*Summary* I have a PC Engines APU2 with a wierd problem: on power-on it starts executing the PC Engines coreboot as it should, loads the OpenBSD boot loader, and the OpenBSD boot loader then loads an OpenBSD kernel (either 7.2/amd64 bsd.rd from an SD card *or* 7.3/amd64 bsd.rd from a USB stick). But immediately after printing entry point at 0xffffffff8100100 the APU2 reboots. Memtest86 doesn't find anything wrong with the hardware. Has anyone else seen these symptoms and/or have any suggestions for further troubleshooting?
*Details* The hardware is a PC Engines apu4d4 (4 ethernet ports, 2 USB, 4GB RAM) with a 16GB SD card. I bought the hardware in mid-2022 but didn't get it working them; alas I don't recall just what I did then. I'm now returning to trying to get it operational. The PC Engines coreboot BIOS has an option to run memtest86; I did a full cycle (about 1.5 hours wall-clock time) and it didn't find any problems with the cpu/memory. There is a 7.2/amd64 bsd.rd on the SD card. If I power the apu2 on and don't interrupt the startup sequence, it gets as far as the OpenBSD boot loader loading that kernel and printing the kernel entry address, but then the apu2 reboots (and the cycle repeats forever if I don't interrupt it). Here's a transcript of the serial-port output showing the startup and first reboot: --- begin --- ^@PC Engines apu4 coreboot build 20202905 BIOS version v4.12.0.1 4080 MB ECC DRAM ESCcESC[?7lESC[2JESC[0mSeaBIOS (version rel-1.12.1.3-0-g300e8b70) Press F10 key now for boot menu Booting from Hard Disk... Using drive 0, partition 3. Loading...... probing: pc0 com0 com1 com2 com3 mem[639KKESC[08;42H 3325M 752M a20=on] disk: hd0+ >> OpenBSD/amd64 BOOT 3.55 boot> cannot open hd0a:/etc/random.seed: No such file or directory booting hd0a:/7.2/amd64/bsd.rd: 3916484+1639424+3884040+0+704512 [109+438912+292 606]=0xa61d70 entry point at 0xffffffff8100100PC Engines apu4 coreboot build 20202905 BIOS version v4.12.0.1 4080 MB ECC DRAM ESCcESC[?7lESC[2JESC[0mSeaBIOS (version rel-1.12.1.3-0-g300e8b70) --- end --- If this were the only problem, I could easily write it off as the kernel on the SD card being corrupted, and/or the SD card being faulty. But I get an almost-identical result if I follow https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#MkInsMedia and try to boot from a 7.3/amd64 install73.img on a USB stick: --- begin --- ^@PC Engines apu4 coreboot build 20202905 BIOS version v4.12.0.1 4080 MB ECC DRAM ESCcESC[?7lESC[2JESC[0mSeaBIOS (version rel-1.12.1.3-0-g300e8b70) Press F10 key now for boot menu Select boot device: 1. USB MSC Drive Lexar USB Flash Drive 8.07 2. SD card SE16G 15193MiB 3. Payload [setup] 4. Payload [memtest] Booting from Hard Disk... Using drive 0, partition 3. Loading...... probing: pc0 com0 com1 com2 com3 mem[639K 3325M 752M a20=on] disk: hd0+ hd1+ >> OpenBSD/amd64 BOOT 3.55 boot> cannot open hd0a:/etc/random.seed::ESC[19;35H No such file or directory booting hd0a:/7.3/amd64/bsd.rd: 3924676+1647616+3886216+0+704512 [109+440424+293 778]=0xa667f0 entry point at 0xffffffff8100100PC Engines apu4 coreboot build 20202905 BIOS version v4.12.0.1 4080 MB ECC DRAM ESCcESC[?7lESC[2JESC[0mSeaBIOS (version rel-1.12.1.3-0-g300e8b70) --- end --- Since two different kernels and boot devices result in the same infinite-reboot loop, with the reboot happening at the same place in the boot sequence (immediately after the kernel entry point address is printed), I don't think my problem is a corrupted kernel file. I've also tried swapping power supplies, with no change in the outcome. Has anyone seen this sort of problem (infinite reboot loop, rebooting immediately after kernel entry point address is printed) before? Should I be looking at reflashing the BIOS with a newer (or older) version? Thanks for any insights, -- -- "Jonathan Thornburg [remove color- to reply]" <dr.j.thornb...@pink-gmail.com> on the west coast of Canada, eh? "!07/11 PDP a ni deppart m'I !pleH" -- slashdot.org page footer, 2022-10-16 "eHpl !'I mrtpaep dnia P PD1 /107" -- slightly more plausible message given PDP-11 little-endian byte order
