Install Linux desktop
To install the VOLKSPC Linux desktop, you will need InstallerXXX.apk, Desktop.apk and a prebuilt VolksPC desktop image. The prebuilt volkspcimgarm64.zip desktop image is suitable for 64bit Android ARM device and is based on Debian Trixie XFCE. The Installer application (InstallerXXX.apk) is custom built for your target hardware. For any device that we support, you can download an Android APK zip file that includes Desktop.apk and InstallerXXX.apk. Copy the three files to a USB stick or SD card that you can insert into your hardware. Another option is to install the MEGA Android app and download all the files directly on your Android device. The Installer application looks for volkspcimgarm64.zip desktop image first on the internal storage Download directory. Both Android and our documentation refers to this as /sdcard/Download/ directory. Next it checks at the root directory of external sdcard or USB drive. Installation takes about 5 minutes as follows:
- Install Desktop.apk from Android file manager.
- Repeat step 1 with InstallerXXX.apk. Ignore any warnings from Android and proceed with the installation.
- Start Installer app -> Install VolksPC distribution. This will unpack the desktop image volkspcimgarm64.zip into the right location.
- Installer app-> Start VolksPC desktop. This will start the VolksPC Linux desktop.
After reboot you only need to perform step 4 to start VolksPC Linux desktop again. The Desktop app is launched directly by the Installer app during the boot process.
To uninstall the VolksPC desktop use the Installer application to remove VolksPC desktop completely. You cannot remove VolksPC desktop if it is already running. Please be aware that this will also remove any user file that you created as a Linux user.
The “root” password is “root” and the “desktop” password is “desktop”. The Linux desktop locale and timezone settings are based on Android settings.
Update Linux desktop and Android
The user can update InstallerXXX.apk, the Debian based desktop image and in some cases the underlying Android OS.
To upgrade the InstallerXXX.apk, copy UpdateXXX.zip to internal storage Download directory. Now start the Installer application and click “Update VolksPC distribution”. You will be asked to confirm update after which the installation will be updated. For our software products we only sell upgrades to the free evaluation software .
The current Linux image can be easily updated using the package manager running on Linux. When a new Debian stable version is released, user can easily upgrade with the Installer application.
Many vendors don’t allow easy update of their rooted Android device. However both Google’s Pixel devices running official firmware as well as Lineage OS can be updated even after being rooted. User can follow these steps to upgrade and preserve root access:
- Open the Magisk app and update it to the latest version of Magisk .
- Install the latest Android update without rebooting the device. This will install Android to the inactive slot.
- Install Magisk to the inactive slot and then reboot.