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[Sticky] Making sure you get your computer back running after a system failure, and some best practices when you receive your new Pantera Pico PC.

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Troy Ferrer
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Making sure you get your computer back running after a system failure, and some best practices when you receive your new Pantera Pico PC.

Following reports of some users having issues when upgrading to Windows 11, we suggest to hold off on upgrading at the moment. while the Pantera devs figure out a fix that will allow switching to the newer version of Windows without hiccups.

In the meantime, here are some best practices after buying or receiving your new computer.

 

Make sure you power your unit off properly through the menu options. 

Please make sure you turn your Pico PC off or put it to sleep/hibernate mode, from the Window's menu option. Don't just unplug the unit to turn it off. Despite this being small, you should treat this like a normal desktop PC or laptop.

Make a backup clone of the whole drive and save the clone file.

There’s a quick tutorial on how to clone your drive using an open-source software called Clonezilla, on TechRadar.com’s page “Best Disk Cloning Software” written by Brian Turner. Head over there now, just go down the bottom of the article to find the tutorial. It’s a must-do.


What is this for? It makes a complete copy of your drive that you can use in the event that yours gets into some trouble that may be difficult to fix.
In the event that that happens, you can get your system back running again by using the clone to return everything to the  way it is. Just note that this does not return your data back, it is meant to get your system to run again like the day you got it. 

 

Create a USB recovery drive (Microsoft tutorial).

Much like the cloning method previously mentioned, Microsoft offers their own approach. This works great for those situations where the OS installation irreparably fails. Link: Create a USB recovery drive.

 

Backup and restore.
Did you know that you can revert your system AND your data back to an earlier state? This is particularly useful when you need to get your computer running, complete with all your important stuff, the same way after a malicious software has crippled it.
Just go to Start, then Settings, then Update & Security, then Backup, then Add a drive.
You can then choose a location, preferably a different drive, to where your backups will be kept.
You can go back to them at any point you wish. 
Microsoft full instructions here: Backup and Restore

 

Make sure all fans are working.

Look into the vents to see if there are any obstructions that may cause the unit to heat up.
Over time, dust will accumulate inside your computer and may need to be periodically cleaned.
For the Pantera, you may have to open up the housing to do this.
Email vicky@xdo.ai for video link on how to disassemble/reassemble your PC, after your warranty runs out (or if you’re brave and willing enough to lose it early).

So there you have it, the most basic “pre-flight” things to ensure that your system goes back to being usable, if something fails on you. 

 

Want to add more to these? Feel free to use the discussion thread below for suggestions and we’ll see if they can be added here.

This topic was modified 1 year ago 5 times by Troy F.
This topic was modified 1 year ago 2 times by admin
 
Posted : 21/06/2022 6:19 pm
admin
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If you cannot get past the BIOS menu, please try some of the things other users tried on this forum post: 

 

https://xdo.ai/forums/tutorials-guides/how-to-access-your-pantera-pico-pcs-bios-uefi-settings/#post-368

 
Posted : 06/07/2022 2:05 am
admin
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Posts: 58
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Here is a troubleshooting video in French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLmsdOLw_YE

 

We'll see if we can have one made in English too!

 

 

 
Posted : 10/07/2022 9:56 am
admin
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Posts: 58
Estimable Member Admin
 

Here are steps from "  Michel van Lint  "

 

XDO recommends cloning the hard drive. Below is how I did it. The destination drive needs to be of equal size as the source drive or larger. As destination, I used an external SSD, but I suppose microSD and USB should work as wel. It is probably wiser to clone the hard disk before installing any software. I will even refrain from using it until Windows 11 can be installed - after which I will make another clone, but with Windows 11 installed.

 

Please read the below references first (bottom of this message).

 

Download the AMD-64 ZIP-file.

Extract the ZIP-file onto a USB stick.

 

Boot the XDO computer.

Hit the Del key while booting to enter the BIOS.

 

Go to the Boot page.

Currently, the hard disk is selected as first booting device.

Select the first booting device and hit Enter.

Select USB in the pop menu.

 

Change the second booting device into the hard disk.

 

Insert the USB-stick with Clonezilla in a USB-port.

 

Press F10 to save changes and exit.

The XDO-computer will now restart.

 

A boot menu appears.

Just wait or select the first option.

 

Insert the USB-hard drive in another USB-port.

 

Continue following the on screen instructions:

 

Select beginner mode.

Select the device to device and disk to local disk options.

Be sure to check the source is sda (sda is the hard drive on the XDO-computer).

The destination on which to copy the clone will be sdb or sdc, depending on which port you used.

If desired, there is an option to turn off the XDO-computer by itself when finished.

 

A double confirmation will be asked, because all contents on the destination drive will be deleted.

A message may appear stating the backup GPT-table is incorrect and that it is using the primary header instead: no action is needed.

 

The process will take some time (70 minutes in my case).

 

After cloning has finished, it will start syncing which also takes its time.

 

During the cloning and syncing no user interaction is needed.

 

 

 

To restore, use the same process as above, but select sda as the destination and sdb or sdc as the source.

 

References:

https://clonezilla.org/liveusb.php

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-clonezilla/

https://www.techradar.com/best/best-disk-cloning-software

 
Posted : 10/07/2022 10:10 am
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