ANTMINER S2 Discussion and Support Thread

[MrTeal]

does the OS run off the SD card? I a not familiar with the Raspberry Pi?

or does it just flash it to the Pi unit?

It's a Beaglebone Black, but not a stock one. The onboard eMMC is missing, so I don't believe there's anything to flash the SD to.

[buckrogers]

so simply inserting a new bootable Micro SD would do the trick?

is there a size limitation on the Micro SD card? it came with 2GB

[klondike_bar]

Mine was up and running, but i rebooted the S2 to see if it would accept some changes and now i have a blank blue led screen with a red light in the top right corner...it was wrorking fine a few hours ago.

why cant it get pat the POST bootup all of a sudden?

do a full power cycle with a few seconds to cool down and let the fans come to a stop. check if the SD and boards are all seated well.

ps: one of the biggest issues with bitfury was that when using low-grade (class 8 or less) SD cards, the raspberri pi had a terrible habit of always sending readéwrites to it that could cause corrupted files if the unit reboot or shut down unexpectedly. It is entirely possible that the SD card in a BBB can do the same if powered off without any shutdown or halt command.  If you can`t figure out the issue still, go and buy a high-quality SD card (microSD?) that is class 10 or better and load it up with the firmware to try that

if the result is the same, it at least rules out the SD card, which i otherwise imagine is a weak link

so simply inserting a new bootable Micro SD would do the trick?
is there a size limitation on the Micro SD card? it came with 2GB

sounds more and more like my above scenario. Go out and buy a high-end 4GB or 8GB card. it should cost you less than $15 and is a likely source of the issue

[ipxtreme]

Wish I had one to help, but with guys like atadro buying 6 there weren't many to go around.  Being first has its drawbacks, good luck guys, I hope you get it figured out.

You can say that again.  Both of my 2 units are totally fubar'd.  Unit 1 had the Raspberry Pi board popped out of the bus, and several cards were out of their slots, but even after re-seating it (and checking all connections), I can't get any connection to the unit.  The LCD display lights up but there is nothing displayed, and the green light on the LCD never comes on.  The ethernet port seems connected to the switch (switch shows active connection), but 192.168.1.99 cannot be accessed at all via SSH or http or even ping.  Dead for all intents and purposes as far as I can tell.

Unit 2 was a great example of total lack of QC (or else the unit was put in a washing machine and run through the "shake it up and spin" cycle).  Check out the pics below.  I haven't even tried to repair, as the bus connections are so bad (and many are loose) that it is impossible to seat all the boards and even if I could seat them, they would be under great strain.  I can't believe they shipped something like this and I can't believe that shipping damage would be to blame for this one.

UNIT 1 picture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/by36y8x5kf1kisv/IMG_20140403_195015.jpg

UNIT 2 pictures:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cintq9xlzazjauy/IMG_20140403_200530.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qai8pvbt9g8674t/IMG_20140403_200536.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5s2c1bnes5w3u2c/IMG_20140403_200617.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tuk1u5gcr5co6ie/IMG_20140403_201159.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bheoedm33c0l98h/IMG_20140403_201227.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a0okif3v7horbqy/IMG_20140403_201650.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1skmn5p9k7rpjz/IMG_20140403_201704.jpg

It could be shipping damage, except that the boxes arrived in perfect condition, not a scratch or ding to indicate rough handling.

I guess I will find out soon enough whether bitmaintech stands behind its products or not.  

Please let me know what happens on this repair/return. that' sucks dude.

[googlemaster1]

FYI I heard back from Bitmain - nice fast customer service.  A few relevant points:  (1) They are standing behind the products, and they promised to refund my trashed unit immediately (we will see how quickly that really happens, but hopeful), (2) they are letting me try to salvage Unit 1 from the control board in Unit 2 without voiding warranty (this was pursuant to authorization so maybe not a universal permission), and (3) they said that BATCH 2 units have a fix for the weak mounting of the boards, which they are aware of.

Thank. God.  Now I don't feel too bad about getting a batch 2 ;P

[buckrogers]

Mine was up and running, but i rebooted the S2 to see if it would accept some changes and now i have a blank blue led screen with a red light in the top right corner...it was wrorking fine a few hours ago.

why cant it get pat the POST bootup all of a sudden?

do a full power cycle with a few seconds to cool down and let the fans come to a stop. check if the SD and boards are all seated well.

ps: one of the biggest issues with bitfury was that when using low-grade (class 8 or less) SD cards, the raspberri pi had a terrible habit of always sending readéwrites to it that could cause corrupted files if the unit reboot or shut down unexpectedly. It is entirely possible that the SD card in a BBB can do the same if powered off without any shutdown or halt command.  If you can`t figure out the issue still, go and buy a high-quality SD card (microSD?) that is class 10 or better and load it up with the firmware to try that

if the result is the same, it at least rules out the SD card, which i otherwise imagine is a weak link

so simply inserting a new bootable Micro SD would do the trick?
is there a size limitation on the Micro SD card? it came with 2GB

sounds more and more like my above scenario. Go out and buy a high-end 4GB or 8GB card. it should cost you less than $15 and is a likely source of the issue

Power cycle was performed about 100 times until 5:30 am EST and slept for 1 hour before coming in to work now.

will purchase the SD card, just need someone to upload a good solid tested Firmware.

Are thee any size limitations on the Micro SD card i can use? or just try and find an 2GB one?

thanks!

[klondike_bar]

Mine was up and running, but i rebooted the S2 to see if it would accept some changes and now i have a blank blue led screen with a red light in the top right corner...it was wrorking fine a few hours ago.

why cant it get pat the POST bootup all of a sudden?

do a full power cycle with a few seconds to cool down and let the fans come to a stop. check if the SD and boards are all seated well.

ps: one of the biggest issues with bitfury was that when using low-grade (class 8 or less) SD cards, the raspberri pi had a terrible habit of always sending readéwrites to it that could cause corrupted files if the unit reboot or shut down unexpectedly. It is entirely possible that the SD card in a BBB can do the same if powered off without any shutdown or halt command.  If you can`t figure out the issue still, go and buy a high-quality SD card (microSD?) that is class 10 or better and load it up with the firmware to try that

if the result is the same, it at least rules out the SD card, which i otherwise imagine is a weak link

so simply inserting a new bootable Micro SD would do the trick?
is there a size limitation on the Micro SD card? it came with 2GB

sounds more and more like my above scenario. Go out and buy a high-end 4GB or 8GB card. it should cost you less than $15 and is a likely source of the issue

Power cycle was performed about 100 times until 5:30 am EST and slept for 1 hour before coming in to work now.

will purchase the SD card, just need someone to upload a good solid tested Firmware.

Are thee any size limitations on the Micro SD card i can use? or just try and find an 2GB one?

thanks!

get at least 4GB. when you load the image to it size wont matter, but generally anything under 4Gb or 8GB will not be a good Class 10+ card. like i said, an 8GB class 10 should only knock you back $10-20 and will be a much better build quality.  (With the Bitfury i got about 25 reboots on one card before it failed and the other identical card only made it through about ten, and then seemed to get corrupted almost anytime the power was turned off without ending the hashing process first.

You can probably re-image the card thats in there now (might be worth trying this first), but if it is an SD issue then the real solution is a higher-end SD card that is not as succeptible to read/write errors

[btc_jumpnrl]

-snip-

Power cycle was performed about 100 times until 5:30 am EST and slept for 1 hour before coming in to work now.

will purchase the SD card, just need someone to upload a good solid tested Firmware.

Are thee any size limitations on the Micro SD card i can use? or just try and find an 2GB one?

thanks!

Quick Google says up to 32gb no problem. 64gb maybe? The size really only limits your image+storage space. If the BBB is like a Pi, just pick up a class 10, write a boot image to the SD and then plug it in. I always pick up the class 10s, after when GoPros had the issues with any non-class 10s as well and then people instructed the same for when I got a RPi.

Waiting for delivery of my S2 now. Says should be here in the next 4 hours. Sigh the waiting game.

[buckrogers]

would these work? some of them are high capacity cards and am not sure if they are compatible with the BBB

Which woiuld you choose?

http://www.microcenter.com/product/409302/8GB_Class_10_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_-_Ultra_High_Speed-I_Capacity_(microSDHC-UHS-I)_Flash_Media_Card_SR8UYA-TQMN

http://www.microcenter.com/product/366174/8GB_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_(Micro_SDHC)_Flash_Media_Card

http://www.microcenter.com/product/262859/2GB_Micro_Secure_Digital_(SD)_Flash_Media_Card

http://www.microcenter.com/product/372783/4GB_Class_10_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_(Micro_SDHC)_Flash_Media_Card_with_Mobility_Kit_MBLY10G2-4GB

[eightcylinders]

FYI I heard back from Bitmain - nice fast customer service.  A few relevant points:  (1) They are standing behind the products, and they promised to refund my trashed unit immediately (we will see how quickly that really happens, but hopeful), (2) they are letting me try to salvage Unit 1 from the control board in Unit 2 without voiding warranty (this was pursuant to authorization so maybe not a universal permission), and (3) they said that BATCH 2 units have a fix for the weak mounting of the boards, which they are aware of.

did you email them?  the info@ email?

Yes

Also they told me they would be posting the manual soon.

[buckrogers]

I just need a good image and instructions on how to get it on the micro SD correctly

[btc_jumpnrl]

would these work? some of them are high capacity cards and am not sure if they are compatible with the BBB

Which woiuld you choose?

http://www.microcenter.com/product/409302/8GB_Class_10_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_-_Ultra_High_Speed-I_Capacity_(microSDHC-UHS-I)_Flash_Media_Card_SR8UYA-TQMN

http://www.microcenter.com/product/366174/8GB_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_(Micro_SDHC)_Flash_Media_Card

http://www.microcenter.com/product/262859/2GB_Micro_Secure_Digital_(SD)_Flash_Media_Card

http://www.microcenter.com/product/372783/4GB_Class_10_Micro_Secure_Digital_High_Capacity_(Micro_SDHC)_Flash_Media_Card_with_Mobility_Kit_MBLY10G2-4GB

Either the Sony or the Kingston I guess. IMO I would get one with the extra full SD card expansion for the microSD, so you can double use it later and not have to have a micro slot to read and image it on something else. 

[btc_jumpnrl]

I just need a good image and instructions on how to get it on the micro SD correctly

http://elinux.org/RPi_Easy_SD_Card_Setup

The Instructions should be the same for pushing the boot image.

[buckrogers]

ok, i ordered the Micro SD cards, going to pick up on way home...mine probably got corrupted when i rebooted..weird.

anyway, i need  a good image and if someone can tell me the proper way to install it on the micro SD card that would be great.

I dont know if it just a copy paste, which i doubt if its going to be bootable.

[buckrogers]

So i guess all i need now is a good working image...anyone have one ready to go yet?

[Bitkoinzz]

what a complete trainwreck. geezus. considering s1's will be worthless in 3 months tops. it's time for an alternative. how about a 5Th for 6.5 btc. mmmmm hmmmmm

[klondike_bar]

ok, i ordered the Micro SD cards, going to pick up on way home...mine probably got corrupted when i rebooted..weird.
anyway, i need  a good image and if someone can tell me the proper way to install it on the micro SD card that would be great.

I dont know if it just a copy paste, which i doubt if its going to be bootable.

Here you go folks
https://github.com/AntMiner/AntGen1/blob/master/manual/Antminer%20S2%20Manual_EN_2014.4.1.pdf
Manual for the S2

Firmware:
https://github.com/AntMiner/AntGen1/tree/master/firmware_S2

use this program: http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/

its very simple.
1) put card in computer (requires an SD reader)
2) use the above program to backup an image of whats on the card to your desktop (just in case)
3) use the program to format the card (fat32 should be the default)
4) use the program to write the new image to the card - should take under a minute if the image is only 14MB
5) eject the SD, put it in your unit, and boot up

^it looks like the firmware is a .tar   -> unless the win32diskimager can use .tar, you might need to use winrar to extract the actual file
^^ the firmware is a really odd file format, '.bin.SD'  rather than the typical .iso or .img     -  maybe somebody can actually make an image of thier own SD card in a more common format?
^^^maybe the firmware can just be copy-pasted to the SD - a bit of googling seems like it may be in a format that the linux beaglebone can open and run automatically...?

[buckrogers]

i thought there was an issue with that image?

[eightcylinders]

Yes but to be fair Bitmain is standing behind the problems, and is taking ALL of the loss (including paying for return shipping).  They are the only company reliably shipping 1 Th/s miners and they did it without pre-orders.  They already have a fix for Batch 2.  They are responding to my emails within hours (or minutes) and have been very apologetic.  I cannot think of another company that has been so reliable and easy to deal with so my loyalty is still with Bitmain despite my disappointment at the S2's condition.

The S1's are like Sherman tanks - indestructible, well engineered, cheap, efficient and powerful.  I **wish** the S2 had all of the same characteristics, but still the S2 is the best in the 1 Th/s class of miners - so far.  And when bitmain introduces a more efficient S3? (yeah, hopefully 5 Th/s for 6 BTC lol) I will be there to order as many as I can get.

what a complete trainwreck. geezus. considering s1's will be worthless in 3 months tops. it's time for an alternative. how about a 5Th for 6.5 btc. mmmmm hmmmmm

[dalenorman2005]

Like a nervous expectant father....

I think I've got everything prepped:

-bench cleared and ready for surgery reseating the inevitably unseated cards.  cordless screwdriver battery charging.
-2nd router daisy-chained to primary router to create 192.168.1.x subnet
-AntMiner S2 manual pdf downloaded and open
-exterior security cameras watching for UPS truck
-credit card on hand to pay import duty
-wearing out command-r refreshing this thread

have i missed anything?