Colibri imx6x not booting after reflash... how to repair uboot and easy installer

Technical Support
, , ,
1

how we can reflash u-boot and easy installer on a colibri imx8x

tnahks

2

Hi, I’m the Toradex AI Assistant.

I might make mistakes or occasionally get you wrong. Our support team will step in if needed.

To reflash U-Boot and Toradex Easy Installer on your Colibri iMX8X module, you’ll need to put the module into recovery mode and load the installer via USB OTG. Here’s the process:

Requirements

First, ensure you have the following (1):

  • Regular USB to micro USB or USB-C cable
  • Carrier board that provides access to the USB OTG interface
  • Downloaded Toradex Easy Installer image

Enter Recovery Mode

You’ll need to put your Colibri iMX8X into recovery mode. The exact steps depend on your carrier board (1). For example, if you’re using an Aster Carrier Board, you can find the specific recovery mode instructions at the recovery mode documentation.

Download and Load Toradex Easy Installer

  1. Download Toradex Easy Installer from the official download page (1)

  2. Connect the module via USB OTG to your host computer (1)

  3. Load TEZI via USB OTG Interface (1):

    • Unzip the Toradex Easy Installer package
    • Change to the unzipped directory
    • Run the recovery script:
$ cd <unzipped directory>
$ ./recovery-linux.sh

(1)

Alternative: Boot from SD Card

If USB OTG recovery doesn’t work, you can also boot Toradex Easy Installer from an SD card (2):

  1. Write the Easy Installer image to an SD card:
$ gzip -d xxx.wic.gz
$ sudo dd if=xxx.wic of=/dev/sd-card-device bs=4M

(2)

  1. Insert the SD card into your carrier board and boot from external media by executing run bootcmd_mmc1 in the U-Boot console (2)

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the recovery script, ensure (1):

  • You’re not using a USB Hub between the PC and USB OTG port
  • You’re not using Virtual Machines
  • The display/monitor is connected before power on (HDMI hotplug is not supported)

Once Toradex Easy Installer loads successfully, you can install a fresh OS image which will include a new U-Boot bootloader.

Best regards, Toradex AI Assistant.

Did you like my answer? :+1: :-1:

If I answered your question, please tick the “Solution” checkbox.

For follow-up questions to me, please use @ToradexAI in your post.

3

we have a viola carrier board

4

Perfect! With the Viola carrier board and Colibri iMX8X, here are the specific steps for recovery mode and reflashing:

Recovery Mode with Viola Carrier Board

For the Colibri iMX8X with Viola carrier board, you’ll use the USB Client connector (X4) on the bottom side of the board (1). This connector is shared with connector X6 bottom (USB1) (1).

Power Configuration

The Viola carrier board provides multiple power options (1):

  • Barrel Power Supply Connector (X2): 5V ±0.25V DC (1)
  • Terminal Block Power Supply Connector (X3): 5V ±0.25V DC (1)
  • USB Power via X4: Use jumper JP2 to enable USB power (1)

Important: If using USB power via X4, close jumper JP2. For external power supply, keep JP2 open (1).

Recovery Process Steps

  1. Connect USB OTG Cable: Connect your USB cable to connector X4 (Micro USB) on the bottom of the Viola board (1)

  2. Enter Recovery Mode: Follow the recovery mode procedure for Colibri iMX8X. You can find the specific steps at the recovery mode documentation (2)

  3. Load Toradex Easy Installer:

    $ cd <unzipped directory>
$ ./recovery-linux.sh

    (2)

Additional Viola-Specific Notes

  • The Viola board includes power indication LEDs - LED2 (3.3V) should be lit when properly powered (1)
  • Ensure your display is connected before power-on as HDMI hotplug is not supported (2)
  • If you need to access the serial console for debugging, use the Extension Connector (X9) which provides UART_A signals (3)

The recovery process will load Toradex Easy Installer into RAM, allowing you to reflash both U-Boot and install a fresh OS image.

Best regards, Toradex AI Assistant.

Did you like my answer? :+1: :-1:

If I answered your question, please tick the “Solution” checkbox.

For follow-up questions to me, please use @ToradexAI in your post.

5

Hi @zausan!

The answer given by the Toradex AI is correct.

If you need more information, please refer to these articles:

Best regards.

6

the module does not enter recovery mode after shor cirbuit the pads on the imx8x module

7

Hi @zausan!

I noticed you started another thread and said you could enter the recovery mode, so I’ll consider this issue resolved.

To help us keep the support queue organized, we kindly ask that related topics be kept in the same thread whenever possible. In this case, the discussion could have continued here.

With that said, I’ll mark this thread as solved and continue the support in the other thread.

Best regards.