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Upgrading U-boot to 2015.07 on Compulab Utilite

Utilitie-introThis manual is about upgrading U-boot on Utilite Standard / Pro device.

Originally the default U-boot on Utilite has version U-Boot 2009.08-cm-fx6-0.87+tools (Oct 06 2013 – 13:46:27). Here we try to flash the chip to U-Boot 2015.07-cm-fx6-3 (Sep 02 2015 – 13:30:11 +0300). This is how you proceed.

  • Have the Micro SD card ready and partitioned with “vfat” on the first /dev/sdb1 partition. Your partition name can be different than /dev/sdb1, put in the Micro SD card into the PC slot and run “dmesg” it will reveal which device it is at the end. Run the “mkfs” command with filesystem un-mounted to create vfat partition.
  • # mkfs -t vfat /dev/sdb1
  • Download the latest U-boot release from Compulab Utilite website or from this alternative location.
  • Ensure the integrity of the file with md5sum utility.
  • # md5sum utilite-updater.tar.bz2
  • bf0d453aeb61a680e15e263eb3ff31bb utilite-updater.tar.bz2
  • Untar the archive on PC to get the firmware image (cm-fx6-firmware file) and update script.
  • # mkdir utilite-updater
  • # tar -xvf utilite-updater.tar.bz2 -C utilite-updater
  • Copy the “cm-fx6-firmware” file onto first partition example /mnt/sdcard1 of the Micro SD card.
  • # cp utilite-updater/cm-fx6-firmware /mnt/sdcard1
  • Insert the Micro SD card into Utilite and boot Utilite, your old U-boot will appear.
  • Perform these commands
  • CM-FX6 # mmc dev 2
  • mmc2 is current device
  • CM-FX6 # mmc rescan
  • CM-FX6 # fatls mmc 2
  • 512000 cm-fx6-firmware 1 file(s), 0 dir(s)
  • CM-FX6 # fatload mmc 2 10800000 cm-fx6-firmware
  • reading cm-fx6-firmware
  • 512000 bytes read
  • From here on we will flash the U-boot (be aware that anything above this step is dangerous and can break your device, make sure you keep it powered until you finish all the other steps !)
  • CM-FX6 # sf probe 0
  • JEDEC ID: 0xbf:0x25:0x41 2048 KiB SST25VF016B – 2MB at 0:0 is now current device
  • CM-FX6 # sf erase 0 80000
  • Erasing SPI NOR flash 0x0 [0x80000 bytes] ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..SUCCESS
  • CM-FX6 # sf write 10800000 0 80000
  • Writing SPI NOR flash 0x0 [0x80000 bytes] <- ram 0x10800000 …….SUCCESS

This is all, you can disconnect Utilite and replug it back to power. You should see the new U-boot on it.

If you upgrade from a more recent U-boot like U-Boot 2014.04-cm-fx6-1.3 (Sep 16 2014 – 16:11:56), then your messages will appear like this:

  • CM-FX6 # fatload mmc 2 10800000 cm-fx6-firmware
    reading cm-fx6-firmware
    512000 bytes read in 58 ms (8.4 MiB/s)
  • CM-FX6 # sf probe 0
    SF: Detected M25PX16 with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 2 MiB
  • CM-FX6 # sf erase 0 80000
    SF: 524288 bytes @ 0x0 Erased: OK
  • CM-FX6 # sf write 10800000 0 80000
    SF: 524288 bytes @ 0x0 Written: OK

Links used for this manual:

I take no responsibility if you damage your Utilite device, this is not an official manual !

Utilite miniature embedded ARM computer

5477-2 I was in search for a replacement miniature embedded system to serve as my home router and XBMC video platform. Currently serving this purpose is the pico-ITX form factor Raspberry PI. While RPI still uses older ARM CPU v6, the Utilite in the pro-version uses quad core Freescale i.MX6 ARM v7 Cortex A9 CPU running at 4 x 1.2 Ghz. Looking at its embedded enclosure reveals that it has:

  • dual 1000 Base-T Ethernet ports
  • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, single antenna
  • Bluetooth 3.0
  • S/PDIF 5.1 (electrical through 3.5mm jack)
    Stereo line-out, Stereo line-in
  • Four USB 2.0 standard A type connector – max current 1A per port
    USB OTG micro-USB connector
  • Two RS232 serial ports, ultra mini serial connector
  • HDMI 1.4 max resolution 1920 x 1200
  • DVI-D max resolution 1920 x 1200

Considering it’s small size factor of only 135mm x 100mm x 21mm and power consumption between 4-8 Watt makes it a perfect router. It can run various GNU/Linux distributions. I hope that it will successfully run with Debian, sadly there is no free software distribution currently ready which would support the ARM port.

The pre-order price from several distributors vary, the one from Tiny Green PC happens to be 285 EUR after VAT and shipping.

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