Arch Linux On Cubox

Post tags: | arch_linux | cubox | linux |

Key Websites and Forums

Log first install

First up is where to find the install and instructions.

Found the Cubox-I on this forum, ARMv7h

Install instructions here

See the Installation Tab

Zero out the first few MB of the card to remove any previous U-Boot environment:


        dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=1M count=4
        

Start fdisk to partition the SD card:


        fdisk /dev/sdc
        

At the fdisk prompt, create the new partitions:

Type n, then p for primary, 1 for the first partition on the drive, 8192 for the starting sector, and +20M for the ending sector.

Type t to set the type, then c to set it to FAT.

Type n, then p for primary, 2 for the second partition, 49152 for the first sector, and press ENTER twice to accept default values.

Exit by typing w.

Create and mount the vfat filesystem:


        mkfs.vfat /dev/sdc1
        mkdir /tmp/boot
        mount /dev/sdc1 /tmp/boot
        

Create and mount the ext4 filesystem:


        mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc2
        mkdir /tmp/root
        mount /dev/sdc2 /tmp/root
        

Download and extract the root filesystem:


        cd /mnt/disk2/linux_distros/
        wget http://archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-imx6-cubox-latest.tar.gz
        tar -xf /mnt/disk2/linux_distros/ArchLinuxARM-imx6-cubox-latest.tar.gz -C /tmp/root
        

Move boot files to the boot partition:


        mv /tmp/root/boot/* /tmp/boot
        

Install the U-Boot bootloader:


        dd if=/tmp/boot/SPL of=/dev/sdc bs=512 seek=2
        dd if=/tmp/boot/u-boot.img of=/dev/sdc bs=1K seek=42
        

Unmount the partitions


        sync
        umount /tmp/boot
        umount /tmp/root
        

Boot the Cubox-I

Insert the SD card into the Cubox-i contacts uppermost, connect ethernet, and apply 6-12V power.

Use the serial console (CN6 micro USB connector) or SSH to the IP address given to the board by your router. The default root password is ‘root’.