Initial Boot Problem (Now kind of resolved)

Discussion in 'UDOO BOLT' started by MattB, May 31, 2019.

  1. MattB

    MattB New Member

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    I'm going to start by copying/pasting my posts from the Kickstarter comment section to keep everything together.

    First:
    Got my bolt and went to boot it today. Get a green light, but it doesn't seem to post. After about 7-8 seconds the fan spins up. It "booted" once. I got the "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD..." message, and then my Windows install USB drive bluescreened. After that, no post. I tried both USB-C ports for power, both DDR slots, with and without my USB install drive, disconnected the BIOS battery and plugged it back in, but it doesn't change.

    I was thinking it didn't like my RAM, but really confused by the fact that it seemed to boot the first time. I'll try to play around more when I have time, but I'm open to any suggestions.
    Second:
    Well, I thought that there was a chance that it was my power supply. I was using a PD adapter that delivers 60W. It's enough to run my Latitude 7880 and a MacBook pro, so I figured it would work. I finally borrowed an 87W MacBook Pro adapter from a guy at work. It's been sitting on the UDOO BOLT screen for several minutes, and nothing. I get a little A0 on top of what looks like either a B1 or B4 in the bottom right corner. The fan stays spun up, but I can hear a very faint "surge" in the fan every 2-3 seconds. I'll try supplying power via the DC port as soon as I get an adapter. If that doesn't do it, I'll try a different RAM stick next.
    Third:
    Well, I'm about out of ideas. I removed the single 16gb module and replaced it with 2x 4GB modules that were in my NUC. No change. I then tried using my HP laptop power adapter. It provides 19V at 3.33A. No change. With and without my NVME drive installed, no change. With or without bootable USB drive, no change. Using HDMI or USB-C for video, no change. Same results each time. At first boot after plugging in the power adapter I get a blank screen. If I power it off and back on without disconnecting power, the UDOO Bolt logo appears, then a B4 with an A0 on top of it in the lower right corner.​

    I can move this over to the forum if the conversation is better there, but I'm not sure where to go from here. The board has only gotten through post about 3 times total, but immediately blue-screens.​

    Now...

    It's working, and I have no idea why. All of a sudden after resetting BIOS and several cycles of adding/removing power and turning it on and off, it booted into BIOS. I put (almost) everything back the way it was when I first tried, and it's still working.

    I ran into issues installing Ubuntu Desktop 19.04, but I was able to install Fedora Workstation 30 on my NVME drive without any issues.
     
  2. MattB

    MattB New Member

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    I'm still curious about what my problem was, and I'm leaning towards an issue with USB-C PD that probably won't impact most people.

    I have an HP Elite x3 Lap Dock that I like to use. https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05320200

    I use that dock with my phone (Galaxy 9S Plus) and a couple computer (GPD Win, Dell Latitude 7880) without any issues.

    I think the problem occurs because the dock is trying to provide power to the Bolt via USB-C. When I first connect it, the Bolt lights up and goes dark. I assume that's because it attempted to negotiate power, and realized that the dock couldn't supply the needed voltage/amps. Then I connect power to the board via USB-C or the DC connector, and it's very unstable and rarely boots. And that instability would persist whether I continued to use that dock or not. Once I powered everything down, disconnected the dock, let it sit for about 20 minutes (was busy with something else), cleared BIOS, powered it via the DC port, connected an HDMI monitor and a USB keyboard, it worked.

    I want to try using the dock again, but without having a good understanding of what's going on, I'm afraid of potentially causing damage to the board.

    If anybody has some thoughts or insights, I'd love to hear them.
     
  3. evaloverde

    evaloverde Administrator Staff Member

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    Ciao,
    it's me again. So, I discussed your issue with the tech team, and they asked if you could kindly perform a test on your UDOO BOLT.
    First, use your DC power supply as you would normally do, then when the system has already started plug in the USB-C dock.

    Let us know what happens (if you're willing to test this for us of course).

    Thank you
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2019
  4. MattB

    MattB New Member

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    Of course. I'll give it a try this evening. I didn't bring my Bolt to the office with me today. It's a bit difficult to carry around safely without a case. ;-)

    I'll let you know the results as soon as I get a chance to test.
     
  5. evaloverde

    evaloverde Administrator Staff Member

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    Thank you so much!
     
  6. MattB

    MattB New Member

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    You're welcome.

    I was able to test this morning. I connected an HDMI monitor, ethernet cable, and a 60W USB PD power supply. I powered on the Bolt and waited for Fedora to boot and reach the login screen. I then plugged in my dock. After a few moments, everything worked. I had video through the monitor, and video/audio/keyboard/mouse through the dock. No problems. I then installed some updates and rebooted. Everything came back up fine. I then shutdown the Bolt, waited, and powered it back on. Everything was still fine.

    So it would seem that there is something curious about the timing. If I provide the Bolt insufficient power through the dock first and then an acceptable power source, it causes a number of issues. If I provide the Bolt with a good power source first, it just ignores the power from the dock.

    Let me know if there's anything else that you'd like me to test or if I can provide any additional information. I'll also add information about my power adapter into the appropriate thread for others.
     

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