Is it possible to run an OS entirely off of a SD card within a phone?

[SBTlauien]

Maybe just place a bootloader on the phone's system(where the OS normally is) that boots ALL data from the SD card.  I'm referring to all of the IMEI data as well.

Basically so that the cell phone without a SD card is untraceable or in other words, just a hardware shell that can load an OS that can do everything a smart phone can.

[aldra]

lol, no


maximum storage capacity for a SIM is 128KB - I had to look that up, because I remembered it was only able to store like 200 contacts, didn't know the actual storage capacity.

if you can cram the OS into 128KB then maybe, but I think that's pretty much the baremetal core and no drivers.

[HampTheToker]

MultiRom allows you to install multiple roms on both internal storage and external SD storage. You could root the stock rom and multiboot from the SD. Without the SD all you would have is an unused stock rom. The developer for MultiRom is Antares_One @ XDA. Another developer named chenxialong (also on XDA) has a different multiboot solution called Dualboot, but it doesn't allow booting from external SD. It does, however, allow the sharing of apps (without app data) between roms to save space if you choose. I'm not sure if Antares_One's MultiRom utilizes any kind of optional app sharing functionality, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[aldra]

also IMEI data is usually hardcoded to an OTP chip, and the actual module that handles connection to the network (ie. get IMEI, get ICCID, present to tower) is hardware/driver level, closed source and not accessible to the user. the only reliable way to change IMEIs on most handsets is to buy the same OTP chip, write your new IMEI to it, then desolder (SMD) the existing one and replace it.

though come to think of it, I'm now curious whether there's a volatile flash memory device that has the same pin layout as common OTPs...

[SBTlauien]

lol, no

maximum storage capacity for a SIM is 128KB

This one has 16gb...

http://www.amazon.com/16GB-Micro-Memory-card-Adapter/dp/B00PLCYPM6/

MultiRom allows you to install multiple roms on both internal storage and external SD storage. You could root the stock rom and multiboot from the SD. Without the SD all you would have is an unused stock rom.

I believe with this, the IMEI and SN are not on the rom(s) itself, but still on the physical phone.

I'd like ALL of that data on the OS rather than on the phone.  In fact, I would like the phone to only work if it's booted with an OS that contains the IMEI data.  Other OS that don't have that info wouldn't work.  Basically strip the SN and IMEI from the physical phone itself, and put them on the OS.

[aldra]

ah, first post says SIM, not SD card


I'm not sure about booting from SD - I know some bootloaders will allow you to multiboot from either SD or internal memory to facilitate multiple OS like Hamp posted, but to the best of my knowledge the bootloader itself has always been on the internal flash. it may not be possible to change the boot order

[SBTlauien]

ah, first post says SIM, not SD card


I'm not sure about booting from SD - I know some bootloaders will allow you to multiboot from either SD or internal memory to facilitate multiple OS like Hamp posted, but to the best of my knowledge the bootloader itself has always been on the internal flash. it may not be possible to change the boot order

Sorry, I meant SD card.  I've edited my initial post.

With root access to the entire file system, it seems like it must be possible to do this.

[komokazi]

I've run laptops off SD cards through a USB SD card adapter and Raspberry Pi's also run off SD cards, I'm sure you could but it may be beyond your technical skills.

[aldra]

yeah, they're designed to though - phone handsets contain proprietary hardware and code (specifically GSM/CDMA etc. radios) so it's possible part of the boot process is hard-coded. I haven't looked too much into it in the past though, so I dunno for sure - will check it out a bit later

[SBTlauien]

It'd be awesome if someone started to manufacture phones like this.  The identifying parts of the phone could be encrypted and placed on any storage media, then later it could be decrypted, placed onto a SD card, and booted from the phone.

People could just turn the phone of, take out their SD card, and trade their phone with someone else.  No need to have to call to switch numbers and service.  Great for anonymity.

[komokazi]

yeah, they're designed to though - phone handsets contain proprietary hardware and code (specifically GSM/CDMA etc. radios) so it's possible part of the boot process is hard-coded. I haven't looked too much into it in the past though, so I dunno for sure - will check it out a bit later

You can unlock the bootloader for Android. I'm sure you can do the same with Apple products, "jailbreaking" I believe is what they call it.

[RustyShackleford]

You can definitely load a rom from the sdcard. I'm not sure about how the imei factors in, as someone else mentioned its physically part of the phone. Perhaps its possible to spoof.

[aldra]

yeah, they're designed to though - phone handsets contain proprietary hardware and code (specifically GSM/CDMA etc. radios) so it's possible part of the boot process is hard-coded. I haven't looked too much into it in the past though, so I dunno for sure - will check it out a bit later

You can unlock the bootloader for Android. I'm sure you can do the same with Apple products, "jailbreaking" I believe is what they call it.

I'm well aware of that; I use Cyanogenmod on a few devices. What I'm talking about is the process the phone uses to load the boot device prior to getting to the bootloader.

I used to have a Nokia N9, which ran Meego. It was later hacked so that you could load android OS ROMs onto it; the best way to do so was to leave Meego installed, load Android onto an SD card, and install a multiboot patch over the standard bootloader in the phone's flash memory. You could effectively boot to an SD card, but the bootloader was still in the phone's flash, which then pointed to the SD card. This is the only way I'm aware of phone handsets being able to boot to external memory.

If you know of a way to skip loading from the bootstrap on the handset itself please share, because for security purposes, OP wants to try to set it up so that the phone memory is COMPLETELY untouched.

[HampTheToker]

yeah, they're designed to though - phone handsets contain proprietary hardware and code (specifically GSM/CDMA etc. radios) so it's possible part of the boot process is hard-coded. I haven't looked too much into it in the past though, so I dunno for sure - will check it out a bit later

You can unlock the bootloader for Android. I'm sure you can do the same with Apple products, "jailbreaking" I believe is what they call it.

I'm well aware of that; I use Cyanogenmod on a few devices. What I'm talking about is the process the phone uses to load the boot device prior to getting to the bootloader.

I used to have a Nokia N9, which ran Meego. It was later hacked so that you could load android OS ROMs onto it; the best way to do so was to leave Meego installed, load Android onto an SD card, and install a multiboot patch over the standard bootloader in the phone's flash memory. You could effectively boot to an SD card, but the bootloader was still in the phone's flash, which then pointed to the SD card. This is the only way I'm aware of phone handsets being able to boot to external memory.

If you know of a way to skip loading from the bootstrap on the handset itself please share, because for security purposes, OP wants to try to set it up so that the phone memory is COMPLETELY untouched.

Meh, it's easier and more foolproof to just use a basic burner. It's really the only way to be sure that your sensitive data stays anonymous.

[SBTlauien]

Meh, it's easier and more foolproof to just use a basic burner. It's really the only way to be sure that your sensitive data stays anonymous.

Anonymous wasn't the word I meant above, I meant secure.  The whole point of having the whole OS including the IMEI on the SD card, was to be able to encrypt it and move it around(like onto an encrypted laptops HD).  This way people could keep the entire phone encrypted.  I believe on burner phones, the IMEI can be use to exactly identify the service/account information.