Rockpi4/install

Installation

Choose and install an operation system on your ROCK Pi 4. To appropriately follow this installation guide you will need to:

• Choose an installation method
• Download necessary files
• Choose host machine
• Follow flashing instructions

Methods of Installation

In most cases, you will be presented with two options when installing your new operating system onto your ROCK Pi 4:

• eMMC USB upgrade Method
  • The firmware will be downloaded from the USB to the ROCK Pi 4 on board eMMC storage
• Running on SD Card Method
  • The firmware will be written on a SD Card that will lately be inserted onto ROCK Pi 4.

Each Method has its own benefits and requires different levels of experience.

eMMC USB upgrade Method

Rockusb is a custom USB protocal from Rockchip supported by ROCK Pi 4 and can be used for firmware installation(USB to eMMC). This method applies to advanced users who are most familiar with command line tools or modified/custom source code and need to download such updates to the board for testing/execution.

This method requires the following hardware:

• ROCK Pi 4 board with power supply
• Host machine (Linux/Mac)
• USB Type-A to Type-A cable
• USB serial to TTL cable(not required to perform flash)
• USB Mouse and/or keyboard (not required to perform flash)
• HDMI Monitor with full size HDMI cable (not required to perform flash)
• Ethernet cable (not required to perform flash)

Choose host machine

• Linux
  • Step 1: Make sure rkdeveloptool or upgrade_tool are set up on host computer
  • Step 2: Download all necessary images
  • Step 3: Boot device into maskrom mode
  • Step 4: Prepare the flash environment
  • Step 5: Flash images onto ROCK Pi 4 eMMC and reboot

• Mac

Running on SD Card Method

Running on SD card method allows you to place a microSD card into a ROCK Pi 4 to automatically boot and run.

This method required the following hardware

• ROCK Pi 4 board with power supply
• Host machine (Linux/Mac/Windows)
• MicroSD card with 8GB or larger of storage
• USB Mouse and/or keyboard
• HDMI Monitor with full size HDMI cable
• Ethernet cable

Choose host machine

• Linux/Mac/Windows