Pandora doesn't boot (mostly)

[Nom23]

Hi,

Today, my Pandora started acting really weird. It claimed the kernel could not be loaded, next boot attempt it did load the kernel but the progress bar hung. Rinse and repeat, each time it gets differently far, but never completes the boot. Sometimes even the boot loader hangs before it can show the menu.

So I tried a reflash via SD. Same thing, only with more output. Sometimes the kernel can be loaded from SD, sometimes it hangs before that. If the kernel loads, it soon crashes with a spectacular crash dump. Once it got as far as flashing u-boot (or so it said) before it hung.

Before that, my pandora was sitting on the table, neglected for a few days, in standby until the battery was empty. No direct sun, no pets or children, just undisturbed peace. I made the reflash attempts with my (charged) spare battery and connected to power.

Given how unpredictable and early these problems are, could it be bad RAM? Sounds like I have to send it in, right?

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Not necessarily. Take the battery out and leave the pandora like that for 10 or 20 mins. This should fully reset the unit if i remember correctly.

Also make sure the reflash software is not corrupted. Try and download it again having deleted the old version.

Also sometimes you may need to format your sdcard with the panasonic sdcard formatter to completely wipe it. Back up the contents of your card on your desktop, then drop it back on your card.

Also try upgrading to the latest version of the firmware. It takes some time to boot up after the first install of a new firmware.

 

[Nom23]

Just to make sure, I tried it again. It was sitting on my desk without battery/power for the last few hours. No change.

As for the remaining advice, just re-read what I wrote: I do try to upgrade to the latest firmware, but I can't re-flash due to the symptoms. There is no way to "boot up after the first install". The SD card is fine (it is freshly reformatted), because sometimes the Pandora does work for a short while, so it is able to read the reflash kernel and rootfs just fine, at least sometimes.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

I see. It does take a long time to boot up after the first install. Other than that i'm not sure.