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Jetson OS Backup & Restore

Complete guide for backing up and restoring Jetson OS images on AFE-R750.

Overview​

Jetson OS Backup and Recovery allows you to create backup images of your Jetson device and restore them to the same or different Jetson devices.

NVIDIA Documentation

Part 1: Prepare Host PC​

Step 1: Required Hardware​

First, prepare the following:

  • ✅ X86 Host PC with Ubuntu 22.04 or later
  • ✅ Disk Space: At least 256 GiB
  • ⚠️ Do not use VM - Use physical machine
  • ✅ USB Cable: Type-A to Type-C with data capable
  • ✅ Jetson Device: AFE-R750 example

Host PC Setup

USB Connection

Step 2: Prepare Image on Host​

Download Image:

Important Notes:

  • ❌ Do NOT use root# or mouse to extract
  • ✅ Download the same JetPack image version as on Jetson device

Step 3: Install Pre-requisites on Host​

After extracting AFE-R750 image, install required packages:

sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER
sudo apt update
sudo ./Linux_for_Tegra/tools/l4t_flash_prerequisites.sh
sudo reboot

Part 2: Put AFE-R750 in Recovery Mode​

Step 1: Power Off and Connect​

  1. Shutdown Jetson device first
  2. Connect USB Type-A to Type-C cable from Host to its FLASH port

Power Off and Connect

Step 2: Open Bottom Cover​

Open the bottom cover of AFE-R750 to access recovery pins.

Bottom Cover

Step 3: Configure Recovery Pins​

  1. Set the RST_RCOVY pin 2 to ON position
  2. Press the power button
  3. AFE-R750 will boot into recovery mode

Recovery Mode Setup

Step 4: Verify Connection​

On Host, open terminal and execute:

lsusb

Verify that AFE-R750 is detected in recovery mode.

Connection Verification

Part 3: Backup JetPack​

Step 1: Navigate to Image Directory​

On Host, enter image folder first:

cd Linux_for_Tegra

Step 2: Check Disk Space​

Make sure free space is larger than storage size on Jetson device.

Step 3: Run Backup Command​

Execute command to backup:

sudo ./tools/backup_restore/l4t_backup_restore.sh -e `<rootdev>` -b `<board>`

Parameters:

  • <rootdev>: Storage name
    • eMMC: mmcblk0p1
    • NVMe: nvme0n1
  • <board>: Jetson SoC type
    • AGX Orin 32/64G: jetson-agx-orin-devkit
    • Orin NANO 4/8G and Orin NX 8/16G: jetson-orin-nano-devkit

Example: Backup AGX Orin 32G NVMe:

sudo ./tools/backup_restore/l4t_backup_restore.sh -e nvme0n1 -b jetson-agx-orin-devkit

Board Reference

Part 4: (Optional) Compress Backup JetPack​

After backup is completed:

  1. Go back to previous folder:

    cd ../

  2. Compress backed-up JetPack with sudo permission:

    sudo tar zcf `<Backup_Filename>.tar.gz` ./Linux_for_Tegra

Why compress to .tar.gz file?

  • ✅ Parts of files in the image may be links or have different permissions
  • ✅ If moving or copying the folder to other location, file properties or links may change
  • ✅ This may lead to image corruption
  • ✅ The <Backup_Filename>.tar.gz can be safely shared

Compress Backup

Part 5: Restore JetPack​

Step 1: Prepare Restore Image​

On Host, extract the backed-up image:

sudo tar zxf `<Backup_Filename>.tar.gz`
cd Linux_for_Tegra

Step 2: Verify Recovery Mode​

Make sure your Jetson device has already entered recovery mode.

Step 3: Execute Restore Command​

sudo ./tools/backup_restore/l4t_backup_restore.sh -e `<rootdev>` -r `<board>`

Parameters (same as backup):

  • <rootdev>: Storage name
    • eMMC: mmcblk0p1
    • NVMe: nvme0n1
  • <board>: Jetson SoC type
    • AGX Orin 32/64G: jetson-agx-orin-devkit
    • Orin NANO 4/8G and Orin NX 8/16G: jetson-orin-nano-devkit

Example: Restore AGX Orin 32G NVMe:

sudo ./tools/backup_restore/l4t_backup_restore.sh -e nvme0n1 -r jetson-agx-orin-devkit

Board Reference

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