About the Pinebook - What to expect
(05-02-2017, 05:58 AM)Wizzard Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:40 AM)Luke Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:38 AM)Wizzard Wrote: Is it possible to have dual boot system (Linux for work and Android for fun)? Smile

Sure is! I've got android on eMMC and Linux on SD :Smile (mostly because I know I will be switching Linux builds a lot)

Great, so is it easy to install some boot loader? What about performance of Linux on SD?

No, I physically remove the SD to have the unit boot into android. A bootloader is a bit of a tall order at the moment - with everything related to the PB in its infancy. But I can imagine that the community and Pine will be interested in exploring this possibility in the future. 
Regarding  running Linux on SD; if you have a Pine A64+ board then you know what to expect. If you don't, then its considerably less snappy than on eMMC but its not a bad experience. 
Edit: while I'm on the subject of internal memory, here is a benchmark on Android 7.1 running off of eMMC
You can find me on IRC, Discord and Twitter


(05-02-2017, 06:11 AM)Luke Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:58 AM)Wizzard Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:40 AM)Luke Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:38 AM)Wizzard Wrote: Is it possible to have dual boot system (Linux for work and Android for fun)? Smile

Sure is! I've got android on eMMC and Linux on SD :Smile (mostly because I know I will be switching Linux builds a lot)

Great, so is it easy to install some boot loader? What about performance of Linux on SD?

No, I physically remove the SD to have the unit boot into android. A bootloader is a bit of a tall order at the moment - with everything related to the PB in its infancy. But I can imagine that the community and Pine will be interested in exploring this possibility in the future. 
Regarding  running Linux on SD; if you have a Pine A64+ board then you know what to expect. If you don't, then its considerably less snappy than on eMMC but its not a bad experience.

So if there is an SD card present with system, then it boots from it, if not, it boots from eMMC? This is how it works? It is good. I do not have any A64 yet, so I do not know these elementary things yet.
(05-02-2017, 06:14 AM)Wizzard Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 06:11 AM)Luke Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:58 AM)Wizzard Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:40 AM)Luke Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:38 AM)Wizzard Wrote: Is it possible to have dual boot system (Linux for work and Android for fun)? Smile

Sure is! I've got android on eMMC and Linux on SD :Smile (mostly because I know I will be switching Linux builds a lot)

Great, so is it easy to install some boot loader? What about performance of Linux on SD?

No, I physically remove the SD to have the unit boot into android. A bootloader is a bit of a tall order at the moment - with everything related to the PB in its infancy. But I can imagine that the community and Pine will be interested in exploring this possibility in the future. 
Regarding  running Linux on SD; if you have a Pine A64+ board then you know what to expect. If you don't, then its considerably less snappy than on eMMC but its not a bad experience.

So if there is an SD card present with system, then it boots from it, if not, it boots from eMMC? This is how it works? It is good. I do not have any A64 yet, so I do not know these elementary things yet.

In principle yes, SD has boot priority.
You can find me on IRC, Discord and Twitter


(05-02-2017, 05:58 AM)Wizzard Wrote: Great, so is it easy to install some boot loader? What about performance of Linux on SD?

It's automatic... when uboot starts it will boot from the microSD if there is one, otherwise it will boot from the eMMC... so you switch as simply as powering off the Pinebook and pulling the microSD out (or putting it in).

With a good card like a Samsung EVO, performance is good. Having said that, even the standard class 10 Sandisk card I was using worked quite well.
(05-02-2017, 07:07 AM)pfeerick Wrote:
(05-02-2017, 05:58 AM)Wizzard Wrote: Great, so is it easy to install some boot loader? What about performance of Linux on SD?

It's automatic... when uboot starts it will boot from the microSD if there is one, otherwise it will boot from the eMMC... so you switch as simply as powering off the Pinebook and pulling the microSD out (or putting it in).

With a good card like a Samsung EVO, performance is good. Having said that, even the standard class 10 Sandisk card I was using worked quite well.

Wizzard's question re. a bootloader got me thinking -- Are there utilities for other boards that can boot multiple OS' ? I vaguely remember something like that on the RPI ...
You can find me on IRC, Discord and Twitter


Luke: you can achieve that manually today. It is just a boot device and proper configuration. If you can switch that in uEnv, you could have android and linux on the same disk, with manual switch.
Homepage: https://ayufan.eu

Releases:
Rock/Pro 64/Pinebook Pro: LinuxChromium OS
So/Pine A64/Pinebook: LinuxAndroid 6.0Android 7.1

Buy me a Beer
(05-02-2017, 07:30 AM)Luke Wrote: Wizzard's question re. a bootloader got me thinking -- Are there utilities for other boards that can boot multiple OS' ? I vaguely remember something like that on the RPI ...

Yeah, the RPi can do it through their micro NOOBs (New Out Of the Box Software) OS selection menu. But as ayufan said, using uboot, all that needs to be changed is an entry in uEnv.txt, and the pinebook (and any pine device) can switch between installed OSs. If I'm understanding the serial output from uboot correctly on the pine64, it should actually be possible to change boot sources there (although not practical due to only SD card equipped), so I presume the same can be done right now on the pinebook, but there is no need due to the boot device priorities. It would be nice if you could bash the ESC key on power up and get a boot device menu, but I presume getting the LCD and keyboard functioning at a uboot level is beyond the realms of practicality Wink
LCD support is there, but it is tricky to actually render something there. Maybe kexec is a way to go if it works.
Homepage: https://ayufan.eu

Releases:
Rock/Pro 64/Pinebook Pro: LinuxChromium OS
So/Pine A64/Pinebook: LinuxAndroid 6.0Android 7.1

Buy me a Beer
(05-03-2017, 10:52 AM)ayufan Wrote: LCD support is there, but it is tricky to actually render something there. Maybe kexec is a way to go if it works.

Oh duh... boot image.. course it is! lol That sounds great... certainly something to go on the wishlist for consideration once the build is stable. Wink

Maybe have a look at KexecBootMenu... it is basically a bash shell script, and the only dependencies are busybox, kexec-tools, and evtest... and is designed to be easily remapped for tablets, etc.
I have my BTO for the Pinebook 14 since yesterday (I have until May 10th), but before making the payment, I would like to know how well the Pinebok works. When putting in Spanish any key will have function of the letter "ñ"?
Having it in my house will cost me USD 153 (there is only FedEx option that charges me 54). I am from peru. There will be no problems with Customs.
I am a Linux enthusiast (I have Linux Mint Xfce on my laptop and netbook), I am also a student and the payment will take half of my salary. I just want to be sure of receiving good hardware, I'm a simple user, so I'll use it mainly for web browsing, opening Writer, listening to music and nothing else (I'm not playing anything, I'm not a gamer). Greetings.


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Dead Pinebook - fix it or spare parts? oloturia 2 2,212 03-19-2023, 03:38 PM
Last Post: oloturia
  Broken bottom case of PineBook 14 Mick 1 920 02-22-2023, 05:49 AM
Last Post: Mick
  Original 14" Pinebook an Orphan? vdicarlo 2 1,259 01-05-2023, 10:42 AM
Last Post: jezek
  Pinebook Users are a nobody leperotero 13 12,597 09-06-2022, 09:29 PM
Last Post: zapper
  Does anybody repair pinebook pro laptops for a fee? Tsvi Bar-David 0 960 09-05-2022, 07:49 PM
Last Post: Tsvi Bar-David
  Pinebook with a broken screen and 2 eMMC's for sale. UK ONLY. frank-zappa 0 1,598 03-08-2022, 10:14 AM
Last Post: frank-zappa
  Pinebook to Pinebook Pro-esque upgrade kit sebboh 5 7,501 08-18-2021, 11:01 PM
Last Post: Corkonian
  new pinebook help ron_burgundy 5 7,695 12-17-2020, 04:54 PM
Last Post: ron_burgundy
  Few questions about flashing to a MicroSD card on the Pinebook Pro SanjevR 6 9,612 12-07-2020, 04:02 PM
Last Post: SanjevR
  TOR Browser on the Pinebook Pro jay3gg 0 2,975 11-16-2020, 01:25 AM
Last Post: jay3gg

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)