PC Engines APU2 BIOS options
-
I did notice that they did infact change the device name that it shows as from 'PCEngines apu2' to 'PC Engines apu2' in a earlier rom.
The ROM notes have all the changes well documented.
Why they couldn't handle a device name change without force is unknown to me.
I was reluctant to force it as I have throw out many self fried electronic goodies. Living on the edge. -
In the PC Engines forum someone has "stuck beacon" errors with 4.6 and moved over to the 4.0.11 version, which seems stable for him. I don't have a WiFi module installed on the APU2 board, so maybe 4.6 could be stable.
Yet, the https://www.coreboot.org/Special:RecentChanges suggest there is sill some work on the APU2 and the 4.6 version is of april 2017
( https://coreboot.org/releases/coreboot-4.6-relnotes.txt ).For now I won't upgrade from the 4.0.7 version, as there seems no reason to.
-
I certainly do NOT recommend the 4.6.0 version. Been testing it for 2 days and got 6 inexplicable kernel panics. Never seen one before with 4.0.7.
-
I certainly do NOT recommend the 4.6.0 version. Been testing it for 2 days and got 6 inexplicable kernel panics. Never seen one before with 4.0.7.
First, big thanks for the reply Dok!!
It seems that the releases v4.0.x, that are based on the PC Engines fork of coreboot, are the only ones that are stable and it is better to steer clear from the coreboot mainstream version v4.5.x and v4.6.x. Btw have you tried the v4.0.11 or higher versions?
Just a suggestion to report them to https://github.com/pcengines/coreboot/issues
Or to contact this guy https://github.com/pietrushnic who is the maintainer piotr.krol@3mdeb.com -
Btw have you tried the v4.0.11 or higher versions?
Been running for ~36 hours by now, no crash. It has broken serial console output though at the beginning of the boot, affecting the pfSense boot menu. Does not happen with 4.0.7.
--reboot build 20170724 \\OS version v4.0.11 ||80 MB ECC DRAM // --aBIOS (version rel-1.10.2.1) \\ ||ess F10 key now for boot menu // --oting from Hard Disk... \\ || pfSense // -- PXE \\ot: F1 ||bboooott//ccoonnffiigg:: --SS111155220000 --DD // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // b b o o o o t t / / k k e e r r n n e e l l / / k k e e r r n n e e l l t t e e x x t t = = 0 0 x x 1 1 7 7 5 5 3 3 f f 5 5 8 8 / / -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // -- \\ || // dd a a t t a a = = 0 0 x x a a b b 8 8 e e b b 8 8 + + 0 0 x x 4 4 c c 8 8 c c 6 6 8 8 - - \\ || // --
Summary: I'd stick with 4.0.7 and call it a day…
-
After a short discussion with PC Engines support, I did a force update on my APU2C4 from 4.0.7 to 4.0.11. In the for what it's worth category, I am not experiencing the serial console problem. Your mileage may vary.
-
Just a suggestion to report them to https://github.com/pcengines/coreboot/issues
Or to contact this guy https://github.com/pietrushnic who is the maintainer piotr.krol@3mdeb.comWell I might if I could get some crash dumps out of it, but there was nothing saved on any of those crashes.
-
Firmware 4.6.0 has been up since I flashed it on mine.
-
After a short discussion with PC Engines support, I did a force update on my APU2C4 from 4.0.7 to 4.0.11. In the for what it's worth category, I am not experiencing the serial console problem. Your mileage may vary.
From the reply of FranciscoFranco « Reply #13 on: September 29, 2017, 04:49:00 pm » the force seems necessary, because they have changed 'PCEngines' to 'PC Engines' in smbios tables and welcome string (see changelog confirms https://github.com/pcengines/coreboot/blob/coreboot-4.0.x/CHANGELOG.md in version v4.0.8 - 2017-03-31). so it seems there is a check on this string before it updates.
-
Firmware 4.6.0 has been up since I flashed it on mine.
Your using the nano version for the APU2C4, just out of curiosity, why? My APU2C4 is equipped with a mSATA SSD and I use the full install.
-
Well primarily because I am booting off the SD Card. They have low cycle counts so I baby them with pfSense NanoBSD builds.
The Phison cards from PCengines are a good deal for 6 bucks.
I bought a handful for some of my troublesome Arm boards like BananaPi which like good SD cards. They seem durable. -
Well primarily because I am booting off the SD Card. They have low cycle counts so I baby them with pfSense NanoBSD builds.
The Phison cards from PCengines are a good deal for 6 bucks.
I bought a handful for some of my troublesome Arm boards like BananaPi which like good SD cards. They seem durable.Using the nanoBSD version seems logical as you are booting from media with limited write cycles (USB stick, CF card, etc.).