Loading Debian on a Radxa Zero 3W Worksheet

THE TUTORIAL IS MEANT TO BE USED WITH THIS VIDEO!

YouTube tutorials can be a pain to actually follow, so here’s the worksheet that accompanies the video - for your convenience.

I recommend both printing this out, to use as a checklist, and keeping the page up, so you can copy-and-paste the entries.

What you’ll need:

1. A Radxa Zero 3W (Aliexpress)

2. A microSD card (16GB, or greater)

3. A SD card writer (typically USB)

4. A micro HDMI cable or adapter

5. A USB hub that connects with USB-C

6. A USB keyboard

7. A USB mouse

STEP 1: Download the OS image

Download & install Releases · radxa-build/radxa-zero3

STEP 2: Decompress the OS image

1. Download program that can decompress xz files (if necessary) – there are GUI tools like 7-Zip or WinZip, but I use XZ Tools ‍

2. Decompress the image

3. Delete the XZ archive

STEP 3: Write the image to an SD card using Balena Etcher(or similar)

1. Download and install Balena Etcher (if necessary) ‍

2. Write the image to the SD card

STEP 4: Boot the Zero 3W

1. Attach a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to the Zero 3W

2. Put the SD card into the Zero 3W and start it ‍

3. Log into the Zero 3W

4. The initial password for the radxa user isradxa

STEP 5: Set up the wireless networking(or just use a USB Ethernet adapter)

1. ‍ Set up the wifi connection from the desktop

2. ‍ ‍Go into RSETUP and make the connection persistent, and automatic at boot

STEP 6: Enable SSH

1. Launch Konsole

2. [copy/paste >] sudo systemctl restart ssh

3. [copy/paste >] sudo systemctl enable --now ssh

STEP 7: Update your system

1. Launch See Available Updates – Discover ‍

2. Deselect “radxa-system-config-gdm3-disable-sleep”

3. Click “Update Selected”

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