Pipo X7 won't start up anymore

[fvdh]

I've had my Pipo X7 for a few days now. Managed to make it dual boot (Windows and Debian). Unfortunately, after fiddling with some settings in the BIOS/UEFI it won't boot at al. Red LED is on but no HDMI or other activity. Any ideas on how to proceed?

[poul50]

I've had my Pipo X7 for a few days now. Managed to make it dual boot (Windows and Debian). Unfortunately, after fiddling with some settings in the BIOS/UEFI it won't boot at al. Red LED is on but no HDMI or other activity. Any ideas on how to proceed?

maybe you can take out battery that holds bios power for some minutes and put i back maybe the bios resets to default

[RISCy Dude]

maybe you can take out battery that holds bios power for some minutes and put i back maybe the bios resets to default

Good answer poul50. I don't know about the X7, but some X86 bios will set defaults if "Insert" key on a keyboard is held down while applying power to the board. It may be necessary to continue to hold the insert key if the box still needs to be switched on. This might be worth a try before you open the X7.
May not apply to UEFI, I don't know.

[loko]

Both seem to be good answers. The first one seems more reasonable.

It is needless to say that generally speaking you have to disconnect any external power before removing the CMOS battery. After removing the battery, you can press and hold the power button several times, to discharge the board. Another tip that may apply is to also shortcut the battery contacts to ensure full discharge (be careful not to have any external power connected).

I do not know if the insert key procedure, if even supported, stands for USB keyboards as well.

[fvdh]

Both seem to be good answers. The first one seems more reasonable.

It is needless to say that generally speaking you have to disconnect any external power before removing the CMOS battery. After removing the battery, you can press and hold the power button several times, to discharge the board. Another tip that may apply is to also shortcut the battery contacts to ensure full discharge (be careful not to have any external power connected).

I do not know if the insert key procedure, if even supported, stands for USB keyboards as well.

Thank you all very much for the ideas. Unfortunately, the "insert key" didn't work. The battery is fixed to the mainboard, so if I remove it I'll have to solder it back. Maybe as a last resort, but before that I think I'm contacting support to see it they have another solution.

Any other ideas?

[fvdh]

Tried to clear the CMOS, but not success so far. In http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www...heet-vol-1.pdf it says to use ILB_RTC_RST to clear CMOS, but so far no luck finding it.

Attached some pictures of the board. If you need hi-res (6000 x 4000) please e-mail me.

Anyone a suggestion which connector to connect to clear CMOS?

[Scooby-Doo]

Tried to clear the CMOS, but not success so far. In http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www...heet-vol-1.pdf it says to use ILB_RTC_RST to clear CMOS, but so far no luck finding it.

Attached some pictures of the board. If you need hi-res (6000 x 4000) please e-mail me.

Anyone a suggestion which connector to connect to clear CMOS?

Normally you can clear the CMOS by taking away the CMOS battery for some seconds.

[loko]

I suppose you are not trying to boot the device without having a heatsink properly attached to the processor. That would probably not work since the processor would overheat instantly thus locking the device. If I were you, I would also try to boot the device using another appropriate power adapter, having the same specifications, or at least use a multimeter to check the provided voltage and current.

As a last resort, disconnect any external power, desolder the battery, shortcut the mainboard battery contacts, and resolder the battery. Since the battery voltage is low, you could also try to shortcut the mainboard battery contacts for a couple of seconds, without removing the battery. That should probably not hurt the battery at all, but probably do the job.

[fvdh]

I suppose you are not trying to boot the device without having a heatsink properly attached to the processor. That would probably not work since the processor would overheat instantly thus locking the device.

I dit put back the heatsink.

If I were you, I would also try to boot the device using another appropriate power adapter, having the same specifications, or at least use a multimeter to check the provided voltage and current.

Tried it, didn't work.

As a last resort, disconnect any external power, desolder the battery, shortcut the mainboard battery contacts, and resolder the battery.

Tried it, didn't work.

[Scooby-Doo]

Did you take away the CMOS battery for 20 sec. or so?

[fvdh]

Did you take away the CMOS battery for 20 sec. or so?

I disconnected it 24 hours

[Frontier]

After messing up with some BIOS settings, my X7 also does not boot anymore; it powers up (the red light is on) but no boot or able to enter the BIOS.

I am afraid the only way to recover it is by flashing the BIOS using an EEPROM programmer (like many people do with Teclast X98 tablets). I've already ordered one from Aliexpress (they are very cheap) and with the right tools it is possible to flash the ATMEL BIOS chip without removing it from the board.

As you said, removing the battery does not clear CMOS which makes me believe that these devices do not have a CMOS area and they save all settings on the EEPROM chip, therefor it is impossible to recover from wrong BIOS settings without reflashing the BIOS image.

[hey69]

Aauwch... you remember at least what bios setting caused the failure?

[Frontier]

Aauwch... you remember at least what bios setting caused the failure?

I've changed a couple of things but I suspect the cause was the custom power options.

[loko]

I am afraid the only way to recover it is by flashing the BIOS using an EEPROM programmer (like many people do with Teclast X98 tablets). I've already ordered one from Aliexpress (they are very cheap) and with the right tools it is possible to flash the ATMEL BIOS chip without removing it from the board.

You will probably need an appropriate alligator clip. Some times you may have to desolder the chip. Be careful with the programming voltage. It may need adjustment. Some users have fried their chips.

Idea for heavy modders:

If you have 2 devices, or even if you just have one device but want to experiment a lot, desolder the Winbond 25Q64 chip, solder 8 wires to the PCB and attach them to a cheap 8-Pin Female Connector. Solder 8 wires to Winbond 25Q64 and attach them to a corresponding 8-Pin Male Connector. This way, you will be able to easily plug and unplug the chip.

If you have 2 devices, you can use a non corrupted chip to boot the device, and hot plug the corrupted chip to flash it. If you just have one device, you can easily remove it from the board and attach it to the programmer, using another 8-Pin Female Connector. You can also buy some spare chips to experiment further. This way, you will be even able to try to program firmwares from other similar devices.