RISC OS

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RISC OS is a computer operating system designed in Cambridge, England by Acorn. First released in 1987, its origins can be traced back to the original team that developed the ARM microprocessor. RISC OS is owned by RISC OS Developments (ROD), following their recent acquisition of the RISC OS intellectual property through the purchase of Castle Technology Ltd.

RISC OS Open Limited (ROOL) is an organisation run on a largely voluntary basis. It is managing the process of publishing the source code to RISC OS (Apache 2.0 license).

Let's get started with a Pandora port

The Let's get started with a Pandora port ROOL forum thread contains latest information on the work being done. Refer also to:

Installing RISC OS

Riscos5pandora.jpg

This page describes how to carry out the initial setup of RISC OS on the Pandora. The procedure is considered to require only minimal technical knowledge and ability.

For clarification, ask on the ROOL forum or this wiki's talk page.

Requirements

The following are (or may be) required:

  • Blank SD card
  • SD card reader
  • Pandora
  • Powered USB hub (check Compact USB Hubs, USB hub / converter / port replicator)
  • USB mouse (RISC OS needs a third Menu button in addition to buttons for Select and Adjust, but it's also possible to remap the mouse buttons to keypresses via the loading of an extra module)
  • USB keyboard (until RISC OS understands the built-in keyboard)
  • USB storage device for the boot sequence (e.g. flash drive), or potentially another blank SD card for this purpose

OS installation

  • Create your SD card from an image which should be at Ready-to-go SD card images
  • Insert into slot 1 (left slot)
  • Power-on while holding the Right shoulder button
  • From the Bootmenu, select 'Boot from SD'
  • Following the Generic OMAP port setup information, set up the boot sequence via the USB hub and storage device

Backward compatibility

Further information on RISC OS

Background information on the port

RISC OS Open Limited (ROOL) documentation about installing the Cortex-A8 port of RISC OS on the BeagleBoard is available.

An article about running RISC OS on new hardware at The Icon Bar summarises progress and challenges as at October 2009.