Startup Issues


F

FoloF

Guest
Just got an open pandora today and Im already having issues.  There is no red charging light and it shuts off when I unplug it even after several hours on the charger.  It takes about 15 minutes just to start up..  uses booting kernel 3.2 ...  When it does boot it sends me straight into a DOS like format and has me sign in using barby name and password.  After I log in I get " barby:~$ " and nothing else.. how do I get it to run startup or enter into the minimenu..?  Help!
 
Ok, it looks like the battery is a little more than dead. (could happen if you leave the battery uncharged for a long period of time). Before buying a new battery, lets see if your Pandora works. It just could be that the previous owner just removed all the files required. So do not dispair yet.

Plug your Pandora back into the power. Most Pandoras can work like that. Wait a little until there is some charge in the battery. Note: A few models can even run without battery (just remember to NEVER remove or insert the battery when charging. It creates small creases in the time-space continuum... and also kills your battery pandora).

First try to reboot it (press and hold the pandora button, then flick the powerswitch, hold a second and release both). Immediately press right shoulderbutton. Keep that pressed while booting, but instead of booting, you should pop into the boot menu rather quickly. If you get there. Great, you need to create a "bootable" SD card with the new image on it.

Get this:

http://openpandora.org/firmware/fullflash/SuperZaxxon170RC.zip

and follow the instructions on http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17320-superzaxxon-v170rc-released/?hl=nand

Please note: Flashing the new firmware will put your unit back into a default state. All your settings and users will be lost. Of course, this does not apply to PNDs which save their stuff on the SD-Card.

To install it, simply extract the archive onto the root of your SD Card.
Insert the SD Card into the left slot. Keep R (shoulder) pressed while switching on your Pandora and select "Boot from SD1"
It will then flash the firmware onto the NAND. After it's finished, reboot your Pandora and patiently wait until the First Boot Wizard appears on the screen.

If "Boot from SD1" doesn't appear, try to reformat the SD Card using Panasonic SD Formatter, recopy the files and retry.

Please let us know any issues you encounter.
 
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Listen to Fbnil. A full reflash is the way to go to start fresh with your new unit. My charging light turns off after the battery is full, so that may be what you are experiencing as well. It will be easier to diagnose once you have the standard OS up and running and can install the system info pnd to track your battery usage.
 
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I should note I oredered this brand new from the germany pandora people..  It started up fine the first time then after a few hours of charging I made the mistake of unplugging it after which it shut off immediately.  I tried switching the battery to the other one that came with it but that one wouldnt even work while plugged in.. since i got it started again Ive been having the problem with startup taking forever and not loading.  Also, just while im asking questions... whats with the signed motherboard thing that came with it? 
 
Hmm, if it shut down immediately after unplugging, then the battery didn't have any contact...

Did you put in the battery BEFORE connecting the charger to it?

Could be an issue.

Also, if it doesn't work with the other one while it's plugged in: That sounds like the battery is empty.

Insert it, connect it to AC and wait for about 30 minutes.

It should magically turn itself on again then.

Then, reinstall the firmware as described above - seems like the sudden power loss has caused an issue here.
 
 I reinstalled the firmware and it seems to be working again.. !!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!  I will charge the batteries overnight and hope that everything will be functional tomorrow. 
 
Also, just while im asking questions... whats with the signed motherboard thing that came with it? 
It sounds like you picked up the megapack, which comes with extra goodies.  When you order just the Pandora it comes with a battery, charger and stylus.  Megapack also includes:

* Official Carry Case
* TV Out Cable
* Replacement battery (2009)
* 2x XStylus
* Fully populated (except for the nubs), but broken PCB, signed by EvilDragon (collectors item)
* Fast 32GB SDHC Class 10 card (EMTEC)
 
Ah.. it was new. Just use some plastic foam or crumbled paper to wedge the battery into place. It should survive a bump now (without rebooting).
 
I bent the prongs up just a bit and it was able to finally connect with the battery and charge properly.  So the motherboard thing is a non functional collectors piece?  Okay, yes, I will put it up for safe keeping.  Thanks for the info, I was worried it was something I needed to install.  This was a gift and I have no clue what Im doing.  Any recommendations for programs to install?  I tried downloading the firefox browser for linux but it wouldnt let me install it.  What version should I get?  Emulators?  And all of that stuff I put on the memory card with my regular computer and then put in the pandora right?
 
You want to check out the stuff on the repo.  I can't remember what is on a brand new Pandora, but you will probably want to use PNDManager (it is under "Settings" in the menu when using Xfce).  Hopefully someone will be along to get you to that point if it isn't there by default.  Once you have that you just turn on wifi (in the vicinity of a wireless network you have access to) and start PNDManager and you can see what is new and recently updated, browse categories, do a search for something specific, etc.  Here is the repo if you want to take a look.  This list might also help you get started, and I found these tips useful when I first got my Pandora (pictures are dead), even though I hadn't reflashed.  You might find Ekianjo's other articles on PandoraLive useful. 

Make sure to read the information before installing things.  It will usually tell you if you need something else to get it to run (such as having another program installed, or files from a commercial copy of the game on the SD card), and it might give the controls, which can be important when you are trying to exit a game.  When you swing by the repo make sure to rate things you have tried out, and leave meaningful comments when you can.  You can set up PNDManager to allow you to do these things.
 
As rygD says, you'll want to use PNDManager, it's really a good way of finding and installing new stuff, but is unfortunately not installed by default.

On your SD card, create a folder called "Pandora", and in that create a folder called "menu".

Download this file (the big blue download button) and copy the pndmanager.pnd file to the Pandora/menu folder on your SD card. Then insert your SD card and you should find the PNDManager in the XFCE main menu. Run that and everything else will be (mostly) easy from then on.
 
After a few weeks of use we decided that the pandora is just too far beyond our knowledge and understanding to ever be easy to use.  I am afraid we have opted to sell it.  I am sure it is a wonderful thing for those out there who know what they are doing but for a mom who can barely opereate her laptop and an 11 year old with higher ambitions than patience when it comes to computers and video games; I think it is best if we say goodbye for now.  Thank you to everyone in the forums as you all have been a huge help in figuring this contraption out.
 
If you wouldn't mind would you be willing to talk about your expectations and experiences? Maybe you can help make the next system better.
 
To be honest I love the idea of the pandora and it certainly worked just fine once I got some pointers from the wonderful people in this forum.  I cannot say enough how great the communication was and no one made me feel stupid for asking what were probably simple basic questions!  I knew nothing about it other than my son had been asking for one for two years thanks to all the great reviews and conversations he had come across online.  He was shocked when he finally received one.  My son is definitely far above and beyond when it comes to his knowledge and understanding of all things technological and video games.  He utilizes all of the online resources to do research before asking for something.  So when he requested a pandora I knew it had to be something special.  I am pretty sure the main hindrance for us in using it is that neither of us have ever used Linux and its certainly different than what we a used to.  It also is not quite as plug and play as all his other systems.  If I had the time to actually figure it out and get used to it as a completely blank mind in this area I am sure that eventually we would have been able to fully utilize all of its functions.  I think I am just too inept and he is just a bit too young.  I would fully recommend the pandora and don't have anything bad to say about it.  It just wasn't right for us at this particular moment in time.  I have already promised to get my son another one in two or three years after he gets some practice in Linux and all the programs he was wanting use.
 
I will have my son write up his thoughts in bit as he used it more than I.  Just keep in mind he is an incredibly critical 11 year old with a very unique mindset.
 
From Aden ( 11 years old )

in my opinion its too confusing to get things like emulators to work and some games don't even seem to work from what i remember and i didn't even know how to turn it off it kept turning on after it said it shut off plus with the emulators i had it they didn't even show the roms and with a sega gensis emulator i tried upon attempting to load up a rom it just showed a black screen i had to "turn off" to get rid of every time i tried it and they were from the website and eventually i just gave up and when we got it it took forever to get it to work and it kept going into a dos-like boot up screen and with a game i tried cave story to be specific it sometimes crashed then again that one may have been my fault seeing as i got 2 versions and one worked fine the other when i tried to leave the first cave when i got the polar star it crashed i like the idea of playing an emulator on the go and the battery life is incredible and this is good for those who can get past how complicated somethings are.
 
From Aden ( 11 years old )

in my opinion its too confusing to get things like emulators to work and some games don't even seem to work from what i remember and i didn't even know how to turn it off it kept turning on after it said it shut off plus with the emulators i had it they didn't even show the roms and with a sega gensis emulator i tried upon attempting to load up a rom it just showed a black screen i had to "turn off" to get rid of every time i tried it and they were from the website and eventually i just gave up and when we got it it took forever to get it to work and it kept going into a dos-like boot up screen and with a game i tried cave story to be specific it sometimes crashed then again that one may have been my fault seeing as i got 2 versions and one worked fine the other when i tried to leave the first cave when i got the polar star it crashed i like the idea of playing an emulator on the go and the battery life is incredible and this is good for those who can get past how complicated somethings are.
Why give up at this point ? If you already came that far in using emulators, you already have overcome most of the big hurdles. If you want to try it again (which I recommend - (wo)man grow by completing tasks) there is a whole lot of brain around here that won't make fun of you, even you if ask question, you may think are silly (and maybe even I can do my part too) - just ask them.
 
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