No HDMI Signal - is my board dead?

VisionFive 2 （English Forum)
30

Board arrived this week :). I’m having the same issue. The board boots both image-55 and image-69 fine, and I updated the boot loader, etc using the sdcard.img as per another post here but I’m still yet to get anything over HDMI.

I’ve tried 3 different displays, they know something is connected but there’s no video signal.

I’ll try to check the serial console tomorrow once I dig out an adapter.

Edit: Okay… I just logged in over ssh to a booted starfive-jh7110-VF2_515_v2.5.0-69-minimal-desktop.img and killed lightdm, when it came back up I got HDMI output!

Here’s what was going on in dmesg

[   13.818472] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 1000
[   13.822620] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1FB4D5AD8, paddr: 0x1051E5000
[   13.830408] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   14.223868] PVR_K:  415: RGX Firmware image 'rgx.fw.36.50.54.182' loaded
[   14.287661] PVR_K:  415: Shader binary image 'rgx.sh.36.50.54.182' loaded
[   14.298844] PVR_K:  415: X connected - (devID = 0)
[   14.618521] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 7e9000
[   14.623822] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BE0C0, paddr: 0x80200000
[   14.631551] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   14.674283] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[   14.678536] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BAA80, paddr: 0x80108000
[   14.686211] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   14.691968] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[   14.696228] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BAB60, paddr: 0x8010C000
[   14.703892] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   15.693242] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate rate 148500000 tmdsclk 148500000
[   15.802751] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->pixclock = 148500000
[   15.812506] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->tmdsclock = 148500000
[   15.822341] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->prediv = 1
[   15.831224] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->fbdiv = 99
[   15.840107] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->tmds_div_a = 1
[   15.849343] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->tmds_div_b = 1
[   15.858571] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->tmds_div_c = 1
[   15.867801] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->pclk_div_a = 1
[   15.877027] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->pclk_div_b = 2
[   15.886255] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->pclk_div_c = 2
[   15.895468] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->pclk_div_d = 2
[   15.904694] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->vco_div_5_en = 0
[   15.914102] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->pre_cfg->fracdiv = 0
[   15.923076] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: *******************************************************
[   15.932217] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->tmdsclock = 148500000
[   15.942137] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->prediv = 1
[   15.951111] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->fbdiv = 20
[   15.960083] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->postdiv = 1
[   15.969145] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->post_div_en = 3
[   15.978551] innohdmi-starfive 29590000.hdmi: inno_hdmi_phy_clk_set_rate hdmi->post_cfg->version = 3
[   34.496086] mipi_0p9: disabling
[   62.485584] PVR_K:  415: X disconnected - (devID = 0)
[   62.789700] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 1000
[   62.793826] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1FB4CCF80, paddr: 0x104F68000
[   62.801591] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   62.849746] PVR_K:  586: X connected - (devID = 0)
[   62.945353] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 7e9000
[   62.951193] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BE0C0, paddr: 0x80200000
[   62.958957] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   63.000068] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[   63.004299] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BAA80, paddr: 0x80108000
[   63.011976] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[   63.017751] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[   63.021920] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BAB60, paddr: 0x8010C000
[   63.029599] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0

Edit 2: The first attempt logging into lightdm fails (PVRSRV_ERROR_DEVICEMEM_OUT_OF_DEVICE_VM), but it works on the second attempt:

[  163.583818] PVR_K:  599: X disconnected - (devID = 0)
[  163.618637] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 1000
[  163.622770] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1FB924F50, paddr: 0x118D1E000
[  163.630535] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[  163.681309] PVR_K:  756: X connected - (devID = 0)
[  163.695088] PVR_K:(Error):   756: DevmemSubAllocate: Failed! Error is PVRSRV_ERROR_DEVICEMEM_OUT_OF_DEVICE_VM. Allocation size: 0x0000010000 [1635]
[  163.708604] PVR_K:(Error):   756: DevmemSubAllocate: Failed! Error is PVRSRV_ERROR_DEVICEMEM_OUT_OF_DEVICE_VM. Allocation size: 0x0000008000 [1635]
[  163.722541] PVR_K:(Error):   756: DevmemSubAllocate: Failed! Error is PVRSRV_ERROR_DEVICEMEM_OUT_OF_DEVICE_VM. Allocation size: 0x0000008000 [1635]
[  163.801141] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 7e9000
[  163.806337] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97DA0C0, paddr: 0x80A00000
[  163.814024] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[  163.862671] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[  163.867103] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BA9A0, paddr: 0x80104000
[  163.874771] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
[  163.880547] vs_gem_dumb_create size = 4000
[  163.884856] Allocated coherent memory, vaddr: 0xFFFFFFE1F97BAA80, paddr: 0x80108000
[  163.892535] ====> vs_gem_alloc_buf, 162.vs_obj->get_pages = 0
1 Like
31

Please keep boot switch to QSPI flash mode as we are still working on boot flow of SD/eMMC for debian.
any booting log from serial port? do you have try “modetest -M starfive -c” command to see EDID from monitor?

1 Like
32

Rich man :smile:

1 Like
33

Ill restore the switch settings back to flash mode, and in my case unsure on serial. Cant find my uart/usb debugger, ordered a new one. ETA next week. ( should have been with my fpga programmers, but it was not. )

34

Still waiting on a new debug cable but this is what i have done so far:

  • Grabbed the 55 Debian image. All possible switch settings.
  • Tried the buildroot image. Again, all possible switch settings
  • No SD and powered it on. All possible switch settings

I do not have eMMC or m.2 installed. this is ‘bare’ microSD. Only addition from when it showed at my door is a fan.

In both cases i get no HDMI, power light stays red, and neither Ethernet port turns on ( which blows me updating flash ). I did not expect HDMI when i powered on with no SD and need to use the serial port instead, but shouldn’t the Ethernet at least turn on?

I did try a 2nd power supply, just in case. No change in results. Am i just hosed?

Note: this is one of the super early bird specials with the 2 different speed Ethernet ports.

35

From “Release_Notes_for_Debian_Image55.pdf” in the “Known Issues / Limitation” section there is “Eth0 cannot be assigned IP address”. So be sure to connect the network cable to Eth1, (I am about 95% sure that is the Network port closest to the HDMI port.).

Also from the Image55 release notes “Known Issues / Limitation” section is “Boot flow(boot from SD or eMMC) are not supported yet”, so if you are using that image the only boot switch setting which will work is “Flash” - both switches moved closer to the RAM in the middle of the board and further away from the edge of the board.

The third thing is to powerup the board and just leave it there for say 5 minutes, go have a coffee, then check for blinking LED’s. It could be stuck there waiting on a timeout, and you are powering it off before it timesout. Full disclosure, I should probably add that I have no VF2 hardware yet, but the above is the steps I would take in your exact situation.

One problem I had years ago with a particularly cheap HDMI cable was that it only worked one way around, if I plugged it in the other way around I got a blank screen! Needless to say that cable was binned fast.

EDIT: From my basic understanding there are 4 main stages (5 if you count OpenSBI which is loaded with u-boot) to the boot process:

  • ROM-> CPU L1 cache (32 KiB) binary is 32 KiB
  • spl-u-boot->CPU L2 Cache (2 MiB) binary is typically about 125~140 KiB
  • u-boot->main DDR RAM (2/4/8 GiB) binary is typically about 2.7 MiB
  • kernel->main DDR RAM (2/4/8 GiB) binary manages all the RAM

As far as I know those two switch tell the CPU where it should attempt to load the spl-u-boot from.

2 Likes
36

I had cables plugged into both Ethernet ports, as i also saw that disclaimer and didnt feel like guessing/testing a 2nd time for each switch setting.

And while i started with ‘flash boot’ settings, i did try them all out of desperation.

HDMI cables, ya, tried more than one cable, but since i’m not getting a power light on either Ethernet port, and i assume the red light turns green at some point too, its not getting that far, so that was sort of academic anyway.

Only thing i have not done is write the image to emmc, as i think i read somewhere that wont work, yet.

On waiting, i left it for an hour on flashboot ( the first test ) as i left the house shortly afterward.

With luck ill get my replacement debug cable soon and can at least look at the serial console, perhaps with some useful info there…

1 Like
37

Mine wouldn’t boot at all with the HDMI cable connected until I updated uboot and SPL. I would boot the sdcard.img with HDMI disconnected completely and use SSH+SCP to update it first. That’s what worked for me. The HDMI port works fine after I did that.

1 Like
38

Even with sdcard image ( on SD ), and no hdmi i still dont get any network so i cant update.

I am sure there will be some sort of message on the serial console, once i can see it

39

Are you getting both a solid red light and flashing green light after some time? I would try it with just the power connected and the microSD card inserted and nothing else to see if it gets that far. Make sure the boot switches are set for flash (both DIP switches away from the the MIPI DSI connector,) not SD, since directly booting from the SD card is not yet supported.

40

I assume you still don’t get a green led? The ethernet port (next to the HDMI port) is still not active?
Can you try without a fan?
How did you write the image to the micro SD card?
Did you write on a Linux machine? Does the card get mounted and can you see the contents?

41

Nope. solid red only. Never even blinks green like it tried and failed. No light for Ethernet. even if it never got to negotiation id at least expect to see a connection light.

Currently the switches are back to flash. ( after i tried the others, i put it back )

Written with etcher on Debian Linux, etcher verified, and is mountable on my host. This is also the 2nd card. My first attempt when i first got the board i used a different one, and intentionally switched for this round just in case ( forgot to mention that ) ( this isn’t my first rodeo, so i have hit every possibility i could think of before i asked for help :slight_smile: )

I did forget to mention i used 2 different power supplies. 1 PD compliant, the other not.

First go around when i got the board i didnt yet have fan, but at your suggestion i removed it and tried again, and let it sit for ~10 minutes. Still nothing other than that damned angry red power led. ( its the fan off my v1 board, so it should have been ok anyway, but its unplugged for now. )

So frustrating, as it should not be this hard to get a little life out of it.

EDIT: after letting it run a bit longer i could feel the CPU was warm. Not hot, but warm enough to know it was warm. Donno if that means anything or not, just putting it out there.

42

I recommend you get a USB serial adapter and use that to troubleshoot - it’s really the lowest level. Not getting HDMI output is very much at the other end, eg. I have everything working except HDMI output.

43

As mentioned, i’m waiting on a new debug cable to arrive. I wasn’t able to find the one i had so had to order another.

44

Cable arrived. Switched back to sdcard.img, but nothing on debug output either. So i’m pretty much dead in the water. No green light, no debug output. ( ya i tried swapping the data cables in case they were mislabeled )

Other than waiting for new images and hoping they somehow magically wake this thing up, any other suggestions?

45

If you are seeing no traffic on the serial connection (@ 115200 bps) then you have a serious problem. Things I would triple check: power supply (2 A at least) and serial USB connection. Try unplugging EVERYTHING except serial connection and power. Even without an SDcard, you should see the boot loaders messages on the serial connection.

46

That was my thought too. i should see * something *

I did test the cable with another board i had, slower, so it was not a bad cable but i did order a 2nd, that clearly says it can do 2mb. This one, while the chip is rated for 2mb it dint actually state a speed. If that dont work, i think im just screwed.

47

@Nurb432 could you share the location of boot switch, the factory default is as below shown

image
image1446×2056 281 KB

and insert the sdcard.img TF card, power-up. it should be output something(serial port) and green light blinking.

note: the voltage of serial debug dongle should be 3.3v

1 Like
48

Yes, i have restored it back to factory ( per advice somewhere else in this thread ).

I dont ever get a green light. The board never gets that far, it remains red no matter what settings i have or what image i use. ( or no image )

49

If you switch both switches to 0 (right as in picture above) it should try to boot and print something
If you switch bot switches to 1 (left as in picture above) it should enter y-modem mode and print CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC.

If you canot get any log to to serial there should be something serious IMO…

Just doublecheck if serial adapter is working by connect TX and RX. You should get same resposnes as you type.
And also make sure that they are correctly connected to your board TX/RX and GND, maybe you can post images of our setup