Author Topic: TI-Nspire emulator  (Read 304997 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline critor

  • Editor
  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2079
  • Rating: +439/-13
    • View Profile
    • TI-Planet
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #60 on: August 08, 2011, 04:58:11 am »
The decoded CX Boot2 is correct.
It's just that the EOF code has been removed from that new CX Boot2.

But it then has to be decrypted, which means you need the CX Boot1.
TI-Planet co-admin.

Offline Goplat

  • LV5 Advanced (Next: 300)
  • *****
  • Posts: 289
  • Rating: +82/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #61 on: August 15, 2011, 05:09:10 pm »
How aboot teh "Nulator"? "Nspire Emulator"?
Or eNulator. It sounds almost the same except the m is replaced with an n.
Yeah, I probably should have given this thing a better name by now. I'm not too creative with names.
eNulator is nice, Nulator doesn't suggest the right pronounciation (without context, I would probably pronounce it null-a-tor or noo-later).

A while ago I came up with the name "TraNspire" - based on the way that I get decent emulation speed by translating ARM instructions into sequences of x86 instructions to emulate them.
Numquam te deseram; numquam te deficiam; numquam circa curram et te desolabo
Numquam te plorare faciam; numquam valedicam; numquam mendacium dicam et te vulnerabo

Offline fb39ca4

  • LV10 31337 u53r (Next: 2000)
  • **********
  • Posts: 1749
  • Rating: +60/-3
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #62 on: August 15, 2011, 05:10:33 pm »
I like TraNspire :thumbsup:

Offline migasbr

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #63 on: November 14, 2011, 05:12:05 am »
Hello all!

I'm trying to install the emulator on my non-cas nspire but I have a doubt... I followed these <a href="http://hackspire.unsads.com/wiki/index.php/Emulators#Setup">instructions</a> and reached to the point of getting emulator screen to start the installation. Now, my doubt is: Should I have the calculator plugged in at this time and the OS will be installed automatically or should I let it load, then save the flash as <name>.tno and install it using the software from Ti-Texas?...  ???



Offline Lionel Debroux

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2135
  • Rating: +290/-45
    • View Profile
    • TI-Chess Team
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #64 on: November 14, 2011, 05:15:04 am »
I'm not sure I understand correctly your problem, but the emulator communicates neither with a real calculator, nor with TI's software (TI-Nspire Computer Link Software a.k.a "TINCLS", TI-Nspire Computer Software a.k.a "TINCS").
« Last Edit: November 14, 2011, 05:15:47 am by Lionel Debroux »
Member of the TI-Chess Team.
Co-maintainer of GCC4TI (GCC4TI online documentation), TILP and TIEmu.
Co-admin of TI-Planet.

Offline migasbr

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #65 on: November 14, 2011, 07:13:12 am »
I'm not sure I understand correctly your problem, but the emulator communicates neither with a real calculator, nor with TI's software (TI-Nspire Computer Link Software a.k.a "TINCLS", TI-Nspire Computer Software a.k.a "TINCS").

I'm sorry, but I'm still a noob in this field.. With the emulator we can use the CAS functions on a non cas spire calculator, right? And we do this by installing the emulated OS into the calculator correct? My doubt is how to install it in the calculator..

Offline Lionel Debroux

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2135
  • Rating: +290/-45
    • View Profile
    • TI-Chess Team
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #66 on: November 14, 2011, 07:26:39 am »
I'm afraid I still don't understand what you're trying to do, but maybe I'm just thick :)

Quote
With the emulator we can use the CAS functions on a non cas spire calculator, right?
makes me think that you don't want to emulate a Nspire calculator on your computer (which you can do as described in the page you linked to, adding a /C switch to the final nspire_emu / ncubate invocation if you want to emulate a CAS calculator). Instead, I think that you want to try to use the CAS OS on your real, non-CAS Nspire calculator. Is that right ?

The nspire_emu / ncubate emulator doesn't communicate in any way with a real Nspire, and is not involved in making a real non-CAS calculator run the CAS OS.
Member of the TI-Chess Team.
Co-maintainer of GCC4TI (GCC4TI online documentation), TILP and TIEmu.
Co-admin of TI-Planet.

Offline migasbr

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #67 on: November 14, 2011, 08:10:37 am »
All right!! Now I know why I couldn't install it!  :P

I thought the emulator would change the original OS and make the CAS functions work on the actual non-cas calculator! But it's just a PC emulator...

Do you think it will possible someday to make the CAS work in a real calc?  that would be great!!  :thumbsup:

Offline Lionel Debroux

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2135
  • Rating: +290/-45
    • View Profile
    • TI-Chess Team
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #68 on: November 14, 2011, 08:43:27 am »
Indeed, the third-party PC emulator is just a PC emulator, and the official TI Nspire Computer Software does not even emulate the calculator, it's a similar code base recompiled for Windows and MacOS X :)

Quote
Do you think it will possible someday to make the CAS work in a real calc?  that would be great!!
It became possible to hot-launch "other" OS during the spring of 2010, but "RunOS" was never released, for fear TI would lock down the calculators even further.
About one year later, and after TI added lots of lockdown, an independent reimplementation of RunOS was released as OSLauncher, which you can download from http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/437/43701.html . OSLauncher itself did obviously not mention the dirty little secret that it could launch the CAS OS on the Nspire sold as non-CAS (but perfectly CAS-capable), but critor made a tutorial, which dramatically raised both usefulness and public awareness of OSLauncher. It can be downloaded from TI-Planet , the required OS can be downloaded from TI-Planet again, and you'll have to somehow find the "imgdump" tool :)

Several notes:
* OSLauncher requires Ndless 2.0, so it will work only on Clickpad & Touchpad calculators running OS 1.7.2741, 2.0.1.60 or 2.1.0.631;
* Ndless and OSLauncher must be launched again after every reboot;
* as is, OSLauncher cannot be used to cheat in standardized tests, unless said tests do not use the built-in Press To Test functionality (which triggers a reboot);
* due to changes in internal files across versions, it can launch only an OS of the same version as the host OS (1.7.2741, 2.0.1.60, 2.1.0.631);
* there will be some glitches, e.g. CAS functions not appearing in the functions catalog, odd display of the HOME screen on OS 1.7, etc.;
* and most of all, hot-launching the CAS OS on models sold as non-CAS can be extremely picky. It seems that it either works on the first or second try, or it might just happen to work, if you're lucky, after dozens of attempts...
« Last Edit: November 14, 2011, 08:58:33 am by Lionel Debroux »
Member of the TI-Chess Team.
Co-maintainer of GCC4TI (GCC4TI online documentation), TILP and TIEmu.
Co-admin of TI-Planet.

Offline migasbr

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #69 on: November 14, 2011, 11:58:03 am »
Thanks a lot for the info Lionel!   :thumbsup:

I will definitely give it a try! If by any chance the OSLAuncher doesn't work properly or if I decide to go back to the original OS, I can install it with no problems, right?

Offline Lionel Debroux

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2135
  • Rating: +290/-45
    • View Profile
    • TI-Chess Team
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #70 on: November 14, 2011, 12:28:44 pm »
OSLauncher just launches the other OS, it does not install it in any way; just reboot the calculator and the effect of OSLauncher is gone :)
Member of the TI-Chess Team.
Co-maintainer of GCC4TI (GCC4TI online documentation), TILP and TIEmu.
Co-admin of TI-Planet.

Offline migasbr

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 10
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #71 on: November 14, 2011, 01:37:44 pm »
That's good news!  :D

I'll try it and will give my feedback!  :thumbsup:

Offline lkj

  • LV6 Super Member (Next: 500)
  • ******
  • Posts: 485
  • Rating: +58/-1
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #72 on: November 14, 2011, 02:08:02 pm »
Is anyone making a CX emulator? Or is it similar enough to the old Nspire that it would be just an update with some changes of the nspire emulator?

Offline Lionel Debroux

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2135
  • Rating: +290/-45
    • View Profile
    • TI-Chess Team
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #73 on: November 14, 2011, 02:23:43 pm »
Quote
Is anyone making a CX emulator?
For now, no, because:

Quote
Or is it similar enough to the old Nspire that it would be just an update with some changes of the nspire emulator?
The CX hardware is presumably reasonably similar to the Touchpad hardware (besides the difference in bpp for the screen), but there's a significant software difference: as mentioned by critor above, unlike the boot2 in Clickpad & Touchpad calculators, the boot2 in the CX is partially encrypted, and decrypted by the boot1.
This extra step is the cause of the noticeable delay (sigh) between 50% and 60% on the progress bar, a delay which doesn't exist on the older models...

In order to work correctly, an emulator for the CX would therefore require a boot1 image (*), unlike an emulator for the Clickpad & Touchpad... but the problem is, how to get that boot1 image ?
1) dumping the boot1 requires an arbitrary code execution exploit;
2) this hurdle will eventually be overcome in the future (like on pretty much any closed platform in the past two decades), but the result cannot be redistributed: the boot1 contains TI's copyrighted code...

Because of 2), users of a hypothetical CX emulator will have to go through the extra steps of dumping the boot1 of their own CX... but they cannot do that at the time of this writing, because there's no Ndless 3.0...


(*): embedding the boot2 decryption code into the emulator is not possible: circumventing protection measures would easily fall under the DMCA, and this time, TI would have a better case than they did for the signing key fiasco.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2011, 02:24:55 pm by Lionel Debroux »
Member of the TI-Chess Team.
Co-maintainer of GCC4TI (GCC4TI online documentation), TILP and TIEmu.
Co-admin of TI-Planet.

Offline DJ Omnimaga

  • Clacualters are teh gr33t
  • CoT Emeritus
  • LV15 Omnimagician (Next: --)
  • *
  • Posts: 55941
  • Rating: +3154/-232
  • CodeWalrus founder & retired Omnimaga founder
    • View Profile
    • Dream of Omnimaga Music
Re: TI-Nspire emulator
« Reply #74 on: November 14, 2011, 02:26:52 pm »
So I'm betting there could be a Nspire CX emu, but finding the boot1 images or roms will be a major PITA, leading to many forum posts asking where can we find them?