IMX477 driver install script won't run on Raspberry Pi 4 - Exec format error

Raspberry Pi Cameras
1

Having trouble getting the focus driver installed on my IMX477 motorized focus camera. I’m following the quick start guide on the Arducam docs site. The problem is the build_and_install.sh file won’t run as a script. When I run ./build_and_install.sh I just get ‘Exec format error’. What’s odd is the file shows up as a binary tar file, not a script, even after I decompress the archive. Running it on a Raspberry Pi 4.

2

Can you share a bit more detail? Which exact camera module and Pi you’re using, which archive file you downloaded, and the exact command plus the full output. That’ll help narrow this down.

3

It’s the IMX477 Motorized Focus Camera on a Raspberry Pi 4. I’m following this guide: For 12MP IMX477 Motorized Focus Camera - Arducam Wiki. The archive is imx477_rpi_dtoverlay.tar.gz. The command is just:

./build_and_install.sh

And the only output I get is:

Exec format error

4

That archive (imx477_rpi_dtoverlay.tar.gz) is a compressed tarball, not an executable, so you can’t run it directly. The ‘Exec format error’ is exactly what happens when you try to execute a compressed/archived file. What you need to do is:

  1. Unzip the archive first (tar -xzf imx477_rpi_dtoverlay.tar.gz)
  2. cd into the folder it extracts
  3. Run ./build_and_install.sh from inside that folder

Give that a shot and let me know what you get.

5

I did unzip it though. The archive extracts fine and I’m inside the extracted folder when I run ./build_and_install.sh. The issue is the .sh file itself is being identified as a binary tar file, not as a script, even after decompression. I’ve attached a screenshot of what I’m seeing. I followed the quick start guide step by step, so I don’t think it’s an extraction problem on my end.

6

Thanks for the screenshot, that’s helpful. I checked on our side and it looks like the file that was on the download server had a problem - it wasn’t packaged correctly, so the .sh inside was actually a tar/binary payload instead of the real script. We’ve updated the file just now. Can you delete the copy you have, download imx477_rpi_dtoverlay.tar.gz again, and try the extract + run steps once more?

7

Tried that - deleted everything, re-downloaded the archive, decompressed it again. The build_and_install.sh inside still gets identified as a binary tar file and still throws ‘Exec format error’. Same behavior as before.

8

Right, so what was happening is the file you originally grabbed was mislabeled - the script content itself was wrong (a tar/binary blob instead of the actual shell script), which is why even a correct extraction gave you a non-executable file. The updated version is now live on the server. Please make sure you’re not getting a cached copy - delete the old file completely and grab the fresh updated imx477_rpi_dtoverlay.tar.gz. After extracting, build_and_install.sh should show up as a proper shell script and run without the Exec format error. If a fresh download still behaves the same way, let me know and we’ll keep digging.

9

Thanks - after deleting the old copy and grabbing a fresh one, it finally extracts to a proper script and runs. Appreciate the help.