Yet another startup issue!!!

[adamw]

Hi All,

Just got my board last night, and like so many others, I can't get it to boot fully.
I've read all the threads on power supply, so I think I'm OK with the one I have.

I've tried both Arch Linux and Android.
I have only the SD card and HDMI connected.
The red power LED is solid, no flickering.

For Linux, I see startup messages, and it gets to "host_chose finished 86!" and then stops...that's it.
For Android, I see the AllWinner/Android startup screen, and that's it.
I suppose to be complete, I can try the Remix OS, but my gut is that there's something else it's hanging on.
I read that the first boot can take a long time (5 or 10 minutes), so I let it sit for quite some time, and it just never advanced beyond those spots.

I did notice that there appeared to be some rework on this board.  There was some flux that on the backside near the RJ45 and HDMI jacks that wasn't fully washed off.

I welcome any ideas, and thanks for your help!

P.S.: I have the 2GB version.

P.P.S: I also just tried the Remix OS...as expected it shows the white PINE64 boot screen, and hangs.

UPDATE:

I saw in another post, someone had the same issue.
Their issue was resolved by getting a new SD card.
Theirs was phony (size).
I want to BestBuy and bought a new 8GB card, figuring that wouldn't be faked, since it's relatively small.
Same problem as before...gets stuck on boot screen.

[S4BRE]

you say stuck but how long did you wait, i waited almost 20-25 min fist boot

[adamw]

you say stuck but how long did you wait, i waited almost 20-25 min fist boot

Thanks S4BRE.
The first few times, I didn't wait long enough for sure...maybe 5 minutes.
However, after reading a few posts like yours, I just left it and came back maybe an hour later, and it was still stuck.

Which OS were you using?
If it was Arch Linux, what output was on the screen?

To keep debugging this, I'm considering sticking with Linux because I don't have serial output, and it's the only one that gives more status than the boot screen.

[Andrew2]

In case you use one SD card and one PSU to power the board, I would check that first: http://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=514

Then you should grab longsleep's newest Ubuntu Xenial image since if your SD card is not broken or ultra slow, booting will be finished within a minute and no voodoo is involved at all.

[adamw]

Thanks Andrew...
I've tried 2 different SD cards...just bought a small (8gb) one yesterday, and 2 different usb cables.
I verified this new card with H2testw, and it tested fine.
I don't know if my writer is slow, or if the speed is OK, but it wrote around 9.6MB/s and verified at 17.9MB/s....
The supply I have *should* be OK, it's 2.5A, and it's the largest I have.
I measured the voltage on the Pine64 with a meter, and it read 5.1V, so it's not a problem with the cable resistance (and since the voltage isn't dipping, probably not a problem with the supply).

Both SD cards, and both cables result in the exact same results...
It never fluctuates.
The Arch Linux always stops at "host_choice finished 86!".
Android and Remix stop on the boot screen.
I'm really wondering if the board is defective.

Anyone have any other ideas to debug (without serial)?

[adamw]

Anyone?
I'm at a dead end...

[Leoncito81]

I don't have a pine yet, but could this be an issue with UEIF or your boot loader not being recognized?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

---

Host_chose finished 86 has to do with USB recognition with Sunxi. Not sure what's next in the boot sequence.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

---

Can you get into your bios setup on the Pine?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[adamw]

There is no bios setup on the Pine 64.

ok

Let's try something else Have you downloaded any of the Debian Images? If not pick a flavor


Debian Base No Desktop - Direct Download

Debian With LXDE Desktop - Direct Download

Debian With XFCE Desktop - Direct Download

Debian With Mate Desktop - Direct Download

User: pine64user
Pass: password


After downloading burn the image using win32 disk imager

eject/unmount the drive safely (wait for windows message to say it is safe to remove)


Now boot this image on your  pine

once you reach the login screen press ctrl+alt+f1

login: pine64user
password: password

execute the following in order

sudo -i                        (it will prompt you to enter the password again)
service lightdm stop
resize_rootfs.sh
reboot

the system will reboot and your shiny new os ready

You may want to look at the forum section under debian. I have updates and workarounds for a lot of common questions there and I am working on the next debian images with fixes.

Let me know how that worked out for you

Lenny...I tried the LXDE image.
I had the same exact results as the Arch Linux.
It got to "host_chose finished 86!" and then froze.
I'm pretty sure it's hardware at this point.

I contacted the Pine folks, and they're sending a return mailer and going to send another board.
That's pretty awesome.
Hopefully, the new one will work.
Thanks anyway...

[adamw]

Good news everyone.
After being stuck and not getting anything to work, I contacted the Pine64 team.
They were pretty responsive, and sent me a new 2GB board.

I just received that replacement board today.
Since I already had SD cards programmed and ready to go, I just popped one in, and the board booted right away!
I'm up and running (writing this post on it right now).

Turns out I did have a bum board the first time around.
But I'm really pleased with the support from the Pine team.
It can't be easy to support the massive demand they had, but I'm glad they took care of me the way they did.

Now...on to developing!
Using the latest Ubuntu (which seems to boot in about 30s), and having a great time.