PC Engines apu2 experiences
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@kevindd992002 another possible low-cost thing to try would be to plug the ups cord and the apc into a powered usb hub, if you have one handy; that might isolate the connection a bit. those usb monitoring connections have historically played fast and loose with specs.
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@vamike said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 another possible low-cost thing to try would be to plug the ups cord and the apc into a powered usb hub, if you have one handy; that might isolate the connection a bit. those usb monitoring connections have historically played fast and loose with specs.
What do you mean by ups cord and the apc? Are you referring to the same usb cable from the apc?
I actually thought of this too, adding a powered usb in between as I know the USB ports of the apu2c4 are problematic at best. I don't have one on hand but I can easily source for one, no problem.
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@vamike said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@daddygo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
Okay, I understand, but I don't like it when someone arrives and immediately attacks...
you'll note that my first interaction with kevindd992002 in this thread dates from before you joined the forum...
Yeah, I think @daddygo means well. Most of the times, language barrier is the culprit here.
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@daddygo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
The UPS doesn't have a metal case because it's all plastic.
I can already see the type (double insulated), the earthing is on the IEC13 connector(s) - the secondary circuit (after the inverter) is completely internally disconnected from primer
the middle leg of IEC13 is the ground, measure a resistance between this point and the APU metal housing
but you can also "ringing" the cable in question to see if there is a break somewhere
+++edit:
that reminds me, you say you have two of these boxes, how about testing the second one completely independently of the UPS on, say, on the kitchen table?
this would bring us closer to a solution
What do you mean by "ringing"?
I do have two pfsense boxes but one is remote from me so I can't use thst currently to test. I'll do your suggestions probably this week and post back.
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@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@vamike said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 another possible low-cost thing to try would be to plug the ups cord and the apc into a powered usb hub, if you have one handy; that might isolate the connection a bit. those usb monitoring connections have historically played fast and loose with specs.
What do you mean by ups cord and the apc? Are you referring to the same usb cable from the apc?
sorry, too many three letter acronyms...plug the apc/ups into the hub and the hub into the apu. even if that works it's kind of fugly, but I don't know a good actual fix if the ups is doing something dodgy. you could try swapping that cable (but I wouldn't really expect it to help at this point), or using the serial option on the ups rather than the usb option (if both came in the box) but then you'd need a usb/serial adapter for the apc, or run your own second serial port to the headers on the board.
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Does the UPS log anything when this happens? It looks like it removes itself as a device, though that seems unlikely.
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@vamike said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@vamike said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 another possible low-cost thing to try would be to plug the ups cord and the apc into a powered usb hub, if you have one handy; that might isolate the connection a bit. those usb monitoring connections have historically played fast and loose with specs.
What do you mean by ups cord and the apc? Are you referring to the same usb cable from the apc?
sorry, too many three letter acronyms...plug the apc/ups into the hub and the hub into the apu. even if that works it's kind of fugly, but I don't know a good actual fix if the ups is doing something dodgy. you could try swapping that cable (but I wouldn't really expect it to help at this point), or using the serial option on the ups rather than the usb option (if both came in the box) but then you'd need a usb/serial adapter for the apc, or run your own second serial port to the headers on the board.
Ok, at this point it's really more of an isolation game. I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the suggestions.
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@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
What do you mean by "ringing"?
sorry it's a technical term that's what I mean
(pin by pin you can measure the cable conductors)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLvQsHZr5NQ
BTW:
Thanks for the above comment - I certainly appreciate!!! "Yeah, I think daddygo means well.", you are right, English is not my mother language, I also speak Hungarian and Portuguese...
I finished the conversation with the "buddy", I approached him, but he remained dismissive!
(he must have woken up in the wrong place and I'm his target,
(but it certainly defines his mentality))Some people are angry and some are calm
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@stephenw10 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
Does the UPS log anything when this happens? It looks like it removes itself as a device, though that seems unlikely.
I don't know where to check the UPS logs since it's a consumer UPS so the only software it has is for Windows.
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@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@stephenw10 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
Does the UPS log anything when this happens? It looks like it removes itself as a device, though that seems unlikely.
I don't know where to check the UPS logs since it's a consumer UPS so the only software it has is for Windows.
there won't be any. it'll have a really rudimentary limited function microcontroller to manage comms, and was probably tested only to ensure minimal functionality from windows on whatever test pc they were using 5 years ago or whenever the circuits were designed.
- 2 months later
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@kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@bigsy I see. So we're just preserving boot order here? Since I just have one boot device in my APU2, then it wouldn't matter to me.
@bigsy Following up on my pending question here please?
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You're asking if that was the only change in that release? It wasn't. You can check the change-logs:
https://github.com/pcengines/coreboot/blob/release/CHANGELOG.mdSteve
- 7 days later
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@stephenw10 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
You're asking if that was the only change in that release? It wasn't. You can check the change-logs:
https://github.com/pcengines/coreboot/blob/release/CHANGELOG.mdSteve
No. I was asking if the new command is the way to go moving forward? And if the difference to the old command is preserving the boot order?
Old command:
flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom
New command:flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom --fmap -i COREBOOT -
@kevindd992002 This was already discussed in jul 5 post 612 and is preserving boot order.
As most have just one boot device it doesn't really matter, but it cannot hurt, so I have switched using the new command
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@qinn said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
@kevindd992002 This was already discussed in jul 5 post 612 and is preserving boot order.
As most have just one boot device it doesn't really matter, but it cannot hurt, so I have switched using the new command
I know, but my last question was left unanswered and that's why I followed up. I just needed confirmation. Thanks.
- about a month later
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@qinn said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:
I would check the advice from @fireodo; "A little question: Have you CPU Boost activated?" as this makes a lot off difference.
Then I may add, always install pfSense using the ZFS filesystem not the UFS (default). For a few reasons;
TRIM is default enabled (I am using mSATA), but this can also be enabled manually on a UFS filesystem, but the most important reason I advice to use ZFS is that it can 100% safegard you against bit errors, because the APU2 has ECC memory
Just wanted to correct you, before you mislead the community: only the 4 Gigabyte RAM APU2/3/4 (and so on) SKU has ECC RAM, the 2 GB editions do NOT have ECC RAM. The community can blame pcengines.ch clearly, the specification on their page is misleading A.F.
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@soder Thanks for clearing this
- about a month later
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Btw does anyone know why the package manager in the pfS GUI doesn't keep track or better does not show packages that are installed from the CLI, like flashrom ?
Cheers Qinn
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It only shows pfSense packages, which can also be installed from the CLI. They contain the xml element the package manager reads to get the version info etc. For example:
https://github.com/pfsense/FreeBSD-ports/blob/devel/sysutils/pfSense-pkg-Netgate_Firmware_Upgrade/files/usr/local/share/pfSense-pkg-Netgate_Firmware_Upgrade/info.xmlSteve
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@stephenw10 Thanks for the explanation, so in my case the Netgate coreboot upgrader won't work on an APU2C4, understandable of course as it is not Netgate certified hardware.
