Upgrade Guide - Neon OS V2.0 for the Mark II

Neon AI Version 2.0 is here!

* It provides substantial security and stability improvements

* It requires replacing the OS image on your boot drive, and we will support you through the upgrade process!

The first version of our Neon OS 2.0 was released in August 2024 and brings a lot of performance improvements. We are calling this "2.0" because, in addition to the usual Neon core and skill updates, we have revamped our entire build process and restructured the installation to make it easier to apply updates and to roll back/reset if something goes wrong.

To achieve these improvements, we had to make some changes to operating system files that we can't modify with our existing update strategy, so this one time it is necessary for existing users to create a new OS drive.

Options to Upgrade OR Newly Install Neon AI Version 2.0

A. Use your Mark II - Image a new boot drive using your Mark II with the Neon AI command "Make Bootable Media"

B. Use your computer - Image or re-image your existing USB or SSD boot drive using your computer

C. $29 SSD - Upgrade to a 256GB SSD boot drive, for $29.99 with coupon code "SSD2UPGRADE"

D. Free USB - Order a free 64GB USB boot drive with the new 2.0 OS image from Neon AI on Square with coupon code "USB2UPGRADE"

E. Live Support - Request a Tech Support Video Call to have Clary@Neon.AI walk you through any of this

* DIY users and developers who would like to retain their OS customizations, instructions are at the end of this page.

Details:

A. Image a new boot drive using your Mark II with the Neon AI command "Make Bootable Media"

Requires: two USB drives, or a USB drive and an SSD, or two SSD.
*A powered USB hub may be needed for some higher power draw drive combinations.

Start with your machine booted up, with the boot drive in the upper left USB port (when viewing the Mark II from the rear).
Plug in your secondary drive in the upper right USB port.
Say "Hey Neon, make bootable media".
Follow the prompts.
When finished, shut down your Mark II and unplug the power.
Unplug the boot drive you were using from the left USB port and set it aside.
Move the second boot drive from the right hand port to the left hand port.
Plug power back in to your Mark II.
Congratulations, you're on the new version!
If you would like to use the new version on your original boot drive, simply repeat this process.
**If your device crashes to a black screen at any point, it is likely it drew too much power. Unplug it, plug in just the drive you want to boot from, and in most cases it will start back up and run fine. You can then try a different pairing of drives, a powered USB hub, or one of the other upgrade options.

B. Re-image your existing USB or SSD boot drive using your computer

(directions for Windows OS, may work for other operating systems)

Requires: Your existing boot drive or another SSD or USB, a computer with a compatible USB port.

Download the Neon OS to your computer from here (automatic download) - or from our NeonAIforMycroftMarkII webpage.
Download a (free) imaging program, if you don't have one already. We suggest Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena Etcher.
Plug the drive you want to update into your computer.
Open your imager program.
- If using Raspberry Pi Imager:
  - Under the 'Operating System' menu, select 'Use Custom'.
  - Locate and select the Neon OS image you downloaded.
  - Under 'Storage', select the drive you intend to write to.
  - Click 'Write' and wait for the image to be written and verified. This takes several minutes, depending on your system.
- If using Balena Etcher
  - Under the '+', choose 'Flash from file'.
  - Locate and select the Neon OS image you downloaded.
  - Under 'Select target', select the drive you intend to write to.
  - Click 'Flash' and wait for the image to be written and verified. This takes several minutes, depending on your system.
Remove the USB or SSD drive from your computer.
Disconnect power from your Mark II.
Plug the newly imaged drive into the top left USB port on your Mark II (Port 0).
Reconnect power to your Mark II.
Congratulations, you're on the new version!

C. Upgrade to a 256GB SSD boot drive, for $29.99 with coupon code "SSDUPGRADE"

Visit our Square page
Order an SSD with the new Neon AI 2.0 OS for $29 with coupon code "SSDUPGRADE".

D. Order a free 64GB USB boot drive with the new 2.0 OS image from Neon AI on Square with coupon code "USBUPGRADE"

Performance on USB has improved with recent versions, though it is still not as fast as on SSD.
Visit our Square page
Use coupon code "USBUPGRADE" to order a free USB drive with the new Neon AI 2.0 OS.
*If you've already upgraded to an SSD drive and want to continue booting from that, you can of course boot up using the free USB drive, and then use the "make bootable media" skill on your Mark II as described above to update the image on your SSD drive.

E. Request a Tech Support Video Call to have Clary@Neon.AI walk you through any of this

Please contact Clary@Neon.AI to arrange a support call.

* DIY Users & Developers - Retaining OS Customizations

DIY Users & Developers who want to try to retain their Neon AI OS customizations should backup and then restore /home/neon/.config to carry any neon-specific configuration over to a new version. For additional support with this, visit our Matrix community.

The early boot process now uses InitramFS which provides flexibility to manage the "real" OS before it is loaded, meaning we have the ability in updates to replace the OS entirely, instead of applying patches to try and get older systems more up-to-date.

The "real" OS part of our images now uses OverlayFS with a SquashFS "lower" file system. This means OS updates can happen without affecting things like user configuration and logs; it also means every Mark2 will be able to reset to a valid state, even if Neon won't start.

For more advanced use cases (or if you're just curious), we have more detailed documentation available.