Jetson Nano Doesn't Boot during headless setup

Development Boards Other Single Board Computers
1

Greetings,

I bought this kit (NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit (V3) DEV-16271), and I have been trying to set it up using the SD Card Image download, following the headless setup methods that are posted in various places on the Internet. I don’t have an HDMI display to try the GUI setup. I first tried it many times with a Linux laptop and “screen” app, then more times with a Windows 7 computer and Putty. In each case I start with s freshly burned SD card image, following the Nvidea instructions for each system (with Linux you simply use Etcher, with Windows you first format the card with SD Card Formatter.)

Every time, the following sequence happens: When I plug in the power supply (5V 4A supply that came with kit), I see the green LED on the carrier board come on & stay on the whole time, but NOTHING ever happens in the window of the host computer. I’ve tried everything from doing nothing to hitting “Space” as per one set of instructions, “Escape” per another set, “Enter,” Control-A followed by other chars (in Screen) and all sorts of things. I have waited a long time in each case, but nothing ever appears in the screen window, just a black background with the first character lit where the cursor is.

I’m using the USB cable that came with the kit (that I’ve verified does pass data), Also I’ve got the the USB camera that came wit the kit plugged in, as well as an Ethernet cable.

By the way, the SD card that came from you guys with the kit is a dud, I couldn’t read it or format it on either Linux nor Windows. So, I’m using other SD cards that I had on hand, some were fresh out of the wrapper, others used.

I have used other SD cards that I happened to have around, Samsung high-speed cards (32 GB) that work in my high-end cameras, so I know it’s not a problem with the SD cards. I have also re-downloaded the SD card images (Jet pack 4.5.1).

As far as I can tell, the Nano is simply not booting. I have exhaustively searched the Internet and every forum I can find. The only thing I have found that’s remotely similar was on the Sparkfun forum, e.g.

“NVIDIA JETBOT KIT JETSON NANO LOGO BUT NO BOOT SEQUENCE” seems similar, but since I don’t have an HDMI monitor to hook up, I can’t even verify if the logo is displaying. I am exhausted from doing the same things over & over, read every forum I can find, Googled to exhaustion, I’ve watched every Youtube video I can find that may give any insight…it seems so straightforward, but it’s NOT WORKING… AHHH!

Everyone else seems to be stuck on much more advanced steps, where they’re working on actual apps or experiments–it seems that everyone else gets this part done with no trouble! Why am I having these problems?!

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

HELP!

2

…which image are you using?

PS It would be a lot simpler if you could test via HDMI…is there NO WAY you can find a monitor to use?

3

To piggy-back and add on…

I’m sorry you are running into issues by doing your own thing. We make an effort to provide specific instructions, to avoid such issues; I highly recommend following the steps outlined in the hookup guide (and use a monitor to setup/get the remote connection parameters).

For a headless setup, the serial pins are disabled by default. I don’t remember, but I believe that users might be able to ssh into the Jetson with an Ethernet connection. However, I avoided providing such instructions for that method because we experienced issues setting up the WiFi connection (through the command line) with the initial images that were provided from Nvidia.

If you could provide more detailed information on how (exactly) you are accessing the Jetson, it would be helpful to troubleshoot the problem. Also, links to the “other instructions” you are following.

I don’t think we can narrow down your issue to not booting, since you are having connection problems and haven’t connected a monitor to actual determine that it isn’t booting yet.

4

Thanks for the quick reply, Santa_Impersonator. FYI, I am a Network Engineer, so I do understand how connectivity works, in all it’s forms. Sorry I didn’t put my info sources in, I looked at so many. The main one is here (https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/l … p-headless) that also has the link for the Jetpack 4.5.1 download, and the video by JetsonHacks (https://www.google.com/search?q=jetsonh … Pmtm7iAU17) was probably the best, although I found a couple of others that had more complete info. After watching videos and reading instructions, I made up my own checklist to follow, with options for using alternatives (like using Putty instead of Screen, or using Windows instead of a Mac).

I do understand the value of using a monitor for setup–in the JetsonHacks video, for instance, it’s clear that he used a monitor the first time, even though he goes through the headless setup several times, each time “starting from scratch” with a newly burned SD card–but at least he verified connectivity and that everything works, prior to the headless setup.

I will try my best to do it with an HDMI monitor. I do have a TV that’s HDMI, but getting access to it will be a pain, and also finding a USB keyboard & mouse won’t be easy, not to mention an Ethernet port near the TV. I do have several Bluetooth keyboards with trackpads that use a USB dongle–that should work, I think. After all, they’re OS-independent, they have keyboard emulation built in, and simply feed the keystrokes into the USB port. I’ll let you know what I find out.

I’ll also check the voltage of the power supply–it came with the kit from Sparkfun (although that doesn’t guarantee it works, as evidenced by the SD card you guys sent along with the kit ;>p )

5

After watching the JetsonHacks video…

  • - I'd have to test using the oem-config tool, which there wasn't documentation on it in the earlier days.
  • - Our image is pre-configured (with the installation completed- to include the hardware file changes for our motor driver and screen), so I don't know if the oem-config tool will be available (post the installation process).
  • - Again, on the earlier images, the serial pins/communication was disabled by default. That could be part of the issue, since... data won't be sent over the USB connection because it's disabled.
  • - Yes, I understand you see that in the video, but when we were doing initial testing... serial communication was disabled by default. Maybe that changed for that specific image, but you'd need to reach out to Nvidia or check out their forum about the serial communication.
  • - Make sure you have that jumper pin set properly to power the Jetson through the barrel jack and not the USB connector.
  • - Otherwise, your Jetson will be trying to draw power from your computer, which your USB port probably can't supply. This will cause the Jetson to brown out and not boot properly. Additionally, the jumper pins may also disable the serial communication, separately from the OS configuration.
  • - Make sure you are connecting to the proper COM port on your Windows computer. Additionally, you'll need to make sure you have the communication protocol configured properly (baud rate, parity bit, carriage return, etc.).
  • - Maybe try another serial port emulation tool besides PuTTy... like TeraTerm or CoolTerm.

    • To address your problems/concerns:

  • - Having noted the information above... we don't normally provide support on the headless setup/serial communication.
  • - I'd recommend using the Nvidia forum for that topic, since they will have more expertise (beyond the scope of our tech support team). Being the manufacturer and provider of the "base" image/OS, they may have additional tips we at SparkFun may not be aware of.
  • - If you are able to determine, with Nvidia's help, that the issue is indeed with the Jetson module... please reach back out to us, if Nvidia doesn't replace the module for you. (Note: We'll probably need some documentation for verification.)
  • - To be honest, an monitor is really the only way I know of, to test if the Jetson is booting. You only need power, the Jetson, and the monitor to run the test. (Obviously, you'll want a keyboard/mouse to shutdown the Jetson properly to avoid corrupting the SD card. However, this test is to verify that the Jetson module itself is working properly... the SD card can be reformatted/written, if it gets corrupted.) You'll see the kernel print out during the boot sequence, which you won't be able to determine from a remote access (but you probably already knew that).
  • - Not being able to see the card when you plug it into a computer is normal; my computer does the same. Your Windows operating system, probably isn't recognizing either the image itself or partitions on the image. On my Linux operating system, it can recognize the image and its partitions. This is why I have begun to use the Raspberry Pi Imager tool, because it can at least recognize that the card has been plugged in (even if the Windows OS can't).
  • - I personally, am not a fan of Etcher (I have had issue with it in the past and currently). On a Windows computer, I'd recommend using Win32DiskImager or Raspberry Pi Imager. I have found the Raspberry Pi tool to work best for me... it can find cards with images that Win32DiskImager or Windows is having issues with.
  • - I can try a quick test of the oem-config and serial communication with our image... which Jetson module do you have (aka does the carrier board have 1 or 2 camera connectors and are you using the 2GB Jetson module from the cheaper kit) ?
  • - I'll probably need a few weeks to get hardware and test this. We are still working remotely and I'll be out on vacation starting this weekend.
    • 6

    Okay, wow, Santa_Impersonator, so many things to reply to! Let me start by saying you’re right–there is so much info to be gained by using a monitor. Just the long string of things that scroll down even before the Logo appears, to start with! Lots of useful info there. Anyway, it worked! I managed to run a spare HDMI cable to the TV, and even got an Ethernet cable plugged into a spare switch that I put under the TV (which is mounted on a pole) (the switch is connected to my LAN). Then I plugged a BT dongle into a USB port on the Nano, so I could use a wireless keyboard with a built-in trackpad, as I mentioned in my previous post. It all worked, and I was able to get it setup with absolutely no problems. After I shut down gracefully (I had to search for “shutdown,” by the way–not sure where that applet is located), I took the Nano & heatsink off, installed the 8265 Wifi/BT card, and after putting it all back together & adding a fan, I was good to go!

    Then I plugged the power back in (still connected to the TV, so I could use the GUI to setup the Wifi password and get connected). I used the Network GUI applet to peek at the IP addresses, then shut down gracefully again, removed the Ethernet cable (& the switch), removed the BT dongle, and then powered back up & connected using SSH over Wifi. Finally, I performed an update/upgrade, setup a swapfile, and turned the fan on. Then I used the shutdown command (“sudo shutdown -h”) to gracefully shut down once more.

    I want to set the wlan interface with a static IP address, but I couldn’t find a way to do that with the GUI Network applet. I guess I’ll have to research how to do that with the CLI.

    I know you mentioned several times that the serial port is not enabled by default, but I wasn’t trying to use that–I had a USB cable plugged into the micro-USB connector (the cable that came with the Nano Dev Kit). That’s supposed to be how it works, in the Nvidea instructions and elsewhere. I have seen where someone posted how to hook up a “TTL/serial cable” to the I/O port pins, but the port has to be enabled first. I really have no need for that. And, as I said, I was using Jetpack 4.5.1, the latest version as of now. When I ordered, Sparkfun was shipping the Nano version 2 (with carrieroard B01, with 2 camera interfaces).

    All those other things you mentioned…I guess they’re not relevant now that I got it to work with the monitor, but suffice it to say that I wasn’t doing anything all that stupid. I’m experienced with microcontrollers, I’m not some kid who thinks you just plug things together and they work just like you want them to! But, I know you’re used to having to help a lot of those folks (not meaning to be hurtful to anyone).

    But anyway, thanks for insisting that I use a monitor. It was a pain in the neck to run those cables, but as you pointed out, it’s really the only way to get “proper debug info.” I just needed to be pushed, I guess. (The monitors I usually use are DVI with DVI-to-HDMI adaptors–but Nvidea specifically states that those are NOT supported!) Now that the basic setup is done, I can connect remotely–which is so much easier.

    But since I have the HDMI cable run to the TV, and Wifi capability, along with the wireless keyboard & trackpad, I may just continue to use the TV when I want the video output. After all the trouble of running that extra HDMI cable… it should be useful for more than the one operation.

    [Geez, that Jetpack 4.5.1 may be “able to perform headless setup,” but it’s still buggy!]

    Now that the basic setup is done, I can proceed with loading the software for the Nvidea DL class, and also the Sparkfun software for using the Qwiic connectors.

    ** Incidentally, with regard to the bad SD card you folks sent me… When I said the SD card you guys sent with the kit is bad, I don’t just mean that I “can’t read the data on it with Windows.” I mean that NO computer can even see the SD card when it’s inserted–as in, I either get nothing, no response or I get “Read Error.” It cannot be formatted, read, nothing, not with any software on Linux nor Windows 7. It’s COMPLETELY different from inserting an SD card that has the Jetpack loaded on it (or any other SD Card with Linux partitions on it) and putting it in a Windows computer. I can read the SD cards (with Linux partitions) just fine with Linux. But NOT the one you sent me–it does nothing. Fortunately, I have lots of other high-speed SD Cards of 32 GB flavor laying around, ones that I know are good. Do you want me to send it back to you, so you can see for yourself? Or will you send me a new one anyway? It’s not that big of a deal, but an SD card is an SD card–I may as well get it replaced. BTW, I do not have the original retail wrapper that it came in–I threw that out right after I opened it.

    Thanks again for all the work you put into helping me. As it turns out, the monitor was the key! I hope this helps anyone else who may be having problems with “headless setup.”

    7

    Glad you were able to get things working! :smiley:

    Thank you for giving the monitor a shot. Unfortunately, (for us) it’s a little hard to troubleshoot/verify boot issues without doing so.

    You should be able to “google” how to set a static IP address in Ubuntu (just to be thorough… don’t forget to make sure the instructions are compatible with the distribution version you are using). Just a heads up, I did come across this forum post, which might indicate that it might be a more difficult task: https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/s … ano/107774

    Again, I’d have to test the headless setup instructions to figure out what the problem might have been. If possible, I think it could be useful for others to be able to access the Jetson’s commandline without connecting a monitor.

    From what you have said, it does sound like you might have gotten a corrupted card. I’ll ping someone in tech support to reach out to you about the SD card. The machine we use to duplicate card images, has a verification process that checks the data on the SD card, which usually catches bad cards. Maybe the production tech misread the indicator and let this one slip through (???).

    8

    Regarding the SD card, I don’t think there was any image on it. It came as part of the Nano Development Kit (I also got the DLI kit w/o Nano, and the Sparkfun Qwiic Kit for Raspberry Pi), and the SD card was in the retail packaging. It was all packed together in one box, but I’m pretty sure it was part of the Nano Dev Kit, along with the USB micro cable and the 5v4A coax power supply.

    9

    Sorry, I was getting things mixed up with the Jetbot kit. The DLI kit w/o Nano, only comes with a blank card.

    I really recommend using the Pi Imaging Tool, in the future. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve had more success with that tool for recognizing SD cards on my computer. Even when my computer doesn’t initially see a connected card, that tool is still able to find the card and format the card… so my computer can finally find the card (and show it as a drive). Some people like Etcher, but I frequently have issues with it.

    Nvidia might have more immediate answers on the headless setup issue. I still have to get a hold of an external (barrel jack) power supply to test the headless setup.