Smaller Ubuntu root file system

[epoletaev]

Hello,

We struggle to install Ubuntu using flex-installer on a 4GB eMMC - root file system won't fit.

Is there a smaller ubuntu root file system archive?

Or maybe we can re-partition device differently?

[June_Lu]

Please follow the LSDK21.08 4.1.6.4 Automatically download and deploy LSDK images.

[epoletaev]

Hi,

Tried to start from prepared 16GB SD Card.

Boot didn't happen, even card is looks good when mounted on the same board using tinycore linux.

At least boot script content is looking OK on the file system as well as boot and root partitions, not sure how to check everything else.

U-Boot 2022.04+fsl+g181859317b (Nov 15 2022 - 06:28:05 +0000)

SoC: LS1012AE Rev2.0 (0x87040020)
Clock Configuration:
CPU0(A53):1000 MHz
Bus: 250 MHz DDR: 1000 MT/s
Reset Configuration Word (RCW):
00000000: 0800000a 00000000 00000000 00000000
00000010: 35080000 c000000c 40000000 00001800
00000020: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00014571
00000030: 00000000 18c2a120 00000096 00000000
DRAM: 958 MiB
Using SERDES1 Protocol: 13576 (0x3508)
Core: 17 devices, 13 uclasses, devicetree: separate
MMC: FSL_SDHC: 0, FSL_SDHC: 1
Loading Environment from SPIFlash... SF: Detected n25q00a with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 128 MiB
OK
In: serial
Out: serial
Err: serial
Model: LS1012A RDB Board
Board: LS1012ARDB checkboard: Cannot find udev for a bus 0
Net: PFE class pe firmware for Linux
PFE tmu pe firmware for Linux
PFE class pe firmware for u-boot
PFE tmu pe firmware for u-boot
eth0: pfe_eth0, eth1: pfe_eth1
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
switch to partitions #0, OK
mmc0 is current device
Scanning mmc 0:1...
Found U-Boot script /ls1012ardb_boot.scr
685 bytes read in 1 ms (668.9 KiB/s)
## Executing script at 80000000
Failed to load 'boot/Image'
Failed to load 'boot/fsl-ls1012a-rdb.dtb'
Bad Linux ARM64 Image magic!
SCRIPT FAILED: continuing...
libfdt fdt_check_header(): FDT_ERR_BADMAGIC
Scanning disk esdhc@1560000.blk...
Scanning disk esdhc@1580000.blk...
Found 10 disks
No EFI system partition
ERROR: invalid device tree
Scanning mmc 0:2...
libfdt fdt_check_header(): FDT_ERR_BADMAGIC
ERROR: invalid device tree
Scanning mmc 0:3...
libfdt fdt_check_header(): FDT_ERR_BADMAGIC
ERROR: invalid device tree
Scanning mmc 0:4...
libfdt fdt_check_header(): FDT_ERR_BADMAGIC
ERROR: invalid device tree

[epoletaev]

Seems issue with boot from SD Card was the card itself.

I switched the card and was able to load the system.

[epoletaev]

Thanks @ramprakash07! When flex-installer see device smaller than 8GB it applies default partition scheme for small devices and ignore specified partition scheme. This scheme however did not help with 4GB device, so I modified defaults and was able to install the system. Unfortunately for some reason it does not boot, complaining about FIT kernel. So I'm trying to use larger SD Card, while waiting for larger eMMC chip. Will update once I have some results.

[ramprakash07 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Having trouble fitting the Ubuntu root file system on a 4GB eMMC using the flex-installer? This often happens with limited storage space. Two solutions are available: Firstly, opt for the smaller Ubuntu Core, a minimal version that should fit your 4GB eMMC. Find it on the official Ubuntu website. Secondly, consider re-partitioning your device by shrinking or removing non-essential partitions to create more room for the root file system. Be cautious to avoid data loss or instability. Here's a code snippet demonstrating how to resize a partition using the fdisk command:

sudo fdisk /dev/mmcblk0 d 2 n p 2 [Start point] [New size] w

Remember to adapt the commands to your device and requirements. Feel free to ask for more assistance!