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Download the NetBSD image (evbarm-aarch64 ISO under 'Release Info') from the repository here:
Download Portal: https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/evbarm/
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Flash the ISO to a USB drive
dd if=~/Downloads/FreeBSD-*version*-RELEASE-arm64-aarch64-disc1.iso of=/dev/sdX
Alternatively, you can use Gnome Disks, balenaEtcher, or an imaging tool of your choice.
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Restart and boot from the USB drive that was created. (See: BIOS Navigation)
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Press [1] or wait for installer to start.
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Click through first options, installing NetBSD to your drive of choice.
NOTE: If you get scrolling output on install screen, you may need to unplug extra USB devices.
WARNING: NetBSD detects the onboard SD Card, you can accidentally overwrite the EDK II/U-Boot loader here.
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When asked what distribution you would like, click "Custom Installation" and make sure the following sets are selected if you want an easy DE setup:
X11 sets a. X11 base and clients c. X11 configuration d. X11 fonts e. X11 servers Source and debug sets b. Base sources d. GNU sources e. X11 sources
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Once your distribution sets are selected, continue on and when asked where you'd like to install from, select the following:
b: HTTP
Enter your hostname and domain name then select:
x: Get Distribution
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When the download finishes, enter a root password, then complete the last two options:
k: Enable xdm o: Add user
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Due to nature of NetBSD, you will need to boot directly from the device path or add a boot entry for NetBSD. Then you may boot into NetBSD.
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To login, type your username, press [ENTER], then type your password and press [ENTER]. You should now be in a very minimal X window environment.
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Once logged in, we will need to set up our package sources, as well as install and configure sudo. Run the following:
export PKG_PATH="http://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/aarch64/10.0/All/" su echo $PKG_PATH pkg_add -v pkgin exit
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Now we need to setup sudo and add user to 'wheel' group.
su pkg_add -v sudo visudo user mod -G wheel *username* exit
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We can now start installing XFCE and configuring our system to boot into our DE.
su pkgin install xfce4 xfce4-extras cp /usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/dbus /etc/rc.d echo 'dbus=YES' >> /etc/rc.conf /etc/rc.d/dbus start touch .xsession echo 'exec ck-launch-session xfce4-session' > .xsession echo 'DisplayManager*authName: MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1' >> /etc/X11/xdm/xdm-config echo 'xdm=YES' >> /etc/rc.conf
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Reboot. You should now be able to log in to your graphical desktop!
Lastly, run the following to setup basic home folder directories:
pkgin install xdg-user-dirs xdg-user-dirs-update
You can now choose to install additional packages if you'd like:
pkgin install vlc zip unzip unrar sudo vim gnumeric abiword papirus-icon-theme epdfview p7zip neofetch wget firefox mpv cmus xcalc xterm
## Special thanks to Edgar Rodolfo and his guide: https://bitsymasbitsya.blogspot.com/2021/12/netbsd-92-and-xfce-with-xdm-display.html