The process of installing a distribution in the BeagleBone differs between the White and Black versions. The BBW does not have a built-in flash memory, unlike the BBB. The process of installing a distribution on the BBW is a matter of writing the image onto the microSD card and booting from it. In contrast, the BBB has an onboard memory to which you can copy the files. However, the BBB also offers a microSD slot. This provides the BBB user with an option to test out a distribution using the microSD card while keeping the stock image intact, similar to how a BBW is set up.
Before beginning, make sure that the following items are available:
A blank microSD card at least 1 GB or bigger. The size needed depends on the image; internal flash on a BBB is 2 GB on older revisions and 4 GB on newer revisions. The card does not need to be blank but the contents will be erased in the process, so make sure that there is nothing on the card that you want to keep...