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Matt Devo · 2019-05-27, 23:41

(2019-05-27, 23:25)bbsc Wrote: Hi, Matt.
Thank you for continuing to support chromebox fans.
I've bought one more Zako recently and installed your recent firmware at once.
The firmware is dated 01/04/2019.

My question is: Is it possible to downgrade the firmware to the one dated 08/27/2018?

The problem is that the Zako shuts down when trying to sleep. I'd even say it performs an unsafe shutdown when I try to wake it from S3 with a mouse, a keyboard or pressing the front button.
It happens under Libreelec and under Windows 10.
I have another Zako here with 08/27/2018 firmware and it runs just excellent.

Thank you in advance.

I just tested here on Tricky (Dell box, same firmware as Zako) and no issues with suspend/resume on the 2019/01/04 firmware and LE 9.0.0. I wouldn't suspect that there is a firmware problem. I don't maintain availability of older versions because doing so for the 60+ ChromeOS devices I support would be a logistical nightmare.

Did you test suspend/resume with a clean install of LE and nothing else configured?

bbsc · (This post was last modified: 2019-05-27, 23:52 by bbsc.)

(2019-05-27, 23:41)Matt Devo Wrote: Did you test suspend/resume with a clean install of LE and nothing else configured?

I use standalone UEFI config.
I've tested one motherboard, then another.
I've tested them both with the same SSD with Windows 10 clean installation.
I've also tested them both with the same SSD with Libreelec installation.
And yes, I used the same wireless card in all cases.

The motherboards differ by the firmware version and sleep/resume behavior.
Both motherboards work identically and excellent in all other cases.

So, firmware problem is my logical assumption.

bbsc · 2019-05-28, 06:12

Definitely, it can be some kind of hardware issue with one of the Zako motherboards.
But I can hardly imagine what kind of issue it should be to make the S3 mode broken and not to touch anything else...

I will be grateful for any advice.

Matt Devo · 2019-05-28, 06:17

(2019-05-28, 06:12)bbsc Wrote: Definitely, it can be some kind of hardware issue with one of the Zako motherboards.
But I can hardly imagine what kind of issue it should be to make the S3 mode broken and not to touch anything else...

I will be grateful for any advice.

well, S3 is suspend to RAM - a flakey module could cause issues here

bbsc · (This post was last modified: 2019-05-28, 07:33 by bbsc.)

(2019-05-28, 06:17)Matt Devo Wrote: well, S3 is suspend to RAM - a flakey module could cause issues here

Thanks, I'll test it carefully. The idea deservs consideration.
But I don't believe it is faulty because it withstood the complete Windows 10 installation, Office 2019 installation and full update procedure without any problem.

There's a good method to check if this is a firmware problem: I can update my second Zako to the latest UEFI firmware and see what happens.
The problem is that I badly need S3 mode on the second machine and don't want to take this risk.

Well, seems it's time to look where is my old good SPI programmer....

Matt Devo · 2019-05-28, 07:52

(2019-05-28, 07:33)bbsc Wrote:
(2019-05-28, 06:17)Matt Devo Wrote: well, S3 is suspend to RAM - a flakey module could cause issues here

Thanks, I'll test it carefully. The idea deservs consideration.
But I don't believe it is faulty because it withstood the complete Windows 10 installation, Office 2019 installation and full update procedure without any problem.

There's a good method to check if this is a firmware problem: I can update my second Zako to the latest UEFI firmware and see what happens.
The problem is that I badly need S3 mode on the second machine and don't want to take this risk.

Well, seems it's time to look where is my old good SPI programmer....

using an external programmer will erase the device's unique MAC address, so you don't Wan to do that. If there is some issue unique to Zako, I can provide a mechanism to downgrade while we troubleshoot. I just don't have anything readily available.

bbsc · (This post was last modified: 2019-05-28, 08:10 by bbsc.)

(2019-05-28, 07:52)Matt Devo Wrote: If there is some issue unique to Zako, I can provide a mechanism to downgrade while we troubleshoot. I just don't have anything readily available.

It would be great.
coreboot_tiano-zako-mrchromebox_20180827.rom is what I need to flash.
No colorful menus needed.
I think, I'll manage to download a few files and type a few commands.
And I do have an SPI programmer just for case Smile

My current MAC is 3C:A8:2A:A8:8F:31

bbsc · 2019-05-28, 08:30

Moreover, I think, I'll manage to do the job if you give me a working link to coreboot_tiano-zako-mrchromebox_20180827.rom

Matt Devo · 2019-05-28, 08:49

(2019-05-28, 08:30)bbsc Wrote: Moreover, I think, I'll manage to do the job if you give me a working link to coreboot_tiano-zako-mrchromebox_20180827.rom

no, I'll give you a proper way to flash it - just PM me tomorrow to remind me

bbsc · 2019-05-28, 09:02

(2019-05-28, 08:49)Matt Devo Wrote: no, I'll give you a proper way to flash it - just PM me tomorrow to remind me

Ok, thank you.

bbsc · (This post was last modified: 2019-05-28, 18:34 by bbsc.)

(2019-05-28, 08:49)Matt Devo Wrote: I'll give you a proper way to flash it - just PM me tomorrow to remind me

Thank you for your help, Matt.
To my sorrow, downgrading the UEFI firmware did not solve the problem.
You were right and I was wrong.

So, I have to look closer at my hardware....

wayover13 · 2019-05-29, 02:04

Got a lead on a CN60 Chromebox (currently with 2 GB RAM) for what looks like a decent price. Looking for something to run LibreELEC on--don't really care about ChromeOS or dual booting. Also, I want to do an upgrade over my Amlogic s802 (2 GB RAM) box. Is development for this model of Chromebox still underway? Can I expect this hardware to perform as well as or better than my Amlogic box? Can I expect upgrades of Kodi/LibreELEC to run on this box for a bit longer? Thanks

Matt Devo · 2019-05-29, 04:37

(2019-05-29, 02:04)wayover13 Wrote: Got a lead on a CN60 Chromebox (currently with 2 GB RAM) for what looks like a decent price. Looking for something to run LibreELEC on--don't really care about ChromeOS or dual booting. Also, I want to do an upgrade over my Amlogic s802 (2 GB RAM) box. Is development for this model of Chromebox still underway? Can I expect this hardware to perform as well as or better than my Amlogic box? Can I expect upgrades of Kodi/LibreELEC to run on this box for a bit longer? Thanks

The CN60 continues to receive custom firmware updates along with the rest of the devices I support. It runs the standard Generic-x86_64 build of LibreELEC, and will continue to do so without issue unless there's a major regression affecting older Intel hardware.

From a UI/CPU standpoint, it should blow away the S802. From a video decoding standpoint, it should be at least equal, maybe even a bit better (esp on upscaling, since it can do HQ scalers in hardware). If all you need is rock solid 1080p/h264 output and handling of heavy skins, the CN60 is still a solid choice for <$100

wayover13 · 2019-05-29, 05:44

Thanks for the feedback, Matt Devo. Found one locally listed for $40 but so far no response to my inquiry about the ad. Really need some sort of upgrade path since it looks like older Amlogic stuff like what I have is barely even supported anymore (have not managed to find any LibreELEC release for it so far). Hope I'll be able to score this one.

Matt Devo · 2019-05-29, 16:51

(2019-05-29, 05:44)wayover13 Wrote: Thanks for the feedback, Matt Devo. Found one locally listed for $40 but so far no response to my inquiry about the ad. Really need some sort of upgrade path since it looks like older Amlogic stuff like what I have is barely even supported anymore (have not managed to find any LibreELEC release for it so far). Hope I'll be able to score this one.

Due to Amlogic devices not being able to use a mainline kernel (and LE not wanting to deal with all the AML-specific crap), support for them was forked to the CoreELEC project. Running that on my N2 currently