TrimSlice
The TrimSlice is based on the nVidia Tegra 2 – a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 at 1 GHz with ultra-low-power GeForce GPU with 1 GB DDR2 RAM soldered on-board, and is built into a nickel-plated metal case of 5.1″ x 3.7″ x 0.6″ (130mm x 95mm x 15mm). The Pro model incorporates a built-in 32 GB Sata SSD, and all models have an SD slot on the front and additional micro-SD slot behind a secured door on the side. Both SD ports support SDHC up to 32 GB.
Trim Slice supports HDMI 1.3a 1080p and a 2nd DVI-D port supporting resolutions up to 1680 x 1050. 5.1 channel audio is available through HDMI and through S/PDIF. In addition there are standard 3.5mm jacks for stereo line-out and line-in. Analog video input port will be made available in the future when software support for the feature becomes available. The device has a Gigabit Ethernet port implemented through one of the Tegra 2 PCIe ports and a built-in 802.11n WiFi. Bluetooth is provided as a USB dongle. TrimSlice incorporates 4 USB 2 ports – two on the back and two on the front. On the front panel there is also a micro-USB connector and a mini connector for RS232.
Installation
Installing Arch Linux ARM onto an SD card or USB drive for use with a TrimSlice is easy. All you need is an SD card or USB drive and your TrimSlice. To install onto the SSD, first boot Arch Linux ARM from an SD card and then follow this guide, treating the SSD like a USB drive (sda1).
- First, boot into the default Ubuntu installation and SSH in, or use Terminal. You will need to use "sudo" for partitioning and installation.
- After you've SSHed in, find where your SD card or USB drive is mounted in /media/. "sudo umount" that directory in SSH/Terminal.
- Next, launch "sudo fdisk /dev/sdX", where X is either "a" if you have no SSD or "b" if you have an SSD. To be sure, type "p" into fdisk to see your current partitions. If they are not what you'd expect, you're using the wrong drive letter. "exit" from fdisk and try another letter. If you're unfamiliar with fdisk, you can use GParted instead.
- If the drive partitions are correct, wipe the drive with "o" and then make a new primary partition with "n", then "p", then "1". Save your changes and exit by pressing "w".
- Now, format the SD card or USB drive to ext3 (substituting in the correct location):
sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1 - Next, mount the drive with:
sudo mkdir /arch sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /arch cd /arch - Now, download and extract Arch Linux ARM:
sudo wget http://archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-trimslice-latest.tar.gz sudo tar xzvf ArchLinuxARM-trimslice-latest.tar.gz sudo rm ArchLinuxARM-trimslice-latest.tar.gz - Finally, create the boot.scr file to tell the TrimSlice to boot off your USB drive or SD card. Follow this text file for instructions on how to do that.
- When your boot.scr file is ready, unmount /arch, and boot it.
Follow any Arch Linux guide for help with setting up XFCE or Openbox or whatever X Server things you need.
Please note: The rootfs for the TrimSlice has been converted to systemd. There is no more /etc/rc.d or /etc/rc.conf. Please read up on systemd.