2.2. Create a Linux Bootable SD Card

The simplest way to boot Linux is through a micro SD card flashed with a bootable Linux image. In this section, we will present two methods to create a micro SD card with a Linux image.

2.2.1. Create SD Card Using balenaEtcher

This method uses a popular GUI based tool, balenaEtcher, to write the Linux image to an SD card. It works on any platform (MS Windows, Linux, or Apple macOS). Please refer to the EVM Quick Start Guide provided in What is Needed to Evaluate Linux? for how to create an SD card using balenaEtcher.

2.2.2. Create SD Card Using Command Line

This method uses Linux command line and the bmap tool to create an SD card with a Linux image. Follow the steps given below to flash the SD card:

1. Install the bmap tool if it’s not already installed:

   $ sudo apt-get install bmap-tools
   

2. Insert a micro SD card to an SD card reader and plug the SD card reader into a Linux PC.

3. Unmount the SD card. Find the device name of the SD card using command “lsblk”, and then use command “umount” to unmout the SD card.

   For example, if command “lsblk” returns:

   $ lsblk
   NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   :
   sdc      8:32   1    15G  0 disk
   ├─sdc1   8:33   1 131.8M  0 part /media/localUser/boot
   └─sdc2   8:34   1 765.9M  0 part /media/localUser/root
   

   Then unmount sdc1 and sdc2 (the actual device name may be different on your Linux host):

   $ sudo umount /media/localUser/boot
   $ sudo umount /media/localUser/root
   $ lsblk
   NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
   :
   sdc      8:32   1    15G  0 disk
   ├─sdc1   8:33   1 131.8M  0 part
   └─sdc2   8:34   1 765.9M  0 part
   

4. Flash the SD card with the Linux WIC image using the bmap tool. Make sure to use the correct image name and device name:

   $ sudo bmaptool copy --nobmap tisdk-default-image-am64xx-evm.wic.xz /dev/sdc
   

   Option “–nobmap” is used here to avoid needing to provide a bmap file.