How to install fedora on custom arm kernel device

Ask Fedora
1

I have an arm64 laptop. It only can install the linux distro which device producer provide. But the distro is too old (based on Debian 9), now I want install another newer one. Here is my issue:

  1. I tried fedora or Debian live usb iso, it can’t boot, maybe since the kernel is special patched.
  2. It’s possible to install latest fedora on a patched 5.4 kernel?
  3. It’s possible to install with the laptop’s installed patched kernel ? Maybe I can get the patched iso and extract the patched kernel
2

If your device is ARM-based, you need the arm iso from Fedora Workstation | The Fedora Project

Fedora is always on the latest kernel, currently 6.5.x. Also, Fedora ships it’s kernel, you don’t install Fedora while keeping an old kernel from another distribution.

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3

My device must boot with my patched kernel, so sad :frowning:

And Fedora only can run on the kernel it ships? Can some old patched kernel? e.g my kernel version is 5.4 too old.

4

What’s your device? Are you able to compile Fedora kernel yourself and add the patch? What’s the patch?

5

No, there is some private driver but the OEM don’t give me.

Now I only want to know if Fedora 38 can run with 5.4 kernel.
Or dose Fedora modify the kernel it’s ships and I must pick that patch?

Thanks your help.

6

Fedora’s kernel is close to upstream, with a few patches included, see https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/kernel/blob/f38/f/kernel.spec

maybe, maybe not. 5.4 was released 4 years ago, there might be features in Fedora that require newer kernels, for example btrfs, which is default in Fedora (can be changed).

So, you want to create a Fedora 38 iso with the old, custom 5.4 kernel that is provided by OEM?

7

Yes, that’s I want.
Now I try to create rootfs from chroot, and find some way to boot it. I will have a try, hope Fedora can support the kernel, or I have to suffer the OEM very old desktop enviroment :frowning:

If I can build iso, things may make simple.