Imaging your Classmate (Veteran/Rookie Image Download)
This document describes the procedure for creating a bootable USB drive to restore the 2013 FRC image on a Classmate computer. Note that Veteran teams are not required to re-image their Classmates. If you do not wish to re-image your Classmate you will need either a USB optical drive or to copy the contents of the LabVIEW DVD to a USB Flash drive (the WindRiver DVD as well if using C++) then you can start with the appropriate document for C++, Java, LabVIEW, or DS only.
Prerequisites
- E09, E11, or E12 Classmate computer
- 8GB or larger USB drive
- 7-Zip software installed. Download here (www.7zip.org) As of the writing of this document, the current released version is 9.20 (2010-11-18)
- RMprepUSB software installed. Download here (http://www.rmprepusb.com/documents/release-2-0) Scroll down the page and select the stable version’s download link. As of the writing of this document, the current stable version is 2.1.648
Download the Classmate Image
Download the Classmate image from the Intel classmate PC FIRST FRC System Image Portal http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/intel-learning-series/first-frc-image-system-overview.html There are several Classmate images available for the 2013 season. Once you have logged into the download site, select the option that best fits your desired use case; as a Driver Station only, or as a Driver Station and robot code development platform. Due to the limited size of hard drive in the E09, separate images are necessary for each of the development environment options. The E11 and E12 have sufficient space which allows for all the development environments to be installed at the same time.
NOTE: These images only install the prerequisite core FRC software, it is still necessary to install the 2013 season-specific updates. Links for these updates are available via the FRC Control System web site, which goes live at 12PM Eastern on 05Jan2012.
Preperation
- Place the image file downloaded from the Intel site to a folder on your root drive (e.g. C:\2013_Image)
- Connect 8GB or larger USB Flash drive to the PC to use as the new restoration drive.
RMPrep
Start/Run RMprepUSB
Select USB Drive
Set Partition Size
Set Partition Size to MAX
Set Volume Label
Set Volume Label to Generic
Set Bootloader Option
Select Bootloader Option “WinPE v2/WinPE v3/Vista/Win7 bootable”
Select Filesystem
Select NTFS Filesystem
Copy OS Files Option
Ensure the “Copy OS files after Format” box is checked
Locate Image
Select the “Choose Folder/File” button
Copy Files Dialog
Choose “No” and select your .7z image
Prepare Drive
All configuration settings are now complete. Select “Prepare Drive” to begin the process
Confirmation Dialog 1
Click “OK” to execute the command on the selected USB Flash drive. A Command Prompt will open showing the progress.
Confirmation Dialog 2
Click “OK” to format the USB drive
NOTE: ALL DATA ON THE DRIVE WILL BE ERASED!
Copy Complete
Once formatting is complete, the restoration files will be extracted and copied to the USB drive. This process should take ~15 minutes when connected to a USB 2.0 port. When all files have been copied, this message will appear, press OK to continue.
Eject Drive
Press the “Eject Drive” button to safely remove the USB drive. The USB drive is now ready to be used to restore the image onto the Classmate PC.
Applying the Image
- With the Classmate turned ‘Off’; insert the USB Flash drive with the Restoration image into a USB port on the Classmate
- Turn the Classmate ‘On’; when the “2Go PC” splash screen appears, repeatedly press/release (as if typing) the F11 key until the Boot Options screen appears
Select USB Drive
Using the arrow keys scroll down to the USB Device and press Enter .
Note, the USB drive used to create this document came up listed only as “USB DISK”. Your USB device may be listed under a different name.
Setup Initializing
Windows setup will begin to install. This Command Prompt window will be displayed:
Main Menu
When Setup completes, the Main menu will display.Type 1 to restore the Classmate then press Enter
Image Confirmation
Confirm the Image is correct for your model Classmate and desired image type. Then type “Y” and press Enter. The screenshot below shows the installation for the Driver Station-only image for the E09.
Confirm Restore
Confirm the Restoration by typing “Y” then press Enter
Restoration Complete
When the Restoration is complete, press any key to reboot
Remove USB Drive
Remove the USB Flash Drive while the Classmate is rebooting.
Initial Driver Station Boot
The first time the Classmate is turned on, there are some unique steps, listed below, that you’ll need to take. The initial boot may take several minutes; make sure you do not cycle power during the process.
Please note that these steps are only required during original startup.
Enter Setup
- Log into the Developer account.
- Click “Ask me later”.
- Click “OK”. The computer now enters a Set Up that may take a few minutes.
Activate Windows
- Establish an Internet connection.
- Once you have an Internet connection, click the Start menu, right click “Computer” and click “Properties”.
- Scroll to the bottom section, “Windows activation”, and Click “Activate Windows now”
- Click “Activate Windows online now”. The activation may take a few minutes.
- When the activation is complete, close all of the windows.
Microsoft Security Essentials
- Navigate through the Microsoft Security Essentials Setup Wizard. Once it is complete, close all of the windows.
Select a theme
- Set a theme for your computer by right clicking anywhere on the Desktop and clicking “Personalize”.
- Scroll within the themes and select a theme. We recommend “Windows 7 Basic”. Note that using any of the “Aero” themes has been shown to slow down processing when using the Microsoft Kinect.
Update Software
In order for the Classmates to arrive at Kickoff locations in time, they were shipped before the final version of the software was ready. It is essential that you update your classmate software before proceeding so that you are using the most updated software throughout this set up and during competition.
NI Utilities Update (Required to Image cRIO)
The previous installation steps installed the support files needed for the NI FRC Utilities, but the Utilities themselves are contained in a separate update for release timing purposes. This installation is required to re-image your cRIO. Go here to download the FRC Utilities Update. Unzip the downloaded file, then locate and double-click autorun.exe. Click Install FRC Utilities to continue. If you see a security dialog pop-up, click Yes.
Utilities Update Installer
Click Next to continue.
Search for Updates
Uncheck the box to Search for important.... then click Next to start the installation.
License Agreement
Select the I accept bubble to accept the license agreements, then click Next to start the installation. When the installation completes, click Finish to exit the installer.
FRC Driver Station Update (Required to Control Robot)
The NI Tools install installs the support files for the FRC Driver Station, the Driver Station program itself is contained in a separate update for release timing purposes. Go here to download the FRC Driver Station Update. Unzip the downloaded file, then locate and double-click autorun.exe. Click Install Driver Station to continue. If you see a security dialog pop-up, click Yes.
Driver Station Installer
Click Next to continue.
Install Options
Leave the install options at the defaults and click Next.
Search for Updates
Uncheck the box to Search for important.... then click Next to start the installation. When the installation completes, click Finish to exit the installer.
License Agreement
Click "I accept the License Agreement." to accept the terms of the license agreements shown, then click Next. When the installation completes, click Finish to exit the installer.
Imaging the cRIO
After completing the Utilities and DS updates, the cRIO needs to be imaged to work with the FRC Control System, see the Imaging your cRIO section for details.
Errors during Imaging Process
If an error is detected during the imaging process, the following screen will appear. Note that the screenshot below shows the error screen for the Driver Station-only image for the E09. The specific image filename shown will vary depending on the image being applied.
The typical reason for the appearance of this message is due to an error with the USB device on which the image is stored. Each option is listed below with further details as to the actions you can take in pursuing a solution. Pressing any key once this error message is shown will return the user to the menu screen shown in Step 4 on page 10.
Option 1
Using same image on the existing USB Flash drive: To try this option, press any key to return to the main menu and select #1. This will run the imaging process again.
Option 2
Reload the same image onto the USB Flash drive using RMPrepUSB: It’s possible the error message was displayed due to an error caused during the creation of the USB Flash drive (e.g. file copy error, data corruption, etc.) Press any key to return to the main menu and select #4 to safely shutdown the Classmate then follow the steps outlined starting on page 3 of this document to create a new USB Restoration Key using the same USB Flash drive.
Option 3
Reload the same image onto a new USB Flash drive using RMPrepUSB: The error message displayed may also be caused by an error with the USB Flash drive itself. Press any key to return to the main menu and select #4 to safely shutdown the Classmate. Select a new USB Flash drive and follow the steps outlined starting on page 3 of this document.
Option 4
Reload the same image onto a new USB Flash drive using RMPrepUSB: The error message displayed may also be caused by an error with the USB Flash drive itself. Press any key to return to the main menu and select #4 to safely shutdown the Classmate. Select a new USB Flash drive and follow the steps outlined starting on page 3 of this document.
No WiFi Driver on E11 w/250GB hard drive
The two E11 images posted for download work without issue on the E11 Classmates included in the Kit of Parts during the 2011 FRC season. This model E11 includes a 160GB hard drive.
Teams who received an E11 in the 2012 Kit of Parts or who opted to purchase an E11 Classmate directly from CTL during 2012 received a model with a 250GB hard drive. The images posted on Intel’s website will install to this model E11 without any errors during the process, but will not have the necessary driver for WiFi communication installed. The wireless chipset included in the E11 w/250GB hard drive is different enough that the software driver isn’t compatible with the one included for the E11 w/160GB hard drive.
Teams wishing to use a WiFi connection on the E11 w/250GB hard drive can download the necessary driver from FIRST using the link below.
Installing the Driver
To install the driver:
- Copy the WiFi_Driver_E11_250GB_HDD.zip to the Desktop of the E11 Classmate.
- Extract the files (Right-click->Extract All…)
- Open the folder and execute Setup.exe
- Follow the prompts to complete the installation; a reboot is necessary upon completion of the install.