Android Recovery SD card

Android recovery SD card

Variscite provides a recovery SD card image based on demo Yocto distribution that can be used to install Android demo into the internal storage of the SOM.

Download the recovery SD card image

Download the latest recovery SD card from Variscite's FTP server: https://variscite-public.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/VAR-SOM-MX6/Software
See the recovery SD card changelog.
Note: Some web browsers have removed FTP support. Please see our FTP wiki page.

Write the image to an SD card

During the SD card image writing all files and partitions are erased from target device.
Double check that the device is correct to avoid accidentally overwriting a different device and potentially damaging your existing operating system.

Using a Linux based host

Plug-in the SD card to your Linux host PC, run dmesg and see which device is added (i.e. /dev/sdX or /dev/mmcblkX)

$ sudo umount /dev/sdX?*

# For  files:
$  <image name>. | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=1M && sync

(Replace /dev/sdX with your actual device)

Using a Windows based host

• Download Win32 Disk Imager from: https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/ and install it.
• Extract the downloaded image:
  • For extracting a .gz file the latest 7-Zip can be used, for example.
  • For extracting a .zst file the latest WinRAR can be used, for example.
• Insert your SD card into your PC.
  No need to format the SD card before writing the image to it, as the card will be formatted once it will be flashed.
• Run the file named Win32DiskImager.exe (in Windows 7, 8 and 10 we recommend that you right-click this file and choose “Run as administrator”). 
• If the SD card (Device) you are using isn’t found automatically. Click on the drop down box and select it.
• In the Image File box, choose the .img/.wic file you have extracted previously.
• Click Write.
• After a few minutes, you receive a notification that your SD has been created successfully.

Using a Mac OS X host

Use the dd Utility for MAC OS X to flash .img/.wic files to your SD card

Boot from SD card and flash the SOM's internal storage

• Power-off the board.
• Insert the SD card into the SD card slot of the carrier board (DVK)
• Make sure the Boot Mode is set to SD card: see Setting the Boot Mode section
• Power up the board - it will boot into Linux from the SD card

Flash from GUI

Click on the appropriate icon:

• Install Android SOLOCustomBoard: Install Android on eMMC, on VAR-SOLOCustomBoard
• Install Android MX6CB Cap: Install Android with Capacitive touch panel support on eMMC, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard
• Install Android MX6CB Res: Install Android with Resistive touch panel support on eMMC, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard
• Install Android DART: Install Android on eMMC, on VAR-DT6CustomBoard

• Install Yocto SOLOCB NAND: Install Yocto on NAND flash, on VAR-SOLOCustomBoard
• Install Yocto SOLOCB eMMC: Install Yocto on eMMC, on VAR-SOLOCustomBoard
• Install Yocto MX6CB Res NAND: Install Yocto with Resistive touch panel support on NAND flash, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard
• Install Yocto MX6CB Cap NAND: Install Yocto with Capacitive touch panel support on NAND flash, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard
• Install Yocto MX6CB Res eMMC: Install Yocto with Resistive touch panel support on eMMC, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard
• Install Yocto MX6CB Cap eMMC: Install Yocto with Capacitive touch panel support on eMMC, on VAR-MX6CustomBoard.
• Install Yocto DART (eMMC): Install Yocto on eMMC, on VAR-DT6CustomBoard

Flash from command line

• Login as root (no password)
• From Linux command line, run one of the following scripts:

$ install_android.sh	- Install Android on eMMC (Follow instructions)
$ install_yocto.sh	- Install Yocto on eMMC or NAND flash (Follow instructions)

SD card image file tree

/opt/images/
├── Android
│   ├── SPL-mmc
│   ├── SPL-nand
│   ├── boot-imx6q-var-dart.img
│   ├── boot-som-mx6dl-c.img
│   ├── boot-som-mx6dl-r.img
│   ├── boot-som-mx6q-c.img
│   ├── boot-som-mx6q-r.img
│   ├── boot-som-mx6q-vsc.img
│   ├── boot-som-solo-c.img
│   ├── boot-som-solo-r.img
│   ├── boot-som-solo-vsc.img
│   ├── boot-som-solo-vsc.img
│   ├── recovery-imx6q-var-dart.img
│   ├── recovery-som-mx6dl-c.img
│   ├── recovery-som-mx6dl-r.img
│   ├── recovery-som-mx6q-c.img
│   ├── recovery-som-mx6q-r.img
│   ├── recovery-som-mx6q-vsc.img
│   ├── recovery-som-solo-c.img
│   ├── recovery-som-solo-r.img
│   ├── recovery-som-solo-vsc.img
│   ├── system.img
│   ├── u-boot-var-imx6-mmc.img
│   └── u-boot-var-imx6-nand.img
└── Yocto
    ├── SPL-nand
    ├── SPL-sd
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-cap.dtb
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-res.dtb
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-solo-cap.dtb
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-solo-res.dtb
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-solo-vsc.dtb
    ├── imx6dl-var-som-vsc.dtb
    ├── imx6q-var-dart.dtb
    ├── imx6q-var-som-cap.dtb
    ├── imx6q-var-som-res.dtb
    ├── imx6q-var-som-vsc.dtb
    ├── rootfs.tar.bz2
    ├── rootfs_128kbpeb.ubi
    ├── rootfs_256kbpeb.ubi
    ├── u-boot.img-nand
    ├── u-boot.img-sd
    └── uImage

The install_android.sh and install_yocto.sh script files are located at /usr/bin/