Arch Linux

canegiallo

Member

Registered: 2016-11-18

Posts: 14

LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

Hi,
I'm writing this post since I can't found something related to LattePanda single-board computer on Arch forum and on the wiki.
I'm writing that also because of the laking of documentation from LattePanda guys.

LattePanda is a single-board computer equipped with:

• Intel Cherry Trail Z8300 Quad Core 1.8GHz

• RAM 2GB DDR3L for the Standard model / 4GB DDR3L for the Enhanced one;

• Intel HD Graphics, 12 EUs @200-500 Mhz, single channel memory;

• 32GB storage for the Standard and 64G for the Enhanced,

• a built-in ATmega32u4 Arduino Co-processor

• micro SD reader

• built-in Ethernet, Wi-fi and Bluetooth

• two usb 2.0 and a 3.0 one

• 5v/2A

The board is a x86_64. it is a UEFI (I'm so sorry of that) and it is said to be a computer with Windows 10, of course probably it is, it is something like an enhanced RaspberryPi with x86 and oriented to Windows 10, but I'd like to build my new ArchLinux personal computer with it, since I see it as a powerful x86 little machine.

The guys from LattePanda says that it support Windows, Linux and Android and reading the forum I've seen that lot of people got Ubuntu on it.

Here is a post from a guy who installed succesfully Arch, I'm sad he was not so deep in details, but it is a starting point for me:

I successfully installed Arch Linux x64 on my Lattepanda 2G.
I used the x64 Linuxium LiveCD to have an 32bit UEFI and then chroot an Arch Live CD.

To have an 32bit UEFI Bootstrap I installed GRUB2 with this command:

Code: Select all
    grub-install --target=x86-efi --efi-directory=/boot/ --bootloader-id=Arch Linux

And because the default Kernel don't like the Cherry Trail Processor (including the issue that we have no sound) that much, I also installed the linux-ct kernel from AUR. Because compiling something on the Lattepanda is painfully slow, I build the Kernel on my desktop and then copied the packages onto the Lattepanda.

Now everything workes fine and I can use it for my stuff.

I've seen that someone says that the installation of Arch can be made following the same one of the Intel Compute Stick, since has the same CPU of the STK1AW32SCR type.

What I know so far is that:

• it works with 2v but it is better to have 5v or 6v if you want to use some power demanding usb peripherals like an external usb dvd reader;

• you can enter bios pressing CANC at the boot and you can see the boot menu pressing F7 at the boot;

• I was able to start archlinux-2016.11.01-dual.iso through the external dvd since it appears in the boot menu when connected, but lspci can't see Ethernet and the Wifi (it is a Broadcom BCM4356)

• I was not able to start ArchLinux or the Ubuntu Linuxium version through micro SD, it seems that it can see the micro sd in the boot menu and in the UEFI menu, I used two different micro sd 16gb models

Searching the net I have found this little quick guide to install Arch on an Intel Compute Stick, I will probably try it when I have an empty DVD to burn in this Ubuntu version. It is really strange I can't figure out how to let it read the micro SD at the boot.

That is all I have found so far and all that I have learned since yesterday.

I'll report all the things I know and I hope a day we can make a useful Arch wiki page about LattePanda.

Of course, if you know something more, please, don't hesitate to write it there. :})

ps: sorry for my spaghetti english.

Last edited by canegiallo (2016-11-18 11:26:25)

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 19,796

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

Welcome to Arch Linux.   Will it boot a USB?  The easiest solution is to boot from USB and just see what happens.
I need to improve my comprehension this morning

Your link takes me to a login page.  Are you trying the SD card with partitions or are you putting the file system at the top level?  Are you using BIOS or GPT partitions?

Last edited by ewaller (2016-11-18 17:12:25)

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canegiallo

Member

Registered: 2016-11-18

Posts: 14

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

Your link takes me to a login page.  Are you trying the SD card with partitions or are you putting the file system at the top level?  Are you using BIOS or GPT partitions?

Thank you for your interesting ewaller :}) I'm sorry for your confusion, I think my english is not that clear, said that I'm cofunsed by nature.
It is strange that the link takes you to a login page, but no problem, here's the content of the link:

• Disable Secure Boot in BIOS, enable Boot of Ubuntu

• Boot this ISO via USB stick: https://plus.google.com/+IanMORRISON/posts/igAkD5j3MAq

• Use arch-bootstrap to install Arch Linux on the stick: https://github.com/tokland/arch-bootstrap

• aloso install the wifi driver https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/rtl8723bs-dkms-git/

• Copy Firmware rtl8723bs_nic.bin for Wifi from https://github.com/hadess/rtl8723bs

• Update Compute Stick Firmware (to make headless work): https://communities.intel.com/message/347428#347428 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25506

• To boot headless: add kernel parameters text (maybe not needed anymore)

LattePanda admin told me that LattePanda can't boot from SD, but only from USB sticks and from USB DVD readers, so the first problem is solved for now.

It is strange that booting Arch from DVD I can't see Ethernet and Wifi through lspci, expecially because I'm really shure that the Wifi is BCM4356.

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

I can't comment specifically about the LattePanda board, but in general, from what I've been able to grasp from forum posts and information on the web, these boards can be a bit of a pain to get to work.

The main problems I've seen, are:
- 64bit cpu but 32bit UEFI implementation, this makes you jump through hoops to boot a 64bit kernel if you want to, this means you can't boot a 64bit kernel directly (efi stub). This is mentioned in the wiki.

- wireless and bluetooth might be connected via a bus that is not pcie (can't recall the name now), there are drivers in the AUR that usually make things work after they are installed but it can be hit or miss if you can't try before you buy. It also _might_ limit the maximum speed you can get from a wireless connection, mind you that this is just my supposition as I have not seen anything that denies or confirms it

- some models claim to have 4GiB of memory, I'm not doubting they do but I'm not sure performance is going to be stellar. If I'm recalling correctly I've read somewhere that those models have to add some extra logic so that the cpu can access 4GiB of ram, if you check Intel's page about the cpu[1], you'll see Intel says it supports up to 2GiB, not 4GiB.

- some of these boxes have a very buggy firmware, in some cases changing an option in the firmware setup is enough to permanently brick the device, for example changing which state the device should be in when the power supply is restored. The best part of this was that asking for support in the manufacturer's forum got a reply along the lines of "the firmware setup options are not meant to be changed by the user"

- I don't know how that "built-in ATmega32u4 Arduino Co-processor" is accessed or used, if it depends on out-of-tree drivers that are not maintained for the mainline kernel that could become unusable dead weight

Moral of the story: do your research _very well_ before sinking money into one of those things. Check if other people had trouble getting something to work or if something doesn't work as well as expected or if it might break when the kernel is updated.

[1] http://ark.intel.com/products/87383/Int … o-1_84-GHz

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bimbo

Member

Registered: 2005-08-12

Posts: 22

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

Hello, a bit late but I have succesfully installed arch64 on a 2gb/32gb board with REALTEK SDIO CHIPSET. A short guide is available here:

https://medium.com/@emerino/archlinux-o … a651b661fd

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

Out of curiosity, what kind of speeds do you manage out of the wifi connection? Does it use a lot of cpu when you the transfer speeds increase?

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R00KIE
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bimbo

Member

Registered: 2005-08-12

Posts: 22

Re: LattePanda single-board x86 computer.

I haven't got any issues with cpu caused by the wifi driver, what I have noticed is that sometimes you need to ping the device before actually communicating through another protocol with it (like http). Other than that, seems to work fine.

Last edited by bimbo (2017-06-11 00:01:23)