All Libre Computer boards support installation from official Linux distribution images. Boards with SNOR bootloader can support the images without any modifications while boards without SNOR bootloader require additional steps before and/or after image installation. Please note that official distribution images do not include some optimizations that are included in our customized distribution images especially with regards to hardware.
Boards with SNOR Boot
AML-S805X-AC
AML-S905X-CC-V2
AML-S905D-PC
AML-S905D3-CC
AML-A311D-CC
ROC-RK3328-CC-V2
ROC-RK3399-PC
Debian - Installer Start Workaround
The ISO installer for Debian uses the ISO9660 format with the second partition being an EFI marked partition type. However, Debian as of 2023-09-25 does not mark the partition as bootable and not detected by some bootloaders. To manually start the installer, enter the following at the bootloader prompt:
load usb 0 $kernel_addr_r /EFI/boot/bootaa64.efi
bootefi $kernel_addr_r
For Amlogic GXL (S805X, S905X, S905D) platforms, the Linux kernel version 6.2 does not have the proper Ethernet MDIO driver so the device will not be able to connect to the internet once installation is completed. This should be resolved in a future point release as the kernel moves forward.
Fedora - OK
OK
For Amlogic GXL (S805X, S905X, S905D) platforms, the Linux kernel version 6.2 does not have the proper MDIO driver so the device will not be able to connect to the internet once installation is completed.
OpenSUSE - OK
The installer can take up to 10 minutes to load.
Ubuntu - NOK Reboot Loop
Boards without SNOR Boot
ALL-H3-CC H3/H5 V1
AML-S905X-CC V1
ROC-RK3328-CC V1
These devices can only boot via MMC device (MicroSD card or eMMC).
For installer ISOs: To install an upstream Linux distribution, first flash the bootloader to the MMC device. For Amlogic devices, you can flash the bootloader to the eMMC boot0 or boot1 partitions. Then you can boot and run through the installation process. If you are installing to the MMC device that the bootloader is one, it is necessary to re-flash the bootloader. Please note that GPT partition tables may conflict with some bootloaders.
For preinstall images: You can use the libretech-flash-tool to flash the bootloader to the preinstalled images before inserting them in the board. Please note that GPT partition tables may conflict with some bootloaders. You can check the images via sudo gdisk -l IMAGE_FILENAME.