How to flash your compute module
The device should come pre-flashed. If you need to flash a new CM5 or your current system image is corrupted, follow the guide below.
-
Hold the CM5-BOOT button, then plug in the USB-C cable (one end into the device and the other into your PC).
-
If connected correctly, you should see the red LED turn on. Now follow the steps here to enable
rpiboot
. -
Once
rpiboot
runs successfully, your PC might prompt that a new device has been recognized — you can ignore that for now. Open Raspberry Pi Imager and flash our provided image onto the device. -
When prompted to customize the image:
- Set a username and password (use whatever you prefer, but make sure to save them — the default we use is:
distiller
/one
) - Enter your Wi-Fi name and password if you want the device to auto-connect to your network. This will also let you see the IP address for SSH access after boot.
- Enable SSH
- Set a username and password (use whatever you prefer, but make sure to save them — the default we use is:
-
Now flash the image and wait for the process to complete.
How to Mount SD Card
Once SD card inserted, follow the steps below :
If you run:
you should see the SD card drive listed.
Then, create a mount point:
Assuming your SD card’s partition is /dev/mmcblk1p1
and it’s formatted as FAT32 or ext4, mount it with:
Finally, verify the contents:
to check if the files show up correctly.
If you want the SD card to automatically mount at boot, follow the steps below carefully:
1. Find the device’s UUID
Run:
Look for your SD card (e.g., /dev/mmcblk1p1
) and copy its UUID
.
2. **Edit **/etc/fstab
Open the file:
Add a new line at the end using the UUID. Example for FAT32:
Or for ext4:
Replace YOUR_UUID_HERE
with the actual UUID from step 1.
The
nofail
option ensures your system still boots even if the SD card is not inserted.
3. Create the mount directory (if not already created)
4. Test it works
You can test the fstab
entry without rebooting:
Then check: