LibreELEC for Khadas VIM1 VIM2 VIM3 (SD & USB & eMMC)

Installation of new versions of LE-9 (with 4.18 kernel) in eMMC is possible in two variants.

  1. With preservation of regular u-boot-2015 (recommended option). Retains the ability to return to Android using the standard tools of firmware of the USB Burn Tool and etc.
  2. With the replacement of u-boot-2015 to u-boot-2018 (in this version all eMMC is used for LE operation and there is no possibility to use standard USB Burn Tool tools).

For installation on the first option.

  1. Start LE from external media.
  2. Check the operation of all the necessary functions in the new LE (I strongly recommend that you carefully perform this item, that would then not have to solve the issues of recovery to previous versions).
  3. If the new version is satisfied. To include in the LE access mode via SSH. Connect via SSH and run “/flash/create-mbr-le-2015.sh”. If there are no errors, run “/flash/install2emmc.sh”.

After these commands, the LE will be written to the eMMC and when the power is turned on without external media, the LE from the eMMC should start.

The second installation option (with the replacement of u-boot-2015 to u-boot-2018).

  1. Run from external media and perform a full scan, as in the first option.
  2. Connect the external media to the PC and rename the external media file " vim-2018-u-boot-emmc.img " to " u-boot-emmc.img."
  3. Start the system from external media and connect via SSH. To run the command “/flash/update-u-boot.sh”.
  4. To run the command “/flash/create-mbr-le-2018.sh”.
  5. To run the command “/flash/install2emmc.sh”.

In order to be able to revert to the current state of the system in eMMC, prior to all experiments with installing LE in eMMC, I strongly recommend making a full backup of the entire eMMC. To do this, you need to connect via SSH and run the command “/flash/ddbr-backup.sh”. This script will create a full compressed copy of the entire eMMC under “/storage/backup/ddbr”. In the future, you can run the script “/flash/ddbr-restore.sh” and it will restore the contents of the eMMC exactly to the state it was in when the copy was created (with the loader, settings, and other elements). Depending on the size and size of the eMMC, the copy creation process can take 5-30 minutes.

Hi balbes, and thank you so much for your post and the time you took to write it.
Whats the difference between the 2015 and 2018 version of uboot? I will only use LE on the board.

u-boot-2015 is a regular u-boot, which is used in firmware and systems with kernel 3.14 and 4.9 for Khadas. Accordingly, when you use it, all the functions that are in it are saved. u-boot-2018 is a new version, which is based on the main source branch, so it does not have any elements and functions specifically designed for Khadas.

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New images 20180920 (kernel 3.14).

I draw attention to the changes. Now the process of installing the system in eMMC has changed. The default install of the additional copy of the LE at eMMC without uninstalling regular Android. Now, to install LE in eMMC, there is a special menu item in “Libreelec->Services->eMMC->Install to eMMC”. When you select this menu item, LE will be copied to eMMC in parallel to Android (Android is fully saved and can be used). Also in the new images added two menu items to create and restore a full copy of the eMMC on external media (along with the bootloader, settings and all data). I recommend that you make sure you create a full copy of eMMC before installing LE on eMMC. Depending on the type of external media and how busy eMMC data is, the backup process can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. After the copy is created or restored, the system automatically shuts down. It is not recommended to use the system during creation and recovery (to reduce the risk of errors). For those who want to install LE in eMMC with delete Android, you need to rename the script on the external media beforehand “full_install2emmc.sh” to “install2emmc.sh”, start the system from external media and also select the item in the menu. The system will execute the installation LE to replace eMMC with Android on LE.

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New image 20180925 kernel 4.18.
Add image aarch64.

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Please note that for the correct operation of the new installation system in eMMC it is NECESSARY to update the universal multi-boot using the latest LE image . To update the universal multi-boot, you can use either the toothpick method or by running the Android application (local update using the archive “aml_autoscript.zip”). Without this procedure, after you install LE in eMMC, LE will not start, would only run regular Android.

New image 20181005 kernel 3.14.
Fix install to eMMC.

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New kernel image 3.14 (20181008). By default, when you select the menu item “Libreelec->Services - >Install to eMMC”, the installation option is executed in eMMC with full saving of the regular Android. This means that if you select “Reboot from Android” in the shutdown menu, the system will be rebooted and the regular Android will be started. For a “clean” installation in eMMC (with the removal of the standard Android), you must first rename the script “erase_android_install2emmc.sh” to “install2emmc.sh”. In this case, all data from Android in the “/dev/system” and “/dev/data” sections will be erased and Librelec will be written instead.

Please note that for the correct operation of the installation in eMMC it is necessary to update the universal multi-boot using these images.

To properly start the system with the desired DTB option, you now need to edit the file " uEnv.ini " (edit the file name that will be used at startup).

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Update LE kernel 4.18 (20181009).

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Hi. I created a libreELEC image and tried to install the system from the menu option “Libreelec->Services->eMMC->Install to eMMC”. Very late noticed that it was necessary to update universal multi-boot. Right now I can’t boot into android to update the bootloader. Please help me, what should I do to install libreELEC on eMMC?

What image do you use ?

LibreELEC-S905.aarch64-9.0-devel-20181008121152-b0cca57.img

What system starts when power is turned on without external media ?

After install in eMMC my vim power off and flashing by blue color. When i press power on, i just see Khadas logo. After reset data from android recovery mode, my system loading LibreElec, but he crush with errors while loading.

These errors do not affect anything. Connect external media with LE, select reboot in Android from the shutdown menu. Do not disconnect the external drive. The system should reboot into Android and you will be able to run the multi-boot update.

New ver kernel 4.18 20181011
Fix install eMMC.

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Thanks a lot. After install from this image, i has resolve all my problems!

@balbes150, your LE builds are armv8 and not armv7 as Libreelec original?

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All versions of LE use the aarch64 kernel. There are two LE variants with this kernel , arm and aarch64, I release both variants (the version type is encoded in the image name).

Thanks! My question was provoked by some peace of software I was compiled for aarch64 (armv8) which is works on your builds but not on Coreelec and libreelec official.