NanoPi R1 fresh download doesn't start

[Mindaugas Idzelis]

I'm trying to load Armbian on my NanoPi R1, but it doesn't boot.

 

I've been able to boot it successfully with  https://www.friendlyarm.com/ official image, and also various (unsupported) DietPi images. 

 

I tried Armbian_21.02.3_Nanopi-r1_focal_current_5.10.21.img.xz using Balena Etcher to copy it to the SDCard on a Macbook laptop. 

 

Instead of seeing the uboot startup,  the terminal remains completely empty. No idea where to start on debugging this. Please help! 

 

Thanks! 

 

[TRS-80]

Were you using same SD card on your successful boot(s)?

[Mindaugas Idzelis]

Correct. I used the exact same card. After the failed armbian image boot, I went back to friendlyarm image, and it worked fine. Are there any debug parameters I can enable?

[TRS-80]

I was going to suggest attaching a serial cable.  I don't own this board, so I took a quick peek at it and realized there is no HDMI or anything, so I am assuming you are already doing that.  In which case, I am not sure how to proceed next.

 

How are you powering it?

[Mindaugas Idzelis]

Yeah, I'm connected to the debug UART. There is another UART connector, which is external. I'm going to try connecting to that instead. 

 

Its powered via a CanaKit 5V 2.5A microusb power supply. 

 

[TRS-80]

Yeah, that ought to be plenty for that little board.

 

Well, that's the two most common things.  I must admit, I am scratching my head a bit at the moment.

 

Small possibility that something broke in recent development / kernel?  If that's the case, someone else ought to be along shortly, adding to the chorus.

 

EDIT: If you want to try eliminating above as a possibility, maybe try with previous image (click "Archived versions" at bottom of Download page)?

Edited March 20, 2021 by TRS-80
add last sentence

[Mindaugas Idzelis]

Actually, that worked. For the DietPi/Official images the "DBG UART" worked, but for this Armbian image, only the external UART "uart1" is working. Labeld according to this diagram: http://wiki.friendlyarm.com/wiki/images/4/43/NanoPi_R1-layout.jpg

 

So, I'm all booted! Time to figure out what Armbian can do ;-) 

[TRS-80]

A great start to the weekend!  Cheers! 

 

Armbian can do... almost anything you want / are capable of setting up...  

 

Enjoy!

[Mindaugas Idzelis]

Maybe I should have said - will have to see what this little board is capable of... 

 

My main project/use-case is ... I need a surefire way to remote access/login to my in-laws router/network, in case it malfunctions. Problem is they are behind a CNAT, and do not have publicly routable ip addresses. I purchased this $25 (mainly because it was $25, had 2 ethernet interfaces + wifi, and a really nice metal case all included) so I could set up a vpn (wireguard or openvpn) that will reverse-connect to MY publicly routable home ip address. Then, all I have to do is set up some proper routing tables, and away I go. I'll be able to login and remotely manage their routers, even if everything else is failing. Makes my life a bit easier. Not too bad for $25. 

 

So far, I like armbian a lot --- perfect support for the nano-pi r1, including ethernet and wifi. Both official and dietpi images seemed less refined. I like that the console seems to scroll-off the screen when using picocom/screen, unlike the other images where the scrollback buffer is oldschool, erasing the buffer as it writes. The scrollback buffer alone is worth it. 

 

Using the external UART is nice, in that I can leave the cover of the SBC on. But, it was hard to discover -- not sure if possible to make the image have a console on both DBG UART and the UART1, but maybe at least add a note to the download page. 

 

 

[TRS-80]

Thank you for the kind words.  They are always appreciated.

 

12 hours ago, Mindaugas Idzelis said:

My main project/use-case is ... I need a surefire way to remote access/login to my in-laws router/network, in case it malfunctions. Problem is they are behind a CNAT, and do not have publicly routable ip addresses.

 

I just did the same for a friend's laptop I installed GNU/Linux on.  Since he is new to it and (much) less technically inclined than myself, I was almost certain he will need me to remote in at some point to help him with some problem or another.

 

A (perhaps?) little known fact is that WireGuard can do NAT "for free" if you set PersistentKeepalives on the remote end, and you have a fixed URL / IP address (or a DNS update service) at your end.  Which it sounds like you have (same as I do).

 

In our case, we decided to manually bring the interface up and down as needed.  I made sure to write down the exact command for my friend, saved locally on his machine in a text file, should that ever be necessary.  But if you want even easier, you could set the interface up as a systemd service to be on all the time.  At the "cost" of sending keepalives all the time.

 

12 hours ago, Mindaugas Idzelis said:

but maybe at least add a note to the download page

 

If you are feeling frisky, you are welcome to submit a PR for that.