Can't start A20-OlinuXino-micro-8GB

[duskull]

Hello community! I own a A20-OlinuXino-micro-8GB but it seems I'm doing something wrong. I'm trying to boot using the latest Debain image for my model, an 16GB MicroSD card which is working fine, a monitor which connects to the divice using a HDMI-DVI cable, and a power supply 12V at the power jack. There is no output on my monitor and the device has a constant red light and a fast blinking green light. What's wrong with my setup? Thanks in advance.

[JohnS]

Try connecting a 3.3V serial interface to the console and see what debug etc output there is.

(Do not use a 5V one as it is likely to cause permanent damage.)

John

[duskull]

Thanks for your reply John. The problem is that I don't have such a serial interface. Maybe I will buy me one in the near future. Can you tell me what the blinking green light means? I find it strange that I have this blinking light only with the official Debian image. All other community images that I've tried lead only to constant red light.

[JohnS]

I'd just get one rather than wonder about a light.

John

[LubOlimex]

The red LED is power indication LED. The green LED is a software-controlled LED. This means that quite likely the Linux starts fine. The solid red LED and the blinking green LED also probably mean that the power supply is fine.

The issue is probably related to the HDMI-DVI adapter. These very often mess up the signal levels. If you have the option to test with a native HDMI monitor, please do so.

Other than that, what JohnS suggested is always a good idea - having access to the command line interface of the board via your personal computer would give us more hints about the nature of the problem. This requires a serial-USB cable with free leads, most electronic shops that sell Arduino and Arduino-like boards should have a cable like that. As a reference check this cable: https://www.olimex.com/Products/Components/Cables/USB-Serial-Cable/USB-Serial-Cable-F/

Best regards,
Lub/OLIMEX

[duskull]

The red LED is power indication LED. The green LED is a software-controlled LED. This means that quite likely the Linux starts fine. The solid red LED and the blinking green LED also probably mean that the power supply is fine.

The issue is probably related to the HDMI-DVI adapter. These very often mess up the signal levels. If you have the option to test with a native HDMI monitor, please do so.

Other than that, what JohnS suggested is always a good idea - having access to the command line interface of the board via your personal computer would give us more hints about the nature of the problem. This requires a serial-USB cable with free leads, most electronic shops that sell Arduino and Arduino-like boards should have a cable like that. As a reference check this cable: https://www.olimex.com/Products/Components/Cables/USB-Serial-Cable/USB-Serial-Cable-F/

Best regards,
Lub/OLIMEX

Now this is what a call a good reply! I was about to ask what kind of cable do I need to do this, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I will surely buy me one of these soon so I can see what kind of output the board has. Will post again when I have more info about the problem.