2014-08-12, 18:22
Hi,
I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm somewhat experienced with modifying/customizing devices and firmwares (most of my experience is with Android), but I'm relatively new to Linux, and definitely out of my league with this. I'll try my best to explain in detail, and please let me know if I'm missing anything. I'm using the Asus Chromebox (M075U), upgraded to 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD.
The goal was to create an everyday use Linux desktop, to replace my aging Windows laptop. I started by putting my chromebox in developer mode and running the EZ-setup script to partition my SSD. After partitioning, I tried booting a USB drive loaded with Elementary OS 0.2 (Luna). When that didn't work, I rebooted into ChromeOS, re-ran the script, and chose "Update Legacy BIOS." I tried booting the USB stick again, still no luck. I setup a second USB stick with Elementary, and it wouldn't boot either. I then removed the firmware write-protect screw, flashed the coreboot firmware from the EZ-setup script, and was finally able to boot my USB stick and install Elementary OS (since Chrome OS wasn't an option after flashing the firmware, I chose to give Elementary the entire SSD for installation).
I had Elementary OS all setup and running great, no issues whatsoever. Last night however, I started having problems resuming my Elementary session from suspend (I hadn't had any issues with suspend/wake for several days prior). When I pushed the Chromebox's power button, the light above it came on like normal, but I had no display whatsoever (My monitor, an ASUS VS 248, reported "No HDMI" input). I tried unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable from both the Chromebox and the monitor, no luck. I tried unplugging and replugging the monitor AC adapter, still nothing (the indicator light on the Chromebox remained on through all of this). I then tried holding down the power button on the Chromebox until it powered off. When I tried to restart it, the indicator light and the fan both came on, but still no display. I verified it wasn't just on and displaying an all black screen. The monitor briefly flashes "No HDMI input," and then goes back to standby. I tried two other HDMI monitors, same behavior. I also tried running an HDMI cable out of my Chromebox, into an HDMI - VGA adapter, and into the VGA port on two different monitors, and still the exact same behavior. I've tried just powering the Chromebox on, and hitting ESC and 2 to boot into my Elementary USB install stick (unchanged from the original installation), and still had no response from the display. Finally, I read that the 7/29 EZ-script update contained a fix for coreboot which forces the display to initiate (I'm not positive on the date, but I'm pretty sure I initially ran the script after 7/29). It sounded like my problem was related to that, so I went ahead and created a Chromium USB drive (using Win32 Diskimage on my Windows Vista laptop) to try and rerun the script or, if necessary, restore my stock firmware. When I power on the Chromebox, I'm immediately hitting ESC, followed by 2, but I still have the exact same display problem. Monitor says no input, goes into standby, and the Chromebox, from what I can tell, remains powered on (indicator light+fan are on).
I just don't know what else to do. I've tried different keyboards (wired+wireless) monitors, inputs, cables, and USB drives, all with zero results. From what I've read, the Chromebox is supposed to be nearly un-brickable, so I'm trying to stay optimistic. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading all of this, and apologies for being a little long-winded.
I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm somewhat experienced with modifying/customizing devices and firmwares (most of my experience is with Android), but I'm relatively new to Linux, and definitely out of my league with this. I'll try my best to explain in detail, and please let me know if I'm missing anything. I'm using the Asus Chromebox (M075U), upgraded to 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD.
The goal was to create an everyday use Linux desktop, to replace my aging Windows laptop. I started by putting my chromebox in developer mode and running the EZ-setup script to partition my SSD. After partitioning, I tried booting a USB drive loaded with Elementary OS 0.2 (Luna). When that didn't work, I rebooted into ChromeOS, re-ran the script, and chose "Update Legacy BIOS." I tried booting the USB stick again, still no luck. I setup a second USB stick with Elementary, and it wouldn't boot either. I then removed the firmware write-protect screw, flashed the coreboot firmware from the EZ-setup script, and was finally able to boot my USB stick and install Elementary OS (since Chrome OS wasn't an option after flashing the firmware, I chose to give Elementary the entire SSD for installation).
I had Elementary OS all setup and running great, no issues whatsoever. Last night however, I started having problems resuming my Elementary session from suspend (I hadn't had any issues with suspend/wake for several days prior). When I pushed the Chromebox's power button, the light above it came on like normal, but I had no display whatsoever (My monitor, an ASUS VS 248, reported "No HDMI" input). I tried unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable from both the Chromebox and the monitor, no luck. I tried unplugging and replugging the monitor AC adapter, still nothing (the indicator light on the Chromebox remained on through all of this). I then tried holding down the power button on the Chromebox until it powered off. When I tried to restart it, the indicator light and the fan both came on, but still no display. I verified it wasn't just on and displaying an all black screen. The monitor briefly flashes "No HDMI input," and then goes back to standby. I tried two other HDMI monitors, same behavior. I also tried running an HDMI cable out of my Chromebox, into an HDMI - VGA adapter, and into the VGA port on two different monitors, and still the exact same behavior. I've tried just powering the Chromebox on, and hitting ESC and 2 to boot into my Elementary USB install stick (unchanged from the original installation), and still had no response from the display. Finally, I read that the 7/29 EZ-script update contained a fix for coreboot which forces the display to initiate (I'm not positive on the date, but I'm pretty sure I initially ran the script after 7/29). It sounded like my problem was related to that, so I went ahead and created a Chromium USB drive (using Win32 Diskimage on my Windows Vista laptop) to try and rerun the script or, if necessary, restore my stock firmware. When I power on the Chromebox, I'm immediately hitting ESC, followed by 2, but I still have the exact same display problem. Monitor says no input, goes into standby, and the Chromebox, from what I can tell, remains powered on (indicator light+fan are on).
I just don't know what else to do. I've tried different keyboards (wired+wireless) monitors, inputs, cables, and USB drives, all with zero results. From what I've read, the Chromebox is supposed to be nearly un-brickable, so I'm trying to stay optimistic. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading all of this, and apologies for being a little long-winded.
