720p still gives me trouble for .mkv media.
So here’s the weird thing about OM on these devices: you have to install it. You don’t just write the image to an SD card. I don’t know how to do this on a RPi, but on my Libre Computer device I had to flash manufacturer-specific bootloader to an SD card, flash the OM image to a USB stick, and also plug in the USB-based device (a 2 TB hard disk) I wanted OM installed on.
The bootloader searched USB for a bootable image, found the OM image on the stick, and booted it. You log in with username omv and password omv. In the user’s directory is a script called, I believe, install-openmandriva. Do an lsblk to find the device name for the device you want to install OM on and then run the script like this:
./install-openmandriva [device]
For /dev/sdb, then, it looks like
./install-openmandriva /dev/sdb`
Follow the prompts. When it’s done, shut it down, take out your USB stick, and then hopefully the bootloader will find the newly installed OM when it boots.
So I think you only need to find the RPi-specific bootloader, and you should be good to go.
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Oddly enough, I got OML 4.2 working by just using the RPi imager to write it to an SD card.
Had Ubuntu 24.04 working for a few days, then audio from VLC died. Rebooted, now no video signal.
I wasn’t expecting performance, I was expecting it to at least work.
Raspberry Pi is, bar none, the worse hardware platform it has ever been my misfortune to spend money on.
It has been some time since I had my 4B running. As I recall, you have to edit the configuration file to tell it where to send the audio. Either out the stereo headphone jack or the HDMI cable. Not sure how Ubuntu does it. I am providing a link to the official Pi website for Raspberry Pi OS.
The video is in the same configuration file. The Pi must be told which HDMI port to use and the resolution. I believe there is a video mode setting for computer monitors vs televisions. Monitors generally don’t have the same video settings as televisions.
Yes, the Raspberry Pi is some completely different hardware. Take everything you know about BIOS/UEFI and chuck it out the window. None of it works on a Pi because there isn’t a BIOS/UEFI.
Not sure what you paid, but for what it is, once set up, it does work for a low end, low cost piece of hardware. Fast? No. Stable, yes, as long as you don’t overheat it by overclocking without a good heat sink and fan.
One more thing, unrelated to your problems, I think, but could give you grief. When initially setting it up, use an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi for the sake of stability and sanity. You can always switch over to Wi-Fi once it is working as intended.
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I re-installed Ubuntu, and removed/purged a bunch of bloat.
So far so good.
I bought the Rpi because people were saying that it works as an inexpensive desktop.
That is patently not the case.
Desktop? No. Unless you are doing very light duty work with a lightweight desktop environment. You are correct in your conclusion.
But it is good for messing around to see what can be screwed up.
I don’t understand the single board computer fanboys. I got mine mostly because I wanted something to mess with during the Covid DemPanic.
But then, I don’t understand Apple fanboys either, and I have an iPad and an iPhone. Needed once upon a time for work. Now they are just convenient for when I do road trip vacations from retirement.
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They’re good for particular things. I have a number of them:
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I have several Raspberry Pis running Octoprint connected to 3D printers so I can print from the network.
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I have two Libre Computers (same form factor as a Raspberry Pi) running as Syncthing servers. One of those is running the aarch64 OpenMandriva.
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I have another Libre Computer running a Nextcloud instance for my family to share files.
There are other uses. For example, I have an old laptop I use as a “jukebox,” because it’s my family stereo system: it runs Strawberry to play from my music collection (which is all ripped from CDs: no streaming for me). But if that laptop goes, I might as well replace it with another cheap, single-board computer.
Some people connect powered USB hubs to them, plug in a bunch of hard disks, and create their own home-grown NAS on the cheap.
There are tons of use cases for them. I’ve used them to make a “computer lab” at a homeschool co-op, where we taught the kids how to program in Python (using a book called Mission Python). But I definitely wouldn’t use one as a daily driver.
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I should clarify what I meant. When I said I don’t understand the single board computer fanboys, I was thinking about what you and myself tried to do, as a daily primary computer. Something that they claim is possible in a real world environment, using a Raspberry Pi as a desktop computer.
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Grrr.
Ubuntu 24.04 ran for about 3 days, and around 10 hrs of VLC playback before the audio died, then hung on reboot.
Trying OSMC now.
OSMC installs fine, then…no video signal.
Rebooting gives me the OSMC splash, then no video signal.
LibreElec is up next.
This is starting to sound like a hardware issue
Could be.
It worked with Ubuntu 24.04 for many hours, even a couple of reboots, but after the audio died, reboot hung.
Worked on Raspberri Pi OS, but had to re-seat the hdmi cable every time I turned on the TV.
Seems the RPi and my RCA TV don’t get along…
LibreElect installs, then no video signal.
Back to Raspberry Pi OS. 
So, to sum it up:
Raspberri Pi OS works, but no HDMI audio. I need to use a set of external speakers. Need to reboot or reseat HDMI cable after turning on the TV to get a video signal. It also has some screen config and wifi issues.
Ubuntu worked fine, for a few days, then died utterly.
MSMC and LibreElec were total failures right outta the box.
This was all with RPi official stuff, from the SD card and adaptor, the micro-to-standard HDMI cable, recent images from the RPi imager, etc.
I’ll have to live with it until I can afford a cheap used mini X86 system, that will get OML. I’ve seen some Lenovo Tiny M-73s that go for just over $100 Canadian snow pesos.
What a piece of junk, it’ll wind up just taking up space on my tinkering bench.
Hmmm…Ultramarine Linux?
Maybe later, I’ve been punished enough over the last few days.
I believe the default for audio is out the headphone jack. To get audio out HDMI, you will need to change the configuration inside Pi OS and then reboot.
Unplugging the HDMI cable from a television is something I have heard about before. It depends on the model of television and how HDMI is implemented. My television always worked with the Pi running with HDMI. My problem was unless I turned on the television before the Pi and set it to use the HDMI port, I would get a ludicrously high, impossible to use screen resolution. Something like 3840x2160 or whatever because I forget. Everything was extra tiny.
Another thing to try is adding hdmi_force_hotplug=1 to your config.txt file. That will force your Pi to use the television, or so they claim.
No idea why Ubuntu died. Seeing as you are able to get things up and running for a few hours to a few days, I wonder if you have an overheating issue?
Much better results are obtained with a good used monitor. Time to go dumpster diving? I am up to two dumpster monitors. Both work because the previous owners couldn’t figure out how to install a DVI to HDMI adapter. Amazing what perfectly good hardware gets tossed by the technology declined.
Seeing as I now own an RPi, if I ever have a desire to toy with micro-python, octoprint or whatever, I can do it, I don’t see myself getting another SBC anytime soon.
I’ll probably just get one of these for my media box:
https://www.hardware-corner.net/desktop-models/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M73-Tiny/