TOTL Workstation

Logging In

The default username for the TOTL Workstation is trossen. The default password for the TOTL Workstation is TOTL. For some older models, the default password may be trossen ai or trossen-ai. You can change this password after logging in for the first time.

Note

It is highly recommended to change the default password to ensure the security of your workstation.

Installed Software

The TOTL Workstation comes pre-installed with all the necessary software to get started with the Trossen AI robots and kits. This includes:

  • python3-dev

  • python3-venv

  • python3-pip

  • miniconda3

  • cmake

  • git

  • build-essential

  • ros-build-essential

  • ros-jazzy-desktop

  • trossen_arm_ros

  • librealsense2-utils

  • librealsense2-dkms

  • librealsense2-dev

  • teensy_loader_cli

  • trossen_ai_data_collection_ui

  • and more…

Redeployment Instructions

If your Linux installation becomes unusable or support has provided you with a base system image, you can restore the entire system using the steps below.

Important

This process will completely erase the selected internal drive and replace it with a fresh copy of the base Linux image. All existing data on that drive will be permanently deleted.

1. What You Need

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • The target PC you want to restore

  • A USB boot drive (32 GB or larger) for the Ubuntu bootable USB

  • A USB or external image drive (64 GB or larger) containing the system images provided at this link:

    • system.img.xz (main system image)

    • efi.img.xz (EFI boot partition image)

  • A Linux machine to create the bootable USB (Ubuntu recommended)

  • Internet access is not required during redeployment

  • No additional software is required beyond what is included with Ubuntu.

2. Create the Ubuntu Bootable USB (on a Linux system)

  1. Download the Ubuntu Desktop ISO from: https://ubuntu.com/download

  2. Insert your USB boot drive (32 GB or larger drive).

  3. Open Startup Disk Creator:

    • Press Super / Windows key

    • Search for Startup Disk Creator

  4. In Startup Disk Creator:

    • Select the downloaded Ubuntu Desktop ISO

    • Select the correct USB device

    • Click Make Startup Disk

  5. Wait for completion, then safely remove the USB.

3. Boot the Target PC From the Ubuntu USB

  1. Insert:

    • The Ubuntu bootable USB

    • The USB/external image drive containing the image files

  2. Power on the PC and open the boot menu (Repeatedly press DEL)

  3. Select the Ubuntu USB, then proceed to save and exit

  4. When prompted, choose: “Try Ubuntu” (Do not install Ubuntu)

You are now running a live environment.

4. Wipe and Recreate the Internal Drive (GNOME Disks)

  1. Open Disks:

    • Press Super

    • Search for Disks

    • Open Disks (GNOME Disks)

  2. In the left sidebar, select the internal SSD (Confirm by size — e.g., 2 TB NVMe)

  3. Click the ⋮ (three dots) menu → Format Disk

  4. Use these settings:

    • Erase: Don’t overwrite existing data (Fast)

    • Partitioning: Compatible with modern systems and hard disks >2TB (GPT)

  5. Click Format

This removes all partitions and prepares the drive.

5. Create Required Partitions (GParted)

With the same drive selected, you are going to create 2 new partitions on the 2TB SSD (by clicking the plus button on the partition details screen)

EFI Partition

  • Size: 2 GB

  • Filesystem: FAT32

  • Flags:

    • boot

    • esp

Root (System) Partition

  • Size: Remaining space

  • Filesystem: ext4

Click Apply to commit changes.

6. Restore the EFI Image (GNOME Disks)

  1. Select the EFI partition (small FAT32 partition)

  2. Click the settings button → Restore Partition Image (make sure this isn’t the entire disk, just on the partition)

  3. Select: efi.img.xz

  4. Confirm restore and wait for completion

7. Restore the System Image (GNOME Disks)

  1. Select the ext4 root partition (larger partition)

  2. Click the settings button → Restore Partition Image (make sure this isn’t the entire disk, just on the partition)

  3. Select: system.img.xz

  4. Confirm restore and wait (This may take several minutes)

8. Expand the Root Filesystem to Fill the Drive (GParted)

  1. Open GParted

  2. Select the root (ext4) partition

  3. Click Resize/Move

  4. Drag the partition to use all remaining space

  5. Click Apply

This ensures the system uses the full SSD capacity.

9. Repair Bootloader (Terminal)

  1. Open Terminal

  2. Run this code to mount and bind directories:

sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot/efi
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys

10. Reboot Into the Restored System

  1. Shut down the PC

  2. Remove:

    • Ubuntu USB

    • Image USB

  3. Power the PC back on

The system should now boot normally into the restored Linux environment.