Vero 4K+ with Kodi 19 won't boot if a particular usb drive is present on the usb hub

Help and Support
29

I’m still having this problem, I’m marking this thread as unsolved.
After experiencing the random dimming problem as described here (let’s see if the “limited range colors” option helps, as suggested here), my family rebooted the Vero and it stuck on the PleaseStandBy screen. Unplugging the disk, rebooting by hand (replugging the power cord), and replugging the disk during the light blue screen made it work again.

Today I’ve swapped and changed usb3 cables, tried with or without usb hub, I’ve tried other usb hubs (usb2, powered and unpowered), only with this disk connected (directly to a usb port on the Vero), this disk has still the same problem. I’ve also updated the Vero4k+ (stable branch), now dpkg -l shows

$ dpkg -l | grep vero3
ii  vero3-bootloader-osmc                1.7.0-1                             armhf        Vero 4K/4K+ UBoot package
ii  vero3-device-osmc                    1.5.0                               armhf        Vero 3 metapackage
ii  vero3-earlysplash-osmc               1.0.4                               armhf        Vero3 logo partition
ii  vero3-ftr-osmc                       1.5.9                               armhf        First-time-run scripts for OSMC
ii  vero3-fwenv-osmc                     2016.01-4                           armhf        firmware tools for OSMC
ii  vero3-libcec-osmc                    6.0.2-3                             armhf        libcec
ii  vero3-mediacenter-osmc               19.1.0-18                           armhf        Media Center package for OSMC
ii  vero3-secureosmc-osmc                1.3.0-1                             armhf        Vero 3 secureOSMC integration package
ii  vero3-userland-osmc                  1.9.5                               armhf        Vero 3 userland package
ii  vero3-wifi-osmc                      1.5.0-1                             armhf        Broadcom patchram implementation for Vero
ii  vero364-image-4.9.113-48-osmc:arm64  4.9.113-48-osmc                     arm64        Linux OSMC kernel
ii  vero364-kernel-osmc:arm64            3.9.213                             arm64        Kernel meta package bringing in the latest OSMC kernel for this device

My issue is similar to this one.

The weird thing is that this detail is still valid:

if I shutdown the Vero, disconnect the 4TB WD Elements, connect it to a PC (with Debian), mount it, unmount it, reconnect it to the hub and then boot the Vero, everything works (so without manual intervention during powerup time)

I’ve instructed my relatives how to unplug wait and plug the drive at the right time at boot if it’s needed again, but it’s like expecting a passenger to know how to pilot a plane for filling the gas tank during flight, reality isn’t like Air Force One with Harrison Ford, things can go exponentially bad very quickly

30

Can you see if the drive has a firmware update?

31

Just to be sure: You still have the problem but now with the OSMC hub instead of the AUKEY CB-H6S with 3 external disks connected?

32

Can you see if the drive has a firmware update?

None that I can find (the disk if fairly new anyway)

Just to be sure: You still have the problem but now with the OSMC hub instead of the AUKEY CB-H6S with 3 external disks connected?

Booting without disconnecting the disk from this hub worked for a while (weeks), but I had to change ports after that, now it’s the same as with other hubs.

The problem started after the Kodi 19 update in August, before there was none of this. Can vero3-bootloader-osmc or vero3-earlysplash-osmc be downgraded safely, using packages i.e. from http://apt.osmc.tv/pool/main/v/vero3-bootloader-osmc/? It’s an idea, but I don’t want to brick the device, so I’m asking beforehand.

33

I’d not recommend downloading the bootloader. It will almost certainly break video playback.