Important. For the system to work correctly, you need to update the bootloader in SPI\flash once (the switch for selecting the device to run should be set to “flash”, this is the default state when delivered from the factory). To do this, download the image from the link
burn it to the SD card, connect it to Star64 and turn on the power, wait 2 minutes and turn off the power.
After that, you can write an ArmbianTV image to the SD card, connect it to Star64 and the system will start automatically. The next steps are usually the initial setup of Armbian. In versions with DE (IceWM XFCE). even video playback in the window works (fullscreen mode does not work) through the Parole player. Analog audio output is enabled by default, to switch to HDMI audio, use the settings via Volume Control as usual.
Version 20230628 is legacy. Important. A significant change in the composition of the system, now it corresponds to a similar composition of other platforms. Added images with DE for Debian.
I checked the installation of the system in SD\eMMC + NVMe mode (use armbian-config). The system works noticeably faster. For example, launching the LibreOffice Writer application takes only 3 seconds, which is very good for entry-level support.
Version 20230711-current with kernel 5.15.0 (sources shared with VisioFive2)
Version 20230711-legacy. Expanded the list of USB modules (Wi-Fi, sound, etc.)
The first versions of Alt Linux for Star64. The startup process is similar to Armbian (you do not need to re-run the loader once, if it has already been done before). Launching Alt linux - download the image, unpack it, burn it to an SD card, insert it into Star64 and turn on the power, the system starts automatically. As part of the images with DE (ICEWM XFCE MATE etc), there is a working Firefox browser, with minimal settings, you can even watch YouTube, if you set the desktop resolution to no more than 1280x720, you can even use the full screen, this is not ideal, but good enough for the primary version.
For the “builder” image (this is an image that can be used to build packages or the Altlinux system itself) and the minimum “jeos” image is the primary user “root” and the password “altlinux”.
A user from the Altlinux forum confirmed the correct operation of the u-boot (SPI\flash) update system to run different systems on VF2, i.e. the update image can be used to update the regular u-boot in SPI and run Altlinux\ArmbianTV images for Star64 on VF2.
Armbian ver 20230814-legacy the kernel configuration has changed - simultaneous operation of the standard HDMI output and an additional video card on the PCIe bus (NVIDIA) is supported.
the practical benefits of output to the monitor (for kernel current 6.5) , even if USB does not work) and there is no UART connection:
you can immediately see the IP address for SSH connection and system settings without accessing the router.
you can immediately see if there is a problem at startup, for example, an error mounting the root system, or a failure when starting a file system check (when the system is waiting for a reaction from the user)
Version 20230824-legacy with kernel 5.15.127.
Expanded the list of Wi-Fi modules (USB\PCIe).
Added DTB for models with 4 GB of RAM (for use on 4GB models - rename the DTB file or edit /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf with a 4 GB indication).
