RoboRIO 2 stuck in unrecoverable error

[green-reapers-jared]

Hello,

Last year my team acquired a new RoboRIO 2.0 and used it as we built our robot and up until our first competition. About half way through this competition our robot code dropped mid match. Upon returning to the pit, we discovered that the RoboRIO 2.0 status light showed an unrecoverable error.

After a couple reboots and not getting a connection we grabbed a CSA. This CSA ended out spending several hours with us attempting to debug the RoboRIO 2.0 and get it working again. Eventually we gave up and he recommended that we reach out to NI to request a repair/replacement. I don't see any sort of form or contact to get a replacement, so I am posting here 🙂

I don't know every exact thing the CSA tried when debugging the RoboRIO. I know we did all of the following at the competition (and I repeated these things this evening before writing this post):

- Inspected the RIO for metal shavings etc. The RIO looks perfectly clean.

- Disconnect all other components from the RIO. I currently have the RIO only connected to power.

- Reimage the SD card. We tried this many times using Etcher. The RoboRIO Imaging Tool does not currently recognize the RIO when connected via USB or ethernet, so we have not been able to set the team number on new images. The status light has never cleared.

- Tried connect from many different computers.

- Boot into safe mode. When I boot into safe mode the unrecoverable status light blinks happen, when a pulse of three blinks is expected. Regardless of the status lights, I have not been able to connect to the RIO in any way.

I currently have the RIO connected to a "power distribution panel" but at the competition it was connected to the "power distribution hub". We ended out switching to an older RIO 1.0 and used it without problem for the remainder of the competition and two more after that.

We did have a NavX connected to the RIO at the competition, I do not have the NavX connected now. We moved that NavX to the replacement RIO 1.0. without issue.

I am hoping to get the Driver Station logs from the laptop we used at the competition tomorrow. If they still exist I will attach them to this thread.

If there is anything else I can or should try here, please direct me. Thank you.

[mshafer]

Thanks for posting - these forums is how we are currently providing support for teams.

Couple of questions for you, does it currently turn on/connect? (what if you go ahead and reimage the card again?)

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We did have a NavX connected to the RIO at the competition, I do not have the NavX connected now. We moved that NavX to the replacement RIO 1.0. without issue.

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In the past (with the RIO 1), console out has to be disabled for the rio to properly boot with the NavX connected because communications can start early and cause errors with the boot; however, I don't know if this is an option with the RIO 2, and since you say it is not connected, it may be unrelated....

[green-reapers-jared]

Hi, thank you for the quick response!

> does it currently turn on/connect?

The RIO turns on and to be specific, I mean when power is applied:

1. The green power light comes on and stays solid.

2. The status light starts solid orange and then begins blinking (unrecoverable error code).

3. No other lights flash or turn on during this process.

As far as connecting, I have been unable to connect to it. What I mean by this is:

- None of the FRC tools (Visual Studio, Driver Station, RoboRio imager) detect it

- I cannot connect to the IP address via a web browser. Regarding this point, because I am not able to detect the RIO with the imaging tool, I cannot set the team number when freshly imaged. So I'm not sure what the IP address would be. Is there a default IP or some other way I could connect to it or set the team number?

- My PC does not appear to detect it as a generic device, though I am not a Windows expert, is there something I should be looking for on the Windows side of things?

Note that I have tried this both connecting directly with an ethernet cable and USB cable. I do not currently have an FRC Radio in between the ethernet cable and computer. When using the ethernet cable I have turned off all other network adapters.

> what if you go ahead and reimage the card again?

I have done this just now and many times before with the same result as described in the original post.

To clarify, I have "FRC_roboRIO2_2022_v4.0.img" and I use Balena Etcher to flash the SD card. Is there some other process I should be doing here? Or perhaps there is a newer version of the image I have been unable to find?

Thank you!

[mshafer · Accepted solution]

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To clarify, I have "FRC_roboRIO2_2022_v4.0.img" and I use Balena Etcher to flash the SD card. Is there some other process I should be doing here? Or perhaps there is a newer version of the image I have been unable to find?

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Hmmm, that sounds correct. I'm going to send you a direct message to get the RMA process started.