Posts by chewitt

QNAP NAS? .. Google throws up lots of QNAP related hits for these filenames and several solutions for how to disable them (on the NAS) and then do some cleanup (on the NAS). ISTR there's something similar that happens on Synology too when the Photostation app is installed (now banished from mine).

It's still hard to make out, but I think RTL8189ETV is an educated guess on the WiFi chip. This is a basic b/g/n WiFi only module (no BT). The RLT vendor driver can be found here: https://github.com/jwrdegoede/rtl8189ES_linux and while it's relatively simple to package it's not a driver that LE will package due to the long-standing policy of not adding more damn RTL vendor drivers. Unfortunately this is an old and cheap chip and I'm not aware of anyone making the effort to port the (equally old and cheap) vendor drivers to the upstream kernel. WiFi sucks for streaming most media anway, so stick to Ethernet.

PCB's can be fun to get without reflections and such obscuring the info. However, that's a nice clear pic and there are definitely no buttons on that side of the PCB. Have you tried creating a new install SD from dtech'd image? .. not booting?

At the end of the day it's probably just an unsupported Realtek chip, so unless you really really need BT, maybe just quit while we're ahead?

Run "pastekodi" over SSH and share the URL so we can see what the boot log says.

It would be highly unusual for a board to omit support for user-initiated recovery. It would be nice to see the underside of the board.

Quote from FlavioDeLima

But will SAMBA work? With FAT32 (very archaic system) SSH will not be available either?

Samba shares will also have non-Unix filesystems so sshd will fail to start

I got bored in my lunch hour so this image has a device-tree for tx9-pro which uses the IR remote from tx3-mini .. if you have the larger Tanix remote with numbers on it those won't work and you'll need to capture the key codes for me. I've also added something for the clock on the front, which might work if it's the same type as the TX3-mini box. If not the same, it might show nothing or garbage.

https://chewitt.libreelec.tv/testing/LibreELEC-AMLGX.arm-10.95.1-box.img.gz

Again, run "pastekodi" and share the URL so I can see the boot log.

Start with an update to 10.95.1 and check again.

The remote will not work unless:

a) the remote keymap is added to the kernel and a custom device tree created to reference that IR keymap

b) you manually add the keymap, see: https://wiki.libreelec.tv/configuration/…ration-advanced

Normally users need to figure out the keymap first (B), then share it, then I can think about creating a custom device-tree file (A).

It sounds like Kodi is otherwise running .. which means the box is working. Please SSH to the box, run "pastekodi" and share the URL.

The row of four pins next to the socket are for the serial UART .. easy to spot as one has a square marking. It's quite normal for the pin header to be omitted from the board (saves a few pennies).

If not in the audio jack I'd expect the reset to be on the underside of the board, which we don't have a photo for.

echo "blacklist ptp_kvm" > /storage/.config/modprobe.d/ptp_kvm.conf

This might suppress the warning ^ .. otherwise (as you discovered) nVidia GPUs require the Generic-Legacy image.

If you move /storage to exFAT or NTFS volumes the SSH service will fail to start because the SSH daemon will check keys in /storage/.ssh are secured with correct permissions before it runs; and neither of those filesystems support unix permissions causing the check to fail.

Yes, the AV port. This often has a small button at the end of the socket, i.e. unfold a paperclip and poke it right down the hole to press it.

Run "pastekodi" after a clean boot and share the URL

Quote from jim_p

There is no reset button in it, so the toothpick method does not apply to it.

Have a look down the audio/cvbs 3.5mm socket. If there's no obvious button on the underside it's often hidden there.

Quote from frakkin64

I have only worked up the nerve to chainload mainline u-boot on the Vero4K, pretty reluctant to format the eMMC and load that mainline u-boot. And naturally all working from SD cards. It's just not worth it, so far I haven't seen an SD card failure, and I have weekly backups anyways of /storage.

Is that the 4K (S905X) or 4K+ (S905D)? .. I'm still waiting on a positive test report to send it upstream.

Sam did promise to submit the FIP sources for his boards at some point (prob. minus the BL32 bits, but those are optional) .. but then he's also promised to test the 4K (for six months) and send me samples (for two years) so I'm not holding breath. Running your own business is time-consuming

I'm not aware of any upstream Amlogic dtb's that have Realtek WiFi set; which is because most box device-trees are for older devices and the drivers aren't supported so kernel rules say you don't describe unsupported hardware.

If you work with vendor kernel images the Realtek problem is less of a problem because the kernel NEVER changes. That means zero security updates and such .. but also means the WiFi driver you hacked to run stays running. In LE where we track upstream kernels the drivers tend to break with every major kernel bump and novelty of fix-hunting wears off fairly quickly.

You should be able to revert to a legacy kernel image by putting the box in recovery mode, i.e. toothpick method, with the respective installer SD card inserted. The box should search-for and find the bootscripts and set things up again.

The wireless module is top-left on the PCB (below the cut-out). I can't see the model markings on the chip, but the Realtek "Crab" is visible and that explains the lack of WiFi probing on the device. It's an older Realtek chip not supported in the upstream kernel (because if it was, it would probe) and LE does not add Realtek vendor drivers as they're a pain in the rear to maintain over time. They do exist though, and you could always self-build an image with the driver embedded. The BT side of the module is serial (not SDIO) and in some cases there is support for the BT part but not WiFi (as they are different drivers) but for that we need to know the specific chip model as the "compatible" string in device-tree determines which driver and how it loads. The photo isn't high-enough resolution to see the model details, and they're often a bit fuzzy to start with.

NB: Logs from a vendor kernel boot (Android or CE) will probably show more clues about WiFi/BT chip details, although the multi-vendor DHD driver that's used in Amlogic kernels does obscure the info a bit.