askog Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Can someone please help me install Linux on my Ninkbox? I have tried various S905X3 images I can find on the net and burned to an SD card but cannot get any of them to boot. I need explicit instructions and a working image for my Ninkbox N8 plus. The image that seemingly works with my unit has a dead link from all the resources on the web so I cannot find this image to download. If anyone can help me and point me in the right direction I would be very grateful. I am particularly interested in running any distro with a good package manger like Debian / Ubuntu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeMan Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Moved your post to the appropriate forum. Please read the TV Box forum FAQ items: https://forum.armbian.com/topic/16976-status-of-armbian-on-tv-boxes-please-read-first https://forum.armbian.com/topic/17106-installation-instructions-for-tv-boxes-with-amlogic-cpus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askog Posted August 8, 2021 Author Share Posted August 8, 2021 I have read the guides but cannot get it working. I managed to get CoreElec installed since it had a dbt file that seems to work with my box. I have tried to use this dbt file with Armbian as well as copy u-boot-s905x2-s922 to u-boot.ext as instructed but no dice. Any tips w.uld be appreciated- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeMan Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 You say you have followed the instructions. Have you explicitly followed this note from the instructions:. Note2: If you have previously run other distributions on the box such as coreelec the below installation will not work. You will need to restore the original android firmware before attemping the install. coreelec changes the boot environment in ways that are incompatible with these armbian builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeMan Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Also, dtd files are kernel/kernel version specific,. You can't assume a dtb from a vendor kernel will work on a mainline kernel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askog Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 I tried installing Armbian before I got Coreelec running and it was no go. I did not know the dtb files were kernel specific and could not be interchanged. I am happy enough with Coreelec so will stick with that and have now flashed the sdcard to the emmc. Thanks for your replies. Out of interest....even without a correct dtb file, should I have seen some kind of attempt at boot activity albeit with errors? I couldn't get passed anything more than a reboot loop or just a black screen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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