hdimage error with ab partition sizes

[jlittle529]

./rpi-image-gen build -c ./config/bookworm-minbase-ab.yaml

This fails to build with hdimage errors. If remove boot_part_size and system_part_size from config or use defaults of 100%, build completes successfully.

[learmj]

Hi @jlittle529
Issues like this require information about your build environment, eg native, container, emulated, etc and ought to be backed up by some kind of log file showing your build output.

What do you mean hdimage errors? You mean genimage reports errors regarding the hdimage it's creating?
What version of genimage do you have installed?

It builds fine for me on my Pi5 running Raspberry Pi OS.

[jlittle529]

Hi @learmj
Thanks for the direction to look at the build environment. I was following the quick start instructions natively on a Pi4 running Raspberry Pi OS. My genimage --version was 16.

I've since reinstalled the Raspberry Pi OS on the Pi4 and it's now working successfully.

However, I'm now running into an issue with the generated ab image. I've modified the config to change IGconf_device_layer=rpi4. The resultant image boots as expected from an sd card, but fails when booting from a USB drive. Is this expected?

[learmj]

It depends how you've written it to the USB device. If it was written intact and correctly it should boot. If you can post uart output from the pi4 we can see what the boot code is doing, eg probed vfat partition, loaded blobs, etc.

What do you mean by doesn't boot? Does the kernel start? Do you get uart output from Linux or are you looking at a display? What are you using to write your image?
Details help us diagnose.

[jlittle529]

I'm using Raspberry Pi Imager to write the image. Here is the uart output when attempting to boot from the USB SSD:

  7.04 [MSD [02:00] 3.00 000000:02] pieeprom.upd not found
  7.04 [MSD [02:00] 3.00 000000:02] recover4.elf not found
  7.04 [MSD [02:00] 3.00 000000:02] recovery.elf not found
  7.39 Read start4.elf bytes  2263968 hnd 0x314c
  7.42 Read fixup4.dat bytes     5456 hnd 0x254
  7.44 0x00c03115 0x00000000 0x00001fff
  7.48 MEM GPU: 76 ARM: 947 TOTAL: 1023
  7.38 Starting start4.elf @ 0xfeb00200 partition 2
  7.37 +

MESS:00:00:07.386749:0: USB boot mode 2
MESS:00:00:07.421923:0: HDMI0:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:07.426432:0: HDMI0:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:07.443580:0: HDMI1:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:07.448083:0: HDMI1:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:07.944908:0: gpioman: gpioman_get_pin_num: pin DISPLAY_DSI_PORT not defined
MESS:00:00:07.950464:0: gpioman: gpioman_get_pin_num: pin DISPLAY_DSI_PORT not defined
MESS:00:00:07.959497:0: *** Restart logging
MESS:00:00:07.966366:0: hdmi: HDMI0:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:07.971389:0: hdmi: HDMI0:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:07.982013:0: hdmi: HDMI0:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:07.987043:0: hdmi: HDMI0:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:07.992641:0: hdmi: HDMI:hdmi_get_state is deprecated, use hdmi_get_display_state instead
MESS:00:00:08.006432:0: hdmi: HDMI1:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:08.011463:0: hdmi: HDMI1:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:08.022084:0: hdmi: HDMI1:EDID error reading EDID block 0 attempt 0
MESS:00:00:08.027107:0: hdmi: HDMI1:EDID giving up on reading EDID block 0
MESS:00:00:08.032704:0: hdmi: HDMI:hdmi_get_state is deprecated, use hdmi_get_display_state instead
MESS:00:00:08.041469:0: HDMI0: hdmi_pixel_encoding: 300000000
MESS:00:00:08.046942:0: HDMI1: hdmi_pixel_encoding: 300000000
MESS:00:00:08.062465:0: dtb_file 'bcm2711-rpi-4-b.dtb'
MESS:00:00:08.064520:0: dtb_file 'bcm2711-rpi-4-b.dtb'
MESS:00:00:08.069382:0: dterror: Failed to load Device Tree file '?'
MESS:00:00:08.075460:0: Failed to open command line file 'cmdline.txt'
MESS:00:00:08.081926:0: No compatible kernel found

[learmj]

start.elf hasn't been able to read anything from the storage device. Looks like a problem with the storage device or how the image was written to the storage device, rather than a problem with the image itself, particularly since you reported the same image boots from an SD card.

[jlittle529]

I do not believe it to be an issue with the storage device. The reason being that I can reproduce the issue using the same sd card with the same image that boots when inserted into the sd card slot, but when inserted in a sd card to usb adapter. The sd card fails to boot with the same uart logs when plugged into a usb port. Would this point to the image not being written correctly by rpi-imager ?

[learmj]

If you use Raspberry Pi Imager to write a fresh new official Raspberry Pi OS image to the SD card, then use that SD card with your SD card to USB adapter, does it boot on the same Pi? If it doesn't, I'd say the problem is with the storage device adapter or maybe your Pi not having new enough firmware to boot from USB.

If you insert your SD card + USB adapter into a linux PC, can you see the (SD card) block devices and can you kpartx the image, mount and examine the filesystems on there?

[jlittle529]

Yes, I used Raspberry Pi Imager to write a new Raspberry Pi OS Lite image to the SD card, then was able to boot successfully in both the SD card slot as well as using the USB adapter.

When I insert the SD card + USB adapter into another RPi4 running Raspberry Pi OS, the partitions mount successfully and I can examine the filesystems.

[learmj]

When I insert the SD card + USB adapter into another RPi4 running Raspberry Pi OS, the partitions mount successfully and I can examine the filesystems.

You don't say if this is the RPiOS image you wrote to the card with Imager, or the AB image your created and wrote to the card with Imager.

Can you build an image created with -c ./config/bookworm-minbase.yaml rather than the AB variant, write it to a card and boot it via USB?

[learmj]

Please make sure your start.elf is up to date. The AB image has GPT whereas RPiOS uses MBR. I suspect the problem here is that your bootloader stuff is too old.

[jlittle529]

You don't say if this is the RPiOS image you wrote to the card with Imager, or the AB image your created and wrote to the card with Imager.

This is true for either image.

Can you build an image created with -c ./config/bookworm-minbase.yaml rather than the AB variant, write it to a card and boot it via USB?

Yes, the non-AB variant boots successfully from both the SD card slot and USB.

[learmj]

I think you have old firmware on your pi4.

[jlittle529]

sudo rpi-eeprom-update -a

This tells me my bootloader is up to date running the latest version. I had previously used the Raspberry Pi Imager tool to update the Bootloader EEPROM configuration to the release dated 2025-05-8, and am still experiencing the issue.

Are you able to reproduce the issue on a RPi4?

[learmj]

Yes I can. I'll discuss and get back to you.

[timg236]

I think would be best to use MBR here. Although I believe other prople use GPT on USB with all the boot partitions at the start of the disk and not interleaved with ext4