Page 1 of 1

How-to: Installing Debian Linux on AM06PRO

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2023 5:15 am
by cfreyer
Hi all--
Just sharing that I bought an AM06PRO so I could run Linux on it. Turns out to be fairly straight forward to install Debian 12 (Bookworm) on it. With one exception: I had to let the amd64-microcode package do its thing before running other software updates. I documented the process as I was going along, so I'll share my steps here in case others are doing the same thing...
  • download live distribution on another computer.
  • write image to USB drive
  • insert USB drive in AM06PRO PC
  • set bios on AMO6PRO to boot from USB drive before NVME drive
  • boot into system and test features as needed (sound, graphics, network, etc)
  • once satisfied, click install debian icon on the running desktop
  • choose options as needed (keyboard type, timezone, disk partitions, etc)
  • finalize installation
  • remove USB drive & reboot
  • login
  • DO NOT CLICK ON SOFTWARE UPDATES!!
  • The AMD CPU may need to have its firmware updated, so...
  • navigate into Software & Updates application
  • click the Debian Software tab
  • check the boxes next to:
  • - DFSG-compatible Software with Non-Free Dependencies (contrib)
  • - Non-DFSG-compatible Firmware for Hardware Support (non-free-firmware)
  • - Non-DFSG-compatible Software (non-free)
  • close Software & Updates
  • navigate into the Software application
  • click the Updates tab
  • wait while updates are downloaded in the background (might get a "work in progess" icon)
  • click the Restart & Update button
  • let all software update complete...machine will reboot twice. Do not turn off PC!!
During the original update/reboot, I thought my PC was frozen, so I hit reset. I think that caused my CPU firmware updates to fail. All kinds of drama followed. Ultimately had to reset my machine (in BIOS) and start over. Cost me 1/2 day while figuring this out.

This process--of adding Non-DFSG-compatible Firmware for Hardware Support (non-free-firmware) as a source-- worked perfectly with the live installer. It will probably work equally well with the regular installer, or the network installer too. The key point is to let the CPU firmware upgrade run to completion without interrupting it.

Important refs: