BeagleBoardDebian

This page is about running a (ARM EABIhf) Debian distribution at BeagleBoard. BeagleBoard will boot the (ARM EABIhf) Debian distribution from SD card. Debian's NetInstall will be used to install Debian onto your Beagle.

Help

If you need any help:

• Kernel related help:
  • Email Beagleboard user group *Recommended method
  • #beagle: Beagle irc on freenode, accessible also by web interface (logs)
  • Kernel Trees
    • v3.17.x kernel branch
    • BeagleBone
    • Development Kernel source code

• When asking for help, please provide some debugging information:
  • U-Boot Version installed on board
  • Kernel Version: uname -a
  • pastebin dmesg
    • Copy from serial port or use "dmesg | pastebinit" (sudo apt-get install pastebinit)

Official BeagleBoard.org Images for shipping with BeagleBone Black

• http://beagleboard.org/source

Recommended Beagle Software

Mainline U-Boot:

• All old Ax, Bx, Cx and Dx boards are required to upgrade to at least these U-Boot versions.
• XM Boards have no NAND, so MLO/u-boot.img is always required on the first partition
• Directions: Upgrade X-loader and U-Boot

Debian NetInstall

Scripts:

git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/netinstall.git
cd netinstall

Device Options:

BeagleBoard --dtb omap3-beagle
BeagleBoard-xM --dtb omap3-beagle-xm
BeagleBoard-X15 --dtb am57xx-beagle-x15
BeagleBone (serial) --dtb am335x-bone-serial
BeagleBone (video via cape) --dtb am335x-bone-video
BeagleBone Black --dtb am335x-boneblack
PandaBoard (A1->A3) --dtb omap4-panda
PandaBoard (A4->Ax) --dtb omap4-panda-a4
PandaBoard ES  --dtb omap4-panda-es

You will need a 1GB SD card or greater.

Standard System : ~455MB

Debian 8 (jessie)

Quick Install script for "board"

sudo ./mk_mmc.sh --mmc /dev/sdX --dtb "board" --distro jessie

So For the BeagleBoard xM:

sudo ./mk_mmc.sh --mmc /dev/sdX --dtb omap3-beagle-xm --distro jessie

• Options:
  • --firmware : installs firmware
  • --serial-mode : debian-installer uses Serial Port

Demo Image

• Advanced Users only: BeagleBoard xM: Kernel source, used in these demo images: https://github.com/RobertCNelson/armv7-multiplatform

git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/armv7-multiplatform.git
cd armv7-multiplatform
git checkout origin/v4.4.x -b tmp
./build_kernel.sh

• Advanced Users only: BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black: Kernel v4.1.x source, used in these demo images: https://github.com/RobertCNelson/ti-linux-kernel-dev/tree/ti-linux-4.1.y

git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/ti-linux-kernel-dev.git
cd ti-linux-kernel-dev
git checkout origin/ti-linux-rt-4.1.y -b tmp
./build_kernel.sh

Debian (jessie)

Default username/password:

• username: debian
• password: temppwd

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBoard xM: v4.4.4-armv7-x5 kernel
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • BeagleBoard xM: v4.4.1-armv7-x5 kernel
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • BeagleBoard xM: v4.4.0-armv7-x3 kernel
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Services Active:

Note: Depending on your internal network these may work out of the box
Apache, Port 80: http://arm.local/ (Bone: via usb) http://192.168.7.2
SSH, Port 22: ssh debian@arm.local (Bone: via usb) debian@192.168.7.2
Getty, Serial Port

Default user: debian pass: temppwd

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/elinux/debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz

Verify Image with:

sha256sum debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz
62abdb777faa4a57e0bcfa50c1a346b2a01fe512e78d5f100af17153b524fb6c  debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz

Unpack Image:

tar xf debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz
cd debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11

If you don't know the location of your SD card:

sudo ./setup_sdcard.sh --probe-mmc

You should see something like:

Are you sure? I don't see [/dev/idontknow], here is what I do see...

fdisk -l:
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes <- x86 Root Drive
Disk /dev/sdd: 3957 MB, 3957325824 bytes <- MMC/SD card

lsblk:
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0 465.8G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0 446.9G  0 part /  <- x86 Root Partition
├─sda2   8:2    0     1K  0 part 
└─sda5   8:5    0  18.9G  0 part [SWAP]
sdd      8:48   1   3.7G  0 disk 
├─sdd1   8:49   1    64M  0 part 
└─sdd2   8:50   1   3.6G  0 part 

• In this example, we can see via mount, /dev/sda1 is the x86 rootfs, therefore /dev/sdd is the other drive in the system, which is the MMC/SD card that was inserted and should be used by ./setup_sdcard.sh...

Install Image:

Quick install script for [board]

sudo ./setup_sdcard.sh --mmc /dev/sdX --dtb board

board options:

• BeagleBoard Ax/Bx/Cx/Dx - omap3-beagle
• BeagleBoard xM - omap3-beagle-xm
• BeagleBone White/Black/Green - beaglebone
• OMAP5432 uEVM - omap5-uevm
• BeagleBoard-X15 - am57xx-beagle-x15

So for the BeagleBoard xM:

sudo ./setup_sdcard.sh --mmc /dev/sdX --dtb omap3-beagle-xm

Advanced: Build Image:

git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/omap-image-builder.git
cd omap-image-builder
git checkout v2016.03 -b tmp

Stable:

./RootStock-NG.sh -c rcn-ee_console_debian_jessie_armhf

Testing:

./RootStock-NG.sh -c rcn-ee_console_debian_stretch_armhf

Debian Testing (stretch)

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBoard xM: v4.4.4-armv7-x5 kernel
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/elinux/debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz

Verify Image with:

sha256sum debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz
e1b05ce81d1dbe31218b482a451426e4f7bf7ebd4457089f0afea6c168cd6d7b  debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz

Unpack image:

tar xf debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-03-11.tar.xz
cd debian-stretch-console-armhf-2016-03-11

Then follow the directions shown above with the other images...

Flasher

eMMC: BeagleBone Black/Green

This image can be written to a 2GB (or larger) microSD card, via 'dd' on linux or on windows: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager First press and hold the boot select button (next to the microSD card), then apply power. On bootup the board should indicate it has started the flashing procedure visually via a Cylon Sweep pattern shown on the 4 LED's next to the ethernet jack. Progress is reported on both the serial debug and hdmi connectors, once completed all 4 LED's should be full ON. Simply remove power, remove the microSD card and Debian will now boot directly from eMMC.

Script for reference: (this is the script that writes to the eMMC)

https://github.com/RobertCNelson/boot-scripts/blob/master/tools/eMMC/init-eMMC-flasher-v3.sh

This script will only take about 5-6 Minutes after power on.

Notes:

• If only two LED's stay lit and nothing happens, the board has crashed due to lack of power. Retry with a 5Volt DC power supply connected.
• If the 4 LED's blink a constant pattern, the eMMC write has failed. First REMOVE ALL capes, then retry again.

User: debian pass: temppwd

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBone Black/Green: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • BeagleBone Black/Green: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • BeagleBone Black/Green: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/flasher/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz
wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/flasher/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap

Verify Image with:

sha256sum BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb*
99c5e31b24cb247c9978ddf6b7b81172af7283b676ceb45e548e5bf88d7cda21  BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap
05a2c85b28a82fd7a9794dcfdf41b09c46f195016a8b759f523a355007a57340  BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz

Linux: (bmaptool 3.2)

sudo bmaptool copy BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz /dev/sdX

Linux: (dd)

xzcat unxz BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX

eMMC: BeagleBoard-X15

This image can be written to a 2GB (or larger) microSD card, via 'dd' on linux or on windows: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager First press and hold the boot select button (next to the microSD card), then apply power. On bootup the board should indicate it has started the flashing procedure visually via a Cylon Sweep pattern shown on the 4 LED's next to the ethernet jack. Progress is reported on both the serial debug and hdmi connectors, once completed all 4 LED's should be full ON. Simply remove power, remove the microSD card and Debian will now boot directly from eMMC.

Script for reference: (this is the script that writes to the eMMC)

https://github.com/RobertCNelson/boot-scripts/blob/master/tools/eMMC/init-eMMC-flasher-v3.sh

This script will only take about 5-6 Minutes after power on.

Notes:

• If only two LED's stay lit and nothing happens, the board has crashed due to lack of power. Retry with a 5Volt DC power supply connected.
• If the 4 LED's blink a constant pattern, the eMMC write has failed. First REMOVE ALL capes, then retry again.

User: debian pass: temppwd

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/flasher/bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz
wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/flasher/bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap

Verify Image with:

sha256sum bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb*
2d5e54ed6a520974ebb107b5cd3ff3075845219f60530788c9652bff85d7c500  bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap
bcfb1b87920d1183037e8b9163b7befe1fb36422faf764e75e6257fcc72f2134  bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz

Linux: (bmaptool 3.2)

sudo bmaptool copy bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz /dev/sdX

Linux: (dd)

xzcat unxz bbx15-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX

raw microSD img

BeagleBone White/Black/Green

This image can be written to a 2GB (or larger) microSD card, via 'dd' on linux or on windows: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager

User: debian pass: temppwd

Auto partition resize:

cd /opt/scripts/tools
git pull
./grow_partition.sh
sudo reboot

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • BeagleBone White/Black/Green: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz
wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap

Verify Image with:

sha256sum bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb*
7a990eb83c42041a6a2d2bd6f4fc8c6d695a6fe987e38bb9ef90bc945809f82a  bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap
4d439f63864e89596d1817593e8eb8f01a9ef01f6f7391c23fd89069f4ea31bc  bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz

Linux: (bmaptool 3.2)

sudo bmaptool copy bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz /dev/sdX

Linux: (dd)

xzcat unxz bone-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX

OMAP5432 uEVM

This image can be written to a 2GB (or larger) microSD card, via 'dd' on linux or on windows: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager

User: debian pass: temppwd

Auto partition resize:

cd /opt/scripts/tools
git pull
./grow_partition.sh
sudo reboot

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • OMAP5432 uEVM: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz
wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap

Verify Image with:

sha256sum omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb*
0d93035fd8bc640264e8b01edbbe6e284f939e03b3705268e49119dae34759a3  omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap
fdc8fb46c2d1da83611d0bf4ecab10775cc88c0d1124ccded9f341ef02948f68  omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz

Linux: (bmaptool 3.2)

sudo bmaptool copy omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz /dev/sdX

Linux: (dd)

xzcat unxz omap5-uevm-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX

BeagleBoard-X15

This image can be written to a 2GB (or larger) microSD card, via 'dd' on linux or on windows: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Win32DiskImager

User: debian pass: temppwd

Auto partition resize:

cd /opt/scripts/tools
git pull
./grow_partition.sh
sudo reboot

Image Updated:

• 2016-03-11
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.18-ti-r52 kernel
• 2016-02-11
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.17-ti-rt-r47 kernel
• 2016-01-14
  • BeagleBoard-X15: v4.1.15-ti-rt-r40 kernel

Get prebuilt image:

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz
wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/2016-03-11/microsd/bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap

Verify Image with:

sha256sum bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb*
055acfcc2cde11bb9cc84d54d6b0304e45f7256bcd9b93bac95d83bc8f38f114  bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.bmap
d7e76bdbe4c07f92392810b9332d2eb018baa193b3730187b740e71dbe1223d1  bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz

Linux: (bmaptool 3.2)

sudo bmaptool copy bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz /dev/sdX

Linux: (dd)

xzcat unxz bbx15-debian-8.3-console-armhf-2016-03-11-2gb.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX

Debian Configuration

Install Latest Kernel Image

General apt syntax for searching and installing a specific kernel:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep <branch>
sudo apt-get install linux-image-<specific version>
sudo reboot

Latest kernel script

cd /opt/scripts/tools/
git pull
sudo ./update_kernel.sh <OPTIONS>

3.8.x

This is the first beagleboard.org long term kernel tree with capemanager support, it's been the default install for Debian Wheezy

beagleboard.org patchset: https://github.com/beagleboard/linux/tree/3.8

3.8.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black FULL Cape Support
--bone-channel --stable

3.8.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black FULL Cape Support + Xenomai
--bone-xenomai-channel --stable

4.1.x-ti

This is slated to replace the v3.8.x tree in Debian Jessie, cape manager support is enabled.

beagleboard.org patchset: https://github.com/beagleboard/linux/tree/4.1
Based on: http://git.ti.com/gitweb/?p=ti-linux-kernel/ti-linux-kernel.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/ti-linux-4.1.y

4.1.x-ti BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black/BeagleBoard-X15
--ti-channel --stable

4.1.x-ti BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black/BeagleBoard-X15 + RT
--ti-rt-channel --stable

Mainline (lts)

4.1.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black + SGX
--bone-kernel --lts

4.1.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black + RT + SGX
--bone-rt-kernel --lts

Mainline

4.3.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black
--bone-kernel --testing

Debian 8: jessie

sudo apt-get install linux-image-armmp

Reboot with your new Kernel Image.

Xorg Drivers

Script:

cd /opt/scripts/tools/
git pull

BeagleBoard/PandaBoard:

cd /opt/scripts/tools/graphics/
./ti-omapdrm.sh

BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black:

cd /opt/scripts/tools/graphics/
./ti-tilcdc.sh

SGX Drivers

SGX BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black

Note, these are FBDEV only, no xorg/x11/etc...

Install the "4.1.x" lts/bone kernel: http://elinux.org/BeagleBoardDebian#Mainline_.28lts.29

Build SGX userspace for 4.1.x (must be done on an x86, due to the TI 5.01.01.02 blob extractor)

git clone https://github.com/RobertCNelson/bb-kernel.git
cd bb-kernel/
git checkout origin/am33x-v4.1 -b tmp-sgx
./sgx_create_package.sh

Copy ./deploy/GFX_5.01.01.02.tar.gz to BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black and install

sudo tar xfv GFX_5.01.01.02.tar.gz -C /
cd /opt/gfxinstall/
sudo ./sgx-install.sh
sudo reboot

Verify omaplfb & pvrsrvkm loaded

debian@arm:~$ lsmod | grep omaplfb
omaplfb                12065  0 
pvrsrvkm              178782  1 omaplfb

Building Kernel

Note, this section use to have a lot of details, but maintenance of the two wiki's became a pain, so for now on we will just link to my other pages:

Beagle/Beagle xM

http://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/BeagleBoard

BeagleBone

http://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/BeagleBone

BeagleBone Black

http://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/BeagleBone+Black

Panda/Panda ES

http://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/PandaBoard

Upgrading from Debian 5 to Debian 6

Upgrading from Debian 5 to Debian 6 report and tutorial.

Upgrading from Debian 6 (Squeeze) to Debian 7 (Wheezy)

Note, this only goes over "armel" -> "armel"... For users wishing to switch from "armel" -> "armhf" just re-install...

sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo sed -i -e "s/squeeze/wheezy/g" /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get install -y apt aptitude udev dpkg
sudo aptitude update ; sudo aptitude -y safe-upgrade ; sudo aptitude -y dist-upgrade