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Install OS directly to eMMC?
tahayassen
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#1
11-21-2019, 02:17 PM
It seems all the OS install tutorials make use of a SD card. Given that the phone doesn't come with a SD card, it is possible to install an OS directly to the eMMC?
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xalius
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#2
11-21-2019, 02:27 PM
Theoretically yes, the A64 SoC used in the PinePhone has a special bootloader mode called FEL mode, which gives you a special device on the USB port, which in turn allows you to upload code and run it. This can be used to upload a loader that exposes the eMMC as USB mass storage. But I am not sure if that is easier than just using a sdcard to write an image to the eMMC.
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bcnaz
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#3
11-21-2019, 02:31 PM (This post was last modified: 01-09-2020, 09:20 PM by bcnaz. Edit Reason: mistake/ - Updated )
I am sure it does come with an sd card slot,
One of the things you CAN DO with the Pine Phone is test OS'es from an sd card.

I do not know if the eMMC is removable, but I hope it is.
*  We Sure could use a wiki for the Pine Phone  !

----------------------------------------
Update: Jan. 09, 2020

SO, the Brave Heart does have a soldered in 16gb eMMC

After installing a OS we may wish to use the SD card for added storage.

There is the start of a Wiki, though it hopefully will be growing as time goes.
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tophneal
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#4
11-21-2019, 02:58 PM (This post was last modified: 11-21-2019, 02:59 PM by tophneal.)
(11-21-2019, 02:31 PM)bcnaz Wrote: I am sure it does come with an sd card slot,  
One of the things you CAN DO with the Pine Phone is test OS'es from an sd card.

I do not know if the eMMC is removable,  but I hope it is.
*  We Sure could use a wiki for the Pine Phone  !

I don't believe it is. This got brought up yesterday in the subreddit. From https://ameridroid.com/blogs/ameriblogs/...rom-tl-lim



Quote:The eMMC on the PinePhone is surface-mounted and not socketed

IIRC, the decision was made to allow more room internally, for other needed boards.

Also, I noticed the other day that some users have already begun gathering information and have started a few wiki pages for the phone.
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tahayassen
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#5
11-21-2019, 03:12 PM (This post was last modified: 11-21-2019, 03:13 PM by tahayassen.)
(11-21-2019, 02:31 PM)bcnaz Wrote: I am sure it does come with an sd card slot,  
One of the things you CAN DO with the Pine Phone is test OS'es from an sd card.

I do not know if the eMMC is removable,  but I hope it is.
*  We Sure could use a wiki for the Pine Phone  !

Yeah but I prefer to bypass the SD card slot since the eMMC will probably have better performance.


(11-21-2019, 02:27 PM)xalius Wrote: Theoretically yes, the A64 SoC used in the PinePhone has a special bootloader mode called FEL mode, which gives you a special device on the USB port, which in turn allows you to upload code and run it. This can be used to upload a loader that exposes the eMMC as USB mass storage. But I am not sure if that is easier than just using a sdcard to write an image to the eMMC.


Ah, it looks to be possible on the Pine A64 and the Pinebook:

https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/NOOB#F...es_Only.29

Is there a FEL button on the pinephone? Also, I'm curious why the Pine A64 needs a SD card with "FEL code" when the Pinebook doesn't need that.
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bcnaz
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#6
11-21-2019, 03:29 PM
.1) I figured to try a few different OS'es before installing one
.2) When I went to the wiki a few minutes ago and hit search for 'Pine phone'
It did not yield any results, but suggested I start a page.
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Danct12
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#7
11-21-2019, 10:43 PM
(11-21-2019, 02:17 PM)tahayassen Wrote: It seems all the OS install tutorials make use of a SD card. Given that the phone doesn't come with a SD card, it is possible to install an OS directly to the eMMC?

Yes, you can use FEL mode, but I haven't tried it because I haven't played with it before.

But personally, I could boot to a Linux session on the phone and dd the image to the internal eMMC.
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dukla2000
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#8
11-22-2019, 02:36 PM (This post was last modified: 11-22-2019, 02:37 PM by dukla2000.)
(11-21-2019, 03:29 PM)bcnaz Wrote: .1)  I figured to try a few different OS'es before installing one
.2)  When I went to the wiki a few minutes ago and hit search for 'Pine phone'  
It did not yield any results, but suggested I start a page.

Try hardware page here and software page here.
  • ROCKPro64 v2.1 2GB, 16Gb eMMC for rootfs, SX8200Pro 512GB NVMe for /home, HDMI video & sound, Bluetooth keyboard & mouse. Arch (6.2 kernel, Openbox desktop) for general purpose daily PC.
  • PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition, daily driver, rk2aw & U-boot on SPI, Arch/SXMO & Arch/phosh on eMMC
  • PinePhone BraveHeart now v1.2b 3/32Gb, Tow-boot with Arch/SXMO on eMMC
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bcnaz
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#9
11-22-2019, 03:39 PM
YEP,   those links go to the pine phone,
Yesterday I went the wiki from the icon at the top of the forum page,  and found no listing for the pine phone..

THANK YOU  !

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explit
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#10
02-28-2020, 08:07 PM (This post was last modified: 02-29-2020, 10:17 AM by explit.)
i could transfer PostmarketOS Image from the sdcard to the emmc with dd.
I used this command from the PinePhone Terminal (Or better ssh)
dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/dev/mmcblk2 bs=1M

It will take about 15min (depending on the speed of your card), in the end it will show en error about not enough space - just ignore it.
Working fine
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