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PINE64 RockPro64 Installing

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2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC)
Slackware ARM project web site
ARM installation guides
Installing Slackware on the RockPro64
Target
Platform
AArch64/ARM64
Hardware Model
Rock Pro64
Document Version 1.00, Dec 2021
Author
Stuart Winter <mozes@slackware>
Contributors
Brenton Earl <el0226@slackware> (R&D for the RK3399 Hardware Models)
Video Tutorial
This tutorial is also available in
Pine64 also provide unboxing and setup
Help / Support
Please post questions to the
Installation Lifecycle
The Installation consists of a number of distinct stages:
1.
Acquiring all required hardware
2.
Setting up local environment to support the installation over the network
3.
Downloading and verifying the Slackware assets
4.
Writing the Initialisation Bootware to the Micro SD card
5.
Setup of the RockPro64 hardware
6.
Initialising the RockPro64 with the Bootware
7.
Writing the Slackware Installer to the Micro SD card
8.
Booting the Slackware Installer
9.
Installing Slackware
10.
Completing the installation
11.
Booting the Slackware OS
12.
Post installation configuration and tweaks
Requirements
Hardware
SlackDocs - https://docs.slackware.com/
1/36
|
Forum
|
Slackware ARM development documentation
video
form.
videos
which you may find useful.
Slackware ARM
forum.
Installing Slackware on the RockPro64
|
Slackware

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Summary of Contents for PINE64 RockPro64

  • Page 1 Downloading and verifying the Slackware assets Writing the Initialisation Bootware to the Micro SD card Setup of the RockPro64 hardware Initialising the RockPro64 with the Bootware Writing the Slackware Installer to the Micro SD card Booting the Slackware Installer Installing Slackware...
  • Page 2 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Item Specification Notes The RockPro64 (2GB version may work but RockPro64 4GB version hasn't been tested) There is a cheaper alternative, but this RockPro64 version is recommended. Note that the link Power Supply...
  • Page 3 From the factory, your RockPro64 may contain an eMMC storage module. During the development of Slackware AArch64, it was found that the life span of these storage modules is short which makes them inappropriate for housing an Operating System. Whilst it's possible to use eMMC with Slackware, this documented installation process does not provide a supported path and the eMMC should be removed.

  • Page 4: Hardware Setup

    07:53 (UTC) Hardware Setup In this section we'll prepare the physical aspects of the RockPro64 to receive Slackware Linux. 1. Place the computer onto a non-conductive surface ready for setup If you have a case, install the board into it. If you do not, it should be placed onto a non-conductive surface such as plastic, wood or rubber.
  • Page 5 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 5/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Connect the HDMI cable Connect the USB keyboard and mouse The basic hardware setup is complete. Software and Network Environment Setup In this section, we'll prepare the Linux Host Computer to receive and download the Slackware assets required for the installation.
  • Page 6 Note the period/full stop after the rsync commands - this instructs rsync to download to the current directory (it's not punctuation!) The U-Boot Boot Loader that will be installed onto the SPI flash: rsync -PavL $SLKSRV/platform/aarch64/bootware/recovery/rk3399/flash-spi- rockpro64.img.xz . rsync -PavL $SLKSRV/platform/aarch64/bootware/recovery/rk3399/flash-spi- rockpro64.img.xz.asc . The Bootware (recovery/initialisation) images are approximately 400KBytes in size.
  • Page 7 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 7/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Download the Slackware Linux installer for the RK3399 AArch64 platform rsync -PavL $SLKSRV/platform/aarch64/bootware/installer/slackwareaarch64- ${SLKVER}/rk3399_generic.sdimg_latest.img.xz . rsync -PavL $SLKSRV/platform/aarch64/bootware/installer/slackwareaarch64- ${SLKVER}/rk3399_generic.sdimg_latest.img.xz.asc . The Slackware Installer images are approximately 300MBytes in size. Download the Slackware tree verification tool rsync -PavL $SLKSRV/platform/all/scripts .
  • Page 8 Slackware stores the U-Boot Boot Loader firmware within the SPI flash of the Hardware Models that use the RK3399 SoC (including the Pinebook Pro, RockPro64 et al). In this step, we'll write the Boot Loader firmware to the same Micro SD card that will later be used to contain the Slackware Installer, and subsequently the Slackware OS' /boot partition.
  • Page 9 You need to perform this one-time step to flash a Slackware version of the U-Boot Boot Loader to the SPI flash of the RockPro64. This is required if your RockPro64 is brand new out of the box, or has previously had another Linux SlackDocs - https://docs.slackware.com/...
  • Page 10 Insert the Micro SD card into the RockPro64's Micro SD slot Connect the power to the RockPro64 Power on the RockPro64: hold down the Power button for 2 seconds (it may also auto-power on) Do NOT connect any USB peripherals yet as these tend to cause the flashing process...
  • Page 11 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 11/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Now that the Boot Loader has been installed to the RockPro64's SPI flash, we will install the Slackware Installer image onto the same MicroSD card. Remove the MicroSD card from the RockPro64...
  • Page 12 Installing Slackware To proceed, you must have: Connected the storage to the RockPro64 Connected the HDMI monitor Connected the keyboard (and optionally, mouse) Connected the Ethernet cable, and have a DHCP server serving the network from which the...
  • Page 13 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 13/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Power on the RockPro64 Press the Power Button for aproximately two seconds After a few seconds, the you will see the following on screen: It takes several seconds to load and boot the installer, and it may take several seconds more for any further output to appear on the HDMI monitor.
  • Page 14 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Set the date/time Even if you have a battery pack for the RTC (Real Time Clock), the date on your system may be incorrect. We will sync the date from a highly-available NTP server: ntpdate clock.akamai.com hwclock -w Setup disk partitions...
  • Page 15 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 15/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 /boot will reside on the Micro SD card and is automatically configured by the Slackware Installer Open fdisk against the /dev/sda block device. In this guide, /dev/sda will be your primary storage, and in this guide is the SSD connected to the USB adapter.
  • Page 16 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Type 'a' to mark the root partition (number 2) as bootable Type '2' to select partition 2. Type 'p' to print to view the partition table. Type 'w' to write the partition table: fdisk will now exit.
  • Page 17 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 17/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Select and format the partition for the OS' root file system SlackDocs - https://docs.slackware.com/...
  • Page 18 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Resize /boot partition to full extent https://docs.slackware.com/ Printed on 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC)
  • Page 19 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 19/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 The Micro SD card that contains the /boot partition presently occupies approximately 1GB. Most MicroSD cards are several GBs in size. This option will resize the partition to its full capacity to avoid wasting storage.
  • Page 20 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) On the ARM platform, the Swap and root file systems are addressed by labels (see above: 'LABEL=') where as on x86/64 it's addressed by a direct reference to the block device (e.g. /dev/sda). The swap partitions are labeled 'SLKswap<x>', the root file system 'SLKroot', and the /boot partition 'SLKboot'.
  • Page 21 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 21/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 The IP address here is the one you determine earlier within these instructions. The port should always be 8000 Pick option '5 - Install from FTP/HTTP server' URL: http://192.168.1.1:8000 Directory: /...
  • Page 22 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Package Series Selection You can now choose the package sets to install. The recommendation is to install everything. A full Slackware installation will occupy approximately 15GB. If you do not plan to use the graphical window manager such as KDE, you should de- select it.
  • Page 23 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 23/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Pick the 'terse' option: The packages will begin installing: Configure the Console Settings If you plan on using the UART/'Serial' console, you should select 'No' here. If you plan on exclusively...
  • Page 24 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) using an HDMI monitor, you should pick 'Yes'. This setting can be reset to the default by editing /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf and removing the 'console=' setting once the OS has booted Install the Boot Loader to SPI flash If this is the first time you have installed Slackware, you must flash the Boot Loader.
  • Page 25 Installer. However, if something has gone wrong you can reset the RockPro64 and reboot the installer without having to re-deploy the Slackware Installer image from your Linux Host Computer.
  • Page 26 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) You may be tempted to retain the Slackware Installer, but note that the Installer contains Linux Kernel modules for the Kernel that the Installer was originally shipped with. This means that as soon as you upgrade the Slackware Kernel package, the Installer will fail to boot.
  • Page 27 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 27/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 SlackDocs - https://docs.slackware.com/...
  • Page 28 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Select a Console Font It's recommended for the RockPro64 and Pinebook Pro that a larger console font is configured. https://docs.slackware.com/ Printed on 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC)
  • Page 29 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 29/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 The recommended font is 'ter-732b.psf'. This is the font used within the Installer. Continue Post Installation Configuration SlackDocs - https://docs.slackware.com/...
  • Page 30 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Configure GUI Window Manager This author recommends using XFCE as it's light weight versus KDE. Continue Post Installation Configuration https://docs.slackware.com/ Printed on 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC)
  • Page 31 2022/07/05 14:37 (UTC) 31/36 Installing Slackware on the RockPro64 Slackware Setup Complete Generally you'll want to reboot into the OS. However, if you are planning on setting up RAID or need to customise the Operating System Initial RAM Disk, you should select 'Shell'.

  • Page 32: Post Installation Configuration

    Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Login to the Slackware OS You may now login as 'root', using the password you set within the installer. Quit the HTTP media server On your Linux Host Computer, you can return to the HTTP server that we started earlier on. In the terminal window in which you started it, you will see the access logs from the Slackware Installer downloading the packages.
  • Page 33 Within that configuration you'll find examples. Uncomment and set accordingly and reboot. NTP (Network Time Protocol) setup If your RockPro64 does not have an RTC battery backup, you may wish to configure it to set time from an NTP Server.
  • Page 34 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Hardware Models. However, this isn't the optimal setup once the Slackware OS has been installed because the generic OS InitRD typically exceeds 250MB, which in some cases can add several seconds to the boot time whilst it's loaded from the SD card.
  • Page 35 Using the Serial/UART adapter This documentation discusses using the RockPro64 without the UART/Serial console. If you'd like to use one, there are two that have been tested. USB Serial Device converter: Prolific Technology Inc / PL2303...
  • Page 36 Last update: 2022/07/04 slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 https://docs.slackware.com/slackwarearm:inst_sa64_rk3399_rockpro64 07:53 (UTC) Using the USB Serial Device converter on the Linux Host Computer Once wired up, connect the USB end of the adapter into your Linux Host Computer, and use the following command. This assumes that there are no other similar adapters occupying /dev/ttyUSB0. If so, you will need to adjust the device name accordingly (e.g.