How to make your own SD-bootable ROM
Contents
1 Make Image Files for RK3399
Refer to this repo: https://github.com/friendlyarm/sd-fuse_rk3399
2 Make Image Files for S5P4418
Refer to this repo: https://github.com/friendlyarm/sd-fuse_s5p4418
3 Make Image Files for S5P6818
Refer to this repo: https://github.com/friendlyarm/sd-fuse_s5p6818
4 Make Image Files for H3
If you have a customized U-boot, Linux kernel and file system and want to use them to make a customized Linux image file(we call it "ROM" in the following sections) you can do it this way: use the "dd" command to copy all the data and files from an existing SD card with a Linux ROM, replace the U-boot, kernel or file system with your customzied files and use the "dd" command again to combine these files to a ROM. However this is inefficient. We suggest you use our rom-maker-lite utility to do it, which can be downloaded at rom-maker-lite.
The rom-maker-lite utility is a general tool to make a ROM. It currently supports making a Linux based sd/eflasher ROM for FriendlyElec's H3/H5 boards .Making an Android image is not supported yet.
- Run ./mkimage.sh to check usage info:
$ ./mkimage.sh Usage: $ apt-get install tree exfat-utils dosfstools python3-tk $ ./mkimage.sh -c <filesystem type> -m <partmap> -d "<misc dir>;<partition1 dir>;<partition2 dir>;..." -c <filesystem type>: 1: misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img 2: misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img + exfat friendlyarm.img 3: misc(bootloader) + ext4 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img
Parameter Comment -c <filesystem type> -c specifies file systems' formats for the partitions in a ROM Image. Specifically for an H3/H5 based board:
-c 1 stands for "misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img" and this applies to an sd ROM of FriendlyCore/Ubuntu/Debian/OpenWrt;
-c 2 stands for "misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img + exfat friendlyarm.img" and this applies to an eflasher ROM.-m <partmap> -m specifies a partmap file for making a ROM.
A partmap file is used to specify the files and their sizes included in a ROM. ROMs made for different boards or BSPs may need different partmap files.-d "<misc dir>;<partition1 dir>;<partition2 dir>;..." -d specifies file system's path and each path is separated by a ";". Specifically for an H3/H5 based board:
<misc dir>: specifies the bootloader's path;
<partition1 dir>: specifies the boot partition's path;
<partition2 dir>: specifies the rootfs partition's path;
"..." means more paths can be defined. When you make an eflasher ROM you need to include the friendlyarm partition's path;
- Preparations
We tested the following Ubuntu versions that worked with a PC host:
1) ubuntu-16.04.5-desktop-amd64.iso
2) ubuntu-18.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso
If you cannot make a ROM under a Linux system with your PC host you'd better use either one of the above two systems we tested.
Before proceed make sure you have installed the following packages:
$ apt-get install tree exfat-utils dosfstools python3-tk
You need the root access right to make a ROM:
$ su root
- Make an SD card bootable image based on Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 for H3, e.g. FriendlyCore/Debian/OpenWrt...
FriendlyElec's BSP based on Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 applies to all FriendlyElec's H3 boards. Therefore the steps to make an image for all H3 boards are the same.
Here are the steps to make an SD card image of FriendlyCore. The steps to make an SD card image of Debian or OpenWrt are similar.
Suppose you already have an SD card with a FriendlyCore system. The SD card has applications and configuration files in the "rootfs" directory. Insert this card to a host PC and mount its rootfs directory(in our test the directory was "rom-maker-lite/part2/h3/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/"). Run the following command to generate an image file.:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h3_linux-4.14/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2017_h3/;part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3/;part2/h3/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/"
You can replace the files under the "misc/uboot-2017_h3" and "part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3" directories with your wanted files too. FriendlyElec will release the latest files when necessary. You can command "tree" to check all the available files:
$ tree misc/uboot-2017_h3/ part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3/ misc/uboot-2017_h3/ └── u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3/ ├── boot.cmd ├── boot.scr ├── rootfs.cpio.gz ├── sun8i-h2-plus-nanopi-duo.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-duo2.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-m1.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-m1-plus.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-neo-air.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-neo-core.dtb ├── sun8i-h3-nanopi-neo.dtb └── zImage
For all FriendlyElec's H3 based boards that support Linux-4.14 BSP they use the same partmap file "partmap/h3_linux-4.14/partmap.txt".
After mkimage.sh is executed successfully an "out/SD-bootable-1" directory and the following files will be generated:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ └── u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin ├── SD-bootable-1.img
The "part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3/" directory will be converted to a boot.img. The "part2/h3/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/" will be converted to a rootfs.img. The SD-bootable-1.img will be an SD card ROM image. For example FriendlyElec's nanopi-[h3]_sd_friendlycore-xenial_4.14_armhf_YYYYMMDD.img.zip image file is an SD card ROM image. You can use the win32diskimager utility or the "dd" command to flash the SD-bootable-1.img to an SD card.
- Make an SD card bootable image based on Uboot-2011 + Linux-3.4 for H3, e.g. FriendlyCore/Debian/OpenWrt...
The basic steps to make an image for all FriendlyElec's H3 based boards are very similar. We take the NanoPi M1 as an example to show how to make an SD card FriendlyCore image. The steps apply to Debian and OpenWrt too.
Run the following command:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h3_linux-3.4/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2011_m1/;part1/boot_linux-3.4_m1/;part2/m1/3.4/friendlycore/rootfs"
The SD-bootable-1.img will be an SD card ROM image. For example FriendlyElec's nanopi-m1_sd_friendlycore-xenial_3.4_armhf_YYYYMMDD.img.zip image file is an SD card ROM image.You can replace the corresponding files with your wanted files.For all FriendlyElec's H3 based boards that support Linux-3.4 BSP they use the same partmap file "partmap/h3_linux-3.4/partmap.txt".
To make an SD card image for the NanoPi M1 Plus you can run the following command:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h3_linux-3.4/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2011_m1-plus/;part1/boot_linux-3.4_m1-plus/;part2/m1-plus/3.4/friendlycore/rootfs"
The SD-bootable-1.img will be an SD card ROM image. For example FriendlyElec's nanopi-m1－plus_sd_friendlycore-xenial_3.4_armhf_YYYYMMDD.img.zip image file is an SD card ROM image.This applies to the NanoPi NEO and the NanoPi NEO Air.
- Make an eflasher image based on Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 for H3 based boards
To make an eflasher ROM image you need to have an SD card image ready.We take a FriendlyCore system based on Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 as an example:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ └── u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin
If you have an SD card with an eflasher image insert this card to a host PC, mount its rootfs directory(in our test the directory was "part2/h3/4.14/eflasher/rootfs") and run the following command to generate an eflasher ROM image:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 2 -m partmap/h3_eflasher-4.14/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2017_h3/;part1/boot_linux-4.14_h3/;part2/h3/4.14/eflasher/rootfs;out/SD-bootable-1/"
After mkimage.sh is executed an "out/SD-bootable-2" directory and the following files will be generated:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ └── u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin ├── SD-bootable-1.img ├── SD-bootable-2 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── friendlyarm.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ └── u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin └── SD-bootable-2.img
SD-bootable-2.img即为最终的eflasher ROM文件，它等效于FriendlyElec 发布的nanopi-[h3]_eflasher_friendlycore-xenial_4.14_armhf_YYYYMMDD.img.zip。eflasher ROM能烧写什么系统到eMMC完全取决于out/SD-bootable-1/里包含了什么系统，你可以用win32diskimager或者dd命令将SD-bootable-2.img烧写到SD卡中。
5 制作H5 平台的系统映像
If you have a customized U-boot, Linux kernel and file system and want to use them to make a customized Linux image file(we call it "ROM" in the following sections) you can do it this way: use the "dd" command to copy all the data and files from an existing SD card with a Linux ROM, replace the U-boot, kernel or file system with your customzied files and use the "dd" command again to combine these files to a ROM. However this is inefficient. We suggest you use our rom-maker-lite utility to do it, which can be downloaded at rom-maker-lite.
The rom-maker-lite utility is a general tool to make a ROM. It currently supports making a Linux based sd/eflasher ROM for FriendlyElec's H3/H5 boards .Making an Android image is not supported yet.
- Run ./mkimage.sh to check usage info:
$ ./mkimage.sh Usage: $ apt-get install tree exfat-utils dosfstools python3-tk $ ./mkimage.sh -c <filesystem type> -m <partmap> -d "<misc dir>;<partition1 dir>;<partition2 dir>;..." -c <filesystem type>: 1: misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img 2: misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img + exfat friendlyarm.img 3: misc(bootloader) + ext4 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img
Parameter Comment -c <filesystem type> -c specifies file systems' formats for the partitions in a ROM Image. Specifically for an H3/H5 based board:
-c 1 stands for "misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img" and this applies to an sd ROM of FriendlyCore/Ubuntu/Debian/OpenWrt;
-c 2 stands for "misc(bootloader) + fat32 boot.img + ext4 rootfs.img + exfat friendlyarm.img" and this applies to an eflasher ROM.-m <partmap> -m specifies a partmap file for making a ROM.
A partmap file is used to specify the files and their sizes included in a ROM. ROMs made for different boards or BSPs may need different partmap files.-d "<misc dir>;<partition1 dir>;<partition2 dir>;..." -d specifies file system's path and each path is separated by a ";". Specifically for an H3/H5 based board:
<misc dir>: specifies the bootloader's path;
<partition1 dir>: specifies the boot partition's path;
<partition2 dir>: specifies the rootfs partition's path;
"..." means more paths can be defined. When you make an eflasher ROM you need to include the friendlyarm partition's path;
- Preparations
We tested the following Ubuntu versions that worked with a PC host:
1) ubuntu-16.04.5-desktop-amd64.iso
2) ubuntu-18.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso
If you cannot make a ROM under a Linux system with your PC host you'd better use either one of the above two systems we tested.
Before proceed make sure you have installed the following packages:
$ apt-get install tree exfat-utils dosfstools python3-tk
You need the root access right to make a ROM:
$ su root
- 为H5 系列的板子制作基于Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 的sd ROM(例如FriendlyCore/Debian/OpenWrt...)
事实上，对于Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14版本的BSP，所有H5 系列的板子的sd ROM文件都是同一个。所以对于这个版本的BSP，所有H3 系列的板子的sd ROM 的制作命令是一样的。
这里以制作FriendlyCore sd ROM为例进行讲解，Debian、OpenWrt等sd ROM文件的制作方法是类似的。
假设你已经有一张带有FriendlyCore系统的SD卡，并且该SD卡的rootfs目录下已经包含了你自己的应用程序和设置。请将该SD卡插入PC机中，然后挂载SD卡的rootfs分区(假设挂载路径为rom-maker-lite/part2/h3/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/, 请注意使用真实路径)，使用下面的命令可以生成你自己定制的ROM文件:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h5_linux-4.14/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2017_h5/;part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5/;part2/h5/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/"
如果有需要，可以将misc/uboot-2017_h5、part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5目录下的文件替换为你自己的定制文件，当然你也可以使用目录里自带的预编译系统文件，我们会不定期更新预编译系统文件，通过tree命令可查看有哪些可替换的系统文件:
$ tree misc/uboot-2017_h5/ part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5/ misc/uboot-2017_h5/ ├── sunxi-spl.bin └── u-boot.itb part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5/ ├── boot.cmd ├── boot.scr ├── Image ├── overlays │ └── sun50i-h5-gpio-dvfs-overlay.dtb ├── rootfs.cpio.gz ├── sun50i-h5-nanopi-k1-plus.dtb ├── sun50i-h5-nanopi-neo2.dtb ├── sun50i-h5-nanopi-neo-core2.dtb └── sun50i-h5-nanopi-neo-plus2.dtb
对于所有使用Linux-4.14 BSP的H5板子，使用的都是同一个partmap文件partmap/h5_linux-4.14/partmap.txt。
mkimage.sh执行成功后，会生成out/SD-bootable-1目录，其内容如下:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ ├── sunxi-spl.bin │ └── u-boot.itb ├── SD-bootable-1.img
part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5/目录被制作成了boot.img，part2/h5/4.14/friendlycore/rootfs/被制作成了rootfs.img，SD-bootable-1.img则为最终的sd ROM文件，SD-bootable-1.img则为最终的sd ROM文件，它等效于FriendlyElec 发布的nanopi-[h5]_sd_friendlycore-xenial_4.14_arm64_YYYYMMDD.img.zip，你可以用win32diskimager或者dd命令将SD-bootable-1.img烧写到SD卡中。
- 为H5 系列的板子制作基于Uboot-2014 + Linux-3.10 的sd ROM(例如FriendlyCore/Debian/OpenWrt...)
无论是基于什么版本的BSP，做rom的原理都是一样的，这里不再赘述。这里以制作NanoPi NEO2的FriendlyCore sd ROM为例进行讲解，Debian、OpenWrt等sd ROM的制作方法是类似的。
执行命令:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h5_linux-3.10/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2014_neo2/;part1/boot_linux-3.10_neo2/;part2/neo2/3.10/friendlycore/rootfs"
生成的SD-bootable-1.img等效于FriendlyElec 发布的nanopi-neo2_sd_friendlycore-xenial_3.10_arm64_YYYYMMDD.img.zip，如果有需要，可以将对应目录下的文件替换为你自己的定制文件。对于所有使用Linux-3.10 BSP的H5板子，使用的都是同一个partmap文件partmap/h5_linux-3.10/partmap.txt。
以此类推，NanoPi NEO Plus2 的sd ROM 制作命令如下:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 1 -m partmap/h5_linux-3.10/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2014_neo-plus2/;part1/boot_linux-3.10_neo-plus2/;part2/neo-plus2/3.10/friendlycore/rootfs"
生成的SD-bootable-1.img等效于FriendlyElec 发布的nanopi-neo-plus2_sd_friendlycore-xenial_3.10_arm64_YYYYMMDD.img.zip
- 为H5 系列的板子制作基于Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14 的eflasher ROM
制作eflasher ROM的前提条件是已经成功制作出了FriendlyCore/Debian/OpenWrt等sd ROM，即已经有待烧写到eMMC的原材料文件，例如基于Uboot-2017 + Linux-4.14的FriendlyCore系统:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ ├── sunxi-spl.bin │ └── u-boot.itb
假设你有一张带有eflasher 系统的SD卡，请将该SD卡插入PC机中，然后挂载SD卡的rootfs分区(假设挂载路径为part2/h5/4.14/eflasher/rootfs, 请注意使用真实路径)，然后通过以下命令就可以生成eflasher ROM:
$ ./mkimage.sh -c 2 -m partmap/h5_eflasher-4.14/partmap.txt -d "misc/uboot-2017_h5/;part1/boot_linux-4.14_h5/;part2/h5/4.14/eflasher/rootfs;out/SD-bootable-1"
mkimage.sh执行成功后，会生成out/SD-bootable-2目录，其内容如下:
$ tree out/ out/ ├── SD-bootable-1 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ ├── sunxi-spl.bin │ └── u-boot.itb ├── SD-bootable-1.img ├── SD-bootable-2 │ └── your_company │ ├── boot.img │ ├── friendlyarm.img │ ├── info.conf │ ├── partmap.txt │ ├── rootfs.img │ ├── sunxi-spl.bin │ └── u-boot.itb └── SD-bootable-2.img
SD-bootable-2.img即为最终的eflasher ROM文件，它等效于FriendlyElec 发布的nanopi-[h5]_eflasher_friendlycore-xenial_4.14_arm64_YYYYMMDD.img.zip。eflasher ROM能烧写什么系统到eMMC完全取决于out/SD-bootable-1/里包含了什么系统，你可以用win32diskimager或者dd命令将SD-bootable-2.img烧写到SD卡中。
6 Update Log
6.1 Sep-14-2017
- Released English Version
6.2 Jan-30-2018
- Updated Section 3
