Flashed Armbian Buster to eMMc and now want to flash to Armbian Bionic.  

I know there's instructions using a usbC in the friendlyarm wiki but this just isn't working out... I used the Windows method / tool to erase the eMMC as it says which seemed to work but it still boots from the eMMC :/

Are there any better instructions any where?

Make a Bionic on SD card, boot from it (hold boot button and power the board) and then install to eMMC with our standard nand-sata-install utility. Choose boot from eMMC, root on eMMC ...

Yeh - for the life of me I couldn't get that to work... It sure woud be nice and simple if it did!

I could get it into loader mode by pressing recovery button + power to start but the boot button didn't seem to do anything whatever I tried and it just booted from eMMC.

 

Will have another go...

It's a bit tricky - you have to hold it long enough, but I assure you it works.

19 minutes ago, crsp said:

but the boot button didn't seem to do anything

The "boot" button is shorting the eMMC_D0, you need to press it long enough so that ROM bootloader decide to start loading U-Boot from SDCard, then you can release the button.

I could never get a reflash armbian to armbian working regardless of method and I tried them all.

Although a bit cumbersome, the method that does work for me 100% is loading a SC with the eflasher friendly desktop image (this brings up a gui offering a restore option)

Once installed I’m then able to flash armbian everytime


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@JnrJedi Could you please break this down into steps for me with a bit more explanation.

 

Do you mean that if you load an FriendlyArm eflasher-friendly desktop image onto an SD then boot, the OS on the eMMC doesn't automatically load and you get a GUI running from the SD instead? Then you install FriendlyDesktop - but then how do you install Armbian after that?

Re. using the Boot button - if you have to press power and boot buttons together, you only have a short time before pressing the power button for too long just shuts board down. Do you 1. Press and hold Boot, 2. Press and hold Power just until power light comes on then release, 3. Release Boot same time as Power, 5 secs later, after booting from SD finishes - or when?

I tried lots of ways and no good - and read of others not being able to get this to work...

These steps are consistent for me

Power off T4
Load SD Card with eflasher friendlydt etched on card
Hold down Recovery button
Press power on for 2 secs and release
Release recovery button

*GUI*


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@JnrJedi Thanks.

 

How to install Armbian after installing eflasher friendly... ? If you put Armbian image on SD, isn't there still same problem with not being able to get board to boot from SD cos it autoloads from eMMC?

Nope holding down recovery while powering on, always boots from sd for me


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6 hours ago, JnrJedi said:

Nope holding down recovery while powering on, always boots from sd for me


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Holding boot and power on (not releasing boot until you see LEDS starts to flash) boots from SD card. Always.

Thanks - the GUI just came with a normal boot - didn't have to press recovery button. 

So, I had armbian buster flashed to eMMC > installed friendlydesktop > booted armbian bionic image from SD > reflashed eMMC. Armbian bionic now loading from eMMC.

 

Re. boot button, I got armbian bionic on an SD to load using it (with armbian buster still on eMMC), but you can't reflash the eMMC this way as the option isn't there in armbian config.

57 minutes ago, crsp said:

but you can't reflash the eMMC this way as the option isn't there in armbian config.

100% you can. armbian-config -> system -> install/update boot loader ...

Thought I tried that... Oh well, job done now. Thanks.

I tried the recovery button in order to install OS on NanoPi M4v2 as follow:
 

1) Flash microSD card with eflash image
2) Insert microSD in board and plug the eMMC module

3) Power on the board

4) Install OS on eMMC

5) Shutdown board and eject microSD

6) Keep pressed recovery button while press power button for 2 seconds

7) Release recovery button 

8) eMMC has booted fine to OS

 

Thanks to this forum for the TIP