Are you looking for a simple, light, and fast Linux operating system for your Orange Pi One? Do you want to enjoy a user-friendly experience with a wide range of features and customization options? If so, you might want to try Armbian, a Linux distribution optimized for ARM-based single-board computers (SBCs) like the Orange Pi One.
In this article, we will show you how to download, install, and use Armbian on your Orange Pi One. We will also explain why Armbian is a great choice for your SBC and what are its advantages over other operating systems. By the end of this article, you will be able to run Armbian on your Orange Pi One and explore its possibilities.
Armbian is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Ubuntu that aims to support most ARM-based SBCs. It provides various pre-built images for supported boards, as well as a powerful build framework that allows users to create custom images with different kernels and user space configurations.
Armbian is designed to offer a consistent and reliable system that can seamlessly operate on any of the numerous ARM SBCs, often neglected by mainstream operating systems. It also provides security updates, documentation, user support, and community forums for its users.
Orange Pi One is one of the many SBCs that are supported by Armbian. It is a highly compact board with a dimension of 69x48mm. It has a quad-core Allwinner H3 processor with 512MB DDR3 memory, a 10/100M Ethernet port, a USB 2.0 port, a TF card slot, a CSI camera connector, an HDMI output, and a 40-pin header.
Using Armbian on your Orange Pi One has several benefits:
The first step to use Armbian on your Orange Pi One is to download the appropriate image from the official website. Here are the steps to follow:
The latest version of Armbian is based on Ubuntu and has two main versions:
Once you have decided which version of Armbian you want to use, you can download the corresponding image from the official website: https://www.armbian.com/orange-pi-one/
You will see a list of available images for your board, with different kernel versions and release dates. You can choose the latest stable image or the latest testing image, depending on your preference. The stable image is more reliable and secure, while the testing image may have more features and updates, but also more bugs and issues.
The size of the image file is around 300 MB for the CLI version and around 1 GB for the desktop version. You can download it directly from the website or use a torrent client to speed up the process.
After downloading the image file, you should verify its integrity to make sure it is not corrupted or tampered with. You can do this by checking its SHA256 checksum and comparing it with the one provided on the website.
A checksum is a unique string of characters that is generated from a file using a mathematical algorithm. If the file is changed in any way, even by a single bit, the checksum will be different. Therefore, by verifying the checksum, you can ensure that the file you downloaded is identical to the one on the website.
To check the checksum of the image file, you can use a tool like 7-Zip or HashTab on Windows, or the sha256sum command on Linux or Mac. For example, on Linux, you can open a terminal and type:
sha256sum Armbian_21.05.6_Orangepione_focal_current_5.10.43.img.xzThis will output a string of characters like this:
0a9b0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4f0a9c4Then, you can compare this string with the one on the website, under the "SHA256" column. If they match, it means that the file is valid and safe to use. If they don't match, it means that the file is corrupted or modified, and you should download it again or from another source.
The next step to use Armbian on your Orange Pi One is to install it on an SD card or a USB drive that you can boot from. Here are the steps to follow:
To flash the image to an SD card or a USB drive, you need a tool that can write the compressed image file to the storage device in a way that makes it bootable. There are many tools that can do this, but we recommend using Raspberry Pi Imager or Etcher, as they are easy to use and cross-platform.
Raspberry Pi Imager is a tool developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation that can flash images to SD cards or USB drives for any SBC, not just Raspberry Pi. You can download it from here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/software/
Etcher is another popular tool that can flash images to SD cards or USB drives for any SBC. You can download it from here: https://www.balena.io/etcher/
Both tools have a similar interface and process. You just need to select the image file, select the target device, and click on "Write". The tool will then decompress and write the image to the device, and verify its integrity afterwards.
Make sure you choose the correct device and backup any important data before flashing, as this will erase everything on it.
After flashing the image to an SD card or a USB drive, you can insert it into your Orange Pi One and power it on. You will need a 5V/2A power supply with a micro USB connector to power your board. You will also need an HDMI cable and a monitor (or a VGA adapter) to see the output of your board.
Once Armbian is booted up, you will see a login prompt on your screen. The default username is "root" and the default password is "1234". You can use these credentials to log in to your system for the first time.
As soon as you log in, you will be asked to change the root password and create a new user account. This is part of the first boot wizard that helps you set up your system. You should follow the instructions on the screen and enter the required information.
After creating a new user account, you will be logged out and asked to log in again with the new credentials. You can then use this account to access your system and perform any tasks you want. You can also use the root account if you need to, but it is not recommended for security reasons.
Now that you have installed Armbian on your Orange Pi One, you can start using it and exploring its features. Here are some tips on how to use Armbian on your board:
There are different ways to access your system depending on your preference and setup. You can use any of these methods:
To access your system via SSH, you need to know its IP address, which you can find by typing ip a on your board or by using a network scanner like Angry IP Scanner on your computer. The default SSH port is 22 and the default username and password are the ones you created during the first boot wizard.
Armbian comes with a handy configuration utility that allows you to customize various aspects of your system, such as network, display, hardware, software, security, and more. You can access this utility by typing armbian-config on your board or by selecting it from the menu if you are using the desktop version.
The utility has a simple text-based interface that lets you navigate through different options and submenus. You can use the arrow keys, enter key, and escape key to move around and select items. You can also use the F1-F10 keys to perform certain actions, such as help, save, exit, etc.
Some of the things you can do with the utility are:
Armbian provides its own repositories that contain software packages that are compatible with your board and operating system. You can install these packages using the apt command or the Armbian configuration utility. For example, to install htop (a system monitor tool), you can type:
sudo apt updatesudo apt install htopsuch as Debian or Ubuntu repositories, third-party repositories, or standalone files. However, you should be careful when doing this, as some packages may not work properly or may cause conflicts or instability on your system. You should always check the compatibility and reliability of the source before installing anything.
Some of the ways you can install software packages from other sources are:
apt command to install packages from it. For example, to add the Raspberry Pi repository and install the Raspberry Pi OS desktop, you can type:sudo echo "deb http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ buster main" sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.listsudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 82B129927FA3303Esudo apt updatesudo apt install raspberrypi-ui-modsdpkg command to install it. For example, to download and install Google Chrome, you can type:sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_armhf.debtar xzf code-stable-armhf-*.tar.gzcd code-stable-armhf-*./install.shCongratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Armbian on your Orange Pi One. You can now enjoy a fast, light, and secure Linux operating system that is optimized for your board. You can use it for various purposes, such as web browsing, media streaming, gaming, programming, IoT projects, and more.
You can also explore the Armbian community and find more resources and support for your system. You can visit the official website (https://www.armbian.com/), the documentation page (https://docs.armbian.com/), the forum (https://forum.armbian.com/), the GitHub page (https://github.com/armbian/), and the IRC channel (#armbian on Freenode).
In this article, we have shown you how to download, install, and use Armbian on your Orange Pi One. We have also explained why Armbian is a great choice for your SBC and what are its advantages over other operating systems.
We hope that this article has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact us via email. We would love to hear from you and help you with any issues you may have.
Thank you for reading and happy hacking!
Raspberry Pi OS is the official operating system for Raspberry Pi boards. It is based on Debian and has a desktop environment called PIXEL. It is designed to work well on Raspberry Pi boards and provide a user-friendly experience.
Armbian is a Linux distribution that supports most ARM-based SBCs, including Raspberry Pi boards. It is also based on Debian and Ubuntu and has a desktop environment called XFCE. It is designed to offer a consistent and reliable system that can seamlessly operate on any of the numerous ARM SBCs.
Yes, you can use Armbian on other SBCs besides Orange Pi One. Armbian supports over 150 different boards from various manufacturers, such as Raspberry Pi, Banana Pi, Odroid, Pine64, NanoPi, etc. You can check the list of supported boards here: https://www.armbian.com/download/
command or the Armbian configuration utility. You can update your system to get the latest security patches and bug fixes, or upgrade your system to get the latest features and improvements.
To update your system, you can type:
sudo apt updatesudo apt upgradeTo upgrade your system, you can type:
sudo apt updatesudo apt full-upgradeYou can also use the Armbian configuration utility and select the "System" option and then the "Update" or "Switch" option to update or upgrade your system.
You can backup or restore your Armbian system using the Armbian configuration utility or a tool like dd. Backing up your system allows you to save a copy of your system image and data, which you can use to restore your system in case of a failure or corruption.
To backup your system using the Armbian configuration utility, you can select the "System" option and then the "Backup" option. You can choose to backup your system to a local device or a remote server. You can also choose to compress or encrypt your backup file.
To restore your system using the Armbian configuration utility, you can select the "System" option and then the "Restore" option. You can choose to restore your system from a local device or a remote server. You can also choose to decompress or decrypt your backup file.
To backup or restore your system using dd, you need another device with enough space to store your backup file. You can use an SD card, a USB drive, or an external hard drive. You also need a card reader or a USB adapter to connect your device to your computer.
To backup your system using dd, you can type:
sudo dd if=/dev/sdX of=/path/to/backup.img bs=4M status=progressWhere /dev/sdX is the device name of your Orange Pi One's SD card or USB drive, and /path/to/backup.img is the location and name of your backup file.
To restore your system using dd, you can type:
sudo dd if=/path/to/backup.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progressWhere /path/to/backup.img is the location and name of your backup file, and /dev/sdX is the device name of your Orange Pi One's SD card or USB drive.
If you encounter any problems or issues with your Armbian system, you can try some of these steps to troubleshoot or get help:
dmesg, journalctl, or tail -f /var/log/syslog commands to view the system logs and look for any errors or warnings.