🛠 Flasher l'image officielle et démarrer la BeagleBone AI-64

Objectives

Install the official Debian image for the BeagleBone AI-64 (TI TDA4VM, 4 GB LPDDR4, 16 GB eMMC) on a microSD card, understand the K3 boot sequence (mandatory BOOT button, not the RESET button), and connect via SSH using the USB-C port's "tethered" mode.

Hardware

• 1 BeagleBone AI-64 board (OSHW board, TI TDA4VM/J721E SoC)
• 1 microSD card of at least 32 GB: the TI Edge AI stack weighs several GB and the 16 GB eMMC fills up quickly
• 1 proper 5 V / 3 A minimum power supply (USB-C or 2.1 mm barrel jack) — a PC's USB power limit is often insufficient
• 1 USB-C data cable, a Linux/WSL PC with bmaptool or dd

Complete Code

# 1. Graver l'image (téléchargée sur beagleboard.org/latest-images)
sudo apt install bmap-tools unzip
unzip BBAI-64-Debian-xxx.img.zip
sudo bmaptool copy BBAI-64-Debian-xxx.img /dev/sdX
# (ou : sudo dd bs=4M if=BBAI-64-Debian-xxx.img of=/dev/sdX status=progress conv=fsync)
sync

# 2. Boot sur microSD : maintenir BOOT ENFONCÉ pendant la mise sous tension.
#    Appuyer sur RESET ne change PAS le périphérique de boot.

# 3. En USB-C « tethered », la carte énumère un lecteur USB (lien de première
#    configuration) + un Ethernet virtuel ; côté PC :
ip a | grep -B1 -A2 "state UP"
ssh debian@<adresse-indiquee-par-le-lecteur>

# 4. Sur la carte, vérifier l'identité :
cat /proc/device-tree/model   # "BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone AI-64"
uname -m                      # aarch64

Expected Verification

The power LED lights up, the 5 user LEDs animate during boot, and the model command returns "BeagleBoard.org BeagleBone AI-64". The first boot is slower (filesystem expansion); the board then restarts directly.

Common Errors

• Pressing RESET instead of holding BOOT during the power cycle: the ROM boot remains on the eMMC.
• Undersized power supply: known 2022 batches randomly lock up during kernel boot (LPDDR4 bring-up issue, issue #43 in the hardware repository) — use an up-to-date image + real 5 V/3 A.
• Expecting HDMI output: the board outputs via miniDP, which requires a DisplayPort cable or an ACTIVE miniDP to HDMI adapter.
• Looking for Wi-Fi: none is embedded (nor BT); Ethernet or M.2 E-key module only.