Rock 3A not booting with any image

#1

Hello there, I’ve been trying to get my ROCK 3A to boot for the past week.
I’ve tried both the 16GB eMMC module and various microSD cards, (4-64GB), as well as various USB-PD/QC chargers, all supporting 9V/3A and 12V/2A, and different cables.

What I do is as follows:

  1. Format eMMC/SD with SD Format Tool
  2. Flash the eMMC/SD with one of the official images (list below) using balenaEtcher (on macOS)
  3. Plug in HDMI and eMMC/SD to ROCK 3A
  4. Plug in USB-C power to ROCK 3A
  5. Wait for up to 60 min

…and nothing happens. The green light works, but the blue one never lights up, and there’s no picture on my HDMI monitor either.

This is the list of images I tried:

  • rock3a_debian_buster_xfce4_arm64_20211113_0127-gpt.img
  • rock3a_ubuntu_focal_server_arm64_20211113_0103-gpt.img
  • rock3a_ubuntu_focal_server_arm64_20210914_0859-gpt.img
  • rock3a_debian_buster_xfce4_arm64_20210914_0334-gpt.img
  • Armbian_21.11.0-trunk_Rock-3a_bullseye_legacy_4.19.193.img.xz

I would love to hear any feedback on what I might be potentially doing wrong or what I could try differently.
Please let me know if I can provide more details to help diagnose this

#2

Can you try this? Short-circuit the FSPI_CLK pin and GND pin to make SPI Nor flash unavailable. See https://wiki.radxa.com/Rock3/FAQs

#3

I tried, it doesn’t seem to work. Is there anything else I can try, or is my Rock 3 defective?

#4

Have You tried to connect compatible uart console cable and view messages?
That helps a lot to see what is going on. Get any CH340 and try that.

#5

If you have any uart console cable, you can check this guide.https://wiki.radxa.com/Rock3/dev/serial-console to setup serial tool.

Would you please do one more test? Check if maskrom device is detected. Please see part " Boot the board to maskrom mode" of https://wiki.radxa.com/Rock3/install/spi.

#6

Hello,
I experienced exactly the the same problem. Used a SD card first, including the short-circuit as explained in the FAQ. Secondly I tried it using the eMMC module (had to purchase a USB3 enabled SD card converter, the build-in SD-card reader failed to connect the eMMC module).
Now Etcher is flashing the eMMC successfully, but still no boot: green led is flashing, blue isn’t. Tried that with and without the short-circuit without any changes.
According the video by Expaining Computers on Youtube, the short circuit is not required when using the eMMC.
I am not familiar with the debugging, don’t have a USB 3 male-male cable available.
Any suggestions?

#7

I already have more than one rock3A board and for each all I had to do was to burn micro sd image and just plug right power source. With uart cable You will see all messages from first phase of boot where no hdmi output is available, this helps a lot to see what is going on, when some faulty image is burned it could give some output before it die. Some images have broken or limited hdmi output, not everything starts with blue lights.

I encourage you to get any cheap CH340G usb-uart cable - it cost as little as 1-2$ and work great. that helps a lot.

if You burned sd card with official images (try few) and none of them boots with blue led then it’s probably wrong power source. This is just guessing, but board should boot without anything else than power and SD card. Cellphone chargers (especially those pd-capable) sometimes are not working, also I could not connect rock3A to my power usb-c port on my lenovo with data cable - it try to sense what is there and cause boot loop. Also I got one or two chargers that were just not stable.

Good luck! :slight_smile:

#8

I tried a few different cables, including USB C-C, USB C-A (3.0, data), and the USB-C cable included with the Macbook, to no avail.

I tried using different chargers, including the Macbook Type-C PD, an Aukey Type-C PD, Aukey QC 3.0, Blitzwolf PD, Blitzwolf QC 3.0, and a few Xiaomi PD/QC chargers as well, no change. I tried powering it directly from the Macbook too

I tried all available Ubuntu images, all Debian images, an Armbian image, both on microSD and eMMC. I used balenaEtcher.
At this point I’m wondering, is flashing the .img files sufficient, or do I need to flash U-Boot manually with dd?

In all cases, my CH340G shows no output. I tried switching RX/TX just to be sure but nothing.

#9

Please remember that You can kill any board with electrostatic just by touching it. They can also be damaged in transport or have some issues. So far I had only one eMMC damaged, but it can always happen to any electronics. Was Your 3A working when it arrived?

For UART adapter - please find my post about them, there were some that stops board from booting, some displays garbage and some are not capable of 1500000 transfers. Board should send to UART some info before u-boot and system is loaded. I would try different adapter until it works on this or other decent RK board. UART gives more information before anything is on hdmi.

BTW: there was bug in uBoot that prevents from booting from anything else than eMMC, it is already fixed but You need to burn that to SPI. I don’t think that You have wrong version there right after shipping, that’s why I asked if it was working before?

Also You can post photo of Your setup. Maybe something is obviously wrong.

#10

Hi,
Since you are talking about emmc, I wanted to ask you:
I bought a 16Gb emmc for Rock 3A, only the chips were marked FORESEE on the image, now I got a 16Gb emmc with MMY 5.1 mark.

Everything works perfectly, but I wanted to know if it is reliable, if you have had any of this type, I would not want to be scammed.

Thank you

#11

I don’t have yet any eMMC from MMY, but they should be ok. So far the best result I got with sandisk. One foresee came damaged from allnet (and they did not answer to my complaint via email :frowning: later I managed to get it working by resoldering socket.
If this is emmc that You have it should be fast and reliable:
https://www.taiwantrade.com/products/detail.html?productid=1885491
Good luck! :slight_smile:

#12

@james.kerber I think I was able to reproduce Your issue, right now I have two rock3a boards - one with working uart and one which can boot OS from eMMC and now from sd card. I’ll be trying to fix that, now looking what is different on those two. Do You have spare eMMC?

#13

Yes, this is what I got MMY, and for now so good.

IMG_20220318_120152
IMG_20220318_120152.jpg2016×1512 878 KB

For SD I have always used the SanDisk A1 series, they are reliable and fast.

Thanks dominik

#14

@dominik It’s been over a year, but I thought to give it one more try and reporting my findings :smile:

To answer any previous questions:

  • No, I was never able to get it to boot, it seemed non-responsive from the start|
  • I tried a few different eMMCs and SDs, they all work fine with my Rock Pi 4A (with different images ofc) but not on the ROCK 3
  • I tried Coolterm with the CH340G again, made sure everything was connected properly (followed the manual on Radxa Wiki exactly), no serial comms going through at all
  • I tried booting it in SPI flashing mode over the OTG cable, lsusb does not see it at all

My sad conclusion is that I somehow ended up with a defective unit. Oh well, I guess for once I find myself in the unlucky 1%. I bought another 4A to replace the 3, works just fine.

I’ll keep it another week in case someone wants me to send it to them to give it a look (hey, best case I messed up and you end up with a free Rock 3!) or I’ll toss it out later.

#15

Since that I also had some issues with one of my boards. I got two and one of them was faulty, but this was not that obvious from start. Board was not stable with nvme, later it could not find connected drive. All the time I had second board that worked perfectly and could swap everything from one to another. Eventually first board failed to start, but still worked on maskroom mode leaving some hope that it’s something in software.

So I’m also in this %1 with failed boards :wink: I just run out of idea what can be wrong and how can I recover this. Radxa advised me to RMA board as it should be on warranty, later I’ve got confirmation that soc and wifi chip (that I never used) have been replaced.

It’s just hard to check everything on board and confirm that it’s something in hardware. That is why I’m always getting at least two boards to be able to compare each other. With one You can do countless tests and miss some detail.

#16

Hi @james.kerber

You can try burning a new system to the SD card to boot:
https://github.com/radxa-build/rock-3a/releases/download/b25/rock-3a_debian_bullseye_xfce_b25.img.xz

Please refer to the new documentation:

#17

Hi,

I also tried all official Radxa images and armbian but I was not able to boot any of them. This is the serial-log for the image mentioned by you:

DDR V1.16 6f71c736ce typ 23/03/02-20:01:48
In
LP4/4x derate en, other dram:1x trefi
ddrconfig:7
LPDDR4X, 324MHz
BW=32 Col=10 Bk=8 CS0 Row=17 CS1 Row=17 CS=2 Die BW=8 Size=8192MB
tdqss: cs0 dqs0: 72ps, dqs1: -72ps, dqs2: -72ps, dqs3: -144ps,
tdqss: cs1 dqs0: 72ps, dqs1: -48ps, dqs2: -48ps, dqs3: -144ps,

change to: 324MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:0
vrefinner:24%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x61

change to: 528MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:0
vrefinner:24%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x58

change to: 780MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:0
vrefinner:24%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x58

change to: 1560MHz(final freq)
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:60
vrefinner:16%, vrefout:22%
dram drv:40,odt:80
vref_ca:00000071
clk skew:0x26
cs 0:
the read training result:
DQS0:0x32, DQS1:0x32, DQS2:0x33, DQS3:0x2f,
min : 0xd 0xf 0x12 0x11 0x2 0x5 0x7 0x6 , 0x8 0x5 0x1 0x2 0xd 0xb 0xd 0x7 ,
0xf 0xf 0xd 0xa 0x5 0x2 0x6 0x6 , 0xc 0x5 0x6 0x2 0xf 0xf 0xd 0xf ,
mid :0x27 0x29 0x2b 0x2a 0x1c 0x1f 0x22 0x20 ,0x23 0x20 0x1c 0x1c 0x28 0x25 0x26 0x21 ,
0x28 0x29 0x25 0x23 0x1d 0x1b 0x1d 0x1f ,0x25 0x21 0x21 0x1c 0x29 0x29 0x27 0x29 ,
max :0x42 0x44 0x45 0x44 0x37 0x3a 0x3d 0x3b ,0x3f 0x3c 0x37 0x37 0x43 0x3f 0x40 0x3c ,
0x42 0x44 0x3e 0x3d 0x36 0x35 0x35 0x38 ,0x3f 0x3e 0x3c 0x37 0x44 0x44 0x42 0x44 ,
range:0x35 0x35 0x33 0x33 0x35 0x35 0x36 0x35 ,0x37 0x37 0x36 0x35 0x36 0x34 0x33 0x35 ,
0x33 0x35 0x31 0x33 0x31 0x33 0x2f 0x32 ,0x33 0x39 0x36 0x35 0x35 0x35 0x35 0x35 ,
the write training result:
DQS0:0x34, DQS1:0x18, DQS2:0x18, DQS3:0xa,
min :0x78 0x7c 0x7e 0x7b 0x6c 0x72 0x74 0x76 0x73 ,0x5c 0x59 0x54 0x54 0x5e 0x5d 0x5e 0x5c 0x56 ,
0x63 0x63 0x5c 0x5a 0x52 0x51 0x53 0x58 0x58 ,0x4f 0x4e 0x4b 0x49 0x53 0x56 0x52 0x57 0x4b ,
mid :0x94 0x98 0x99 0x97 0x87 0x8c 0x8f 0x90 0x8c ,0x74 0x72 0x6d 0x6c 0x77 0x75 0x77 0x75 0x71 ,
0x7d 0x7e 0x77 0x76 0x6d 0x6c 0x6e 0x72 0x73 ,0x6b 0x69 0x67 0x62 0x6f 0x70 0x6d 0x71 0x67 ,
max :0xb1 0xb4 0xb5 0xb3 0xa2 0xa6 0xaa 0xaa 0xa6 ,0x8d 0x8c 0x86 0x85 0x91 0x8e 0x90 0x8e 0x8c ,
0x98 0x99 0x92 0x93 0x89 0x88 0x89 0x8c 0x8e ,0x88 0x85 0x84 0x7b 0x8b 0x8b 0x89 0x8c 0x84 ,
range:0x39 0x38 0x37 0x38 0x36 0x34 0x36 0x34 0x33 ,0x31 0x33 0x32 0x31 0x33 0x31 0x32 0x32 0x36 ,
0x35 0x36 0x36 0x39 0x37 0x37 0x36 0x34 0x36 ,0x39 0x37 0x39 0x32 0x38 0x35 0x37 0x35 0x39 ,
cs 1:
the read training result:
DQS0:0x32, DQS1:0x30, DQS2:0x32, DQS3:0x2e,
min : 0xc 0xd 0x11 0xf 0x1 0x5 0x7 0x5 , 0x9 0x5 0x1 0x2 0xd 0x9 0xd 0x6 ,
0xf 0x10 0xd 0xa 0x4 0x2 0x6 0x6 , 0x9 0x5 0x4 0x2 0xf 0xf 0xc 0xf ,
mid :0x27 0x28 0x2b 0x29 0x1c 0x1f 0x22 0x20 ,0x22 0x1f 0x1a 0x1c 0x26 0x22 0x25 0x1f ,
0x28 0x29 0x25 0x22 0x1c 0x1a 0x1c 0x1e ,0x23 0x21 0x1f 0x1c 0x29 0x29 0x27 0x28 ,
max :0x42 0x44 0x45 0x43 0x38 0x3a 0x3d 0x3b ,0x3b 0x39 0x33 0x36 0x3f 0x3c 0x3d 0x39 ,
0x42 0x42 0x3d 0x3b 0x34 0x33 0x33 0x36 ,0x3d 0x3d 0x3b 0x36 0x44 0x44 0x42 0x42 ,
range:0x36 0x37 0x34 0x34 0x37 0x35 0x36 0x36 ,0x32 0x34 0x32 0x34 0x32 0x33 0x30 0x33 ,
0x33 0x32 0x30 0x31 0x30 0x31 0x2d 0x30 ,0x34 0x38 0x37 0x34 0x35 0x35 0x36 0x33 ,
the write training result:
DQS0:0x34, DQS1:0x18, DQS2:0x18, DQS3:0xa,
min :0x7b 0x7d 0x82 0x7e 0x6f 0x74 0x75 0x78 0x75 ,0x5e 0x5b 0x56 0x56 0x62 0x62 0x62 0x62 0x59 ,
0x65 0x66 0x5e 0x5e 0x56 0x53 0x55 0x5c 0x59 ,0x4f 0x4d 0x4d 0x49 0x54 0x55 0x53 0x58 0x4c ,
mid :0x97 0x99 0x9b 0x99 0x89 0x8e 0x90 0x92 0x8e ,0x79 0x75 0x70 0x6f 0x7b 0x7a 0x7b 0x7a 0x73 ,
0x7f 0x80 0x78 0x79 0x70 0x6e 0x6f 0x75 0x74 ,0x6a 0x68 0x67 0x61 0x6e 0x6f 0x6c 0x72 0x67 ,
max :0xb3 0xb5 0xb5 0xb4 0xa4 0xa8 0xab 0xac 0xa7 ,0x94 0x90 0x8a 0x88 0x95 0x92 0x94 0x93 0x8e ,
0x99 0x9b 0x92 0x94 0x8a 0x89 0x8a 0x8e 0x8f ,0x86 0x84 0x82 0x79 0x89 0x8a 0x86 0x8c 0x82 ,
range:0x38 0x38 0x33 0x36 0x35 0x34 0x36 0x34 0x32 ,0x36 0x35 0x34 0x32 0x33 0x30 0x32 0x31 0x35 ,
0x34 0x35 0x34 0x36 0x34 0x36 0x35 0x32 0x36 ,0x37 0x37 0x35 0x30 0x35 0x35 0x33 0x34 0x36 ,
CA Training result:
cs:0 min :0x54 0x50 0x4b 0x46 0x4b 0x3d 0x4f ,0x52 0x4a 0x48 0x42 0x48 0x42 0x53 ,
cs:0 mid :0x90 0x8f 0x87 0x85 0x85 0x7e 0x7f ,0x8d 0x8b 0x82 0x82 0x84 0x81 0x82 ,
cs:0 max :0xcc 0xcf 0xc4 0xc4 0xbf 0xc0 0xaf ,0xc9 0xcc 0xbd 0xc2 0xc1 0xc1 0xb2 ,
cs:0 range:0x78 0x7f 0x79 0x7e 0x74 0x83 0x60 ,0x77 0x82 0x75 0x80 0x79 0x7f 0x5f ,
cs:1 min :0x52 0x58 0x49 0x4f 0x49 0x47 0x53 ,0x4e 0x51 0x45 0x49 0x47 0x4a 0x4e ,
cs:1 mid :0x93 0x92 0x8a 0x88 0x89 0x83 0x85 ,0x90 0x8c 0x85 0x83 0x86 0x84 0x80 ,
cs:1 max :0xd5 0xcd 0xcb 0xc2 0xc9 0xbf 0xb7 ,0xd2 0xc8 0xc6 0xbd 0xc6 0xbf 0xb3 ,
cs:1 range:0x83 0x75 0x82 0x73 0x80 0x78 0x64 ,0x84 0x77 0x81 0x74 0x7f 0x75 0x65 ,
out

U-Boot SPL latest-2023.07.02-3-b1eb2bde-gb1eb2bde (Aug 29 2023 - 10:43:04 +0000)
Trying to boot from MMC2

Checking hash(es) for config config-1 … OK

Checking hash(es) for Image atf-1 … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image u-boot … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image fdt-1 … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image atf-2 … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image atf-3 … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image atf-4 … sha256+ OK

Checking hash(es) for Image atf-5 … sha256+ OK

INFO: Preloader serial: 2
NOTICE: BL31: v2.3():v2.3-181-gc9a647cae-dirty:xsf
NOTICE: BL31: Built : 11:30:09, Oct 18 2022
INFO: GICv3 without legacy support detected.
INFO: ARM GICv3 driver initialized in EL3
INFO: pmu v1 is valid
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[0].freq_mhz= 1560MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[1].freq_mhz= 324MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[2].freq_mhz= 528MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[3].freq_mhz= 780MHz
INFO: Using opteed sec cpu_context!
INFO: boot cpu mask: 0
INFO: BL31: Initializing runtime services
WARNING: No OPTEE provided by BL2 boot loader, Booting device without OPTEE initialization. SMC`s destined for OPTEE will return SMC_UNK
ERROR: Error initializing runtime service opteed_fast
INFO: BL31: Preparing for EL3 exit to normal world
INFO: Entry point address = 0xa00000
INFO: SPSR = 0x3c9

U-Boot latest-2023.07.02-3-b1eb2bde-gb1eb2bde (Aug 29 2023 - 10:43:04 +0000)

Model: Radxa ROCK3 Model A
DRAM: 8 GiB (effective 7.7 GiB)
PMIC: RK8090 (on=0x40, off=0x00)

Do you have any advise how to fix the boot issue? The Rock 3A is brandnew, I also tried different SD-cards and boot from an eMMC -> always the same result

#18

Hi @Carsten

First, ensure that the SPI Flash is clean. Power on the board without connecting the SD card or eMMC.

  • If there is no output on the serial terminal, it means the SPI Flash is clean.
  • If there is log output, it indicates that there is firmware in the SPI Flash, which needs to be erased.

Once you have confirmed that the SPI Flash is clean, flash the Debian 11 b25 image from the official website onto an SD card, then power on the board to boot from it.

https://github.com/radxa-build/rock-3a/releases/download/b25/rock-3a_debian_bullseye_xfce_b25.img.xz

#19

Hi @Mitchell, thanks for your support!

The SPI Flash was not clean so I booted the board in maskrom-mode and erased everything. Afterwards I flashed rk356x_spl_loader_ddr1056_v1.10.111.bin and rock-3a-spi-image-gef9f6b1caad.img.

Booting rock-3a_debian_bullseye_xfce_b25.img from SD-card results in the following:

serial log

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒DDR Version V1.10 20210810
In
ddrconfig:7
LPDDR4X, 324MHz
BW=32 Col=10 Bk=8 CS0 Row=17 CS1 Row=17 CS=2 Die BW=8 Size=8192MB
tdqss: cs0 dqs0: 72ps, dqs1: -96ps, dqs2: -72ps, dqs3: -144ps,
tdqss: cs1 dqs0: 72ps, dqs1: -48ps, dqs2: -48ps, dqs3: -144ps,

change to: 324MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:60
vrefinner:16%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x61

change to: 528MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:60
vrefinner:16%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x58

change to: 780MHz
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:60
vrefinner:16%, vrefout:41%
dram drv:40,odt:0
clk skew:0x58

change to: 1056MHz(final freq)
PHY drv:clk:36,ca:36,DQ:29,odt:60
vrefinner:16%, vrefout:22%
dram drv:40,odt:80
vref_ca:00000071
clk skew:0x39
cs 0:
the read training result:
DQS0:0x38, DQS1:0x3b, DQS2:0x3e, DQS3:0x37,
min : 0x7 0x8 0xa 0x8 0x1 0x2 0x4 0x3 , 0x8 0x7 0x2 0x2 0xb 0x8 0x9 0x6 ,
0xd 0xd 0xa 0x9 0x1 0x1 0x2 0x5 , 0x8 0x7 0x5 0x1 0xc 0xc 0x9 0xb ,
mid :0x23 0x24 0x26 0x25 0x1c 0x1e 0x20 0x1f ,0x24 0x23 0x1e 0x1f 0x28 0x26 0x27 0x23 ,
0x28 0x29 0x26 0x25 0x1f 0x1e 0x1f 0x22 ,0x25 0x23 0x22 0x1f 0x29 0x29 0x26 0x29 ,
max :0x40 0x40 0x43 0x43 0x37 0x3a 0x3c 0x3b ,0x41 0x3f 0x3b 0x3c 0x46 0x45 0x46 0x41 ,
0x44 0x46 0x43 0x41 0x3d 0x3b 0x3d 0x3f ,0x43 0x3f 0x3f 0x3d 0x46 0x46 0x44 0x47 ,
range:0x39 0x38 0x39 0x3b 0x36 0x38 0x38 0x38 ,0x39 0x38 0x39 0x3a 0x3b 0x3d 0x3d 0x3b ,
0x37 0x39 0x39 0x38 0x3c 0x3a 0x3b 0x3a ,0x3b 0x38 0x3a 0x3c 0x3a 0x3a 0x3b 0x3c ,
the write training result:
DQS0:0x42, DQS1:0x2d, DQS2:0x30, DQS3:0x26,
min :0x65 0x68 0x69 0x67 0x5c 0x5f 0x63 0x64 0x62 ,0x51 0x50 0x4c 0x4c 0x54 0x53 0x54 0x54 0x50 ,
0x56 0x57 0x52 0x52 0x4d 0x4b 0x4e 0x50 0x50 ,0x4d 0x4c 0x4a 0x47 0x50 0x50 0x50 0x52 0x4b ,
mid :0x82 0x84 0x85 0x83 0x78 0x7b 0x7e 0x7f 0x7d ,0x6e 0x6c 0x68 0x68 0x70 0x6e 0x70 0x70 0x6c ,
0x73 0x74 0x70 0x6f 0x68 0x66 0x69 0x6c 0x6c ,0x6a 0x68 0x67 0x64 0x6c 0x6d 0x6c 0x6f 0x67 ,
max :0x9f 0xa1 0xa2 0x9f 0x94 0x97 0x9a 0x9a 0x99 ,0x8b 0x88 0x84 0x84 0x8d 0x8a 0x8c 0x8c 0x88 ,
0x91 0x91 0x8e 0x8c 0x84 0x82 0x84 0x88 0x89 ,0x88 0x84 0x84 0x82 0x89 0x8b 0x88 0x8d 0x84 ,
range:0x3a 0x39 0x39 0x38 0x38 0x38 0x37 0x36 0x37 ,0x3a 0x38 0x38 0x38 0x39 0x37 0x38 0x38 0x38 ,
0x3b 0x3a 0x3c 0x3a 0x37 0x37 0x36 0x38 0x39 ,0x3b 0x38 0x3a 0x3b 0x39 0x3b 0x38 0x3b 0x39 ,
cs 1:
the read training result:
DQS0:0x3b, DQS1:0x3a, DQS2:0x3d, DQS3:0x37,
min : 0x8 0x8 0xa 0x9 0x1 0x2 0x5 0x3 , 0x6 0x6 0x1 0x1 0xa 0x6 0x7 0x4 ,
0xd 0xd 0xa 0x9 0x1 0x1 0x3 0x4 , 0x7 0x6 0x5 0x1 0xb 0xc 0x9 0xc ,
mid :0x25 0x25 0x28 0x27 0x1e 0x20 0x21 0x21 ,0x22 0x21 0x1d 0x1e 0x26 0x24 0x25 0x21 ,
0x28 0x29 0x26 0x24 0x1e 0x1e 0x1f 0x21 ,0x24 0x22 0x22 0x1f 0x28 0x29 0x27 0x29 ,
max :0x43 0x43 0x46 0x45 0x3b 0x3e 0x3e 0x3f ,0x3f 0x3c 0x39 0x3b 0x43 0x42 0x43 0x3f ,
0x44 0x45 0x43 0x40 0x3c 0x3c 0x3c 0x3e ,0x42 0x3f 0x3f 0x3e 0x46 0x46 0x45 0x47 ,
range:0x3b 0x3b 0x3c 0x3c 0x3a 0x3c 0x39 0x3c ,0x39 0x36 0x38 0x3a 0x39 0x3c 0x3c 0x3b ,
0x37 0x38 0x39 0x37 0x3b 0x3b 0x39 0x3a ,0x3b 0x39 0x3a 0x3d 0x3b 0x3a 0x3c 0x3b ,
the write training result:
DQS0:0x42, DQS1:0x2d, DQS2:0x30, DQS3:0x26,
min :0x66 0x68 0x69 0x67 0x5c 0x61 0x64 0x65 0x62 ,0x57 0x55 0x51 0x51 0x59 0x58 0x5a 0x59 0x54 ,
0x58 0x59 0x54 0x53 0x4e 0x4c 0x4f 0x52 0x52 ,0x4e 0x4d 0x4b 0x48 0x50 0x51 0x50 0x53 0x4a ,
mid :0x83 0x85 0x86 0x83 0x78 0x7c 0x7f 0x80 0x7d ,0x74 0x71 0x6d 0x6d 0x76 0x74 0x75 0x74 0x71 ,
0x74 0x75 0x71 0x70 0x69 0x67 0x6a 0x6d 0x6d ,0x6a 0x68 0x66 0x64 0x6c 0x6d 0x6c 0x6f 0x66 ,
max :0xa0 0xa2 0xa4 0xa0 0x94 0x98 0x9a 0x9c 0x99 ,0x91 0x8d 0x8a 0x8a 0x93 0x90 0x91 0x90 0x8e ,
0x91 0x91 0x8e 0x8d 0x85 0x82 0x85 0x89 0x89 ,0x87 0x84 0x81 0x80 0x89 0x8a 0x88 0x8b 0x83 ,
range:0x3a 0x3a 0x3b 0x39 0x38 0x37 0x36 0x37 0x37 ,0x3a 0x38 0x39 0x39 0x3a 0x38 0x37 0x37 0x3a ,
0x39 0x38 0x3a 0x3a 0x37 0x36 0x36 0x37 0x37 ,0x39 0x37 0x36 0x38 0x39 0x39 0x38 0x38 0x39 ,
CA Training result:
cs:0 min :0x48 0x4a 0x42 0x43 0x42 0x3d 0x46 ,0x48 0x45 0x41 0x40 0x40 0x40 0x49 ,
cs:0 mid :0x88 0x88 0x82 0x81 0x80 0x7b 0x77 ,0x87 0x84 0x80 0x7e 0x80 0x7e 0x7a ,
cs:0 max :0xc8 0xc6 0xc2 0xbf 0xbf 0xba 0xa9 ,0xc6 0xc4 0xbf 0xbd 0xc0 0xbc 0xab ,
cs:0 range:0x80 0x7c 0x80 0x7c 0x7d 0x7d 0x63 ,0x7e 0x7f 0x7e 0x7d 0x80 0x7c 0x62 ,
cs:1 min :0x45 0x4e 0x40 0x45 0x40 0x41 0x46 ,0x44 0x48 0x3e 0x42 0x40 0x44 0x45 ,
cs:1 mid :0x88 0x89 0x82 0x80 0x81 0x7d 0x79 ,0x86 0x84 0x80 0x7d 0x81 0x7f 0x78 ,
cs:1 max :0xcc 0xc4 0xc4 0xbc 0xc3 0xba 0xad ,0xc9 0xc0 0xc2 0xb9 0xc2 0xba 0xab ,
cs:1 range:0x87 0x76 0x84 0x77 0x83 0x79 0x67 ,0x85 0x78 0x84 0x77 0x82 0x76 0x66 ,
out
U-Boot SPL board init
U-Boot SPL 2017.09-gef9f6b1caad-211223 #stephen (Sep 24 2022 - 17:13:02)
Trying to boot from MMC2
MMC error: The cmd index is 1, ret is -110
Card did not respond to voltage select!
mmc_init: -95, time 10
spl: mmc init failed with error: -95
Trying to boot from MMC1
MMC error: The cmd index is 0, ret is -110
mmc_init: -110, time 5
spl: mmc init failed with error: -110
Trying to boot from MTD2
No misc partition

Verified-boot: 0

Checking atf-1 0x00040000 … sha256(fe4f274c06…) + OK

Checking uboot 0x00a00000 … sha256(b0dd8071c5…) + OK

Checking fdt 0x00b2f8d0 … sha256(877bce1efa…) + OK

Checking atf-2 0x00068000 … sha256(8d44036095…) + OK

Checking atf-3 0xfdcd0000 … sha256(e410275b51…) + OK

Checking atf-4 0xfdcc9000 … sha256(990c53fc01…) + OK

Checking atf-5 0x00066000 … sha256(315a4195a9…) + OK

Jumping to U-Boot(0x00a00000) via ARM Trusted Firmware(0x00040000)
Total: 538.896 ms

INFO: Preloader serial: 2
NOTICE: BL31: v2.3():v2.3-181-gc9a647cae:cl
NOTICE: BL31: Built : 10:55:41, Oct 18 2021
INFO: GICv3 without legacy support detected.
INFO: ARM GICv3 driver initialized in EL3
INFO: pmu v1 is valid
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[0].freq_mhz= 1056MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[1].freq_mhz= 324MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[2].freq_mhz= 528MHz
INFO: dfs DDR fsp_param[3].freq_mhz= 780MHz
INFO: Using opteed sec cpu_context!
INFO: boot cpu mask: 0
INFO: BL31: Initializing runtime services
WARNING: No OPTEE provided by BL2 boot loader, Booting device without OPTEE initialization. SMC`s destined for OPTEE will return SMC_UNK
ERROR: Error initializing runtime service opteed_fast
INFO: BL31: Preparing for EL3 exit to normal world
INFO: Entry point address = 0xa00000
INFO: SPSR = 0x3c9

U-Boot 2017.09-gef9f6b1caad-211223 #stephen (Sep 24 2022 - 17:13:02 +0800)

Model: Radxa ROCK3 Model A
PreSerial: 2, raw, 0xfe660000
DRAM: 7.7 GiB
Sysmem: init
Relocation Offset: ed349000
Relocation fdt: eb9f75a0 - eb9fecd0
CR: M/C/I
Using default environment

PCIe-0 Link Fail
SF: Detected sfc_nor with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 4 KiB, total 16 MiB
Bootdev(atags): mtd 2
PartType: EFI
No misc partition
boot mode: None
FIT: No boot partition
No resource partition
No resource partition
Failed to load DTB, ret=-19
Failed to get kernel dtb, ret=-19
I2c0 speed: 100000Hz
vsel-gpios- not found! Error: -2
vdd_cpu 1025000 uV
PMIC: RK8090 (on=0x40, off=0x00)
vdd_logic init 900000 uV
vdd_gpu init 900000 uV
vdd_npu init 900000 uV
io-domain: OK
Model: Radxa ROCK3 Model A
rockchip_set_serialno: could not find efuse/otp device
CLK: (sync kernel. arm: enter 816000 KHz, init 816000 KHz, kernel 0N/A)
apll 816000 KHz
dpll 528000 KHz
gpll 1188000 KHz
cpll 1000000 KHz
npll 24000 KHz
vpll 24000 KHz
hpll 24000 KHz
ppll 200000 KHz
armclk 816000 KHz
aclk_bus 150000 KHz
pclk_bus 50000 KHz
aclk_top_high 300000 KHz
aclk_top_low 200000 KHz
hclk_top 150000 KHz
pclk_top 50000 KHz
aclk_perimid 300000 KHz
hclk_perimid 150000 KHz
▒clk_pmu 100000 ▒Hz
No misc partition
Net: No ethernet found.
Hit key to stop autoboot(‘CTRL+C’): 0
failed to find reset-gpios property

Device 0: unknown device
no mmc device at slot 1
no mmc device at slot 0
starting USB…
Bus dwc3@fcc00000: usb maximum-speed not found
Register 2000140 NbrPorts 2
Starting the controller
USB XHCI 1.10
Bus dwc3@fd000000: usb maximum-speed not found
Register 2000140 NbrPorts 2
Starting the controller
USB XHCI 1.10
scanning bus dwc3@fcc00000 for devices… 1 USB Device(s) found
scanning bus dwc3@fd000000 for devices… 1 USB Device(s) found
scanning usb for storage devices… 0 Storage Device(s) found

Device 0: unknown device
failed to find reset-gpios property
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: pxeuuid
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/00000000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/0000000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/000000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/00000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/0000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/000
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/00
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/0
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/default-arm-rockchip
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/default-arm
No ethernet found.
missing environment variable: bootfile
Retrieving file: pxelinux.cfg/default
No ethernet found.
Config file not found
failed to find reset-gpios property
No ethernet found.
No ethernet found.

Booting FIT Image FIT: No boot partition

FIT: No FIT image
Could not get mtd 0
=>

Could you please share what files have to be written with rkdevtool?

Also rkdevtool indicates that my board is in MASKROM mode, it does not really work anymore:

maskrom
maskrom.jpg970×456 70.5 KB

Please excuse all these noob-questions and thank you so much for your support!

#20

＞ @Carsten
Did this solve your problem?
If it’s still not solved, I recommend you to “faithfully” follow the suggestion made by @Mitchell.

The main points are as follows

  1. Clear all bootable devices (SPI-Flash / eMMC) other than the SD-Card.
  2. Write the proposed image to the SD-Card, and insert it into the SD-Card slot with the power on and boot it.

– Additional information—
The boot priority of SOC-RK356x is “SPI-Flash” => “eMMC” => “SD-Card” => (“MASKROM MODE”).
If invalid data is written to the device with the highest priority (“SPI-Flash”),
you will not be able to boot from other devices unless you clear it.

A) Write the image
Use the standard “dd” command for Linux systems, or “Etcher”, or other commands that have been proven by many people.
https://wiki.radxa.com/Rock3/downloads
[Tools]
Etcher

*) You may disagree, but the quality of “rkdevtool” is poor. I have seen many similar problems.

B) Clearing device data
If you are unable to erase the data on a device, you can temporarily disable the device with a jumper pin.

A disabled device cannot be read or written, so it has the same effect on the boot sequence as clearing the data.

https://wiki.radxa.com/Rock3/hardware/3a
2. 3-pin Recovery Header

C) SPI-Flash
If you boot from a SOC standard boot device (eMMC / SD-Card), you do not need to configure SPI-Flash.

SPI-Flash is useful when you want to boot from other devices (M2: NVME / SATA, USB-Drive).

Regardless of the vendor, it has been confirmed that the images provided only function via the boot loader included with that image.

Of course, it has not been confirmed whether it can be operated from an unknown boot loader placed on the SPI-Flash.

Because the SPI-Flash has the highest boot priority, it is necessary to be aware that if handled carelessly, there is a risk of falling into a situation that is difficult to recover from.
You must be prepared for the same risks as rewriting the BIOS on a standard “x86-PC”.

Good luck