Linux Lite on Minix NEO Z83-4U could work?

rlatyuka

New member
Hi All,

Can you please let me know if any experiences you have with installing Linux Lite on Minix Z83-4U device?

The actual distro is with 64bit:

Kernel: 4.15.0-74
Base: 18.04.3

Note: I have some experiences with Linux, at the moment still getting familiar with the OS

Thank you
Laz
 
I have successfully installed Debian Buster by downloading the .iso and creating a bootable USB stick with Rufus on Windows. Press Esc on boot to get to the menu and select USB for boot. Make sure you have a cable internet connection for packages that may be needed during install as the WiFi won't be available. Also when finished remove the entries in the sources file that refer to DVDs otherwise every time a package is required it won't go online but ask you to insert media.
 
I have successfully installed Debian Buster by downloading the .iso and creating a bootable USB stick with Rufus on Windows. Press Esc on boot to get to the menu and select USB for boot. Make sure you have a cable internet connection for packages that may be needed during install as the WiFi won't be available. Also when finished remove the entries in the sources file that refer to DVDs otherwise every time a package is required it won't go online but ask you to insert media.

Thanks... :)

I decided that to wait till Linux Lite 5 released (UEFI) and I did install and using LL 5 since yesterday....working like a charm. I have had to play with Wifi, but I solved my issue as it was described it in earlier post on Minix forum.

I will share my experiences later today how I did install it.
 
Ok, here I go.

First of all: (this is just my expereince) I was not able to install the system with bootable USB key, kreated by Rufus as it was described many times on this forum. Once Minix start to boot from the USB, stacked with error related Groub 2.0

(note: I did not make a screenshot about it, only I just decided that I will use another flash tool)

I used balenaEtcher instead (on a laptop which has Win10 installed), available here :
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

USB boot up properly now.,

Linux Live started first to see if every necessary driver will be loaded properly once the system installed. Wifi not recognized, I tought that maybe because the Live session, so I planned to install it directly on the storage.

Unfortunately...no luck with Wifi again with installed LL5, so: I went further with that hint what I found on this forum:

I did copy the attached file to the following path in terminal, after this I did reboot my Minix :
sudo cp 4345r6nvram.txt /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43455-sdio.txt

Once the system has rebooted Wifi start to work without issues:

System: Kernel: 5.4.0-33-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 Distro: Linux Lite 5.0 LTS
base: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)
Machine: Type: Desktop System: MINIX product: Z83-4 v: N/A serial: <filter>
Mobo: MINIX model: NEO Z83-4A serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: CHT0C04000 date: 06/26/2018
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Atom x5-Z8350 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Airmont rev: 4 L2 cache: 1024 KiB
flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 11520
Speed: 481 MHz min/max: 480/1920 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 482 2: 493 3: 480 4: 480
Graphics: Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
bus ID: 00:02.0
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics (CHV) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.4 direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio driver: HdmiLpeAudio message: bus/chip ids unavailable
Device-2: chtrt5645 driver: chtrt5645 message: bus/chip ids unavailable
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-33-generic
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: Local Storage: total: 58.24 GiB used: 9.29 GiB (16.0%)
ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: DA4064 size: 58.24 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 56.58 GiB used: 9.29 GiB (16.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/mmcblk0p2
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info: Processes: 216 Uptime: 4h 44m Memory: 3.65 GiB used: 941.7 MiB (25.2%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers:
gcc: 9.3.0 Shell: bash v: 5.0.16 inxi: 3.0.38

Before the .txt file copied Network session shown like this:

Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>

....after:

Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>

I cannot playback any sound or music via HDMI, my jack connector recognized by LL5, but I am happy with that as I am not using the device for streaming or as MediaCenter.
 

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  • 4345r6nvram.txt
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Ok, here I go.

First of all: (this is just my expereince) I was not able to install the system with bootable USB key, kreated by Rufus as it was described many times on this forum. Once Minix start to boot from the USB, stacked with error related Groub 2.0

(note: I did not make a screenshot about it, only I just decided that I will use another flash tool)

I used balenaEtcher instead (on a laptop which has Win10 installed), available here :
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

USB boot up properly now.,

Linux Live started first to see if every necessary driver will be loaded properly once the system installed. Wifi not recognized, I tought that maybe because the Live session, so I planned to install it directly on the storage.

Unfortunately...no luck with Wifi again with installed LL5, so: I went further with that hint what I found on this forum:

I did copy the attached file to the following path in terminal, after this I did reboot my Minix :
sudo cp 4345r6nvram.txt /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43455-sdio.txt

Once the system has rebooted Wifi start to work without issues:

System: Kernel: 5.4.0-33-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: Xfce 4.14.2 Distro: Linux Lite 5.0 LTS
base: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)
Machine: Type: Desktop System: MINIX product: Z83-4 v: N/A serial: <filter>
Mobo: MINIX model: NEO Z83-4A serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: CHT0C04000 date: 06/26/2018
CPU: Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Atom x5-Z8350 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Airmont rev: 4 L2 cache: 1024 KiB
flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 11520
Speed: 481 MHz min/max: 480/1920 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 482 2: 493 3: 480 4: 480
Graphics: Device-1: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel
bus ID: 00:02.0
Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics (CHV) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.0.4 direct render: Yes
Audio: Device-1: Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio driver: HdmiLpeAudio message: bus/chip ids unavailable
Device-2: chtrt5645 driver: chtrt5645 message: bus/chip ids unavailable
Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-33-generic
Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: Local Storage: total: 58.24 GiB used: 9.29 GiB (16.0%)
ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: DA4064 size: 58.24 GiB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 56.58 GiB used: 9.29 GiB (16.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/mmcblk0p2
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info: Processes: 216 Uptime: 4h 44m Memory: 3.65 GiB used: 941.7 MiB (25.2%) Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers:
gcc: 9.3.0 Shell: bash v: 5.0.16 inxi: 3.0.38

Before the .txt file copied Network session shown like this:

Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>

....after:

Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 v: kernel port: e000 bus ID: 01:00.0
IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>

I cannot playback any sound or music via HDMI, my jack connector recognized by LL5, but I am happy with that as I am not using the device for streaming or as MediaCenter.
I've changed the OS a few times on my Z83-4. I've installed Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (WiFi had to be fixed), Debian (WiFi had to be fixed), Android x86 (WiFi worked, no problem), Lakka (not sure if I can fix WiFi).
Many thanks! I forgot to document how I managed to fix the WiFi issue on other Linux distros. I'm back on Windows10 Pro, for now.
 
Last edited:
I willl not use Windows anymore I am sure in this, Win 10 is ok, using it daily but I don't think so I ever use it on my own PC/Laptop.....

I am really satisfied using all of my stuff with Linux Lite 5.0 :)
 
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