Troubleshooting Linux installation issues

In this last section of the chapter, we are going to see what can go wrong when configuring your board and installing Linux on it. Indeed, some of the steps involved here are quite complex and many things can work out differently than expected.

How to do it...

Some of the most commonly faced issues working with the Intel Galileo board are as follows:

• The board doesn't boot: The first thing that can happen is that the board doesn't actually boot. If no LEDs light up at all, you have some serious problems. First, make sure that the power adapter you are using is working. Then, if the problem persists, it probably means your Galileo board has a problem, and needs to be replaced.
• Installing the Linux image failed: If you can't install the simple Linux image on an SD card, format the SD card first using your computer. It can be the case that there are files on the SD card or it was formatted using the wrong file format.
• Installing the IoT image failed: If, for any reason, the installation of the IoT image fails, the first thing to do is repeat the procedure. Also, make sure to follow step-by-step the instructions from the Intel website, as only missing a single step can lead to a problem with the SD card.

  You can also try to reformat the SD card before following the steps from the Intel website.

• The board cannot be accessed remotely: If you cannot log on to your board via SSH, first make sure that you are trying to access the correct IP address. Use the Intel XDK software for that. You can also try to ping the board from a terminal to make sure that it is answering network requests. Also, make sure that Bonjour is installed on your computer.
• The package manager doesn't work: The main reason for the package manager not working is that you are not connected to the Internet. Make sure that your Internet router is configured to share Internet access across all devices connected to it.

  Also, I noticed that the Galileo board sometimes just loses Internet connectivity. To solve this problem, simply push the Reboot button on the board.

• New packages can't be installed: If you are sure that your Internet connectivity is working, it could simply be that you are trying to install a module that is not available for the Galileo. Not all Linux packages are available, so make sure first that the desired package is available for the Intel Galileo board.
• The board cannot be accessed via Wi-Fi: If the Wi-Fi connection doesn't work, first make sure that the Wi-Fi extension board is correctly connected to the board. If the board doesn't show up on the Galileo board interface (as wlan0), there might be a hardware problem with the extension board.