nand-sata-install hoses XU4 rev 1

[sgjava]

Using Armbian_25.8.1_Odroidxu4_noble_current_6.6.102.img I can boot off SD. Then when I run nand-sata-install it sharts and comes up with initramfs prompt. I'll try to fix it there next time, but I'm just using a 3.5" SATA laptop disk with USB controller.

 

.oading, please wait..
.tarting systemd-udevd version 255.4-1ubuntu0.11
.begin: Loading essential drivers ... done.
.begin: Running /scripts/init-premount ... done.
.begin: Mounting root file system ... Begin: Running /scripts/local-top ... done.
.begin: Running /scripts/local-premount ... done.
.begin: Waiting for root file system ... Begin: Running /scripts/local-block ... done.
done.
Save up waiting for root file system device. Common problems:
 - Boot args (cat /proc/cmdline)
 - Check rootdelay=(did the system wait long enough?)
 - Missing modules (cat /proc/modules; ls /dev)
ALERT! UUID=546a0798-29c9-4f3c-beea-1563d848abd0 does not exist. Dropping to a shell!

BusyBox v1.36.1 (Ubuntu 1:1.36.1-6ubuntu3.1) built-in shell (ash)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs) _

 

I had old image Armbian_23.11.1_Odroidxu4_jammy_current_6.1.63.img and it works fine.

[sgjava]

OK, tried build my own full server image and the same error. It cannot find SSD, but nand-sata-install  had no problem copying the file system over from the SD. The fstabs and boot.ini looks fine. I guess no one has tested this for a while. I'm just going to use Jammy version for now since it still works.

[sgjava]

OK, good thing I don't give up easily. I found the cause, but now I need to figure out a fix. Using Armbian_23.11.1_Odroidxu4_jammy_current_6.1.63.img I changed the setenv rootdev to a bad UUID. I get the same error as latest image, but cat /proc/modules shows what's happening.

 

Armbian_23.11.1_Odroidxu4_jammy_current_6.1.63.img initramfs loads:

 

Module             Function
------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------
scsi_mod           Core SCSI subsystem. (Crucial)
sd_mod             SCSI disk driver (used for all block devices like SD, USB, SATA). (Crucial)
t10_pi             T10 Protection Information (disk data integrity).
crc64_rocksoft_generic CRC algorithm.
crc64_rocksoft     CRC algorithm.
sg                 SCSI Generic (raw access to SCSI devices).
uas                USB Attached SCSI (Driver for USB-to-SATA adapter). (Crucial)
usb_storage        Generic USB Mass Storage driver. (Crucial)
scsi_common        Common SCSI routines.
zram               Compressed RAM block device.
zsmalloc           ZRAM memory allocator.
sch_fq_codel       Network queue scheduler.

 

Armbian-unofficial_25.11.0-trunk_Odroidxu4_noble_current_6.6.108.img initramfs only loads usbhid. Not sure how nand-sata-install works, but I'm assuming the something is hosed in initrd.img. Maybe @Igor knows where to look. I'm going to see if I can get the SD initrd.img on the SSD.

 

 

[Igor]

Long time no see!

 

On 10/17/2025 at 9:15 PM, sgjava said:

 initramfs only loads usbhid.

 

This doesn't look right. I checked docents of commits and so far couldn't find anything that would stand out. nand-sata-install only copies / rsync file-system, recreate boot scripts and flash boot-loader if necessary. If usb_storage is missing from initird, its normal that it doesn't boot. Its as module:

https://github.com/armbian/build/blob/main/config/kernel/linux-odroidxu4-current.config#L1274

 

I would say its something to do with initird generation. Could be on the build / distro tools side.

 

@belegdol perhaps knows something?

[belegdol]

What does lsinitramfs say? Is the usb_storage in? This is how it looks here:

$ lsinitramfs /boot/initrd.img-6.6.108-current-odroidxu4 | grep usb
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/hid/usbhid
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/hid/usbhid/usbhid.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-tiny-usb.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/aqc111.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/asix.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/ax88179_178a.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/catc.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/cdc_eem.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/ch9200.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/dm9601.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/int51x1.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/kaweth.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/lan78xx.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/mcs7830.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/pegasus.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/rndis_host.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/smsc75xx.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/smsc95xx.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/sr9700.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/net/usb/sr9800.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host/ehci-fsl.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host/fsl-mph-dr-of.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/uas.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-alauda.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-cypress.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-datafab.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-eneub6250.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-freecom.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-isd200.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-jumpshot.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-karma.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-onetouch.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-realtek.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-sddr09.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-sddr55.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/ums-usbat.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/storage/usb-storage.ko
usr/lib/systemd/network/73-usb-net-by-mac.link
usr/lib/udev/rules.d/50-usb-realtek-net.rules

 

Edited 11 hours ago by belegdol

[sgjava]

@belegdol This is from an image I built, but even the downloaded one wouldn't work with nand-sata-install.

 

lsinitramfs /boot/initrd.img-6.6.108-current-odroidxu4 | grep usb
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/hid/usbhid
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/hid/usbhid/usbhid.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host/ehci-fsl.ko
usr/lib/modules/6.6.108-current-odroidxu4/kernel/drivers/usb/host/fsl-mph-dr-of.ko
usr/lib/systemd/network/73-usb-net-by-mac.link
usr/lib/udev/rules.d/50-usb-realtek-net.rules

 

[sgjava]

@IgorI'm back from the brink. New job, new house build 3 hurricanes. I'm still working on my 1 acre lot to clean up the vines and stuff, but I'm starting to have more time for this kind of stuff. I need to get all my old boards up to date, hahaha

[sgjava]

ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/
arch  block  crypto  drivers  fs  kernel  lib  mm  net  sound

 

Not sure why @belegdol stuff is under usr/lib/modules?

[sgjava]

@Igor @belegdol I was able to get it working, but maybe this can be fixed in the build?

 

Fix: Odroid XU4 – Armbian-unofficial_25.11.0-trunk_Noble_6.6.108 fails to boot from SATA after nand-sata-install
 

Problem

After running nand-sata-install on an Odroid XU4 (kernel 6.6.108), the system copies to SATA correctly but fails to boot afterward, dropping into the initramfs shell.

Checking the loaded modules shows only:

usbhid

meaning no USB or SCSI drivers are available to detect /dev/sda1. Inspecting the initramfs with:

lsinitramfs /boot/initrd.img-6.6.108-current-odroidxu4 | grep usb

reveals that usb-storage.ko, uas.ko, and other USB mass-storage modules are missing.

Root Cause

The file /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf already had:

MODULES=most

so the base configuration was fine.

 

However, Armbian’s initramfs build process did not automatically include the USB/SCSI modules, because the system was booted from SD and those drivers were not "in use" during image generation.
 

As a result, the cloned SATA system lacked the drivers needed to mount its root filesystem.

Solution

Fix the SD card initramfs before running nand-sata-install.

This ensures the SATA copy inherits a working image with all required modules.

1️⃣ Boot from SD and verify

Confirm you are booted from SD:

df -h /

You should see /dev/mmcblk0p* as /.

2️⃣ Verify initramfs configuration

Open /etc/initramfs-tools/initramfs.conf and confirm it contains:

MODULES=most

3️⃣ Add required USB and SCSI modules

Create or edit /etc/initramfs-tools/modules:

USB host + storage + SCSI stack for SATA boot usbcore usb-common ehci-hcd ehci-platform ehci-fsl fsl-mph-dr-of xhci-hcd xhci-pci xhci-plat-hcd scsi_mod sd_mod sg uas usb-storage

4️⃣ Rebuild the initramfs and regenerate uInitrd

sudo update-initramfs -c -k $(uname -r) cd /boot sudo mkimage -A arm -O linux -T ramdisk -C none -n uInitrd -d initrd.img-$(uname -r) uInitrd sync

5️⃣ Verify the new initramfs

lsinitramfs /boot/initrd.img-$(uname -r) | grep usb/storage

Expected output (partial):

.../usb-storage.ko .../uas.ko .../ums-*.ko

6️⃣ Reboot from SD to confirm it works

sudo reboot

If it boots normally, the rebuilt initramfs is valid.

7️⃣ Run nand-sata-install

sudo nand-sata-install

Select your SATA target.

Because the SD image is now fixed, the SATA copy will contain a working initramfs.

8️⃣ Update boot.ini

Edit /media/mmcboot/boot.ini and set:

setenv rootdev "UUID=<your SATA UUID>"

9️⃣ Reboot and verify SATA root

df -h /

Expected result:

/dev/sda1 → / /dev/mmcblk0p1 → /media/mmcboot

Result

✅ SATA boots successfully

✅ Kernel loads usb-storage, uas, sd_mod, scsi_mod early

✅ / mounts from SATA cleanly — no initramfs prompt

✅ nand-sata-install works correctly on Odroid XU4 (Noble 6.6.108)

Summary

Even though MODULES=most was already set, the USB/SCSI stack was not automatically included in the initramfs when booting from SD.

Manually listing the required modules in /etc/initramfs-tools/modules before rebuilding ensures the image contains usb-storage.ko, uas.ko, and related drivers.

Once rebuilt, both SD and SATA boots work reliably.