Obtain the operating system

The first step is to prepare the micro SD card with an operating system (in short: OS). An OS is a software that manages the hardware and software resources of the computer, making it usable for user applications. There are several operating systems, for example Microsoft Windows, macOS by Apple Inc, and the free GNU/Linux (or just Linux). Linux, and in particular a distribution called Udoobuntu, is the main operating system of the NEO.

In the UDOO-EDU kit you will find a micro SD card with preloaded the Udoobuntu OS. You can thus use the micro SD straight away. However, if you prefer to work with the latest release of the OS, you can download an “image” (i.e. a ready-to-use copy of the entire OS) from the Udoo web site. See 4 to know more about the differences among the preloaded and latest version of Udoobuntu.

If you are happy with the preloaded version, you can skip to the next section. Otherwise, if you have decided to go for the latest release, follow these steps to put it on the micro SD card:

Open this website: https://www.udoo.org/downloads and click on “Mirror EU” under either the Udoobuntu or Udoobuntu Minimal tab to download the official image. The Udoobuntu Minimal is a reduced version of the OS that is suitable for setting up the NEO as a headless device. Take note of the name of the downloaded file, for example: udoobuntu-udoo-neo-minimal_2.2.0.zip.
Now it is time to put the just downloaded OS on the SD card. This is the trickiest part, as it requires some delicate operations.
- At first, you need a micro SD card whose size is at least 4 GB (but no greater than 64 GB).
- Then you have to extract the image from the downloaded file. The way to extract depends on the OS you are using on your PC: Windows, Mac OS, Linux.
  - Windows: use a ZIP extractor, such as 7-Zip, to extract the file; do not use the pre-installed archive extractor (the one you get through Microsoft File Explorer).
  - Linux and Mac OS: open a terminal, then use unzip to extract the image, for example: unzip udoobuntu-udoo-neo-minimal_2.2.0.zip
- Now write the image on the SD card. Again, the procedure depends on your operating system.
  - Windows
    Be careful in selecting the correct drive identifier; if you use the wrong identifier you may lose all data in your PC!
    - Download the Win32DiskImager software from http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
    - Insert the micro SD card into your PC; you may need an adapter and/or a SD card reader.
    - Run the file named Win32DiskImager.exe by right-clicking on it and selecting "Run as administrator". If the micro SD card (or device) is not automatically detected, click on the drop down box on the right and select the identifier of the micro SD card drive where it that has been plugged in (e.g. [H:]). If your micro SD card is not listed, try to format it using the FAT32 file system.
    - In the Image File box, choose the Udoobuntu image file (.img) and click "Write". Click "yes" in case a warning message pops up.
    - If you have problems, have a look at this video tutorial: https://www.udoo.org/tutorial/creating-a-bootable-micro-sd-card-using-wi...
  - Linux
    Be careful in selecting the correct drive identifier; if you use the wrong identifier you may lose all data in your PC!
    - Open a terminal and run
      df -h
    - Insert the micro SD card into your PC; you may need an adapter and/or a SD card reader. Run df -h again: you should notice a new device that was not listed before: this is the micro SD card you just inserted. The left column shows the device name assigned to it by Linux, for example /dev/mmcblk0p1 or /dev/sdb1. The last part of the name (p1 or 1, respectively) is the partition number, which, in our case, is not necessary. Therefore copy the name without that part. For example: /dev/mmcblk0 or /dev/sdb.
    - Unmount all the partitions in the SD card, for example:
      sudo umount /dev/sdd1
    - Write the image on the Micro SD card using the dd command:
      sudo dd bs=1M if=<img_file_path> of=<device>
      (you might need to either type "sudo" or login as root, depending on your Linux distribution)
      Please make sure that you replace the argument of input file (<img_file_path>) with the path to the image file you noted above, for example: /home/alice/Downloads/udoobuntu-udoo-neo-minimal_2.2.0.img, and the output file argument (<device>) with your device, for example: /dev/sdb.
    - Once dd has been completed, run:
      sudo sync
    - If you have problems, have a look at this video tutorial: https://www.udoo.org/tutorial/creating-a-bootable-micro-sd-card-with-lin...
  - Mac OS:
    Be careful in selecting the correct drive identifier; if you use the wrong identifier you may lose all data in your PC!
    - Open a the terminal and run
      df -h
    - Insert the micro SD card into your PC; you may need an adapter and/or a SD card reader. Run df -h again: you should notice a new device that was not listed before: this is the micro SD card you just inserted. The left column shows the device name assigned to it by Linux, for example /dev/disk3s1. Now consider the raw device name , by omitting the final s1 and replacing disk with rdisk; for example use rdisk3.
    - Unmount all the partitions in the SD card, for example:
      sudo diskutil unmount /dev/disk3s1
    - Write the image on the Micro SD card using the command:
      sudo dd bs=1m if=<img_file_path> of=<device>
      Please make sure that you replaced the argument of input file (<img_file_path>) with the path to the image file you noted above (for example: /Users/alice/Download/udoobuntu-udoo-neo-minimal_2.2.0.img) and the output file argument (<device>) with your device, for example: /dev/rdisk3.
    - Once dd has been completed, run:
      sudo sync
      sudo diskutil eject /dev/rdisk3
    - If you have problems, have a look at this video tutorial: https://www.udoo.org/tutorial/creating-a-bootable-micro-sd-card-with-mac...