Persistant Firmware    December 2024

Installing a Persistent Firmware removes the need for a Development Key.

See:  https:/wiki.laptoptop.org/go/Releases

Of special interest is that this firmware allows older versions of Sugar with its older Activities to be installed and run on an SD card in the card slot.  Tests showed that even the original version in G1G1 Sugar and it's Activities could be loaded and run on an SD card.

Installing software on the SD does not alter the software on the motherboard.  The SD software uses the firmware on the motherboard. 

The XO-1 can use up to 32 GB USB drives  and 32 GB USB drives. Large SD cards may draw too much current and increase noise on SD slot buss.  This results in failed file transfers involving large files.

This a larger problem with XO-1's that are returned to use after years of storage,  but this improves with use.

It is supected that filtering capacitors filtering noise need "conditioning" after storage.

8 GB SD cards appears to be "sweet spot" to maximize added user storage while minimizing noise on the card slot buss.

Larger CD cards (up to 128 GB) can be used on XO-1's, if exFAT drivers are installed on the XO. Newer SD card seem to draw less current from the Card slot buss.

NEW FORM OF XO-1 "Bricking"     May 2023

XO-1's with firmware Q2D03 may not boot into software. Instead they boot into the test program "bacteria growth".  If date year is set to year 2022 or less (via internal 3 Volt serial port) then subsequent steps can restore normal booting.  If date year is set to 2023, subsequent steps will not restore normal booting.  Other early firmware may behave similarly.  If the clock battery is fully discharged, the XO-1 may show a clock error , stop and then power off.  If the clock battery is charged and the clock date is set via the internal serial port, then the XO-1 behaves as described above.

YUM INSTALL OR UPDATE  MAY FAIL     Nov 2019

Repos in directory /etc/yum.repos.d have mirror line set to "https:" and some mirrors may require "http:" .

Alternative to mirror is to uncomment baseurl lines and comment out mirror lines. 

For fedora*.repo , then add to the path "archive/" after "pub/"

http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2019-November/039069.html

BATTERIES WITH REDUCED RUNTIME CAN BE "RE-BALANCED" TO RESTORE    Mar 2019

Firmware command "bat-recover"  with repeated 10 second charging interruptions can be used to increase run time by re-balancing two cells in the battery. Unbalance is a state where one of the cell is more discharged.

https://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/power/2019-March/000259.html