Alternate boot device for AM69

Technical Support
1

How do I configure the Aquila AM69 SOM (attached to the development board) to boot from something other than the emmc?
I need to flash a new version of U-Boot, and would prefer to do that on a removable device.

2

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Hello!

To configure the Aquila AM69 SOM to boot from a device other than the eMMC (such as an SD card or USB drive), you’ll use the U-Boot bootloader’s environment settings. This is a common approach, especially when flashing a new U-Boot version.

Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Connect to the Debug Console
    Use the USB-C connector labeled J23 on the development board for serial debug access. When you connect it to your host PC, you’ll see multiple USB serial devices; use the one with the highest number (e.g., /dev/ttyUSB3) for the debug console.
    More details: Serial Console Setup

  2. Access U-Boot
    Reboot your board and interrupt the boot process to access the U-Boot console.

  3. Modify the Boot Command
    Set the boot command to use your preferred boot source. To boot from SD card, use:

    setenv bootcmd 'run sdboot'
saveenv

    This command tells U-Boot to run the sdboot script, typically configured to boot from SD card.
    Reference: Boot From SD Card/Removable Media

    If you want to boot from USB or TFTP/NFS for development or flashing, similar scripts are available (e.g., usbboot or your network boot setup).

  4. Prepare Your Removable Media
    Ensure your SD card or USB device is properly formatted and contains the appropriate boot files (new U-Boot, kernel, or installer).

  5. Reboot
    After saving the environment, reboot the board. It should now attempt to boot using the new source as defined in the bootcmd.

For step-by-step instructions on setting up an SD card with a bootable image, see:
Boot From an SD Card / USB Stick / SATA Drive

Let me know if you need specific guidance on preparing the SD card or USB device with a new U-Boot image!

Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.

3

The Aquila modules are fused to boot from eMMC, so some kind of bootloader must be present on the eMMC to initiate the boot process. From there, the system can continue booting from any other available media, such as an SD card, USB drive, or network.

If you have a functional U-Boot, you can configure it to boot the OS from an SD card using the Distro Boot mechanism. The software booted from the SD card can then be used to flash a new version of U-Boot. Toradex recommends using the Toradex Easy Installer for this purpose. Another possible approach is to leverage the OTA update mechanism included in Torizon.

4

How does one recover from a failed emmc boot?

5

By putting the module into recovery mode and loading code (e.g., Toradex Easy Installer) over USB.