A Beelink X2 by default boots into Android with KODI and can be interrupted to instead boot into Armbian off an SD card.   

 

It might be quite advantageous to use a microSD card to jump start Armbian installed on a USB stick plugged in. Cost is one reason: the TF cards cost what the Beelink does, and lots of us have lots of premium USB sticks at less than half the price.

This  way it could be easier to experiment and even have a personal USB stick for friends and family. When it comes to family media this would help everyone. Myself I'd try various home clouds and server schemes, and whatever wins, just run that from the TF slot later on.

Plus if you have carpet at your place, that TF card someday will fly away from the spring-loaded slot and never be found in the carpet. A USB stick is big. 

While that reduces available Beelink's USB slots from 2 to 1, that could make programming it easier maybe? Or if someone has a turnkey method that'd be really great.

 

So to recap: would it be difficult to make a boot helper that goes on any low quality TF card that tells the Beelink to advance and try to boot off the next USB port that has rootfs or something?  And then flash Armbian to top quality USB sticks like SanDisk Ultras. 

Joey learn, Joey wrong sometimes, Joey say so :-)

Edited April 23, 20179 yr by JoeyBeelinkX2