After looking at Zu’s recent video, which highlighted the alpha build of KNULLI, which was available for the Powkiddy V90S, I started wondering whether there was any news on the build for the RG-ARC, which was announced a few months back.
While it turns out there is a KNULLI Alpha build available to supporters, it is only a build of KNULLI Firefly (the previous release to the current version, Gladiator). However, would it still be good enough for my needs, were it to be usable? The issue is that KNULLI, like the ROCKNIX build officially released, are for the RG ARC-S only, and not for the RG ARC-D (the version which runs Android), which I own.
The ROCKNIX Wiki has a solution, I’ve previously used their work to fix broken bootloaders on the Retroid Mini V2, which is to wipe the internal storage of the ARC-D, I assume that this is saying that the Linux causes the issue of builds not being able to be recognized as higher boot priority than the internal Android partition.
Thanks to the ROCKNIX Wiki, we know that to fix this, we need to wipe the Android partition. Since the version on Android on the ARC is now quite old, it’s not something I ever use, and not something I’ll miss.
What You Will Need
- Windows PC with a USB-A port
- USB-C to USB-A cable
- Download of the ROCKNIX or KNULLI image you want to use
- An image burning tool like Balena Etcher, Win32 Imager, or (my preference) Raspberry Pi Imager.
Step One: Install ADB — The Android Bridge Utility
ADB is a command-line-driven program that allows a PC to pass commands to an Android device over USB.
The Platform Tool Folder should look like this
ADB is part of the Google SDK Platform tools, which can be downloaded in a ZIP file here. Once downloaded, in order for the following instructions to work, the whole of the ZIP file needs to be extracted into a folder called “platform-tools-latest-windows” in the Downloads folder.
It is important to make sure all the files are directly in the “platform-tools” folder and not in a folder within a folder.
Step Two: Put the ARC-D in Recovery Mode
Recovery Mode Looks Like This
In order to put the ARC-D in Android Recovery Mode, you’ll first need to make sure the handheld is completely turned off and no microSD card is present in the SD1 slot. Then, follow these steps:
- Press the power button on the device while holding down the volume down button.
- When the ARC is in recovery mode, a screen with Yellow and blue text will be displayed (see image above), and “Android Recovery” will be written at the top of the screen.
- Plug the ARC into the Windows PC using the USB-C->USB-A cable. Make sure that the cable is plugged into the “DC” port on the ARC, not the “OTG” Port.
Step Three: Wipe the Android Partition using ADB
This is what the command line commands should look like
On the Windows PC, open up a command line window by typing “CMD” into the Windows search bar and selecting “Command Prompt”. In the window that opens up, type the following lines of text, making sure to press return after each one.
- CD Downloads
- CD platform-tools
- adb root
This may cause a timeout, but continue anyway. Windows might ask you for permission to continue, and if it does, click “Allow.”
- adb shell
The symbol at the start of the text entry line will now change to a hash
- dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=4M
This will take quite a few minutes (enough time to make a snack and drink). When the screen displays the message “no space left on device,” it is complete.
- exit
- adb reboot
At this time, the device will reboot, while it reboots, hold down the volume down button on the ARC-D as before.
Step 4: Burning The Image to the SD Card
ROCKNIX can be burned easily onto an SD card using the imager.
The ARC release of KNULLI is only an Alpha build of the previous version (KNULLI Firefly, as opposed to the current KNULLI Gladiator). As it’s an alpha, it’s only available to backers of KNULLI.
In order to become a backer, follow the instructions on the KNULLI wiki here. The build can then be downloaded from the KNULLI Discord.
Step 5: Go Play Some Games
Despite being 480p, the ARC screen still looks good
I hope you, dear reader, enjoy gaming on the ARC as much as I do.
Reminder: This Isn’t Necessary For the ARS-S
Since the ARC-S doesn’t have internal storage, there is no need to follow these instructions. All that is required is to burn the KNULLI or ROCKNIX image onto a MicroSD Card and put that card in the SD1 slot.
Potential Further Steps
An RH reader, Jon, left a comment on my previous article suggesting that it may be able to get ROCKNIX (and therefore KNULLI) installed on the internal storage of the ARC-D. However, this wasn’t something I was able to replicate. It is something I intend to investigate.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
I am, as always, grateful to the ROCKNIX crew for not only porting their OS to one of my favorite devices but also for taking the time to populate their wiki with good information, which can be used to solve problems. This is the second time in a month I’ve based a solution on information contained in their wiki.
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