Buildroot

Environment Setup

Prepare an Ubuntu 20.04/22.04 x86_64 host machine.

A virtual machine is also acceptable:

• ubuntu-22.04.5-live-server-amd64 virtual machine with at least 120GB of available disk space.

Install Build Dependencies

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python2 git rsync gcc g++ make device-tree-compiler bc flex bison lz4 libssl-dev libgmp-dev libmpc-dev expect expect-dev file unzip bzip2 fakeroot bsdmainutils
sudo ln -s /bin/python2 /bin/python

Get Rockchip Original SDK

• Mega: https://mega.nz/file/kjZExAzL#pzw5des1W_rDzTm-P2iLAJ-n9RLYQY-gEVajpm3U_sQ
• Baidu Netdisk: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1bm4IXy7tJ-sBDVdMxehRAQ?pwd=1pty

Extract the SDK

On the Ubuntu PC, use the following commands to extract the SDK:

tar xvf rk3588_linux6.1_rkr4_sdk.repo.tar
.repo/repo/repo sync -l

Add ROCK 5C Board Support

Use Radxa's maintained rockchip repository:

cd device/rockchip
git remote add radxa https://github.com/radxa/device-rockchip.git
git fetch radxa
git checkout -b rk3588-linux-6.1 remotes/radxa/rk3588-linux-6.1

Use Radxa's maintained u-boot repository:

cd u-boot
git remote add radxa https://github.com/radxa/u-boot.git
git fetch radxa
git checkout -b next-dev-buildroot remotes/radxa/next-dev-buildroot

Use Radxa's maintained kernel repository:

cd kernel
git remote add radxa https://github.com/radxa/kernel.git
git fetch radxa
git checkout -b linux-6.1-stan-rkr4.1-buildroot remotes/radxa/linux-6.1-stan-rkr4.1-buildroot

Use Radxa's maintained rkwifibt repository:

cd external/rkwifibt
git remote add radxa https://github.com/radxa/rkwifibt.git
git fetch radxa
git checkout -b develop remotes/radxa/develop

Use Radxa's maintained buildroot repository:

cd buildroot
git remote add radxa https://github.com/radxa/buildroot.git
git fetch radxa
git checkout -b rockchip/2024.02 remotes/radxa/rockchip/2024.02

Add WiFi Module Configuration

Before building the SDK, enable the WiFi-related configurations as follows:

Enable AIC8800D80_USB Macro

In the SDK's top-level directory, run make menuconfig, search for the keyword "aic" to find the "supported modules" option, and select "AIC8800D80 USB" as shown below:

After selection, the WiFi module driver files will be compiled into the rootfs.

Enable BR2_PACKAGE_RKWIFIBT_AIC8800D80_USB_FIRMWARE Macro

For the WiFi module to function properly, firmware needs to be loaded.

Add BR2_PACKAGE_RKWIFIBT_AIC8800D80_USB_FIRMWARE=y to the buildroot/configs/rockchip_rk3588_defconfig file as shown below:

Enabling BR2_PACKAGE_RKWIFIBT_AIC8800D80_USB_FIRMWARE will install the WiFi firmware in the system.

Build the SDK

In the SDK's top-level directory, run the command:

./build.sh

Then select the configuration file rockchip_rk3588s_rock_5c_defconfig.

After the build is complete, the images will be generated in the rockdev/ directory. The system image file is update.img.

Flash the Image

Flash Image to eMMC

On a Linux/Mac OS host, use the upgrade_tool utility through the Type-A port to flash the system image update.img to eMMC:

upgrade_tool uf update.img

On a Windows host, use the RKDevTool utility through the Type-A port to flash the system image update.img to eMMC.

Flash Image to microSD Card

Use SDDiskTool to flash the generated image to a microSD Card.

SDDiskTool is Rockchip's official SD card flashing tool.

• Download SDDiskTool

  • SDDiskTool currently only has a Windows version, so please use it on a Windows computer.

  • Download link:SDDiskTool_en_v1.74.zip

• Flash SD card

  • We need to flash the corresponding complete image in RK format.

  • Complete image in RK format refers to The update.img image compiled using a series of Linux SDKs released by Rockchip based on Buildroot

  • Open the executable file SD_Firmware_Tool.exe of SDDiskTool and insert the SD card.

    warning

    When multiple storage devices are connected, please ensure you select the correct SD card to flash, otherwise other storage devices may be overwritten.

  • Select the SD card to flash from the removable disk devices, choose SD Boot as the function mode, ensure that the firmware upgrade is a complete image in RK format, and finally click Create to flash the image.

    

  • Please be patient during the flashing process. The image contains many partitions, and if the image is large, the flashing time will be longer.

If you encounter problems clearing the MBR while burning, you need to change the SD card disk label type from dos to gpt.

Windows

• Delete all partitions and convert to gpt using command prompt under windows

  • Press Win + X and select Windows Terminal (Administrator) or Command Prompt (Administrator).

  • Enter the following command and press Enter:

Host-Windows$

diskpart

• Then, enter the following command to list all disks:

Host-Windows$

list disk

• Locate your SD card (assuming it is disk 3) and enter:

Host-Windows$

select disk 3

• (If your SD card has a different disk number, change 3 to the correct number accordingly.)

• Clear all partitions on the disk:

Host-Windows$

clean

• (This deletes all partitions and data on the SD card.)

• Converts a disk to GPT format:

Host-Windows$

convert gpt

• Type exit to exit the diskpart utility.

Linux

• Use the fdisk command to change the label format to gpt on Linux.

  • Find your SD card (assuming it's /dev/sdb) and enter:

Host-Linux$

sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

• Type p and the label format and partition of the current disk will be displayed.

• Then type g to convert the disk to gpt format

• Then just type wq to save and exit.