Posts by shippy

Quote from chewitt

1. No. S905X is quite well supported. The issue with most W/Y boxes is they are super low-spec with 1GB RAM which means forget 4K.

2. Yes, because the blobs are firmware and old vendor kernels and moder kernels use the same firmwares. Drivers are something different.

3. The current upstream drivers were written for GXL/GXM; they don't work as well on newer G12/SM1 hardware as this neeeds updates to some of the codec drivers (which nobody made) and older S905 devices don't support HDR and VP9. Newer boxes have more CPU grunt so most of the time you can disable hardware decoding and software decode (1080p is great, forget 4K).

4. Allwinner and Rockchip are both well quite supported with older chipsets and there is considerable active development on support for newer chips. LE contributors are heavily involved in the kernel V4L2 stateless decoding efforts.

Ok thanks 😌

1. So I should assume S905W ought to work with 720/1080p with newer LE versions too?

2. Not worried about VP9 or HDR.

Here I am assuming that YouTube streaming with S905W should still be OK, since Youtube should switch to other than VP9?

I recall that the last LE version supporting Amlogic binary blob for video acceleration for older SoCs ( S905/W/X) was based on kernel 3.14.29 and Kodi 18.9 ( Nov '19?) was the last LE version supporting.

Newer LE versions based on later kernels seem to not work nicely with S905/W/X streaming ( 720/1080p.)

Questions:

1. Is my impression above correct?

2. Are Amlogic binary blobs for video acceleration for older SoCs now available in any newer LE versions?

Does this have to do with kernel updates?

3. How are newer kernels / LE versions supporting video acceleration in better SoCs?

Through CPU (software) acceleration, given more powerful CPUs?

4. Can anyone comment on the video acceleration situations for Rockchip and Allwinner SoCs?

Cheers 😽,

shippy.

mglae

Ok thanks. I will try testing this with a LE/AE image...

This looks like I will need to switch from Windows to Linux and then run above CLI command.

Is there a way to change the MBR flag within Windows, e.g., edit the syslinux.cfg file for the Libreelec boot image ?

Cheers 🤡

Quote from mglae

1. The kernel file can not be opened. But the legacy image was only created to in case the usual GPT disk is not possible.

2. The size of the used stick is unknown so we start with a small 32MiB file system that is expanded at first boot.

The filesystem repair may have been started because you pulled the stick before any data was flushed.

A. Don't be afraid of the installer, you have to select the installation, choose the disk and then being asked twice if you really like to erase the HD.

B. We do use a GPT image. The changes will be used if accepted by the team.

mglae,

Great !

Let's hope the current LE image is upgraded with your updates after some changes 😉

mglae,

At last ! Yep, the gpt img booted in run mode.

Many thanks to all those who helped, including Da Flex (anon donations work !), chewitt, Jocke.Sve and of course, you.

Some details:

This all is Legacy Boot.

(Btw, Chrome browser blocked both img downloads, so had to revert to MS Edge.)

1. I first Rufus installed the legacy img which showed only one drive, USB (D:), invisible contents. Copied AE 10.0.9 Kernel + System (already had a copy in Downloads folder), changed syslinux.cfg to DEFAULT run, and rebooted.

Unlike your first legacy boot img (which resulted in straight to Windows boot, no messages), I got errors this time after typing in run. See pic attached.

2. Then I installed the gpt img via Rufus on the same USB drive (no manual reformat first.) It showed two drives, LIBREELEC (D:), the boot drive (from Disk Management display), and a USB (E:) So I installed AE 10.0.9 Kernel + System to D: Then changed syslinux.cfg to DEFAULT run, and rebooted.

At the boot screen, I typed in run again, and it showed the AlexElec splash and displayed then a resizing partitions message. I waited until it said something like, "Finished, boot in 5s."

I panicked, thinking that the installer had actually run, wiping out my PC HDD Windows partition ! So I detached the USB, and booted again, praying.

Booted fine in Windows !

I then rebooted from the USB drive. It said repairing damaged partitions (abort in 120 s.) Then it booted into the Dell PC splash, and I got back the USB boot prompt. Typed in run, and it booted into Kodi screen...

Changed Kodi language to English, and rebooted. English persisted, so run mode works fine.

All's well that ends well.

3. Questions:

A. Given my Windows near death experience, is there any warning messages/ abort key when DEFAULT installer runs, re: Windows partition wipeout ?

B. So is this gpt boot going to become the default boot image instead of presumably the legacy boot image now in use ?

Quote from mglae

1.) The randomly generated UUIDs can be read from any linux system and then stored in the syslinux.cfg. LE is not using /etc/fstab.

boot=/dev/sdb1 disk=/dev/sdb2 is possible but not reliable because it depend on the disk initialization order. Another possibility is to use boot=LABEL=xxx disk=LABEL=yyy if the file system labels are defined.

The UUID was not incorrect, it still pointed to the original file system of the copied syslinux.cfg

2) No. ISO is read only.

Boot problems are very rare, although reported from time to time.

Ok... appreciate your explanations. 😺

1. So, can we define system labels and /etc/fstab in the LE.img ?

Here the idea is to configure as above and make a shrunk backup copy as LE-new.img. Then use LE-new.img for booting PC.

This should then work as long as there is only one USB stick attached to PC ?

2. Or, is there a better way to define UUIDs such that copying LE Kernel and System files over to a working boot like Rufus Syslinux6.0.4 might still auto boot?

My own 3-4 year experience with LE and those other distros, including for tv boxes, says that boot problems are quite common.

Boot should get more attention from devs and there should be more donors ! 🙈

mglae,

Success, with live mode ! What a wild ride !

1. So that means one cannot configure a mountpoint etc in the LE .img file before boot, obviating need for manual UUID discovery at debug shell at boot time?

That is, mountpoint needs to be created in the LE.img file first by author in /etc/fstab, (or by user via ssh in bootable LE, then backed up) e.g., sdb1 could point to the first USB attached.

Then in syslinux.cfg, boot=disk= /dev/sdb1.

Why was the UUID incorrect in first place? Just a generic entry?

2. Is it possible to create an .iso image for LE, from source for example?

(I tried renaming LE.img to LE.iso and it ran in Rufus, but the results were the same, no boot.)

Would this help with Legacy Boot problems without creating additional concerns ?

Quote from mglae

Now the error message is different: "Could not mount UUID=1706..."

syslinux.cfg must have matching UUIDs. Replace 1706-4700 with 0E96-8A79.

But then you can only boot installer and live. For run the second ext4 partition (sdb2) is required.

mglae,

1. Great...will try, and report results.

2. Does this mean I will have to do manual config every time there is a new install?

These UUID# don't look like they stay same?

3. On my current config ( Syslinux 6.0.4 boot showing fat32 in my 14.9 GB USB space, and copy over Kernel and System files), how do I add ext4 partition to enable run mode?

I rather not install LE to PC HDD, and live of course is not going to persist data on USB !

Quote from mglae

Now I'm confused: do you have always seen the syslinux boot screen?

In this case:

Code

ls -l /flash
blkid
mount

Hi again mglae,

I appreciate your quick help !

I get the debug shell once I first install Rufus Syslinux 6.0.4 Boot and then add the LE Kernel and System files; then of course do USB boot.

On regular USB boot (Rufus/ Creator install of LE 10.0.0.img.gz MBR file), get booted straight into Windows.

1. Looks similar to the #24 solution in RDan thread above.

A. Found the problem, but how do I proceed ? (Not a dev, just a noob who can monkey type )

14.04 - Mount can't find device in /etc/fstab - Ask Ubuntu

B. Will this be a permanent solution embedded in some config file, or will I have to do this manually every time at the debug shell?

---------

$ ls -l /flash

$ blkid

# list of disks with Windows ntfs and one usb /dev/sdb1 vfat partitions.)

$ mount /dev/sdb1

$ mount: can't find /dev/sdb1 in /etc/fstab

-------

Btw, here are contents of my syslinux.cfg file:

----------

SAY Wait for installer mode to start automatically in 5 seconds...

SAY

SAY Options

SAY =======

SAY installer: permanently install AlexELEC to HDD/SSD

SAY live: boot AlexELEC using RAM for temporary storage

SAY run: boot AlexELEC using this USB memory device for storage

SAY

DEFAULT run

TIMEOUT 50

PROMPT 1

LABEL installer

KERNEL /KERNEL

APPEND boot=UUID=1706-4700 installer quiet systemd.debug_shell vga=current

LABEL live

KERNEL /KERNEL

APPEND boot=UUID=1706-4700 live quiet vga=current

LABEL run

KERNEL /KERNEL

APPEND boot=UUID=1706-4700 disk=UUID=0e5bb5fd-2d05-46a9-bc3c-e1e8c33da701 portable quiet

----------

Quote from Jocke.Sve

RE: "USB drive disappears from my Win File Manager"

That's common.

To solve that, start "Disk Management" tool or search for "Create and format hard disk partitions" (Win10 / Win11) and assign a drive letter to the FAT32 partition of the drive.

Great thanks for the little magic trick !

mglae,

1. No luck with your boot method: this time the laptop just hangs at the Dell splash, much as with the old Dell PC case in OP.

And yes, because I want to avoid any nasty surprise (e.g., HDD Windows wipeout), I have been editing the syslinux.cfg from DEFAULT installer to DEFAULT run; and also been typing run at the prompt, just to avoid installation ! Hopefully this makes no difference.

2. I also tried Ventoy

Usually with Rufus, LE USB Creator I get the error : cannot mount UUID=...

With Ventoy, I get either above or new error: cannot mount /flash/SYSTEM

3. Tried Plop Boot Manager 5.0 - Install to the hard disk MBR (Master Boot Record)

With USB Plop install, it did nothing- just booted straight into Windows as usual.

With Windows Plop install, I got the additional Plop Menu. Upon choosing USB (only one connected), it gave me an error: USB: No boot device found...

Then I selected HDA from the Plop menu, and it allowed me to boot into Windows.

4. Question: Can I type anything at the debug shell to troubleshoot ?

Do I need to label my USB drive partitions in a certain way?

The boot partition was auto labeled E: by Disk Management, and I see a USB drive LIBREELEC(E:) and a USB Drive (D:)

LIBREELEC(E:) contains the original syslinux.cfg, and SYSTEM and KERNEL (copied.)

USB Drive (D:) asks to be reformatted (ignored.)

So Dell BIOS is proving nasty...

Quote from mglae

Which thread? My web search foo seem not to be good enough to find it.

To shorten this thread I've created an empty legacy boot only image with DOS partitioning scheme. After creating the stick you have to copy the LINUX and SYSTEM files of the desired LE release.

LibreELEC-Generic.x86_64-legacy.empty.img.gz.zip

mglae,

Many thanks... wanted to respond.

Since last night, after burning the boot image (all 3 tools) the USB drive disappears from my Win File Manager, and I have been reformatting via diskpart and Disk Management to repeat the process without luck ! This is a common issue so far.

Anyway I might be able to try out your empty boot distro with the System and Kernel files copied once the USB drive stick and contents become visible again ! I am also thinking of trying Plop Boot Manager.

Re: earlier threads, here is one of them that talks about a solution in message #39 by OP, which I don't understand owing to translation.

Also I did try the #24 solution and then sdb/sda 1/2 methods subsequently, but no luck.

Thread

LibreELEC Legacy boot

Hello does not speak English, I write through the compiler. Nowhere I can not find information on how to install LibreELEC normal PC without UEFI. If I create a bootable USB flash according to the instructions, created the GPT partition.
My laptop LCD without handles playback and H265 in fullHD, I have no reason to change it.
PS: So far Kodibuntu function does not work anymore and mainly contains needlessly whole person who starts a long time.
PPS: I can not at all with Linux. I can handle just…

RDan

January 10, 2017 at 11:59 PM

Quote from mglae

I've no knowledge about the structure of an Ubuntu UUI stick therefore I can't answer this question.

How about that OpenELEC boot, or any other method?

I assumed from your first comment that you were pointing to a known solution.

mglae

So you are saying that if I am able to legacy boot my Ubuntu UUI stick, I should be able to add LE to it?

Can you kindly outline steps?

1. I checked Universal USB Installer, and it has no LE listing and the non-listed Linux OS option doesn't work...Don't know if YUMI like multi installers would help.

2. There was a 2 year old thread about using OpenElec boot but the attachment has vanished.

Is that method still valid, and how? This should be more relevant compared with #1.

Hi Folks,

I have read all the related threads (over the last 3 days of my attempts) but haven't come across this problem that I discovered by trial and error.

1. So LE 10.0 latest (and another related distro 10.1.1 and 10.0.9) just doesn't boot on my Dell E74560 laptop with the latest A24 (Jun'20) BIOS, in default Legacy Boot. A19 (Feb'18) had exactly the same behavior.

The laptop always boots in Windows 10 on HDD as usual.

On an older Dell PC, it just hangs at the Dell splash showing F2/F12 Settings/Boot menu.

2. This is USB boot, not the HDD install which stage I never got to, trying with LE USB Creator, Rufus and Win32DiskImager. All the files that should be there show up properly in Windows File manager, and I was able to get into syslinux.cfg to edit "installer" to "run" etc.

I tried various USB2.0 sticks with all the 3 USB3.0 laptop slots. No luck.

Deleting the EFI /BOOT folder or its files for Legacy Boot made no difference.

3. Interestingly another USB2.0 stick with Ubuntu Mate 20.04 via Universal USB Installer booted fine on the same laptop under Legacy Boot.

4. However, when I switched to UEFI boot on my Dell E7450, LE 10.0 (and the other distro) booted right away, with the 5 sec menu for install, run or live selection appearing.

It shows UEFI ROM Build 42:32:36.

5. The problem: Unluckily the Dell E7450 in UEFI mode doesn't detect the hard drive, so no go !

I tried all kinds of online fixes, no luck. E.g.,

This seems a common issue from googling, and Dell advises that one needs to reinstall Windows 10 after switching from Legacy Boot to UEFI first (looks like the OS was installed with Legacy Boot, hence this issue):

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/…der-legacy-mode

I want to avoid the reinstall pain for the additional potential of getting into some other issues !

So:

Is there a way to configure the boot path in syslinux.cfg for Legacy Boot, which is the recommended BIOS anyway?

Curiously while I always changed the default GPT to MBR under Rufus, I noticed that the USB label under UEFI was something like " Pci.Root..USB...HD(1, GPT...)"

Any insights ?

Quote from chewitt

Amlogic should auto-detect HDMI vs CVBS output and configure itself as required. I've never tested it (as I have nothing that takes composite input) but the DRM driver supports it.

Ok. The auto detect wasn't working last year- I had to go create /storage/.kodi/userdata/disp_cap and enter cvbs576 and cvbs480 for AV display (and then remove the file for HDMI display.)

Is auto-detect a more recent feature?

Hi knaerzche !

Sideways inquiry...

Re: your auto-select code for HDMI /TVout, my splash screen is 720/1080p.

Question: Can this code be transferred to LE Amlogic?

If yes, how? I am assuming this code is just configuration scripts, not particular to CPU.

Thanks 😊

Quote from knaerzche

Just pushed an new Release: Release RK322x-le92-0bca75f: Add RK3228B MK809IV target / Enable bluetooth for rtl8723 and ap6xxx … · knaerzche/LibreELEC.tv · GitHub

I finally got rid of this annoying bug, that kodi was stopped after 10 minutes "automatically" - or the flickering screen on 4K-Display (which also happend exactly 10 minutes afer bootup) - I also added autodetction for HDMI/Tvout - you don't need any devicetree moification anymore, if you want to use tvout. For this reason the "splash" screen is now set to 1920x1080 for HDMI output (hardcoded), since the HDMI-phy won't automatically detect a signal on any higher resolution. Kodi itself will start in higher or lower resolution... whatever your screen supports.

If your screen does not support 1080p you will see only a black screen before kodi starts for this reason (HDMI only)

You have 3 options:

1. edit extlinux/extlinux.conf: set the parameter

Code

video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080

to a value which your screen supports

2. Remove this parameter complety, if you are sure you will nerver connect your box to a 4k screen

3. Accept the blank screen: Kodi will come up, even if the splash does not (be careful espacially for the first boot: give some time for resizing disk, reboot etc.)

Bluetooth is now enabled and should be autmatically brought up (on supported chipsets, rtl8723b, ap6xxx)

Added support for RK3228 Devices - this and more: see [unoffical] LE-9.2-Images for RK3229/RK3228

k7k8 :

HDMI IN is not possible ... but HDMI OUT is ,,, just try the new images ... you don't need to replace the dtbs any longer

Display More

Thanks!

Well I just found out that my lowly x96mini with the ssv6051p wifi chipset running LE 9.2.* in fact can be configured as a WiFi AP- was able to connect a laptop and phone to the x96mini AP and get Internet access through the box Ethernet eth0 port !

So don't know why it didn't work last year....

Also attached a generic $3 RTL USB wifi adapter that showed up as wlan0, which in theory could be connected to the x96mini's own WiFi AP (showed up in the listing) or other APs in the neighborhood.

Quote from Jocke.Sve

No, the change only affects the device You change the settings on.

Unless changes made on modem, router, pi-hole, ...

Thanks...that is what I found out just a few minutes ago while testing the Ethernet eth0 connection ! 🤡