Unable to start Pine
#1
So I have a 2GB Pine.  

I downloaded the Ubuntu file
xubuntu-xenial-mate-20160528-longsleep-pine64-8GB.img

I use the Etcher program to transfer the file to a 128GB class 10 micro SD card and it appears to install but when it goes to validate it hangs at 99% and never finishes.  If I look at the card through windows it appears to have written a number of files to the card.  

I tried putting the card in to the Pine and boot it up (using a USB mouse and keyboard plugged in, and using the AC adapter that came with the Pine) ... and plugged in to a 24" monitor with a HDMI cable.  

I get absolutely nothing on the screen, no BIOS of any sort, no indication it is trying to boot from the SD card.  Nothing.

Suggestions?
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#2
Hey

Well if the burn process doesnt finish then there is clearly something wrong. Perhaps try burning the img with win32imager instead?
Also: Have you tried to ssh into the pine after putting the SD in ? do the ethernet LEDs blink ? and lastly, what is the native res of the monitor ?
You can find me on IRC, Discord and Twitter


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#3
(10-01-2016, 11:58 AM)Topgun505 Wrote: I get absolutely nothing on the screen, no BIOS of any sort, no indication it is trying to boot from the SD card.  Nothing.

Suggestions?

On top of what Luke suggested, it may be worth trying an older version of etcher... I was getting some validations errors from beta15 which I hadn't from the previous beta14 version, and there was nothing wrong with the SD card (after a through bad sector scan).

Rufus is another excellent disk formatting and image writer - plus it is a much smaller download (although unlike Etcher it is a Windows-only program).

If the disk isn't being written properly, you may not get any output from the Pine64 at all, as since it is a ARM based design, it does not have a BIOS/UEFI like a PC/MAC does, and loads everything it needs from the (micro)SD card.
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#4
I'll try the win32imager next and see what happens.

As for ssh, no I have not tried anything other than what was stated above. I do not know anything at all about Linux. This Pine is meant to be a learning platform for me.
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#5
seems like you are not the only one.
https://github.com/resin-io/etcher/issues/573
they tried closing a few times in july, then did close 8/02, so it seems they did that too early unless you are using an older version
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#6
(10-01-2016, 11:58 PM)dkryder Wrote: seems like you are not the only one.
https://github.com/resin-io/etcher/issues/573
they tried closing a few times in july, then did close 8/02, so it seems they did that too early unless you are using an older version

Looks like they may have introduced a better one, unless my case was an oddball one due to upgrading... I had validation errors at about 13%... so I took my business elsewhere (Rufus) and didn't regret it! I suppose if it is going to have a dummy spit, at least it didn't leave me hanging for the 99% failure! :-D

@Topgun505 Don't worry mate... you'll be doing a lot of learning... these SBC (single-board computers) are an quite a different beast to your average x86/PowerPC/AMD computer!!! Big Grin  Keep on asking questions, and we'll do our best to lead you astray.... er, help you out! Big Grin
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#7
(10-02-2016, 04:01 AM)pfeerick Wrote:
(10-01-2016, 11:58 PM)dkryder Wrote: seems like you are not the only one.
https://github.com/resin-io/etcher/issues/573
they tried closing a few times in july, then did close 8/02, so it seems they did that too early unless you are using an older version

Looks like they may have introduced a better one, unless my case was an oddball one due to upgrading... I had validation errors at about 13%... so I took my business elsewhere (Rufus) and didn't regret it! I suppose if it is going to have a dummy spit, at least it didn't leave me hanging for the 99% failure! :-D

@Topgun505 Don't worry mate... you'll be doing a lot of learning... these SBC (single-board computers) are an quite a different beast to your average x86/PowerPC/AMD computer!!! Big Grin  Keep on asking questions, and we'll do our best to lead you astray.... er, help you out! Big Grin

Ok.  Tried win32imager and it completed the write ok.  Tried to boot up again.  Same deal.  Nothing.
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#8
(10-03-2016, 05:15 PM)Topgun505 Wrote: Ok.  Tried win32imager and it completed the write ok.  Tried to boot up again.  Same deal.  Nothing.

Ok, so what does the pine64 board do? Does the red power light come one and stay on? Do the green and yellow lights on the ethernet socket flash at all after 20-30 seconds (I don't think they'll do anything without an ethernet cable plugged in).

Other thing to check is how much did you pay for the microSD card? I hope it wasn't a cheapie, as it could be a fake. It might be a good idea to run H2testw on your microSD card, and verify that it really is a 128GB card (not a 16GB (or less) one masquerading as a 128GB). Just be warned it will take a while for it to do it's thing, but you'll at least know it really is capable of storing 128GB by the end of the run!
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#9
I did a test on the card and it recognized 119 of the 128GB. It was around $35 on Amazon with mostly good reviews.

The red light comes on and stays steady on. The Ethernet is not plugged in currently.
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#10
Topgun505,

Welcome aboard!  As mentioned, you're going to learn lots and quickly.  Your first lesson being: "WTF???!"  Ahh.. the subtle joys of hacking!

Now.  My first PB (pine boot) was from an early 8 gig image onto a card that was supposed to be 64GB.  Got it at "Best Buy."  Thought it was a sandisk.  It turned out to be a waste of money.  Just dd'ng that image onto the card worked fine, it was only 8 gb into it.  When I expanded the partitions to use the whole card, that's when card i/o errors started popping up and the whole thing failed.

Went and got a 32GB class 10 sandisk from WalMart, imaged it with"xubuntu-xenial-mate-20160528-longsleep-pine64-8GB.img", and it worked.  

Like it's been said, the pine64 does not have a bios.  It doesn't post.  My display is an hdtv, hdmi 1.4.  The thing about hdmi is hdcp.  Unless the connection clears an encryption handshake, it's not going to display.  So unless the boot gets past that, you'll not see a thing.

I'm betting that if you are using an hdtv, the input shows up and you're able to pick it, but then it goes out.  hdcp.  Sucks.

Anyway, I use GNU/Linux to burn my images, dcfldd specifically.  And just to avoid complications, I do it from a tty device, not from within a window manager.  dd is the goto tool for this stuff.  But so far as I know, Windows doesn't have it.

Because your ARE now using GNU/Linux, I recommend you set up your main pc to dual boot W#/Linux.  Ubuntu is the most accessible distribution I've used, and it is popular because it is easy and full blown GNU/Linux.  (It doesn't try to look or be like Windows.)

The pine64 sits inside a number of categories, including embedded computing (due to the arm64/AArch64 cpu), and there are goobs of things you can do with this board.

In case you suspect a doa (pretty sure is isn't), you can access it through the top usb port, which is an OTG port, and so long as there in NO microSD card in it, do a FEL Boot:

Code:
https://linux-sunxi.org/FEL/USBBoot

will get you started, and that will give a sanity check on the pine64.  You'll need an "A plug" to "A plug" cable, which is not common.  I've been looking for an easy way to sanity check these boards, and there are a number of ways to do that, but none of them are "easy," using stuff an ordinary user would have on hand.  (Which drives a point: you are no longer an ordinary user.)  ssh was mentioned, but that likely does not work if hdcp is failing, which it is.  I've only suggested the FEL boot because I've done it, and it verified the board for me, at which point I proceeded to get a good image onto a good microSD, and now it works.

I do not know how much you know, about this stuff, though I see you've said you are new to GNU/Linux.  This can be overwhelming at first, cause you know how to do stuff in "dos" but now you're in linux.  It is almost easier, I think, if you knew nothing at all, cause it will frustrate you when things work differently.  They are different here.  Better too, but you'll have to see that for yourself.

As is the case in all learning, none of this is hard once you're familiar with what you are doing, and what you are doing it with.  Booting to GNU/Linux and using that to work with this (pine64) overcomes many of your initial difficulties, because you'll be able to use the same tools used to build the pine64 in the first place.  Think of it as "leveling" on the quick. This should help too:

Code:
https://learn.adafruit.com/what-is-the-command-line

Knowledge without experience is just an idea.  You're now becoming truly knowledgeable about computers.  Heck, later you can even build your own kernel!  Something you'll NEVER be able to do in M$.

Wow I sure do like to type....



David
David, the lip smacking pirate hedgehog.  "SHIVER me timbers!"  
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