Unsupported board type - is there an easy fix

[GlynH]

I have six Pi 4 4GB (1x Rev 1.1 and 5x Rev 1.2) running Buster each carrying out a specific task and just purchased number 7 after a looong wait.

The way I introduce a new Pi is by keeping one of my Rev 1.2 Pi’s running a Raspbian install with only my customisations as a ‘hot spare’ and just cloning the SD Card and then modifying the IP address and Hostname (and desktop wallpaper resembling its role for easy identification when logged on) allowing me to just slot in this cloned card to my new Pi with the minimum of configuration before installing whatever packages I need for it to serve it’s intended purpose.

I also regularly run;

sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade

Just to keep things up to date on all Pi’s.

Has worked very well so far. Until now on this latest Pi when I get the 4-short/4-long green flashes indicating ‘Unsupported board type’.

As the beauty of my Pi network is keeping all of them similarly configured I don’t want to go down the road of having one running Bullseye while the other six are happily running Buster.

What are my options here please? I have seen reference to updating the firmware on the SD Card or just updating some (elf?) files to allow the new Pi to run but what are these files exactly and how best to update them please?

Is it a simple matter of running something from the command line or do I have to get down & dirty with the file system?

And assuming I am able to get this new one running with the minimum of hassle could I then - in the interests of keeping everything the same - update the firmware and/or SD Card files on the remaining six Pi’s or will I forever be left running two different setups?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[aBUGSworstnightmare]

Aour new board will - most likely - be a rev 1.5 HW (see PIP for details) which requires a later firmware.

The usual suggestion is to update (sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade) the sdcard on the older pi, and that should get recent enough firmware to boot on the newer pi.
Or, download the firmware from git, extract all the start*.elf and fixup*.dat files and replace the ones on your sdcard.

[bensimmo]

If apt update isn't working then it is down and dirty. But there is a post about how to do it (somewhere).

So yes you'll either have to update all like this or run them both differently.

Another suggestion is to get ready to update all of them to a new OS version but give it a while and make do until Bookworm is released, otherwise you'll be in a similar position later on.
Buster will soon not be supported as Bookworm becomes legacy.

If you have HDMI then boot without a drive and see what error and version it is saying.

Expect more problems as you get newer Pi.

[B.Goode]

The official Raspberry Pi documentation alluded to already is probably here-> https://pip.raspberrypi.com/categories/ ... rmware.pdf

[GlynH]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply guys...much appreciated.

@aBUGSworstnightmare: My research had already led me to believe that it is indeed a Revision 1.5 but I am unable to confirm until I can get it to boot! As per my original email I regularly use sudo apt update followed by sudo apt full-upgrade on all my Pi's and can confirm that the SD Cards I have been using to try the new Pi have correctly updated as running sudo apt update reports All packages up to date. Sorry your last sentence; download the firmware from git, extract all the start*.elf and fixup*.dat files and replace the ones on your sdcard doesn't mean much to me I'm afraid nor does PIP unless it stands for Product Information Page maybe? Anyway I think I could be sorted now thanks.

@bensimmo: As I mentioned above sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade seems to be working, I run it regularly and it reports All packages up to date although it would appear maybe not in this case? Not planning to upgrade the OS any time soon and if I really can't get the new Pi to boot using an existing card then my multi-Pi experiment will be over. I can understand that an OS designed for an older Pi3 or older might not work on a newer Pi 4 but the logic of why an OS designed and working on a Pi 4 doesn't work on a newer Pi 4 defies logic to me although some might call it progress!

@B.Goode: Ah...many thanks for that link! I had been looking for something like that from my initial research and it seems to me that is exactly the issue I am having and it seems to show the resolution for it. I'll be sure to give it a try and pop back to update this thread in case some other poor soul walks down this same path and does a search for the answer in future. Still don't understand why the usual sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade doesn't automagically update the required files though?

Does it make a difference that I am using the two commands separately running the apt full-upgrade after the apt update has completed one after the other instead of running them on one line with && between the two commands?

Is there any other command line I might run that would force the card to be updated with the newer firmware instead of doing it manually?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[aBUGSworstnightmare]

PIP = Product Informationen Portal

Connect a monitor to your new Pi, remove the uSD (and any other bootable media), switch it on and the Boot Diagnosis Screen will show you the revision you have.

[rpdom]

Still don't understand why the usual sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade doesn't automagically update the required files though?

Does it make a difference that I am using the two commands separately running the apt full-upgrade after the apt update has completed one after the other instead of running them on one line with && between the two commands?

It doesn't make a difference which way you run the commands, just as long as the update is run first and completes successfully.

As for why the upgrade doesn't upgrade your firmware to the latest version, there are a couple of scenarios I can think of:

a) Your OS release is too old. Raspberry Pi OS Buster and Bullseye should be fine, but older versions won't have the latest firmware available.

b) Your OS was installed with the NOOBS or PINN bootloader/OS chooser. Both boot into their own system first, then reboot into the OS of choice. In that case both boot sectors need to be updated.
I believe PINN (the much enhanced third-party replacement for NOOBS) has a method to self-update. The obsolete NOOBS product would need to be updated manually.

Is there any other command line I might run that would force the card to be updated with the newer firmware instead of doing it manually?

Yes, rpi-update can do it, but it is not recommended as it will install the latest test version of the kernel and can cause breakage of your system.

[GlynH]

Thanks guys...it's making more sense to me now.

When I ordered my first Pi 4 from Pi-Hut I also ordered NOOBS to initially set everything up so probably still have remnants hanging over from there even on the newer cards despite starting and staying with Buster.

Is there a way I can check to see if NOOBS is on the SD Card and more importantly would it be possible to remove/modify it without causing issues in the hope that the usual sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade might update the firmware going forwards?

Interestingly sometime ago when I upgraded one of my Pi's as it went through the process of unpacking, redirecting, installing & removing I did see references to a bunch of files named start*.elf and I wish I had captured the update output from the window and pasted it into a text file just to see what was updated as I do occasionally.

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[bensimmo]

If you can follow this then for NOOBS check, then the solution will be there
Edit removal of old link, for direct link
viewtopic.php?t=334936#p2005522

[GlynH]

Thanks very much for the link @bensimmo - I did stumble across that thread earlier this morning when researching my problem but as there wasn't a solution that worked for the OP I gave it a miss.

I ran ls /dev/mmc* on three of my six Pi's and it returned this so looks like a NOOBS setup to me;

/dev/mmcblk0 /dev/mmcblk0p2 /dev/mmcblk0p6
/dev/mmcblk0p1 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /dev/mmcblk0p7

If only there were a safe & secure way to resolve it as the script supplied didn't seem to work but probably down to the destination being a different size o the source?

I'll add it to the 'Return-to' list and maybe give it a try when I am feeling brave!

Thanks again...

-=Glyn=-

[jamesh]

A PCN that describes the visible differences on the 1.5 board can be found here

https://pip.raspberrypi.com/categories/ ... -Rev-9.pdf

[GlynH]

Many thanks for that @jamesh - I didn't realise the Revision 1.5 boards had been out for that long!

I know its been a while since I bought my last one due to the shortage and the ones I bought could have already been in the channel and so were Revision 1.2 but it seems like I've been asleep on the evolution from 1.2->1.5

I'm just updating a couple of mission critical (to me) Pi 4 Revision 1.2's before I revisit trying to resolve the non-starting Revision 1.5 but as I was updating using the usual sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade I did notice the following lines whizz by;

Preparing to unpack .../076-libraspberrypi0_1%3a1.20230509~buster-1_armhf.deb ...
Unpacking libraspberrypi0 (1:1.20230509~buster-1) over (1:1.20220308~buster-1) ...
Preparing to unpack .../077-raspberrypi-bootloader_1%3a1.20230509~buster-1_armhf.deb ...
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start_cd.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start_cd.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start_db.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start_db.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start_x.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start_x.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup_cd.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup_cd.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup_db.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup_db.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup_x.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup_x.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/bootcode.bin to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/bootcode.bin by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start4.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start4.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start4cd.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start4cd.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start4db.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start4db.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/start4x.elf to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/start4x.elf by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup4.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup4.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup4cd.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup4cd.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup4db.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup4db.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/fixup4x.dat to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/fixup4x.dat by rpikernelhack'
Adding 'diversion of /boot/LICENCE.broadcom to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/LICENCE.broadcom by rpikernelhack'
Unpacking raspberrypi-bootloader (1:1.20230509~buster-1) over (1:1.20220308~buster-1) ...

So it appears that those particular files are getting updated at least?

I have checked the file dates of the 8 fixup*.dat and 8 start*.elf files on the SD card and they are all dated today 25/09/23 if that helps determine if they are/are not suitable for Revision 1.5 boards?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[GlynH]

Well following on from the solid advice given above I was confident that by issuing sudo apt update followed by sudo apt full-upgrade followed by downloading the firmware.stable.zip archive from https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware ... stable.zip followed by copying over all 8 fixup*.dat and all 8 start*.elf files from the archive to /boot I could then put the Micro SD card into the new Pi 4 and boot from it.

But no...I get the same issue - 4 short/4 long green LED flashes indicating unsupported board type.

I've even tried another brand new Pi 4 4GB using a couple of new SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB microSDHC Cards prepared as above but with the same result.

I suppose the next step would be getting hold of an HDMI monitor, taking it up into the loft and plugging it in to double-check it is in fact a Revision 1.5 and seeing exactly what error is reported and take it from there but I'm quickly running out of options...and the will to live.

I get the need to source replacement parts especially during what has been happening over the past couple of years or so with COVID/chip shortages etc. Maybe its NOOBS with its 6 folders on the root where the Revision 1.5 is expecting to only see 2 folders causing the issue but it shouldn't be this difficult to boot a Pi 4 from Buster designed for a Pi 4 should it?

Anybody want to swap a couple of their nearly new Revision 1.2's for a couple of new, boxed, unused/never booted Revision 1.5's?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[rpdom]

You need to update the boot files in the NOOBS partition as well as the ones for your OS.

Try this (stop of any command gives an error)

Code: Select all

sudo mkdir /mnt/noobsboot
sudo mount -t vfat /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/noobsboot

Now you can copy the fixup*.dat and start*.elf files to /mnt/noobsboot and that should fix it.

(untested as I don't have a NOOBS system to test it on, but should work)

[jamesh]

This is almost certainly down to NOOBS.

However, I would check the new board with a new SD card and the latest OS installed with imager, just to make sure it is working OK.

[procount]

Now you can copy the fixup*.dat and start*.elf files to /mnt/noobsboot and that should fix it.
(untested as I don't have a NOOBS system to test it on, but should work)

Nearly! You would need to `cp start4.elf recovery4.elf` and `cp fixup4.dat fixup4rc.dat`

NOOBS is deprecated and is no longer being maintained. A better solution is to simply replace it with PINN which is compatible, maintained and has a few more features.

• Take a clone of your SD card so that you can work on this copy without risking any loss of data.
• Mount your SD card in a USB reader. You can work on this SD card under windows or on your Raspberry Pi. If working on your raspberry Pi, make sure you know which recovery partition is your clone, and which is your running SD card.
• Delete everything on your NOOBS recovery partition.
• copy pinn-lite.zip from https://sourceforge.net/projects/pinn/f ... p/download
• Unzip pinn-lite.zip to your empty RECOVERY partition.
• ( optional, but preferable: ) Edit recovery.cmdline and remove the `runinstaller` option.
• sync and eject your SD card, then try booting it in your Pi.
  (If you didn't delete the runinstaller option, PINN will prompt if you want to reformat your SD card which will lose all your OSes, so you should decline)

This procedure is also documented on the PINN wiki https://github.com/procount/pinn/wiki/U ... BS-to-PINN

PINN's interface is slightly different to NOOBS, but its general operation should be fairly familiar.

[GlynH]

Thanks for all the replies guys...I've not been ignoring this thread but I have been ignoring those two new Pi's so have nothing to contribute just yet!

Seems like I should;

1. Try a new install just to verify the new Pi's are working correctly- I believe they will as they are from two different official suppliers

2. If they are then using the script above update those same files in the NOOBS partition leaving NOOBS in place

3. Replace NOOBS with PINN hoping I don't find myself at this crossroads again in a couple of years if/when something else might upset the PINN

Just a thought...how easy/straightforward (or not) would it be to remove the NOOBS stuff altogether leaving just a Raspbian install on the existing SD Card - doable?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[davidcoton]

Just a thought...how easy/straightforward (or not) would it be to remove the NOOBS stuff altogether leaving just a Raspbian install on the existing SD Card - doable?

Easier to do a new RPiOS install than to try to remove NOOBS and leave its Raspbian.
You only need PINN if you want to have multiple different OS's on one card.
Otherwise, prepare a new card (or overwrite the existing one, if it is just a barefoot, out of date OS in NOOBS) using Raspberry Pi Imager on a PC of your choice (needs internet). Start here. Full instructions here.
Or, if you can get a wired internet-enabled network connection to your Pi, just boot with a new, empty SDCard and let the network installer do it all.
Note you do need to set up your username and password from the installer, and you can set up wireless access at the same time.

[GlynH]

Thanks for the suggestion David but as I explained in my first post this is a road I would prefer not to go down.

You see I have 6 Pi's all chugging along on the same image if you like; 5 with specific tasks and one as a 'bare Pi' acting as a hot spare but configured with all my setup, configuration, utilities, apps, remote access etc. all set up so when I get a new Pi all I have to do is clone its SD card, alter the IP address and change the Hostname which takes a minute or so, plug it in and away I go.

Then boot up my new pi on the network and configure it for whatever task I want it to do.

Not interested in multiple different OS's on one card. Just the one...configured as all the others.

It's always been so easy up to now but with Rev 1.5 it's all turned to dust. Who would have thought it?

I'll probably just halt my Pi expansion thus far, sell the two new Pi's and call it a day as I don't really have the time, inclination, knowledge or enthusiasm to start from scratch which is what I would be doing in reality and then end up having to install/setup/configure etc. and end up with different setups on different Pi's.

It was fun while it lasted...thanks everyone for your input & suggestions.

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

[procount]

Just a thought...how easy/straightforward (or not) would it be to remove the NOOBS stuff altogether leaving just a Raspbian install on the existing SD Card - doable?

Search for user RonR on this forum who has a script to deNOOBify an sdcard.

The main benefit of noobs/pinn is to multi-boot many OSes from the same sd card. If you only have 1 OS then it can be argued you are just adding complexity.

Personally I put PINN on nearly all my SD cards, even if there is only 1 OS, to provide remote management and backup/restore capabilities without having to keep removing the SD card.

In your case, replacing noobs with pinn will allow you to keep operating in the same way you did before.