Ubuntu 14.04 and 15.04 on MK808b Plus

[DanielSB]

Guys, how would you go about installing this on the NAND? I'm thinking it might fix the Wi-Fi disconnect issue and occasional system freezes.

[u2nFT]

Just tried this on a second 808-b Plus that's been sitting in a drawer and, it works perfectly. Thanks, all!

Have to say I'm shocked at having a *buntu flavor running this zippy on such a device. Wow.

This is now clearly the best option, but the only one that doesn't have a sticky!

Checking, that appears to be due to the Q-and-A nature of the thread. Many FT visitors may not even find out about this! So to fix, wouldn't someone like sammaz, or other contributor here, post this as a How-To? Suggested title:

[ROM] [Ubuntu MATE] 15.04 (+updates) Best option for MK808-b Plus

As a help to those already running Linux, here's an enhanced how-to:

(Note: Google Drive downloads much faster so it's set as the default. The LinuxMiniPC file is (of course) identical.)

# For Those Running Linux

# Set archive name
aname=ubuntu-mate-15-04-s805-standard-0_95_Beta.img.xz

# Set download source
dlsrc=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxdG04mQGssLZkozdll0SDR2Q00/view?usp=sharing

# Set known md5 hash (for checking)
md5h=0b1c679e0f1ca396945d0f7f878776cb

# Change to downloads directory as desired
cd ~/Downloads

# Be sure at least 8 GB space is available on disk (for extraction)

# First determine and set which drive is the SD card.
#  WARNING: The following assumes SD card is sdc. Check, BE SURE and use what it actually is on your system!
# Insert SD card and let it auto-mount, verify which it is (use file browser if needed) and BE SURE.
dmesg | tail -n20
mount
df -h
target=/dev/sdc
# Do not proceed unless sure 'target' is correct.

# Download xz archive of disk image
wget -O $aname $dlsrc

# Check download
md5=$(md5sum $aname)
[[ "$(echo $md5 | grep -o "^\w*\b")" == $md5h ]] || {
  echo 'Bad download. Try again...'; exit 1
}

# Extract image to downloads folder
unxz $aname

# Prepare SD card by wiping
sudo umount $target
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=$target bs=4M

# Write image to SD card
[[ -f ${aname::-3} ]] && sudo dd if=${aname::-3} of=$target bs=4M
sync

# Check flash, if desired, by click-mounting the SD card in file browser. Then, power down card/reader, remove and continue at wiki to boot into recovery, flash the zip file, restart, and edit system file to enable higher screen resolution.

# Note: Connect a USB keyboard to continue using the device. Bluetooth keyboards can not be paired initially.

Any errors, pls let me know.

[bednarpe]

You can do it even without gigabites of additional space. Just use xzcat to directly stream uncompressed image to dd.

[bednarpe]

Has anybody tried odroid kernel builds or images? Linuxminipc does not even respond to emails about disclosing used source codes.

[pelangi]

Hi there, I know this thread is a bit old but I hope someone can help me out. I want to flash my MK808B plus with Linux but I can't get my stick to boot from SD card. I tried the pin method (reset hole) so many times but it always boots normally. Just to prove that I could actually flash on this machine I flash it with finless rom v1.1. I can't get my PC recognize it either (with Armlogic burn tool). I finally managed to flash it by installing "Reboot Recovery" app from Play Store and managed to get the stick booted from recovery. I successfully flashed finless rom but that's not what I need. I need to flash it with Ubuntu.

Anyone got any idea how to make this booting from SDCard or if anything else I can try? Thank you guys.

[prahjister]

Try a different SD card it is a little picky

[kira1992]

http://www.filedropper.com/showdownload.php/8723bs the module for ubuntu.

Hi! Can you please reupload this file?
Can someone give me the link to this file?
Please help! I really need it.

[sammaz]

Hi! Can you please reupload this file?
Can someone give me the link to this file?
Please help! I really need it.

I am also looking for the file.

[pelangi]

Try a different SD card it is a little picky

I tried with a different SD card but still I can't make it booting from SD Card. Is there any setting that I can change from Android shell (adb) that will make the machine boot from SD card? Thanks.

[prahjister]

you have to press the little button in the hole opposite the light with a paperclip while plugging in the power.

[pelangi]

you have to press the little button in the hole opposite the light with a paperclip while plugging in the power.

I did exactly that but still it won't boot from SD Card. Is there anyway to change where to boot from ADB?

[prahjister]

U can from Android with terminal emulator. Type su then reboot recovery

[Xroft]

Put please once the module is suitable for rtl8188. In the link above, the file is not available

[devitrified]

In case you want to put this on a 4GB MicroSD (e.g. if like me you want to get rid of the Mate GUI stuff and use Ubuntu as a headless server), here's how:

1. Get the image file; I got _ubuntu-mate-15-04-s805-standard-0_95_Beta.img.xz
2. Extract it:
   xz -dk _ubuntu-mate-15-04-s805-standard-0_95_Beta.img.xz
3. Have a look at the partition layout:
   fdisk -lu _ubuntu-mate-15-04-s805-standard-0_95_Beta.img
   ..
   [press w, enter]
   sudo e2fsck -f /dev/sda2
   sudo resize2fs -p /dev/sda2
   sudo sync
   sudo eject /dev/sda
4. Enjoy.

Thanks for this write-up. I tried it and it works. Just to confirm, this is not actually supposed to get rid of the GUI and make the installation headless, right?

[mittelalf]

Running Ubuntu on such a small device is great. But it's a pity if such a linux doesn't run stable. And neither this ubuntu mate nor the debian8 are stable.

Here (screenshot) I copied more than 3500 files and more than 35 GB from a USB stick to a HDD. But after 40% done the system froze. The same happened also with Debian8. Maybe instead of a device, which isn't much supported for linux, better I should choose a Raspberry P3. Such a device is very well supported and the OS systems like Raspian should run stable.