BeagleBone Black

Installing Gentoo on a Beaglebone Black Rev. C
These instructions are specifically for the Beaglebone Black Rev. C. This guide will utilize u-boot from the original sources and a modified 3.14.17 kernel from Beagleboard.org's github repo.

You will need

 * USB -> serial port debug connector so you can view boot errors, see the u-boot prompt if necessary, and not have to switch out HDMI cables on your monitor. More detail at elinux.org.
 * 4GB micro SD card to create the Gentoo image (you can flash to NAND later).
 * An SD card reader/writer to write the Gentoo image.
 * Create the udev rules mentioned beagleboard.org. These work for eudev as well.

Emerge the toolchain
Do not merge u-boot-tools as we will be using a version of u-boot configured specifically for the BBB (Beaglebone Black).

Create an overlay for crossdev
edit /etc/portage/make.conf:

Setup portage for crossdev
More info: forums.gentoo.org and wiki.gentoo.org.

Run Crossdev and let it setup a build environment

 * I settled on the tuple: "armv7a-hardfloat-linux-gnueabihf." TI recommends "arm-linux-gnueabihf." wiki.ti.com
 * Test with:
 * You should see binutils, gcc, glibc, linux-headers, and gdb under and stuff under.
 * You should see binutils, gcc, glibc, linux-headers, and gdb under and stuff under.


 * If you change your mind on the tuple, to uninstall the existing target run:

Configure U-Boot for the BBB

 * Note: is out-of-date, last commit is 3 years old.
 * make a build directory:
 * grab latest stable from denx.de, extract and  to the extracted directory.
 * This article helped me find the correct make target: crashcourse.ca.
 * This article helped me find the correct make target: crashcourse.ca.


 * install mkimage so it's in your path. (As root)
 * to test:  should say 2014.07.
 * to test:  should say 2014.07.

Grab kernel configured specifically for the Beaglebone

 * Note: https://github.com/beagleboard/kernel.git is deprecated, but does still provide information on hardware support in each branch.
 * This one from beaglebone.org will build the firmware into the kernel under linux/firmware and includes patched sources. The older versions required you to run patch.sh, download the firmware manually, and drop it in the firmware folder.
 * Go to github.com and decide which branch you want to check out. I settled on the latest long-term release kernel, 3.14.17.
 * If you get any GIT errors about not having or, try this:
 * If you get any GIT errors about not having or, try this:


 * check that you got the right kernel version.
 * and look at the top lines in Makefile:


 * copy bb.org config to by running the bb.org target:
 * If there's anything you want to tweak in the kernel, do so now with:
 * Compile the kernel:
 * Generate a uImage:
 * I have no idea why the LOADADDR is set to this, just following instructions from TI here: wiki.ti.com. If you omit the   you'll get a build error.


 * Compile kernel modules:
 * make a directory for the kernel modules and install them:

Create the root filesystem for the SD card

 * grab the latest Gentoo source from your mirror


 * extract the tarballs:


 * Add username for root paths:
 * As root, extract the stage3 since it will execute mknod:
 * As root, extract the portage snapshot:
 * As root, extract the portage snapshot:


 * Manually add files to root partition so u-boot will find them and boot your kernel.
 * IMPORTANT: BBB will not boot without this file:
 * Copy the device tree blob:
 * Copy the kernel modules:
 * Copy the kernel modules:


 * Make a directory where I can mount the boot partition under
 * edit :


 * edit so root can login:
 * grab hash output, edit, and put here:


 * edit since everyone expects serial port to run at 115200 and have the name

Optional

 * setup a static IP on your BBB first, since we don't have dhcpcd installed: edit.


 * edit ~/bbb/deploy/etc/conf.d/hostname:


 * add net.eth0 to startup:


 * replace hwclock with swclock. BBB does not have a built-in hardware clock so setting based on last modified date is the next best thing.


 * Set timezone (can't finish until system is up and running).

Finish creating the root filesystem for the SD card

 * tar it all up:

Format the MicroSD card the way BeagleBoard wants it
Sfdisk devs having not played nice I adapted the formatting without CHS, as any implementation has been deemed useless and so removed. Please tell me if anything bad happens without the CHS settings!
 * Similar scripts: github.com/beagleboard, dev.gentoo.org, omappedia.org.
 * I chose a modified version of TI's from here: downloads.ti.com. Original is under host-tools/mksd-am335x.sh.
 * Use 'lsblk' to verify your sd device id. If through an sd card reader it might be mmcblk0 with partitions mmcblk0p1 & p2. If this is the case alter the script before hand to use "$1"p1 and "$1"p2 instead of "$1"1 & "$1"2.


 * Run the script to format the SD card. All data will be lost on it.


 * plugin your SD card and check dmesg for the name of your SD card: mine was.
 * You will probably have to manually umount the sdcard if Linux automounts it. The script will complain if the SD card is mounted.
 * (as root)


 * Don't pull out the card until the light on the SD-Card reader stops flashing, even if the script has stopped. I guess it takes awhile for the journal to catch up.  Check   (and watch it go down in size, weird) and   for more info and possible errors.  I have seen   messages before and it will still be blinking.  When it's done the reader light should stay illuminated.

Almost ready

 * Emerge a serial terminal emulator like PuTTY, etc.
 * Create a profile with these settings:


 * Open your serial terminal window with this profile.
 * Connect your serial debug cable to the BBB as described here: elinux.org.
 * Insert your SD card into the BBB.
 * Hold down the button closest to the SD card and press the button closest to the Ethernet port once. More info: elinux.org.

Moment of truth

 * You should see a Gentoo prompt! Thank God!

Optional follow-on

 * you should now have a running system and network connectivity
 * Time will start from this point on next time you boot:

boot options
If you want to override boot options without messing with uEnv.txt, make sure you compile your kernel with Boot options->Kernel command line type: "Always use the default kernel command string," or. Then edit the Default kernel command string as desired.

You can create a and override u-boot settings if you want. I couldn't figure this out so please add this info if you can.

modify the install
If you just need to tweak u-boot or kernel files:

If you need to dump a new root file structure to the SD card. Be very careful here, don't want to replace your root filesystem with ARM junk.

analog input
To get the analog input (AIN) working, make sure you have the  kernel option enabled (used linux-3.8-beaglebone). Also, to active this, perform the following after you boot to load them and find where they were put:

Older Beaglebone versions
The installation procedure also works for the Beaglebone aka Beaglebone white (see beagleboard.org). This was tested with revision A6a. Instead of the am335x-boneblack.dtb the am335x-bone.dtb has to be used.

External resources

 * BeagleBone Black on elinux.org
 * BeagleBone Black: Analog Input Pins on embedded-basics.blogspot.com