User Manual Prototype for Khadas Beginners

Great idea!
Just tried booting my new EDGE-V from SD, with an Ubuntu image. Must have messed up on the key sequence to get into ‘upgrade’ mode because nothing happened, except for some LED changes. Now, the EDGE-V won’t boot and there’s no HDMI signal.:disappointed_relieved:
Came here hoping to find instructions regarding LED codes, a key press sequence guide, and/or info on boot ‘modes’, after searching Khadas site for over an hour.
Thanks for asking.:sunglasses:

btw, If you need a test dummy to ensure your instructions are fool-proof, I’m your guy. :woozy_face:

@TheHermit did the instructions help?

They are from here: https://docs.khadas.com/vim2/BootFromExtMedia.html

Yea I remember my first time too. :smile:

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, that’s the document I was following. Near the bottom, there’s a link to “How To Boot Into Upgrade Mode”, with the following instructions:

"### Keys Mode (U-Boot is Running)*

  1. Power on VIM1.*
  2. Long press the Power key without releasing it.*
  3. Short press the ‘Reset’ key and release it.*
  4. Count to 10 seconds and release the ‘Power’ key to enter into upgrade mode"

But, the instructions stop there. Is U-Boot already running in the firmware at power on?
Should there be HDMI output during the upgrade mode?

Also, I noticed that your prototype manual provides a different key sequence (3 quick presses of the Function key) in order to boot from the micro-SD card firmware. :thinking:
At the moment, there’s a solid red LED and white heartbeat LED. When I attempt your 3 press sequence, the blue LED will light briefly, then it returns to solid red & white heartbeat.
Should I try the USB-C cable method to erase and re-image the eMMC?
Thanks for your assistance.

Hello, Does it boot if you remove the card?
Which Ubuntu image did you use?

@TheHermit there are usually only 1 or 2 problems regarding boot up from SD cards.

  1. Your SBC is a newer model, that can use the Khadas TST (press Function-Key 3 times), see: https://docs.khadas.com/vim3/HowtoBootIntoUpgradeMode.html
  2. You forgot to rename the .dtb file in your SD card, for example if you’re booting CoreELEC on a VIM3, you’ll need to rename the .dtb file to the one that says VIM3.
  3. In rare cases, the user had previously erased his EMMC, and there is no Android OS installed, and so it can’t enter the multiboot mode (rare, since all VIMs out-of-the-box have Android pre-installed)

Thanks again for you reply.
1: Yes, that’s the doc I referred to. It mentions Multiboot mode, U-boot mode, Serial Mode, Upgrade mode, Maskrom mode, TST mode, and Upgroup mode. But, in most cases, it only explains how to initialize those modes without explaining what to do once in those modes or what kind of visual feedback the user should see to confirm progress.
2: I was trying to microSD boot into Edge_Ubuntu-lxde-bionic_Linux-4.4_arm64_SD-USB_V20190830.img, which was burned onto the microSD with Balena Etcher. It contains a /dtb folder with the Khadas dtb files. I assume that it is not necessary to rename Khadas dtb. (didn’t see any instructions about renaming dtb images)
3: Yes, Android was pre-installed on the eMMC. But, quit working after my failed attempt to boot from the SD card. Would be nice to understand what caused it, so I don’t do that again. But, now that I’m here, how do I get out of this mess?:thinking:

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There is a combination of button pushes that erases the eMMC. Maybe that was done by accident.
Using a PC, the USB-C to A cable and the USB Burning Tool will get you back in business.
See here for guide. See here for firmware.

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Aha, that explains what happened to the eMMC. That’s good to know. Are those key sequences documented somewhere? A table would be very helpful.
Yes, I managed to use AndroidTool to erase and reimage the eMMC with
Edge_Ubuntu-lxde-bionic_Linux-4.4_arm64_EMMC_V20190830.img
But, it has display sync issues, so I’m downloading the previous DTB. Hopefully, that will solve the display issue.
Meanwhile, with that partial success, I tried and succeeded in booting Ubuntu from SD card. :clap::clap::clap::clap:
So, things are looking much better, today.
Thank you for the guidance and putting me back on track. I hope my documentation suggestions are helpful.:sunglasses:

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Several methods exist to erase the eMMC, those, including the button(keys) method, can be found here.

Thanks. Just thought other new customers would wonder, “What do these three buttons do?” A concise function table in the Beginners Guide would answer that.
Thanks for your help.:sunglasses:

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Thanks for your feedback @TheHermit. Yes maybe the manual should just contain tables / diagrams of the GPIO, button presses, etc. And then just add links for more complicated procedures.

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Prototype GPIO and Button card, would this be useful @RDFTKV? :smile:


@TheHermit for the other SBCs, it would be possible to create a table describing the various functions (alone and in combination) of the buttons.

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Yes. The hardware pictures show the interfaces. Below that could be a brief description of the functionality of each interface, something like:

Function Buttons- Key combinations select various boot modes.

      (Table of key combinations and boot modes)

Or:

IR Receiver- Receives input signals from the Khadas Remote Control

Then, as you mentioned, links in the table and descriptions could point to detailed webpages, such as ‘How to upgrade the eMMC and SD card’, ‘How to use the Khadas Remote Control’, ‘How to enable GPIO’, ‘How to communicate over I2C’, etc.

So, the customer goes from opening the SBC package and seeing the hardware to pictures of the hardware, showing the interfaces, to brief descriptions of what functionality each interface provides. At this point, the customer has become generally familiar with the hardware, the functionality of each interface, and links to documentation that explains how to achieve that functionality. (This could also be a powerful marketing tool, showing off the capabilities of each product.)

Ideally, the customer would go from studying the printed version of the Beginners Guide (:roll_eyes:) to a similar looking web page, with live links (Printed links don’t work very well). Either way, the customer is given a general overview as a starting point (dashboard) to obtain more detailed information.

Hope this helps

Thank you for the customer services you provide.:sunglasses:

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Looks good. Might be nice, if possible, for the card to be scaled 1:1 with the actual GPIO, so it might serve as a template. Though may not be practical because of the tiny font required to fit the space.

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Yes @TheHermit, I think you should! Likely have to ask @Frank & @numbqq what could be the issue. Maybe hardware related - if all the images aren’t working. From my experience, these images are flash-and-play.

@RDFTKV interesting idea! Though cutting out a slot might be adding an extra step during production. :smile:

@TheHermit finally understand your idea; basically a pictorial guide to the SBC, starting from a hardware layout. Kind of like the old picture encyclopedias I used to read as a kid.

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Hehe, The user would cut out the shaded area if desired, y’all have enough to do already.:laughing:

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Update to the GPIO card, this could be a mini-manual that points to docs.khadas.com for more (pictorial, as @TheHermit suggested) instructions.


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Prototype 2 of the full-page manual, A5 sized, double-sided, vertical for easy handling. Ideally, this will be replicated onto docs.khadas.com, with clickable links as @TheHermit mentioned. :sunny:

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Beautiful graphical artwork. I see that you are more than just a teckie nerd. lol
I noticed two things that differs from my limited experience w/EDGE-V.
1: Perhaps it’s due to having upgraded to Ubuntu, but I don’t need to do Step 3, under the Boot from SD-Card section.
2: Step 3 (above) was required in order to Enter into MaskROM mode, under Flash eMMC, Step 1b. Perhaps Boot, Step 3 would be more appropriately placed as the step following Flash, Step 1.
Also, since the image and USB Upgrade Tool are prerequisites, shouldn’t the steps be as follows:

  1. Download and unzip the desired image firmware
  2. Download, install, and run the USB Upgrade Tool
    • Select the downloaded firmware
  3. Connect the USB-C cable to the SBC and PC
    • Enter MaskROM Mode by pressing the Function Key 3 times, within 2 seconds
  4. Use the USB Upgrade Tool to Upgrade Firmware

But, otherwise, I’m impressed with what you have produced. It reflects the professional image that I have noticed in most of Khadas’ documentation. But, I have also noticed that several customers have accidentally erased their eMMC (as I did) while attempting to follow other instructions in the same document to ‘Power on, hold the Function Key for 10 seconds, then press reset’. I didn’t know how to recover until I stumbled across your User Manual Prototype.
IMHO, it is obviously a major challenge to keep documentation current with ever changing procedures, software upgrades, and patches. New customers and novices depend upon the accuracy of this documentation. If it is incorrect or outdated, we end up jumping down the rabbit hole, aka spending hours searching the forums for solutions. Failing that, we post new topics and consume the resources of customer service reps. Obviously, the CSR’s time is best spent receiving bug reports and resolving them, not putting misguided customers back on track.
Perhaps, there needs to be a method of closing the gap between the front end documentation (the ‘How To’ docs that your manual links to) and current front line CSR knowledge. For example, if there is a problem with a firmware package, the customer should be informed before downloading it, not after spending several frustrating hours fighting a known issue, searching the forum, and consuming CSR time.
Perhaps footnotes could be added to the relevant instruction(s) on the appropriate document, with a link(s) to more current forum discussions, which are dated.

Of course, now I have gone beyond the objectives of your User Manual. But, I thought it was worth mentioning. Perhaps I am motivated by having the HDMI display problems with the eMMC Ubuntu firmware (previously posted) and am currently going through the above mentioned process. I have no idea whether my issue is due to defective eMMC or a known issue with the firmware. But, I’ve seen other posts regarding eMMC firmware not working. As you know, I’ve posted the issue elsewhere, others have acknowledged the post, but I’m still waiting in limbo for a reply. I’m not complaining, because I understand the challenges of providing customer support (retired MS CSR). But, I’m only using that as an example of how important it is to ensure front end documentation is current. It’s all about customers’ expectations. Customers expect vendor dtb’s to simply work, as advertised.
If that’s not going to happen, an ‘Out of Order’ icon on the download would avoid a lot of frustration and explaining. Better yet, perhaps an :warning: icon that links to a dated list of forum topics relating to that dtb, sorted on most recent date. I believe there’s already a ‘Resolved’ field that could be included. With a single click, customers would be able to see what they are getting into, before hand. Then, the CSR folks could focus upon fixing the dtb, instead of hand holding folks like me.:sunglasses:

Thank you for considering my opinions.

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Yes @TheHermit you are right, @hyphop has a similar thought pattern as you.

Personally, being a relative “SBC noob” myself, as compared to veterans like @RDFTKV, I have to agree with you.

@hyphop recently finished his first build of krescue. Our vision is that some time very soon, all you need to do to get a new OS working will be:

  1. Burn krescue to an SD card
  2. Boot krescue
  3. Select an OS from an online repository (online list)
  4. krescue burns the image into your EMMC

Since the image was produced from a standardized, functioning Khadas SBC, it is guaranteed to work. And the installation procedure is standardized across all distributions, OSes, bla bla. Very noob friendly. :smile:

Oh yes, and if you are an expert, like say @Robert, you can produce your own “flavour” of OS, use krescue to make an image, and then upload it into the repository to share with others. :sunny:

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