NVME SSD (Debian 11) bootloop, despite previous successful boot

#1

So after the advice in my other threads I have done the following::

Flashed the SPI NOR flash with the Zero.img and all that jazz.
Flashed my NVME SSD with Debian 11 using an NVME to usb 3.0 reader via Etcher

After doing everything, I plugged in my HDMI cable and powered on the board, and was able to successfully boot into Debian 11.

I then repeated the same process with my 2nd Rock 5 Model B.
Except this time when I powered on the board my screen flashed multiple times, often loading up half the boot process and then restarting into a bootloop which eventually culminated into a bunch of errors on the screen and no successful boot into Debian 11.

I thought maybe it was an issue with the power or the HDMI cable, so I switched to my previously successful Dev board (the one that had booted into Debian 11) and was instead unfortunatly met with the same issue resulting in a bootloop.

Any ideas on how I can fix this issue?

#2

Okay I found a solution to this, it would seem this is more a Power Delivery (PD) issue and also the type of USB Type C cable you use will also cause issues, previously I used an Anker USB C - USB A which had no issues until I used the NVME and looking at earlier posts about the Rock 5b and NVME issues, it would seem that USB C - USB A tends to cause a few issues with the PD, but also that the NVME will drain more power than using the standard methods like eMMc or micro sd cards…

I’ve instead found that typical USB C - USB Cable (in my case I used the standard cable that came with my Pixel 3XL) and found this cable to work well.

Additionally I changed power chargers and found that the Anker USB C Plug, 735 Charger (Nano II 65W) is able to power the Rock 5B without any issues, I even got 2 Rock 5B’s hooked up on the same 735 charger and its booting and powering the 2 Rock 5B’s without any issues.

#3

About 15 years ago I carried gsm phone, palmtop, gps unit and of course laptop. Each with own charger and its cable. Few years later new brilliant standard come - mini-usb and upgrade ended up with three different mini-usb chargers that charge only one device. Here we go for another round of such thing. More and more cables, chargers and standards come, but that don’t mean You can grab any old cable and use it. Not every cable will allow to use PD, not every is data cable and can carry right amount of data. i have one short (20cm), thick and good looking, good quality usb-c cable that is able to carry 10x less data than expected.

Always triple check Your setup for new device. Wrong cable/charger can slow down all transfers and charge time. This is the reason why all manufacturers should include some accessories - that always makes life easier.