Flashing Fails with "tar: write checkpoint" Error on Ubuntu 20.04

Robotics & Edge Computing Jetson & Embedded Systems Jetson Orin Nano
1

I’m trying to flash my Jetson Orin Nano Devkit (8GB) using SDK Manager on a native Ubuntu 20.04 machine (not using a VM or WSL), but the process keeps failing despite multiple attempts.

I’m attempting to flash the system directly to an SSD, not a SD card. During the “Flash Jetson Linux” step, I consistently encounter errors like this:

Error: flash jetson linux - flash: tar: write checkpoint <a number>

These messages appear several times before the process eventually fails. I’ve attached the final few lines from the terminal showing the failure, and I’m also including the exported error logs as a ZIP file for reference:

22:38:02 INFO: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: Cleaning up...
22:38:02 ERROR: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: [exec_command]: /bin/bash -c /home/isaac/.nvsdkm/replays/scripts/JetPack_6.2_Linux/NV_L4T_FLASH_JETSON_LINUX_COMP.sh; [error]: rpcbind: another rpcbind is already running. Aborting
22:38:02 INFO: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: [ Component Install Finished with Error ]
22:38:02 INFO: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: [host] [ 15.92 GB used. Disk Avail on Partition /dev/sda2: 32.90 GB ]
22:38:02 INFO: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: [ NV_L4T_FLASH_JETSON_LINUX_COMP Install took 59m24s ]
22:38:02 ERROR: command error code: 11
22:38:02 ERROR: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: command terminated with error
22:38:02 SUMMARY: Flash Jetson Linux - flash: First Error: Installation failed.

SDKM_logs_JetPack_6.2_Linux_for_Jetson_Orin_Nano_[8GB_developer_kit_version]_2025-04-05_20-41-54.zip (295.6 KB)

Has anyone encountered this issue before? Any suggestions on how to fix this or what might be causing it?

Thanks in advance!

3

Hi,

Some options you could try:

  • reboot the host to release resource and run sdk manager again.
  • disable the firewall and run sdk manager again.

Thanks

4

Thanks for your suggestions!

I’ve already tried rebooting the host machine and even went as far as reinstalling a fresh copy of Ubuntu 20.04. I also made sure that the firewall (ufw) is disabled during the flashing process. Unfortunately, the issue still persists — the flashing process keeps failing with similar tar: write checkpoint and rpcbind related errors.

Do you have any other ideas or suggestions on what might be causing this? Appreciate your help!

5

Hi David, I wanted to follow up and share that I was able to resolve the issue. It turned out the problem was due to the slow read/write speed of the storage medium I was using for my Ubuntu system — it was installed on a regular external hard drive. After I reinstalled Ubuntu onto an internal SSD, the flashing process completed successfully without any errors.

So for anyone encountering similar tar: write checkpoint or rpcbind errors during the “Flash Jetson Linux” step, I’d recommend checking the performance of your host system’s storage. Slow I/O can apparently cause the flash process to fail.

Hope this helps others!

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