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== Names ==
== Names ==


{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Names used for the system'''
|+'''Names used for the system'''
! Name !! Where it appears
! Name !! Where it appears
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The image recipe pulls in four package groups and then adds the default user:
The image recipe pulls in four package groups and then adds the default user:


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<pre>
export IMAGE_BASENAME = "soho-image"
export IMAGE_BASENAME = "soho-image"
DEPENDS = "task-bootstrap meta-gpe meta-psion ttf-bitstream-vera"
DEPENDS = "task-bootstrap meta-gpe meta-psion ttf-bitstream-vera"
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ln -s ../initrd/lib/modules ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/lib/modules
ln -s ../initrd/lib/modules ${IMAGE_ROOTFS}/lib/modules
}
}
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


The desktop runs as user <code>lx</code> with an empty password, which is why PsionLX starts straight into the desktop with no login.<ref name="oe-meta" /><ref name="oe-tree" />
The desktop runs as user <code>lx</code> with an empty password, which is why PsionLX starts straight into the desktop with no login.<ref name="oe-meta" /><ref name="oe-tree" />


The tree holds 263 recipes in 144 directories. Five recipes fetch their source from Psion's own CVS server through the <code>${PDCVS}</code> variable (<code>cvs://${PDUSER}@cvs.psiondev.com/var/lib/cvs</code>): the launcher <code>gpe-appmgr</code>, the button bar <code>gpe-buttonbox</code>, the help viewer <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>, the <code>infoprint</code> utility and the 2.4.26 kernel headers. Another eighteen fetch from other CVS servers, mostly handhelds.org and freedesktop.org. The rest carry their payload in the tree or fetch a released tarball.<ref name="oe-tree" />
The tree holds 263 recipes in 144 directories. Five recipes fetch their source from Psion's own CVS server through the <code>${PDCVS}</code> variable (<code>cvs://${PDUSER}@cvs.psiondev.com/var/lib/cvs</code>): the launcher <code>gpe-appmgr</code>, the button bar <code>gpe-buttonbox</code>, the help viewer <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>, the <code>infoprint</code> utility and the 2.4.26 kernel headers. Another twenty-two fetch from other CVS servers, mostly handhelds.org and freedesktop.org. The rest carry their payload in the tree or fetch a released tarball.<ref name="oe-tree" />


=== People named in the files ===
=== People named in the files ===
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The LX BooSt script partitions the internal NAND differently from Windows CE. <code>netbook-booting.txt</code>, recovered with the LX installer, gives the commands for the LX prototype and warns that a standard machine needs a different value:<ref name="anon-lt" />
The LX BooSt script partitions the internal NAND differently from Windows CE. <code>netbook-booting.txt</code>, recovered with the LX installer, gives the commands for the LX prototype and warns that a standard machine needs a different value:<ref name="anon-lt" />


<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
<pre>
nand -ignore erase 18 ee8
nand -ignore erase 18 ee8
nand partition e8
nand partition e8


For a normal NBP the correct value should be 7e8 instead of e8.
For a normal NBP the correct value should be 7e8 instead of e8.
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


A forum member who used the <code>e8</code> script on a standard machine in 2009 found that Windows CE would no longer install into the smaller partition until the script was remade with <code>7e8</code>.<ref name="hpcf-dvr" /> A 2007 guide to the BooSt supervisor mode gives the full-erase commands as <code>nand -ignore erase 18 7e8</code> for a 32 MB machine and <code>nand -ignore erase 18 fe8</code> for a 64 MB one, and warns that erasing below block 18 erases BooSt itself and leaves the machine unbootable.<ref name="boostdongle" />
A forum member who used the <code>e8</code> script on a standard machine in 2009 found that Windows CE would no longer install into the smaller partition until the script was remade with <code>7e8</code>.<ref name="hpcf-dvr" /> A 2007 guide to the BooSt supervisor mode gives the full-erase commands as <code>nand -ignore erase 18 7e8</code> for a 32 MB machine and <code>nand -ignore erase 18 fe8</code> for a 64 MB one, and warns that erasing below block 18 erases BooSt itself and leaves the machine unbootable.<ref name="boostdongle" />
RetroTechCollection's own restore of Windows CE in September 2026 did not bear out <code>7e8</code> as a partition value. On its standard machine a <code>nand</code> dump reads <code>0x800</code> blocks of <code>0x4000</code> bytes, 32 MB. There, <code>nand partition 7e8</code> gave the whole chip to the operating-system partition and left Windows CE with no Flash Disk, so it reached its splash screen and stopped. <code>nand partition 540</code> worked, leaving 10.6 MB of Flash Disk.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


LX machines appeared for sale from time to time. Expansys asked "over a thousand dollars" for one earlier in 2008, a prototype appeared on eBay in June 2008 without source, and in February 2010 a forum member offered his 256 MB machine, bought from Pulster two years earlier, for €400, with the LX system "swapped for GPE".<ref name="hpcf-mrkrupa-0807" /><ref name="hpcf-chiark-0806" /><ref name="hpcf-marc-1002" /> In September 2026 Pulster listed a "Psion Netbook PRO Linux - PsionLX" at €1,900.<ref name="pulster" />
LX machines appeared for sale from time to time. Expansys asked "over a thousand dollars" for one earlier in 2008, a prototype appeared on eBay in June 2008 without source, and in February 2010 a forum member offered his 256 MB machine, bought from Pulster two years earlier, for €400, with the LX system "swapped for GPE".<ref name="hpcf-mrkrupa-0807" /><ref name="hpcf-chiark-0806" /><ref name="hpcf-marc-1002" /> In September 2026 Pulster listed a "Psion Netbook PRO Linux - PsionLX" at €1,900.<ref name="pulster" />
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| 6 November 2007 || Acid Snoop boots the image on his own netBook Pro from a 1 GB CF card, thanking "Marc for distributing me with the PsionLX image". His first complaint is that settings do not survive a restart<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" />
| 6 November 2007 || Acid Snoop boots the image on his own netBook Pro from a 1 GB CF card, thanking "Marc for distributing me with the PsionLX image". His first complaint is that settings do not survive a restart<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" />
|-
|-
| 7 November 2007 || Acid Snoop posts RapidShare links to <code>nBkProOs.img</code> and <code>soho-image-netbook-pro-20050104074212.rootfs.tar.bz2</code>: "Marc gave me the OK to upload the PsionLX files"<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-07" />
| 7 November 2007 || Acid Snoop posts RapidShare links to <code>nBkProOs.img</code> and <code>soho-image-netbook-pro-20050104074212.rootfs.tar.bz2</code>: "Marc gave me the OK to upload the PsionLX files".<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-07" /> The same evening he posts the links with German instructions on the Linux on tour forum. He is answering an offer made that morning by the dealer Christoph Pulster: goods worth €100 from his shop for whoever writes a guide to installing Linux that still allows a return to Windows CE. His instructions put <code>nBkProOs.img</code> on a 10 MB FAT16 partition and the extracted image on an ext2 partition of at least 140 MB, on a CF card (he used 1 GB), and leave the internal flash untouched<ref name="lot-7535" />
|-
|-
| 10 November 2007 || Acid Snoop uploads <code>netbook-linux-sources.tgz</code>, plus a password-protected folder of "the original PsionLX sources the Teklogix developer used to build the PsionLX Linux OS", adding that "some of these files are still confidential"<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-10" />
| 10 November 2007 || Acid Snoop uploads <code>netbook-linux-sources.tgz</code>, plus a password-protected folder of "the original PsionLX sources the Teklogix developer used to build the PsionLX Linux OS", adding that "some of these files are still confidential"<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-10" />
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The forum record is the only account of how PsionLX behaved in use.
The forum record is the only account of how PsionLX behaved in use.


* Booting from CF took a minute or more. Acid Snoop's account: a black screen, a red cursor, the PsionLX logo, then "a minute or something" before the pointer and the interface appeared.<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" />
* Booting from CF took about two minutes. Acid Snoop's account: a black screen, a red cursor, the PsionLX logo, then "a minute or something" before the pointer and the interface appeared. His German instructions give the stages: 20 to 30 seconds to "Please wait, booting..." under the red cursor, about 30 seconds more to the PsionLX logo, then about a minute while the interface loads, ending with GPE's cross-shaped pointer in the middle of a black screen.<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" /><ref name="lot-7535" />
* Firefox was slow to start: "much more than 30 seconds" in 2007, and "a minute or so" in 2009, though once open it "loads pages way faster and better than ie in wince".<ref name="hpcf-mozart-0710" /><ref name="hpcf-bobby-0906" />
* Firefox was slow to start: "much more than 30 seconds" by one account in 2007 and about 15 seconds by Acid Snoop's, and "a minute or so" in 2009, though once open it "loads pages way faster and better than ie in wince".<ref name="hpcf-mozart-0710" /><ref name="lot-7535" /><ref name="hpcf-bobby-0906" />
* The touchscreen came pre-calibrated, and the battery monitor sat on the taskbar.<ref name="hpcf-bobby-0906" />
* The touchscreen came pre-calibrated, and the battery monitor sat on the taskbar.<ref name="hpcf-bobby-0906" />
* Wi-Fi worked on PsionLX in 2009 where the community GPE image of the time would not load pages.<ref name="hpcf-bobby-0904" />
* Wi-Fi worked on PsionLX in 2009 where the community GPE image of the time would not load pages.<ref name="hpcf-bobby-0904" /> In 2007 Acid Snoop's Orinoco Gold card was recognised straight away and connected to his access point.<ref name="lot-7535" />
* The card had to stay in the slot. The root filesystem was just under 150 MB, too large for the 32 MB internal flash, of which about 29 MB is left after BooSt, because it included large programs such as Mozilla.<ref name="lot-7535" />
* One user got "permission denied" messages during boot. After making the whole filesystem writable with <code>chmod -R 777</code> he had to restore the setuid bit on <code>/bin/tinylogin</code> before <code>su</code>, <code>mount</code> and <code>umount</code> worked again. He could not set the date and time, and found the built-in help "sehr mager" (very thin).<ref name="lot-7535" />
* Suspend worked the same way as under Windows CE, by closing the lid or pressing Fn+Off.<ref name="hpcf-psifi-1010b" />
* Suspend worked the same way as under Windows CE, by closing the lid or pressing Fn+Off.<ref name="hpcf-psifi-1010b" />
* The e-mail application could corrupt the system: "On both version the email app will corrupt the O/S and make it unuseable."<ref name="hpcf-psifi-1112" />
* The e-mail application could corrupt the system: "On both version the email app will corrupt the O/S and make it unuseable."<ref name="hpcf-psifi-1112" />
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On the root filesystem, <code>gpe-bootsplash</code> draws Psion's splash, and <code>gpe-dm</code> starts the kdrive X server on the framebuffer and runs the scripts in <code>/etc/X11/Xinit.d</code>. The last of them, Psion's <code>99psion-session</code>, hands the display to user <code>lx</code>:<ref name="oe-tree" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />
On the root filesystem, <code>gpe-bootsplash</code> draws Psion's splash, and <code>gpe-dm</code> starts the kdrive X server on the framebuffer and runs the scripts in <code>/etc/X11/Xinit.d</code>. The last of them, Psion's <code>99psion-session</code>, hands the display to user <code>lx</code>:<ref name="oe-tree" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<pre>
chown lx /dev/dsp /dev/mixer
chown lx /dev/dsp /dev/mixer
if ! grep -q '^lx::' /etc/passwd; then
if ! grep -q '^lx::' /etc/passwd; then
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   exec su lx -c /etc/X11/Xsession >> /home/lx/.xsession-errors 2>&1
   exec su lx -c /etc/X11/Xsession >> /home/lx/.xsession-errors 2>&1
fi
fi
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


The session then runs Psion's <code>95psion-apps</code>, which copies Psion's button bar layout into the user's home directory ("this also neatly avoids the annoying welcome screen and timezone setter", in the script's own comment), and starts Matchbox with Psion's session file:<ref name="oe-tree" />
The session then runs Psion's <code>95psion-apps</code>, which copies Psion's button bar layout into the user's home directory ("this also neatly avoids the annoying welcome screen and timezone setter", in the script's own comment), and starts Matchbox with Psion's session file:<ref name="oe-tree" />


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<pre>
gpe-soundserver &
gpe-soundserver &
gpe-appmgr -d -r &
gpe-appmgr -d -r &
matchbox-panel --orientation south --size 48 --no-menu &
matchbox-panel --orientation south --size 48 --no-menu &
exec matchbox-window-manager $@
exec matchbox-window-manager $@
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


=== The desktop ===
=== The desktop ===
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Psion's panel layout file lists exactly that, with a tab character separating the left group from the right:<ref name="oe-tree" />
Psion's panel layout file lists exactly that, with a tab character separating the left group from the right:<ref name="oe-tree" />


<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
<pre>
gpe-buttonbox -p
gpe-buttonbox -p
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minimix
minimix
psion-card-ejector
psion-card-ejector
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


The TASKS screen offered Psion's task scripts. Three recipes describe themselves that way: <code>iconnect</code> ("Internet connection script for tasks screen"), <code>backup</code> ("Backup script for tasks screen") and <code>mydocs</code> ("Task to specify location of My Documents"). The TASKS page itself was an HTML file, <code>gpe-appmgr/tasks.html</code>. It is lost, but Psion's <code>add-backup.patch</code> of 26 August 2004 edits it, and shows a table of tasks with icons in which "Back up your information" becomes a link to <code>launch:backup.sh</code>, beside an entry reading "Get help". The launcher recipe depends on Psion's HTML viewer, <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>.<ref name="oe-tree" />
The TASKS screen offered Psion's task scripts. Three recipes describe themselves that way: <code>iconnect</code> ("Internet connection script for tasks screen"), <code>backup</code> ("Backup script for tasks screen") and <code>mydocs</code> ("Task to specify location of My Documents"). The TASKS page itself was an HTML file, <code>gpe-appmgr/tasks.html</code>. It is lost, but Psion's <code>add-backup.patch</code> of 26 August 2004 edits it, and shows a table of tasks with icons in which "Back up your information" becomes a link to <code>launch:backup.sh</code>, beside an entry reading "Get help". The launcher recipe depends on Psion's HTML viewer, <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>.<ref name="oe-tree" />
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Psion's XSettings override is four lines. It sets the double-click timing, turns Matchbox compositing off and selects the theme:<ref name="oe-tree" />
Psion's XSettings override is four lines. It sets the double-click timing, turns Matchbox compositing off and selects the theme:<ref name="oe-tree" />


<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
<pre>
Net/DoubleClickTime:I:600
Net/DoubleClickTime:I:600
Net/DoubleClickDistance:I:7
Net/DoubleClickDistance:I:7
MATCHBOX/COMPOSITE:S:off
MATCHBOX/COMPOSITE:S:off
Net/ThemeName:S:psion
Net/ThemeName:S:psion
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


The session also sets <code>LANG=en_GB</code>, sets <code>GPE_PRETEND_STYLUS=1</code>, and loads Psion's keyboard map for the machine, <code>xmodmap-netbookpro</code>. Psion's Matchbox keyboard bindings are:<ref name="oe-tree" />
The session also sets <code>LANG=en_GB</code>, sets <code>GPE_PRETEND_STYLUS=1</code>, and loads Psion's keyboard map for the machine, <code>xmodmap-netbookpro</code>. Psion's Matchbox keyboard bindings are:<ref name="oe-tree" />
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| <code>gpe-fs-cf.tar.bz2</code> || 14,227,676 || A community GPE root filesystem for CF, 2,383 entries. <code>/etc/version</code> reads <code>200503081928</code> and <code>/etc/issue</code> "Familiar Linux Unofficial Snapshot". Not PsionLX || <code>linuxtogo.org/~florian/</code>. The archive holds it only under its <code>index.php?download=</code> address, not its direct path<ref name="provenance" />
| <code>gpe-fs-cf.tar.bz2</code> || 14,227,676 || A community GPE root filesystem for CF, 2,383 entries. <code>/etc/version</code> reads <code>200503081928</code> and <code>/etc/issue</code> "Familiar Linux Unofficial Snapshot". Not PsionLX || <code>linuxtogo.org/~florian/</code>. The archive holds it only under its <code>index.php?download=</code> address, not its direct path<ref name="provenance" />
|-
|-
| <code>gpe-image-3.5.4.1-netbook-pro.rootfs.jffs2</code> || 15,450,112 || The same GPE system as a JFFS2 image for the internal flash || <code>linuxtogo.org/~florian/</code>, via the Internet Archive<ref name="provenance" />
| <code>gpe-image-3.5.4.1-netbook-pro.rootfs.jffs2</code> || 15,450,112 || An OpenZaurus 3.5.4.1 GPE image for the internal flash, 1,939 files. <code>/etc/version</code> reads <code>200608040117</code>, so it is a later build than the CF root filesystem, not a copy of it. Not PsionLX || <code>linuxtogo.org/~florian/</code>, via the Internet Archive<ref name="provenance" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />
|-
|-
| <code>nBkPro.img</code> || 300 || A BooSt script named "netBook LX BooSt script" holding the LX prototype NAND commands || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code> (offline), via the Internet Archive<ref name="anon-lt" />
| <code>nBkPro.img</code> || 300 || A BooSt script named "netBook LX BooSt script" holding the LX prototype NAND commands || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code> (offline), via the Internet Archive<ref name="anon-lt" />
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| <code>nBkProOs.img</code> || 3,403,850 || A NAND boot image of the same kernel version, built by <code>fuchs@gibson</code> on 8 March 2005. BooSt flags <code>0x10013</code> (NAND) || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code><ref name="kernel-strings" />
| <code>nBkProOs.img</code> || 3,403,850 || A NAND boot image of the same kernel version, built by <code>fuchs@gibson</code> on 8 March 2005. BooSt flags <code>0x10013</code> (NAND) || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code><ref name="kernel-strings" />
|-
|-
| <code>gpe-image.jffs2</code> || 22,822,912 || A larger GPE JFFS2 image for the internal flash. It includes AbiWord || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code><ref name="provenance" />
| <code>gpe-image.jffs2</code> || 22,822,912 || A third GPE build, again for the internal flash: "Familiar Linux v0.8.3-unofficial-unsupported-snapshot-20051104", 2,223 files. It includes AbiWord 2.4 and Gaim. Neither of the two JFFS2 images carries <code>gpe-appmgr</code> or <code>gpe-buttonbox</code> || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code><ref name="provenance" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />
|-
|-
| <code>NBLXLoad.sh</code> || none || The script the initial ramdisk runs to write a root filesystem to the internal flash. The file itself was not recovered: all nine archived copies are an HTTP 403 page, because the server refused to serve <code>.sh</code> files. Its full text survives in a forum post of 30 October 2007 || <code>linuxtogo.org/~anonymous/</code>; text on HPC:Factor<ref name="hpcf-eddie-0710-30" /><ref name="provenance" />
| <code>NBLXLoad.sh</code> || 633 || The script the initial ramdisk runs to write a root filesystem to the internal flash. It takes the first <code>.jff</code> or <code>.jffs2</code> file in <code>/rootfs</code>, erases the flash with <code>flash_eraseall -j</code> and writes the file with <code>nandwrite --blockalign=2</code>. The copy at linuxtogo.org was never archived: all nine Internet Archive captures are an HTTP 403 page, because the server refused to serve <code>.sh</code> files. Its text was also posted on HPC:Factor on 30 October 2007 || A copy uploaded on 26 March 2010 to the anetbookpro download area at TuxFamily, still online<ref name="tuxfamily" /><ref name="hpcf-eddie-0710-30" /><ref name="provenance" />
|-
|-
| <code>BooStDongle.pdf</code> || 217,046 || "How to enter the BooSt superuser mode in the Netbook Pro", a one-page guide dated 12 July 2007 by w_m0zart || Kept with the auditeon.com files; its download location was not recorded<ref name="boostdongle" />
| <code>BooStDongle.pdf</code> || 217,046 || "How to enter the BooSt superuser mode in the Netbook Pro", a one-page guide dated 12 July 2007 by w_m0zart || Kept with the auditeon.com files; its download location was not recorded<ref name="boostdongle" />
|-
|-
| OpenEmbedded <code>netbook-pro</code> machine files || small || The later community machine configuration, a 2.6.17 kernel recipe, <code>fstab</code> and touchscreen settings || The OpenEmbedded classic repository, still online<ref name="oe-classic" />
| OpenEmbedded <code>netbook-pro</code> machine files || small || The later community machine configuration, a 2.6.17 kernel recipe, <code>fstab</code> and touchscreen settings || The OpenEmbedded classic repository, still online<ref name="oe-classic" />
|-
| <code>linux-2.6.9-pre1-bk18-nbp1.patch</code> || 954,777 || netBook Pro support for the 2.6.9 kernel the device runs, patching 174 files, including the machine file <code>netbookpro.c</code>, the keyboard, NAND, PC Card and display drivers, and a <code>netbookpro_defconfig</code> dated 14 September 2004. The full patched tree in the developer archive supersedes it || <code>linuxtogo.org/~koen/</code> (offline), via the Internet Archive<ref name="rtc-search" />
|-
|-
| 2.6.17 kernel patches || small || <code>netbook-base-r0</code> to <code>r3</code>, <code>netbook-pcon-r0</code>, <code>netbook-pcon-i2c-r0</code> and <code>r1</code>, <code>netbook-pm-r0</code>, a defconfig and the machine file <code>netbookpro.c</code>. The patches and defconfig the recipe uses match its MD5 checksums || <code>linuxtogo.org/~koen/</code> (offline), via the Internet Archive<ref name="oe-classic" />
| 2.6.17 kernel patches || small || <code>netbook-base-r0</code> to <code>r3</code>, <code>netbook-pcon-r0</code>, <code>netbook-pcon-i2c-r0</code> and <code>r1</code>, <code>netbook-pm-r0</code>, a defconfig and the machine file <code>netbookpro.c</code>. The patches and defconfig the recipe uses match its MD5 checksums || <code>linuxtogo.org/~koen/</code> (offline), via the Internet Archive<ref name="oe-classic" />
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|-
|-
| <code>nbpswfeb18english04218.zip</code> || 19,505,892 || The Windows CE 4.2 restore image, for returning a machine to its shipped state || vigay.com<ref name="provenance" />
| <code>nbpswfeb18english04218.zip</code> || 19,505,892 || The Windows CE 4.2 restore image, for returning a machine to its shipped state || vigay.com<ref name="provenance" />
|-
| <code>1000999D.ISO</code> || 30,750,720 || Psion's netBook Pro companion CD. The volume is dated 10 November 2004. It holds the Windows side only: ActiveSync, USB setup, Pocket On-Schedule and its guides, and the user manual in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Not PsionLX || The Internet Archive item <code>1000999d_netbook_pro_cd</code>, uploaded in December 2019<ref name="ia-cd" />
|}
|}


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|-
|-
| <code>jlime-xfce-image-2012.3-netbookpro-20120311.rootfs.tar.bz2</code> || <code>ce14633797a2d4562ecdfb07db19974b8417df43bc96bed9595e43ac3f9060fc</code>
| <code>jlime-xfce-image-2012.3-netbookpro-20120311.rootfs.tar.bz2</code> || <code>ce14633797a2d4562ecdfb07db19974b8417df43bc96bed9595e43ac3f9060fc</code>
|-
| <code>NBLXLoad.sh</code> (TuxFamily) || <code>583095e51004129de568dfd216d9cf207fec34c09cb9eade41d9e712556f2280</code>
|-
| <code>linux-2.6.9-pre1-bk18-nbp1.patch</code> || <code>5fe432d2445e927e65c7859afa34371e0e080626c5887f7815d698972011e0b6</code>
|-
| <code>1000999D.ISO</code> || <code>7d646c2841cfbdd1f636814bb0129339ba7cb7e88b7d2e74f8a5c87862d5c967</code>
|}
|}


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! Item !! What it was !! Status
! Item !! What it was !! Status
|-
|-
| <code>soho-image-netbook-pro-20050104074212.rootfs.tar.bz2</code> || The built PsionLX root filesystem of 4 January 2005 || Posted on RapidShare in November 2007 and in a package on ul.to in January 2010. Neither link works and no public copy has been found. Acid Snoop reported still holding a copy in February 2019<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-07" /><ref name="hpcf-scops-1001" /><ref name="hpcf-acid-1902" /><ref name="provenance" />
| <code>soho-image-netbook-pro-20050104074212.rootfs.tar.bz2</code> || The built PsionLX root filesystem of 4 January 2005 || Posted on RapidShare in November 2007 and in a package on ul.to in January 2010. Neither link works, the Internet Archive never captured either download, and no public copy has been found. Acid Snoop reported still holding a copy in February 2019<ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-07" /><ref name="hpcf-scops-1001" /><ref name="hpcf-acid-1902" /><ref name="provenance" /><ref name="rtc-search" />
|-
|-
| Psion's CVS server, <code>cvs.psiondev.com</code> || The source of the launcher (tag <code>GPE_APPMGR_56</code>), the button bar (tag <code>GPE_BUTTONBOX_50</code>), <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>, <code>infoprint</code> and the 2.4.26 kernel || Offline. The Internet Archive holds one URL from psiondev.com<ref name="provenance" />
| Psion's CVS server, <code>cvs.psiondev.com</code> || The source of the launcher (tag <code>GPE_APPMGR_56</code>), the button bar (tag <code>GPE_BUTTONBOX_50</code>), <code>gpe-helpviewer</code>, <code>infoprint</code> and the 2.4.26 kernel || Offline. The Internet Archive holds one URL from psiondev.com<ref name="provenance" />
Line 507: Line 521:
|-
|-
| Psion's binary packages || The <code>.ipk</code> feed the image was assembled from || Only the three LinNeighborhood packages in the developer archive survive<ref name="oe-tree" />
| Psion's binary packages || The <code>.ipk</code> feed the image was assembled from || Only the three LinNeighborhood packages in the developer archive survive<ref name="oe-tree" />
|-
| <code>gnome-theme-grand-canyon</code> and <code>gnome-theme-lighthouseblue</code> || Two alternate GTK themes that <code>soho-image.oe</code> installs. Psion's tree has no recipe for either; they came from OpenEmbedded's own recipes || Not in any file recovered. Psion's own theme, the one PsionLX uses, is complete<ref name="oe-meta" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />
|}
|}


The searches that failed covered the Internet Archive (exact URLs, URL prefixes and domain sweeps of jlime.com, hpcfactor.com, repository.hpcfactor.com, linuxtogo.org, psiondev.com, handhelds.org, familiar.handhelds.org, openembedded.org and psionlinux.blogspot.com), a full enumeration of HPC:Factor's public repository, GitHub code and repository search including the tworaz netBook Pro repositories, archive.org item and full-text search, Software Heritage, the OpenPsion mailing list and the archived blog comment feeds.<ref name="provenance" /> One trap is worth recording for anyone repeating the work: a Wayback Machine CDX query of the form <code>url=*/filename*</code> returns nothing for files that are archived, because a leading wildcard is not a supported match type. An empty result from that query form proves nothing.<ref name="provenance" />
The searches that failed covered the Internet Archive (exact URLs, URL prefixes and domain sweeps of jlime.com, hpcfactor.com, repository.hpcfactor.com, linuxtogo.org, psiondev.com, handhelds.org, familiar.handhelds.org, openembedded.org and psionlinux.blogspot.com), a full enumeration of HPC:Factor's public repository, GitHub code and repository search including the tworaz netBook Pro repositories, archive.org item and full-text search, Software Heritage, the OpenPsion mailing list and the archived blog comment feeds.<ref name="provenance" /> One trap is worth recording for anyone repeating the work: a Wayback Machine CDX query of the form <code>url=*/filename*</code> returns nothing for files that are archived, because a leading wildcard is not a supported match type. An empty result from that query form proves nothing.<ref name="provenance" />
A second search at the end of September 2026 added arquivo.pt's full-text index, Common Crawl, the Internet Archive's complete index of linuxontour.de (which linked to the files but never hosted them), the live directory at kernelconcepts.de/~florian/, the code archives and forges Software Heritage, GitLab, SourceForge, Codeberg, Gitea, git.kernel.org, repo.or.cz, the Google Code Archive, Gitorious, Savannah, BerliOS, Launchpad and Bitbucket, and searches in German, Russian and twelve other languages. Only the German search found anything: the 2007 Linux on tour post. Six sites could not be searched by script, because of blocks, captchas or logins, and have not been checked by hand: 4pda.to, Yandex, Baidu, forum.ixbt.com, mikrocontroller.net and a1k.org.<ref name="rtc-search" /> Two more traps: the Wayback Machine's CDX interface fails over plain HTTP where the same query over HTTPS works, and when it is throttled it returns an empty result that looks like "no captures". Every query needs a control that is known to be archived, run in the same batch.<ref name="rtc-search" />


== The RetroTechCollection reconstruction ==
== The RetroTechCollection reconstruction ==
Line 524: Line 542:


=== What is in the image ===
=== What is in the image ===
There are two images, built from two trees. <code>psionlx-cf-1gb.img</code> is the working image, and it is the one described below as of 30 September 2026. <code>psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img</code> is the archival image, whose PROGRAMS screen matches the Pulster photograph (see [[#What the reconstruction is and is not|below]]). Its tree was frozen on 28 September 2026 and fell behind for two days. Since 30 September both trees get the same fixes, and the two images differ in their menus.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
Line 533: Line 553:
| Base system and libraries || <code>gpe-fs-cf.tar.bz2</code>, a Familiar/GPE snapshot of 8 March 2005 with GTK+ 2.6.3 and GLib 2.6.3 || No. Psion built GTK+ 2.4.13 with 18 patches and GLib 2.4.7
| Base system and libraries || <code>gpe-fs-cf.tar.bz2</code>, a Familiar/GPE snapshot of 8 March 2005 with GTK+ 2.6.3 and GLib 2.6.3 || No. Psion built GTK+ 2.4.13 with 18 patches and GLib 2.4.7
|-
|-
| Theme, session scripts, splash, help, tutorial, keyboard map and key bindings, Agfa fonts, PPP and GPRS configuration, PLP tools, PC Card and sleep configuration || Psion's build tree || Yes, installed unchanged, with two exceptions. The theme is selected by an added <code>/etc/gtk-2.0/gtkrc</code> and an added <code>-theme psion</code> argument in the Matchbox session file, and the panel layout starts the card-ejector applet directly. Psion's originals of the changed files are kept beside them as <code>.psion-orig</code>
| Theme, session scripts, splash, help, tutorial, keyboard map and key bindings, Agfa fonts, PPP and GPRS configuration, PLP tools, PC Card and sleep configuration || Psion's build tree || Yes, installed unchanged, with three exceptions. The theme is selected by an added <code>/etc/gtk-2.0/gtkrc</code> and an added <code>-theme psion</code> argument in the Matchbox session file, and the panel layout starts the card-ejector applet directly. Psion's originals of the changed files are kept beside them as <code>.psion-orig</code>. The third is the font: the added <code>gtkrc</code> names Bitstream Vera Sans, and two lines of the theme that ask for plain <code>Sans</code> now name it too (see [[#Faults found during the rebuild|Faults found during the rebuild]])
|-
|-
| gpe-conf, gpe-calendar, gpe-contacts, gpe-filemanager, gpe-gallery, gpe-login, gpe-shield, gpe-wlancfg, gpe-todo, gpe-edit, gpe-sketchbook, gpe-beam, gpe-bluetooth, gpe-dm, gpe-soundserver, galculator, detect-stylus, ipaq-sleep, libeventdb, libgtkstylus, the six Matchbox panel applets, mb-applet-volume, Balsa 2.2.2, Firefox 1.0, Totem, rdesktop 1.3.1, grdesktop 0.23 || Upstream release at the version Psion pinned, with Psion's patches, compiled for the device || Rebuilt from Psion's recipes
| gpe-conf, gpe-calendar, gpe-contacts, gpe-filemanager, gpe-gallery, gpe-login, gpe-shield, gpe-wlancfg, gpe-todo, gpe-edit, gpe-sketchbook, gpe-beam, gpe-bluetooth, gpe-dm, gpe-soundserver, galculator, detect-stylus, ipaq-sleep, libeventdb, libgtkstylus, the six Matchbox panel applets, mb-applet-volume, Balsa 2.2.2, Firefox 1.0, Totem, rdesktop 1.3.1, grdesktop 0.23 || Upstream release at the version Psion pinned, with Psion's patches, compiled for the device || Rebuilt from Psion's recipes
Line 551: Line 571:
| Internet Dialler || gkdial 1.8.0 with Psion's three patches || Substitute. Psion pinned 1.8.1, which is lost
| Internet Dialler || gkdial 1.8.0 with Psion's three patches || Substitute. Psion pinned 1.8.1, which is lost
|-
|-
| Sheet || Gnumeric 1.4.3 from Debian sarge || Substitute. Psion built 1.3.93 with nine patches
| Sheet || Gnumeric 1.3.93 with Psion's nine patches, compiled for the device (added on 28 September 2026, replacing Debian sarge's 1.4.3) || Rebuilt from Psion's recipe
|-
|-
| Word and Instant Messenger || AbiWord and Gaim as shipped in the community GPE image || Substitute builds
| Word || AbiWord 2.0.11, built from Psion's <code>abiword_2.0.11.oe</code> recipe with its five patches, and with spell checking switched on through aspell (added on 30 September 2026, replacing AbiWord 2.4 from the community GPE image) || Rebuilt from Psion's earlier recipe. Psion's newer 2.0.12 recipe, with four patches, needs a tarball that is lost
|-
| Instant Messenger || Gaim, copied from the community GPE image recovered from linuxtogo.org/~anonymous || Substitute build
|-
|-
| Panel || A patched matchbox-panel 0.9.x. Psion's own 0.8.1 build, compiled with all nine of Psion's patches, is on the card as <code>matchbox-panel.psion-0.8.1</code> || Substitute, by choice (see below)
| Panel || A patched matchbox-panel 0.9.x. Psion's own 0.8.1 build, compiled with all nine of Psion's patches, is on the card as <code>matchbox-panel.psion-0.8.1</code> || Substitute, by choice (see below)
Line 562: Line 584:
|-
|-
| <code>pppd</code> and <code>chat</code> || Debian sarge ppp 2.4.3, with libpam and libpcap || Substitute. The base image had no PPP at all, though Psion's configuration expects it
| <code>pppd</code> and <code>chat</code> || Debian sarge ppp 2.4.3, with libpam and libpcap || Substitute. The base image had no PPP at all, though Psion's configuration expects it
|-
| Data and Printers || Gaby and the GNOME CUPS print manager were on the card but had no menu entries. Psion's own menu files for both were added on 30 September 2026, with a new override naming Gaby "Data", after the EPOC database application. Data's icon is a stand-in, because the <code>gnome-gaby.png</code> Psion's file asks for is lost. Printers is filed under system settings rather than on the PROGRAMS screen || Psion's menu files; the name and icon are reconstructed
|-
| Links in Email, Word and Sheet || Psion's <code>firefox-url</code> wrapper, and the three link-handler settings from Psion's gnome-vfs patch: web links go to Firefox, e-mail links to Balsa. The settings entries are rebuilt, because the schema file Psion's patch applies to is not in the tree || Psion's values, reconstructed entries
|-
| Module list || Psion's <code>/etc/modules</code> and <code>modules.conf</code>, added on 30 September 2026 || Yes
|}
|}


Debian's <code>arm</code> architecture in the sarge and etch releases is the old ARM ABI, which is what the netBook Pro's userspace uses, so Debian packages from that period run on the device unchanged.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
Debian's <code>arm</code> architecture in the sarge and etch releases is the old ARM ABI, which is what the netBook Pro's userspace uses, so Debian packages from that period run on the device unchanged.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
Until 30 September 2026 the card had no <code>/etc/modules</code>, so the start-up script that loads kernel modules exited without loading any. Nothing depended on it. Every driver on Psion's list is built into the kernel the card boots: PPP, SLIP header compression, Bluetooth with L2CAP, RFCOMM, BNEP and HIDP, the MMC card driver, and IrDA through IrCOMM and <code>pxa_ir</code>.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


Two things are left out on purpose. Psion's touchscreen calibration scripts run <code>xtscal -e2cal</code>, a mode that exists only in Psion's lost xtscal build; installing them over the stock xtscal would write an empty calibration file. And <code>gpe-beam</code> and <code>gpe-bluetooth</code> are installed but untested, because a standard netBook Pro has no Bluetooth hardware and IrDA beaming was not tested.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
Two things are left out on purpose. Psion's touchscreen calibration scripts run <code>xtscal -e2cal</code>, a mode that exists only in Psion's lost xtscal build; installing them over the stock xtscal would write an empty calibration file. And <code>gpe-beam</code> and <code>gpe-bluetooth</code> are installed but untested, because a standard netBook Pro has no Bluetooth hardware and IrDA beaming was not tested.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
Line 584: Line 614:
* Running Psion's library stack. GTK+, GLib, the X server and the other base libraries are the March 2005 community GPE snapshot's, not Psion's patched builds.
* Running Psion's library stack. GTK+, GLib, the X server and the other base libraries are the March 2005 community GPE snapshot's, not Psion's patched builds.
* Using Psion's launcher, button bar, desktop background, override icons, or TODAY and TASKS pages. Those are all lost, and the versions on the card are reconstructions.
* Using Psion's launcher, button bar, desktop background, override icons, or TODAY and TASKS pages. Those are all lost, and the versions on the card are reconstructions.
* Complete. Psion's gkdial 1.8.1, xtscal with NVRAM calibration, Gnumeric 1.3.93 and GStreamer 0.8.3 plugins are all replaced by the nearest available substitute or left out.
* Complete. Psion's AbiWord 2.0.12, gkdial 1.8.1, xtscal with NVRAM calibration, GStreamer 0.8.3 plugins and two alternate GNOME themes are all replaced by the nearest available substitute or left out.
* A copy of the photographed menu. The main image keeps seventeen menu entries that are not in Psion's photograph (Figment, Summary, Time Tracker, Audio mixer, Go, Lights Out, Othello, Play Memo, Plucker, Program manager, Record Memo, Root shell, Sokoban, Telnet, Tetris, Watch and xdemineur). An archival variant, <code>psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img</code>, removes those seventeen menu entries and moves PDF Viewer into OTHER, so that its PROGRAMS screen shows exactly the 21 applications in the Pulster photograph. The programs themselves remain on the card.
* A copy of the photographed menu, in the working image. That image has eighteen PROGRAMS entries that are not in Psion's photograph (Data, Figment, Summary, Time Tracker, Audio mixer, Go, Lights Out, Othello, Play Memo, Plucker, Program manager, Record Memo, Root shell, Sokoban, Telnet, Tetris, Watch and xdemineur). The archival image, <code>psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img</code>, leaves those eighteen out and moves PDF Viewer into OTHER, so that its PROGRAMS screen shows exactly the 21 applications in the Pulster photograph. The programs themselves remain on the card.
* An installer. Nothing on the root filesystem writes to the internal flash, but see the warning about <code>nBkPro.img</code> below.
* An installer. It does not write to the internal flash. Images built before 29 September 2026 carried the LX NAND script on the boot partition; see the warning below.


=== Card image layout ===
=== Card image layout ===


{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''<code>psionlx-cf-1gb.img</code>, 1,024,966,656 bytes'''
|+'''<code>psionlx-cf-1gb.img</code> and <code>psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img</code>, 1,024,966,656 bytes each'''
! Part !! Type !! Start sector !! Sectors !! Size !! Contents
! Part !! Type !! Start sector !! Sectors !! Size !! Contents
|-
|-
| MBR || - || 0 || 1 || 512 bytes || Partition table, signature <code>0xAA55</code>. CHS fields use 16 heads and 32 sectors per track, the geometry BooSt expects
| MBR || - || 0 || 1 || 512 bytes || Partition table, signature <code>0xAA55</code>. CHS fields use 16 heads and 32 sectors per track, the geometry BooSt expects
|-
|-
| Partition 1 || <code>0x06</code> FAT16, bootable || 2,048 || 143,360 || 70 MB || Label <code>PSIONBOOT</code>. <code>nBkProOs.img</code>, the file name BooSt looks for; <code>nBkPro.img</code>; <code>README.TXT</code>
| Partition 1 || <code>0x06</code> FAT16, bootable || 2,048 || 143,360 || 70 MB || Label <code>PSIONBOOT</code>. <code>nBkProOs.img</code>, the file name BooSt looks for, a 279-byte <code>nBkPro.img</code> (see below) and <code>README.TXT</code>
|-
|-
| Partition 2 || <code>0x83</code> ext2 || 145,408 || 1,856,480 || 906.5 MB || Label <code>PSIONLX</code>. The root filesystem
| Partition 2 || <code>0x83</code> ext2 || 145,408 || 1,856,480 || 906.5 MB || Label <code>PSIONLX</code>. The root filesystem
Line 603: Line 633:
The ext2 filesystem is made with a 1 KB block size and with the <code>resize_inode</code> and <code>dir_index</code> features turned off, because the 2.6.9 kernel predates both and refuses the filesystem otherwise. <code>/home/lx</code> must belong to uid and gid 1000, and must be empty when the image ships: the desktop runs as <code>lx</code>, and any settings left in that directory override everything in <code>/etc</code> from then on.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
The ext2 filesystem is made with a 1 KB block size and with the <code>resize_inode</code> and <code>dir_index</code> features turned off, because the 2.6.9 kernel predates both and refuses the filesystem otherwise. <code>/home/lx</code> must belong to uid and gid 1000, and must be empty when the image ships: the desktop runs as <code>lx</code>, and any settings left in that directory override everything in <code>/etc</code> from then on.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


'''Check the boot partition before writing a card.''' The image built on 28 September 2026 carries <code>nBkPro.img</code> on partition 1. That file is the LX BooSt script, and it holds the commands <code>nand -ignore erase 18 ee8</code> and <code>nand partition e8</code>, which erase the internal NAND and repartition it with the LX prototype layout. When a card holding <code>nBkPro.img</code> is booted, BooSt loads and runs the script, as a 2010 boot log shows ("Loading "/cf0-0/nBkPro.img"... Load BooSt script ... Load completed successfully"). A standard netBook Pro partitioned that way can no longer reinstall Windows CE until the NAND is repartitioned with <code>7e8</code>. The community's CF installs of PsionLX put <code>nBkProOs.img</code> alone on the FAT partition. Remove <code>nBkPro.img</code> from partition 1 unless you intend to repartition the internal flash.<ref name="anon-lt" /><ref name="hpcf-denisjc" /><ref name="hpcf-dvr" /><ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" /><ref name="hpcf-bobby-0905" /><ref name="provenance" />
'''Check the boot partition of any image built before 29 September 2026.''' Until then, partition 1 of both images also carried <code>nBkPro.img</code>, 300 bytes. That file is the LX BooSt script, and it holds the commands <code>nand -ignore erase 18 ee8</code> and <code>nand partition e8</code>, which erase the internal NAND and repartition it with the LX prototype layout. When a card holding <code>nBkPro.img</code> is booted, BooSt loads and runs the script, as a 2010 boot log shows ("Loading "/cf0-0/nBkPro.img"... Load BooSt script ... Load completed successfully"). It did exactly that on RetroTechCollection's own netBook Pro, erasing Windows CE, which had to be restored from Psion's restore set. A standard netBook Pro partitioned that way cannot reinstall Windows CE until the NAND is repartitioned (see [[#The development machines|The development machines]] for the value). The script was removed and both images rebuilt on 29 September 2026. The community's CF installs of PsionLX put <code>nBkProOs.img</code> alone on the FAT partition.<ref name="anon-lt" /><ref name="hpcf-denisjc" /><ref name="hpcf-dvr" /><ref name="hpcf-acid-0711-06" /><ref name="hpcf-bobby-0905" /><ref name="provenance" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />
 
Current images carry a different <code>nBkPro.img</code>, 279 bytes, whose only command is <code>load nBkProOS.img run</code>. It contains no <code>nand</code> command. BooSt runs a file of that name from an inserted card when the machine starts from cold, so this one makes the machine boot Linux from the card even when Windows CE is in the internal flash. An <code>nBkPro.img</code> of 300 bytes, or any that contains a <code>nand</code> command, is the LX script: delete it before booting.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


=== Writing and booting the card ===
=== Writing and booting the card ===
Line 609: Line 641:
Use a CF card of 1 GB or larger. On a Mac, find the card with <code>diskutil list external physical</code>, unmount it without ejecting, and write the raw device:
Use a CF card of 1 GB or larger. On a Mac, find the card with <code>diskutil list external physical</code>, unmount it without ejecting, and write the raw device:


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<pre>
diskutil list external physical          # check the size matches the card
diskutil list external physical          # check the size matches the card
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
sudo dd if=psionlx-cf-1gb.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m status=progress
sudo dd if=psionlx-cf-1gb.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m status=progress
diskutil eject /dev/diskN
diskutil eject /dev/diskN
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


On Linux:
On Linux:


<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
<pre>
sudo dd if=psionlx-cf-1gb.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
sudo dd if=psionlx-cf-1gb.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
</syntaxhighlight>
</pre>


The image is written raw and overwrites whatever device it is pointed at, so confirm the device name immediately before running <code>dd</code>. On a card larger than 1 GB the extra space is unused until partition 2 is grown and <code>resize2fs</code> is run on it.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
The image is written raw and overwrites whatever device it is pointed at, so confirm the device name immediately before running <code>dd</code>. On a card larger than 1 GB the extra space is unused until partition 2 is grown and <code>resize2fs</code> is run on it.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
Line 677: Line 709:
| Machine appears not to boot || A script rebuilding the GStreamer registry ran in the session start-up and took over a minute || Run it in the background
| Machine appears not to boot || A script rebuilding the GStreamer registry ran in the session start-up and took over a minute || Run it in the background
|-
|-
| Last row of the PROGRAMS screen hidden under the panel, intermittently || Every row laid out 8 pixels taller than normal. Cause not proven || The launcher checks for the overflow and lays out once more
| Last row of the PROGRAMS screen hidden under the panel, intermittently || Every row laid out 8 pixels taller than normal. GTK's default font is plain <code>Sans</code>, and with several font families installed and no fontconfig cache, the family it matched could change from one boot to the next. Rows set in Arial Narrow are 8 pixels taller than rows in Bitstream Vera Sans. Psion's own image carried the same Agfa fonts alongside Bitstream Vera || Name Bitstream Vera Sans as the font. The fontconfig tools, which were missing, are now installed, so the device can build a cache
|-
| Word has no spell checker || AbiWord was configured with both of its spell-checking back ends turned off, so it fell back to a built-in checker whose dictionary directory does not exist. Psion's 2.0.11 recipe asks for aspell with an option that version's configure script does not have, and the option is silently ignored || Rebuild with <code>--enable-pspell</code>, which links AbiWord to the aspell library already on the card
|-
| Clicking a link in Email, Word or Sheet does nothing || Psion's <code>firefox-url</code> wrapper was not installed, and the link-handler settings were missing entirely || Install Psion's wrapper and rebuild the three settings from Psion's patch
|-
| Gaby and the print manager cannot be started || Both programs were on the card, but their menu files were not || Install Psion's menu files
|}
|}


=== Downloads ===
=== Downloads ===


The reconstruction's card images, its build tree and the recovered files listed above are being prepared for hosting by RetroTechCollection. Links and checksums for the images will be added here when they are available. The card image is not bit-for-bit reproducible, because <code>mke2fs</code> writes timestamps into the filesystem, so a rebuilt image should be checked by content rather than by comparing its checksum with the published one.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
The reconstruction is published in the RetroTechCollection Archive at [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX]. The release is about 4.4 GB in 116,429 files, and holds both card images, Psion's recovered sources and boot images, the complete build system, and the reference material the reconstruction was checked against. Start with <code>README.txt</code>, which carries the warning about the internal flash. <code>WHAT-IS-EVERYTHING.txt</code> describes every file, and <code>PROVENANCE.txt</code> records where each one came from and whether it is Psion's.<ref name="rtc-release" />
 
Two things are left out of the release on purpose, because they damage other people's machines: any image whose boot partition carries the LX NAND script, and a Windows CE restore script that repartitions the flash with <code>7e8</code>, which on a standard 32 MB machine leaves Windows CE unable to start (see [[#The development machines|The development machines]]). Only the <code>540</code> script ships. The LX script itself is kept, under a name BooSt will not run.<ref name="rtc-docs" />
 
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Folders in the release'''
! Folder !! What it holds !! Size
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/1-IMAGES <code>1-IMAGES</code>] || The two card images, instructions for writing them to a card on macOS, Linux or Windows, and a note on how the archival image differs || 2.05 GB
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/2-WINDOWS-CE-RESTORE <code>2-WINDOWS-CE-RESTORE</code>] || Psion's Windows CE restore set and the BooSt scripts that run a restore. Needed only if the internal flash has been erased. Booting PsionLX from a card does not touch it || 42 MB
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/3-PSION-SOURCES <code>3-PSION-SOURCES</code>] || Psion's developer archive, the OpenEmbedded build tree and patched 2.6.9 kernel unpacked from it, the boot images and root filesystems listed in [[#Recovered files|Recovered files]], and upstream source at the versions Psion's recipes pin || 588 MB
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/4-BUILD-SYSTEM <code>4-BUILD-SYSTEM</code>] || The build guide and scripts, the root filesystem trees both images are built from, the Debian etch ARM OABI system run under QEMU, and the GPE sources including the reconstructed launcher || 1.57 GB
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/5-REFERENCE <code>5-REFERENCE</code>] || The photographs the reconstruction was matched against, Psion's companion CD, the BooSt dongle guide and jLime 2012.3 || 123 MB
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX/6-PARKED-ORIGINALS <code>6-PARKED-ORIGINALS</code>] || Files the build replaced, kept so that every substitution can be checked or reversed || 46 MB
|}
 
The main files are listed below with direct links. Check a download against its SHA-256 before writing it to a card, with <code>shasum -a 256</code> on macOS or <code>sha256sum</code> on Linux. <code>SHA256SUMS.txt</code> at the top of the release lists every archive, image, ISO and document in it; source trees are covered by the archives that contain them rather than file by file.<ref name="rtc-release" />
 
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left; font-size:90%;"
|+'''Main downloads'''
! File !! What it is !! Size (bytes) !! SHA-256
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/1-IMAGES/psionlx-cf-1gb.img <code>psionlx-cf-1gb.img</code>] || The working image, with every application. This is the one to write to a card || 1,024,966,656 || <code>c51dc1a8a9ecebbdf76babab39235381ef965d05a6ff2bb2aa470b7e0ad9a1f4</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/1-IMAGES/psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img <code>psionlx-cf-1gb-asphotographed.img</code>] || The archival image. The same system, with a PROGRAMS screen that shows only the 21 applications in the Pulster photograph || 1,024,966,656 || <code>3ff68c0979cb3850a96b7666c81ff2c52f5be9398c424d814699772de8c0a0f7</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/3-PSION-SOURCES/netbook-linux-sources.tgz <code>netbook-linux-sources.tgz</code>] || Psion's developer archive, as recovered || 106,074,940 || <code>a14b7d2e87217fdc2f5d32752a00ca0959ae5b1f312a6116d1a895d248edf08f</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/3-PSION-SOURCES/original-images/nBkProOs.img_cf.fuchs-gibson-20050325 <code>nBkProOs.img_cf.fuchs-gibson-20050325</code>] || The <code>nBkProOs.img_cf</code> boot image of 25 March 2005, which both card images boot || 3,659,808 || <code>bc640360e58d858b2d260450e20621adc93cb51e0fcccadaf2a97f415099bd1b</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/2-WINDOWS-CE-RESTORE/nbpce-404-int-20051129.zip <code>nbpce-404-int-20051129.zip</code>] || Psion's Windows CE restore set for the -404 International model, dated 29 November 2005 || 20,991,819 || <code>461b875c92141668f421caf78ace54bdad8214b66ddb6965f0177972f01710f8</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/5-REFERENCE/netbook-pro-cd/1000999D.ISO <code>1000999D.ISO</code>] || Psion's netBook Pro companion CD of November 2004. Windows software and the user manuals || 30,750,720 || <code>7d646c2841cfbdd1f636814bb0129339ba7cb7e88b7d2e74f8a5c87862d5c967</code>
|-
| [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/PsionLX/5-REFERENCE/other-netbookpro-linux/jlime-xfce-image-2012.3-netbookpro-20120311.rootfs.tar.bz2 <code>jlime-xfce-image-2012.3-netbookpro-20120311.rootfs.tar.bz2</code>] || jLime 2012.3 with XFCE. Not PsionLX || 88,409,659 || <code>ce14633797a2d4562ecdfb07db19974b8417df43bc96bed9595e43ac3f9060fc</code>
|}
 
The card image is not bit-for-bit reproducible, because <code>mke2fs</code> writes timestamps into the filesystem, so a rebuilt image should be checked by content rather than by comparing its checksum with the published one.<ref name="rtc-docs" />


== Other Linux systems for the netBook Pro ==
== Other Linux systems for the netBook Pro ==
Line 688: Line 768:
PsionLX was not the only Linux for the machine, and the others are better documented.
PsionLX was not the only Linux for the machine, and the others are better documented.


The Familiar and GPE images of 2005 were built outside Psion and hosted at linuxtogo.org, using a rebuild of the same 2.6.9 kernel. They are the images the 2007 forum thread began with.<ref name="provenance" /><ref name="hpcf-eddie-0710-12" />
The Familiar and GPE images of 2005 were built outside Psion and hosted at linuxtogo.org, using a rebuild of the same 2.6.9 kernel. They are the images the 2007 forum thread began with. An OpenZaurus 3.5.4.1 image for the machine, dated August 2006, was hosted there too.<ref name="provenance" /><ref name="hpcf-eddie-0710-12" /><ref name="rtc-docs" />


OpenEmbedded later gained a <code>netbook-pro</code> machine configuration and a 2.6.17 kernel recipe built from patches published in Koen Kooi's directory at linuxtogo.org. The configuration assumes 32 MB of flash and creates the <code>/initrd</code> directory the boot image needs for its pivot. Ångström test images were built for the machine by 2007, among them <code>Angstrom-x11-image-glibc-test-20070710-netbook-pro.rootfs.jffs2</code>.<ref name="oe-classic" /><ref name="hpcf-angstrom" />
OpenEmbedded later gained a <code>netbook-pro</code> machine configuration and a 2.6.17 kernel recipe built from patches published in Koen Kooi's directory at linuxtogo.org. The configuration assumes 32 MB of flash and creates the <code>/initrd</code> directory the boot image needs for its pivot. Ångström test images were built for the machine by 2007, among them <code>Angstrom-x11-image-glibc-test-20070710-netbook-pro.rootfs.jffs2</code>.<ref name="oe-classic" /><ref name="hpcf-angstrom" />
Line 719: Line 799:
<ref name="boostdongle">w_m0zart, "How to enter the BooSt superuser mode in the Netbook Pro", one-page PDF (<code>BooStDongle.pdf</code>), 12 July 2007, kept with the files recovered from auditeon.com (its download location was not recorded). w_m0zart referred to "the BoostDongle pdf file which I created earlier" on HPC:Factor on 30 October 2007. Source for the BooSt identification strings, the standard machine's 32 MB NAND, the <code>7e8</code> and <code>fe8</code> erase commands and the warning about block 18.</ref>
<ref name="boostdongle">w_m0zart, "How to enter the BooSt superuser mode in the Netbook Pro", one-page PDF (<code>BooStDongle.pdf</code>), 12 July 2007, kept with the files recovered from auditeon.com (its download location was not recorded). w_m0zart referred to "the BoostDongle pdf file which I created earlier" on HPC:Factor on 30 October 2007. Source for the BooSt identification strings, the standard machine's 32 MB NAND, the <code>7e8</code> and <code>fe8</code> erase commands and the warning about block 18.</ref>
<ref name="pulster">Pulster, [https://pulster.de/Psion-Netbook-PRO-Linux-PsionLX_1 "Psion Netbook PRO Linux - PsionLX"], item number -psionlx-, €1,900, read 28 September 2026. Source for the photograph of the PROGRAMS screen, its caption and the description "rare 256 MB RAM mainboard".</ref>
<ref name="pulster">Pulster, [https://pulster.de/Psion-Netbook-PRO-Linux-PsionLX_1 "Psion Netbook PRO Linux - PsionLX"], item number -psionlx-, €1,900, read 28 September 2026. Source for the photograph of the PROGRAMS screen, its caption and the description "rare 256 MB RAM mainboard".</ref>
<ref name="fss88">Photographs by fss_88 (fss-hacks on HPC:Factor), imgur album 4wyt5y9, August 2026, images IMG_5556 and IMG_5559. Reproduced, cropped, at [[:File:PsionLX beta splash screen on a netBook Pro.jpg]] and [[:File:PsionLX Today screen on a netBook Pro.jpg]].</ref>
<ref name="fss88">Photographs by fss_88 (fss-hacks on HPC:Factor), imgur album 4wyt5y9, published around 1 August 2026 alongside a post to r/OldHandhelds, imgur media OCkX37Z (splash) and fjx6d84 (Today screen). Reproduced, cropped, at [[:File:PsionLX beta splash screen on a netBook Pro.jpg]] and [[:File:PsionLX Today screen on a netBook Pro.jpg]].</ref>
<ref name="blog">Gadgetmiser, [http://psionlinux.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-install-linux-on-psion-netbook.html "How to install Linux on the Psion Netbook Pro"], Psion Linux blog, July 2009.</ref>
<ref name="blog">Gadgetmiser, [http://psionlinux.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-install-linux-on-psion-netbook.html "How to install Linux on the Psion Netbook Pro"], Psion Linux blog, July 2009.</ref>
<ref name="rapidshare">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidShare "RapidShare"], Wikipedia. The service closed on 31 March 2015.</ref>
<ref name="rapidshare">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidShare "RapidShare"], Wikipedia. The service closed on 31 March 2015.</ref>
<ref name="provenance">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX reconstruction project records (<code>PROVENANCE.txt</code>, <code>auditeon/FINDING.txt</code>, <code>recovered/FINDING-2.txt</code>, <code>anonymous-linuxtogo/NOTES.txt</code>), 27-28 September 2026. Original research: the record of every file recovered, its origin, size and hash, and of the searches that found nothing.</ref>
<ref name="provenance">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX reconstruction project records (<code>PROVENANCE.txt</code>, <code>auditeon/FINDING.txt</code>, <code>recovered/FINDING-2.txt</code>, <code>anonymous-linuxtogo/NOTES.txt</code>), 27-28 September 2026. Original research: the record of every file recovered, its origin, size and hash, and of the searches that found nothing.</ref>
<ref name="rtc-docs">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX reconstruction documentation (<code>docs/01</code> to <code>docs/06</code>, <code>CLAUDE.md</code>, <code>PsionLX-CF-kit/INSTALL.txt</code>, <code>WRITE-TO-CARD.txt</code> and <code>AS-PHOTOGRAPHED.txt</code>) and the built card image, September 2026. Original research.</ref>
<ref name="lot-7535">cpulster, AcidSnoop, MoNsTeR, Eldkatten and scops, posts of 7 to 13 November 2007, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080514091644/http://www.linuxontour.de:80/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7535&start=10 "Psion Netbook PRO mit Linux - Tueftler gesucht !"], Linux on tour forum, "Sonstige Mobile Linux Geräte", page 2, Internet Archive capture of 14 May 2008. In German. Source for the offer of 7 November, the RapidShare links, the partition layout, the boot stages, the Firefox and Wi-Fi reports, the size of the root filesystem, and the permission and date problems.</ref>
<ref name="tuxfamily">[https://download.tuxfamily.org/anetbookpro/ anetbookpro download area], TuxFamily, checked 30 September 2026. It holds <code>NBLXLoad.sh</code> (633 bytes, uploaded 26 March 2010), <code>nBkPro.img</code>, an Ångström bootstrap image of March 2010, and a 2.6.17 kernel with its modules.</ref>
<ref name="ia-cd">[https://archive.org/details/1000999d_netbook_pro_cd "PSION TEKLOGIX Netbook Pro CD"], Internet Archive, uploaded 19 December 2019 by tfgbd. The date 10 November 2004 is the creation date in the ISO's volume descriptor, and the file list was read from the image.</ref>
<ref name="rtc-search">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX search record (<code>docs/07-THE-SEARCH.md</code> and <code>recovered/FINDING-3.txt</code>), 29 and 30 September 2026. Original research: the second sweep for the lost root filesystem, the archives, forges, languages and sites it covered with their control queries, the sites not yet cleared, and the source of the 2.6.9 kernel patch.</ref>
<ref name="rtc-release">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX release, [https://archive.retrotechcollection.com/?dir=PsionLX RetroTechCollection Archive], 30 September 2026: <code>README.txt</code>, <code>WHAT-IS-EVERYTHING.txt</code>, <code>PROVENANCE.txt</code> and <code>SHA256SUMS.txt</code>. Source for the folder contents and descriptions. Folder sizes, file sizes and the checksums in the main downloads table were measured on the hosted copies on 30 September 2026, and every file listed in <code>SHA256SUMS.txt</code> matched.</ref>
<ref name="rtc-docs">RetroTechCollection, PsionLX reconstruction documentation (<code>docs/01</code> to <code>docs/08</code>, <code>CLAUDE.md</code>, <code>PsionLX-CF-kit/INSTALL.txt</code>, <code>WRITE-TO-CARD.txt</code> and <code>AS-PHOTOGRAPHED.txt</code>) and the built card image, September 2026. Original research.</ref>
<ref name="oe-classic">OpenEmbedded classic, [https://github.com/openembedded/openembedded/blob/master/conf/machine/netbook-pro.conf <code>conf/machine/netbook-pro.conf</code>] and <code>netbook-pro-kernel_2.6.17.bb</code>, with the kernel patches from <code>linuxtogo.org/~koen/</code> recovered from the Internet Archive and checked against the recipe's MD5 sums. The machine file <code>netbookpro.c</code> names "Ben Dooks, Copyright (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics", based on <code>lubbock.c</code>.</ref>
<ref name="oe-classic">OpenEmbedded classic, [https://github.com/openembedded/openembedded/blob/master/conf/machine/netbook-pro.conf <code>conf/machine/netbook-pro.conf</code>] and <code>netbook-pro-kernel_2.6.17.bb</code>, with the kernel patches from <code>linuxtogo.org/~koen/</code> recovered from the Internet Archive and checked against the recipe's MD5 sums. The machine file <code>netbookpro.c</code> names "Ben Dooks, Copyright (c) 2004 Simtec Electronics", based on <code>lubbock.c</code>.</ref>
<ref name="hpcf-rocketman">Rocketman, post of 7 July 2006, and cmonex's reply, [https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5256 "Linux for Netbook Pro"], HPC:Factor.</ref>
<ref name="hpcf-rocketman">Rocketman, post of 7 July 2006, and cmonex's reply, [https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5256 "Linux for Netbook Pro"], HPC:Factor.</ref>
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