History

XO-AU USB introduction

The XO-AU USB is a software 'Swiss Army knife' for XOs. Intended to be easy to use, it can be used to easily install an operating system on one or more XOs. It can also assist in recovery, repair and support scenarios.

This is OLPC Australia's official means of delivering software updates to schools. A stable version of the XO-AU OS is included.

We try and keep things simple by taking care of technical matters automatically. Firmware and deployment keys are installed automatically.

Goal

A key design goal of the XO hardware is its easy repairability. Why not extend that principle to the software? In keeping with the principle of constructionist learning, users should be free to experiment, and hence learn, in whatever way they like. If they make a mistake, no problem — just re-write the OS image and start afresh. We should be allowed to make mistakes, so that we can learn from them.

The XO-AU USB is intended to make this, and more, possible a manner that is actually usable in the classroom. No technical expertise is assumed.

Features

  • support for XO-1 and XO-1.5 devices
  • easy to create a stick (just extract the zip)
  • file is self-verifying (if it is damaged, the zip won't extract)
  • easy to replicate (just copy the files)
  • included stable version of XO-AU OS
  • a user-friendly boot menu (no commands to type!), providing the option to:
    1. install the included XO-AU OS
    2. broadcast (using NANDblaster's nb-secure) the included XO-AU OS to other XOs
    3. run hardware tests
    4. show manufacturing data (for support purposes)
  • automatic upgrade of firmware (if required)
  • automatic installation of OLPC Australia's deployment keys (if required)
  • like our other files, hosted on our AARNET mirror for fast downloads from schools
  • to avoid restrictions/costs on school networks, we are keeping the file size below 1GB
  • can be easily adapted for other deployments (just substitute in a different OS build, firmware and deployment keys)

Where to get it

As with our other projects, grab it from our download servers. The latest stable version is always in the /XO/USB/latest/ directory.

See our Releases page for detail.

How to use it

To start, you need a developer-unlocked XO. All XO-1.5s distributed in Australia are developer-unlocked.

Note: flashing your XO will remove any customisations and files that you have saved. If there's anything you need to keep, back it up first.

User-friendly instructions

These instructions are intended for end-users, including teachers in the field. They are printable.

Summary

Requirements:
  • creating the stick will work fine on Windows, Mac and Linux machines
  • a working Internet connection to download the file
  • a USB stick with a minimum of 1GB free space
  • an XO battery with at least 50% charge (likely okay if the light is green)
Prepare the stick:
  1. download the latest version for your XO hardware
  2. insert and mount the USB stick on your computer
  3. extract the zip file directly to the USB stick (make sure that you include the subdirectories)
Use it:
  1. ensure that the XO is turned off
  2. connect the battery (AC power is not required, but recommended)
  3. insert the USB stick
  4. turn it on

What you should see

The XO may automatically reboot a few times as it upgrades firmware and installs our deployment keys. After that, you'll see the boot menu.

As a safety precaution, the firmware will not upgrade if you do not have either a battery with sufficient charge (basically, not close to flat) or external power connected.

If you press 1 to write the operating system to the XO, you will be first prompted to test the lid switches and heat spreader. This is a precaution to ensure that your XO hardware is in a good state to safely handle the process. The test will go like this:
  1. Activate lid switch — close the XO lid and reopen
  2. Activate e-book switch — swivel the screen, fold it down to e-book mode, then reopen and swivel to normal
  3. Testing heat spreader — wait a few seconds for this test to complete on its own

If the test was successful, the operating system writing will commence. If not, you will receive a warning. If you acquired your XO from OLPC Australia, you can contact us about it.

After a selected menu option has completed its action, you will see a message saying "Type a key to power off". After you do this, remove the USB stick if you want to boot the XO as per normal.

Testing and troubleshooting

If your USB stick is not working as expected, check the file and directory structure. It should look something like this:

.
./boot
./boot/15
./boot/15/bootfw2.zip
./boot/15/bootfw.zip
./boot/locked.fth
./boot/olpc.fth
./fs.zd
./fs.zip
./keys
./keys/o2.pub
./keys/s2.pub
./keys/w2.pub
./README.html

If firmware and deployment keys are not upgraded, and you don't get the boot menu, your XO is most probably developer locked. Refer to the OLPC documentation for instructions on unlocking your XOs.

See the Testing page for more information on our testing processes.

History

This project is based on our earlier work on an installation menu.

Creating_a_USB_stick.pdf - Creating a USB stick (XO-AU USB 2) (360 kB) Sridhar Dhanapalan, 24 July 2011 12:20 pm

Updating_your_XO_general.pdf - Updating your XO (XO-AU USB 2) (185.6 kB) Sridhar Dhanapalan, 24 July 2011 12:20 pm