Step 2: Install or Update the System

After booting from the USB, you will use commands to install or update the TechLit OS on the computer’s internal drive.

For Mini Devices (<32GB Storage)

This guide is for standard devices. If your computer has less than 32GB of storage, you must follow the Mini Device Update Guide instead. Attempting to use the standard process on a mini device will fail due to lack of space.

Step 2.1: Identify the Internal Drive

Before you can run any commands, you must identify the correct name for the computer’s internal storage drive.

Run the following command to list all connected drives:

lsblk

Look for the main drive, which is usually much larger than your USB drive. Common names are /dev/sda, /dev/nvme0n1, or /dev/mmcblk0. You will use this name in the next step.

Step 2.2: Choose Your Action

Choose one of the two actions below.

Option A: Fresh Install (`tl-hw-prepare`)

Use this command for a new computer or to completely wipe and reinstall an existing one.

Caution

This command will permanently erase all data on the target drive.

# Replace /dev/sdX with your drive and tl-xxxx with the tag
tl-hw-prepare /dev/sdX tl-xxxx

Option B: Update Existing System (`tl-hw-update-desktop`)

Use this command to update an existing TechLit computer without wiping its data.

# Replace /dev/sdX with your drive
tl-hw-update-desktop /dev/sdX

Step 2.3: Finalize

Once the script finishes, you will see a success message.

Update Complete

Simply reboot the computer by typing reboot and pressing Enter.

Note

Unplug the USB drive immediately after the computer restarts to prevent it from booting back into the installer.

Click to see command examples…

Install on a computer with drive /dev/nvme0n1 and tag tl-0606:
```
tl-hw-prepare /dev/nvme0n1 tl-0606
```

Install and set the Wi-Fi name at the same time:

WIFI_NAME="TechLit Emacs" tl-hw-prepare /dev/nvme0n1 tl-0606

Update a computer with drive /dev/sda:
```
tl-hw-update-desktop /dev/sda
```
Update to a specific version on the USB:
```
tl-hw-update-desktop /dev/sda 23.1.1
```

Troubleshoot