Difference between revisions of "RaspberryPiBoardBeginners"

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[[Category: Linux]]
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#REDIRECT [[RPi Beginners]]
[[Category:ARM Development Boards]]
 
[[Category: Broadcom]]
 
[[Category:Development Boards]]
 
[[Category: RaspberryPi]]
 
[[Category: Education]]
 
 
 
This is the "community" beginners guide for [http://www.raspberrypi.org Raspberry Pi's] [http://www.arm.com/ ARM] based ultra-low-cost (~15UKP or 25USD) Linux computer for teaching computer programming to children. If something doesn't work or isn't covered in these guides, please feel free to ask on the [http://www.raspberrypi.org/?page_id=43 Forum]. But ''before'' you ask there, make sure you read the '''[http://www.raspberrypi.org/?page_id=8 FAQs]'''.
 
 
 
'''Please note that the Raspberry Pi isn't released yet - this page is a community work in progress in preparation for the launch'''
 
 
 
So I got this little board, what do I do now?
 
 
 
=Finding all the right hardware=
 
You'll need a keyboard, mouse, TV/Monitor with either composite or HDMI input, and if you are using the Model A, a good quality USB hub.
 
 
 
=Checking everything is working=
 
 
 
 
 
=Serial connection=
 
The Serial Port is a simple and uncomplicated method to connect to the Raspberry Pie.
 
The communication depends on byte wise data transmission, is easy to setup and is generally available even before boot time.
 
 
 
==First interaction with the board==
 
 
 
Connect the serial cable to the COM port in the Raspberry Pi, and connect the other end to the COM port or USB Serial Adapter in the computer.
 
 
 
'''How''' please? I'm led to believe it's wired at the board end, so needs an accessible 9?? pin male|female 232 connector, then some sort of serial to usb dongle. Any more information on this please?
 
 
 
Next is this the preferred way to get low level access to the board, or using the usb for kbd and hdmi for screen?
 
 
 
==Serial Parameters==
 
The following parameters are needed to connect to the Raspberry. All parameters except '''Port_Name''' and '''Speed''' are default values and may not need to be set.
 
* '''Port_Name''': Linux automatically assigns different names for different types of serial connectors. Choose your option:
 
** Standard Serial Port: ttyS0 ... ttySn
 
** USB Serial Port Adapter: ttyUSB0 ... ttyUSBn
 
* '''Speed''': 115200
 
* Bits: 8
 
* Parity: None
 
* Stop Bits: 1
 
* Flow Control: None
 
 
 
The Serial Port is generally usable by the users in the group '''dialout'''. To add oneself to the group '''dialout''' the the following command needs to be executed with '''root''' privileges:
 
  $useradd -G {dialout} your_name
 
 
 
===Super Easy Way Using GNU Screen===
 
 
 
Enter the command below into a terminal window
 
  screen Port_Name 115200
 
 
 
===Super Easy Way Using Minicom===
 
 
 
Run minicom with the following parameters:
 
 
 
minicom -b 115200 -o -D Port_Name
 
 
 
===Tedious Old-Fashioned Way Using Minicom===
 
 
 
Another method to setup ''minicom'' is described in the [http://www.tincantools.com/wiki/Minicom Tincantools Minicom Tutorial]
 
 
 
===GUI method with GtkTerm===
 
Start ''GtkTerm'', select Configuration->Port and enter the values above in the labeled fields.
 
===Windows Users===
 
Windows Users above Windows XP must download [http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html putty] or a comparable terminal program.
 
Users of XP and below can choose between using ''putty'' and ''Hyperterminal.
 
''
 
==First Dialog==
 
If you get the prompt below, you are connected to the Raspberry Pi shell!
 
  prompt> #
 
 
 
First command you might want try is "help":
 
  prompt> # help
 
 
 
If you get some output, you are correctly connected to the Raspberry Pie! Congratulations!
 
 
 
=SD card setup=
 
 
 
Now we want to use an SD card to install some GNU/Linux distro in it and get more space for our stuff. You can use either an SD or SDHC card. In the latter case of course take care that your PC card reader also supports SDHC.
 
Be aware that you are not dealing with an x86 processor, but instead a completely different architecture called ARM, so don't forget to install the ARM port for the distro you are planning to use.
 
 
 
(to be completed)
 
 
 
== Formatting the SD card via the mkcard.txt script ==
 
'''(to be completed)'''
 
 
 
# Download '''mkcard.txt''' from ???.
 
# <code>$ chmod +x mkcard.txt</code>
 
# <code>$ ./mkcard.txt /dev/sd</code>''x'', Where ''x'' is the letter of the card.  You can find this by inserting your card and then running <code> dmesg | tail</code>.  You should see the messages about the device being mounted in the log.  Mine mounts as '''sdc'''.
 
 
 
Once run, your card should be formatted. 
 
 
 
== Formatting the SD card via fdisk "Expert mode" ==
 
 
 
First, lets clear the partition table:
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdb
 
 
Command (m for help): o
 
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
 
until you decide to write them. After that, of course, the previous
 
content won't be recoverable.
 
 
Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will be corrected by w(rite)
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Print card info:
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Command (m for help): p
 
 
Disk /dev/sdb: 128 MB, 128450560 bytes
 
....
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Note card size in bytes. Needed later below.
 
 
 
Then go into "Expert mode":
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Command (m for help): x
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Now we want to set the geometry to 255 heads, 63 sectors and calculate the number of cylinders required for the particular SD/MMC card:
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Expert command (m for help): h
 
Number of heads (1-256, default 4): 255
 
 
Expert command (m for help): s
 
Number of sectors (1-63, default 62): 63
 
Warning: setting sector offset for DOS compatiblity
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
NOTE: Be especially careful in the next step. First calculate the number of cylinders as follows:
 
 
 
* B = Card size in bytes (you got it before, in the second step when you printed the info out)
 
* C = Number of cylinders
 
 
 
C=B/255/63/512
 
 
 
When you get the number, you round it DOWN. Thus, if you got 108.8 you'll be using 108 cylinders.
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Expert command (m for help): c
 
Number of cylinders (1-1048576, default 1011): 15
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
In this case 128MB card is used (reported as 128450560 bytes by fdisk above), thus 128450560 / 255 / 63 / 512 = 15.6 rounded down to 15 cylinders. Numbers there are 255 heads, 63 sectors, 512 bytes per sector.
 
 
 
So far so good, now we want to create two partitions. One for the boot image, one for our distro.
 
 
 
Create the FAT32 partition for booting and transferring files from Windows. Mark it as bootable.
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Expert command (m for help): r
 
Command (m for help): n
 
Command action
 
  e  extended
 
  p  primary partition (1-4)
 
p
 
Partition number (1-4): 1
 
First cylinder (1-245, default 1): (press Enter)
 
Using default value 1
 
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-245, default 245): +50
 
 
Command (m for help): t
 
Selected partition 1
 
Hex code (type L to list codes): c
 
Changed system type of partition 1 to c (W95 FAT32 (LBA))
 
 
Command (m for help): a
 
Partition number (1-4): 1
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Create the Linux partition for the root file system.
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Command (m for help): n
 
Command action
 
  e  extended
 
  p  primary partition (1-4)
 
p
 
Partition number (1-4): 2
 
First cylinder (52-245, default 52): (press Enter)
 
Using default value 52
 
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (52-245, default 245):(press Enter)
 
Using default value 245
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Print and save the new partition records.
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
Command (m for help): p
 
 
Disk /dev/sdc: 2021 MB, 2021654528 bytes
 
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 245 cylinders
 
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
 
 
  Device Boot      Start        End      Blocks  Id  System
 
/dev/sdc1  *          1          51      409626    c  W95 FAT32 (LBA)
 
/dev/sdc2              52        245    1558305  83  Linux
 
 
Command (m for help): w
 
The partition table has been altered!
 
 
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
 
 
WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or resource busy. The kernel still uses the old table. The new table will be used at the next reboot.
 
 
WARNING: If you have created or modified any DOS 6.x partitions, please see the fdisk manual page for additional information.
 
Syncing disks.
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
Now we've got both partitions, next step is formatting them.
 
 
 
''NOTE'': If the partitions (/dev/sdc1 and /dev/sdc2) does not exist, you should unplug the card and plug it back in. Linux will now be able to detect the new partitions. 
 
 
 
================================================================================
 
$ sudo mkfs.msdos -F 32 /dev/sdc1 -n LABEL
 
mkfs.msdos 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)
 
 
$ sudo mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdc2
 
mke2fs 1.40-WIP (14-Nov-2006)
 
Filesystem label=
 
OS type: Linux
 
Block size=4096 (log=2)
 
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
 
195072 inodes, 389576 blocks
 
19478 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
 
First data block=0
 
Maximum filesystem blocks=402653184
 
12 block groups
 
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
 
16256 inodes per group
 
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
 
        32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912
 
 
Writing inode tables: done                           
 
Creating journal (8192 blocks): done
 
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information:
 
================================================================================
 
 
 
All done!
 
 
 
''NOTE'':  For convenience, you can add the <tt>-L</tt> option to the <tt>mkfs.ext3</tt> command to assign a volume label to the new ext3 filesystem.  If you do that, the new (automatic) mount point under <tt>/media</tt> when you insert that SD card into some Linux hosts will be based on that label.  If there's no label, the new mount point will most likely be a long hex string, so assigning a label makes manual mounting on the host more convenient.
 
 
 
=Writing the image into the SDcard and finally booting GNU/Linux=
 
 
 
 
 
== Setting up the boot args ==
 
 
 
 
 
== Wire up your Raspberry Pi and power it up ==
 
Connect the Raspberry Pi to the screen using either an HDMI or composite video cable. Connect the Keyboard and Mouse and finally the power.  Now you've got to be PATIENT, first boot takes an extremely long time (probably - certainly true for most other development boards and distros ;)).
 
 
 
=Further reading=
 
 
 
The main Raspberry Pi resources are:
 
 
 
* Raspberry Pi maintained [http://raspberrypi.org/ Raspberry Pi home]
 
* Raspberry Pi maintained [http://raspberrypi.org/?page_id=43 Raspberry Pi Forum]
 
* Community maintained [[RaspberryPiBoard|eLinux wiki]] (see [[:Category:RaspberryPi|wiki article overview]] for a list of existing articles)
 
 
 
=Thanks to=
 
 
 
* Nabax, _vlad, jkridner, ds2 and the other [[BeagleBoard]] wiki contributors on elinux.org for an excellent [[BeagleBoardBeginners]] resource, which we used as the template for this page.
 

Latest revision as of 04:30, 16 March 2012

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