• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root [KERNEL][UPDATE: 05/24/2012] bKernel-v2.3 & bKernel-CM7-v2.3 - 2.6.32.59

can someone please tell me what kernels actually do for our phones right now im running cm7 reloaded and i see an updated kernel and have no idea what to expect when i download and flash it

The kernel... It's the core/kernel of an operating system. It's main functions are to interact with the hardware a.k.a. Device Drivers, to manage resources (things like memory management and processor time sharing a.k.a. multi-tasking), service interrupt requests, network services and the like. It also provides a System Call Interface (API) to the user space (apps running on the machine) so the apps can use system resources.

Now the why so many part... First of all in general there are MANY options available when compiling (building) the kernel. Things like CPU schedulers, file system support, system type support, etc. etc. etc. So there are many different ways to configure the kernel and that gives many options to "test" and see which might work better or not. Some that may help a little or a lot, like CPU management options.

~artvandalay22222~

In short - Kernel: Set of controls that lets the software interact with the hardware of the phone. Typically affects GPS, battery, bluetooth, wifi, display, etc.
 
Upvote 0
It works on any froyo based rom like bROM Froyocream Minimal etc, it also works on the complete stock ron's but in order to overclock, you have to have the rom rooted and use setcpu or nofrills or cpu master to overclock and incredicontrol to undervolt.

So if you are on the stock rom you need to be rooted in order to oc/UV.

Yeah any stock based modded rom is rooted(bROM, Froyocream, Minimal, etc.)
 
Upvote 0
this may be a noob question

is this kernel for the stock ROM or for the bROM?
and do I need to wipe anything before flashing?

I flashed this over the stock ROM but I do not have root nor can I underclock/undervolt

And this kernel wont root your phone. And you don't need to wipe anything, just flash and enjoy. Root your phone using gingerbreak or some other root method. Probably need to install busybox to if your not rooted as most root apps need busybox in order to work!
 
Upvote 0
I flashed this kernel on bRom 1.2 and it caused it not to boot. I'm not sure if I did something wrong(probably) or if this kernel is not meant for that rom. Just a warning for others who may try to do the same. I had to do a full wipe and reinstall bRom.

Did something wrong. Which bKernel did you download? And it works cause I'm using it as a type this message. List exact steps you took in flashing? You should not wipe anything when flashing the kernel. Also did it just not boot or did it bootloop? Details details details.
 
Upvote 0
Did something wrong. Which bKernel did you download? And it works cause I'm using it as a type this message. List exact steps you took in flashing? You should not wipe anything when flashing the kernel. Also did it just not boot or did it bootloop? Details details details.

I downloaded the bKernel-v1.01 not the CM7 one. All I did is put it on my SD card, booting into CWR and installed the zip. Then it wouldn't boot, it was stuck on the Google logo.
 
Upvote 0
Calculus, trigonometry. Man y'all MUST be kids. No wonder so many developers seen to have time on their hands. But that's enough of me calling myself old.

Mr random, do you have a repository that I might be able to rummage though? I've stuck with Whyzor's kernels because of the battery life, but I see some features on your list I think I would like to add to my own.

Edit: sorry, just read the first post again.
 
Upvote 0
I flashed this kernel on bRom 1.2 and it caused it not to boot. I'm not sure if I did something wrong(probably) or if this kernel is not meant for that rom. Just a warning for others who may try to do the same. I had to do a full wipe and reinstall bRom.

FYI the first time I tried to install the updated kernel the same thing happened. But I didn't have to wipe anything, just install a different kernel. I re-downloaded and tried again--it worked fine. BTW awesome quadrant scores! Though I don't know how much of that translates to performance...
 
Upvote 0
Can I ask what governors people are using with this kernel? I'm using the sio scheduler which looks awesome on quadrant, but the governor seems more trial and error. Suggestions?

sio scheduler is a scheduler. That has to do with the access to the... partitions. We don't have hard drives in our phones. Schedulers can do things like wait until the disk swings around to make a read or write event. With nandflash, we have equal access to every part of the data. That's why the simpler schedulers work better. Governors control the CPU clock rate, thus when to use more power to do a job. I use Interactive, some use a derivative that locks the clock rate to a low speed. I don't agree with that seeing how the processor can enter a sleep state at any frequency. And I use sio for my scheduler, in case anyone cares:ciao:
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBears
Upvote 0
Ah I just figured I'd try out the lower voltage settings. I still haven't had a chance messing with them. I guess they probably don't work though lol!

For scheduler I use vr mostly. Sio and no-op is good too. For the governor I stick to the tried and true on demand governor! Its always worked the best for me!
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBears
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones