Multiple Raspberry PI do not boot

[Matthajs]

Hi all,

Busy reimaging 10 Syncro to Nebra. Some flashes have been completed, but some CM4 modules do not boot at all. When I check in RPIboot it is stuck in bootcode4.bin. my Windows computer says the USB device is corrupt and cannot be read. I am using a WAVESHARE mini base board to connect the eMMC to the USB port of the computer (see image below).

Any ideas how to get the CM4 to boot correctly? With exact the same setup and cables, 4 other CM4's were correctly flashed...

CM4 problem one > CM4 seems to not boot at all
CM4 problem two > seems to be stuck in booting process
CM4 problem three > same problem as one > doesn't seem to boot at all.

CM4 problem one

CM4 problem two

CM4 problem three

[shawaj]

Are you using Etcher to flash the units?

We recommend using Etcher (https://etcher.io) and our CM4 flash stick (https://www.nebra.com/products/nebra-raspberry-pi-cm4-flash-stick)

These are known to work perfectly

You also need to be careful that there are no bent pins on the CM4 or flashing device and that they are correctly seated in the connector

[Matthajs]

Thanks for your reply Shawaj. I have tried Etcher and PI imager. Both do not recognize the CM4"s. I only used RPIbooter to check where the process stops.

The board we used worked perfectly fine for 3 other CM4's, so I do not think it is the I/O board.

[shawaj]

Then probably the boards have damaged pins or were not seated correctly in the connector.

There's really no other explanation. If they aren't flashed with the software they certainly won't be able to boot, that is very much expected

[vstrong-info]

I've used Balena Cloud with this 'nebra-helium-syncrobit' release and Add Device / Flash procedure to flash two Syncrobits but none of them came online. Strangely enough, one of them was previously flashed with "helium-syncrobit" image and it booted OK.
UPDATE: @shawaj I have just flashed one Syncrobit with "helium-syncrobit" image and it booted upOK.

[shawaj]

@vstrong-info the openfleet image works for several others on several miners. So think perhaps you have programmed them wrong. Are you sure your miners use onboard emmc storage and not an SD card? I think Syncrobit mixed-and-matched between the two so this might be the issue.

[vstrong-info]

@vstrong-info the openfleet image works for several others on several miners. So think perhaps you have programmed them wrong. Are you sure your miners use onboard emmc storage and not an SD card? I think Syncrobit mixed-and-matched between the two so this might be the issue.

Thank you @shawaj , I managed to burn openfleet image on multiple miners. All good. Thank you.

[shawaj]

Great news @vstrong-info

[Matthajs]

Where can i find the openfleet images?

[shawaj]

@Matthajs https://github.com/NebraLtd/helium-syncrobit/releases/tag/TEST-helium-syncrobit-2023-03-20-OpenFleet

[shawaj]

@Matthajs working now for you?

[Matthajs]

Unfortunately not. Kind of misunderstood the openfleet image. I already used it but different date. I used the latest update to flash the Syncro again but still cannot connect via bluetooth. I have a flashing green light on the board which flashes 4 times. This does not stop. Also a blue light as you can see in the video below. Sorry for the shitty quality, phone camera is damaged. I can find the hotspot in the Nebra app, but still when I try to connect it says hotspot cannot be found or it gives other error messaged.

Still stuck with 6 hotspots with different problems (3 do not get recognized, not able to boot and 3 cannot connect via bluetooth after flashing them).

WhatsApp.Video.2023-03-25.at.00.30.48.mp4

[shawaj]

@Matthajs I think the device is not getting flashed properly or has damaged pins on the CM4 connectors.

If it isn't recognised by balenaEtcher then there's something wrong with how you are trying to flash the devices or with the devices themselves.

Make sure you are running the latest version 1.18.4 of Etcher though :-)

[shawaj]

@Matthajs did you get this working? Can we close this issue?

[Matthajs]

Unfortunately not. Actually al our syncros are not working at all. Different errors but the result is we cannot get them online (some flashed, some not).

[Matthajs]

@shawaj - any chance there could be more information about getting the syncros back up online on this topic here? Still looking for a solution.