Revive a Dead Antminer S2 with Beaglebone Black Rev. C (off the shelf)

[thecr4ne]

My Antminer S2 (kit) decided it didn't want to boot anymore after I shut it down briefly to re-route some cables. I scoured the forum and found all these "re-image the SD card" and "buy a class 10 SD card" solutions like this
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=515448.msg6315538#msg6315538

I tried all that and still got nothing. Fans spin, Red LEDs on backplane, 4 green and 1 red LED on IO board, No LED action and blank display on display panel, No LEDs on the Beaglebone Black control board. I emailed bitmain, they were useless.

I ordered a Beaglebone Black Rev. C from Adafruit.com ($55) to see if it would work as a replacement. The one that comes on the S2 is a stripped down version. Here's a few pics of the differences.

https://i.imgur.com/96N4U6b.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ydY7aKk.jpg

Here's what I did (first try, moderate success. See second attempt below for better results)
1-So I imaged an SD card with this Ubuntu image for the Beaglebone Black
http://s3.armhf.com/debian/raring/bone/ubuntu-raring-13.04-armhf-3.8.13-bone20.img.xz
(Extract .img file, Format SD card Fat32, Win32Imagewriter)

2-Boot up Beaglebone Black. Once booted, insert SD card, press and hold Boot Switch button, press Reset button. (Beaglebone Black boots to SD card)

3- I put this image from bitmain into my dropbox, SSH into the Beaglebone Black, and wget bitmain image dropbox link to download it.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9mK2-whJv8cU0Q5R1hIQTJnRVU/edit

4-Once downloaded I installed it on the 4GM onboard eMMC storage with this command:
sudo dd bs=1M if=bitmain.img of=/dev/mmcblk1
(note I changed the name of the image from bitmain to bitmain.img to simplify things for myself)

5-Once finished power off Beaglebone Black. Attach to IO board from S2, insert IO board into backplane. Apply power.

RESULTS- This works, but if I rebooted the S2, changes were not saved. Had to re-enter pool info, network settings, etc. everytime. Couldn't overclock. Basically, what I think is happening, is that the firmware is set up to write settings to the SD card, but since I was booting from the onboard eMMC storage and didn't have an SD card in, it wasn't working. (Note, I didn't try just adding and SD card to this setup, but it's possible that may work fine) I'm sure it's also possible to tweak the firmware to write to the onboard storage, but I'm not the guy to figure that part out on my own.


Second attempt, more ideal results.
1-Same as above

2-Same as above.

3-put ubuntu image from step 1 above into dropbox and wget ubuntu dropbox link
(supposedly this version of ubuntu will check if there's a bootable SD card and prioritize that over the ubuntu image)

4-repeat step 4 but replace bitmain.img with ubuntu.img (note, again, simplified renamed image files)

5-Power off, reboot.

6- Flash bitmain image from above link to SD card (Class 10 SD, Format Fat32, win32imagewriter)

7- Insert SD card with Bitmain image into Beaglebone Black. Press and hold Boot Switch button, press Reset button. (supposedly rebooting should have booted to SD card image but I didn't find that to work as expected.

8- Power off Beaglebone Black, attach to IO board from S2. Press and hold Boot Switch Button (this is kind of a pain with the IO board on but doable), apply power to Beaglebone Black via USB or wall wart. Insert IO board into S2 backplane. Apply power to S2. Remove USB/wall wart power from Beaglebone Black.

At this point, it's booting from the SD card, and when restarted it actually boots to SD card without using the Boot Switch button. Settings are saving properly and I'm hashing again, overclocked to 219 MHz.

I'm still trying to get a replacement S2 Beaglebone, but at least I'm up and running in the meantime.

Hope this is helpful to someone.

[1713919819]

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[1713919819]

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[tazdas]

Thanks for starting this.. I have the exact same problem..  I will try to order the off the shelf beaglebone

[tazdas]

Thanks for starting this.. I have the exact same problem..  I will try to order the off the shelf beaglebone

I have ordered Rev B ( that was the only available on Monday in canada).. once I get i will post results

[thecr4ne]

I don't imagine the version should make much difference, they're basically the same except the Rev. C has more onboard storage.

Also want to point out another nice feature of this setup is that you can keep the beaglebone on despite removing power from the rest of the S2 by connecting a wall wart or USB 5V power supply.

[tazdas]

I don't imagine the version should make much difference, they're basically the same except the Rev. C has more onboard storage.

Also want to point out another nice feature of this setup is that you can keep the beaglebone on despite removing power from the rest of the S2 by connecting a wall wart or USB 5V power supply.

step1

How do you extract the .xz file in windows ?   7zip says its not a valid archive .

http://s3.armhf.com/debian/raring/bone/ubuntu-raring-13.04-armhf-3.8.13-bone20.img.xz

[tazdas]

I don't imagine the version should make much difference, they're basically the same except the Rev. C has more onboard storage.

Also want to point out another nice feature of this setup is that you can keep the beaglebone on despite removing power from the rest of the S2 by connecting a wall wart or USB 5V power supply.

step1

How do you extract the .xz file in windows ?   7zip says its not a valid archive .

http://s3.armhf.com/debian/raring/bone/ubuntu-raring-13.04-armhf-3.8.13-bone20.img.xz

never mind I had an old version of 7 zip... latest one works with xz

[tazdas]

I don't imagine the version should make much difference, they're basically the same except the Rev. C has more onboard storage.

Also want to point out another nice feature of this setup is that you can keep the beaglebone on despite removing power from the rest of the S2 by connecting a wall wart or USB 5V power supply.

step1

How do you extract the .xz file in windows ?   7zip says its not a valid archive .

http://s3.armhf.com/debian/raring/bone/ubuntu-raring-13.04-armhf-3.8.13-bone20.img.xz

never mind I had an old version of 7 zip... latest one works with xz

how do you go to step 3 i.e. how do you ssh when you boot form the sd card ? what is the IP address ? I tried 192.168.7.2  but no go...

[tazdas]

I don't imagine the version should make much difference, they're basically the same except the Rev. C has more onboard storage.

Also want to point out another nice feature of this setup is that you can keep the beaglebone on despite removing power from the rest of the S2 by connecting a wall wart or USB 5V power supply.

step1

How do you extract the .xz file in windows ?   7zip says its not a valid archive .

http://s3.armhf.com/debian/raring/bone/ubuntu-raring-13.04-armhf-3.8.13-bone20.img.xz

never mind I had an old version of 7 zip... latest one works with xz

how do you go to step 3 i.e. how do you ssh when you boot form the sd card ? what is the IP address ? I tried 192.168.7.2  but no go...

ok figured it out.... you may want to add in step 3 to look for  ip address for 'ubuntu-armhf' in your router and then ssh in to that

[thecr4ne]

Sorry, I just logged into my router to find the ip address. Keep in mind though once you boot into the Antminer image it will default to 192.168.1.99. I wasted a lot of time overlooking that.

[tazdas]

Sorry, I just logged into my router to find the ip address. Keep in mind though once you boot into the Antminer image it will default to 192.168.1.99. I wasted a lot of time overlooking that.

ok so I have every thing configured but 2 problems:

1) I cant get it to boot automatically to sd card.. and I have to press the boot switch every time
2) I cant get it to save the miner configuration setting  ..every time it reboots I have to enter the pool settings again as well as the ip address , I am running the latest firmware 'initramfs.bin.SD-20140619.tar'

after temporarily solving the above 2 issues..  it starts hashing again ...

Not sure but it could be due to Rev B of beaglebone

[thecr4ne]

I had that same problem when I loaded the image to the local storage. But it worked fine when I put the ubuntu image on the local storage and booted from the SD card.

Try putting this image on the SD card (image is from 1l1l11ll1l, credit where credit is due)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16075357/bitmain.img.zip

I don't think it's much different, but it may make things click for you. Once it's on try rebooting and see if anything sticks. You'll need to upgrade the firmware once it's on, but it worked fine for me.

You may be right about the difference between rev B and rev C. I really couldn't tell you.

Maybe rev B will let you install it tot he local storage and save settings. I'd try the image above from the SD card first though.

You're not completely powering it off are you? I just rebooted from the web interface and it seems to know to boot to the SD card unless I completely remove power.

[tazdas]

I had that same problem when I loaded the image to the local storage. But it worked fine when I put the ubuntu image on the local storage and booted from the SD card.

Try putting this image on the SD card (image is from 1l1l11ll1l, credit where credit is due)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16075357/bitmain.img.zip

I don't think it's much different, but it may make things click for you. Once it's on try rebooting and see if anything sticks. You'll need to upgrade the firmware once it's on, but it worked fine for me.

You may be right about the difference between rev B and rev C. I really couldn't tell you.

Maybe rev B will let you install it tot he local storage and save settings. I'd try the image above from the SD card first though.

You're not completely powering it off are you? I just rebooted from the web interface and it seems to know to boot to the SD card unless I completely remove power.

Ok I will try the this other bitmain image..

Yes I am doing a full power cycle .. cold starts...  soft reboots from the web interface works fine and it boots from the sd card

[thecr4ne]

The other image might be a waste of your time then. It will only automatically boot from the SD card on a reboot. A power cycle will require you to push the Boot switch button on the Beaglebone.

If you're powering down the S2, plug a wall wart or USB power supply into the Beaglebone to keep it alive while you do whatever requires the power down. Once you've applied power to the S2, remove the 5V power from the Beaglebone as it will pull power from the S2 IO board at this point.

The reboots from the SD card save the settings right?

[tazdas]

The other image might be a waste of your time then. It will only automatically boot from the SD card on a reboot. A power cycle will require you to push the Boot switch button on the Beaglebone.

If you're powering down the S2, plug a wall wart or USB power supply into the Beaglebone to keep it alive while you do whatever requires the power down. Once you've applied power to the S2, remove the 5V power from the Beaglebone as it will pull power from the S2 IO board at this point.

The reboots from the SD card save the settings right?

I will check again .. but I know cold power cycle were loosing the settings as well .. with this new image I am hoping it will save the settings om the SD card like original 'beagleboard+sd card' comb does ..
I was not able to try the new image last night.. but will try it tonight..

Thanks

[Grayson5]

How hard was it to get the Beaglebone off the AntMiner IO board?  I am OK with soldering, but this look a bit tough? 

Also, do you know of any way to test the ethernet port on the Antminer board?

All of my S2's suffering a power surge yesterday (via a lightning strike) and I think it may have shorted out the connection - my cable modem and router were killed and I had to replace them.

My S2's boot - the LCD comes on and the IP address shows (192.168.1.99), but it never appears on the network.  The green lights for the hashing boards never light up, but the ones on the control board do.  None of the lights on either ethernet port (I/O board or the external one) ever light up.

I tried reflashing the SD and that didn't work.

Any suggestions? 

[tazdas]

The other image might be a waste of your time then. It will only automatically boot from the SD card on a reboot. A power cycle will require you to push the Boot switch button on the Beaglebone.

If you're powering down the S2, plug a wall wart or USB power supply into the Beaglebone to keep it alive while you do whatever requires the power down. Once you've applied power to the S2, remove the 5V power from the Beaglebone as it will pull power from the S2 IO board at this point.

The reboots from the SD card save the settings right?

I will check again .. but I know cold power cycle were loosing the settings as well .. with this new image I am hoping it will save the settings om the SD card like original 'beagleboard+sd card' comb does ..
I was not able to try the new image last night.. but will try it tonight..

Thanks

OK I can confirm that when using the '1l1l11ll1l'  image it saves the settings on the sd card even after a cold reboot .. or a cold start after saving the settings .. only issue left is after a cold start I still need to press the boot button on the beagleboard.. whcih is a pain since I have to take out 2-3 hash cards and put them back while the system is on...  I don't have access to a live USB or live 5v external connector for my S2 ( beagleboard) where it actually resides physically for hashing...

hot reboots are fine.. and I am back to hashing at full 1TH+

[tazdas]

How hard was it to get the Beaglebone off the AntMiner IO board?  I am OK with soldering, but this look a bit tough? 

Also, do you know of any way to test the ethernet port on the Antminer board?

All of my S2's suffering a power surge yesterday (via a lightning strike) and I think it may have shorted out the connection - my cable modem and router were killed and I had to replace them.

My S2's boot - the LCD comes on and the IP address shows (192.168.1.99), but it never appears on the network.  The green lights for the hashing boards never light up, but the ones on the control board do.  None of the lights on either ethernet port (I/O board or the external one) ever light up.

I tried reflashing the SD and that didn't work.

Any suggestions? 

do you see any blue lights near the network port on the beagleboard ? if not then your beagleboard is gone... but since your lcd is showing some text I am guessing your beagle board might be functioning partially ..but its network stack/ship is shot.... however seems to me you need to replace the beagleboard..

Beagle board comes off easily as its plugged onto the main IO board not soldered ...

[krfighter]

Hi everyone,

Just to confirm that this approach works. A power surge killed off my beaglebone (no blue light on it). I bought a Rev.B on Amazon (it is cheaper than Rev.C and the only difference is the amount of onboard memory).
Booted up the new BBB and checked that it works: connected the power through USB cable, accessed the web-interface.
Then I shut it down, inserted the SD card with S2 image. It booted immediately from the SD card - no hassle.
After that, I inserted it into the S2 and it works flawlessly.

Good luck everyone!

[thecr4ne]

Hi everyone,

Just to confirm that this approach works. A power surge killed off my beaglebone (no blue light on it). I bought a Rev.B on Amazon (it is cheaper than Rev.C and the only difference is the amount of onboard memory).
Booted up the new BBB and checked that it works: connected the power through USB cable, accessed the web-interface.
Then I shut it down, inserted the SD card with S2 image. It booted immediately from the SD card - no hassle.
After that, I inserted it into the S2 and it works flawlessly.

Good luck everyone!

Awesome. Glad to hear it's working for people.

[Pierre511]

My Antminer S2 is down too, and a new SD card doesn't help either. I'm new to computers, bitcoin mining and electronics so I don't really see myself doing all of this to replace the beaglebone.

Here's my question: does anyone think a raspberry pi could take over the beaglebone's job ? If I just connected it to the control board of my S2 ?

I have BFG miner on my rasp and it says among others : drivers enabled : antminer

Many thanks for any advive !
Pierre