lost communication with board

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1

I apoligize in advance for the length of this post!

I was having issues getting the ethernet port on my Zippy2 extension
board to work.

Onse suggestion I got was that maybe my Zippy2 board had the wrong
identifiers stored in the serial EEPROM, and to reference
http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/9e9487b63e31d834/6d982e15913977d3&usg=AFQjCNFDOyR-pYpdA6g8RMQ3_G3-cbhI5w

This thread reccomends these steps to modify EEPROM:
1.- Shortcircuit JP1 in Zippy2 (To disable EEPROM write protect)
2.- Using I2C tools package: # i2cset 2 0x50 0x03 0x02 (This changes
device id to 0x02)
3.- Use i2cdump 2 0x50 to check.

I used a jumper to shortcircuit JP1.

I also needed to install the i2c-tools package, but because I dont
have an internet connection yet, Imanually downloaded i2c-tools.ipk
manually from the Angstrom feeds and copied the package onto my SD
card. It wouldnt let me copy the package onto the filesystem
partition, so I tried copying it onto the bootable partition.

When I inserted this SD card, with JP1 shortcircuited, I got this:
Texas Instruments X-Loader 1.4.4ss (Apr 13 2010 - 22:36:28)
Beagle Rev C4
Loading u-boot.bin from nand

U-Boot 2010.03 (Jun 25 2010 - 14:31:23)

OMAP3530-GP ES3.1, CPU-OPP2, L3-165MHz, Max clock-720Mhz
OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
I2C: ready
DRAM: 256 MB
NAND: 256 MiB
*** Warning - bad CRC or NAND, using default environment

In: serial
Out: serial
Err: serial

Probing for expansion boards, if none are connected you'll see a
harmless I2C er
ror.

Recognized Tincantools Zippy expansion board (rev 1 )
Beagle Rev C4
Die ID #2226000400000000040373051501101f
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
No MMC card found
Booting from nand ...

NAND read: device 0 offset 0x280000, size 0x400000
Skipping bad block 0x00440000
Skipping bad block 0x004a0000
4194304 bytes read: OK
Wrong Image Format for bootm command
ERROR: can't get kernel image!
OMAP3 beagleboard.org #

I figured having the package in the bootable partition was probably
freaking it out, so I removed that from the SD card and tried again
with the same results.

I thought that maybe having the package in the bootable partition
could have caused it to overwrite the env, so I reset the default evn,
but that didnt seem to help:

U-Boot 2010.03 (Jun 25 2010 - 14:31:23)

OMAP3530-GP ES3.1, CPU-OPP2, L3-165MHz, Max clock-720Mhz
OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
I2C: ready
DRAM: 256 MB
NAND: 256 MiB
*** Warning - bad CRC or NAND, using default environment

In: serial
Out: serial
Err: serial

Probing for expansion boards, if none are connected you'll see a
harmless I2C er
ror.

Recognized Tincantools Zippy expansion board (rev 1 )
Beagle Rev C4
Die ID #2226000400000000040373051501101f
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
No MMC card found
Booting from nand ...

NAND read: device 0 offset 0x280000, size 0x400000
Skipping bad block 0x00440000
Skipping bad block 0x004a0000
4194304 bytes read: OK
Wrong Image Format for bootm command
ERROR: can't get kernel image!
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand erase 260000 20000

NAND erase: device 0 offset 0x260000, size 0x20000
Erasing at 0x260000 -- 100% complete.
OK
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # boot
No MMC card found
Booting from nand ...

NAND read: device 0 offset 0x280000, size 0x400000
Skipping bad block 0x00440000
Skipping bad block 0x004a0000
4194304 bytes read: OK
Wrong Image Format for bootm command
ERROR: can't get kernel image!
OMAP3 beagleboard.org #

I tried reflashing to nand, following :
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # mmc init
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # fatload mmc 0 82000000 MLO
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand unlock
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand ecc hw
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand erase 0 80000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand write 82000000 0 20000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand write 82000000 20000 20000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand write 82000000 40000 20000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand write 82000000 60000 20000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # fatload mmc 0 0x80200000 u-boot.bin
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand unlock
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand ecc sw
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand erase 80000 160000
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # nand write 0x80200000 80000 160000

And then got:

OMAP3 beagleboard.org # boot
mmc1 is available
reading boot.scr

** Unable to read "boot.scr" from mmc 1:1 **
reading uImage

** Unable to read "uImage" from mmc 1:1 **
Booting from nand ...

NAND read: device 0 offset 0x280000, size 0x400000
Skipping bad block 0x00440000
Skipping bad block 0x004a0000
4194304 bytes read: OK
Wrong Image Format for bootm command
ERROR: can't get kernel image!
OMAP3 beagleboard.org #

Now I can't get anything to show up in HyperTerminal when I plug the
board in.

I tried completely repartitioning the SD card and reloading Angstrom
on it.

I also tried following instructions to restore factory defaults, but I
still can't get anything in HyperTerminal when I plug in the board
now.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Thank you!

2

Hi Julianne,

Assuming your SD has the MLO in it, hold down the user button while
powering up your beagle board.

Let's see if by doing so, something shows up in your hyperterminal
window.

3

Hi Julianne,

Assuming your SD has the MLO in it, hold down the user button while
powering up your beagle board.

Let's see if by doing so, something shows up in your hyperterminal
window.

Hello!

I did try this, but I still am getting nothing in HyperTerminal.

What makes it so difficult is that I cant get any communication in
HyperTerminal, and the user and reset buttons havent been doing
anything, so I dont have much to work off of. Also the only light that
I am getting now is the power light.

I just repartitioned and formatted the SD card again, and am still
having no luck. Any ideas?

Thank you for your help!!

4

Maybe you are experiencing a hardware problem.

I discard nand problems since, as far as I know, booting with the
user button doesn't involve nand flash at all.

BTW: Koen has stated in the anstrom image web page that 'nand ecc hw'
command should be changed to 'nandecc hw'. Maybe that's why your
reflashing didnt't work.

If I were you,
1.- I'd restart your computer (sometimes hyperterminal hangs)
2.- I'd check your db9 cable modem using 2 PC's (2 hyperterminals).
2.- I'd check SD holder in case your card has bad contact problems.

If I come up with something else I let you know.

I don't know if you have an osciloscope at hand.

5

I think I may have erased my nand when trying to reflash. Is that
possible?

Is there any way to rewrite the nand?

6

Thank you for the suggestions!

If I were you,
1.- I'd restart your computer (sometimes hyperterminal hangs)

I tried this and then held down the user button while powering up the
beagleboard, but I still got nothing.

2.- I'd check your db9 cable modem using 2 PC's (2 hyperterminals).

I tried using the same SD card, serial connection, and power source
with a different board, and besides a couple of non-issues due to
having an old version of X-loader in nand (I am now hesitant to
reflash due to my current issues (-: ) Angstrom booted successfully.

3.- I'd check SD holder in case your card has bad contact problems.

This is another possibility, although what is holding me back is that
originally, when I would plug in the board without any SD card
inserted, I would at least get some output in HyperTerminal. Do you
have any suggestions for how I should go about testing whether or not
my SD/MMC slot is functioning correctly?

Maybe you are experiencing a hardware problem.

I discard nand problems since, as far as I know, booting with the
user button doesn't involve nand flash at all.

This is a good point. When I press the reset button, should the power
LED momentarily turn off? Or something to indicate to me that the
buttons are actually working?

Basically the only reason that I am defaulting to it being a nand
problem is because I am no longer getting any output in HyperTerminal
for the board regardless of whether there is an SD card inserted, and
because I found similar symptoms (no output and only the power LED
illuminated) on another thread (http://groups.google.com/group/
beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/26f0e234d2939135#)

Again, thank you so much for all of your input! I really appreciate
it!

7

Hi,

If you see old X-Loader it means that MLO is not recognized by ROM loader.
If you boot from SD and hold the User button, you should have a new
MLO, which is X-Loader loaded successfully. I would recreate SD card
and make sure that this card boots with new MLO (X-Loader) from card
when you hold the button on the working Beagle. After that your erased
Beagle should boot as well.

Cheers,
Maksym.

8

Thank you for the suggestions!

> If I were you,
> 1.- I'd restart your computer (sometimes hyperterminal hangs)

I tried this and then held down the user button while powering up the
beagleboard, but I still got nothing.

> 2.- I'd check your db9 cable modem using 2 PC's (2 hyperterminals).

I tried using the same SD card, serial connection, and power source
with a different board, and besides a couple of non-issues due to
having an old version of X-loader in nand (I am now hesitant to
reflash due to my current issues (-: ) Angstrom booted successfully.

Could you try powering up the second board (the one you said is
working) while holding down the user button.
That would guarantee that the fat partition in your SD is by all means
correct.

> 3.- I'd check SD holder in case your card has bad contact problems.

This is another possibility, although what is holding me back is that
originally, when I would plug in the board without any SD card
inserted, I would at least get some output in HyperTerminal. Do you
have any suggestions for how I should go about testing whether or not
my SD/MMC slot is functioning correctly?

You may have erased your flash while trying to reflash it, in that
case, nothing shows up when you power up your beagle board. (Remember
some commands you used are no longer valid for new u-boots).

Apart from having a look at the soldering I have no ideas about how to
test SD holder connections when no software is running on the
processor.

> Maybe you are experiencing a hardware problem.

> I discard nand problems since, as far as I know, booting with the
> user button doesn't involve nand flash at all.

This is a good point. When I press the reset button, should the power
LED momentarily turn off? Or something to indicate to me that the
buttons are actually working?

Power led is on as long as there is power supply. It doesn't blink
when you push reset. (Sheet 2 of Beagle Board rev C4 schematics)
Regarding other leds, I don't know for sure. I should check OMAP
processor datasheet to see how this pins are configured when the
processor powers on. However, you can try it yourself since you have
another working board.

To test user buttons, just use an oscilloscpe or a tester to see if
voltages are correct while measuring on them. (You may want to have a
look at the schematics to know where to measure)

Basically the only reason that I am defaulting to it being a nand
problem is because I am no longer getting any output in HyperTerminal
for the board regardless of whether there is an SD card inserted, and
because I found similar symptoms (no output and only the power LED
illuminated) on another thread (http://groups.google.com/group/
beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/26f0e234d2939135#)

No matter if you have erased your flash or it's not working properly,
holding down the user button forces the processor to look for
alternate boot modes: mmc card among others. If it doesn't work it's
probably beacuse your SD is bad formatted or there are concact issues
with the SD card holder.
As I said before, try booting the working board while holding down the
user button.

I didn't read that thread. But Gerald Coley is involved in the
manufacturing process of BeagleBoard. So, all he says is always more
accurate than what I could say.

9

Yes, you can reflash your nand using the correct version of command
you used in the first place.

I personally recommend flashing only MLO, since it doesn't change much
over time.
On the contrary U-boot change quiet often (new expansion boards, new
environment variables,...) , so it's worth keeping it in your SD
instead of flashing it to nand.
Again it's a personal issue.

10

With my currently working board, I am having the same issue that I had
with my other one, which is that when I power up the board with the SD
card inserted, I get the following and then it hangs there:

Texas Instruments X-Loader 1.4.2 (Feb 19 2009 - 12:01:24)
Reading boot sector
Loading u-boot.bin from mmc

U-Boot 2010.03 (Jun 25 2010 - 14:31:23)

OMAP3530-GP ES3.1, CPU-OPP2, L3-165MHz, Max clock-720Mhz
OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
I2C: ready

But I am able to fool it by powering the board without the SD card
inserted and then inserting the card once I have the shell, and typing
boot, and then everythign runs smoothly from there:

Texas Instruments X-Loader 1.4.2 (Feb 19 2009 - 12:01:24)
Loading u-boot.bin from nand

U-Boot 2009.11-rc1-00601-g3aa4b51 (Jan 05 2010 - 20:56:38)

OMAP3530-GP ES3.1, CPU-OPP2 L3-165MHz
OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
I2C: ready
DRAM: 256 MB
NAND: 256 MiB
*** Warning - bad CRC or NAND, using default environment

In: serial
Out: serial
Err: serial
Board revision C4
Die ID #3554000400000000040373050f01a006
Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0
OMAP3 beagleboard.org # boot
mmc1 is available
reading boot.scr

** Unable to read "boot.scr" from mmc 0:1 **
reading uImage

3194800 bytes read
Booting from mmc ...
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 82000000 ...
   Image Name: Angstrom/2.6.32/beagleboard
   Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
   Data Size: 3194736 Bytes = 3 MB
   Load Address: 80008000
   Entry Point: 80008000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK
   Loading Kernel Image ... OK
OK

Starting kernel ...

Uncompressing Linux........

I thought it was because my xloader was too old for my uboot. On my
other board, once I reflashed to nand by following the commands from
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/ the board would
boot everytime.

Is that what I need to do on my working Beagle before I plug it into
my other one? I feel like this just allows it to boot from nand, and
wont affect the MLO I have on the SD card?

On my working board with the SD card that I have been using, if I hold
down the user button and press the reset button, I get the same result
as when I have the card in the SD slot when first powering up:

Texas Instruments X-Loader 1.4.2 (Feb 19 2009 - 12:01:24)
Reading boot sector
Loading u-boot.bin from mmc

U-Boot 2010.03 (Jun 25 2010 - 14:31:23)

OMAP3530-GP ES3.1, CPU-OPP2, L3-165MHz, Max clock-720Mhz
OMAP3 Beagle board + LPDDR/NAND
I2C: ready

Does that mean there is something wrong with my MLO file, which is why
holding the user button still isnt letting me boot while the SD card
is inserted? I got it from http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/demo/beagleboard/

Thank you so much for your help!!!

11

Are you writing the SD with a Mac computer?
Somewhere I heard that the extra hidden files a Mac writes will
confuse booting.

12

Thank you for the suggestions!

If I were you,
1.- I’d restart your computer (sometimes hyperterminal hangs)

I tried this and then held down the user button while powering up the
beagleboard, but I still got nothing.

2.- I’d check your db9 cable modem using 2 PC’s (2 hyperterminals).

I tried using the same SD card, serial connection, and power source
with a different board, and besides a couple of non-issues due to
having an old version of X-loader in nand (I am now hesitant to
reflash due to my current issues (-: ) Angstrom booted successfully.

Could you try powering up the second board (the one you said is
working) while holding down the user button.
That would guarantee that the fat partition in your SD is by all means
correct.

Great point! This is all making a lot more sense to me now, I am going to try these things out. And I am going to try using a new SD card.

Thank you for all of your help and patience!!

13

So,

As I understand correctly you have both boards working now (both
sending info to your hyperterminal). Great!

It looks like MLO is not found in your SD. So OMAP ends up using the
MLO in nand always.

Make sure you format your card correctly and then copy the files in
order. (MLO first,..., the same as always). Reflash MLO to nand. Your
Xloader version should be 1.4.4ss.

Just to make things clear. Holding user button makes OMAP to use MLO
in MMC. If you don't press the button OMAP will try to use MLO in
nand.

Use the latest MLO with the latest U-boot (those rpovided by koen in
the angstom images web page)

BTW: MLO=x-Loader

14

Are you writing the SD with a Mac computer?
Somewhere I heard that the extra hidden files a Mac writes will
confuse booting.

I am using a Linux machine to format the SD card, but thank you for your input!

15

> Are you writing the SD with a Mac computer?
> Somewhere I heard that the extra hidden files a Mac writes will
> confuse booting.

I am using a Linux machine to format the SD card, but thank you for your
input!

http://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/wiki/LinuxBootDiskFormat