Boot from USB

[Antom]

A have TVBOX on Amlogic S905l, but this tvbox don't have sdcard, is it possible to boot this board from armbian burned to USB, if yes, can someone share documentation ?

I mean to boot from USB before booting from EMMC. 

 

I shorted the contacts on the board to disable emmc and I see this message in the TTL logs:

 

GXL:BL1:9ac50e:bb16dc;FEAT:ADFD318C:0;POC:3;RCY:0;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:1;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:2;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:3;EMMC:0;READ:0;0.0;CHK:0;

looks like chip is asking for USB, but I'm not sure that it can boot from

 

Maybe I need to create a specific bootable USB? I used an image https://github.com/ophub/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian 

Link: https://github.com/ophub/amlogic-s9xxx-armbian/releases/download/Armbian_bookworm_save_2025.06/Armbian_25.08.0_amlogic_s905l-mg101_bookworm_6.12.31_server_2025.06.01.img.gz

Please help me

Edited June 5 by Antom

[SteeMan]

@Antom  You are not using Armbian.  ophub is a fork of Armbian that uses the Armbian name without permission.  They do not contribute to Armbian development nor participate in these forums.  You need to direct your question to their forums, not here.

[Antom]

Okay, got it, will use Armbian now

but my question is open. Is it possible to boot Armbian from USB ?

[c0rnelius]

If the u-boot on the unit supports USB Boot, yes. 

 

GXL:BL1:9ac50e:bb16dc;FEAT:ADFD318C:0;POC:3;RCY:0;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:1;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:2;EMMC:800;NAND:81;SD:800;USB:8;LOOP:3;EMMC:0;READ:0;0.0;CHK:0;

The above looks like USB Mode. This Mode is for flashing vendor or custom imgs to the unit via USB. This is for recovery.

 

 

[SteeMan]

6 hours ago, Antom said:

Is it possible to boot Armbian from USB ?

Probably.  Only way to really find out is to try:  https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box