Full eMMC backup and restore:

See the worked example using AntiX below:

NOTE: The restore procedure overwrites whatever is on the eMMC, There is no need to delete anything or do anything with any partition. Everything is overwritten.

Overview:
Boot the computer from your AntiX (or other Linux) live USB flashdrive.
Allow the system to start up fully.
Now connect your backup device. Mount the device if it is not automatically mounted.
Make a note of the full path to the backup device.
Open a terminal, become root and change directory to your backup device. This step saves having to type in the full path to the backup device in the backup or restore commands.

From here use the relevent command. Backup or restoration will take about 10 - 20 minutes or so, depending on the speed of your backup device and USB ports. Just wait until the command prompt returns.

Backup eMMC:
The eMMC is read sequentially, data is passed to the compression utility. The backup file is created and compressed data is then written to it.


Restore eMMC:
The backup file is read sequentially, data is passed to the decompression utility. The uncompressed data is directly written to the eMMC.
Both commands will finish when the relevant data source is exhausted.

Worked example:

With the computer booted from your AntiX flashdrive, open a terminal and become root.
Insert your backup device and change directory to its location. A USB stick is used here as an example.
Text between braces are comments and are not to be entered. It is a good idea to use the sync command to ensure that any buffers are flushed.

Backup: Create a compressed archive:
Restore: Extract the archive and write to the eMMC:
For completeness... If you wish to use a checksum file:

Create a checksum text file:
Verify the backup file before restoration
The choice of backup filename is arbitrary. I try to use names that describe what the file is...
backupfullemmc - self explanatory..
.img An image of a drive (or a partition).
.gz A compressed archive created by gzip.

I hope that this helps.. Just ask if you have any questions.

Bodge99.

Bodge99, yesterday I was a bit too quick to claim victory. The scrolling issue was back, that's probably how the computer handles antiX, so this morning I wanted to run Mint from a the live USB stick - I had to use the compatibility mode, but when I tried to install Mint the installer crashed along the way.

I booted into antiX from the eMMC and launched GParted. The lay-out: exactly the same as I reported before, showing 3 partitions, but the unallocated space unaffected with used and unused both at zero (3 dashes).

I then did the same as your suggestion: create a new GPT table, then use the Mint live USB to install. But the same thing happens: the installer crashes along the way.

Conclusion: I am back to square 1, and, as far as I can tell, it is not possible to use the eMMC drive on this computer for anything else than antiX.

Bodge99 thanks a lot for this, I will study it. Meanwhile, I am back to square 1 it seems. See my previous comment.

My tablet is just a simple computer that's used for internet browsing and emailing. I want a stable, hassle-free distro that does not need to be replaced every 6 or 12 months with an upgrade.

Arrghhh..

Sorry to hear that the problems continue.

Am I correct in this? AntiX generally seems works apart from your scrolling issue with a browser (Firefox??).
Mint seem to be a "no go" at this time.

Don't bother attempting to install a specific distro if you can't access the eMMC using the live distro's tools. If the system cannot access the eMMC then you won't be able to install it (yet!!!). More on this specific point when I've done some research.

I would put AntiX back on using exactly the same method as before. At least you will have a bootable computer that has basic tools available and your eMMC storage in a "known good" state. Try to reduce the number of "unknowns" at this stage.

Can you describe your scrolling issue in more detail please? Does this only happen with Firefox or in other gui programs as well? Have you tried another browser? Are you using the trackpad or an external mouse/trackball. Can you try an external mouse/trackpad??

If AntiX used to work perfectly well but doesn't now, then **something** must have changed. This can only be one of 3 things:-

Software is corrupt/damaged (It's not this as you have a fresh install)
Software (or settings) has been changed/updated. Something is being "handled" slightly differently than before.
There is a hardware problem of some kind (Need to prove the trackpad functionality etc.)

As mentioned above, this could be related to some sort of graphics issue. It should be solvable once the exact cause has been identified.
We need to identify if the problem is software or hardware related.

We **will** resolve this, one way or another!

Bodge99

Correct.

Just with Firefox.
What happens is when you scroll down a web page the scroll bar slider will suddenly jump back (i.e. scroll back fast) to the beginning of the page. Clicking on ESC stops it at that point in time, for an undetermined period (20 mins. 1 hour, 2 hours0 when it will recur.

Tried Opera, same problem.

Trackpad

It's not practical.

No, it did not. It just takes a bit of time using FF to be confronted with the issue.

Let me give a little bit of background.
We bought the computer in 2016 with Win 8.1/64-bit installed. It worked very well without any problems, and certainly not this issue. Late last year the cursor froze on the screen and the audio volume level got stuck at zero. Neither a refresh nor a reinstall of Windows changed 1 iota to the problem. I don't know what the problem was due to, can't remember if it occurred after an update, which may well be the case in view of the disgraceful mess Microsoft has made of its updating system.

So I decided to ditch Windows and install a light Linux distro. Since I happened to have tried antiX in a Windows-hosted VM last year, I opted for antiX, which I installed @ the beginning of March this year. If I recall, the issue has been there from the beginning, although I am not 100% sure of it.

If, after a re install of 'Windows' didn't help, (& I'm no fan of that system), then you have a hardware problem I would think - changing distros won't help.

You'll likely need to check all connections, maybe a loose wire somewhere, touchpads can be finicky.
I would try an external mouse as an easy check to see if it is related to the touchpad.

Hi,

I'm wondering if this could be related to touchpad sensitivity.. I disable every touch action on mine apart from cursor movement.. it drives the Misses mental as she like the "tap to click" stuff. Another possibility is some sort of interaction between the desktop manager and the trackpad driver. As fatmac rightly points out, hardware problems are possible but obviously can be harder to identify. I personally don't think so.. (yet!).

Try one change at a time.. So you can identify when or if a particular change helps things..

Can you try another desktop manager (change from fluxbox to icewm or jwm). This should rule out any specific desktop manager interaction.
Now try a usb mouse.. ideally disable the touchpad totally. This will show if the touchpad hardware or driver is problematic.

More later.. My Daughter is special needs and I'm needed..

Bodge99

The Windows reinstall, which was done from within Windows itself, in my opinion is not a proper reinstall. The reason I say that is because the cursor and volume problems weren't even mitigated in the slightest. Whereas, when I installed antiX, those 2 problems were gone completely. So you saying that I have a hardware problem does not make sense.

Besides, I should still be able to test that with another distro, yet no other distro can be installed. That could indeed be a hardware problem, specifically an eMMC problem.

Isn't there a way to completely, thoroughly, properly wipe the eMMC drive clean of any traces of antiX, and even of Windows? Creating a new GPT table, which says it will wipe off all the existing data, is an incomplete process. I cannot believe there isn't a way to get the drive squeaky clean.

to remove windows fast boot has to be disabled under advance power settings in windows and make sure your shutting down the system from windows not sleep or hybernate mode. For linux mint would suggest the xfce version it will be a little ligher. I also believe that the problem you having is a settings issue, but I don't use antix so can't give any advice on the easist way to change settings.

Like I said in my comment above, Windows was removed prior to installing antiX.
I have the XFCE version of Mint on a USB stick simply because that is what I have on my 2 other laptops. But it cannot be installed on the tablet because the tablet now only accepts antiX, which IMO indicates a less than clean eMMC drive.

Therefore, rather than trying to figure out a way to make antiX work, I am looking for is a way to wipe the eMMC drive <b>squeaky clean</b> so it allows me to install another distro instead of only accepting antiX.

Hi,

Just "dipped in" for a couple of minutes.. still busy!

You can wipe your eMMC from your AntiX boot flashdrive.

Open a terminal, become root and enter this:

This will overwrite every storage location in the eMMC with zeros. Effectively clearing everything.

Bodge99.

OK, thanks a lot, I am very keen to try that. How do I "become root"?
I know that on an installed OS you use sudo, then use the user password. But how does it work when using a flashdrive?

Edit: I went ahead, open the terminal from the flashdrive, then typed:
Output:

Hi,

Run a command as root : sudo {command}

Become root, if logged in as a normal user: sudo su (or su - , if your /etc/sudoers file is not set up).

Some folk detest sudo and view it as a security concern..

It's possible to "lock down" a normal user so they cannot do **anything** with root (administrator) privileges. Very useful at times..

A terminal error message that includes "Permission Denied" normally means that you don't have enough rights to perform the required action i.e. you need to be root.

Bodge99

I tried sudo, and sudo su, both give the same result: Permission denied.
So how do I get those rights? Catch 22?