Bizarre clone attempt failures on Raspberry Pi2...

[Hal Murray]

russ.haley at gmail.com said:
> Isn't putting an non-functioning embedded system on a serial console to
> debug standard procedure with ALL operating systems?

My two cents...

I have several Pi-s and I didn't use the serial port to get any of them going.

I think the answer to your question probably depends on the maturity of the 
system and the hardware available.  If a system supports a keyboard and 
display, that's what I would try first since I usually have one handy.  I 
have a 4 port KVM box.  The 4th port moves to the current project as needed.  
I have adapters handy so it connects to almost anything... After I get the 
network going, I just ssh in.  (after a while, the KVM cable moves on to the 
next project)

I think work to get early console output on the display and input from the 
keyboard will be an important step in making a user-friendly environment.

I have the hardware gizmo for a serial console on the Pi.  I'd get it out to 
debug something if the documentation (or email) clearly stated that was the 
right approach.  I probably wouldn't think to try it without a reminder.  
I've don't plenty of low-level debugging.  The serial port just wouldn't 
occur to me when working on a system that supports a keyboard and display.


-- 
These are my opinions.  I hate spam.