postmarketOS Boot Issue - Surface 2 RT

[JoggingOtter]

*Issue solved, OS build meant for Surface RT, not Surface 2 RT. If someone could comment on how to delete a post, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.*



I've searched for this and found one dead, low-traffic thread that didn't provide any information. I'm attempting to use a USB to boot postmarketOS onto my Surface 2 RT, and have followed the instruction at openrt.gitbook to the point of booting the new OS. I formatted the USB in Windows cmd following these instructions:

diskpart
list disk
select disk X (Where X is the number assigned to the target USB drive)
clean
convert mbr
create partition primary
format fs=fat32 quick
assign
active
exit

I download the img.xz file (newest lxqt image from the postmarketOS surface rt wiki) on my android and use Zarchiver to get the .img file. I move that to my computer and write it to the USB using Rufus. After booting the Surface from USB, the following is displayed after a half hour or so of just the "Surface" logo:

Booting 'postmarketOS'

EFI stub: Entering in SVC mode with MMU enabled
EFI stub: Booting Linux Kernel...
EFI stub: Free memory starts at 0x82320000, setting kernel_base to 0x82300000
EFI stub: Using DTB from configuration table
EFI stub: Loaded initrd from LINUX_EFI_INITRD_MEDIA_GUID device path
EFI stub: Exiting boot services and installing virtual address map...
_


It sat there throughout last night and never progressed. I feel as though I haven't properly created the bootable USB, but I'm pretty new. Can anyone see where I went wrong from just this information?

Thank you.

 

[FoxyDrew]

Lol kinda funny you got that far without realizing which Surface you had

 

[JoggingOtter]

Lol kinda funny you got that far without realizing which Surface you had

I knew which one I had, I just thought the entire tutorial was for surface rt/ rt2. It's my first time, I've got some learnin to do.

 

[FoxyDrew]

I knew which one I had, I just thought the entire tutorial was for surface rt/ rt2. It's my first time, I've got some learnin to do.

If you wanna learn more, or think you can contribute in any way, theres an Open RT Discord. That's where everyone is who got postmark/linux to work in the first place.

Currently they have a build of LineageOS recovery running and are working on Android.

Linux CAN be booted on the Surface RT 2, but its a WIP at the moment. A few things are broken Theres a guide in the discord as well.

 

[JoggingOtter]

If you wanna learn more, or think you can contribute in any way, theres an Open RT Discord. That's where everyone is who got postmark/linux to work in the first place.

Currently they have a build of LineageOS recovery running and are working on Android.

Linux CAN be booted on the Surface RT 2, but its a WIP at the moment. A few things are broken Theres a guide in the discord as well.

I appreciate that. I've joined the discord, that's where I found my error. Those guys were quick and spot on with the replies. I get a good feeling from this community right off the bat, so I'll be sticking around to learn and hopefully get to a point where I have usable input.

It seems to me my best course for right now might be the win10. I've read that many find it painfully slow, but they were running it on rt. Do you know if that's also the case for the 2?

 

[FoxyDrew]

I appreciate that. I've joined the discord, that's where I found my error. Those guys were quick and spot on with the replies. I get a good feeling from this community right off the bat, so I'll be sticking around to learn and hopefully get to a point where I have usable input.

It seems to me my best course for right now might be the win10. I've read that many find it painfully slow, but they were running it on rt. Do you know if that's also the case for the 2?

If you like numbers >8, sure go Windows 10. Windows 10 is still slower than Windows 8 even on the RT 2. Windows 10 can't install any apps that Win 8 can't. It has Microsoft Edge, but it's still no better than IE really, no youtube, slow loading, lots of pages broken, etc. It's basically unfinished beta software.

It's a fun little project and it's cool to see Win10 on the device, I had Win10 on my surface 2 for a few months, but i realized it's just not practical so I switched back to 8. I mainly use my surface for Splashtop, as a second monitor for my PC.

Not tryna discourage you, by all means flash Win10 to the tablet, just letting you know it's functionally the same and even a little worse than 8.1

 

[JoggingOtter]

If you like numbers >8, sure go Windows 10. Windows 10 is still slower than Windows 8 even on the RT 2. Windows 10 can't install any apps that Win 8 can't. It has Microsoft Edge, but it's still no better than IE really, no youtube, slow loading, lots of pages broken, etc. It's basically unfinished beta software.

It's a fun little project and it's cool to see Win10 on the device, I had Win10 on my surface 2 for a few months, but i realized it's just not practical so I switched back to 8. I mainly use my surface for Splashtop, as a second monitor for my PC.

Not tryna discourage you, by all means flash Win10 to the tablet, just letting you know it's functionally the same and even a little worse than 8.1

That's good to know. The issue that got me started searching around is that there are some websites that I just can't access, example being dndbeyond. Kindle app has been gone for years which is why I put the tablet in the drawer in the first place. I'd just like to use it minimally, I decided yesterday to try and reload 8.1 because I can't even get the updates it should have (I've followed some troubleshooting tutorials to no avail). I like the tablet, I just wish it was still useful.

 

[FoxyDrew]

That's good to know. The issue that got me started searching around is that there are some websites that I just can't access, example being dndbeyond. Kindle app has been gone for years which is why I put the tablet in the drawer in the first place. I'd just like to use it minimally, I decided yesterday to try and reload 8.1 because I can't even get the updates it should have (I've followed some troubleshooting tutorials to no avail). I like the tablet, I just wish it was still useful.

I wish it was too, especially for us with the Surface 2. The screen and speakers on this thing are still pretty dang good. Even on the first one with linux running okay, theres still no hardware acceleration for web browsing, so streaming sites like youtube or netflix won't work. But the small community in the discord seem to be making progress almost daily.

I'd legit hand over $50 to get a build of Android

 

[vicky1982]

If you like numbers >8, sure go Windows 10. Windows 10 is still slower than Windows 8 even on the RT 2. Windows 10 can't install any apps that Win 8 can't. It has Microsoft Edge, but it's still no better than IE really, no youtube, slow loading, lots of pages broken, etc. It's basically unfinished beta software.

It's a fun little project and it's cool to see Win10 on the device, I had Win10 on my surface 2 for a few months, but i realized it's just not practical so I switched back to 8. I mainly use my surface for Splashtop, as a second monitor for my PC.

Not tryna discourage you, by all means flash Win10 to the tablet, just letting you know it's functionally the same and even a little worse than 8.1

Hello,
Thanks for the good review of win 10 on RT. Was a question in my head from a long time. Any idea for Linux/postmarketOS on surface RT?
Thanks

 

[FoxyDrew]

Hello,
Thanks for the good review of win 10 on RT. Was a question in my head from a long time. Any idea for Linux/postmarketOS on surface RT?
Thanks

On the surface RT 1, Linux has gotten pretty solid. Even Android is available. Better than Windows for a couple usecases.

On the Surface RT 2 however, I'd stay away. Still no hardware acceleration on the RT2. So everything is slow and choppy in Linux. Not to mention USB doesn't work unless it's externally powered, so if you want any peripherals to work you need a powered USB hub. And still no Android builds.

 

[vicky1982]

On the surface RT 1, Linux has gotten pretty solid. Even Android is available. Better than Windows for a couple usecases.

On the Surface RT 2 however, I'd stay away. Still no hardware acceleration on the RT2. So everything is slow and choppy in Linux. Not to mention USB doesn't work unless it's externally powered, so if you want any peripherals to work you need a powered USB hub. And still no Android builds.

Thanks for the reply. Can you please recommend any distro/build which is best in Linux for RT1. I can not find any link for Android, any guide for that.
Thanks

 

[vicky1982]

Thanks for the reply. Can you please recommend any distro/build which is best in Linux for RT1. I can not find any link for Android, any guide for that.

 

[vicky1982]

Thanks for the reply. Can you please recommend any distro/build which is best in Linux for RT1. I can not find any link for Android, any guide for that.
Thanks l

I tried to install Postmarketos, never used it before. When i click on Web browser, it says no default application. And I can not find any browser. Please help how to install any app or browser on Postmarketos. Or is there a better Linux os for surface RT1.

Thanks