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Microsoft Surface RT (microsoft-surface-rt): Difference between revisions

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m Added Tips Section
m Added WIFI tip
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# Boot from the USB storage and follow on-device installer.
# Boot from the USB storage and follow on-device installer.
# Disconnect the USB storage before booting into installed system, otherwise installer will be booted from USB again.
# Disconnect the USB storage before booting into installed system, otherwise installer will be booted from USB again.


== Tips ==
== Tips ==
- Disable compositing on XFCE to get a smoother experience
- Disable compositing on XFCE to get a smoother experience
- Use nmtui to enable WIFI (won't show up on GUI interface)


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [https://openrt.gitbook.io/open-surfacert Open Surface RT project]
* [https://openrt.gitbook.io/open-surfacert Open Surface RT project]
* [https://github.com/grate-driver/linux Close to mainline kernel with device-specific patches]
* [https://github.com/grate-driver/linux Close to mainline kernel with device-specific patches]

Revision as of 06:12, 13 September 2021

Microsoft Surface RT
Surface RT running postmarketos-demos
Surface RT running postmarketos-demos
Manufacturer Microsoft
Name Surface RT
Codename microsoft-surface-rt
Released 2012
Hardware
Chipset NVIDIA Tegra 3
CPU 4x 1.3 GHz Cortex-A9 (no support for L2 cache in kernel)
GPU GeForce ULP
Display 1366x768 IPS
Storage 32 / 64 GB
Memory 2 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software Windows 8 RT
postmarketOS
Category testing
Pre-built images no
Mainline yes
postmarketOS kernel mainline grate
Features
Internal storage
No data
SD card
No data
Battery
Works
Screen
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Partial
Audio
No data
Camera
No data
Camera Flash
No data
Connectivity
WiFi
Works
Bluetooth
No data
Miscellaneous
FDE
Works
HDMI/DP
No data
Sensors
Accelerometer
No data
Magnetometer
No data
Ambient Light
No data
Proximity
No data
Hall Effect
No data
Haptics
No data
Barometer
No data


Contributors

Kernel, packages
Etc
  • imbushuo (Yahallo exploit for disabling secure boot)
  • jwa4 (convenient tool for enabling/disabling Golden Keys and Yahallo exploits)
  • TheLorax (server for unofficial prebuilt images)

Users owning this device


How to boot from USB

Power on the device with Volume Down button pressed.

Installation

Preparation

Enable test signing and install yahallo to disable secure boot. [1].

TODO TODO: Add an instruction here.


Note Note: Don't try to boot pmOS installation from USB when you already have installation on eMMC. It does not work this way. Although you still can boot pmOS ondev installer even if you have installed OS on eMMC.
Note Note: Device can't boot from a SD card. Boot with an USB.

Installation from pre-built image (easy method)

Official images for postmarketOS are built for devices in main and community sections. That's not the Surface RT case. However, we have unofficial builds which can be used as well.

  1. Download the right image. All images are with on-device installer, the only difference is an UI. All images are stored at http://85.90.245.177/postmarketos-images/.
  2. Extract and write image to the USB storage.
    • For linux it will be something like:
      $ xzcat microsoft-surface-rt-20210726-xfce4-master-installer.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX status=progress # where /dev/sdX is your USB storage
      
    • For Windows RT there are 7-Zip and Rufus tools built for ARM32. You can find those at their official sites.
  3. Boot from the USB storage and follow on-device installer.
  4. Disconnect the USB storage before booting into installed system, otherwise installer will be booted from USB again.

Installation with pmbootstrap (advanced)

Installation on USB storage

Follow Installation guide. Do a normal SD card installation using USB storage as a target.

Installation on eMMC

  1. Follow Installation guide until pmbootstrap install command.
  2. Use pmbootstrap install --no-sshd --ondev --sdcard=/dev/sdX, where X is the number of your USB storage block device.
    • Check other pmbootstrap install arguments, you may find something usable.
  3. Boot from the USB storage and follow on-device installer.
  4. Disconnect the USB storage before booting into installed system, otherwise installer will be booted from USB again.

Tips

- Disable compositing on XFCE to get a smoother experience - Use nmtui to enable WIFI (won't show up on GUI interface)

See also