Installing Linux to the EMMC Using USB Serial Downloader

Owned by Natalia Sofronova
Last updated: Mar 29, 2024
3 min read

1. Understanding NXP uuu Tool

The i.MX 8M NAVQ Plus kit software manufacturing procedure makes use of the NXP uuu tool running on the Linux development host. The uuu tool performs installation of the Yocto images from the development host to the kit using the USB Serial Downloader interface.

The recommended Linux distributions to use on a development host are Ubuntu 20.04 and Fedora 35.

2. Locating uuu Tool and Scripts

A pre-built binary of the uuu tool can be found in the build directory:

If required, the recommended version of the uuu tool can be downloaded from the NXP github page: https://github.com/NXPmicro/mfgtools/releases/latest .

3. Installing Using USB Serial Downloader Protocol (SDP)

Perform the following step-wise procedure to install the Yocto images to the i.MX 8M NAVQ Plus kit:

  1. Power the kit off by disconnecting the USB Type C cable from the development host.

  2. Set the target boot mode to the USB serial downloader mode by setting the boot switches as follows:

    • SW2.1 - 1

    • SW2.2 - 0

  3. Power the kit on by connecting the USB Type C cable to the development host. Use the kit port labeled USB1.

  4. Check that the new USB device has appeared on your development host:

    [psl@i7 ~]$ lsusb | grep -i nxp Bus 001 Device 025: ID 1fc9:0146 NXP Semiconductors

  5. On the host, go to the Yocto images build directory:

    [psl@i7 ~]$ cd ~/5-15-5-DESKTOP/builddir/tmp/deploy/images/imx8mpnavq [psl@i7 imx8mmnavq]$ ls -1 ... imx-boot-imx8mpnavq-sd.bin-flash_evk imx-image-desktop-ros-imx8mpnavq.wic.zst uuu ...

    • The images above are:

    • imx-boot-imx8mpnavq-sd.bin-flash_evk - U-Boot-ATF-OPTEE boot image;

    • imx-image-desktop-ros-imx8mpnavq.wic.zst - Ubuntu root filesystem;

    • uuu - pre-built image of the uuu utility;

  6. Unpack the compressed image of the root filesystem:

    [psl@i7 imx8mmnavq]$ zstd -d imx-image-desktop-ros-imx8mpnavq.wic.zst ...

  7. Launch the uuu tool with appropriate script as a parameter for installing the bootable Linux image:

  8. The uuu tool will proceed to install the Production Yocto image to the storage device (EMMC) on the target board:

  9. When uuu has finished, the bootable Linux image has been installed to the on-module storage. Given proper setting of the boot switches, next power-on will boot the target board from the EMMC storage device.

4. Verifying New Installation

Perform the following step-wise procedure to verify boot of the newly installed Linux images from the on-module EMMC:

  1. Power the kit off by disconnecting the USB Type C cable from the development host.

  2. Select the appropriate boot mode by setting the boot switches as follows::

    • SW2.1 - 0

    • SW2.2 - 1

  3. Power the kit on by connecting the USB Type C cable to the development host.

  4. Verify that the following Linux boot-up messages appear on the serial console:

  5. Enter the Linux session by typing user for both the user name and password.