Update 2020-02-01: Made a new release based on v2020.01, with added SATA AHCI boot support, and a fix for the "rockchip_dnl_key_pressed: adc_channel_single_shot fail" issue where the Recover button wasn't being read successfully.

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After seeing @pcm720's thread on porting the RK3399 PCIe/NVMe driver from Radxa's Rock Pi 4 U-Boot version, and this guide to building U-Boot for RockPro64 with all mainline, open source components, I've copied the aforementioned PCIe driver into mainline U-Boot, fixed a bug in the driver, created some configuration for U-Boot and a build script to create U-Boot binaries for RockPro64 with SPI and NVMe boot support.

The code is available on Github and:

• is based on mainline U-Boot
  
• doesn't use any binary-only blobs for booting
  
• with support for installation to SPI flash
  
• with support for storing the U-Boot Environment in SPI flash (configured to store it at offset 0x3f8000 bytes, 8KBytes size)
  
• can insert "partition" entries in the SPI Flash device tree for Linux so that /dev/mtdX devices are created for each area of the SPI flash layout it uses (if there is a spi-nor flash node in Linux's device tree for it to stick them on)
  
• with support for booting Linux off an NVMe device
  
• with support for booting Linux off a SATA drive attached to a PCIe SATA controller (AHCI)
  
• also supports the normal U-Boot features of booting from eMMC/SD/USB/Network
  

• flash_spi.img.gz - this is an image which can be un-gzipped and written to an SD card, it starts U-Boot from the SD card and then runs this script to install U-Boot to SPI Flash. The image includes flash_spi.scr and spi_combined.img. More detailed info here.
  
• erase_spi.img.gz - this is an image similar to flash_spi.img.gz above, but instead it erases your SPI Flash using this script.
  
• flash_spi.scr - this is the compiled script to install U-Boot to SPI flash, it's not useful except for certain specific scenarios (if you want to make your own install SD-card). It is included in flash_spi.img.gz.
  
• mmc_idbloader.img - this is the image containing the TPL+SPL of U-Boot compiled for eMMC/SD card install, it should be written to eMMC or SD card at offset 64 sectors.
  
• mmc_u-boot.itb - this is the image containing U-Boot proper compiled for eMMC/SD card install, it should be written to eMMC or SD card at offset 16384 sectors.
  
• spi_idbloader.img - this is the image containing the TPL+SPL of U-Boot compiled for SPI Flash install, it should be written to SPI flash at offset 0, but for writing I recommend using spi_combined.img instead - see below.
  
• spi_u-boot.itb - this is the image containing U-Boot proper compiled for SPI Flash install, it should be written to SPI flash at offset 0x60000 bytes, but for writing I recommend using spi_combined.img instead - see below.
  
• spi_combined.img - this contains spi_idbloader.img, padding, and then spi_u-boot.itb at offset 0x60000 bytes, this can be written to SPI flash starting at offset 0 and will write spi_idbloader.img and spi_u-boot.itb at the correct locations.
  

As promised to @Jeremiah Cornelius in the Initial Impressions thread, I am posting some of my initial findings with Reaper on the PBP. My setup is as follows:

OS: Debian/MATE default image (Kernel 4.4.207 - Latest MrFixit updates)
Reaper: v6.02 (armv71)
Audio Interface: Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD
Microphone:  RØDE NT1-A

Installing and running Reaper was fairly straightforward. Just follow the instructions on the Reaper website.
After starting up Reaper I was only getting input from the built in Microphone. I had to switch PulseAudio to use the Behringer interface.
Once that was resolved. Everything recorded correctly.

I did notice that on the right side USB port everything worked fine. The left side USB port introduced lots of latency and was unusable. I have not tested my USB-C hub because I do not want to introduce more latency. Although this might be an interesting testing at a later stage.

I won't subject you to my test recording. It was done in my echo-y office and my voice is not exactly great.  
But, I have included a screenshot of the setup.


  ReaperDAW.png (Size: 287.12 KB / Downloads: 735)

I will also try to grab some CPU performance screenshots but I have not got around to doing that yet.

I should also mention that the use case I have (or rather my wife) is that of Audiobook narration. So it is a single mono track recording with very few filter and effects to reduce some room noise. It is not the most taxing workload but it is good to see that the PBP can cope quite nicely. Doing multiple tracks with lots of effects may not work quite so well.

Hi

I am trying to run Kodi on Manjaro Linux. After compiling, Kodi runs, but video playback is very slow (1-2 FPS). The same video plays just fine with mpv player or smplayer. I used the PKGBUILD from the x64 Kodi, Kodi-git didn't like custom compile flags. 

I tried compiling with the options provided in the default PKGBUILD. I also edited it to include 

Hi,

I've just received the Pinebook Pro. I'm running the stock system. I've updated the kernel, the packages and keyboard firmware. Pinebook runs at 50 Celsius when doing only light browsing with the Powersave governor. Playing a 720p60 YT video pushes the CPU Temperature to 60-65 Celsius range. The laptop is particularly hot at the bottom beneath the Escape key, especially if I hold it on my laps. What should I do? The laptop is plugged with the supplied charger. Performance is choppy, the cursor stutters.

P.S. The temperature is 50 even when idling.

Thanks,
brzegorz

I have a 128GB Micro SD card and would like to use it to boot multiple OSs. It will save time from retracting and replacing SD cards  and of course save the sd card reader from being damaged.

I found an old raspberry pi post regarding something similar...

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-ins...pberry-pi/

Does anyone know a solution for this for the Pinebook?

Thanks

Would it be possible to build a smart display, similar to the Amazon Echo Show devices?

It would go well with the IP cameras as well. The smart display could have a MiniPCIe slot and a SIM slot so it can be used as a hotspot on 4G. Maybe using Mycroft for voice controls. With 256GB of storage, could be used as a DVR for the IP cam...


A TV box would also do well. Would be pretty simple, just a RockPro64, but in a case, with lots of storage for movies and TV shows, Kodi preinstalled and an IR receiver.

SBC:    Rockpro64 v2.1 4Gb
OS:     ubuntu 18.04 minimal w / Mate' DE     
        Linux rockpro64 4.4.190-1233-rockchip-ayufan-gd3f1be0ed310 #1 SMP 
        Wed Aug 28 08:59:34 UTC 2019 aarch64 aarch64 aarch64 GNU/Linux

So I decidd to install my RockPro64 in the Pine64 aluminum case and I'd like to monitor
the CPU temperature. The version of htop I have -- htop 2.1.0 -- does not have a CPU temp
monitor. Armbium/Bionic 18.04 version of htop did have a temp monitor. ~~83*C.
The case is nice and toasty (...like my Odroid N2 heatsink...)

How/What can I do to monitor the CPU temp?

TIA,
/Faradn
~ Rockpro64 ~ Odroid N2 ~ Odroid XU4 ~ Pi 3B ~

Hey there, fellow Piners!

I know it's not the most popular OS option for the PBP, but I love the simplicity and features available in ChromiumOS. I currently run ayufan's R77 build on my eMMC, and it's awesome, but I'd really like to see a working Crostini, and Android apps, if possible. The initial Chromium images were ready and available by the time most started getting their PBPs, and I imagine could probably benefit from some of the improvements from other kernels, since then.

From what I can tell ayufan is pretty busy with expanding the Linux support for the PBP, so I don't want to bother him with any requests. That man has given this community a lot of software already. I know I've used a lot of his builds across several Pine devices. I've tried to take this on myself as well, but I keep finding build documentation that isn't fully up-to-date and stops my progress, Google has been blocking me from setting up the necessary APIs, and plainly: I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.

This brings me to here and now. I'd like to commission a developer to create a more featured Chromium build for the community. As stated above, I know I really want to see a build with working

• Crostini
  
• Android apps (from what I've read I think Android apps should work if Linux Beta does) This should get easier as CrOS develops and transitions to using ARCVM.
  
• the built-in cam (Currently works when using setup/settings to take a profile picture, but nowhere else.)
  
• retain suspend functionality (most of the OS options, especially with mainline kernels, seem to have lost this) At this point, I already know we'll have to make sacrifices to maintain S3 sleep. From what I understand it's possible to use up to v5.8 for the kernel with BSP uboot, though.
  
• one of the modified u-boots with SD or NVMe boot priority Now the latest mrfixit2001 BSP uboot already includes the traditional and additional boot priorities. Mainline uboot also includes these, in addition to USB IIRC.
  

Apologies if this has been discussed before but after having trawled the forum and interwebs all day, I have been unable to find a vector graphics file for the Pine64 pinecone logo. Are any assets like this available? I have seen people make wallpapers with in other threads and they have used the logo. I just can't seem to find the logo anywhere. Maybe it is somewhere really obvious but my Google-fu has left me by now.

Many thanks for any help with this.

I just received my PBP and wanted to install an SSD. Call me stupid but I don't see how I'm supposed to attach that ribbon cable. It just doesn't reach 

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtZRFaGayca5jqs0ZBkn...Q?e=vj7V2N