I recently got a Mallow and iMX8M Plus SoM and I’m struggling to upload an image with a GUI to the board. I’m currently flashing images using Toradex Easy Installer (Tezi). I’m doing offline installs using a USB drive. I’m using an HDMI cable for the display and a USB keyboard and mouse pair to interact with Tezi’s UI.
When I flash the minimal Torizon OS 6 image with Tezi, everything works perfectly. The install proceeds to 100% and prompts me to reboot the device. When the device is powered on, it shows a splash screen with the Torizon OS logo. After the splash screen displays, the device displays an all-black screen. This is what I’d expect to happen.
Things stop working when I add the evaluation containers. When I flash the Torizon OS 6 image with evaluation containers, Tezi gets about 50% of the way through the installation before the screen turns dark, the device reboots, and then becomes unusable. The only way to get the device out of this state is to enter recovery mode. When I reboot the device, no signal comes out from the HDMI port, not even a splash or blank screen.
Unfortunately, since I’m using a Mallow and not a dev board, I cannot easily open a connection over the debug port for the device without some soldering.
I suspect the issue has to do with the device tree or me selecting the wrong image, but I would appreciate any guidance. Thanks in advance!
Here is my device information:
Mallow: v1.1A
iMX8M Plus SoM: v1.1A
Easy Installer: v5.6.0+build.9
Torizon OS 6 (Verdin iMX8M Plus): v6.5.0+build.8
Torizon OS 6 with evaluation containers(Verdin iMX8M Plus): v6.5.0+build.8
I just did this with the same hardware as you and had no issues. Torizon OS 6 with evaluation containers(Verdin iMX8M Plus): v6.5.0+build.8 was successfully flashed and I was able to boot into the image with no problems.
The only difference is I had a slightly newer version of Easy Installer (5.7.0). But I doubt this is the issue since the Verdin i.MX8MP ships with 5.6.0 by default anyways.
Tezi gets about 50% of the way through the installation before the screen turns dark, the device reboots, and then becomes unusable.
Is it possible the power connection was jostled/interrupted causing the device to momentarily lose power and reboot? Depending on how you setup the power connection to the Mallow the connection itself may be fragile. Myself, I’m using some basic jumper wires which aren’t too well attached. Jostling the connection slightly can cause my device to lose power momentarily and reboot.
When I reboot the device, no signal comes out from the HDMI port, not even a splash or blank screen.
If the device lost power mid flashing process this might explain your observation here. The device may have been halfway flashed resulting in an incomplete/corrupted image.
Though I’m just speculating on what may have happened on your side. As I said I was not able to reproduce this on my side.
The only way to get the device out of this state is to enter recovery mode.
If you put the device into recovery mode can you load Tezi and try to flash another image?
Thanks for looking into this and testing it out on real hardware!
I just did this with the same hardware as you and had no issues…
Just to confirm, you also tested with the Mallow?
The only difference is I had a slightly newer version of Easy Installer (5.7.0). But I doubt this is the issue since the Verdin i.MX8MP ships with 5.6.0 by default anyways.
I’ve tried with both versions of Easy Installer (5.6.0 and 5.7.0), but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
Is it possible the power connection was jostled/interrupted causing the device to momentarily lose power and reboot?
It could be a power issue now that I think of it. When the install fails, it sort of looks like the device is rebooting. Currently, I’m using some jumper wires screwed into the Mallow’s power input terminal. The jumpers are connected to a power supply that’s limiting its output to 8V and 600 mA. That should be within Mallow’s power rating of 7-24V, but I could try increasing it. What voltage and current limit are you using on your supply?
If you put the device into recovery mode can you load Tezi and try to flash another image?
Yes, I’ve been able to put the device in recover mode to load Tezi and flash new images. This process has been working smoothly for me.
An exciting update! I managed to get the installation working. Turns out 8V @ 600 mA wasn’t enough to support installation of the beefier image with evaluation containers without rebooting. I bumped my power supply up to 10.2V @ 800 mA, and that seemed to do the trick.
Thanks for the lead on the power issue–sometimes, it’s the simple things.
While an 8V is acceptable, the maximum allowed current of 0.6A seems below the required amount. The Verdin module alone can consume up to 5 Watts, plus additional power is needed for the Mallow board and peripherals, such as a USB drive. Therefore, I recommend using a 12V power supply with a 2A output like this one .
In fact, the limitations of your current power supply could explain the unexpected reboots during image flashing, likely due to underpower conditions
