GP2X hacks

Sunday, June 25

Building a Custom Kernel

This is pretty neat I think. Using gcc 2.95.3, DignSys’s kernel and u-boot source. Interesting stuff

wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Building_a_Custom_Kernel

Movie history remover

If you like your gp2x video mode asking if you like to watch the video you last watched then use this script
archive.gp2x.de/...

Thursday, May 4

Download it now from http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi?0,0,0,0,42,1472

The usb driver is improved and works very well on all my computers. There is now a webserver, ftp sever, telnet and samba. WOW!

Thursday, April 13

DrMDx Megadrive Emulator

Originally for the gp32, this Genesis/Megadrive emulator works a treat. Playing most games at full speed with sound. It has a nice easy to use menu with insulting error messages. You have to put roms into the the [sd root]/roms/megadrive or the emulator will not see them. It also appears to be closed source so no source code on offer.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

You can download the emulator at wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/DrMDx

Sunday, April 9

Video Encoding on Windows

To play videos on the GP2X they have to be divx/xvid encoded this requires software to take a video and recode it.
The simple way to do this is to use DivX create bundle which includes the DivX Converter. It can convert MPG, VOB, TS and SVCD files to xvid files. All in a simple drag and drop design.

I found it to be the easiest way to convert movies to play on the GP2X, I use the portable setting on the convertor with out problems
To play the converted films make sure you rename the extension to .avi instead of .xvid.
You can download a tree trial of the divx creat bundle here.

Saturday, April 8

Installing a skin

There is a verity of skins available, these can alter the look your interface some more than others.
Use an updated or new skin becuase the older skins will not allow you to access the new features included in firmware 1.40.

Installing
A skin is made up of a collection of directorys which include images and a install script. These are placed on to your sd card and from there you can run the install script from the utility menu.

Download a skin
A collection of skins can be found on the file archive here

One of my favourite skins is the Poison 1.2 which supports 1.4 and 1.2 firmware. It comes in a green and blue. I like the blue best although you can decide.

You can download this skin from here

Another really good skin is the Aurora by Paradox. Its comes with skins for other applications such as SquidgeSNES.

You can download this skin from here

Friday, April 7

Getting Started

So you got your hands on a GP2X and you want to get playing with it.

Getting started
The first up most thing is to upgrade your firmware. Upgrading will get rid of those nasty bugs. At the time of writing firmware 1.40 is out. Upgrading your fireware reqiures you to "flash" your gp2x. This involes putting the firmware upgrader on your SD card and then turning your unit on (automatic install) as well as patching your GP2X.

Several tips before you do this...
Your going to need a card reader. It just makes thing easier, saves time and fussing around. If your PC has one built-in then great! use that.

Of course your going to need an SD card

You may want to check that you SD card is compatible, see the list here
The first step is to prepare your SD card. My personal advice is to back what ever is on it on to your computer and then format it. If something goes wrong you wont loose your music/games/photos ect... it will also reduce the risk of something going wrong with the "flash".

On Windows formating your SD card can be done from my computer ( as seen below ) it should be formated as FAT32

Downloading the firmware
The firmware can be found from several places, the file archive and the offical site are the best.
Installing or "Flashing" the firmware
First place the firmware files in to the root folder of your SD card directory. The files include the .img .tar.gz and .gpu.
Note: the tar.gz does not need to be unpacked

Before continuing make sure you have a reliable power source such as fully recharged batteries or a power adapter! If the power goes off while flashing you could "brick" your GP2X!
Place the SD card into your GP2X and turn it on. You should see the "Firmware Upgrading" screen. It will delete the gp2xboot.img and gp2xkernal.img files off the SD card and reboot.

After your reboot you will have to run the patch. This will run some final upgrades. Go to Utilities in the main menu and run patch file which looks like "Patch [.. and then loads of numbers]". When this is running it will show a picture saying "Patching"

Installing SDL
SDL, Simple DirectMedia Layer is needed to run some games and emulators. You dont have to install it but it makes sence to do it before you try out any games. You can download from here. Place the files in the root directory and goto the utility menu and run the installer.

More information
Firmware Upgrade Guide
SD card compatibility

Thursday, April 6

What is the GP2X?

The GP2X is a handheld entertainment system by the South Korean company, GamePark Holdings (GPH). With the GP2X you can watch video content, listen to music, view photos, read text files, play games, run emulators and run applications. The handheld runs Linux, which is an exiciting prospect allowing the open source software movement to move to the handheld.

You get a lot for your money…
Processing power
Dual CPU Cores at 200mhz each
· ARM920T : Host processor
· ARM940T : Video coprocessor

Memory
The device has plenty of memory:
· 64MB RAM
· 64MB NAND Flash Memory for internal storage
GP2X Newbies should note that the internal storage is not accessible via the USB connection. It’s used internally.
For external memory there is a SD memory card slot on the device. This is used for your games, videos, mp3s, text files and photos.

Video
3.5" TFT LCD, 320 by 240 pixels with (hardware) 16.7 Million Colours at 30FPS. Supporting DivX / XVID formats as well as mpeg in an AVI container (.avi).

Source: http://www.gp2x.com/product...

Close look at the gp2x...

GP2X compared to the PSP and NDS