Just got a Bela...without an SD?

Hadrom

hi there,

just got the Bela kit and as I am setting up, I notice that when powering up, no LEDs start blinking, only the constant Blue light. I went over the troubleshooting pages, especially this one : https://learn.bela.io/using-bela/bela-techniques/updating-bela/ but when I run the update script, the cygwin terminal says that Bela isnt responding at root 192.168.6.2.

I then followed the examples to flash the SD card, which I presume should be on the Beagle, only to find there is no SD card in the slot?

Any idea what is happening?

giuliomoro

Starter kits ship without an SD card because we flash their internal storage ("eMMC"). If the only light you get is the solid blue PWR LED, then the board is not booting at all. Normally I'd suggest removing the cape and trying to boot again. If the problem persists and you have a spare SD card around, you can flash the SD card with the latest image and try boot again. If it all fails, get back to us.

If at any point you are stuck or don't have an SD card around, get in touch at orders@bela.io for a replacement, though it would be particularly useful to know if it boots without the Bela cape on.

Hadrom

Thanks a lot giulio! I will try this now and report back.

Hadrom

giulio, I am having a hard time removing the cape. It seems to be solidly stuck in place. Is there a special process I should follow on how to remove the cape? Do i need soldering tools?

giuliomoro

Hadrom Do i need soldering tools?

no, the video below should be enough

giuliomoro

This is assuming you have a Bela starter kit. If you have a BelaMini, then there is no eMMC there and the SD card should be in a paper envelope inside the box.

Hadrom

Nice, thanks. I managed to put the cape off and try to boot the beaglebone but nothing happened. Only the blue light turns on.

giuliomoro

If you have a spare SD card around can you try flashing it following the procedure linked above?

balazs

Hi,

I am having the same problem as @Hadrom . Just received my Bela starter kit (not mini) yesterday and there are no flashing lights when I connect it to my mac (2 USB LEDs just constantly on). I can't access the IDE, but that's probably because the board does not boot at all.
I don't have a spare SD card around and I am not brave enough yet to remove the cape, haha
I also noticed that pressing and holding the white Off button does not do anything. I assume the cape is not in connection with the beagle board.
Are these boards tested before they are sent out? Is it possible that you had a bad batch?

Thanks for your help,

giuliomoro

balazs 2 USB LEDs just constantly on

hmmm if those LEDs turn on then the board is not dead. We can ship you a pre-flashed SD card, email orders@bela.io with your order details

Hadrom

something strange is happening. I bought a sdhc card and an adapter, then followed the steps to flash the latest version with Balena etcher.

It fails at the last step, first a windows prompt suddenly saying it needs to format the disk before using it (even though I formatted the 20GB card before it), then the Etcher launcher says the Flash did not complete correctly, and last now I have two partitions one called BellaBoot that is 70 MB in size and another partiition thats 4GB in size. The rest of the SD card is inaccessible. If I put the card in Bela, nothing happens

giuliomoro

Hadrom first a windows prompt suddenly saying it needs to format the disk before using it

Hadrom now I have two partitions one called BellaBoot that is 70 MB in size and another partiition thats 4GB in size

That could also mean success: two partitions as you describe is the expected configuration. One has an ext4 filesystem which is not recognised by Windows which would explain one of the prompts. However, it doesn't explain the Etcher error, so I`s recommend reflashing it.

As for testing this:

power off the board
remove the cape
place the SD card in the BBB
hold press the S2 button at the back of the BBB
with that button held, power up the board

Does any other light blink?

Hadrom

Giulio, excellent news. The system is booted up, and I have just built my first project succesfully! Ahhhh, a sine tone has never before sounded so sweet!

What ended up being the problem, was the Etcher software. I did all of your suggestions in all possible permutations and it just wouldnt boot. Then I used imgflasher, a different software and it just worked like nothing was ever an issue.

If anyone else is having similar problems, and nothing else works... try getting an SD card adapter (if you dont have one yet), use the "SD card formatter" app to format the card - to avoid my problems with drives - and then use imgflasher software to flash the card and try that.