Now I have the original SD card inserted, connected to external power supply, pressed the reset button. Still the same logo 
Etcher is the latest version which I just downloaded yesterday.
Using etcher should solve your partition writing problems since it writes the entire image including partitions.
As @r043v try a different card reader, or even another physical computer. I personally use the SD reader built into my MacBook Pro, using a SD micro to SD adaptor.
Let etcher do itâs verification thing to make sure the image was done properly. Also make sure you eject the card properly when removing it.
Another thing. Try holding the power button for ages. Like 20 seconds. Also try holding the power button, then pushing the reset button. I donât know if there is any official hard reset rescue me combo, but this would usually be it.
Iâm not sure if itâs been assembled the whole time, but also try having the battery disconnected for a few minutes then trying again. Then try having it plugged into USB power for a while, then giving it a shot. Iâm thinking re: battery calibration problems.
Occasionally I have had my unit power on to show the splash screen, then just go black. I attributed that to the fact that I have worn out my battery, ie leaving things to compile for days on end, and not having enough current to push through the boot process.
On the note of not enough current, check your cable leading from the battery to the mainboard. Really make sure itâs pushed in, and that the wires arenât pushed out of the headers of anything. Also, make sure youâre using a dedicated USB micro charger, say a 5A one.
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Oh I forgot to mention that following your earlier reply, the unit has only the screen component attached to the main board and powered by USB cable for the last few attempts.
I tried earlier to flash some of the available OS using etcher on an old iMac with build in card reader, made sure that the sd card is unmounted before flashing and let etcher finish its verification, still the same result.
I was almost certain that itâs a board failure , until @r043v mentioned that I was missing something for the system. I just donât get it, what did I done wrong during flash.
I tried hold down the power button for about 10s, it indeed turns off the system, which is nice. Hold down both power and reset doesnât seems to work though.
As for the dedicated USB micro charge, I donât have one, thereâs no charger or cable comes in the box right? So I canât really test if itâs about current or not.
If you have an iPad, or any other tablet device, usually they come with a decent charger with a high enough current.
Re the reset button, try pushing it after having held down the power button for 10 seconds. Sometimes it doesnât turn off completely even then. Just check the backlight of the screen to see if itâs truly off.
Try again with the stock 16GB card. There is a chance the card youâre using could be a counterfeit. The first partition is tiny, whereas the second is slightly larger. If the true size (vs the reported size) is smaller than this, that could the problem.
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the gs and the system boot, itâs just not find the second partition on the card, for now it seem a software problem
have a fake card is a possibility, you can test it with the f3 software on your mac (made the f3probe quicktest will be enough)
https://fight-flash-fraud.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html
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I tried a tool called flash driver tester on Windows 10, it can do similar check as the f3 software you mentioned, it turns out that the card is fine.
I bought a new 128gb sd today which Iâd like to use on something else, I tried to flash the OS on this new card, still the same result. The chances for all 3 sd cards to fail are extremely low.
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This probably boils down to the flashing process, or the hardware used to flash it, or the process in doing so. Itâs just super strange that itâs simply not detecting the second partition after the boot partition. This would mean that the hardware is functioning correctly, ie the fact that you can see something.
It shouldnât make a difference, but try a 0.3 or 0.4 image.
I recall that I couldnât view the boot partition on my Mac, without using EXTFUSE with the older images whereas now on 0.5 I can. On windows, I could always see the boot partition.
There might be something presumptuous windows is doing to the image upon writing it, flagging partitions, and thinking that the partition should be mounted. I have no idea what though.
One more thing. Iâve timed it myself, and checks with other users that the time it takes for the initial boot, and image expand is about 30 seconds. Have you let it stay black for that long?
Also, when it does turn off, does it just outright freeze, or shut off? If you push the power after the black screen, does it try to power cycle again? If that is the case, youâve got a battery problem. Since itâs new, thoroughly check the cables and connection within the battery housing.
there could be a tiny change in the latest allwinner soc batch ?
a few lines upper in the log from the picture you posted there must be these lines :
[ 1.845482] mmc0: host does not support reading read-only switch, assuming write-enable [ 1.854681] mmc0: new high speed SDHC card at address 0001 [ 1.857902] mmcblk0: mmc0:0001 BB1QT 29.8 GiB [ 1.868126] mmcblk0: p1 p2
could you confirm you see the device name âmmcblk0â appair ? it may be named differently on your device ?
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My last few flashing attempts were all done on the old iMac using etcher, and I tried 0.4 os, same result, I always let the boot run at least few minutes before I turn it off, and I didnât connect the battery, testing only by using external power supply.
All those different operating system does make things complicate, would the process be easier if I try it on a raspberry pi, I might be able to borrow one.
I couldnât find anything like âmmcblk0â a few lines up. But there seems to be showing another error regarding failed to load regulatory.db.
Other lines just scroll too fast that I canât capture anything readable.
Hereâs a screen shot:
I donât think using a raspberry pi will make things any easier, since the rpi needs an SD card to boot off of, and it wouldnât accept the CPI image as its OS.
However, just for testing, you could always try and see if you can write a RPI image to one of your existing images, and see if it boots. Just the NOOBS image you can get from the raspberry pi foundation site should be fine. That can pinpoint if there is something inherently wrong with any of your SD writing hardware, or flashing process.
This is getting more curious by the second! If youâre located in Western Australia (haha doubtful) iâd be more than happy to have a look at it personally.
But by the sound of things, youâre doing most of the steps correctly. If youâve just gotten your unit, and itâs never worked, hopefully support can help you out with some kind of replacement. This is a lot of effort which must be frustrating for you!
As @guu posted:
all others are normal messages, i get them too.
i writed an alternative boot.scr file with the necessary to autodetect device, as the boot method between os vary it will only work on arch,
just replace current boot.scr file of first partition of the sd (fat32 / âbootâ) with this one : http://gs.dread.fr/arch/boot.scr
if itâs fail last chance must be use the emergency shell that kernel give you to write commands using an usb keyboard and an on the go microusb to usb adapter âŚ
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I tried replace the boot.scr with the one you provided. Hereâs the screen shot with slightly different output:
The good news it that official support replied my email and they will provide me with a replacement main board. Iâll keep you guys posted on any update. Thanks for everyone who kindly helped me, @r043v @javelinface @Petrakis @guu. You guys are the best! I learned a lot during the process.
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