No video out after flashing libreboot on my x200 via raspberypi

10 Antworten [Letzter Beitrag]
Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

Long story short, I flashed my x200 the other day, and after following this guide to the T, I thought I had a successful flash:

https://www.reddit.com/r/libreboot/comments/7dajn6/x200_libreboot_tutorial_for_raspberry_pi_with/

Anyways, I got to the end, and I got the “Verifying flash. . . VERIFIED” message at the end.

Unplugged everything, and attempted to boot up, and now I get no display output.

It behaves much like it would if there was no RAM inserted. I plug in the power adapter, press the power button, but all I get is some lights, and then the little fan stops spinning.

I tried at least 7 different sticks of memory from my various thinkpads. Everything is plugged back in, so im not sure what the problem could be.

Dont really know where to start troubleshooting. Anyone here have an idea?

Vikings_thum
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Beigetreten: 04/04/2017

We would need more information, e.g. which RAM model. Oftentimes this is about incompatible RAM. That's where I'd look first if you're sure the flashing was successful.
If you have two modules installed, try with only one (in this case you probably have two different modules installed which doesn't work in my experience).

The manual you link to doesn't seem to mention to update the EC firmware, this is highly recommended as it will improve battery handling if you're still running an older version. This needs to be done with the original vendor BIOS still present (or by re-flashing it). https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/x200.html

Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

@uboot Yes everything is properly reseated. I took apart, cleaned and reassembled a few units before flashing to make sure nothing was messed up from doing that. Everything was OK until after the flash. I actually forgot to put the CMOS battery back in at first, so I powered down, unplugged everything, plugged the CMOS battery back in and powered on and got the same result. Did I screw something up by booting up without the CMOS battery?

@Vikings I will post all RAM sticks that I tried when I get home. I have about 5 different thinkpads, and tried a ton of different sticks in different configurations. Couldn't get it to boot with just one stick of any kind installed.

Im not sure at all that it was a successful flash - all I know is I got that message back while flashing, so Id assume that it was successful, but I dont know...

I did follow a few different manuals (the libreboot site as well as the one I linked), so I did make sure I updated the EC firmware to the latest available. I dont think thats the problem.

I will post RAM modules when im home. That was my first thought as it would do the same thing when NO ram was installed (spin up the fan for a second but never actually power up.

Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

Home now trying out sticks. Ive got 4 different kinds right now.

Here is my log of whats happening:
I put one stick in slot 0
Tried with battery in and no battery as well - makes no difference
no wifi card installed, no hard drive
only things plugged in are: LCD screen, keyboard, daughter-board, CMOS battery

I plug in the power cord, and I get a orange LED lighting up the battery icon, and the green led lighting up the ac icon.
When I press the power button, the fan spins up for a second, caps lock and num lock (i think) leds flash for a second, and then the sideways Z on steady green.

Right now my fan is still spinning and those 3 leds are on.

If i remove my power cord, I get the 2 short beep boop notification. The z and battery stay steady.

Pressing power makes the z turn off and the fan stops spinning.

I tired plugging in a VGA monitor just to see if I could get a display out, but nothing :(

I pretty much had the same result for the rest of the modules. Also tried a single stick in the other slot as well with no success.

Any ideas? Im running out of them.

I attached pics of the 4 sticks I tested. I have a few more at work that I can try if you think thats the problem.

https://ibb.co/jmz1Nd
https://ibb.co/jciT2d
https://ibb.co/ifPqFy
https://ibb.co/dDVxvy

IMG_20180529_181352.jpg IMG_20180529_181356.jpg IMG_20180529_181400.jpg IMG_20180529_181403.jpg
Vikings_thum
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Beigetreten: 04/04/2017

RAM doesn't seem to be the problem, all sticks should work if my visual memory is correct. At least with one module at a time.

If the laptop worked before flashing Libreboot, I'd probably flash again. If that doesn't work either, flash the vendor BIOS again and see what happens then.

Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

Any specific thing I need to do to reflash? Ive only ever just followed guides to flash online, and I guess Ive been lucky up until this point since nothing has gone wrong so far.

Should I just follow the instructions from the "flashing the rom" section of the guide that I posted?

And did I have to backup the vendor bios during my flash? Going by the guide - I dont know if I did.

Any other idea of what it could be? Could it be an incompatible screen? Kinda bummed...

0d54770d

I am a member!

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Beigetreten: 04/09/2016

I have a service on Ebay that performs Libreboot installations, so I could get it working for you, for a small fee. I also have a couple extra X200 motherboards lying around with Libreboot already installed, so if for whatever reason, I couldn't get yours working, I would swap it out with a known-good one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bargain-Libreboot-Coreboot-Installation-Service-non-WSON8-chips/282915620454?hash=item41df15c666:g:-pEAAOSwLWZamIaO.

Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

I'm gonna do a bit more messing with it, but if I cant get it fixed I will send it to you. What's the turn around time from when you receive it?

Do you do screen upgrades as well? A higher resolution (900p), IPS, LED brighter screen would make this feel a whole lot nicer.

Any idea what I can try? (i realize this is counter productive to your business, but figured Id ask anyway.

Thanks!

0d54770d

I am a member!

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Beigetreten: 04/09/2016

I could do a screen upgrade, but you would have to provide the screen, or I would have to add its cost to the cost of the service. Since I don't have any lying around, I would have to order it, which would increase the turnaround time.

Speaking of which, I normally ship the device back between 2-3 days after receiving it (depending on order volume).

I would be more than happy to help you get it installed yourself (even at the expense of my business), but everything that I would have recommended has already been tried/mentioned by other posters; I can't think of anything else that you could have done wrong/missed/didn't know.

Vikings_thum
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Beigetreten: 04/04/2017

> (i realize this is counter productive to your business, but figured Id ask anyway.

You'd be surprised to hear that most people here don't have their own financial gain in mind but sincerely want to provide help or help to help yourself. =)

The few organizations posting their advertisements here are similar and this seems to be tolerated as long as it doesn't take overhand (Vikings does not advertise here any more since I personally dislike the idea to being overly salesy in a user forum).

> Any idea what I can try?

Since you already have a flashing device you have all you need, investing some time and effort usually does the trick. That being said, someone with more experience and access to replacement hardware might get you there quicker.

Pizzaboy2017
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Beigetreten: 11/28/2017

Ok finally back home and was able to try and reflash - no success. I got the message:
"Warning: Chip content is identical to the requested image.
Erase/Write done."

Heres what I narrowed it down to:

1. When extracting the ROM zip I see all these files:
https://i.imgur.com/iyusjMA.png

I chose “x200_8mb_usqwerty_vesafb.rom”.

What is the txt mode rom? Could that be the problem here?

2. When typing out my ROM chip model, I went with MX25L6405D, which is the closest to what mine actually says, which to the best of my ability was: MX X093531 25L6405 DM 1-12XG (I think)

Does since mine is 25L6405DM I went with MX25L6405D. Could that be wrong though? Should I try just MX25L6405? Ive also read that this doesnt matter anymore and I dont even need to include this info.

@0d54770d I will most likely be sending you this, unless I can fix it, but regardless I will send you my T400s that Ive been waiting to flash since I couldn't find a guide anywhere.

@Vikings, I agree with what you said and do think most people (espeically in the linux world) are out to help, but I just wanted to acknowledge that it is generous to help despite it not technically helping their business.

@uboot I got it from ebay, but used it for a while to make sure that the hardware was good, but maybe your right maybe it could have crapped out. :( Maybe 0d54770d will be able to confirm if the problem is with me or with the motherboard.