Beagleboard:BeagleBoneBlack Debian

This page is about running the armhf port of Debian distribution at BeagleBoard. The latest release beagleboard.org image can be found at: http://beagleboard.org/latest-images

Checking The Debian Image Version

You should check the version of the image on the microSD/eMMC by opening the ID.txt file in the FAT partition.

root@beaglebone:~# cat /etc/dogtag
BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone Debian Image 2014-03-19

This file can also be accessed via a PC (Windows/Mac/Linux) via either mounting the FAT partition directly off the microSD card or via the usb interface (flash drive).

Installing

Oracle Java 8

Information:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-arm-downloads-2187472.html

debian repo:

https://github.com/rcn-ee/repos/tree/master/oracle-java8-installer

Install:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

Verify:

debian@beaglebone:~$ java -version
java version "1.8.0_33"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_33-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 25.33-b05, mixed mode)

Older rootfs (when above package doesn't exist):

wget https://repos.rcn-ee.net/debian/pool/main/o/oracle-java8-installer/oracle-java8-installer_8u31%2b8u33arm-1~bpo70%2b20150121%2b1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i oracle-java8-installer_8u31%2b8u33arm-1~bpo70%2b20150121%2b1_all.deb

TI PRU Code Generation Tools

http://software-dl.ti.com/codegen/non-esd/downloads/download.htm#PRU

Install:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ti-pru-cgt-installer

Older rootfs (when above package doesn't exist):

wget http://downloads.ti.com/codegen/esd/cgt_public_sw/PRU/2.1.1/ti_cgt_pru_2.1.1_armlinuxa8hf_busybox_installer.sh
chmod +x ti_cgt_pru_2.1.1_armlinuxa8hf_busybox_installer.sh
sudo ./ti_cgt_pru_2.1.1_armlinuxa8hf_busybox_installer.sh

FAQ

Expanding File System Partition On A microSD

By default the microSD image is only about 2GB in size, to fully expand the partition to the full size of your microSD card simple run.

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

On the next reboot, [df -h] should show the full microSD card size.

Flashing eMMC

To setup the standalone microSD image to automatically flash the eMMC on powerup.

In /boot/uEnv.txt:

##enable BBB: eMMC Flasher:
#cmdline=init=/opt/scripts/tools/eMMC/init-eMMC-flasher-v3.sh

Change to:

##enable BBB: eMMC Flasher:
cmdline=init=/opt/scripts/tools/eMMC/init-eMMC-flasher-v3.sh

and reboot the system, it'll flash the eMMC on the next bootup. (make sure to remove the microSD after flashing is complete)

Kernel Upgrade

We can't ship support for everything on release day, so we push out new kernels as fixes, support for new capes, etc are posted on the beagleboard.org mainline list.

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

Installing kernel headers

If you want to build a kernel module natively, you'll need to install the correct kernel headers.

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(shell uname -r)

Loading custom capes

Due to limitations in debian wheezy's userspace, the use of an initramfs, and having firmware builtin to the kernel. It is currently not possible to load "custom" capes via: capemgr.enable_partno=xyz. Instead an init script has been setup to load the cape/capes as soon as possible.

Built-in Cape:

capemgr.enable_partno=BB-SPIDEV1

slot #7: Requesting part number/version based 'BB-SPIDEV1-00A0.dtbo
slot #7: Requesting firmware 'BB-SPIDEV1-00A0.dtbo' for board-name 'Override Board Name', version '00A0'
slot #7: dtbo 'BB-SPIDEV1-00A0.dtbo' loaded; converting to live tree

Custom External Cape:

capemgr.enable_partno=BB-SPI1-01

slot #7: Requesting part number/version based 'BB-SPI1-01-00A0.dtbo
slot #7: Requesting firmware 'BB-SPI1-01-00A0.dtbo' for board-name 'Override Board Name', version '00A0'
failed to load firmware 'BB-SPI1-01-00A0.dtbo'
loader: failed to load slot-7 BB-SPI1-01:00A0 (prio 0)

Workaround:

add "CAPE=BB-SPI1-01" to /etc/default/capemgr

Privileged echo

As a normal user, you can not "sudo echo 'something' >> /etc/privilegedfile"

sudo sh -c "echo 'something' >> /etc/privilegedfile"

Timezone

By default this image is setup to display time in utc mode. If you would like to change this to your local region.

dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

or:

echo "Europe/Zurich" > /etc/timezone 
dpkg-reconfigure -f noninteractive tzdata

Jessie Timezone

List of available timezones:

timedatectl list-timezones

Set timezone:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/North_Dakota/Center

W: GPG error: http://debian.beagleboard.org wheezy-bbb

W: GPG error: http://debian.beagleboard.org wheezy-bbb Release:
The following signatures were invalid:
KEYEXPIRED 1418840246 KEYEXPIRED 1418840304 KEYEXPIRED 1418840246 KEYEXPIRED 1418840246 KEYEXPIRED 1418840304

Note this directions are version dependent, so double check your version:

debian@beaglebone:~$ cat /etc/dogtag 
BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone Debian Image 2014-05-14

2014-05-14 GPG error: Disable: http://debian.beagleboard.org repo:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Change:

deb [arch=armhf] http://debian.beagleboard.org/packages wheezy-bbb main
#deb-src [arch=armhf] http://debian.beagleboard.org/packages wheezy-bbb main

To:

#deb [arch=armhf] http://debian.beagleboard.org/packages wheezy-bbb main
#deb-src [arch=armhf] http://debian.beagleboard.org/packages wheezy-bbb main

sudo apt-get update

2014-05-14 GPG error: Optional enable: http://repos.rcn-ee.net/

Download archive-keyring:

wget https://repos.rcn-ee.net/debian/pool/main/r/rcn-ee-archive-keyring/rcn-ee-archive-keyring_2015.05.06~bpo70+20150506+1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i rcn-ee-archive-keyring_2015.05.06~bpo70+20150506+1_all.deb

Add repo to /etc/apt/sources.list

sudo sh -c "echo 'deb [arch=armhf] http://repos.rcn-ee.net/debian wheezy main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
sudo sh -c "echo '#deb-src [arch=armhf] http://repos.rcn-ee.net/debian wheezy main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"

Update packages:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install npm --reinstall

Debian Build Instructions

You'll want a fairly beefy ARM system to run this script.

git clone git://github.com/beagleboard/image-builder.git
cd image-builder
./beagleboard.org_image.sh

Debian Releases

http://beagleboard.org/latest-images

2015-03-01

2015-03-01 Release Notes

* U-Boot: v2015.01
** U-Boot UMS (USB Mass Storage) enabled [ums 0 mmc 1]
* Kernel: 3.8.13-bone70

BBB Rev C (4GB eMMC) 4GB eMMC Flasher

Flasher: (lxde-4gb)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/release/2015-03-01/lxde-4gb/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.8-lxde-4gb-armhf-2015-03-01-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 38bedfc81de00907ff2913b04bdc6fe9

BBB (All Revs) eMMC Flashers

Flasher: (lxde) (159Mb free on 2GB eMMC) (Due to limited space, the default Web Browser is NOT installed in the 2GB image.)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/release/2015-03-01/lxde/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.8-lxde-armhf-2015-03-01-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 66b613cbbde282520f940a12ecf7f6a8

Flasher: (console)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/release/2015-03-01/console/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.8-console-armhf-2015-03-01-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 81585efeaf183106d6dcc6d39127e190

BBW/BBB (All Revs) Standalone

microSD/Standalone: (lxde)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/release/2015-03-01/lxde-4gb/bone-debian-7.8-lxde-4gb-armhf-2015-03-01-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: c848627722b7a5f7bc89791cc8949e3b

microSD/Standalone: (console)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/release/2015-03-01/console/bone-debian-7.8-console-armhf-2015-03-01-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 10823cb21e6fc4536ff87605dc50ea6e

Debian Image Testing Snapshots

2015-05-25

BBW/BBB (All Revs) Machinekit

microSD/Standalone: (machinekit)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/machinekit/bone-debian-7.8-machinekit-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 46b7223a9aad25bdbf070784607dd3cc

Jessie Snapshot lxqt

Flasher: (lxqt-4gb) (BeagleBone Black 4GB eMMC)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: e1174e5c61e5fabe0ffbb3a127e4d17b

Flasher: (lxqt-2gb) (BeagleBone Black 2GB eMMC)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-2gb/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.0-lxqt-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: c7b1f64de48c9577ee8ae47f141d078c

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (BeagleBoard/BeagleBoard xM)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/bb-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 89cb896ad7fceee024a6b40d890cdc52

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/bone-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 58cdcee603434b42c51f070f5e264bd1

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (BeagleBoard-X15)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/bbx15-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 491a849a5c3171ebe5bca0d99d2c24d8

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (omap5-uevm)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/omap5-uevm-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: d0ec05de7ce96a0fef5b944bd9392096

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (tre)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/lxqt-4gb/tre-debian-8.0-lxqt-4gb-armhf-2015-05-25-4gb.img.xz
md5sum: 9dd646ee48547fffb356b07dae9c0036

Jessie Snapshot console

Flasher: (console) (BeagleBone Black eMMC)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/console/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-8.0-console-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: b255f8b79d2d6da19b490f5cb94d4a7b

microSD/Standalone: (console) (BeagleBoard/BeagleBoard xM)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/console/bb-debian-8.0-console-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 117d02f941eb94a4c47a4bb61d700675

microSD/Standalone: (console) (BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/console/bone-debian-8.0-console-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 3d438ede0c7405f86e8ad67379f8d3dc

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (BeagleBoard-X15)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/console/bbx15-debian-8.0-console-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 11c8909e0014c293d14870211d47fc66

microSD/Standalone: (lxqt-4gb) (omap5-uevm)

wget https://rcn-ee.com/rootfs/bb.org/testing/2015-05-25/console/omap5-uevm-debian-8.0-console-armhf-2015-05-25-2gb.img.xz
md5sum: 0f21e93ea4711e0799b2ce9626b64d8f

Kernel Options

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

3.8.x

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

3.8.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black FULL Cape Support

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 3.8.13-bone
sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.8.13-boneX

3.8.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black FULL Cape Support + Xenomai

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 3.8.13-xenomai
sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.8.13-xenomai-rX

3.14.x-ti

beagleboard.org patchset: https://github.com/beagleboard/linux/tree/3.14

Based on: http://git.ti.com/gitweb/?p=ti-linux-kernel/ti-linux-kernel.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/ti-linux-3.14.y

3.14.x-ti BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black/BeagleBoard-X15

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep ti-r | grep -v ti-rt
sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.14.XX-ti-rX

3.14.x-ti BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black/BeagleBoard-X15 + RT

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep ti-rt
sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.14.XX-ti-rtX

3.14.x-ti BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black/BeagleBoard-X15 + Xenomai

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep ti-xenomai
sudo apt-get install linux-image-3.14.XX-ti-xenomai-rX

Mainline

4.0.x BeagleBoard / BeagleBoard xM

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 4.0 | grep armv7 | grep -v lpae
sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.0.XX-armv7-rX

4.0.x BeagleBone/BeagleBone Black

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 4.0 | grep bone
sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.0.XX-boneX

4.0.x BeagleBoard-X15

sudo apt-cache search linux-image | grep 4.0 | grep lpae
sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.0.XX-armv7-lpae-rX

Debian 8: jessie

sudo apt-get install linux-image-armmp