU or Community SSU.
It is recommended all users install CSSU, of which there are two versions.
More information on this is here
Recommended Further Setup
Kernel Power
Kernel Power is a community developed Kernel that provides addition features and fixes to the Kernel. Kernel Power also provides the ability to overclock the device with an additional package kernel-power-settings
While overclocking is not recommended and has been known to reduce the lifetime of the device, the [Kernel Power] package on it's own is recommended and will not alter your device from the standard 250Mhz-600Mhz clock speed.
It provided important features like stable Smartreflex which will significantly increase battery life.
More information on this is here Please note Kernel Power page is heavily biased on overclocking and is provided for further reference only.
Utilise the SD Card
The N900 has a uSD card slot, it's a good to use this as much as possible to reduce flash wear from the devices eMMC.
Many users setup there swap space(s) on the uSD card this frees up the I/O of the device.
There has been much discussion on this and applications written to help with this.
Further reading
Swap on microSD wiki talk.maemo.org DISCUSS SDCard Swap
Swappolube
Swappolube is a package to modify memory management. Most users tweak this to suit there device and usage. If your unsure were to start the proposed settings are a good base.
More information can be found here
Settings
Network Positioning
Due to Nokia blocking access to it's supl server, your device maybe slow at getting a GPS fix.
To fix this the google server can be used.
Navigate to
- Settings > Location > Network Positioning
then edit the Location server to
- supl.google.com
Check this first if you have any GPS issues it has been known to revert back to the Nokia server.
Software
Repositories
Maemo software works in the same way as most Linux distribution's, repositories provide a secure and easy method of supplying software to end-users.
Information about the different repositories can be found here
Getting Root
Common Modifications
Please note these common modifications are here for reference. If you are a complete beginner and do not understand you must be aware that you could damage parts of your filesystem if you mess up.
Purging Unnecessary Software
The following is deemed safe use run in a Terminal as Root to remove unnecessary software provided with the Nokia firmware.
apt-get remove --purge hildon-theme-beta osso-chess-ui gnuchess osso-graphics-game-chess osso-lmarbles osso-graphics-game-lmarbles osso-sounds-game-chess maemoblocks ap-installer amazon-installer foreca-installer facebook-installer skype-installer dtg-installer tutorial-home-applet osso-tutorial-l10n-engb osso-tutorial-l10n-ptpt osso-tutorial-l10n-frca osso-tutorial-l10n-nlnl osso-tutorial-l10n-cscz osso-tutorial-l10n-itit osso-tutorial-l10n-eses osso-tutorial-l10n-svse osso-tutorial-l10n-frfr osso-tutorial-l10n-dede osso-tutorial-l10n-fifi osso-tutorial-l10n-nono osso-tutorial-l10n-esmx osso-tutorial-l10n-enus osso-tutorial-l10n-ruru osso-tutorial-l10n-mr0 osso-tutorial-l10n-plpl cherry osso-systemui-splashscreen sharing-service-flickr sharing-service-ovi chinese-font google-search-widget tutorial-home-applet osso-mahjong osso-graphics-game-mahjong osso-sounds-game-mahjong ovi-promotion-widget cherry
talk.maemo.org Safe to remove?
Disable Nokia Hands
There are two main methods to do this.
Method 1
Rename the file
- /opt/usr/share/hildon-welcome/media/Hands-v32-h264.avi
to
- /opt/usr/share/hildon-welcome/media/Hands-v32-h264.avi.disabled
Method 2
Use a text editor to edit the file
- /etc/hildon-welcome.d/default.conf
Comment out the last line.
- filename=Hands-v32-h264.avi
Faking Flash Player 12 for MicroB
- Get flashplayer 10 binaries for maemo.
apt-get remove --purge adobe-flashplayer apt-get install hexedit dpkg -i adobe-flashplayer-10.deb hexedit /usr/lib/browser/plugins/libflashplayer.so
- Once in Hexedit, press CTRL+S and type in 31302e31 and press enter, the string you've just found need to be changed to 31322e31
- Now, press CTRL+S, type "y" and search for 31302c31 and change it to 31322c31
- Press CTRL+S then "y" again.
- Close terminal and enjoy new faked v12.1.98.88 flash player
Watch 720p movies
Customizing Maemo
Customizing the appearance of Maemo
Additional information
Credits
My thanks go to jebba, titan, pali, NIN101, MentalistTraceur, sixwheeledbeast, DocScrutinizer05, sEKI, kerio, freemangordon, qwazix, ShadowJK and everyone on #maemo
Wiki Update Info
- Last Updated - sixwheeledbeast - 31 Jan 2013 21:41 UTC
Huge rewrite to be generic and beginner friendly original page is in Discussion (talk page) Page still under development