EV3 Brick doesn't start up with H4R Yocto Image

[vladshablinsky]

Hi, I'm trying to follow the tutorial provided by README and make an SD card image for EV3, but I cannot make it work.

I was able to complete Getting Started, Download and Creating partitions steps and then extracted archive files, but I can't make the brick load anything. What I get is H4R boot logo and nothing happens after that, so I need to shut the brick down.

Create two partitions on your SD Card, one FAT16 with 48 MB, and a secondary one with the rest of your card. The second one should at least have 1 GB, because the root file system is currently about 900 MB.

Can the problem be caused by filesystems I have on the partitions? For now I have tried ext4 and Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) for the root but it didn't make it. The partitions are 50 MB and 4 GB respectively, I'm not sure if I can specify some mount points and if it has anything to do with it.

If this makes any sense, my Brick info is:

Brick HW:
  V0.60
Brick FW:
  V1.09H

Would be great to get any assistance or feedback. Thanks!

[JDdieSonne]

I had the same Problem, you should use ext4 for the root, and make sure that you dont have a 3rd "unused" partition on your SD-Card, if i remember correctly, that was the problem in my case.

[vladshablinsky]

@JDdieSonne I tried to do what you suggested and this is what I have for now: the process before everything stops now takes longer but the result stays the same, button illumination switches off and nothing happens after that. That said, before I formatted the card according to your suggestion everything stopped right after turning the brick on.

So, the problem stays open I think.

[vladshablinsky]

@JDdieSonne after restarting the brick now everything is exactly like it was before reformating.

[cyborg-x1]

Actually I never had that problem, have you also tried a different SD card?
I remember that someday, this also was a problem sometimes on other systems.

[vladshablinsky]

Thanks @cyborg-x1. Will try it now. Can the problem be caused by the size of the SD card? I have only the same 16GB SanDisk SD cards, so maybe it won't change anything too much.

[cyborg-x1]

Try a different type, not just a different one! With the same type of SD cards you can not test that.

[vladshablinsky]

@cyborg-x1 waiting for my new different SD card. Btw, I think it could be very useful if you put an xz image file which can be installed with some tool like Etcher. upd: or it is only me who has troubles with the existing solution 😕.

[JDdieSonne]

no i also had troubles and still have... perhaps you did something wrong at the extraction of the files and now have some corrupted files (i had this problem:)

[vladshablinsky]

@JDdieSonne well, I did it this way:

sudo tar -xvf boot.tar.gz -C /media/<user>/boot
sudo tar -xjvf h4r_ev3_alpha_root_fs.tar.bz2 -C /media/<user>/root

It's quite different in tutorial, because the archive files differ (bz2 and gz).

no i also had troubles and still have... perhaps you did something wrong at the extraction of the files and now have some corrupted files (i had this problem:)

Could we IM somehow? Here is my email, you can write me how we can get in touch. Would really appreciate that.

Try a different type, not just a different one! With the same type of SD cards you can not test that.

@cyborg-x1 got a brand new 8GB SD card, but the problem has not been solved. :(

[vladshablinsky]

Ping @JDdieSonne

perhaps you did something wrong at the extraction of the files and now have some corrupted files (i had this problem:)

Can you give more details on it?

[JDdieSonne]

Well you already found, that you have to use some other commands, that was my main problem :) perhaps try to use sudo tar -xzvf boot.tar.gz -C /media/<user>/boot with the -z you make sure to extrect the .gz file. And as i already said, make sure, that you dont have a 3rd unused partition on your SD card, this could also interrupt the boot. I hope my tips are helpful for you.

[vladshablinsky]

Still doesn't work for me, but thanks for your assistance @JDdieSonne anyway!

It seems to work a little different now, but doesn't seem to work properly.

After some time the yellow blinking of the LEDs should end with them lighting up in a constant green. And on the screen you should see a login console.

No constant green and login console.

[cyborg-x1]

That's weired ... when did you buy it?
Have you tried getting ev3dev? Does it work?

[vladshablinsky]

That's weired ... when did you buy it?

@cyborg-x1 not sure about that, since university provided me with several of ev3 bricks. ev3dev works fine, though.

[yrosascu]

Hi,

I have the same problem, i can't make load the image.
I tried with several and different types of SD. First, i thought the problem was the brick and I changed it, then the sd and changed it too. Finally, i thought that i made something wrong so i tried with other computer and other person, but nothing improves.
Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks,

[MadsFox]

Have the same problem, my EV3 boots the mindstorm system.

The only way i found it possible to format and partition the 32GB microSDHC card using diskutil on OS X is a MAC OS - extended journal with a GUID partition overview and then partitioning the disk into two MAC OS - extended journal(48mb/30,8gb). The two partitions i then format, one at a time, to ExFAT.

Then i extract the files to the microSD card.
No problem with the boot files, but a lot of errors with the root file.

But when i try to boot it on the EV3, it ignores the card and boots mindstorm.

I tried with ev3dev with no problems, but went back here because of issues with installing ROS on the EV3 through a ssh connection. Quite desperat, since i need it for my master thesis, sadly considering using leJos and trying to make that work.

In the about section on ev3dev it says revision 0006 and runs brickman v0.8.1

Hope somebody can help with anything, just wanna make it work and run with ros

[cyborg-x1]

I am not sure about what is going on with formatting on MAC OS. ExFAT should not be used, you definitely need normal FAT! Have you tried formatting it with a Virtual Machine with Linux (handing the USB Cardreader to a VirtualBox Instance for example) - I saw MAC OS often doing "something special".

[kirillin]

I had the same problem and solved it this way:

1. Did the first two steps on Getting started from ev3dev.org ;
2. Removed all files from partitions the microSD-card;
3. To extract the files:
   sudo tar -xzvf boot.tar.bz -C <YOUR_SD_BOOT_DIRECTORY>
sudo tar -xjvf h4r_ev3_alpha_root_fs.tar.bz2 -C <YOUR_SD_ROOTFS_DIRECTORY>
4. Started my EV3 from microSD-card.

[Blafhern]

Excuse me @kirillin, may you give me more details about how you made it? I'm stuck!!!

[rongfeng-china]

Just a friendly remind: when you start the brick, do not plug any usb or wires to the brick..

[owchen916]

I had the same problem and could never get to the login screen. It turned out that the root filesystem kept getting corrupted. I had to make sure that I could unmount and remount the root filesystem after running the 2nd tar command. Once that was done, I could get to the login. I think there were delayed writes to the sd card that weren't flushed and I was pulling the sd card to early.