MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

Hi,
I have the Mint Box Mini.
My BIOS is:
Core Version: 4.6.5.4
BIOS Version: SBCFLT_0.08.04
This is as purchased unchanged by me, I have not opened the machine up yet!

I have had a few issues where going into the BIOS and making a change or even just re-saving the current configuration seems to have helped.

At one time the machine ran very slow, mouse movements etc.
Made a change and it was OK again.

Now I was just on the Internet, all good, restarted the Mint Box and I had no network (cable connection) at all, swapped cables with another pc, the cable/network worked on the other pc, but Mint Box no network.
Booted off 'live USB', normally connects fine, to see if it was my operating system problem, no network from live USB. Checked DHCP, all looked fine.

Went into BIOS and looked for network (NIC) unable to find, upon exit I chose to 'save changes and exit' even though I made no changes.

As these issues and another one or two have happened, and I seem to have the latest BIOS version I was wondering if there was a remedy to this, or even if others are having similar issues?

I used the Mint Box to do this message after said 'changes' to the BIOS.

Bradley

irads

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by irads »

If I understand correctly, Ethernet now works with your MintBox Mini?
Can you reproduce the problem?

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

Yes Networking is all good again.
Reproduce problem? All I did was to 'restart' the computer and the problem arrived!
It was working (network) then after the restart it wasn't working.
Went into BIOS, made no changes but was given the option to 'save changes and restart' which I did and it worked again.

I tried several restarts of the machine, changing network cables, and booting from 'live USB' etc before going into the BIOS, none of these worked.

Also note that I have had a few other issues that going into BIOS and re-saving it seemed to resolve.

Bradley

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

More issues...
Some testing, made BIOS changes again no change!

Machine really slow then errors with updating the OS.

So I thought maybe the OS is fried, Booted off USB live medium, seemed to load about normal speed. Took a long time to load new OS...


Took a long time to reboot and ran like a dog. Not normal at all.
Next boot OK.
Pulling my hair out by now, just not consistent at all.

Then I looked at the 'Supported mSATA SSD drives examples' from the forum and guess what?
SanDisk SD6SF1M-064G shows Inconsistent behaviour on the spread sheet.

My MintBox Mini has SanDisk SD6SF1M-064G pre-installed.

Well at least that stopped me from chasing my tail, sigh of relief.

So I am guessing that this is the likely culprit?
Is there a work around or solution to this?


Bradley

irads

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by irads »

It is unlikely that the problems are with the SSD. I am checking with the technical writer what observations were reported with that SSD and will post clarification, but it is certainly not a performance problem.

From the description it appears Linux update/installation may have been unsuccessful. I suggest to follow closely http://fit-pc.com/wiki/index.php/Fitlet ... ux_Mint_17

Let us know if performance inconsistency persists after installation.

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

Thanks for that.

For the record I have been running Manjaro xfce for sometime now.
When I first got the MintBox I could not get the performance from Mint that I was expecting and so I experimented with other distro's and found that Manjaro seemed to work the best for me.

During this time I was making images (via USB 3 HDD) of the mSATA SSD and noticed that the transfer speed was all over the place, sometimes they wouldn't even finish transferring. It might start at around 30-40MB sec and say 1hour to finish for example, then when I check again later it could say 5MB sec 9 hours to finish or such. I would just cancel them.

I have now just installed a Samsung 120GB 850EVO mSATA SSD into the MintBox and restored my image from the 64GB original drive. It only took about 15mins to transfer and the speed started at around 88MB sec and had dropped to around 55MB sec towards the end of the process, using the same USB 3 HDD as earlier.

Its up and running and I am typing this message on it, seems all good right now.

I wait to hear what the outcome of your discussion with the technical writer are and observe any further issues or changes at this end.

Also I did have an issue with Manjaro's updater, but that's resolved now since the new mSATA instal and some command line to clear the locked database.

Thanks for your time and advice.

Bradley

irads

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by irads »

I am checking with the technical writer what observations were reported with that SSD and will post clarification
We investigated the matter, below are the findings. -
The issue discovered with the SanDisk SSD does not apply to fitlet.
In another product (uSVR) the mSATA socket is multiplexed with miniPCIe. During boot there is a pulse-train on the multiplexed port that is ignored by most mSATA devices, but caused the controller of that SSD to become unresponsive in some cases. That was the reason the SSD was earmarked as "having issues". The problem itself was resolved and never applied to fitlet where the mSATA socket is dedicated and not multiplexed.

Sorry for the wild-goose chase.

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

That's good, I guess, however still doesn't solve the problems that I have been having.

Not had any further issues since installing the other mSATA SSD, Guess I'll put the original back in and have another go just to test it.

BTW, I love the MintBox, it's a great little (very little) computer...
Thanks again.

Bradley

bradjj
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2015 1:56 am

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by bradjj »

Well, just to update on this.

Since putting new mSATA and RAM into Mint Box Mini (MBM) I have not had any issues at all.
However the MBM drive and RAM are now in my Fitlet B. I don't use this PC much as it is in the garage but was using it yesterday in the heat (outside temp about 39celius) and then the issues started again.

Unresponsive and very slow Data transfer/network speeds.
Rebooted and it took a long time to eventually boot up to the desktop, normally about 30 seconds but it took 2 or 3 minutes, tried this again and was the same.

As updates for the OS had just been installed I thought maybe something went wrong so I tried to reinstall Manjaro xfce from USB again but it just 'sat' on the installer screen not progressing any further, usually only takes about 15 minutes for the whole install process but not this time, so I cancelled that and pulled the drive out and re-imaged from my main PC via an mSATA to SATA converter card with same image minus the above mentioned updates. This went well as it usually does.

After reinstalling the drive and booting up (some time later and everything had cooled down) then applying the updates again it was working OK again.

I have "sensors" displaying internal temp to the panel/task bar and during the day it was showing between about 60c and 85c and at one stage it was 97c.

I suspect that Temperature or heat build up in the mSATA SSD (maybe the RAM) is causing some sort of problem.
Remember that, since putting another mSATA SSD into the Mint Box Mini I have had no further issues and it is often just left running for hours.

We expect more hot weather soon so will do some more testing. At the moment it is working fine and the outside temp is only about 25c, Sensors temp of the Fitlet B is 78c currently.

Bradley

irads

Re: MintBox Mini network issues with BIOS SBCFLT_0.08.04

Post by irads »

It is strongly recommended to use the mSATA heat-plate in fitlet.
It is now included with every fitlet sold. If you do not have one please email sales@fit-pc.com with your purchasing details and fitlet serial number and we will send you one.

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