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This document describes how to install an Android image to the ROCK 5 ITX.

ROCK 5 ITX can be booted from microSD card , EMMC and SPI+NVME, depending on the boot method, the system will be installed on different media.

Install the operating system

Before starting ROCK 5 ITX using microSD card/eMMC, it is necessary to erase the SPI as follows:

  1. Download the Loader file locally
  1. Enter maskrom mode

  • Disconnect the board from the power supply.

  • Remove the SD card and insert the eMMC module.

  • Connect the USB3.0 port of the Radxa ROCK 5 ITX to the PC side with USB cable.

  • Press and hold the Maskrom key，Power up the board.

  • Remove the right yellow jumper cap and keep the left yellow jumper cap.

  • Check for USB devices

    • Linux/macOS: Check if "Bus 001 Device 112: ID 2207:350a Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Company" is displayed after running lsusb.
    • Windows: Open RKDevTool and you will see the device in "maskrom mode".
  1. Erase SPI as follows

Windows use rkdeveloptool ROCK 5 ITX erase SPI

Preparation​

  • 1x microSD card (capacity >=16GB, speed level >= class10)
  • 1x microSD card reader
  • 12V DC Power Supply

Image Download​

Please go to Resource Download Summary to download the corresponding image file.

Install the system​

We recommend using the open-source image flashing tool Etcher, developed by our partner Balena. Etcher has a user-friendly interface and powerful features, with support for Windows, Linux, and macOS systems. Next, we'll show you how to use Etcher to write an image to an SD card.

  1. Download Etcher and install it.

Please download balenaEtcher-Setup-1.18.11.exe After the download is complete, there is no need to perform any additional actions. After downloading, you can double click it to open it without any additional operation.

  1. Open Etcher

    rock5itx

  2. Open Etcher and click Flash from file to select the image to write to.

    rock5itx

  3. Click Select target to select the device, please select carefully.

    rock5itx

  4. Click Flash! Start writing and wait for the write progress bar to complete.

    rock5itx

  5. When writing the image successfully, Etcher will display Flash Complete!.

    rock5itx

**If there is an error in flashing, please try again. **

  1. Starting the system
After successfully burning the microSD card according to the above steps,
insert the microSD card into the MicroSD slot of (as shown
below), power on the system with the  power adapter, and
then the system will start booting and HDMI will display the desktop.
tip

Recommended official 30W adapter Radxa PD 30W adapter.

sd slot
  1. Logging in to the system

After the system has started, log in using the radxa account with the password radxa.

Boot the system​

  • After successfully burning the microSD card as described above, insert the microSD card into the microSD slot of ROCK 5 ITX.
  • Using a 12V DC power adapter to power the ROCK 5 ITX.

Reference Documentation​