How to introduce Linux to WindowsCE devices
There are a navi-like device It has very interesting specifications and the price is also interesting. The problem is that it can only run Windows CE, and our project absolutely needs the Linux operating system.
We found it hard to find a similar device (all-in-one touchscreen PC with GPS and GPRS and an extended temperature range at an affordable price), so I’m currently investigating the possibility of porting Linux to this device.
While I have
some experience with various embedded Linux devices (AXIS ETRAX/CRIS, Trimble Nomad, FOX G20, MOXA, PC/104 devices, etc.), I have never brought Linux to a device that has never run it. However, cross-compiling entire Linux systems is not new to me.
I guess the biggest problem is completely replacing Windows CE.
The device has a 400 MHz ARM 926EJ processor with 2 GB flash memory, 64 MB RAM, SD slot, and USB/RS232 port. The full specification can be found here
- How hard/hardest was it to convert it to a Linux device or ultimately something I couldn’t solve at all?
- Or is there a company/person specializing in such tasks? Note that we don’t even know who the original manufacturer is. However, the vendor has stated that Linux is not supported.
- Or, do you know of any similar devices that Linux already comes with (I prefer this one over a cracked device)?
Solution
Ideally, you will need
access to the processor’s JTAG pins for programming and debugging, and then you will need a JTAG debugger to support the device and program the flash memory used.
Once you have
all this, you have full access to the processor and memory and can reprogram it with any firmware of your choice. However, its usefulness depends on whether you have enough technical information to develop or obtain the right driver for your display, any other application-specific hardware, and on-chip peripherals.
Knowing that it is an ARM926EJ only tells you about the core. It doesn’t tell you anything about the on-chip peripherals, including hardware like the SDRAM Controller and PLL clock generators and interrupt controllers, all of which need to be initialized before you boot the system – these are device-specific, and Linux will need to specifically adapt the hardware. You can’t just load Linux like you would on a known standardized hardware platform PC.
The documentation shows that it is a Samsung S3C2416X processor. Get Related Problems and Solutions