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Put the firmware on a card

Download the latest release and write it to the card. The modern firmware needs two partitions (boot files, then Debian), so copying files is not enough: use the writer.

The two partitions of the card: a 128 MB FAT boot partition holding BOOT.bin, uImage, devicetree.dtb and uEnv.txt, and a Debian root partition on the rest of the card, which Windows cannot create by itself. The two partitions of the card: a 128 MB FAT boot partition holding BOOT.bin, uImage, devicetree.dtb and uEnv.txt, and a Debian root partition on the rest of the card, which Windows cannot create by itself.

Back up every file on the board's current card first. That is your way back.

With the release files in ~/Downloads:

# run from: the repo root. DESTROYS everything on the card
./devkit write-card --dry-run /dev/sdX        # checks the device, writes nothing
sudo ./devkit write-card --from ~/Downloads /dev/sdX

It refuses non-removable disks, but check the device name yourself.

Put write-card.cmd from the release next to its other six files and double-click it. Nothing to install. Step by step, with every prompt: write the card on Windows.

One FAT32 partition: copy the five files of v1.7 onto the card.

You should see: the writer ends with its own check passing (on Windows, OK: all ... read back identical).

Never update this board with DFU

It has bricked units of this board. Changing firmware always means rewriting the card, or ./devkit flash on a running board (flashing reference).

Next: connect and find the board.