Asus Tinkerboard ... got a problem!

A

Ark :o

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 7, 2006
Messages
250
Hello.

So I looked around for a better place to post this, but, I'm not finding a better spot. If there's a better spot, please move the thread!

I got an Asus Tinkerboard S for Christmas. Which is cool, I've been wanting to get Retropie going on one for a while now. But I've bumped into a bit of a problem with it and there's next to nothing out there to help me. So I turn to the [H]!

The TB S has 16GB of onboard eMMC storage, and I bought a 64GB SD card to augment that. I downloaded an Armbian image that has Retropie already installed, and flashed it to the eMMC storage. That part worked as expected: I plugged in the TB S to my computer with a USB cable using its microUSB port, and turned on, my computer dinged as though a new device had been found, and the TB S showed up in Explorer as writable flash memory. I used Etcher to write the image to the eMMC and that was that.

However, after flashing it, the TB S wouldn't boot. Nothing came up but a black screen. I had read this could happen on first boot, so I waited it out. I even waited overnight, hoping I just wasn't giving it enough time, but no dice.

So, I read that what I needed to do was download an official TinkerOS image, flash it onto the SD card, install the SD card in the TB S, set the jumper on the TB S to Maskrom mode, and plug in the TB S to my computer via the microUSB port. So I did all that. The TB S boots fine in this way using a 5v/3A power supply plugged into the wall, but when I attempt to use a USB cable running to my PC instead, the TB S turns on for a few seconds, then turns off before there's any screen activity. Additionally, I should add that this behavior continues even if I use different USB cables, and different PC's as well.

Did I somehow brick this thing, or at the very least, damage it? Not sure what to do next. I suppose I could re-flash the SD card using a different Retropie image, but that would just be ignoring the eMMC storage on the TB S.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

~Ark
 
Ark :eek: said:
Hello.

So I looked around for a better place to post this, but, I'm not finding a better spot. If there's a better spot, please move the thread!

I got an Asus Tinkerboard S for Christmas. Which is cool, I've been wanting to get Retropie going on one for a while now. But I've bumped into a bit of a problem with it and there's next to nothing out there to help me. So I turn to the [H]!

The TB S has 16GB of onboard eMMC storage, and I bought a 64GB SD card to augment that. I downloaded an Armbian image that has Retropie already installed, and flashed it to the eMMC storage. That part worked as expected: I plugged in the TB S to my computer with a USB cable using its microUSB port, and turned on, my computer dinged as though a new device had been found, and the TB S showed up in Explorer as writable flash memory. I used Etcher to write the image to the eMMC and that was that.

However, after flashing it, the TB S wouldn't boot. Nothing came up but a black screen. I had read this could happen on first boot, so I waited it out. I even waited overnight, hoping I just wasn't giving it enough time, but no dice.

So, I read that what I needed to do was download an official TinkerOS image, flash it onto the SD card, install the SD card in the TB S, set the jumper on the TB S to Maskrom mode, and plug in the TB S to my computer via the microUSB port. So I did all that. The TB S boots fine in this way using a 5v/3A power supply plugged into the wall, but when I attempt to use a USB cable running to my PC instead, the TB S turns on for a few seconds, then turns off before there's any screen activity. Additionally, I should add that this behavior continues even if I use different USB cables, and different PC's as well.

Did I somehow brick this thing, or at the very least, damage it? Not sure what to do next. I suppose I could re-flash the SD card using a different Retropie image, but that would just be ignoring the eMMC storage on the TB S.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

~Ark
Click to expand...

According to this person, you need to boot the Tinker first with the PSU, then it should be able to run off of USB.

Disappointingly, this SBC is oversensitive about power supply. A standard USB input or +5VDC source just doesn't cut it, especially when also interfacing with a power-hungry display screen. I didn't really expect it to "just work" off "any USB" the way an RPi2 does, but it's dramatically worse than the already notorious RPi3IME units I'm familiar with. It seems you need at least a 1A/5V PSU adapter with tight regulation just to get the Tinker to boot up (though, oddly, it'll happily run stable off standard USB/HDMI afterwards) ... I really think ASUS should include the appropriate power adapter (at least as an option) with each unit, and I think embedding the needed PSU circuitry directly on board would've been obvious (although it was obviously overlooked). Shame on you ASUS, forcing me to jury-rig my own charge-regulated 2A/5V power source ... even though 1A doesn't seem to be *quite* enough ... and making me worry about burning the $60 board with too much power, lack of official documentation doesn't help, so long story short I simply cannot assume this board is "reliable" or "stable" in any high-reliability projects.
Click to expand...


https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?93199-ASUS-Tinker-Board!

And this is from ASUS...

The Tinker Board S requires 5V/2~3A power via the micro-USB port. The exact amount of current (mA) the Tinker Board S requires will depend on what's connected to it. For general use, a 2A power supply from a reputable retailer will provide ample power to run your tinker board.

Typically, Tinker Board S uses between 700 to 1000mA, depending on which peripherals are connected. It may use as little as 500mA when no peripherals are attached. Maximum power for the Tinker Board S is 1A. If you need to connect a USB device to bring power requirements above 0.5A, then you must connect to it via an externally powered USB hub.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the reply!

I admit, I had not considered the fact that the 4x standard USB ports would be able to provide power to the unit. One thing I did try already was modifying a different 5v/3A power supply to power it via the GPIO header. This worked to power the board up, but when I plugged it into my computer via a standard USB cable from one of the four normal USB ports, my computer did not detect it.

I'll give it another try tonight and see what happens.
 
So apparently I can boot the TB S via PSU, then plug in a USB cable from one of the TB S's four ports to my PC, then disconnect the PSU and it continues to run. But, in no circumstance have I been able to get my PC to "see" the TB S as USB mass storage.

The only way I can do anything with the TB S at this point is to keep the jumper on Maskrom mode, apply power via the PSU, and boot off the stock TinkerOS image on my SD card. I've been unable to access the eMMC storage in any way.

I think my board is borked.
 
Ark :eek: said:
So apparently I can boot the TB S via PSU, then plug in a USB cable from one of the TB S's four ports to my PC, then disconnect the PSU and it continues to run. But, in no circumstance have I been able to get my PC to "see" the TB S as USB mass storage.

The only way I can do anything with the TB S at this point is to keep the jumper on Maskrom mode, apply power via the PSU, and boot off the stock TinkerOS image on my SD card. I've been unable to access the eMMC storage in any way.

I think my board is borked.
Click to expand...

Have you contacted support?
 
Asus issued me an RMA for the TB S. However, it's a "repair/return" warranty; they want me to pay return shipping and wait two weeks while they determine how/if they want to repair it. So I just set up an exchange with Amazon, it'll be here in two days and they sent me a return label for nothing. /shrug
 
Ark :eek: said:
Asus issued me an RMA for the TB S. However, it's a "repair/return" warranty; they want me to pay return shipping and wait two weeks while they determine how/if they want to repair it. So I just set up an exchange with Amazon, it'll be here in two days and they sent me a return label for nothing. /shrug
Click to expand...

ASUS doesn't usually have the best RMA/CS track record. At least Amazon has got your back. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top