Not sure how a bootloader is supposed to work on arm

[mumbo]

Hi,
I am a total noob to linux but im trying my best to learn. I got a good deal on a chromebook(Lenovo s330) and I decided to get rid of chrome os and go full linux. I followed the wiki and got the sd card to work as a bootable arch linux, but now I want to install it on the whole machine. I followed a youtube guide(Luke Smith) to get me through the install on the machine but I cannot figure out how the bootloader stuff is supposed to work. According to an existing post here, GRUB is not needed on arm. However, This got me confused on how I am supposed to set up the bootloader.

After I made the partitions on the laptop's disk and and mounted them and installed linux, I tried to bootup without the sd card but it didnt work. If my question is stupid please at least point me in a direction so I could learn.

Thanks

[summers]

What most SBC do, is that most arm processors have some firware, that on boot up they look in a certain place (sd card or flash) for uboot. uboot is a general purpose bootloader, but is used widely on arm and I don't think ever on x86 machines. uboot can bring a machine up for bare metal, and boot linux, with the environment that linux needs (e.g. device tree on arm machines).

But for you the world is different. Chromebook almost always use coreboot or libreboot. Thats another general purpose bootloader; how the arm boots into {core|libre}boot I'm not sure - but the arm rom must have something that allows it. I've never used these, there are web sites for each that explain what they can do. Booting into linux direct on chromebooks probably involves understanding {core|libre}boot ...

Hope that helps.

[mumbo]

Hi
Thanks for the tips friend. I am honestly thinking of returning my device since I've been at this thing for 4 days now and it has not been fruitful. I'm also feeling some serious buyer's remorse. If I find a good deal for another arm based computer I will get back to ya on this forum.


Thank you for your time.

Mumbo

[summers]

Usually on arms when developing a new OS, or porting an OS, one connects to the uart on the board. I think all arm have a raw uart output, and on SBC that is usually wired out somewhere, and uboot talks via that port by default.

This means you can see the progress of the boot loader, and once it is up talk to it. From there you can set up the OS parameters, and watch its progress.

Now for you on a laptop, and if you have {core|libre}boot - I don't if or how these communicate, it may not be via the cpu uart. Also on a laptop, it may not be so easy to access the uart - probably cracking open the case, and adding a header to some unlabelled part of the pcb.

Also as you are posting in armv8, I guess its an armv8 cpu? If so - these often these days seem to come with secure boot. e.g. the boot loader needs signing; this may or may not mean you are tied to the boot loader that came with the machine.