How to revert to stock bootloader?
#1
Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
  Reply
#2
(03-03-2021, 09:19 PM)nyankat Wrote: Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
Hi,
  if I understand well this instruction : https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...oot-to-SPI from @sigmaris, there is an image that erases the SPI (it is similar to the instructions you gave your link). Have you tried to plug the hdmi cable power on ? I also use Ayufan image (but not the sigmaris image) and I a face sometime the same issue. I use Armbian and after the installation I configure Armbian and transfer the config to the bootloader (with armbian-config command)
By the way Ayufan released some new images since 2018
  Reply
#3
(03-04-2021, 02:09 AM)LMM Wrote:
(03-03-2021, 09:19 PM)nyankat Wrote: Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
Hi,
  if I understand well this instruction : https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...oot-to-SPI from @sigmaris, there is an image that erases the SPI (it is similar to the instructions you gave your link). Have you tried to plug the hdmi cable power on ? I also use Ayufan image (but not the sigmaris image) and I a face sometime the same issue. I use Armbian and after the installation I configure Armbian and transfer the config to the bootloader (with armbian-config command)

By the way Ayufan released some new images since 2018

I did see the other image to erase the SPI but I was afraid to use it because I don't want the SPI to be blank, I want it to contain the stock bootloader. I'm afraid that erasing the SPI will render my board permanently unbootable.

Or is the SPI supposed to be blank from the factory and the mask ROM bootloader can jump right to the bootloader on the SD card?

(03-04-2021, 05:33 AM)nyankat Wrote:
(03-04-2021, 02:09 AM)LMM Wrote:
(03-03-2021, 09:19 PM)nyankat Wrote: Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
Hi,
  if I understand well this instruction : https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...oot-to-SPI from @sigmaris, there is an image that erases the SPI (it is similar to the instructions you gave your link). Have you tried to plug the hdmi cable power on ? I also use Ayufan image (but not the sigmaris image) and I a face sometime the same issue. I use Armbian and after the installation I configure Armbian and transfer the config to the bootloader (with armbian-config command)

By the way Ayufan released some new images since 2018

I did see the other image to erase the SPI but I was afraid to use it because I don't want the SPI to be blank, I want it to contain the stock bootloader. I'm afraid that erasing the SPI will render my board permanently unbootable.

Or is the SPI supposed to be blank from the factory and the mask ROM bootloader can jump right to the bootloader on the SD card?

OK, it looks like I answered my own question. I went ahead and erased the SPI and now I see the bootloader on my screen.

I still don't have any display in Armbian itself, though, although that may be a problem with the resolution or my monitor or something.

Do I need to do anything specific to enable HDMI in Armbian?

Per this thread I reverted to the legacy 4.4 kernel using armbian-config and I have a display now! I would still rather have the up to date kernel but this will do for now.
  Reply
#4
(03-04-2021, 05:33 AM)nyankat Wrote:
(03-04-2021, 02:09 AM)LMM Wrote:
(03-03-2021, 09:19 PM)nyankat Wrote: Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
Hi,
  if I understand well this instruction : https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...oot-to-SPI from @sigmaris, there is an image that erases the SPI (it is similar to the instructions you gave your link). Have you tried to plug the hdmi cable power on ? I also use Ayufan image (but not the sigmaris image) and I a face sometime the same issue. I use Armbian and after the installation I configure Armbian and transfer the config to the bootloader (with armbian-config command)

By the way Ayufan released some new images since 2018

I did see the other image to erase the SPI but I was afraid to use it because I don't want the SPI to be blank, I want it to contain the stock bootloader. I'm afraid that erasing the SPI will render my board permanently unbootable.

Or is the SPI supposed to be blank from the factory and the mask ROM bootloader can jump right to the bootloader on the SD card?

I do not know what happens if it were blank, but I erased many times the spi without any problem.

(03-04-2021, 06:47 AM)LMM Wrote:
(03-04-2021, 05:33 AM)nyankat Wrote:
(03-04-2021, 02:09 AM)LMM Wrote:
(03-03-2021, 09:19 PM)nyankat Wrote: Hi folks, after my troubles installing Debian the other day I decided to try some other distros instead of diving too deep down that rabbit hole just yet.

To my disappointment, I was unable to get any video out the HDMI port on either Manjaro or Armbian.

I think the problem may be the bootloader I flashed to the SPI which doesn't seem to initialize the HDMI display (I get no video during the bootloader, nor during kernel boot).

Is there a microSD image I can use to flash the stock bootloader back so that the board is in the same condition it was as when I got it?
Hi,
  if I understand well this instruction : https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...oot-to-SPI from @sigmaris, there is an image that erases the SPI (it is similar to the instructions you gave your link). Have you tried to plug the hdmi cable power on ? I also use Ayufan image (but not the sigmaris image) and I a face sometime the same issue. I use Armbian and after the installation I configure Armbian and transfer the config to the bootloader (with armbian-config command)

By the way Ayufan released some new images since 2018

I did see the other image to erase the SPI but I was afraid to use it because I don't want the SPI to be blank, I want it to contain the stock bootloader. I'm afraid that erasing the SPI will render my board permanently unbootable.

Or is the SPI supposed to be blank from the factory and the mask ROM bootloader can jump right to the bootloader on the SD card?

I do not know what happens if it were blank, but I erased many times the spi without any problem.

I suppose it uses a specific EMMC or SD partition.  You can also use Ayufan reset script rockpro64_reset_spi_flash on his images
  Reply
#5
The SPI flash is blank from the factory, there is no "stock" bootloader installed. The boot ROM looks for a bootloader in SPI first, but if it's blank, it goes on to look on eMMC and SD card. So it's totally fine to erase SPI if you want to go back to booting everything off eMMC or SD card. I wrote some further details about the boot process here: https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...t-sequence
  Reply
#6
(03-04-2021, 10:25 AM)sigmaris Wrote: The SPI flash is blank from the factory, there is no "stock" bootloader installed. The boot ROM looks for a bootloader in SPI first, but if it's blank, it goes on to look on eMMC and SD card. So it's totally fine to erase SPI if you want to go back to booting everything off eMMC or SD card. I wrote some further details about the boot process here: https://github.com/sigmaris/u-boot/wiki/...t-sequence

Thanks for your explanations (and your great job on u-boot !)
  Reply


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