Pinenook pro use ability

[Lgilesgriffin]

My bad luck finally caught up with my computer’s, I’m down to a iPhone that I have not been able to master font.

My Dell laptop has bounce off the floor one too many times, Ubuntu doesn’t want to wake up, and I don’t have funds for a 6” tablet, so this Pinebook Pro looks real interesting, and would do all the messaging and browsing without any hassle with a small phone at double 7 I need a good terminal 

Any comments appreciated 

Larry 

Now to make sure I’m subscribed

[KC9UDX]

Well to be honest, if you're having trouble with Ubuntu, you're going to have a lot of trouble with Manjaru on the Pinebook Pro.

Very typically, Manjaru will "brick" a Pinebook Pro on the first or second boot, and you'll have to open it up to "unbrick" it. You'll need a support computer to make a bootable rescue card.

[Lgilesgriffin]

If Manjaro is that much of a problem, I would be more likely to put a jumper on it, but all the pieces being replaceable got my attention, that would be even better if this wasn’t a limited run, I will the OS is being world on, I want a replacement for the phone at home with a screen I can read at 77 years, btw Ubuntu is available for Arm.

I hope i can fit in the budget end of next month
Mean time I have partitions to merge, and Ubuntu to install on couple old HP laptops
Larry

[tophneal]

You could run Ubuntu or Debian on the PBP. @KC9UDX is just pointing out some fair and helpful advice, since the PBP comes with Manjaro installed. There have been many new PBP owners that get theirs and are later surprised or dissatisfied when something breaks in Manjaro.

But it is entirely possible to switch to another OS from the wiki list. I've successfully changed the OS on the PBP eMMC, even without a support computer (granted it took a while, since i had to make a bootable SD while booted from the eMMC, then reboot into the SD and use it to install a new OS to the eMMC.)

[dachalife]

What the others have said, but also again:

You would need to be comfortable enough with Linux to ditch the default installation of Manjaro, install an os to an sd card/the eMMC, & it helps to know how to troubleshoot hardware/driver issues from terminal & understand how boot loaders & partitions work.

Setup is the hardest & most time consuming part & it is not a task for someone new to Linux. If you understand the hardware you are purchasing, it is very satisfying to have it working well.

With that said, once configured it is a very suitable, low power & lightweight device for basic tasks; I use mine every weekday at work without problems, but I’ve also been using Linux for 20+ years.

It is not a device for everyone/the casual user, but I’m really happy with my PBP & PP.

[Lgilesgriffin]

KC9UDX was helpful, I will use manfaro till I at least get use to the machine, I’m also hoping that Pine64 will be the one place to go for support.

My biggest problem is I’m a user. I stay out of the OS as much as possible, which also means it takes me twice as long to fix the OS, I’ve worked was aPC Tech and on the help desk 

I would like to 5G added to the Pinebook in the future, and a back lit 

Everything else seems to be in place, now just hope there is one left when I get my SSA at the end o next month 

thanks guys, if there is anything I can add please let me know 

Larry

[KC9UDX]

You *can* make Manjaru work, and work well, with minimal effort. And you *can* install a large number of other operating systems, right out of the box.

But it's kind of a lottery if Manjaru will lock you out. It happened to me once, and it seems to happen to a lot of other users here, just once. You might even be able to fix a broken Manjaru. But it seems like reinstalling it fresh and updating it every few months is the way to go. My wife uses Manjaru on her PBP, and she probably doesn't even know what GNU/Linux is, let alone how to run *any* shell command. I did have to "unbrick" it just that once. With the forum's help, you can likely manage. And frankly, as much as I don't like arch, Manjaru really does make the best use of the PBP.

You can add 5G with a dongle; it's not as bad as it sounds. I still use a WiFi dongle. Someday I'd like to install it inside the case; surely that could be done with a 5G dongle as well.

*I may have gotten bit by Manjaru twice, as I seem to recall on my third PBP it took me a while to get past the U-Boot that came with it.