<![CDATA[PINE64 - General Discussion on Pinebook]]>

<![CDATA[PINE64 - General Discussion on Pinebook]]> https://forum.pine64.org/ Mon, 18 May 2026 22:26:20 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Not booting anymore from SD]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=18763 Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:18:10 +0000 oloturia]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=18763
For reasons, KDE uninstalled some vital components and eventually it crashes after boot. I tried to install some other OS (I tried a bunch) by flashing on two differents SDs but it keeps booting KDE (and crashing). Moreover, neither my Android installation is working anymore.

What I've already tried:
- changing SD
- booting from a USB pendrive (both USBs)
- unplugging the eMMC (this cause not booting at all, just a black screen)
- switching on and off the tiny switch that should disable the eMMC (it doesn't affect the boot, even if the eMMC should be disabled)
- tried with another daughterboard from another trashed Pinebook that doesn't work anymore, no effect
- tried with another eMMC from the same trashed Pinebook, with the default Linux installation. It boots and loads KDE but I can't use the OS because I don't know the passwords... besides there isn't nothing more than a firefox window... no menus, no internet, nothing else but the firefox window... weird, i can open a terminal but I can't do much because I don't know the sudo or root password. I checked with dmesg if it reads the USBs or the SDs, it detects them but I can't mount them because mount needs sudo

What's happening? why isn't working as it should?]]>
For reasons, KDE uninstalled some vital components and eventually it crashes after boot. I tried to install some other OS (I tried a bunch) by flashing on two differents SDs but it keeps booting KDE (and crashing). Moreover, neither my Android installation is working anymore.

What I've already tried:
- changing SD
- booting from a USB pendrive (both USBs)
- unplugging the eMMC (this cause not booting at all, just a black screen)
- switching on and off the tiny switch that should disable the eMMC (it doesn't affect the boot, even if the eMMC should be disabled)
- tried with another daughterboard from another trashed Pinebook that doesn't work anymore, no effect
- tried with another eMMC from the same trashed Pinebook, with the default Linux installation. It boots and loads KDE but I can't use the OS because I don't know the passwords... besides there isn't nothing more than a firefox window... no menus, no internet, nothing else but the firefox window... weird, i can open a terminal but I can't do much because I don't know the sudo or root password. I checked with dmesg if it reads the USBs or the SDs, it detects them but I can't mount them because mount needs sudo

What's happening? why isn't working as it should?]]> <![CDATA[Broken bottom case of PineBook 14]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17741 Fri, 23 Dec 2022 09:55:49 +0000 Mick]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17741
I would really like to restore it in some way. Few years ago I asked to the support if it is possible to get the spare, but it was't. Now I asked to the sales, and I am waiting for an answer.

Anyone with the same problem have found an alternative solution?

PS: I am quite happy of this device, even if, with hindsight, I would have been taken the 11 version! If anyone have one to sell, I would evaluate this choice.]]>
I would really like to restore it in some way. Few years ago I asked to the support if it is possible to get the spare, but it was't. Now I asked to the sales, and I am waiting for an answer.

Anyone with the same problem have found an alternative solution?

PS: I am quite happy of this device, even if, with hindsight, I would have been taken the 11 version! If anyone have one to sell, I would evaluate this choice.]]> <![CDATA[Original 14" Pinebook an Orphan?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17735 Wed, 21 Dec 2022 20:07:47 +0000 vdicarlo]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17735 Wiki says Manjaro is no longer supporting the Pinebook. The Wiki says that Ambian is still supporting it, but I can't find that at Ambian's website, though the site does list the Pinebook Pro. Is my Pinebook now useless with no suitable OS?

-v]]> Wiki says Manjaro is no longer supporting the Pinebook. The Wiki says that Ambian is still supporting it, but I can't find that at Ambian's website, though the site does list the Pinebook Pro. Is my Pinebook now useless with no suitable OS?

-v]]> <![CDATA[Booting with TOC0 u-boot -- should it work?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17649 Thu, 24 Nov 2022 16:19:12 +0000 dreadbit]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17649 Then, I want to build and TOC0 uboot (same without SCP) signed by some random key and trying to boot that. That does not work.

Should it work at all?

PineBook 1080 A64.]]> Then, I want to build and TOC0 uboot (same without SCP) signed by some random key and trying to boot that. That does not work.

Should it work at all?

PineBook 1080 A64.]]> <![CDATA[Does anybody repair pinebook pro laptops for a fee?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17295 Tue, 06 Sep 2022 01:49:39 +0000 Tsvi Bar-David]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17295
I have enjoyed both the feature set and the DIY flavor of my pinebook pro 14.
I have taken the machine apart several times,
one memorable time to replace the keyboard.
And it worked!

That was a year or two back.
Recently I spilled water on the keyboard. My bad.
It won't boot.
Some suggested that, whereas the keyboard may be zotched,
the emmc 'virftual' disk may be recoverable,
for example by using an emmc usb 2.0 adapter to copy the emmc.

I think that I am hitting my DIY hardware limits!
Is there someone out there who can talk me through a process of fixing my machine,
or is there someone out there who might diagnose and fix it for a reasonable fee,
relative to what I paid for it: $200.00 new.

?

Thanks,
Tsvi Bar-David
Berkeley CA]]>
I have enjoyed both the feature set and the DIY flavor of my pinebook pro 14.
I have taken the machine apart several times,
one memorable time to replace the keyboard.
And it worked!

That was a year or two back.
Recently I spilled water on the keyboard. My bad.
It won't boot.
Some suggested that, whereas the keyboard may be zotched,
the emmc 'virftual' disk may be recoverable,
for example by using an emmc usb 2.0 adapter to copy the emmc.

I think that I am hitting my DIY hardware limits!
Is there someone out there who can talk me through a process of fixing my machine,
or is there someone out there who might diagnose and fix it for a reasonable fee,
relative to what I paid for it: $200.00 new.

?

Thanks,
Tsvi Bar-David
Berkeley CA]]> <![CDATA[Pinebook with a broken screen and 2 eMMC's for sale. UK ONLY.]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=16265 Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:14:28 +0000 frank-zappa]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=16265 It comes with 2 eMMC's and an eMMC to USB adapter.

Please note, this item is open to UK bidders ONLY. I WILL NOT post to other countries.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255418315496

Also for sale is this PineBook Pro with an M.2 adapter.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255418391401]]> It comes with 2 eMMC's and an eMMC to USB adapter.

Please note, this item is open to UK bidders ONLY. I WILL NOT post to other countries.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255418315496

Also for sale is this PineBook Pro with an M.2 adapter.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255418391401]]> <![CDATA[Dead Pinebook - fix it or spare parts?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=15679 Tue, 04 Jan 2022 02:36:13 +0000 oloturia]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=15679
The power LED is on, the Caps-Lock LED turns on when the key is pressed, the LCD brightens but it remains black. I think it's not working, because it doesn't connect to my Wi-Fi nor it plays Android's chime after booting. Tried to boot from a SD, nothing changes. Tried also the HDMI output (both with stock Linux and SD Android) but the external monitor doesn't display anything.

So two questions:
1) Someone has an idea about what to check? I have a cheap oscilloscope somewhere, not very reliable but it works somehow. I have also a Saleae Logic Analyzer and various multimeters. I know that there is a UART in the phone jack, but I don't know how to interface it. I have many USB2Serial converters, tried to use one but it doesn't read anything.

2) If I fail to fix it (also because after some months the plastic became brittle and eventually broke in many parts, mostly around the hinges, and probably I was going to disassemble it anyway) what I can salvage? I mean, the battery is good for powering an Arduino (but how to recharge?). The LCD could be used on a Raspberry Pi, maybe? The mainboard can be used without keyboard?]]>
The power LED is on, the Caps-Lock LED turns on when the key is pressed, the LCD brightens but it remains black. I think it's not working, because it doesn't connect to my Wi-Fi nor it plays Android's chime after booting. Tried to boot from a SD, nothing changes. Tried also the HDMI output (both with stock Linux and SD Android) but the external monitor doesn't display anything.

So two questions:
1) Someone has an idea about what to check? I have a cheap oscilloscope somewhere, not very reliable but it works somehow. I have also a Saleae Logic Analyzer and various multimeters. I know that there is a UART in the phone jack, but I don't know how to interface it. I have many USB2Serial converters, tried to use one but it doesn't read anything.

2) If I fail to fix it (also because after some months the plastic became brittle and eventually broke in many parts, mostly around the hinges, and probably I was going to disassemble it anyway) what I can salvage? I mean, the battery is good for powering an Arduino (but how to recharge?). The LCD could be used on a Raspberry Pi, maybe? The mainboard can be used without keyboard?]]> <![CDATA[How to transfer customised OS from SDcard to emmc]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=15450 Thu, 02 Dec 2021 04:27:34 +0000 quixote]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=15450
1) Buy the usb thingy to carry the emmc so you can do this process on your other computer. (You're a linux fan. Of course you have several computers, right?)

2) Carefully! insert emmc into usb carrier, and then into usb slot on computer.

3) Remove your customised bootable SDcard from pinebook and insert into sd slot on computer.
[3a) you may want to mount and look at the contents of the emmc
        if it's a new one you bought.
Mine had some stray files on it that I deleted.]

4)

Code:
sudo fdisk -l

to find the names of the devices. In my case the sdcard was:
/dev/mmcblk0 (this is the "input device" which sends info to the target)
and the emmc was
/dev/sda (this is the "output device")
Substitute your own device names, of course, as reported by fdisk.

Make absolutely sure you have the right names of the right devices, because the dd command used below just does what it's told. If, by accident, you tell it to overwrite your hard drive, it will.

5)Make sure both are unmounted:

Code:
sudo umount /dev/sda

sudo umount /dev/mmcblk0

If they're already unmounted, it will tell you so. Note: "umount", not "unmount".

6) This is the actual copy using the dd command. The output device MUST be equal to or larger than the input device.

Code:
sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/dev/sda bs=1M status=progress

Code:
sudo fdisk -l

Code:
sudo umount /dev/sda

sudo umount /dev/mmcblk0

If they're already unmounted, it will tell you so. Note: "umount", not "unmount".

6) This is the actual copy using the dd command. The output device MUST be equal to or larger than the input device.

Code:
sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/dev/sda bs=1M status=progress

if means "input file" and of means "output file." This takes a looong time. As in half an hour type of long.

7) Resize the partition dd just copied to your emmc. It's an exact bit-for-bit copy of the sdcard, so it's the same size as that, and it's not using all the space on your larger emmc. I used gparted to resize, but I think any of the standard methods will work.

And that's it. Put the emmc with the transplanted brain into the pinebook, get the screws back into the backplate, and boot up.

I hope it works as well for you as it did for me!]]> <![CDATA[Battery life]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=14480 Wed, 21 Jul 2021 19:30:46 +0000 unrealb2]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=14480
Also i was wondering how the battery life is. I'm currently using x200 which gives me a 3 - 4 hr battery life. So anything around this range would be great or anything over an hour of battery I would be satisfied.

I appreciate anyone's input.]]>
Also i was wondering how the battery life is. I'm currently using x200 which gives me a 3 - 4 hr battery life. So anything around this range would be great or anything over an hour of battery I would be satisfied.

I appreciate anyone's input.]]> <![CDATA[[major issue] how to stop it from booting when charging?]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=14144 Tue, 08 Jun 2021 11:55:03 +0000 eFqLLnGo]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=14144
I bought a pinebook recently to play around and have a cheap laptop with me during travels and I have one major issue with it.

When I plug it in to charge it it will boot immediately. When I turn it off it stops charging also. This is very problematic as I planned on charging it using solar panels on a trip.

Is there a way to change this in the BIOS or something like that? I'm leaving in less than two weeks :/

Thanks!]]>
I bought a pinebook recently to play around and have a cheap laptop with me during travels and I have one major issue with it.

When I plug it in to charge it it will boot immediately. When I turn it off it stops charging also. This is very problematic as I planned on charging it using solar panels on a trip.

Is there a way to change this in the BIOS or something like that? I'm leaving in less than two weeks :/

Thanks!]]> <![CDATA[Pineebook pro and printing]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=13620 Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:11:51 +0000 brjaan]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=13620 ]]> ]]> <![CDATA[Pinebook Users are a nobody]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12934 Sat, 30 Jan 2021 02:50:54 +0000 leperotero]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12934 I'm already tired of seeing how month after month the Community Update doesn't say anything new about Pinebook. No support improvements, no drivers or anything at all.

When will pine64 decide to invest some time in a product with which it has already made money?

Enviado desde mi Mi A1 mediante Tapatalk]]> I'm already tired of seeing how month after month the Community Update doesn't say anything new about Pinebook. No support improvements, no drivers or anything at all.

When will pine64 decide to invest some time in a product with which it has already made money?

Enviado desde mi Mi A1 mediante Tapatalk]]> <![CDATA[new pinebook help]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12529 Wed, 16 Dec 2020 02:41:02 +0000 ron_burgundy]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12529
Anyway. It has android installed to the emmc. I followed some forum advice and got the pine 64 installer tool to try to flash a distro to SD then to Emmc. The installer tool kept giving me errors.

So I downloaded kde neon from the pine 64 neon and selected the image in the installer tool. Flashed to SD card fine booted up. I was looking for on screen instructions to pop up, but only thing I saw was a shortcut titled "run this first time". It basically set language, timezones, etc.

And I popped out the SD card and still booting android from emmc. I never saw any on screen instructions can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Is there another way to flash this os from my SD card to the emmc? I've searched quite a bit and keep seeing that the installer tool is the go to, but for some reason it's not working out

Thanks for any help you can give me

Sorry for being a new haha]]>
Anyway. It has android installed to the emmc. I followed some forum advice and got the pine 64 installer tool to try to flash a distro to SD then to Emmc. The installer tool kept giving me errors.

So I downloaded kde neon from the pine 64 neon and selected the image in the installer tool. Flashed to SD card fine booted up. I was looking for on screen instructions to pop up, but only thing I saw was a shortcut titled "run this first time". It basically set language, timezones, etc.

And I popped out the SD card and still booting android from emmc. I never saw any on screen instructions can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Is there another way to flash this os from my SD card to the emmc? I've searched quite a bit and keep seeing that the installer tool is the go to, but for some reason it's not working out

Thanks for any help you can give me

Sorry for being a new haha]]> <![CDATA[Few questions about flashing to a MicroSD card on the Pinebook Pro]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12312 Wed, 25 Nov 2020 23:15:45 +0000 SanjevR]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12312 <![CDATA[TOR Browser on the Pinebook Pro]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12176 Mon, 16 Nov 2020 07:25:19 +0000 jay3gg]]> https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=12176
I'm brand new to Linux and the Pinebook Pro (Manjaro) machine, My question is, How do I download the TOR browser (As the TOR website will not enable me to download it) and can I use a Virtual Machine to add an additional layer of security? If so then which one?

Many thanks in advanced]]>
I'm brand new to Linux and the Pinebook Pro (Manjaro) machine, My question is, How do I download the TOR browser (As the TOR website will not enable me to download it) and can I use a Virtual Machine to add an additional layer of security? If so then which one?

Many thanks in advanced]]>