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Curiosity Pro Kit - Quick Start Guide for Linux®

Last modified by Microchip on 2026/10/08 11:03

Introduction

Thank you for evaluating this Curiosity Pro Development Board. This guide explains how to run the demonstration application provided with the kit. 

The demonstration application hosts a web page on the board. You can access this page from a web browser on your PC through a direct Ethernet connection between the PC and the board. No LAN, router, or corporate network is required. Successfully accessing the page confirms that the board is operating correctly.

Prerequisites:

  • Verify that the following items are included in the box:
    • One of the following Microchip development boards:
      • SAM9X75 Curiosity Pro Development Board (P/N: EV29J11A)
      • SAMA7D65 Curiosity Pro Development Board (P/N: EV75M38A)
    • microSD™ card
    • USB Type-A to USB Type-C® cable for power
    • VSC8541 EDS2 SODIMM extension board
    • Two snap-lock pins
  • The following additional equipment is required:
    • A PC with an Ethernet port, or a USB-to-Ethernet adapter with administrator rights
    • An SD™ card reader, or a USB-to-SD card adapter
    • An Ethernet cable
  • Install balenaEtcher on the PC

Download, Set Up and Run the Demo

Download the Linux.zip file corresponding to your board. Extract the archive before proceeding to Step 2. The extracted folder contains separate subdirectories for Yocto Project® and Buildroot. Flash the SD card image from your preferred environment depending on your requirements.

SAMA7D65SAM9X75
Linux.zip Linux.zip

 

Flash one of the downloaded images (Yocto Project or Buildroot) to your microSD card using balenaEtcher.

Insert the microSD memory card into the PC.

Run balenaEtcher.

Select the Yocto Project or Buildroot downloaded image file.

balenaEtcher window Flash from File button

Click Select target to download.

balenaEtcher window Select Target button

Select the mounted microSD card.

balenaEtcher Select target window

Select Flash.

balenaEtcher window Flash button
The microSD card will be ready for use once flashing is completed.

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Upon powering on the board, the LED lights up solid green. During the boot process, it shifts to blinking blue. After approximately 10–15 seconds, once the system has completed the boot process and initialized the Ethernet stack, the LED turns solid blue. This indicates that the Ethernet stack is up and running.

Open a web browser on your PC and enter the following URL, depending on which board you are using:

SAMA7D65SAM9X75
http://sama7d65.localhttp://sam9x75.local 
Warning

1 - Make sure that the URL starts with http://, not https://.

2 - If the PC runs Linux®, set the Ethernet connection to Link-Local Only, if necessary. Otherwise, Linux may wait for a DHCP server, which is not available in a direct board-to-PC connection.

You should now see the web page hosted by the board. This confirms that the board is operating correctly.

SAMA7D65 web page result

From the web page, you can:

  • Change the color of the board’s RGB LED.
  • Check the USER button by pressing it on the board.
  • Access the online documentation by clicking the provided links. Your PC must be connected to the Internet to access these resources.

Congratulations!

Your Curiosity Pro board is now connected directly to your PC over Ethernet and the demonstration application is running successfully.

Alternatively, the same web server demonstration can be run using MPLAB® Harmony v3 (Bare Metal solution). See the "Curiosity Pro Kit - Quick Start Guide for Harmony v3" page for this demo.

Next Step

Explore the "32-bit MPUs and Hybrid MCUs Kits" page to discover all available development boards and the associated software, tools, application examples, documentation, support and training—all in one place.

Troubleshooting

ProblemTips
The Web Page Does Not Load
  • Make sure the required files are correctly copied to the microSD card. Are they located in the root directory and not in a subfolder?
  • Make sure the jumpers are correctly set on the board and on the extension board.
  • Is the Ethernet cable connected directly between the PC and the board?
  • Running Linux? Try changing the Ethernet connection to Link-Local Only.
  • If you are using Windows®, make sure that the Ethernet port configuration is set to DHCP mode, rather than being in Manual mode with a fixed IP address.

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