Can Windows 10 IOT image be installed without SD card?

[jimmyli]

Hi, 

     Our customer is developing the i.mx8m plus with windows 10 IoT system.

     We have helped them to run windows 10 iot in i.mx8m plus platform, followed by <i.MX Windows 10 IoT Quick Start Guide> V1.5.0 , but they hope to download windows 10 iot image to eMMC without SD card.

    Does this can implement it?

    Thanks very much.

[Michal_Minarcik]

@karina_valencia You can assign this ticket to me. Thank you.

Have a nice day,

Michal

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @jimmyli,

There are currently 2 ways to install Windows IoT on a board:

1. Using an SD card as described in the Quick Start Guide
2. Using a USB Flash Drive. In this case, the procedure is similar to when creating an SD card, only the image is not uploaded to the SD card, but to a USB flash drive. And the Firmware needs to be uploaded to the eMMC memory. Then the boot DIP switch is set to eMMC.

Once the system is installed on the eMMC, it is possible to work with the .FFU image. .FFU image can be created in Windows PE and then applied to another board. Deployment is then much faster this way.

Possible procedure for working with .FFU image:
1. On the SD card or USB flash drive, I rename the install.cmd.txt file, for example, to install.cmd_old.txt (this is so that the given file is not found during installation and thus the process stops in Win PE)
2. I will list the disks via Diskpart and find the name of the medium on which I want to upload the .ffu image (it needs to be NTFS, due to the size of the resulting image)
3. I will use the commands below to Capture .FFU from the given device:

#Capture FFU
DISM /capture-ffu /imagefile=x:\WinOEM.ffu /capturedrive=\\.\PhysicalDrive0 /name:disk0 /description:"Windows 10 FFU"

4. On the new board I get into Win PE again and can do an Apply .FFU:

#Apply FFU
DISM /apply-ffu /ImageFile=x:\WinOEM.ffu /ApplyDrive:\\.\PhysicalDrive0

A detailed procedure on how to work with .FFU image can be found here

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

@Michal_Minarcik  Hello, I capture FFU using the command "DISM /capture-ffu /imagefile=x:\WinOEM.ffu /capturedrive=\\.\PhysicalDrive0 /name:disk0 /description:"Windows 10 FFU"" failed.

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

What exactly was the command syntax for the Capture .FFU you were entering?

Just to clarify. "X" is the drive letter of the SD card or USB flash drive where the .FFU image will be stored. You can find out via Diskpart and the "list vol" command.

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik , I can see the "X" drive letter in the cmd.exe.

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

Windows PE creates a temporary environment and it is often mapped to the "x" drive.E.g. If you would like to save the .FFU image to an SD card or USB Flash drive and you would list "list vol", it could be the letter "o:" as seen in your attached picture - if it is a storage, where do you want it. FFU image save. Otherwise, you need to connect another device for capturing.

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik I changed the letter "x" to "o", but the same error occurred.

 

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

In the attached image I see that there is Disk 0, which is the system you will want to do the Capture .FFU on. Next, there is Disk 1, which I assume is the SD card, which is FAT32 formatted and the .FFU image will not fit there (it's around 9GB). Therefore, it is necessary to connect another storage device (Disk 2) - a USB flash drive, on which I will perform .FFU capture.

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik  I have connected another usb flash drive with format "ntfs", but the errors are the same. may be the windos os that I used, it don't support dism captrue-ffu ?  the windows os is "en-us_windows_10_iot_enterprise_ltsc_2021_arm64_dvd_e8d4fc46.iso"

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

Do you have a system already installed on the eMMC? Because the structure after the "list vol" command should look like in my attached picture.
We at NXP use a different Windows ISO image. Is yours listed downloaded from Microsoft?

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik  I captured FFU sucessfully, thank you very much!

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

I'm glad to hear that it worked. What about the installation from a USB flash drive, was it successful?

Have a nice day,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik  Yes, the other board can  be installed from  a USB flash drive using FFU, Thanks again.

[CEAC-zhenchao]

Hello, according to step 2, the customer still does not understand how to operate, is there any operation guide document for reference? thank you.

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @CEAC-zhenchao,

We currently do not have an official document where the procedure is stated. However, you can follow the procedure below (I tested now for BSP 1.5.1)

The procedure is similar to installing from an SD card:

1. The contents of the installation are copied to a USB flash drive. (make-winpe-enterprise.cmd /apply 1)
2. Burn Firmware to eMMC. (Switch the DIP switches to USB download mode and burn the Firmware)
3. To install from a USB flash drive, switch the DIP switches to boot from eMMC.
4. The installation either starts by itself or the USB flash drive is selected in the "UEFI menu".

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello, i follow the steps outlined above, install from a USB flash drive failed. thank you.

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

Can you please send a screenshot when you are in Diskpart and enter list disk command?
If you have the option to install OS from the SD card, does the installation complete properly?

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik ,

i can install OS from the SD card complete properly, by the way i use the BSP 1.5.0, must it change to BSP 1.5.1? thank you.

[Michal_Minarcik]

Hello @zhengyb9527,

It should also work in BSP 1.5.0. Do you have the possibility to try the installation in version 1.5.1? I can try more testing on the board until Monday when I'm in the office.

Based on my experience, the disk list in Diskpart should look like the attached image. So one drive is an eMMC on board and the other is an SD card/USB flash drive. Do you have another device connected there? Isn't it connected via some kind of reader that you can see more disks?

What board are you testing on? Please also send me the schematic version of the board you are testing on.

Best regards,

Michal

[zhengyb9527]

Hello @Michal_Minarcik ,

I don't has a USB flash drive, so I use the usb SD card reader connect to 8MPULLS board.