XBian stalls on initial boot

[James Dean]

I just got my Pi and wanted to try Xbian.

Software
XBian version: XBian 1.0 Beta 1 AND XBian 1.0 Beta 1.1
XBMC version: Whatever the default is for those packages
Overclock settings: None

Hardware
Power supply rating: Where do I find this?
RPi model (model A/B 256mb/512mb): B
SD card size and make/type: 2GB PNY SD-M02G
Network (wireless or LAN): disconnected
Connected devices (TV, USB, network storage, etc.): HDMI display (have also tested with and without USB 802.11n)

Logile
Link to logfile(s):

Problem description: XBian will not finish booting after install using the provided XBian installer. After installing a screen with the XBian logo appears and shows a progress indicator bar for 'init process...' which completes and then a progress indicator bar appears for 'loading...' which appears to complete, but the display stalls at that point

How to reproduce: Use the XBian installer to image the card. Insert the card into the Pi and wait for hours.

[IriDium]

1) Which version of xbian installer are you using.
2) Try downloading the image (Or extract from the installer folder) and writing with win32diskimager instead.
3) Have you tried rebooting the system, sometime this works.

[James Dean]

(20th Oct, 2013 01:06 AM)IriDium Wrote:  1) Which version of xbian installer are you using.
2) Try downloading the image (Or extract from the installer folder) and writing with win32diskimager instead.
3) Have you tried rebooting the system, sometime this works.

1) Version 0.2 by Koenkk Made possible by Rasplex!
2) I am using a Mac so I suppose I could try to dd the image over, or just use win32diskimager in a vm.
3) I have tried rebooting the system several times.

I also found another PNY sd card model SD-K16G (16GB) and tried that with exactly the same results.

Does this image require internet connectivity to boot?

[IriDium]

I've checked the SD cards RPi_SD_cards and there are no reported issues. But that doesn't mean the card is not at fault.

I'd also check your SD card reader - it's not uncommon, for the cheaper ones to be at fault.

Can you beg/borrow/steal/obtain another non PNY card (Pref class 4) and try that. I'm not au fait with PNY so I cannot comment how reliable they are. (I use Verbatum or Kingston without issues).

Also it seems from the forum, that micro SD cards, seem to be reliable that full size SD cards - go figure?

I cannot reproduce the error as I'm running an old tabby cat (10.4) and the Mac installer doesn't work on my OSX.

I'd stay clear of VM for writting a SD card as it writes at a low level which may not be supported - but I guess you can try!!!

Can't you get hold of a Windoze machine just to write the image?

Give the DD image a go, that should work at least.

The installer is standalone, so no network is required - for the installation at least.

Report back and we'll try and rectify the issue.

[James Dean]

I picked up an 8GB class 4 SanDisk card and tried that using the XBian Installer on Mac. It really looked like I was going to get the same result, but I let it sit on that screen for 2.5 hours and then it finally moved on to "starting xbmc..." It never actually started after that, but the next time I plugged it in XBMC booted in less than 60 sec.

Is it normal for initial boot to take that long? Is there just some network/DHCP timeout that I need to disable/etc?

I was trying to set up networking using CEC, but my son inadvertently hit the power switch and that corrupted the whole boot system and now I am starting over with the hours of waiting.

Is this the thing that is taking so much time?

Quote:Yes. On the first boot, XBian will expand the partition so it will use the full amount of space available on the device.

-http://www.xbian.org/faqs/

[IriDium]

Xbian should not THAT long to expand the SD card - I've never used the Mac installer, so maybe that is at fault? Did you try the DD method? I know that sometimes Beta 1.1 will stall on the first boot, but a reboot usually solves the problem.

I would reflash the SD card, boot the RPi and wait 5 minutes, if nothing happens, power off the RPi and then power back on. Xbian should then boot normally. To check the SD card has been resized, ssh into it, and do "df -h" the root ie "/" should be around 7.2G. If not, sudo xbian-config 2) Settings -> 1) System -> 7) Resize SD (Numbers maybe different as I'm on Beta 1.2)

That should work :-)

[CurlyMo]

Just a small notice to @IriDium. The new version will be Beta 2, not Beta 1.2