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X96 Max 4g/32g (S905x2) Armbian Help


boxmeister

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Hi im trying to install Armbian on my X96 Max 4g/32g

the old threads are all locked so i start this threat to try to get answers.

Here user @pcconsult gave the following instructions:

 

Zitat

 

All working now. My steps:

1. Download from this link: https://yadi.sk/d/pHxaRAs-tZiei/20.02/20200205 Armbian_20.02.0-rc1.038_Aml-s9xxx_bullseye_current_5.5.0-rc6_desktop_20200205.img.xz

2. Image size after extraction is 5000MB - do not extract it. If you using PC for burning image on USB drive or micro sd card, please use this program USBimager from here: https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/usbimager

3. Boot on X96 MAX. Insert prepared with image USB drive or memory card. From Android select UPDATE...  from applications. Select file From your /Boot/...zip on the bottom. Then press Update.

4. X96 Max rebooted and you are booting Linux. Follow steps for login: user root, password 1234. Change root password. Create new user.

5. Graphical interface - no sound, only two cores. Be happy - keep reading!

6. Touch with mouse Application in top left corner and select Terminal Emulator. Go to /root with this command: "sudo su -" (without quotes). Enter your user password. In this directory you have two files. One of them install this armbian on internal memory and delete your android. Other file is named g12_sound.sh and after execution you have working sound card (I use it from HDMI port).

7. If you install armbian to internal ssd on your X96 MAX follow instructions and reboot after completed execution of copy process. In terminal use command halt and detach installation device for boot from internal ssd drive.

8. Unplug and plug power cable. Remote is not working. Linux is booting. Login as root and edit file /boot/uEnv.txt. Replace row FDT=/dtb/amlogic/meson-g12b-odroid-n2.dtb with FDT=/dtb/amlogic/meson-g12a-x96-max.dtb

9. Save file and reboot. You have four working cores. Bluetooth is working. Firefox is not work now. Open Terminal. "sudo su -", enter your password, insert lan cable. Set network settings. After that use command apt update && apt upgrade && apt remove gcc-9 && apt install gcc-10

10. Firefox is working

11. Enjoy

 


now at step 3 "3. Boot on X96 MAX. Insert prepared with image USB drive or memory card. From Android select UPDATE...  from applications. Select file From your /Boot/...zip on the bottom. Then press Update."

there doesnt seem to be any zip files on the burned image on my sd card that i could choose from when im trying to install the image via the android update menu?
(this is the image that im trying to use: Armbian_20.11_Arm-64_bullseye_current_5.10.0-rc4_desktop.img.xz )

Any suggestions on what im doing wrong or if there are any updated instructions or files that explain the best way to get armbian on a x96 max these days?

Update: i have now tried this image " Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_bullseye_current_5.9.0_desktop.img.xz " 
it comes with an "aml_autoscript.zip", however if i try to select it either via the toothpick method or the android update app, it just simply boots back into the x96 default android :/

Also there is not 
uEnv.txt to be found on the image, is that still relevant?

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@boxmeister I see from your previous posts that you have had this working in the past.  So in general I would expect that you are familiar with the overall processes of getting these builds running on a tv box.  But as you are finding there have been some changes in the installation process over time.  It can make searching the archives of the forum for answers difficult.  I recently wrote a post in response to a similar request for a different amlogic based box.  It walks through the current 'documentation' and I try to give a simplified set of steps for the basic amlogic box case.

 

 

I would like to point out that the Oct 14th build is the last build that includes support for amlogic cpus in these tv box builds.  I see in some of your older posts you were asking about updates.  Well as the last build you will be on the 5.9.0 kernel with no future updates.  Of course all other ubuntu/debian packages will still be updateable, but the kernel won't be.

 

 

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@SteeMan Thanks for your quick response!
In the past i had a armbian ubuntu running wich was at some point no longer maintained.
I then made an attempt to replace it with a newer armbian image but i didnt succeed and put my efforts on hold until now, because now i have a more pressing reason to have an armbian box to run things on.

From reading through your comments and balbes original instruction i understand that its recommended to start from the X96 Max stock image thus i installed "X96 MAX 20181219.img" via amlogic usb burn tool , i found the image via googling for "x96 max stock firmware" but the site i downloaded it from wasnt the official manufacturers support site or something.

I understand that @balbes150 builds do not support S905x2 (thus X96 Max) from any release newer that 14. Okt. 2020 (thus i tested 2 images: Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_focal_current_5.9.0_desktop.img.xz and Armbian_20.10_Arm-64_bullseye_current_5.9.0_desktop.img.xz wich is dated as released on 14. Okt. )

After writing the image on a microsd via USBImager.exe i did the following modifications:
1. rename "u-boot-s905x2-s922" into "u-boot-s905x2-s922.ext" 
2. go to extlinux/extlinux.conf  and remove the "#" from "#FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-g12a-x96-max.dtb" and the "#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyAML0,115200n8 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0"
[edit] sorry i missed to add # in front of the unwanted dbt line but it still doesnt work

extlinux.conf now looks like this:
 

LABEL Armbian
LINUX /zImage
INITRD /uInitrd

# rk-3399
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3399-rock-pi-4.dtb
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3399-nanopc-t4.dtb
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3399-roc-pc-mezzanine.dtb
#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=uart8250,mmio32,0xff1a0000 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0

# rk-3328
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3328-roc-pc.dtb
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3328-box-trn9.dtb
#FDT /dtb/rockchip/rk3328-box.dtb
#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=uart8250,mmio32,0xff130000 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0

# aw h6
#FDT /dtb/allwinner/sun50i-h6-tanix-tx6.dtb
#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 video=HDMI-A-1:e
#APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0 mem=2048M video=HDMI-A-1:e

# aml s9xxx
#FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxbb-p200.dtb
#FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxl-s905x-p212.dtb
#FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxm-q200.dtb
FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-g12a-x96-max.dtb
#FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-g12b-odroid-n2.dtb
APPEND root=LABEL=ROOTFS rootflags=data=writeback rw console=ttyAML0,115200n8 console=tty0 no_console_suspend consoleblank=0 fsck.fix=yes fsck.repair=yes net.ifnames=0




unfortunately it still doesnt work either via android updater or toothpick.

Am i missing something or do i maybe need another x96 max stock firmware to start off with?

OK I FOUND THE ERROR (sorry for stealing your time i have adhd and a gazillion tabs open wich caused me missing something)

Instead of renaming "u-boot-s905x2-s922" into "u-boot.ext" i renamed it into "u-boot-s905x2-s922.ext" 
not i renamed it into "u-boot.ext" and its installing armbian ubuntu! 

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One more question: I now copied the system onto the emmc, after copying, is there anything else that has to be done to make it fully functional?
From the forum i found contradicting info that might also be outdated.

And a bonus question that might not belong here but maybe you can give me an idea anyway:  i installed xrdp to be able to access the box via remote desktop but when i connect the box desktop remains blank (it used to work with the old armbian ubuntu build i was using), now i read somewhere that the xrdp installation needs to be compiled in a way to fit the kernel. I have only general understanding of what that means and i have no idea what i can do about it. Is there anything that i can do about it?

 

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12 minutes ago, boxmeister said:

One more question: I now copied the system onto the emmc, after copying, is there anything else that has to be done to make it fully functional?
From the forum i found contradicting info that might also be outdated.

 

I don't know what you might be referring to from the archives, but there isn't anything that I can think of that is a post-install step after the installation to emmc.

 

12 minutes ago, boxmeister said:

And a bonus question that might not belong here but maybe you can give me an idea anyway:  i installed xrdp to be able to access the box via remote desktop but when i connect the box desktop remains blank (it used to work with the old armbian ubuntu build i was using), now i read somewhere that the xrdp installation needs to be compiled in a way to fit the kernel. I have only general understanding of what that means and i have no idea what i can do about it. Is there anything that i can do about it?

 

My experience with xrdp is hit and miss.  Sometimes it just works, and other times not so much (and that applies to both x86 as well as arm installs).  I have found some success with the following script: https://c-nergy.be/blog/?p=14093   Armbian-config also has an option to enable xrdp which I haven't used (I honestly just recently found its existence).  But the balbes builds are different enough that sometimes the armbian-config options don't work on these builds (install to nand-emmc is an example where it works differently in the tv builds than the standard armbian-config method).

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since im using the focal build now, i wonder if any of the other builds will behave more like a regular ubuntudesktop, im having a hard time opening things like geany and nautilus with gui AND as admin but when i try to fit it by instructions the build im using seems to behave quite differently. i dont know how to explain it better in english im sorry.

or in other words: is there something about the display server and desktop environment works in the focal build that a newbe like me should know about and that could help me understand the problems i encounter with trying to do basic stuff? @balbes150

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The armbian desktop installs use the XFCE desktop manager which is lighter weight and more appropriate to the performance characteristics of SBCs.  While on an x86 install of ubuntu you will be using by default the gdm3 desktop manager.  So yes there are differences. 

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