Archlinux: XFCE Image for Odroid C4/HC4

[jgmdev]

Arch Linux is a lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple but installing it can be daunting for many. So after a lot of struggle getting the kernel to properly compile and u-boot here I present you the counterpart work of what I already did with the Odroid N2. This image was generated by a shell script so you can generate your own (more details about the ArchLinux Disk Image Generator on Github). Sometimes is easier to just burn an image than going thru the whole setup process. So besides Manjaro (which is based on ArchLinux), for those that would like to give ArchLinux a run, here I share this ready to use image.

What is Included?

• Latest XFCE Desktop Environment.
• 4.9.x Kernel with audio support or 5.10.x Kernel on the panfrost image with HC4 support.
• Mali GPU Kernel Driver or latest mesa with panfrost support on panfrost image.
• Binary FBDEV driver for Hardware Acceleration on mali drivers image. Thanks to @tobetter for instructions
• GL4ES for OpenGL to OpenGL ES FBDEV conversion which allows many applications to run with good graphical performance on mali drivers image. Thanks to @meveric for instructions.
• Bluetooth
• Networking with NetworkManager
• Pre-configured cpupower.
• Yay AUR helper.
• Pamac software center.
• Use of Arc desktop theme and Papirus icon theme by default.
• Preconfigured bindings that give XFCE tiling functionality (see Keyboard/Window Manager on System Settings).
• SSH Enabled.
• Bigger and more readable tty font.
• Installed archlinuxdroid-repo for easier kernel and custom package upgrades.
• Realtime privileges enabled for alarm user for pro-audio.
• A nice space.jpg wallpaper!

Here are some basic screenshots:



Software Center provided by Pamac



Installation

The process of burning the image into a SD or EMMC card should be the same as with other images and is well documented in other places so I will not write about that here.

Login Credentials:
username: alarm
password: alarm

Administration:
username: root
password: root

Note: Don't forget to change the default password for added security.

Setup

In older non panfrost image, after booting to the login manager wait some seconds because the system will grow the partition, setup locales, setup the boot partition on /etc/fstab and reboot.

Keyboard Bindings

Note: SuperKey is also known as WinKey

1. Press SuperKey + a to open the applications menu.
2. Press SuperKey + t to drop down the terminal
3. Press SuperKey + f to go into fullscreen for applications that support it
4. Press SuperKey + q to quit/close an application

For more bindings check the xfce settings.

Known Issues

Desktop Environment Stalls/Freezes and doesn't responds to Mouse/Keyboard Input after a certain amount of idle time (especially on Mali drivers image),

This issue is caused by latest versions of XFCE ScreenSaver and Locker system, to prevent this issue disable the ScreenSaver functionality as follows:







OpenGL application like blender does not opens on Mali drivers image

Disable GL4ES by running sudo odroid-gl4es toggle and retry running the application.

The panfrost image doesn't boots from usb/sata drive when using petitboot.

There seems to be an issue between petitboot and the mainline kernel or some packaging issue on my kernel, it should work with the official hardkernel 4.9.x kernel but I have to release an updated non panfrost image that includes HC4 support (testing is pending).

With panfrost image some displays stay black.

Same as previous issue, it should work better with the official hardkernel 4.9.x kernel (testing is pending).

What Works?

Triple A Games

OpenArena - sudo pacman -S openarena
Cendric - sudo pacman -S cendric-git
SuperTux - sudo pacman -S supertux
MineTest - sudo pacman -S minetest

on panfrost based image only
teeworlds - sudo pacman -S teeworlds
supertuxkart - sudo pacman -S supertuxkart

and more...

Video

MPV with video acceleration on panfrost image.
KODI with opengl support on panfrost image sudo pacman -S kodi-x11.

Development

codelite IDE for C/C++, PHP, NodeJS development sudo pacman -S codelite-git

More

For details on what tested applications support GPU Hardware Acceleration on the Mali drivers image check the Archlinux: X GPU Acceleration Guide, If you test more OpenGL applications that work with GL4ES let me know to update the list.

Improving System Performance

If you want better performance try running sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance from the terminal, and to permanently set the CPU governor to performance open /etc/default/cpupower and change the line that reads:

Code: Select all

governor='schedutil'

to

Code: Select all

governor='performance'

Then you can just run sudo systemctl restart cpupower to apply the changes immediately.

Other Images I have Worked on

Odroid N2 ArchLinux Headless
Odroid N2 ArchLinux GNOME
Odroid N2 ArchLinux Wayfire
Odroid N2 ArchLinux XFCE
Odroid C4 ArchLinux GNOME
Odroid C4 ArchLinux Wayfire

Changes Log

Date - 29/12/2020 (panfrost image)
* Improved initial setup script to not require a system reboot, so the system doesn't reboots anymore after reaching login manager.

Date - 29/12/2020 (panfrost image)
* Updated kernel to 5.10.2
* Fixed initial setup script to properly resize root partition on first boot.
* Included recent build of mesa-arm-git which seems to have fixed some rendering issues on supertuxkart and have better performance.
* Updated XFCE from 4.14 to 4.16
* Customized colors on newer CPU Graph XFCE plugin.
* Added default location to XFCE Weather plugin (can be changed by right click -> properties)
* Updated pamac package which now includes hooks to fix appstream xml files.
* Activated Arc-Dark theme globally and for window decorations.
* Replaced gcolor3 that broke support for X11 with gcolor2 which works properly.
* Added custom gcolor2.desktop to use more modern icon (~/.local/share/applications/gcolor2.desktop)
* Default /boot/boot.ini now has the bootlabel set to "ArchLinux XFCE" by the image generator.
* Enabled the dhcpcd systemd service.
* Other software updates.

Date - 21/12/2020 (panfrost image)
* Use 5.10 kernel with panfrost patches from tobetter linux branch in order to also properly support the hc4.
* Includes recently build mesa from git with panfrost support and automated builds are automatically fetched from the pamac update manager.
* Added hc4 enabled uboot-odroid-c4 package.
* Use uuid on /boot/boot.ini and /etc/fstab instead of devices names to prevent possible boot issues.
* Disabled compositing on XFCE for better OpenGL performance, also disabled transparency on whisker menu and bottom dock like panel.
* Latest software updates.

Date - 23/10/2020
* Changed kernel name from linux-odroid-c4 to linux-odroid-g12 in an effort to unify kernel builds for N2 and C4,
* Added custom repository for easy software updates.
* Improved uboot-odroid-c4 to generate proper boot.ini if changing from 4.9 kernel to 5.x.
* Added newer odroid-c4-libgl-fb package that can coexist with odroid-c4-libgl-wl package. Also both packages include a helper script (odroid-mali-wl, odroid-mali-fb) to run applications with that specific libMali version. Run odroid-mali-wl or odroid-mali-fb for usage instructions.
* Updated odroid-gl4es package that includes tool that can be used to enable/disable it as to run applications with gl4es even if disabled, for usage run odroid-gl4es.
* Latest software updates.

Date - 24/08/2020
* Updated kernel to 4.9.230 kernel which has updated wifi module driver.
- Set kernel timer frequency to 1000hz.
- Enabled Automatic process group scheduling
- Disabled NSA SELinux
- Disabled integrity subsystem
* Added odroid-alsa package.
* Added automatic resizing of system partition, generation of locales and setup of /etc/fstab
* Fixed booting from emmc module when sdcard is not present by properly setting up /etc/fstab
* Added newer pamac-aur, xfce4-places-plugin, xfce4-docklike-plugin-git.
* Updated odroid-gl4es and added shell script to easily disable/enable it (run odroid-gl4es for usage info).
* Added realtime privileges to alarm user for pro-audio.

Date - 20/05/2020
* First release

Download

Newer panfrost based image:
https://mega.nz/file/3M92mD5K#IeP0HTWSM ... 4EvE_GUIxA

Older mali drivers image with gl4es:
https://mega.nz/file/XBNWXD5L#2Lsy8inDv ... CY5vleI2AE

Pre-built PKGBUILDs repository to update older image kernel, etc...
http://archlinuxdroid.tk/

PKGBUILD sources
https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odroid

[cyl3x]

Is EGL working fine?

[protocolnebula]

OMG, I will try it now!

The "official" Odroid C4 Ubuntu Mate it's buggy (it freeze after 3 or 4 minutes of use), and I love arch (as noob level).

[protocolnebula]

Hey, I tried this image but I have the same problem that I have with the official ubuntu mate and anything I install...

Someone more have this problem? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iybTDDkJT8o

I'm very worried...

[jgmdev]

Is EGL working fine?

I kind of forgot about this since I spent lots of time playing on the Odroid N2, but the EGL libraries on the image are in /usr/lib/mali-egl and they use fbdev output. I should fix the packages to include some pkg-config setup for mali and add the missing mali headers.

Hey, I tried this image but I have the same problem that I have with the official ubuntu mate and anything I install...

Someone more have this problem? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iybTDDkJT8o

I haven't updated the image in some time but I guess that a kernel update may fix the issue (if it is not hardware related/defect), this kernel branch seems to have become pretty stable: https://github.com/hardkernel/linux/tre ... dg12-4.9.y. I will try to update the images next week. When I tested the system I didn't noticed that kind of issues but I did get similar temperature readings with the plastic case on.

Edit: the previous shared kernels are indeed only for N2 so removed the links. I would need to enable C4 support on the config.

[protocolnebula]

Hey, I tried this image but I have the same problem that I have with the official ubuntu mate and anything I install...

Someone more have this problem? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iybTDDkJT8o

I haven't updated the image in some time but I guess that a kernel update may fix the issue (if it is not hardware related/defect), this kernel branch seems to have become pretty stable: https://github.com/hardkernel/linux/tre ... dg12-4.9.y. I will try to update the images next week. When I tested the system I didn't noticed that kind of issues but I did get similar temperature readings with the plastic case on.

Edit: the previous shared kernels are indeed only for N2 so removed the links. I would need to enable C4 support on the config.

Thanks for info! I'll wait for that (my linux level is still very noob to do this changes lol).

[jgmdev]

Thanks for info! I'll wait for that (my linux level is still very noob to do this changes lol).

I have updated the image (download link in first post) with following changes:

* Updated kernel to 4.9.230 kernel which has updated wifi module driver.
- Set kernel timer frequency to 1000hz.
- Enabled Automatic process group scheduling
- Disabled NSA SELinux
- Disabled integrity subsystem
* Added odroid-alsa package.
* Added automatic resizing of system partition, generation of locales and setup of /etc/fstab
* Fixed booting from emmc module when sdcard is not present by properly setting up /etc/fstab
* Added newer pamac-aur, xfce4-places-plugin, xfce4-docklike-plugin-git.
* Updated odroid-gl4es and added shell script to easily disable/enable it (run odroid-gl4es for usage info).
* Added realtime privileges to alarm user for pro-audio.

You can also opt to update your kernel by downloading pre-built packages from here for kernel and header: https://mega.nz/folder/jN03DbgZ#CHKKmJt-fYGISCE0t0XmBg

After download you can install them by using pamac or running sudo pacman -U linux-odroid-c4-4.9.230-1-aarch64.pkg.tar.zst linux-odroid-c4-headers-4.9.230-1-aarch64.pkg.tar.zst

Also on the link above is a pre-built binary for mpv with sdl support which works well with GL4ES for smoother video. Also advised to install newest odroid-gl4es which has shell script to easily enable/disable it if necessary.

Hope the updated kernel fixes your freezing issues. I tested the new image running a youtube video for more than 20 minutes and opening some more tabs and the system was still responsive. Also the 1000hz timer frequency option seems to make it feel more responsive.

[protocolnebula]

Thanks for the update.

I test it with a micro sd but still broken, I will try in some weeks in an emmc (I only have one and I already configured all android-tv), apart, the idea was to have multiple micro-sd to swap it easily... a nand is a bit hard to swap (due the box).

Anyways, a lot of thanks and I'll inform when I can try it.

[jgmdev]

...
I test it with a micro sd but still broken
...

Strange, I tested the image on a sd card and the system didnt stalled or freeze. Do you have various usb devices connected to it without a powered usb hub?

[protocolnebula]

...
I test it with a micro sd but still broken
...

Strange, I tested the image on a sd card and the system didnt stalled or freeze. Do you have various usb devices connected to it without a powered usb hub?

Sorry for late reply.

I don't remember what I had connected, maybe only a mouse or mouse + keyboard.

Maybe that is the problem... to much USBs?

[jgmdev]

I don't remember what I had connected, maybe only a mouse or mouse + keyboard.

Maybe that is the problem... to much USBs?

if only mouse and keyboard then no, usb isn't the problem.

[protocolnebula]

Hi,

if only mouse and keyboard then no, usb isn't the problem.

Thanks for the info


Some month have passed, today I tested again with a new SD Card...
There's no comparation, even it's too early to say, at this moment (after 20 minutes of using, I'm updating the system) this doesn't freeze yet and still fluent.


And thanks for the help

[lda4526]

Thank you for all of your work on this. These images have been running great for me. I was looking at your Arch ARM script on your GitHub and was wondering if there was a way to use it to just install a base image( IE Uboot + the stock image).

I started running the script for the C4 and noticed it started applying a bunch of custom patches.

I have been hoping for a while that ArchARM would release an image for the C4 but am growing weary. If there is not a way in your script, do you have a reference I could look at for making my own? I noticed that your script for the C4 pulled in the N2 image and started working off of that.

[jgmdev]

Thank you for all of your work on this. These images have been running great for me. I was looking at your Arch ARM script on your GitHub and was wondering if there was a way to use it to just install a base image( IE Uboot + the stock image).

I started running the script for the C4 and noticed it started applying a bunch of custom patches.

Today I was working on testing panfrost on the c4 platform and I removed alarm aarch64 kernel support, but now that you mention this I think I should add it by adding a new environment variable like ALARM_KERNEL and another for the RC variant ALARM_KERNEL_RC. In any case, the places you should look at:

https://github.com/jgmdev/alarm-image-g ... nv/base.sh

and

https://github.com/jgmdev/alarm-image-g ... form/c4.sh

You can run something like ./build.sh build c4 -e minimal to not install a desktop environment. The script clones https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odroid and builds some packages not available on archlinuxarm repository like uboot and the kernel from tobetter repo which if done on a board like the odroid-c4 would take too long, a board like the Odroid N2 is preferable for software compiling, which is what I'm using. Pre-built packages from http://archlinuxdroid.tk/ (a recent repository I worked on that hosts autobuilded packages on https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odroid) can be placed into the 'mods/packages' directory so they aren't built when running the build.sh script. But as mentioned before the c4.sh script can be modified to add the option of using the linux-aarch64 or linux-aarch64-rc kernel from the alarm repo, and a new https://github.com/jgmdev/alarm-image-g ... inline.ini that uses the correct dtb file /dtbs/amlogic/meson-sm1-odroid-c4.dtb

If you run ./build vars c4 you will now get:

Code: Select all

----------------------------------------------------------------
Variables for c4:
----------------------------------------------------------------
WAYLAND: set to 1 to install wayland GL libraries instead of fbdev.
DISABLE_MALIGL: set to 1 to disable installation of mali libraries.
MAINLINE_KERNEL: set to 1 to use mainline kernel.
PANFROST_KERNEL: set to 1 to use panfrost enabled kernel.

You can use these variables as MAINLINE_KERNEL=1 WAYLAND=1 ./build.sh build c4 -e wayfire or this other way which may also work (haven't tested): ./build.sh build c4 -e wayfire MAINLINE_KERNEL=1 WAYLAND=1

[lda4526]

Thank you for the response. I tried last night to install the Aarch latest from Arch Linux. I was doing the chroot on the arm64 Rasberry Pi so things were much easier.

I failed multiple times to install uboot however. I tried all of the below:

I downloaded the uboot straight from the Hardkernel repository and flashed that with dd. That failed- it also did not include a boot.ini once I dded it.

I redid my image, used arch-chroot and installed the uboot-odroid-c4 package from the AUR which failed to build.

I redid my image, copied your uboot files from your repository, successfully built the package within the chroot, installed the package but when I tried to boot I just got a black screen. I thought it may had something to do with the fact your version tries to install u-boot to /dev/sda2, which was my root partition, so I redid everything on a fresh image and then after pacman installed the package and asked me if I wanted to flash u-boot, pressed cancel then manually ran the sh bash script on /dev/sda but that failed.

I am thinking I need to tweak something in boot.ini for it to properly work on the mainline kernel.

[jgmdev]

I am thinking I need to tweak something in boot.ini for it to properly work on the mainline kernel.

As reported by @harddroid you would need to increase the loading address space for the linux-aarch64 mainline kernel shipped on the alarm repo in order to boot:

Code: Select all

# Set load addresses
setenv dtb_loadaddr "0x20000000"
setenv loadaddr "0x1080000"
setenv initrd_loadaddr "0x4080000"

[lda4526]

Thanks for the heads up.

Can you confirm that uboot should be installed on

Code: Select all

/dev/sda2

in the u-boot package I made from your repository?

I am going to give this a try. Looks like

Code: Select all

setenv dtbo_addr_r "0x11000000"

is not in your suggestion so I will remove that from your boot.ini.

[jgmdev]

Can you confirm that uboot should be installed on

Code: Select all

/dev/sda2

in the u-boot package I made from your repository?

I didn't write the script that detects on which partition uboot should be installed, I just used the uboot-odroid-n2 package provided on alarm as a base and modified it to include u-boot binaries for the c4. And yes, I also noticed it actually incorrectly detects the boot partition when running from a chroot (don't remember if running from non chroot works as it should), flashing it to /dev/sda should be the way to go.

I am going to give this a try. Looks like

Code: Select all

setenv dtbo_addr_r "0x11000000"

is not in your suggestion so I will remove that from your boot.ini.

The boot.ini file provided by the uboot-odroid-c4 package is for the hardkernel provided 4.x kernel. For a 5.x mainline kernel you would need something like: https://github.com/jgmdev/alarm-image-g ... inline.ini and for alarm linux-aarch64 kernel increase the loading address size as mentioned above.

Would be nice if the uboot packages include some hook that detect when a new kernel is installed (by running maybe pacman -Qi linux), check if kernel version requires a different boot.ini (4.x or 5.x) backup current boot.ini (into boot.ini.{timestamp}) if it was modified (different md5sum than the provided working boot.ini files) and enable a known working boot.ini for the installed kernel version, that way a user will not end with a non-bootable system. Working boot.ini files that would be copied to /boot when the hook runs could be stored on /usr/share/uboot-odroid-c4/ as boot.hardkernel.ini and boot.mainline.ini. This hook would give us a more reliable system.

[jgmdev]

Just now I did some local changes to the uboot-odroid-c4 package, maybe you can test them by installing the PKGBUILD below, then, installing a 4.x kernel and inspecting the output of /boot/boot.ini and a 5.x kernel and also inspecting the output of /boot/boot.ini, then let me know if package works properly so that I can commit the changes to the repository:

PKGBUILD with needed files
https://mega.nz/file/3F8kkbxZ#WmFG46tUI ... 2EkLCVET-g

Changes include:
* Properly get device to flash even if not mmc (so should work now even on a chroot)
* Install proper /boot/boot.ini file depending on installed kernel version
* Choose dtb file depending on kernel available options
* Automatic modification of root device for usb installs
* Added hook that detects kernel install/update and refreshes the /boot/boot.ini accordingly

[lda4526]

Definitely- will not be able to test until later today though. Do I have to reconfigure the package after I change kernels using pacman? It sounds like your last hook detects this change but just wanted to confirm.

[jgmdev]

Do I have to reconfigure the package after I change kernels using pacman? It sounds like your last hook detects this change but just wanted to confirm.

Do you mean to reconfigure the boot.ini if it was customized? In that case, if the newly installed kernel major version == previous installed kernel major version then current boot.ini is left in place and only the dtb file is changed if needed and the root device if possible/needed.

If the kernel major version changes from eg. 5 to 4, then current boot.ini is backup to boot.ini.<timestamp> and the compatible boot.ini is copied to /boot and configured to have proper root device and dtb file.

[lda4526]

I got held up at work. May not be able to get to this until the weekend. Hopefully tomorrow night though. Thanks again for all of your work on this.

[jgmdev]

I got held up at work. May not be able to get to this until the weekend. Hopefully tomorrow night though. Thanks again for all of your work on this.

Already fired up my C4 and tested the package by switching between 4.9 and 5.x kernels, fixed the issues and now everything is working as it should so no worries, you can get the working PKGBUILD from:

https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odr ... -odroid-c4

or a ready made package from http://archlinuxdroid.tk/archlinuxdroid/aarch64/

[lda4526]

Nice! I will give it a whirl soon and let you know my progress. Do you sign the packages in your aarch64 repo and if you do, where can I get the GPG key?

[jgmdev]

Nice! I will give it a whirl soon and let you know my progress. Do you sign the packages in your aarch64 repo and if you do, where can I get the GPG key?

I don't sign them for ease, I haven't read how to do it and maybe i'm lazy

You can use this package to enable the repo on pacman.conf:

http://archlinuxdroid.tk/archlinuxdroid ... kg.tar.zst

I will later try to release new images with updated packages and the repo enabled.

[lda4526]

I cloned your https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odr ... -odroid-c4 folder this morning and everything installed correctly on the surface after I manually changed the MD5 sum in your PKGBUILD for 0001-sd_fusing-tweaks.patch.

It installed uboot to /dev/sda and exited without errors. I then tried to boot it on my C4 and the blue light was solid blue and never changed.

[jgmdev]

Are you trying to boot directly from a usb drive without SD or EMMC? Because that is not possible, you would need to have atleast a SD with a valid boot partition and the boot.ini modified to have the root device pointing to the usb drive.

[tobetter]

Just in case, @lda4526, if the blue LED on and solid, not blinking, this means your ODROID-C4 is stuck at the boot loader. If the blue LED not lit, which means the bootloader is not started.

[lda4526]

Apologize for the delayed response- I am trying to boot off a regular old microsd card. It seems that with the new hooks you added last week when we first started to speak, that what I am working with deteriorated from a u-boot perspective.

The most recent attempt said everything installed correctly but the Blue LED remained solid Blue and never changed.

In previous attempts, it mostly would be solid blue for several seconds before 'rebooting' almost and the blue light would go off for a second and then coming back on in a solid blue color and would endlessly do this.

I had a go around where I simply downloaded uboot.bin from the hard kernel repositories and flashed it to /dev/sda and my screen turned purple for a couple of seconds before going into that endless reboot cycle of solid blue for 5-10 seconds before turning off for a second.

It is worth noting that I should probably move this conversation over to the ArchLinux Mainline topic that was started roughly around the same time as I first started to talk to jgmdev. I apologize if I have not been clear but I have just been using the Aarch64 generic tar.gz file from ArchLinuxARM, pretty much using the directions from the N2, and chrooting into it afterwords to install uboot.

[jgmdev]

...
I have just been using the Aarch64 generic tar.gz file from ArchLinuxARM, pretty much using the directions from the N2, and chrooting into it afterwords to install uboot.

I see, just in case what is the content of the generated /boot/boot.ini? It should be something like:

https://github.com/jgmdev/archlinux-odr ... inline.ini

Only thing I can think of is commenting out the showlogo command to see if that is causing any issues, if that resolves it then I should add detection of the boot logo bmp and only add that command if the logo is available...

Also make sure that the line load mmc ${devno}:1 ${dtb_loadaddr} /dtbs/amlogic/<file>.dtb has a valid dtb file for the C4 and that it exists on /dtbs/amlogic/

[bdyb]

Hi,
I loved the images (gnome and xcfce).
And then i found that the SATA controller is not recognized :/ seems like something missing in the kernel.
That prevented successful boot from SSD which would greatly improve performance - it boots and then drops to emergency shell as it can't mount the second partition of the SSD.
And more critical, even when booted from microSD, the disks in both SATA ports are not available.
Is there a way to fix it ?
Thanks

[jgmdev]

Hi,
I loved the images (gnome and xcfce).
And then i found that the SATA controller is not recognized :/ seems like something missing in the kernel.
That prevented successful boot from SSD which would greatly improve performance - it boots and then drops to emergency shell as it can't mount the second partition of the SSD.
And more critical, even when booted from microSD, the disks in both SATA ports are not available.
Is there a way to fix it ?
Thanks

It seems I have to enable some sata controller on the kernel, don't know which one, have been doing some house chores (painting, cleaning, fixing, etc) will try to enable proper HC4 support maybe this week.

[superpowter77]

Hi,
I loved the images (gnome and xcfce).
And then i found that the SATA controller is not recognized :/ seems like something missing in the kernel.
That prevented successful boot from SSD which would greatly improve performance - it boots and then drops to emergency shell as it can't mount the second partition of the SSD.
And more critical, even when booted from microSD, the disks in both SATA ports are not available.
Is there a way to fix it ?
Thanks

It seems I have to enable some sata controller on the kernel, don't know which one, have been doing some house chores (painting, cleaning, fixing, etc) will try to enable proper HC4 support maybe this week.

That'd would be awesome to get HC4 support on Archlinux with Gnome or XFCE.

[jgmdev]

That'd would be awesome to get HC4 support on Archlinux with Gnome or XFCE.

Ok, I finally took some time to create a newer panfrost based image, this one is based on mainline 5.10.x kernel with panfrost patches from the tobetter linux branch which includes integration work from brad with patches from well organized chewitt linux repository which includes work from the whole panfrost kernel driver development community. I haven't tested it on a HC4 but it should work on both the C4 and HC4 (maybe missing software to drive the hc4 mini display but kernel side should be fine). Besides updating the first post here is the list of changes:

Changes

* Use 5.10 kernel with panfrost patches from tobetter linux branch in order to also properly support the hc4.
* Includes recently build mesa from git with panfrost support and automated builds are automatically fetched from the pamac update manager.
* Added hc4 enabled uboot-odroid-c4 package.
* Use uuid on /boot/boot.ini and /etc/fstab instead of devices names to prevent possible boot issues.
* Disabled compositing on XFCE for better OpenGL performance, also disabled transparency on whisker menu and bottom dock like panel.
* Latest software updates.

Kodi Build
The archlinuxdroid repository now has a build of kodi for: X11, Wayland, and GBM, all of them work with panfrost. To install just issue a sudo pacman -S kodi or use the included graphical package manager.

GLMark
To test the panfrost rendering performance one can install glmark2-git from repo.

Download Link on first post!

Edit: Updating existing installation to support HC4

1. Enable the archlinuxdroid repo if not yet by installing this package.
2. Install linux-odroid-panfrost, linux-odroid-panfrost-headers and mesa-arm-git for latest panfrost work.
3. Install rtl88xxau-aircrack-dkms-git for proper hardkernel wifi module support using yay.
4. Uninstall xf86-video-fbdev, odroid-c4-libgl-fb and odroid-gl4es to completely switch to a panfrost setup.
5. If any issues after boot you can always switch to a virtual terminal with CTRL + ALT + F2.

[superpowter77]

That'd would be awesome to get HC4 support on Archlinux with Gnome or XFCE.

Ok, I finally took some time to create a newer panfrost based image, this one is based on mainline 5.10.x kernel with panfrost patches from the tobetter linux branch which includes integration work from brad with patches from well organized chewitt linux repository which includes work from the whole panfrost kernel driver development community. I haven't tested it on a HC4 but it should work on both the C4 and HC4 (maybe missing software to drive the hc4 mini display but kernel side should be fine). Besides updating the first post here is the list of changes:

Changes

* Use 5.10 kernel with panfrost patches from tobetter linux branch in order to also properly support the hc4.
* Includes recently build mesa from git with panfrost support and automated builds are automatically fetched from the pamac update manager.
* Added hc4 enabled uboot-odroid-c4 package.
* Use uuid on /boot/boot.ini and /etc/fstab instead of devices names to prevent possible boot issues.
* Disabled compositing on XFCE for better OpenGL performance, also disabled transparency on whisker menu and bottom dock like panel.
* Latest software updates.

Kodi Build
The archlinuxdroid repository now has a build of kodi for: X11, Wayland, and GBM, all of them work with panfrost. To install just issue a sudo pacman -S kodi or use the included graphical package manager.

GLMark
To test the panfrost rendering performance one can install glmark2-git from repo.

Download Link on first post!

Edit: Updating existing installation to support HC4

1. Enable the archlinuxdroid repo if not yet by installing this package.
2. Install linux-odroid-panfrost, linux-odroid-panfrost-headers and mesa-arm-git for latest panfrost work.
3. Install rtl88xxau-aircrack-dkms-git for proper hardkernel wifi module support using yay.
4. Uninstall xf86-video-fbdev, odroid-c4-libgl-fb and odroid-gl4es to completely switch to a panfrost setup.
5. If any issues after boot you can always switch to a virtual terminal with CTRL + ALT + F2.

It does work very fast on C4 even from uSD(faster than previous versions). I'm impressed.
It didn't work on HC4. It's gets properly recognized by latest Petiboot on HC4 but then I got a non-hdmi signal screen. I Tried flashing the image twice for both uSD and SSD.

[jgmdev]

It didn't work on HC4. It's gets properly recognized by latest Petiboot on HC4 but then I got a non-hdmi signal screen. I Tried flashing the image twice for both uSD and SSD.

Mmm, that is strange since I took the same kernel config file of the kernel found on tobetter hc4 ubuntu image and compiled the kernel also from tobetter github repo. Maybe the panfrost kernel branch doesn't works on the hc4, I will build a package for the non panfrost patched 5.10 kernel branch and update back when it is ready so you may test it if possible.

[tobetter]

It didn't work on HC4. It's gets properly recognized by latest Petiboot on HC4 but then I got a non-hdmi signal screen. I Tried flashing the image twice for both uSD and SSD.

Mmm, that is strange since I took the same kernel config file of the kernel found on tobetter hc4 ubuntu image and compiled the kernel also from tobetter github repo. Maybe the panfrost kernel branch doesn't works on the hc4, I will build a package for the non panfrost patched 5.10 kernel branch and update back when it is ready so you may test it if possible.

I've just downloaded your image, let me try sometime soon.

[tobetter]

@@superpowter77, I've tested the image ArchLinuxARM-odroid-c4-panfrost-gnome.img.xz, it works fine on HC4 and shows the pictures to HDMI. But had booting failure a couple of times, not sure it's because of kernel or the Petitboot. Let me keep my eyes on it.

[jgmdev]

The new kernel build finished compiling, took more than normal because the system actually compiled 3 kernels + mesa-arm-git (maybe I have to increase ccache storage to not loose object files between different kernel versions compile). Anyways, I added linux-odroid and linux-odroid-headers packages which are based on the tobetter 5.10 kernel branch that doesn't includes extra panfrost kernel patches. If lightdm doesn't boots then installing xf86-video-fbdev would be required, but I guess that plain 5.10.2 should already have enough panfrost support to work without major drawbacks.

Code: Select all

sudo pacman -S linux-odroid linux-odroid-headers 

Also I updated linux-odroid-panfrost from 5.10.1 to 5.10.2 which may also be worth a try but it seems I have an error on my build system that deleted the package by mistake when the system deletes older packages to copy new ones and also deleted other kernel packages (linux-odroid-g12), which in this case was caused by the linux-odroid package starting with the same name and making improper clean up (improper use of wild cards :S)... But maybe in around 30 more minutes or less (if ccache has what it needs) the two improperly deleted kernels will get build and ready for download on repo, meanwhile I will see how to fix this issue on the mini build system.

[superpowter77]

Some issues with Latest panfrost image(5.10.2-1-ARCH) with XFCE on C4:

- When switching between HDMI ports on my Monitor, it defaults back every single time to 4K resolution(3840x2160 16:9), I set mine to work at 1080p(1920x1080)
- Package manager works but Software Center provided by Pamac shows message "No Package found"
- Kodi doesn't work, tried GDM version.

[Jhonny14]

may I download it for c4?
thanks

[Jhonny14]

using manjaro (testing) and armbian

[superpowter77]

may I download it for c4?
thanks

Well, It's currently the fastest OS for the C4 with a GUI, either with Gnome or XFCE version and I've tried many on C4. It has Panfrost OpenGL 2.1 and 5.10.2.1 kernel and has HW acceleration as well. It's a matter of preference but totally worth a shot.

[Jhonny14]

right

[Jhonny14]

is it possible to install enlightenment?

[jgmdev]

Some issues with Latest panfrost image(5.10.2-1-ARCH) with XFCE on C4:

Sorry for the delay, I was waiting for the HC4 before answering, which arrived today so I'm finally testing on a real HC4, I thought I could add proper support without one

- When switching between HDMI ports on my Monitor, it defaults back every single time to 4K resolution(3840x2160 16:9), I set mine to work at 1080p(1920x1080)

Not sure what could be the cause, maybe XFCE isn't remembering the configured resolution, maybe you can try upgrading to latest XFCE 4.16 which has some display management improvements, I will also release a newer image with refreshed packages after testing on the HC4.

- Package manager works but Software Center provided by Pamac shows message "No Package found"

There is currently an upstream bug with the archlinux-appstream-data package which includes xml files with improper characters not been properly parsed by pamac, newer pamac-aur package from aur includes a hook that fixes the archlinux-appstream-data xml files each time the package is updated. You can upgrade every aur package on your system by simply running yay. To manually fix the archlinux-appstream-data xml files you can use this bash script:

appstream-fix.sh

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash

zcat /usr/share/app-info/xmls/community.xml.gz \
    | sed 's|<em>||g;s|<\/em>||g;' \
    | gzip > "/tmp/new.xml.gz"

sudo cp /tmp/new.xml.gz /usr/share/app-info/xmls/community.xml.gz

zcat /usr/share/app-info/xmls/core.xml.gz \
    | sed 's|<em>||g;s|<\/em>||g;' \
    | gzip > "/tmp/new.xml.gz"

sudo cp /tmp/new.xml.gz /usr/share/app-info/xmls/core.xml.gz

zcat /usr/share/app-info/xmls/extra.xml.gz \
    | sed 's|<em>||g;s|<\/em>||g;' \
    | gzip > "/tmp/new.xml.gz"

sudo cp /tmp/new.xml.gz /usr/share/app-info/xmls/extra.xml.gz

rm /tmp/new.xml.gz

sudo appstreamcli refresh-cache --force

- Kodi doesn't work, tried GDM version.

I guess you mean the gbm version of kodi (which seems to be the one selected by default when installing the main kodi package). That version is meant to be run outside of a desktop environment, so switch to a virtual terminal CTRL + ALT + F3, login and you will be able to run kodi, it will be rendered without the need of X11 or Wayland. If you want to run kodi under the XFCE desktop environment install the kodi-x11 package, after installation you should be able to use kodi normally under XFCE.

Thanks for the testing, I should add some of this points to the first post.

[jgmdev]

is it possible to install enlightenment?

You can install it by following this guide https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Enlightenment I tested it on the past using the proprietary mali gpu driver under wayland but it only worked using the root user account, meanwhile, with panfrost (open source gpu driver) is a different story and it should just work, but I haven't tested yet to see how it works under panfrost so as the says goes: "your mileage may vary".

[jgmdev]

Updated the panfrost image after properly testing on the HC4, here is the list of changes/fixes:

Changes
* Updated kernel to 5.10.2
* Fixed initial setup script to properly resize root partition on first boot.
* Included recent build of mesa-arm-git which seems to have fixed some rendering issues on supertuxkart and have better performance.
* Updated XFCE from 4.14 to 4.16
* Customized colors on newer CPU Graph XFCE plugin.
* Added default location to XFCE Weather plugin (can be changed by right click -> properties)
* Updated pamac package which now includes hooks to fix appstream xml files.
* Properly activated Arc-Dark theme globally and for window decorations.
* Replaced gcolor3 that broke support for X11 with gcolor2 which works properly.
* Added custom gcolor2.desktop to use more modern icon (~/.local/share/applications/gcolor2.desktop)
* Default /boot/boot.ini now has the bootlabel set to "ArchLinux XFCE" by the image generator.
* Enabled the dhcpcd systemd service.
* Other software updates.

Known Issues

Doesn't boots from usb/sata drive when using petitboot.

There seems to be an issue between petitboot and the mainline kernel or some packaging issue on my kernel, it should work with the official hardkernel 4.9.x kernel but I have to release an updated non-panfrost-mailine-kernel image that includes HC4 support (testing is pending). Booting from EMMC/SD should work as normal.

Image stays black on some displays.

Same as previous issue, it should work better with the official hardkernel 4.9.x kernel (testing is pending).

Download on first post!

[jgmdev]

Another small update to the panfrost image:

Changes
* Improved initial setup script to not require a system reboot, so the system doesn't reboots anymore after reaching the login manager.

Download on first post

[odroid]

Nice progress.

I have a quick question.
Is that latest XFCE/X11 desktop supporting a generic (native)OpenGL acceleration via Panfrost driver?
Or, GL4ES?
I just want to hear the status of the native OpenGL implementation in Panfrost & Mesa.