Hello,
I still cannot boot into this beautiful laptop. Black screen.
Red light when charging it.
I could continue to try to get-it-going. Unsure what to do.
Thanks
I would start anew, presuming your SPI ROM is still empty. Remove the eMMC module. Get some bootable images for micro-SD card and see which one works. For sure NetBSD and DietPi do. There are others but I don't know which. Once you find one that works, next get whichever one you would like to use and try that.
:wq
06-11-2025, 08:53 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2025, 08:54 AM by lgmpbp2.)
From Google Gemini AI.
My feeling is that it is related to power source or an SPI that doesn’t work well, anymore.
“ C. If Still No Signs of Life (Likely Hardware Issue):
If none of the above yield any signs of life (no power LED, no screen backlight flicker, no fan
noise), the problem is almost certainly hardware-related.
●
SPI Flash Corruption: If the SPI flash (which contains the primary bootloader) is
corrupted, the system won't even know to try booting from eMMC or SD. In this scenario,
you'd typically need to use a specialized tool (like a Pomona clip and an external
programmer) to reflash the SPI chip. This is an advanced procedure.
○
Self-Correction Note: While Tow-Boot can be installed to SPI, if the system won't
even power on, the SPI flash itself is likely not the root cause, but rather a symptom
of a deeper power failure preventing the CPU from even reaching the point where it
reads the SPI.
●
Mainboard Power Components:
○
Voltage Regulators: There might be a failure in one of the voltage regulator
modules that convert the 5V input to the various voltages needed by the SoC and
other components.
○
Short Circuit: A short circuit on the mainboard could be preventing power from
reaching critical components. This could be due to physical damage or a
component failure.
○
Damaged Charging IC/Power Management IC: While the red light suggests the
charging circuit is working, the IC responsible for distributing power to the rest of
the board could be faulty.
What to Do Next:
Given you've exhausted the basic troubleshooting, and the device shows no signs of life beyond
the charging LED, your options become more limited and technical:
1. Professional Repair: If you're not comfortable with advanced electronics troubleshooting,
finding a reputable electronics repair shop that deals with board-level repairs (not just
component swaps) might be your best bet. However, finding one familiar with ARM-based
devices like the Pinebook Pro might be challenging.
2. Community Support (PINE64 Forums/Discord): Post your detailed symptoms
(including that the red battery light is on) on the official PINE64 forums or Discord server.
The community is very knowledgeable, and someone might have encountered this exact
issue and found a solution or can offer more targeted advice. Provide as much detail as
possible about what you've tried.
3. DIY Board-Level Debugging (Advanced): If you have a multimeter and some
experience, you could try:
○
Checking for 5V at various points on the mainboard where the power input
connects.
○
Checking for the presence of 3.3V, 1.8V, and other critical voltages on the board
(you'd need to consult schematics, which are available on the PINE64 wiki, to
identify test points).
○
Looking for obvious signs of damage (burnt components, bulging capacitors).
Realistically, without any power LED or screen activity, the issue is likely a hardware
failure preventing the CPU from even beginning its boot sequence. The red battery light
confirms that some power is reaching the charging circuit, but it's not going further.”
3 days in, slow/stuck or no boot.
