Zero/install/eMMC erase
Radxa Zero > Installation > Erase eMMC
Contents
How to completely erase the Radxa Zero eMMC
This guide describes how to completely erase Radxa Zero eMMC. Since we are running different image, Android or multiple Linux distribution on the Zero, these images uses different bootloader version or boot sequence. It's better to erase the eMMC completely and leave a clean environment before installing new images to eMMC.
Requirement
- Radxa Zero
- USB A to C cable
- A PC/laptop running Windows, Linux/macOS.
Windows
Step 1: Install drivers
Download Zagdig, install it and choose libusb-win32, then click Install Driver.
Download the Android driver from Google:
Click here to download the Google USB Driver ZIP file (ZIP)
Unzip it and right click the .inf file to install the driver.
Step 2: Use RZ USB helper
RZ USB helper is a tool by Radxa for Windows users to manage Radxa Zero booting easier. Download it from Radxa DL.
Press and hold the USB boot button on the Zero, plug in the USB to PC, Maskrom mode should be detected.
Select the loader in the RZ_USB_Boot_Helper zip and click Run.
Click Erase to erase the eMMC completely.
Linux
For Linux, we use amlogic boot tool to download the bootloader and boot the Zero into the fastboot mode to erase the eMMC.
Step 1: Install pyamlboot tool
sudo pip3 install pyamlboot
Step 2: Install fastboot
Nexus Tools is an installer for the Android SDK Platform Tools package, which includes ADB, Fastboot, and other applications. We use Nexus Tools to install fastboot. If you already have fastboot installed, you can skip this step.
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/corbindavenport/nexus-tools/master/install.sh)
After it finishes,
which fastboot
should return you the install location.
Step 3: Boot into fastboot mode
Press and hold the USB boot button on Zero, plug in it to PC, lsusb should see the following:
Bus 002 Device 030: ID 1b8e:c003 Amlogic, Inc. GX-CHIP
Download the fastboot loader and run it on Zero
wget https://dl.radxa.com/zero/images/loader/factory-loader.img boot-g12.py factory-loader.img
It should output:
Firmware Version : ROM: 3.2 Stage: 0.0 Need Password: 0 Password OK: 1 Writing rz-fastboot-loader.bin at 0xfffa0000... [DONE] Running at 0xfffa0000... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=65536, seq=0... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=393216, seq=1... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=229376, seq=2... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=245760, seq=3... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=294912, seq=4... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=65536, seq=5... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=1406320, offset=81920, seq=6... [DONE] [BL2 END]
Now lsusb should show the following device:
Bus 002 Device 016: ID 18d1:0d02 Google Inc. USB download gadget Serial: 1234567890
Step 4: Wipe the eMMC
sudo fastboot devices 1234567890 fastboot
sudo fastboot flashing unlock_critical sudo fastboot flashing unlock sudo fastboot erase bootloader sudo fastboot erase bootloader-boot0 sudo fastboot erase bootloader-boot1
sudo fastboot reboot
Unplug and plug the power of Zero, lsusb should show the following:
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 1b8e:c003 Amlogic, Inc. GX-CHIP
the eMMC is wiped and Zero is in maskrom mode now. You can install other OS to eMMC now.
macOS
For macOS, we use amlogic boot tool to download the bootloader and boot the Zero into the fastboot mode to erase the eMMC.
Step 1: Install pyamlboot tool
brew install python lsusb pip3 install pyamlboot
Step 2: Install fastboot
Nexus Tools is an installer for the Android SDK Platform Tools package, which includes ADB, Fastboot, and other applications. We use Nexus Tools to install fastboot. If you already have fastboot installed, you can skip this step.
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/corbindavenport/nexus-tools/master/install.sh)
After it finishes,
which fastboot
should return you the install location.
Step 3: Boot into fastboot mode
Press and hold the USB boot button on Zero, plug in it to PC, lsusb should see the following:
Bus 002 Device 030: ID 1b8e:c003 Amlogic, Inc. GX-CHIP
Download the fastboot loader and run it on Zero
wget https://dl.radxa.com/zero/images/loader/factory-loader.img boot-g12.py factory-loader.img
It should output:
Firmware Version : ROM: 3.2 Stage: 0.0 Need Password: 0 Password OK: 1 Writing rz-fastboot-loader.bin at 0xfffa0000... [DONE] Running at 0xfffa0000... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=65536, seq=0... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=393216, seq=1... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=229376, seq=2... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=245760, seq=3... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=49152, offset=294912, seq=4... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=16384, offset=65536, seq=5... [DONE] AMLC dataSize=1406320, offset=81920, seq=6... [DONE] [BL2 END]
Now lsusb should show the following device:
Bus 002 Device 016: ID 18d1:0d02 Google Inc. USB download gadget Serial: 1234567890
Step 4: Wipe the eMMC
fastboot devices 1234567890 fastboot
fastboot flashing unlock_critical fastboot flashing unlock fastboot erase bootloader fastboot erase bootloader-boot0 fastboot erase bootloader-boot1
fastboot reboot
Unplug and plug the power of Zero, lsusb should show the following:
Bus 002 Device 014: ID 1b8e:c003 Amlogic, Inc. GX-CHIP
the eMMC is wiped and Zero is in maskrom mode now. You can install other OS to eMMC now.