Installing ROCKNIX CFW to RG ARC D internal eMMC
I couldn't find the steps anywhere, but here's how I replaced the Android install on my ARC D with ROCKNIX. First follow all of the steps at https://rocknix.org/devices/anbernic/rgarc/#installation to erase Android by formatting the internal eMMC. However, instead of flashing the ROCKNIX image to an SD card:
- Keep the USB cable connected to your PC (attached to the DC plug)
- Boot the device again while holding the Volume Down button (you can do this after the reboot, or just turn the device off by holding power and turn back on)
- Instead of the Android recovery, you'll now see a screen saying it's loading in USB mass storage mode
- On your PC, you should get prompted that the drive needs to be formatted (I did to FAT32, not sure if this is strictly necessary)
- Now, go ahead and flash the latest ROCKNIX image (I used 20250118) to that 32GB drive (I used Balena Etcher)
- After it's done, safely eject, then press and hold the Volume Up button on the device so it resets
Voila! ROCKNIX should install like usual. PortMaster works! Even the touchscreen works in EmulationStation!
Now, to access the drive to add games, you can connect the device to your network and use samba/ssh, but I found it easiest to simply connect the USB cable to my PC and then enable the File transfer gadget mode.
Note: After doing this, I can't seem to get the drive to pop up in that USB mass storage mode on my Windows PC. Maybe because it's now formatted to a Linux filesystem? Anyway, this might be a one-way operation. I take no responsibility if this bricks your device. I'm happy with it though.