After flashing a Jetson with stock LT4 21.2 (See Jetpack Installation), there are some setup tweaks that make the system more suitable for desktop use. Looky here:
Note: The video and directions on this page have been updated (3-10-15). the directions have changed slightly since this article was first published (as has the video). A ‘Tag’ on Github was created for the LT4 21.2 release, and the video and instructions have been updated accordingly.
The scripts have been placed in a repository on Github: https://github.com/jetsonhacks/postFlash.
Installation
The above video was shot immediately after the Jetson was flashed.
Open a Terminal and execute the following:
$ sudo apt-get install git
$ git clone -b JetsonTK1-L4T-21.2 https://github.com/jetsonhacks/postFlash.git
$ cd postFlash
$ ./configureSystem.sh
After installation, reboot the system for the changes to take effect.
Changes and Addtions
Chromium is installed as a browser. Firefox has issues downloading .zip files, so Chromium is a good alternative. Two other applications are also installed, aptitude and git.
USB 3.0 is enabled. The default is USB 2.0, /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf must be modified to enable USB 3.0.
Two scripts are installed in /usr/local/bin. To conserve power, by default the Jetson suspends power to the USB ports when they are not in use. In a desktop environment, this can lead to issues with devices such as cameras and webcams. The first script disables USB autosuspend.
Note: (May 27, 2015) There’s an even better way to disable USB autosuspend, which is to pass a command line parameter to the boot loader. Here’s a blog entry, USB Autosuspend, that discusses how this change works. For 21.3+, there is no USB autosuspend script.
Also to conserve power, the Jetson manipulates the CPU cores and GPU clock speeds. The second script sets everything up for maximum performance.
Note: These changes will add about 0.5W of extra power draw.
LT4 21.2 has issues with Ethernet running at 1Gb/S. /etc/rc.local is modified to run Ethernet at 100 Mb/S. rc.local is also modified to run the disable USB autosuspend and maximize performance scripts on startup.
The Jetson feels much more stable as a desktop environment after making these changes.
Note
You may find it more convenient to store the postFlash repository on a USB drive or SSD that is then plugged into the Jetson, so that it is simply a matter of running the configure script from local storage.