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Jetson Xavier NX Setup

Some sections are marked as untested. Be prepared to manually troubleshoot if you follow them.

Introduction

There are two ways to flash this device. One is to connect it via micro USB to a host PC. This method requires a Linux native host, and you can follow the official instructions on Nvidias page then. Do not try with WSL or virtual machines or docker on Windows. It will not work, it's not supported, and many hours have been wasted trying to make it work.

Windows

There is only one way that is known to be working, and that is flashing a jetpack image to an sd card.

  1. Jetpack 5.1.3 is the latest Jetpack that is compatible with Xavier NX at the time of writing. Download the image for SD card here https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/jetpack-sdk-513 (Orin NX is a newer platform, but since this is a Xavier make sure you pick the right one)
  2. Flash the image to an SD card with Balena etcher. https://etcher.balena.io/

The first time you start the jetson with the sd card, the boot some times get stuck on "starting configuration process" or similar. Then you need to make sure you connect a keyboard and mouse and restart the jetson. The GUI should come up after a couple of minutes and you can configure the OS. For convenience and consistency within this project, we use knightec both as user and password.

Move the OS to NVME SSD​

If the Xavier NX has an SSD attached to its m2 slot, you can move the OS to it since it's usually a bit faster than SD card. This process can be done via SSH.

Backup Your Data​

Make sure to back up any important data on your SD card.

Install an Editor​

In this example, we'll use nano.

sudo apt-get install nano

List Your Storage Devices to Identify the SD Card and NVMe​

List your storage devices to identify the SD Card and NVMe:

lsblk

Assume the SD Card is mmcblk0p1 and NVMe is nvme0n1p1, but it might be different on your device.

Prepare the NVMe Drive​

Boot your Jetson device using the SD card. Open a terminal. List your storage devices to identify the NVMe drive:

lsblk

Start parted to partition the NVMe drive (assuming it is /dev/nvme0n1):

sudo parted /dev/nvme0n1

Create a new partition table:

mklabel gpt

Create a new primary partition:

mkpart primary ext4 0% 100%

Exit parted:

quit

Format the New Partition​

Format the new partition with the ext4 filesystem and set a label (optional):

sudo mkfs.ext4 -L KnghtSSD /dev/nvme0n1p1

Mount the NVMe Drive​

Create a mount point and mount the NVMe drive:

sudo mkdir /mnt/nvme
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/nvme

Clone the SD Card to the NVMe Drive​

Use rsync to copy the root filesystem, excluding the special filesystems:

sudo rsync -axHAWXS --numeric-ids --info=progress2 / /mnt/nvme

Ensure Special Filesystems Are Not Mounted​

Bind mount special filesystems to ensure they are correctly handled during the chroot:

sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/nvme/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/nvme/sys
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/nvme/dev
sudo mount --bind /run /mnt/nvme/run

Update the Boot Configuration​

Edit the boot configuration to make the NVMe drive the primary boot option:

First, save a backup.

sudo cp /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf.bak

Then edit the file.

sudo nano /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

Modify the extlinux.conf to make NVMe the default boot option. You will see an entry with LABEL primary. Copy the section and rename it to nvme. Make sure that root is set to /dev/nvme0n1p1 on that section. Your end result will look something like this:

** Don't copy the text below , it's just an example. **

TIMEOUT 30
DEFAULT nvme

MENU TITLE Jetson Xavier NX Boot Options

LABEL nvme
  MENU LABEL Boot from NVMe (Primary)
  LINUX /boot/Image
  INITRD /boot/initrd
  APPEND ${cbootargs} root=/dev/nvme0n1p1 rw rootwait

LABEL sdcard
  MENU LABEL Boot from SD Card (Backup)
  LINUX /boot/Image
  INITRD /boot/initrd
  APPEND ${cbootargs} root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rw rootwait

The information in your file is probably a little bit different, and that's why you make a copy of the section. Pay attention to the MENU LABEL as this is what you will be seeing in your boot options menu. Save and exit the file.

Unmount and Reboot​

Unmount the special filesystems and the NVMe drive:

sudo umount /mnt/nvme/proc
sudo umount /mnt/nvme/sys
sudo umount /mnt/nvme/dev
sudo umount /mnt/nvme/run
sudo umount /mnt/nvme

Reboot the Jetson device:

sudo reboot

During the boot up, you will see two choices, 0 and 1. It corresponds to the sections in your extlinux.conf, so if you put the nvme on top 0 is going to be booting from nvme.

Verify​

After rebooting, verify that the system is running from the NVMe drive:

df -h /

The output should indicate that the root filesystem is /dev/nvme0n1p1 or similar, confirming that the system is booting from the NVMe.

Now that you have booted into the NVME, you should copy the extlinux.conf from the sd card, since that file was changed after the file system was copied.

I understand your frustration. Copying the extlinux.conf from the SD card to the NVMe is a straightforward way to ensure that both boot options are preserved. Here’s how you can do it:

Steps to Copy extlinux.conf from the SD Card to the NVMe​

  1. Mount the SD Card:

    • Assuming you're booted into the NVMe, mount the SD card to a directory:
    sudo mkdir /mnt/sdcard
    sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/sdcard

  2. Copy extlinux.conf from the SD Card to the NVMe:

    • Copy the extlinux.conf file from the SD card's boot directory to the NVMe:
    sudo cp /mnt/sdcard/boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

  3. Verify the Copy:

    • Ensure that the file was copied correctly by viewing it:
    cat /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf

  4. Unmount the SD Card:

    • Once done, unmount the SD card:
    sudo umount /mnt/sdcard

  5. Reboot to Test:

    • Reboot the system to confirm that the copied extlinux.conf works as expected:
    sudo reboot

Summary

  • The NVMe is configured as the primary boot drive, and the SD card is set as a backup boot option.
  • The extlinux.conf file is modified to default to the NVMe drive, but provides an option to boot from the SD card if needed.
  • If the NVMe drive fails, you can manually select the SD card from the boot menu to continue using the device.

Set up VNC server (Untested)

Ubuntu on Jetson comes with Vino preinstalled.

Configure​

This guide will help you set up Vino, the GNOME default VNC server, on your Jetson Nano using SSH.

Steps to set up Vino​

You may need to start up the jetson with HDMI connected. (Verification needed). Replace YourPassword with the password of your choice. This will be used when you log in via VNC.

cd /usr/lib/systemd/user/graphical-session.target.wants && \
sudo ln -s ../vino-server.service ./.

If it says the service already exists that's fine.

gsettings set org.gnome.Vino prompt-enabled false && \
gsettings set org.gnome.Vino require-encryption false && \
gsettings set org.gnome.Vino authentication-methods "['vnc']" && \
gsettings set org.gnome.Vino vnc-password $(echo -n 'YourPassword' | base64)

Auto Login (Needs testing)​

Edit the GDM Configuration:​

You will need to edit the GDM custom configuration file to enable automatic login for your desired user. Open the GDM custom configuration file with a text editor:


sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf

Add Configuration for Automatic Login:​

Inside the custom.conf file, add the following lines to specify the user for automatic login:


[daemon]
AutomaticLoginEnable = true
AutomaticLogin = username

Replace username with the username of the account you want to log in automatically.

Save and Exit:​

Press Ctrl+O, then press Enter, and finally press Ctrl+X to exit.

Configure virtual screen​

You need to configure a virtual screen to get a good resolution on the VNC server.

sudo apt install nano
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Paste this at the bottom of the file

Section “Screen”
    Identifier “Default Screen”
    Monitor “Configured Monitor”
    Device “Tegra0”
    SubSection “Display”
		Depth 24
		Virtual 1422 800 # Modify the resolution by editing these values
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Press CTRL + O and enter to save and CTRL + X to exit.

Be aware that this will make your HDMI stop working, because the screen gets assigned to the VNC instead. If you want to use the HDMI for display, you have to use SSH, remove the screen section from xorg.conf and reboot.

You can also skip the step where you add the screen section alltogether. Then you will have to start the jetson with HDMI connected, and you will be able to use VNC to see the screen.

Restart the System:​

To apply the changes, you need to restart the system. You can do this through SSH:

sudo reboot

Restore xorg.conf (If things don't work)​

If you want to restore the backup for some reason:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup /etc/X11/xorg.conf

4. Connect from a Remote Machine​

On your remote machine, open your VNC client. Connect using the Jetson Nano's IP address. When prompted, enter the password you set earlier. If it doesn't work, check if the service is running on the jetson:

systemctl --user status vino-server

If not, you have to run

systemctl --user enable vino-server
systemctl --user start vino-server

Then it should work.

Manually Adding Vino to Startup​

To start the Vino server automatically, you can add it to the autostart applications in your desktop environment.

  1. Create a Desktop Entry for Vino:

    mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
    nano ~/.config/autostart/vino-server.desktop

  2. Add the Following Content to the File:

    [Desktop Entry]
    Type=Application
    Name=Vino VNC Server
    Exec=/usr/lib/vino/vino-server
    X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true

  3. Save and Close the File: Save the changes and exit the text editor.

  4. Reboot the System: Reboot your system to apply the changes.

    reboot

Autologin terminal (Optional)​

If you for some reason don't want a GUI, or have trouble with gdm3, you can do the autologin differently. The terminal you get on startup is called tty1.

Here's how to configure autologin on tty1:

1. Edit /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/override.conf:

  • This file allows you to override the default settings for the getty@tty1 service, which manages the login prompt on tty1.
  • If the directory getty@tty1.service.d or the file override.conf doesn't exist, you'll need to create them.
  • Use a text editor (like nano or vim) to create or edit the file:
sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/override.conf

2. Add the Autologin Configuration:

  • In the override.conf file, add the following lines:
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin [your_username] --noclear %I $TERM
  • Replace [your_username] with your actual username.
  • Save the file and exit the editor.

3. Reload Systemd Configuration:

  • Apply the changes by reloading the systemd configuration:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

4. Enable the Getty Service (If Needed):

  • Ensure that the getty@tty1 service is enabled:
sudo systemctl enable getty@tty1.service

5. Reboot:

  • Reboot your Jetson to apply the changes:
sudo reboot