Preparing for the Factory Reset of Your AWS DeepRacer Vehicle - AWS DeepRacer
PrerequisitesPreparation

Preparing for the Factory Reset of Your AWS DeepRacer Vehicle

Resetting your AWS DeepRacer completely wipes the data on the device and returns it to its factory settings. To prepare, there are steps you need to take that require additional hardware. This topic explains what you need to get started and walks you through the process.

Prerequisites

Before you get started make sure you have the following items ready:

  • 1 USB flash drive, 32 GB or larger

  • A computer to facilitate preparation - Choose one of the following options:

    • Option 1: Set up your AWS DeepRacer compute module as a Linux computer with a mouse, keyboard, monitor (connect with HDMI type A cable)

    • Option 2: Connect AWS DeepRacer to an Ubuntu, MacOS, or Windows computer

  • An AWS DeepRacer vehicle

    Important

    Confirm which AWS DeepRacer hardware model you are resetting to insure you download the correct image and factory reset file

    • A: Vehicles ordered from amazon.com have a white "AWS" logo on the chassis - use 0.0.8 BIOS path

    • B: Vehicles originating from re:Invent 2018 have no text on the chassis - use 0.0.6 BIOS path

Preparation

To prepare for the factory reset, perform the following tasks.

  • Format the USB drive into the following two partitions.

    • FAT32 of 2 GB

    • NTFS of at least 16 GB

  • Make the USB drive bootable to start the factory reset on reboot.

    • Burn the required custom Ubuntu ISO image to the FAT32 partition.

    • Copy the required factory restore files to the NTFS partition of the USB drive.

Depending on the computer you use, specific tasks may differ from one operating system to another. We present step-by-step instructions to prepare your USB drive using Ubuntu (via the computer module of the AWS DeepRacer vehicle), MacOS, and Windows operating systems.

The instructions for using other Linux or Unix computers are similar to the Ubuntu instructions discussed in the following section. You need to replace the apt-get commands with the corresponding commands supported by the other Linux or Unix system that you choose to use instead.

Choose one of the following procedures according to the type of computer you use.

In the following steps, use the AWS DeepRacer vehicle computer module as an Ubuntu computer. The same instructions apply to a Linux computer running Ubuntu. The instructions on other flavors of Linux or Unix operating systems are similar. Just replace the apt-get * commands with their corresponding commands supported by the other Linux or Unix system of your choosing.

To partition the USB drive and make it bootable

  1. To format the USB drive by running Ubuntu commands on the AWS DeepRacer vehicle or a computer running Ubuntu, do the following.

    1. On the AWS DeepRacer vehicle compute module, run the following commands to install and launch GParted. 

      sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install gparted
sudo gparted
      Image: Open the GParted console.

    2. On the newly created GParted console, choose /dev/sda in the drop-down menu on the top-right corner and then delete all existing partitions.

      If the partitions are locked, open the context (right-click) menu and choose unmount.

    3. To create the FAT32 partition of 2 GB capacity, choose the file icon on the top-left, set the parameters similar to the following, and then choose Add.

      Free space preceding: 1

      New size:2048

      Free space following: 27951

      Align to: MiB

      Create as: Primary Partition

      Partition name::

      File system: fat32

      Label: BOOT

      Image: Create the FAT32 partition on the GParted console.

    4. To create the NTFS partition of at least 16 GB capacity, choose the file icon again, set the parameters similar to the following, and choose Add.

      Free space preceding: 0

      New size:27951

      Free space following: 0

      Align to: MiB

      Create as: Primary Partition

      Partition name:

      File system: nfts

      Label: Flash

      Image: Create the NTFS partition on the GParted console.

    5. After you've created the FAT32 and NTFS partitions, the USB drive partition information appears in the GParted console.

      Image: Apply the partitions on the GParted console.

  2. To make the USB drive bootable from the FAT32 partition, follow these steps.

    1. Download the customized Ubuntu ISO image appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Use UNetbootin on your AWS DeepRacer device, to do the following:

      1. On your AWS DeepRacer compute module, run the following command to install and launch UNetbootin. 

        sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install unetbootin
sudo unetbootin

      2. On the UNetbootin window, do the following:

        1. Check the Disimage radio button.

        2. For the disk image, choose ISO from the drop-down menu.

        3. Open the file picker to choose the downloaded Ubuntu ISO file.

        4. For Type, choose USB Drive.

        5. For Drive, choose /dev/sda1.

        6. Choose OK.

        Image: Set ISO file for boot disk image (Ubuntu).
        Note

        The customized Ubuntu image may be more recent than what's shown here. If so, use the most recent version of the Ubuntu image.

        If you get a /dev/sda1 not mounted alert message, choose OK to close the message, unplug the USB drive, replug the drive, and then follow the steps above create the Ubuntu ISO image.

  3. To copy the factory restore files to the NTFS partition of the USB drive, follow these steps.

    1. Download the compressed factory restore package appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Unzip the downloaded package, and copy the uncompressed files to the second (NTFS) partition of the USB drive.

Follow the instructions here to use a MacOS computer to prepare the USB drive for factory reset.

To partition the USB drive and make it bootable by using a MacOS computer

  1. To format the USB drive, follow these steps.

    1. Plug in the USB drive to your MacOS computer.

    2. Press command + space to open the search tool bar and then type Disk Utility.

      Alternatively, you can choose Finder->Applications->Utilties->Disk Utility to open the Disk Utility.

    3. Choose the plugged-in USB drive, e.g., Generic Flash Disk which may differ from your USB drive name, on the left pane of Disk Utility. Then choose Erase on the top.

      Image: Open the MacOS Disk Utility console.

    4. On the Erase "Generic Flash Disk Media"? page, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Format, choose GUID Partition Map for Scheme, and then choose Erase.

      Image: Clean up USB drive on the MacOS Disk Utility console.

      After the USB drive is refreshed, choose Done to continue on the Erasing "Generic Flash Disk Media"? dialog window.

    5. On the Disk Utility console, choose the USB drive on the left navigation pane, choose Partition from the menu on the top, and then choose the + button on the Partition device … pop-up.

    6. To create the FAT32 partition of 2 GB capacity, under Partition Information type Boot (or another name of your choosing) for Name, choose MS-DOS (FAT) for Format, set Size to 2 GB. Do not choose Apply yet.

      Image: Create the FAT32 partition on the MacOS Disk Utility console.

    7. To create the partition for the updated AWS DeepRacer image, choose a point in the other (Untitled) partition. Under Partition Information, type Flash (or another name of your choosing) for Name, choose ExFat for Format, leave the remaining capacity (in GB) of the USB drive in Size. Choose Apply.

      Image: Create the ExFAT partition on the MacOS Disk Utility console.

    8. On the ensuing pop-up window, choose Partition to confirm creation of the specified new partitions.

      Image: Confirm FAT32 and ExFAT partitions on the MacOS Disk Utility console.

    9. On the Disk Utility console, choose the BOOT partition on the left pane, and then choose Info from the menu on the top. Make note of the BSD device node value. In this tutorial, the value is dsa1. You need to supply this path when making the USB drive bootable from the FAT32 partition.

  2. To make the USB drive bootable from the FAT32 partition, follow these steps.

    1. Download the customized Ubuntu ISO image appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Go to https://unetbootin.github.io/ to download the UNetbootin software. Then start the UNetbootin console.

    3. On the UNetbootin console, do the following:

      1. Check the Disimage radio button.

      2. For the disk image, choose ISO from the drop-down menu.

      3. Open the file picker to choose the downloaded Ubuntu ISO file.

      4. For Type, choose USB Drive.

      5. For Drive, choose /dev/sda1.

      6. Choose OK.

      Image: Set ISO file for boot disk image (Ubuntu).
      Note

      The customized Ubuntu image may be more recent than what's shown here. If so, use the most recent version of the Ubuntu image.

      If you get a /dev/sda1 not mounted alert message, choose OK to close the message, unplug the USB drive, replug the drive, and then follow the steps above create the Ubuntu ISO image.

  3. To copy the factory restore files to the ExFAT partition of the USB drive, follow these steps.

    1. Download the compressed factory restore package appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Unzip the downloaded package, and copy the uncompressed files to the second (ExFAT) partition of the USB drive.

Follow the instructions here to use a Windows computer to prepare the USB drive for factory reset.

To partition the USB drive and make it bootable by using a Windows computer

  1. To format the USB drive, follow these steps.

    1. Open the Windows command prompt, type diskmgmt.msc, and choose OK to launch the Windows Disk Management Console.

      Image: Open the Windows Disk Management console.

    2. From the Disk Management console, choose the USB drive. Delete all the partitions and make the drive unallocated. The example in the screenshot here shows Disk 1 Removable (D:) as the USB drive.

      Image: Clean up USB drive on the Windows Disk Management console.

    3. To create the FAT32 partition of 2 GB capacity, open the Disk Management console and choose the USB drive. Open the context (right-click) menu and choose New Simple Volume from the context menu.

      Image: Create the FAT32 partition on the Windows Disk Management console.

    4. On the New Simple Volume Wizard, choose 2048 for Simple volume size in MB and then choose Next.

      Image: Create the FAT32 partition on the Windows Disk Management console.

    5. On the New Simple Volume Wizard page and under Format Partition, choose the Format this volume with the following settings. Then, choose FAT32 for File system, Default for Allocation unit size and any label (e.g., BOOT) for Volume label. Finally, choose Next to create the FAT32 partition.

      Image: Create the FAT32 partition on the Windows Disk Management console.

    6. To create the NTFS partition of the remaining disk capacity, open the Disk Management console. Choose the USB drive and open the context (right-click) menu to choose New Simple Volume. Choose the Format this volume with the following settings option. Choose NTFS for File system, Default for Allocation unit size, and a label (e.g, Flask) for Volume label. Finally, choose Next to start creating the NTFS partition.

      Image: Create the NTFS partition on the Windows Disk Management console.

  2. To make the USB drive bootable from the FAT32 partition, follow these steps.

    1. Download the customized Ubuntu ISO image appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Go to https://unetbootin.github.io/ to download the UNetbootin software. Then start the UNetbootin console.

    3. On the UNetbootin console, do the following:

      1. Check the Disimage radio button.

      2. For the disk image, choose ISO from the drop-down menu.

      3. Open the file picker to choose the downloaded Ubuntu ISO file.

      4. For Type, choose USB Drive.

      5. For Drive, choose /dev/sda1.

      6. Choose OK.

      Image: Set ISO file for boot disk image (Ubuntu).
      Note

      The customized Ubuntu image may be more recent than what's shown here. If so, use the most recent version of the Ubuntu image.

      If you get a /dev/sda1 not mounted alert message, choose OK to close the message, unplug the USB drive, replug the drive, and then follow the steps above create the Ubuntu ISO image.

  3. To copy the factory restore files to the NTFS partition of the USB drive, follow these steps.

    1. Download the compressed factory restore package appropriate for your AWS DeepRacer model:

    2. Unzip the downloaded package. If your favorite tool can't unzip the file successfully, try using the PowerShell Expand-Archive command.