My Pandora Problems

[Clean3d]

My Pandora arrived today! Thus ends 1 1/2 years of waiting and people telling me "you got scammed!" B) It looks incredibly well done and I can't wait to start using it in earnest.

This thread is just for a few of my newbie questions I've run into so far. I apologize if these have been answered before - I searched for most of them beforehand.

• Biggest concern: Pandora stretches apart in the back when the lid is opened. This exposes the board slightly and really loosens up the shoulder buttons. They become almost unusable and I'm concerned about them falling out. I can squeeze the case when the lid is closed or partially open and things pop back into place, but they only come apart again when I fully open the lid. (note: this isn't because I'm forcing the lid wider than it is meant to go.)
  
• Only read permissions on SDHC card. After creating my user/password, no new setup dialogues appeared (I assumed it was loading the OS). After several minutes of the blue background, I reset the Pandora and created a new user - everything seemed to work fine, although I knew this would likely cause problems. When the card was mounted it belonged to the user I created on the initial boot and I could only read the contents. I deleted the first user (probably a mistake), but still no luck. I believe the simplest thing to do would be to reflash and start fresh - how do I do this?
  
• Flaky USB drive support. This is probably related to my previous question, but USB drives will either not mount or be read-only. I'll bet a reflash would fix this too.
  
• Can't browse Bluetooth devices. First off, let me say I am AMAZED that this works so well already! I haven't used Bluetooth on Linux before, so I assumed it would be much more trouble than it was. Pairing with my phone went off without a hitch and I can send files to it - just not browse/download files from the phone. Any suggestions?

 

[Clean3d]

Oops, forgot one.

• Can't type a colon in Dosbox. Huh? It works everywhere else, but in Dosbox it (and a number of other function keys) just don't appear.

 

[Prometheus]

My Pandora arrived today! Thus ends 1 1/2 years of waiting and people telling me "you got scammed!" B) It looks incredibly well done and I can't wait to start using it in earnest.

Congratulations!

Biggest concern: Pandora stretches apart in the back when the lid is opened. This exposes the board slightly and really loosens up the shoulder buttons. They become almost unusable and I'm concerned about them falling out. I can squeeze the case when the lid is closed or partially open and things pop back into place, but they only come apart again when I fully open the lid. (note: this isn't because I'm forcing the lid wider than it is meant to go.)

I haven't heard of this, but it sounds to me as if there could be a missing or loose screw in the back of the case. Have you checked these? (I believe some are hidden in the battery compartment, but I may be mistaken.)

Only read permissions on SDHC card. After creating my user/password, no new setup dialogues appeared (I assumed it was loading the OS). After several minutes of the blue background, I reset the Pandora and created a new user - everything seemed to work fine, although I knew this would likely cause problems. When the card was mounted it belonged to the user I created on the initial boot and I could only read the contents. I deleted the first user (probably a mistake), but still no luck. I believe the simplest thing to do would be to reflash and start fresh - how do I do this?

Definitely needs a reflash, yes. Look here.

Flaky USB drive support. This is probably related to my previous question, but USB drives will either not mount or be read-only. I'll bet a reflash would fix this too.

It may well do, but *just in case*, are these USB 1.1 or 2.0 drives? Are you using a USB 2.0 hub to connect them, if they are USB 1.1?

Can't browse Bluetooth devices. First off, let me say I am AMAZED that this works so well already! I haven't used Bluetooth on Linux before, so I assumed it would be much more trouble than it was. Pairing with my phone went off without a hitch and I can send files to it - just not browse/download files from the phone. Any suggestions?

I'm afraid I can't help with this one, as I don't use Bluetooth in any capacity. Sorry.

 

[HackModford]

I have problems with USB also. I can plug one device in but I have to restart if I want to plug something else in.

 

[mindlord]

I have problems with USB also. I can plug one device in but I have to restart if I want to plug something else in.

Oddly enough, for me if I use a USB 2.0 hub as a buffer, this problem goes away.

 

[HackModford]

I have problems with USB also. I can plug one device in but I have to restart if I want to plug something else in.

Oddly enough, for me if I use a USB 2.0 hub as a buffer, this problem goes away.

Me too! But try unplugging the "buffer" and plugging it back in... won't work I bet... have to restart for anything to work again... sometimes I have to restart multiple times!

 

[mindlord]

Me too! But try unplugging the "buffer" and plugging it back in... won't work I bet... have to restart for anything to work again... sometimes I have to restart multiple times!

I tested unplugging the hub didn't result in the USB host locking up for me. shutting down as opposed to rebooting works every time.

 

[Clean3d]

Wow, Prometheus, your guess about the screws was spot-on! The two screws under the battery are both missing. Now, to find some replacements...

Reflashing the Pandora solved my SD card problem. As for the usb drive, I apologize - I forgot to include an error message and ensure correct details. Classic PEBCAK error. The error I get is after the drive appears on the desktop and you try to open it.

Unable to mount "(drivename)":

mount: /dev/sda1 already mounted or /media/(drivename) busy

Upon right-clicking, the option to mount the drive appears.

• Cannot unmount any media. Upon trying to unmount ANY storage devices (sd cards included), I recieve the error
  

  Unable to unmount "SD/MMC Drive": Cannot open /media/.hal-mt

  I've seen videos of Pandora devs removing cards without unmounting first, I think. Is this the accepted method for the Pandora?

 

[Prometheus]

Wow, Prometheus, your guess about the screws was spot-on! The two screws under the battery are both missing. Now, to find some replacements...

No problem. All credit to SomeGuy99 for that one, though - he had mentioned missing screws in a PM we exchanged recently. (Hope you don't mind me crediting you, SomeGuy. )

Cannot unmount any media. Upon trying to unmount ANY storage devices (sd cards included), I recieve the error

Unable to unmount "SD/MMC Drive": Cannot open /media/.hal-mt

I've seen videos of Pandora devs removing cards without unmounting first, I think. Is this the accepted method for the Pandora?

This is a known bug right now, that I gather they hope to fix - it's nothing to worry too much about, as it affects everyone. I gather that the gist of it is that it's not letting go of the mounts. Just be careful with how and when you eject your cards for now, until it's fixed.