Get Linux running on Lenovo A10 Android Laptop

luckris25

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Hey everyone,

4 months ago, my gf brought me this old android lenovo laptop (specs: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/lenovo/a-series/a10/ ) that she can't use anymore. I tried using it but the 4.2 version of android is pretty outdated and sluggish. I even installed Clock Work Recovery on it (NOTE THIS, it might be the reason for a problem that comes up later)So i thought, why not try to install a light Linux version, like Lubuntu or something else. I did some research and the problems started popping from everywhere:

Problem 1: This possibly is the biggest obstacle in this process. It has an ARM cpu. And we all know the problem with Linux and arm, the lack of drivers and the need to create a custom kernel. So, I needed the open source code

Problem 2: Yay, we found the source code, pretty easily i guess (source code: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/gr/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/a-series/a10-lenovo/downloads/driver-list/component?name=Software and Utilities ) . But how do i create a kernel? My Linux knowledge ain't that advanced. So let's try to find someone that has created a kernel!

Problem 3: Found 2 pages, one in German ( http://www.gsg-elektronik.de/?id=123 ), which doesn't make things pretty easy, and one on GitHub ( https://github.com/steffen-g/lenovo-a10 ), which i believe is based on the German page but still has some vague points. They both try to install Debian so i said OK , why not? and i started following the guide

Problem 4: After hours trying to configure some stuff out, cause i was pressing the wrong terminal commands or my syntax was wrong (dumb me), i got stuck while trying to flash the kernel using rkflashtool. Gosh, I spent like 5 hours on this and still didn't manage anything. It just couldn't find the device, even tho i was in recovery mode. And here comes the big NOTE THIS i wrote on the introduction, cause one of the things i am suspecting of causing this is the custom recovery i have installed.

So I came here, desperate for help. Please, if anyone wants to help a Linux beginner (that's me, oof) figure this mess out, I would deeply and greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!
 



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