Install Debian to Beaglebone Black eMMC

Consider the semi-automated script to install Debian to the eMMC of the Beaglebone Black.

This procedure requires a 4 GB micro SD card or larger, and assumes a Linux laptop. We will copy a Linux operating system image to eMMC from a micro SD card.

On laptop PC, download the Debian Beaglebone Black (BBB) image. For an old 2 GB Beaglebone, use the 2gb image.

Type lsblk, note which drives are listed, then insert the SD card into the laptop and type lsblk again–the new item is your SD card. We assume /dev/mmcblk0.

Extract image to SD card:

xz -cd BBB-*.img.xz > /dev/mmcblk0

Extraction takes about 5 to 20 minutes at ~ 5 MB/sec, writing uncompressed ~ 2 GB to the SD card.

[optional] monitor data writing to SD card with

iotop

Ensure writing has completed with

sync

Insert micro SD card into the (non-powered) BBB and then apply power. Beaglebone four onboard LEDs flash back and forth in a “cylon” or “knight rider” pattern. During this time, the micro SD card program is flashing the onboard eMMC. With an FTDI to USB adapter fit onto J1, the process can be monitored via the screen program. The automatic flashing to eMMC process should complete in about 10-20 minutes.

Once the BBB has shut down, REMOVE the micro SD card from the BBB. Reset the power or push the onboard POWER button next to the Ethernet jack.

Boot from eMMC

There is an SSH server running by default available through the mini-USB port.

Find the LAN IP address of the BBB (plug the BBB into the Ethernet). Assuming local network IP addresses 192.168.1.xxx, from a laptop:

nmap -p 22 192.168.1.* --open

This command lists SSH servers on the network, so do it once with the BBB unplugged from the network, then again with the BBB plugged in. If nmap isn’t available, the findssh program uses plain Python to find SSH or other servers.

Assuming BBB is at 192.168.0.5, from a laptop:

ssh debian@192.168.0.5

Notes

If timezone or locales issues try on Beaglebone:

dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
apt install locales
dpkg-reconfigure locales

Troubleshoot HDMI with parse-edid, obtained by:

apt install read-edid