beginner boot issue- repeated "PowerPrep start initialize power..."

[arne]

Hi,
Just got my Micro board and created a SD card and I get repeated message below on the USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F (I use putty on my Linux host).

I checked with two different power supplies (that both work fine with my Beagleboard) and I get the same issue. I created a SD card with the OE from the readme on the github site, and when that didn't work I recreated it with one from "http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv5/olinuxino" - same problem.

What is the issue - is my SD card bad - or is my OLINUXINO bad?

PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 2.19V
No battery or bad battery                                       detected!!!.Disabling battery                                   voltage measurements./r/nHTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC

[TheWylieStCoyote]

I am having the say problem with a MAXI. I have recorded all the serial from my for about 1min or so (attached).

íHTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC
PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 2.25V
No battery or bad battery               detected!!!.Disabling battery               voltage measurements./r/nLLCMay 11 201215:26:EMI_CTRL 0x1C08404init_ddr_mt46v32m10Frac 0x92926192
start change cpu frLLLLLLLFCLJUncompressing Linux... done, booting the kernel.
Linux version 2.6.35.3_OLinuXinoR4 (hehopmajieh@hehopmajieh-office) (gcc version 4.7.1 20120421 (prerelease) (GCC) ) #11 PREEMPT Mon May 21 10:27:52 EEST 2012
CPU: ARM926EJ-S [41069265] revision 5 (ARMv5TEJ), cr=00053177
CPU: VIVT data cache, VIVT instruction cache
Machine: iMX233-OLinuXino low cost board
Memory policy: ECC disabled, Data cache writeback
Built 1 zonelists in Zone order, mobility grouping on.  Total pages: 16256
Kernel command line: noinitrd console=ttyAM0,115200 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rw rootwait ssp1=mmc
PID hash table entries: 256 (order: -2, 1024 bytes)
Dentry cache hash table entries: 8192 (order: 3, 32768 bytes)
Inode-cache hash table entries: 4096 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
Memory: 64MB = 64MB total
Memory: 57208k/57208k available, 8328k reserved, 0K highmem
Virtual kernel memory layout:
    vector  : 0xffff0000 - 0xffff1000   (   4 kB)
    fixmap  : 0xfff00000 - 0xfffe0000   ( 896 kB)
    DMA     : 0xfde00000 - 0xffe00000   (  32 MB)
    vmalloc : 0xc4800000 - 0xf0000000   ( 696 MB)
    lowmem  : 0xc0000000 - 0xc4000000   (  64 MB)
    modules : 0xbf000000 - 0xc0000000   (  16 MB)
      .init : 0xc0008000 - 0xc0026000   ( 120 kB)
      .text : 0xc0026000 - 0xc033d000   (3164 kB)
      .data : 0xc0356000 - 0xc0381a00   ( 175 kB)
Hierarchical RCU implementation.
   RCU-based detection of stalled CPUs is disabled.
   Verbose stalled-CPUs detection is disabled.
NR_IRQS:224
Console: colour dummy device 80x30
console [ttyAM0] enabled
Calibrating delay loop... 226.91 BogoMIPS (lpj=1134592)
pid_max: default: 32768 minimum: 301
Security Framework initialized
Mount-cache hash table entries: 512
CPU: Testing write buffer coherency: ok
regulator: core version 0.5
NET: Registered protocol family 16
regulator: vddd: 800 <--> 1575 mV at 1550 mV fast normal
regulator: vdddbo: 800 <--> 1575 mV fast normal
regulator: vdda: 1500 <--> 2275 mV at 1750 mV fast normal
regulator: vddio: 2800 <--> 3575 mV at 3300 mV fast normal
regulator: overall_current: fast normal
regulator: mxs-duart-1: fast normal
regulator: mxs-bl-1: fast normal
regulator: mxs-i2c-1: fast normal
regulator: mmc_ssp-1: fast normal
regulator: mmc_ssp-2: fast normal
regulator: charger-1: fast normal
regulator: power-test-1: fast normal
regulator: cpufreq-1: fast normal
i.MX IRAM pool: 28 KB@0xc4808000
bio: create slab <bio-0> at 0
SCSI subsystem initialized
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbfs
usbcore: registered new interface driver hub
usbcore: registered new device driver usb
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.23.
Switching to clocksource mxs clock source
NET: Registered protocol family 2
IP route cache hash table entries: 1024 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
TCP established hash table entries: 2048 (order: 2, 16384 bytes)
TCP bind hash table entries: 2048 (order: 1, 8192 bytes)
TCP: Hash tables configured (established 2048 bind 2048)
TCP reno registered
UDP hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
UDP-Lite hash table entries: 256 (order: 0, 4096 bytes)
NET: Registered protocol family 1
Trying to unpack rootfs image as initramfs...
rootfs image is not initramfs (junk in compressed archive); looks like an initrd
Freeing initrd memory: 4096K
Bus freq driver module loaded
WARNING : No battery connected !
Aborting power driver initialization
mxs-battery: probe of mxs-battery.0 failed with error 1
msgmni has been set to 119
alg: No test for stdrng (krng)
cryptodev: driver loaded.
io scheduler noop registered
io scheduler deadline registered
io scheduler cfq registered (default)
Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 80x30
mxs-duart.0: ttyAM0 at MMIO 0x80070000 (irq = 0) is a DebugUART
brd: module loaded
loop: module loaded
usbcore: registered new interface driver smsc95xx
usbmon: debugfs is not available
ehci_hcd: USB 2.0 'Enhanced' Host Controller (EHCI) Driver
fsl-ehci fsl-ehci: Freescale On-Chip EHCI Host Controller
fsl-ehci fsl-ehci: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
fsl-ehci fsl-ehci: irq 11, io base 0x80080000
fsl-ehci fsl-ehci: USB 2.0 started, EHCI 1.00
usb usb1: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002
usb usb1: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
usb usb1: Product: Freescale On-Chip EHCI Host Controller
usb usb1: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.35.3_OLinuXinoR4 ehci_hcd
usb usb1: SerialNumber: fsl-ehci
hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-0:1.0: 1 port detected
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
USB Mass Storage support registered.
usbcore: registered new interface driver libusual
MXS RTC driver v1.0 hardware v2.0.0
mxs-rtc mxs-rtc.0: rtc core: registered mxs-rtc as rtc0
IR NEC protocol handler initialized
IR RC5(x) protocol handler initialized
IR RC6 protocol handler initialized
IR JVC protocol handler initialized
IR Sony protocol handler initialized
mxs watchdog: initialized, heartbeat 19 sec
mxs-mmc: MXS SSP Controller MMC Interface driver
ssp_set_rate: error -110
mxs-mmc mxs-mmc.0: mmc0: MXS SSP MMC DMAIRQ 14 ERRIRQ 15
dcp dcp.0: DCP crypto enabled.!
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbhid
usbhid: USB HID core driver
mxs-adc-audio mxs-adc-audio.0: MXS ADC/DAC Audio Codec
No device for DAI mxs adc/dac
No device for DAI mxs adc/dac
asoc: mxs adc/dac <-> mxs adc/dac mapping ok
ALSA device list:
  #0: MXS EVK (mxs adc/dac)
TCP cubic registered
NET: Registered protocol family 17
mxs-rtc mxs-rtc.0: setting system clock to 1970-01-01 00:26:37 UTC (1597)
Waiting for root device /dev/mmcblk0p2...
mmc0: new SD card at address e624
mmcblk0: mmc0:e624 SU02G 1.89 GiB
mmcblk0: p1 p2
usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using fsl-ehci and address 2
EXT2-fs (mmcblk0p2): warning: mounting unchecked fs, running e2fsck is recommended
VFS: Mounted root (ext2 filesystem) on device 179:2.
Freeing init memory: 120K
usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=0424, idProduct=9512
usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
hub 1-1:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-1:1.0: 3 ports detected
INIT: version 2.88 booting
usb 1-1.1: new high speed USB device using fsl-ehci and address 3
usb 1-1.1: New USB device found, idVendor=0424, idProduct=ec00
usb 1-1.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
smsc95xx v1.0.4
smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0: usb0: register 'smsc95xx' at usb-fsl-ehci-1.1, smsc95xx USB 2.0 Ethernet, 52:e0:95:71:61:51

> Arch Linux ARM

> http://www.archlinuxarm.org

   ------------------------------
mount: unknown filesystem type 'devtmpfs'
mount: mount point /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc does not exist
:: Mounting Root Read-Only    [BUSY]    [DONE]
Your kernel does not have devtmpfs support. This is not supported.
:: Adjusting system time and setting kernel timezone    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Starting UDev Daemon    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Triggering UDev uevents    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Loading User-specified Modules    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Waiting for UDev uevents to be processed    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Configuring Virtual Consoles    [BUSY]    [FAIL]
:: Bringing up loopback interface    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Unlocking encrypted volumes:    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Checking Filesystems    [BUSY] /etc/rc.sysinit: line 111: /dev/stdout: Read-only file system
   [DONE]
:: Remounting Root    [BUSY] EXT2-fs (mmcblk0p2): warning: mounting unchecked fs, running e2fsck is recommended
   [DONE]
:: Mounting Local Filesystems    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Activating Swap    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Configuring Time Zone    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Initializing Random Seed    [BUSY]    [FAIL]
:: Removing Leftover Files    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Setting Hostname: oli    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Saving dmesg Log    [BUSY] install: cannot stat '/dev/fd/63': No such file or directory
   [FAIL]
INIT: Entering runlevel: 3
:: Setting MAC address to 56:84:7a:4f:bb:f8    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Starting Syslog-NG    [BUSY]    [DONE]
smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0: usb0: kevent 4 may have been dropped
usb0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0xC5E1
usb0: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0xC5E1
:: Starting Network    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Starting OpenNTPD    [BUSY] fatal: PRNG is not seeded: No such file or directory
   [FAIL]
:: Mounting Network Filesystems    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Starting crond daemon    [BUSY]    [DONE]
:: Starting Secure Shell Daemon    [BUSY] PRNG is not seeded
PRNG is not seeded
   [FAIL] 

[arne]

Hi,
You are lucky - my Micro does not boot at all. It just repeats the message about the PowerPrep indefinitely.
I guess that the main issue is rather that it keeps repeating

HTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC.

Correct me if I am wrong - this is the boot that indicated what it is doing?
Anyway - I would be glad if someone could explain what happens.

[Kean]

@arne That isn't normal.  I recommend you try a different brand of uSD card - I've had a lot of boot problems with some of the cheaper ones, especially on the Micro. The other possibility is your power supply doesn't provide enough current - At least 5V 1A should be enough though for a Micro.

@wyliest It looks like your file system is corrupted.  The buffers probably hadn't fully flushed out to the card before you unplugged it.  Make sure you unmount the filesystem and run sync a couple of times before unplugging from the machine you used to create it.

Kean

[davidjf2001]

(arne) mine does the same, I think the processor may be damaged. I have noticed in this state there is no 2.5V to power the ram.  My MAXI was running fine about 1 week then death!

[arne]

Kean,

I have tried 3 different brands - and still exactly the same messages (repeated below). If it was the uSD (or the power supply), would it not be logical to get a different message occasionally?
My power supply should be good up to 3A it says (it is the power supply recommended for the Beagleboard). And I measure 5.1 V while it is doing its boot attempts - so I would exclude the power supply.

David - I will try to measure the RAM voltage.

HTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC
PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 2.19V
No battery or bad battery                                       detected!!!.Disabling battery                                   voltage measurements./r/nHTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC
PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 2.19V
No battery or bad battery                                       detected!!!.Disabling battery                                   voltage measurements./r/nHTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC

[Kean]

@arne

How did you create you SD card image ?  What distro ?
The thing it should do immediately after all those "L"'s is to load the kernel.

e.g. my first boot using an Olimex SD image was as follows:

Code Select Expand


ÿHTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC
PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 0.56V
No battery or bad battery                                       detected!!!.Disa                                       
bling battery                                   voltage measurements./r/nLLCMay                                       
11 201215:26:EMI_CTRL 0x1C08404init_ddr_mt46v32m10Frac 0x92926192
LLLLLLLFCLJUncompressing Linux... done, booting the kernel.
Linux version 2.6.35.3_OLinuXinoR4 (hehopmajieh@hehopmajieh-office) (gcc version                                       
4.7.1 20120421 (prerelease) (GCC) ) #11 PREEMPT Mon May 21 10:27:52 EEST 2012
CPU: ARM926EJ-S [41069265] revision 5 (ARMv5TEJ), cr=00053177


[davidjf2001]

arne, You may have be in a better situation than me. I see:

HTLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLFC
PowerPrep start initialize power...
Battery Voltage = 0.00V
Chargeable battery detected but the voltage is too low for battery.

So I measure the SDRAM voltage to find 0V.

[arne]

@Kean and @david
I finally got my Micro up and running. I did nothing different, except that (maybe) I kept the power on for a bit longer while I was reformatting a uSD card. I will try again with a "cold" Micro.
Thanks for the help - I will surely be back with more questions later. One thing I would like is to see what wifi (or even cable Ethernet) USB adapters are usable.

[arne]

I made some additional test. It was probably not just the fact of having a "cold" card. Today I started with a cold card, but it failed booting until I pressed the reset button MANY times. What is strange is that when the card is up and running it reboots without problems. It does have some stability issues (with the arch distribution I currently use.)
Anyone has ideas of why it does not boot as it should??

[davidjf2001]

There is known (freescale) errata with the boot loader that causes problems with some cards. In fact the card i bought from olimex has a problem starting consistently.  None of my transcend 2Gb cards have any problems booting.

[jucapini]

Help, Ihave the same problem. My card was working, but it now restarts everytime

[jucapini]

So I woke up this morning and tried again but I had the same issue. Then I unplugged a USB component in the olinuxino (a modem) and I can now access normaly. I have three succesfull starts now, it should have been the problem.

[arne]

Well - I have nothing attached when my Micro fails to boot. I have now tried with a new 2GB PNY uSD card and still the same issue. 
I can get my Micro to boot, but only after pressing the reset button a number of times. I will see if I can find some other uSD cards that I can test. I have some for my Beagleboard, but I would have preferred to keep them for that machine, all uSD cards I have tested so far have worked fine in my Beagle-xM, but maybe Beagles are less picky.
One funny thing I notice is that when my Micro boot (after pressing the reset button as a madman) it typically does not show the same voltage as when it fails. Is due to that I press the reset? And is this in any way related to why it boots?
Anyway - I have measured the voltages again and I have 5.17V and 3.3V as I should have.  I have not looked with a scope yet. I will do a last try and go and buy a 2GB Sandisk or Kingston uSD card. If it still screws up I'll go back to my ATMEGA16.
I will stop complaining and be happy that at least my Micro seems fairly stable - it has run "top -d 0" for 10 minutes now hasn't crashed yet.

[Kean]

I've had lots of boot issues with cheap microSD cards.  I think one was PNY brand.  I would just see a hex code, which could be interpreted as no microSD, or error accessing microSD.  A reset would rarely help, unless I also ejected and reinserted the card.  Not good once the board is inserted in an enclosure.

Pretty much no problems since switching to "trusted source" Sandisk or Team brand cards - mostly using 4GB or 8GB, as I'm saving all my 2GB cards for use on my MSP430 dataloggers.