How To: Restore Your Netwalker Pc-z1

[RX Shorty]

Hi all,

When toying around with my Netwalker I bricked it twice.
So had to do a restore twice already, so here is a manual.

See my blog with latest info!

Requirements

• PC running linux (I am using Ubuntu/OpenSuse)
• Micro SD-Card (min 4 GB) - IT WILL DELETE ALL FILES ON IT!
• Netwalker Restore Pack - Download (Varti: original broken link: Link)

To Do

• we have to find out which /dev/sd* is the Micro SD-Card. (You can use Gparted to find out)
  Example 1: Your system has 1 harddisk
   Harddisk = /dev/sda
   Micro SD-Card = /dev/sdb
   Example 2: You system has 3 harddisks
   Harddisk 1 = /dev/sda
   Harddisk 2 = /dev/sdb
   Harddisk 3 = /dev/sdc
   Micro SD-Card = /dev/sdd
  
• Now we know which is the Micro SD-Card we can use the following command:
   dd if=netwalker.img of=/dev/sdb bs=1M
   Be sure to be in the same directory as your netwalker img file, and edit your path to your Micro SD-Card if needed.
   For example:
  dd if=/home/username/Downloads/ netwalker.img of=/dev/sdd bs=1M
• This process will take some time, so go get yourself a coffee/snack and return to your pc after a 15 – 30 minutes.
   When you can start your new command in the Teminal it is done.
• Put the micro SD-Card in your Netwalker.
• Hold down the two mouse buttons and start your Netwalker, keep the buttons down even after the Sharp logo.
• A Japanese question will be asked: press Y
• After the restore is done, press ENTER

[merlin1]

I just checked out your link -- the file size tells it contains all the files necessary to recover the OS, without having to download from the slow original server. Well done!

It's worth mentioning the script will erase the microSD card so make sure there's nothing important on it anymore

[RX Shorty]

Thanks, yes it contains all files you need.
I will add the important note

[Tom Moulton]

I would add:

10) Create UserID and set to English Video showing how

I went to a local Sushi restaurant for translation help!

tom

ps. I would also add:

6A) MUST BE RUNNING ON A/C Power

[cpulster]

Thanks RXShorty, excellent help !

I have a dead Netwalker T1 here. The recovery files provided here are not workgin with it.
FAQ says to make a recovery microSD card, use the tool: applications >> Accessory >> recovery maker

Anybody out there with a working Netwalker T1 who is willing to make a recovery file ?
THANKS !
Chris

[dougeeebear]

Thanks RXShorty, excellent help !

I have a dead Netwalker T1 here. The recovery files provided here are not workgin with it.
FAQ says to make a recovery microSD card, use the tool: applications >> Accessory >> recovery maker

Anybody out there with a working Netwalker T1 who is willing to make a recovery file ?
THANKS !
Chris

I don't know if you are still in need of the recovery file, but I have a NetWalker T1 coming, and I'll see what I can do.

[dougeeebear]

Just to let anyone know who may be interested, the Recovery Maker on the T1 does work perfectly.
It formats the MicroSD card with ext3, makes it bootable and copies the necessary files to it.
Restoring uses Power + L/R Mouse Buttons, just like the Z1.
It worked perfectly for me.

I have also found a way to restore all my customized settings after I do the recovery.
If anyone is interested I will elaborate further.

[RX Shorty]

That is great to hear dougeeebear, how do you like the T1 so far?

[dougeeebear]

I like it quite well, but the operation is kind of sluggish.
I disabled the services to generate logfiles and that seemed to help a little.
I really like the Ubuntu Netbook Launcher.
I already have a Zaurus SL-C1000 clamshell, so I wanted to try a tablet without a keyboard for a change.
It takes some getting used to, but so far so good.
Now if only there was more NetWalker activity here on the forum it would be nice.
Seems as if the Z1 users have given them up, and I've only seen one other T1 user.
Regardless, I'm enjoying it all by myself.

[RX Shorty]

Yeah it is pretty much done on this forum...
Well I expect a update from Sharp in May

[RX Shorty]

It was a bit outdated, so I changed the zip file for a img file.

[Teamoth]

Hello there, I recently picked up a PC-Z1 and am hoping that there is still some way for me to reset/reinstall the OS on it. I understand that this is rather old tech nowadays and that the posts here are some years old...

The Netwalker I bought takes 2 minutes to start up (as opposed to the 3 second startup I've seen online!) and the wifi does not seem to work. It can't see any wifi networks that are normally available to me.

I bought the Netwalker to run a particular bit of lightweight software on when travelling to and from work (as opposed to web browsing/watching videos) but ideally I'd like to try and fix the wifi and get back the snappy 3 second start up.

The link to the Netwalker restore pack at the top of this thread no longer seems to be working, but maybe someone still has a copy?

Any help you can give would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

Tim

[Varti]

Hi and welcome!

I never had a NetWalker; luckily, archive.org seems to have the restore pack archived:

https://web.archive.org/web/20131001003044/...9/netwalker.img

Beware, it's quite a huge file (3.7G), since it's on archive.org the download will most probably take a while.

Varti

[Teamoth]

Hi and welcome!

I never had a NetWalker; luckily, archive.org seems to have the restore pack archived:

https://web.archive.org/web/20131001003044/...9/netwalker.img

Beware, it's quite a huge file (3.7G), since it's on archive.org the download will most probably take a while.

Varti

Brilliant! Thank you, I'll start downloading that now!

[Varti]

Brilliant! Thank you, I'll start downloading that now!

Hi, any luck in recovering your Netwalker? Just curious...

Varti