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         I would highly recommend reading through the issues in the DC 
 ROMA 
 II Github page (see here: https://github.com/DC-DeepComput 
 ng/DC-ROMA_Gen2_LAPTOP_K1_RV-L2A ), just to get a sense 
 for the state of the device as a whole. 
  It's clunky, it's not ready, and it's largely been forgotten by 
 DeepComputing 
 as far as I can tell while they figure out their Framework Mainboard 
 endeavour. The JH7110 SOC is kinda the only good RISC-V chip to recommend 
 right now for anything outside 
 the absolute most niche cases, because it's been almost entirely upstreamed, 
 and therefore is supported by the Debian installer natively. RISC-V is a 
 really cool technology, and I love it a lot, but the hardware ecosystem 
 right 
 now is about the same as 
 the Raspberry Pi 2 was when it came out, and I mean that both from a 
 software 
 support standpoint and from a hardware performance perspective. 
  
         
        
       
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
       
 
       
 
        
 
         To be perfectly frank, if I could talk to my past self, I would 
 say to not buy this laptop and save myself the migraines. In a few years, it 
 will be better, but the hardware 
 barely runs on the hardware manufacturer blessed distro images. The fact 
 that 
 anyone tried to cram this chip in a laptop is a testament to the arrogance 
 of 
 man, because a laptop appeals to normal people, and this laptop is at best a 
 marketing stunt to 
 drum up good PR for RISC-V on the whole. 
        
 
       
 
       
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
       
 
       
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
       
 
       
 
        
 
         On Thu, 11 Sept 2025 at 18:01, Kirk Reiser <kirk@reisers.ca> wrote: 
        
 
       
 
       
 
        
 
         Hello folks: Thank you for the responses. 
        
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
        
 
          The laptop did infact come with ubuntu-24.04 installed, except 
 it was 
        
 
        
 
          a greatly reduced package, they say because it wasn't expected 
 that a 
        
 
        
 
          lot of people would login. It was kind of bogus in my mind. 
        
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
        
 
          I upgraded the OS to their most recent version of 24.04.3 
 except 
 it 
        
 
        
 
          craps out when trying to upgrade to their idea of the latest 
 kernel 
        
 
        
 
          6.14.0. The distro as shipped has kernel 6.6.36 except with 
 many 
        
 
        
 
          kernel modules missing. The upgrade of the kernel dies while 
 trying to 
        
 
        
 
          copy the dtb files from a nonexistant spacemit directory in 
 /boot. I 
        
 
        
 
          have tried many things to attempt to spoof the new kernel from 
 copying 
        
 
        
 
          over the installed dtbs to a new 6.14.0 directory with no joy. 
        
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
        
 
          Oh, and yes, it is using u-boot. 
        
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
        
 
          Unfortunately Some of the kernel modules which are missing are 
 the 
        
 
        
 
          speakup modules which I must have to provide speech in text 
 console 
        
 
        
 
          mode. That has also made it much more difficult because it 
 means 
 I 
        
 
        
 
          have to have a sighted person here to help me inst 
 ll/break/reinstall 
        
 
        
 
          various packages. 
        
 
        
 
         
 
        
 
        
 
          Upon examining the two debian images I tried to boot I 
 realized 
 that 
        
 
  
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