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+-- Forum: Pinebook Pro (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=111)
+--- Forum: Linux on Pinebook Pro (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=114)
+--- Thread: Doing a fresh install (/showthread.php?tid=19663)
Doing a fresh install - docFarto - 02-02-2025
My friend gave me their old Pinebook Pro 14" after not using it very much.
They do not remember the password, so I would like to put a fresh install onto it.
They got this one in 2022 I believe.
I have a couple of questions I have not able find answers to on the forums.
firstly I have seen this: https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinebook_Software_Releases#Factory_Restore_KDE_Neon_Community_Build_Image_.5BmicroSD_to_eMMC.5D_.5B20181028.5D
but I am not sure what the standard OS on pinebook is. I do not want to do anything fancy just get the original OS and flash it on.
So what is the standard OS for the Pinebook Pro?
Also is flashing that OS on through micro SD the best method for a fresh install.
Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated!
RE: Doing a fresh install - mikehenson - 02-03-2025
(02-02-2025, 12:31 PM)docFarto Wrote: but I am not sure what the standard OS on pinebook is. I do not want to do anything fancy just get the original OS and flash it on.
So what is the standard OS for the Pinebook Pro?
Also is flashing that OS on through micro SD the best method for a fresh install.
Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated!
I just installed PostMarketOS on my PineBookPro. Easy and painless. Wifi works, I have not tried much more yet.
https://images.postmarketos.org/bpo/
Get image, unzip image, put on SD, put in PineBookPro.
Boot off SD, Get image again on PineBookPro, unzip image, dd to the eMMC
Turn off PineBook, take SD out, Turn on PineBookPro
RE: Doing a fresh install - KC9UDX - 02-03-2025
The original OS and the current standard OS are both considered obsolete.
If you can live with a very small WiFi dongle, and don't mind tinkering; NetBSD works very well on this computer. Else, maybe do try Postmarket OS. (I haven't tried that)
RE: Doing a fresh install - tophneal - 02-04-2025
Personally, I'd recommend installing Tow Boot to SPI (https://tow-boot.org/devices/pine64-pinebookPro.html) and then Fedora to eMMC (https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/41/Workstation/aarch64/images/Fedora-Workstation-41-1.4.aarch64.raw.xz) It was incredibly easy for me to install despite using outdated installation documentation (no longer needed, just write Tow Boot to SPI, write the installer to SD, boot from SD, and start installing!) By F36/7 everything's been working wonderfully!
Armbian is also easy to install, as well as Arch (thanks to archinstall)
If you want to check out what your other options are, you can find them here: https://pine64.org/documentation/Pinebook_Pro/Software/Releases/
RE: Doing a fresh install - recalcitrant_rain - 02-09-2025
(02-04-2025, 08:49 AM)tophneal Wrote: Personally, I'd recommend installing Tow Boot to SPI (https://tow-boot.org/devices/pine64-pinebookPro.html) and then Fedora to eMMC (https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/41/Workstation/aarch64/images/Fedora-Workstation-41-1.4.aarch64.raw.xz)
Does Tow-Boot display a menu for you?
I just went through numerous attempts to install a current Linux distro on my Pinebook Pro. Installing Tow-Boot to SPI was helpful, but it just shows a blank screen at boot and without knowing what was displayed on the menu I ended up switching off the eMMC switch to get it to boot from an SD card with a mangled bootloader on the eMMC.
Ultimately, I ended up with a Debian install on the eMMC with SPI Tow-Boot, and it seems to be working well. It wasn't exactly straightforward to get to that point though.
RE: Doing a fresh install - mikehenson - 02-09-2025
(02-09-2025, 10:36 AM)recalcitrant_rain Wrote: Does Tow-Boot display a menu for you?Yes, You have to press ESC when it boots