CI20 Troubleshooting

This page aims to help you resolve comon problems you might have while setting up your MIPS Creator CI20 development board. If you need further help, please ask.

If you are new to the CI20, take a look at the Beginners Guide for some tips about getting started.

My CI20 doesn't work with my HDMI screen

 * 1) Ensure the screen is plugged in before powering up the CI20, and give it plenty of time to boot.
 * 2) Check whether your screen supports a resolution of 1920x1080p at 60Hz (it may even tell you the resolution is unsupported). See below if not.
 * 3) Ensure the boot selector jumper is set to boot from NAND (Pins 1 and 2 connected) (Unless you know what you are doing and booting from SD/NFS).
 * 4) Avoid using a passive HDMI->VGA adapter or HDMI->DVI. Get an active one such as this one instead.

The default factory image uses a Linux v3.0.8 kernel with the 1080p@60Hz display mode configured into the kernel. It is possible to rebuild the kernel and configure it to use a different display mode.

The newer Linux v3.18 DRM driver for the HDMI hardware fixes this issue properly and uses the EDID provided by the screen to decide which display mode to use (see the upstream status page). This is the default behaviour as of release: Debian 8 2015-09-09 Beta

To get connected to your CI20 without a screen, see CI20 Headless Setup.

I think I 'bricked' my CI20 - do I need to return it?
No, you should not have to return the CI20 if you suspect you have only corrupted the software. The CI20 can always be un-bricked by booting from the SDcard, and in particular by booting the image that re-burns the factory default Debian7 to the NAND flash. That image, along with instructions, is available from the downloads page.

You should try this procedure first, and if it fails, provide the logs from the burning and boot process along with your 'RMA request'.

I am pretty sure the board is busted. Now what?
RMA authorization requires that the CI20 community have a go at troubleshooting the board on the mailing list CI20_Dev_Zone.

Start a new thread and put as much detail as possible. e.g.

What revision is the board (e.g Revision A green / Revision B purple / Revision 2 purple) CI20_Hardware What power supply were you using? (e.g. Smartphone charger, USB Adapter) What is the ambient room temperature? (Rough estimate) What were you doing when it died? Have you tried reflashing the NAND? Which image/OS? Have you tried booting from SD card? Plus any more relevant information.

Definitely an RMA after community troubleshooting
RMA requests are sent to Sales.Support@imgtec.com

Make sure you send a link to your forum post with the request.