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SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board - Booting Demo Linux® Image

Last modified by Microchip on 2024/10/03 10:25

Overview

This training lists step-by-step instructions for booting a demonstration Linux® image to the SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board. There are two methods; the first is to boot from a microSD memory card, and the second is from the onboard NAND Flash memory . There are several pre-compiled demonstration Linux images available from the Linux4sam website.

In summary, the steps are:

  • Download a demonstration image
  • Load the image onto a microSD memory card or NAND Flash memory using utility programs
  • Power up the SAM9X75-Curiosity Demonstration Board
  • Connect a USB-to-Serial adapter to view the console, and 
  • Press the RESET button (SW3)

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What You Will Need

  • SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board
  • Micro-B USB cable (included in the SAM9X75-Curiosity box)
  • Personal computer (Windows®, macOS®, Linux) running a terminal emulation program
  • USB-to-Serial 3.3 VDC TTL Level adapter with a 6-pin single-in-line 0.1” pitch connector
  • microSD memory card (1 GB or larger)

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Prerequisites

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Download a Demonstration Image

The latest demonstration images for the SAM9X75-Curiosity are available on the Linux4sam website. There you will find two sets of images created from one of two build systems:

Note there are separate images for SD memory card and NAND Flash memory. In addition, there are images without a display (headless) and with the AC69T88A LVDS Display.

Download the image for your choice of storage media (SD memory card or NAND Flash) and choice of headless or display.

Table showing media types and associated boards

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Load the Image onto a microSD Memory Card

To boot Linux from a microSD memory card, perform the following steps. If you want to boot from the onboard NAND Flash memory, skip to the next section.

You will write the image to the SD memory card using the balenEtcher utility program. balenEtcher is a cross-platform utility program used for writing image files onto storage media.

Select Image

Locate the directory where the image is stored. There is no need to un-compress the image file. The balenEtcher utility program can handle compressed image files. 

balenEtcher Screen Shot: Flash from File

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Select Target

Select the microSD memory card.

balenEtcher Screenshot: Select Target

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Flash

Finally, write the image to the microSD memory card. This will take some time. Be patient.

balenEtcher Screenshot: Flash

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Insert the microSD Memory Card Into Slot (J14)

Skip to the "Terminal Emulation Program" section below.

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Load image onto NAND Flash Memory

To boot Linux from the onboard NAND Flash memory (U5), perform the following steps.

You will write the image to the onboard NAND Flash memory using the SAM-BA In-System Programmer (ISP) utility. 

Note: Ensure that you have the SAM-BA ISP installed on your host computer and the SAM-BA directory path added to the environment variables.

Ensure there is no microSD memory card is inserted in slot (J14).

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Connect a Micro-B USB cable from the host computer to USB-A port (J2) or Power through the jack connector (J1).

This will power the SAM9X75 Curiosity and the USB Type-A port will enumerate on the host computer. For Windows, the port will be labeled as "AT91 USB to Serial Converter (COMx)" and for Linux as "/dev/ttyACMx."

Device Manager window

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Un-Compress the downloaded demo Linux package to boot from NAND flash from demonstration images

Un-compress the NAND Flash image into a working directory.

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Write Image to NAND Flash

Run the demo_linux_nandflash.bat (Windows) or demo_linux_nandflash.sh (Linux) file from the uncompressed directory in Step3.

This will take a while. Be patient. When the write operation is complete you will see the following on the command line:

-I- === Done. ===

If you have a terminal emulation program running and connected to the console, you will see the following display:

Tera Term Screenshot

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Console

Terminal Emulation Program

Download, install, and configure a Terminal Emulation program onto your host computer. There are several choices for terminal programs for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Refer to "SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board - Console Serial Communications" page for a list of popular programs.

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Jumpers

  • Ensure that NAND BOOT jumper (J9) is closed (default).

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Apply Power

Connect a Micro-B USB cable from the host computer to USB-A port (J2) or Power through the jack connector (J1).

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Connect to UART Debug Port:

Connect the USB-to-Serial 3.3 VDC TTL level adapter to the host computer. Take care to align Pin 1 (GND) of the Curiosity board to the adapter Pin 1. (Look for an arrow on the connector and a black wire.)

Note: For more information see "SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board - Console Serial Communications."

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Serial Communication Established

Once you connect the USB-to-Serial adapter to the host PC, locate the COM Port, open the terminal emulation program, and enter the settings:

  • Com Port: as indicated
  • Baud: 115200
  • Data Bits: 8
  • Parity: None
  • Stop Bits: 1

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Boot

Press the RESET Button (SW3). Observe the boot log scrolling on the console. At the end, the command line will prompt the user to log in. Log in as root. There is no password required.

Log in for Linux image:

Tera Term Screenshot

Observe the RGB LED Flashing blue (heartbeat).

Congratulations! Booting of the demo Linux image on the SAM9X75-Curiosity is complete.

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Summary

In this training, you booted a demonstration Linux image to the SAM9X75 Curiosity Development Board using one of two methods, an SD memory card or onboard NAND Flash memory.

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Learn More

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