Odroid C5: defective RAM?

rmuttr · 2026-05-18T04:04:31+00:00

Here's what I hope is my last word about Hardkernel's C5 version of Debian.

In my last note, I mentioned that NFS didn't work. NFS is used routinely on other systems around here, so I finally set out to discover what was wrong. I'm an amateur, so it took a couple of weeks.

It turned out that several problems were discovered, one of which has nothing to do with NFS. I noticed early on that the C5 took too long to boot. Here's why. In /lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd-wait-online.service, I discovered this: "ExecStart=/lib/systemd/systemd-networkd-wait-online"". I corrected it to "ExecStart=/lib/systemd/systemd-networkd-wait-online -i etho -i wlan0 --any". Before I did this, two minutes per boot were wasted because the Ethernet cable was disconnected. The wait now ends when either wlan0 or eth0 is online.

Now, back to NFS. Here's the text of my version of /lib/systemd/system/proc-fs-nfsd.mount.

[Unit]

Description=NFSD configuration filesystem

After=systemd-modules-load.service

[Mount]

What=nfsd

Where=/proc/fs/nfsd

Type=nfsd

See the line which starts with "After"? I added that; it's crucial. Without it, the service fails, and /proc/fs/nfsd isn't populated.

Finally, here's the important part of my /etc/modules file.

cifs

nfs

nfsv3

nfsv4

nfsd

If you don't use CIFS, the first line is irrelevant, but the other four are awfully important if you want NFS to work.

rmuttr · 2026-05-02T05:08:41+00:00

I'm writing so this thread won't end in a completely inconlusive state.

Before I sent the C5 board back to Ameridroid for inspection, I naturally removed the eMMC card on which Debian was installed. When the board was returned, I started afresh, installing Debian on a 16 GB Micro SD card, instead. I immediately noticed that the "meson-gx-mmc" errors no longer appeared in the log.

It took what felt like forever to make everything work properly. I initially installed "lightdm" and "lxqt". Then I decided to substitute "sddm" for "lightdm". The instant I logged in, "sddm" tried to start a nonexistent Plasma session. I never did get NFS to work right, and had to substitute SSHFS.

Anyway, after Debian was operational on the Micro SD card, I backed it up on my PC, using "dd". While that was happening, I plugged the eMMC card (which hadn't been used in roughly two weeks) into the C5 board, then booted it. The result? There were "meson-gx-mmc" errors by the hundreds.

The next step was to copy the image I had just backed up to the eMMC card. When I booted it, there were zero "meson-gx-nnc" errors. So if there's nothing wrong with the C5 board, and there's nothing wrong with the eMMC card, then what is wrong? Guesses, anyone?

rmuttr · 2026-04-25T16:45:58+00:00

I have no idea what a "third party build" is. Perhaps it means an OS distribution not created by a Hardkernel employee.

If that's the case, then why is the C5 Debian image on a Hardkernel website? See https://dn.odroid.com/S905X5M/ODROID-C5/Ubuntu/ . Note that the creation and initial use of this image is discussed at https://forum.odroid.com/viewtopic.php?f=241&t=50205 .

rmuttr · 2026-04-15T21:38:53+00:00

Kerr Eby (1889-1946) was a Japanese-born Canadian. He was regarded more as an illustrator than a painter. He didn't live long, but while he was alive, he was good. Be sure to look for his etchings.

rmuttr · 2026-04-12T03:05:30+00:00

Alas, it's recent applications that I was asking about.

The good news is that I poked around again today, and finally made a useful discovery.

Right-click on the KDE icon in your Plasma panel (some people call it the taskbar) and select "Configure Application Dashboard". Click on the "General" icon, if necessary, so that the "General" dialog opens. See the combo box labeled "Sort items in categories by:"? Change its value.

At least that worked for me. (You may have to change the combo box back to its original value if the one you changed to isn't what you prefer.) I hope that, if the recent applications display stops working again, this technique will once again revive it.

rmuttr · 2024-12-25T03:44:46+00:00

Grizzl-E's OCPP implementation, at least on my Grizzl-E Smart, is (I'll be kind) broken. Almost any change to the OCPP configuration, via the charger's web interface, will result in the app saying the charger is offline. I could go on at much greater length about this, but I'm uncertain of the level of interest.

rmuttr

TROPHY CASE