Notebook
By Igor Pečovnik / General purpose • IOT • NAS • Networking • Desktop / 0 Comments

ARM64

Better then Ubuntu? No Canonical proprietary solutions. Better then Debian? More recent package base.

Better then both:

  • HiDPI support for GRUB and desktop (automated adjustments on big screen resolutions),
  • immutable firmware (kernel upgrade locked to additionally enhance stability),
  • kernel headers preinstalled (easy additional drivers install),
  • ZFS 2.2.2 ready (apt install zfsutils-linux zfs-dkms),
  • face unlock works perfectly (if your camera is supported),
  • additional (hibernation) power saving method comes pre-configured (since standby doesn't always works),
  • snapd is not installed (user can install it).

Installation to HDD/SSD drive is done by transferring live image to the target (sudo armbian-install).

Notebook
By Igor Pečovnik / Networking • Desktop • General purpose • IOT • NAS / 0 Comments

Intel / AMD

Why Armbian provides x86 builds?

Besides general advantages, there are several additional reasons:

  • bringing embedded Linux UX and development to mainstream x86 hardware
  • focus in hardware compatibility and device drivers
  • can be used for faster development, testing and automation
  • Ubuntu builds are cleaned from proprietary Canonical solutions and services
  • ready to run, live OS image with custom OS development
rpi4b
By Pander Musubi / General purpose / 0 Comments

Raspberry Pi

How to Write Armbian OS Using Raspberry Pi Imager?

Requirements:

  • A computer with Raspberry Pi Imager installed (Download: https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/)

  • A microSD card (8GB or larger) or a USB storage device

  • A card reader (if your computer does not have one)

Steps:

  1. Open Raspberry Pi Imager

    • Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager application on your computer.

  2. Choose the Operating System

    • Click “Choose OS”

    • Navigate to Other general-purpose OS

    • Select Armbian

  3. Select an Armbian Variant

    • Pick the Armbian OS version that matches your device and requirements (e.g., minimal, desktop, or server).

  4. Choose the Storage Device

    • Click “Choose Storage” and select your microSD card or USB drive.

  5. Write the OS to the Storage

    • Click “Write” to begin the process.

    • Confirm any prompts and wait for the process to complete.

  6. Eject and Use

    • Once the writing process is finished, safely remove the microSD card or USB drive from your computer.

    • Insert it into your Raspberry Pi or compatible SBC (Single Board Computer).

    • Power on your device and follow any initial setup instructions.

Radxa Zero
By Yakov / IOT • General purpose / 0 Comments

Radxa Zero

If you have a Radxa Zero with eMMC (any model with 2GB or 4GB of RAM), you’ll need to erase the eMMC before you can boot it from a microSD card and use Armbian. 1GB version is not supported.

Full instructions are available on the Radxa wiki, but here are some quick notes.

– Connect a USB cable to the Zero’s OTG port (the USB-C plug marked USB-PWR)
– Hold down the “USB BOOT” button on the Radxa Zero while connecting the USB cable to a USB port on the Linux host
– sudo pip3 install pyamlboot on the host
– curl -O https://dl.armbian.com/radxa-zero/loader/radxa-zero-erase-emmc.bin
– sudo boot-g12.py radxa-zero-erase-emmc.bin

You may have to run the sudo boot-g12.py command a second time to fully clear the eMMC. In case you encounter boot issues, try this hint and report there.

khadas-vim3
By Nico Andy Dekerf / General purpose / 0 Comments

Khadas VIM3

In order to boot Armbian from VIM3 with pre-flashed OS on eMMC you need to:

  1. Download Khadas Rescue tool for VIM3 and flash it to a spare SD card
  2. Insert SD card, attach USB keyboard + monitor or a serial console and boot into Khadas Rescue Tool
  3. Choose: Advanced -> eMMC -> Fast erase and Advanced -> Erase SPI Flash (Yes). Go back and select "power off"

Now you can boot Armbian from SD card and install to eMMC the standard way.

odroidhc4.png
By Ricardo Pardini / NAS • General purpose / 0 Comments

Odroid HC4

If you have variant with LCD display – here you can download driver.

Important: To be able to boot clean Armbian mainline based u-boot / kernel experiences, you need to remove incompatible Petitboot loader that is shipped with the board.

Try one of the following methods:

Bootloader Bypass Method

This is now the preferred method.  It is easier, and be performed without a display via SSH

    1. Install an SD Card with a fresh Armbian image
    2. Flip device upside down
    3. With a tool, press and hold down the black button.
    4. Continue holding button and plug in power to device
    5. Login to console or SSH and perform follow normal setup procedures
    6. Verify system can access SPI FLASH device and Erase
    7. Reboot
odroidhc4:~:# ls -ltr /dev/mtd*
crw------- 1 root root 90, 0 Nov  6 21:38 /dev/mtd0
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 31, 0 Nov  6 21:38 /dev/mtdblock0
crw------- 1 root root 90, 1 Nov  6 21:38 /dev/mtd0ro
odroidhc4:~:# flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0
Erasing 4 Kibyte @ fff000 -- 100 % complete
odroidhc4:~:#

 

Petitboot Console Method

Attach the device to a display and keyboard.  Power on.  Petitboot will load

From the Petitboot menu, go for “Exit to shell” and these commands to remove the Petitboot:

# flash_eraseall /dev/mtd0
# flash_eraseall /dev/mtd1
# flash_eraseall /dev/mtd2
# flash_eraseall /dev/mtd3

This will make your SPI flash memory empty and would start from SD on next boot.

In case you want to put Petitboot back to the board, user those instructions.

FAN support

Create a file in /etc/fancontrol with the following content:

INTERVAL=10
DEVPATH=hwmon0=devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone0 hwmon2=devices/platform/pwm-fan
DEVNAME=hwmon0=cpu_thermal hwmon2=pwmfan
FCTEMPS=hwmon2/pwm1=hwmon0/temp1_input
FCFANS= hwmon2/pwm1=hwmon2/fan1_input
MINTEMP=hwmon2/pwm1=50
MAXTEMP=hwmon2/pwm1=60
MINSTART=hwmon2/pwm1=20
MINSTOP=hwmon2/pwm1=28
MINPWM=hwmon2/pwm1=0
MAXPWM=hwmon2/pwm1=255

followed by:

sudo systemctl restart fancontrol

With kernel 5.15.y -> you need to remove FCFANS=hwmon2/pwm1=hwmon2/fan1_input in /etc/fancontrol