Tried a lot over the weekend, but seems like I need to buy a new 4GB USB stick for PINN Lite (if I can download PINN Lite, Raspberry Pi Imager has PINN needing 8GB).
Here's a report on the troubleshooting I did (AI generated, with my editing and perusal. I hope it's not against community rules?)
===============================================================================
Install PINN multi-boot system to enable Pi5 OS installation on NVMe0 drive.
Hardware
1. USB Boot Failures with 8GB Stick
Problem: PINN USB stick won't boot despite correct configuration
Boot order set to USB first (BOOT_ORDER=0xf461)
Initially showed boot attempts with "command: 4 error: 11" (USB hardware error)
Later stopped attempting USB boot entirely, boots straight to NVMe0
USB stick shows "device descriptor read/64, error -110" in dmesg
Detected at 6.7 seconds after boot (too late for bootloader)
Configurations Attempted:
Added USB_MSD_STARTUP_DELAY=2000 to EEPROM
Set boot flag on partition: sudo parted /dev/sda set 1 boot on
Changed partition type from FAT16 to FAT32 LBA (type c)
Modified config.txt with Pi5-specific settings ([pi5] section, initramfs pinn.rfs followkernel)
Tried all 4 USB ports (both USB 2.0 black and USB 3.0 blue)
Current Status: 8GB USB stick appears faulty or incompatible with Pi5 bootloader
2. NVMe1 Partition Approach
Attempted: Create 8GB PINN boot partition on backup USB drive (NVMe1)
Steps Completed:
Successfully partitioned NVMe1:
sda1: 1.8TB (backups, preserved)
sda2: 7.8GB (for PINN, with boot flag)
Formatted sda2 as FAT32
Problem: Cannot write PINN to partition
Raspberry Pi Imager only shows whole 2TB disk, not individual 8GB partition
Selecting whole disk would erase all backups
3. Manual PINN Download Issues
Attempted: Manually download and extract PINN to /dev/sda2
Problems Encountered:
A. Version Confusion
Original PINN USB contained v3.9.3 (Nov 2024)
GitHub shows latest release is p3.9.7
Unclear if tag format changed (v3.9.3 vs p3.9.7)
B. Download URL Failures
All attempted download URLs return 404 Not Found:C. Release Page Analysis
Downloaded release page HTML to search for download links:Additional Context
Successfully backed up and restored TAILS OS image (8.2GB) using dd, split into three parts to accommodate FAT32's 4GB file limit on backup drive. This confirms the backup workflow is sound, but PINN specifically won't boot or download.
Here's a report on the troubleshooting I did (AI generated, with my editing and perusal. I hope it's not against community rules?)
===============================================================================
Install PINN multi-boot system to enable Pi5 OS installation on NVMe0 drive.
Hardware
- Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)
- NVMe0: 1.9TB internal drive (current Pi5 OS)
- NVMe1: 1.8TB USB enclosure (backup drive, USB 2.0 speeds due to cable)
- 8GB USB stick (generic "UDisk" brand)
1. USB Boot Failures with 8GB Stick
Problem: PINN USB stick won't boot despite correct configuration
Boot order set to USB first (BOOT_ORDER=0xf461)
Initially showed boot attempts with "command: 4 error: 11" (USB hardware error)
Later stopped attempting USB boot entirely, boots straight to NVMe0
USB stick shows "device descriptor read/64, error -110" in dmesg
Detected at 6.7 seconds after boot (too late for bootloader)
Configurations Attempted:
Added USB_MSD_STARTUP_DELAY=2000 to EEPROM
Set boot flag on partition: sudo parted /dev/sda set 1 boot on
Changed partition type from FAT16 to FAT32 LBA (type c)
Modified config.txt with Pi5-specific settings ([pi5] section, initramfs pinn.rfs followkernel)
Tried all 4 USB ports (both USB 2.0 black and USB 3.0 blue)
Current Status: 8GB USB stick appears faulty or incompatible with Pi5 bootloader
2. NVMe1 Partition Approach
Attempted: Create 8GB PINN boot partition on backup USB drive (NVMe1)
Steps Completed:
Successfully partitioned NVMe1:
sda1: 1.8TB (backups, preserved)
sda2: 7.8GB (for PINN, with boot flag)
Formatted sda2 as FAT32
Problem: Cannot write PINN to partition
Raspberry Pi Imager only shows whole 2TB disk, not individual 8GB partition
Selecting whole disk would erase all backups
3. Manual PINN Download Issues
Attempted: Manually download and extract PINN to /dev/sda2
Problems Encountered:
A. Version Confusion
Original PINN USB contained v3.9.3 (Nov 2024)
GitHub shows latest release is p3.9.7
Unclear if tag format changed (v3.9.3 vs p3.9.7)
B. Download URL Failures
All attempted download URLs return 404 Not Found:
Code:
# Tried v3.9.3 (from original USB version)wget https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/download/v3.9.3/pinn.zipwget https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/download/3.9.3/pinn.zipwget https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/download/3.9.3/pinn-lite.zip# All returned: 404 Not Found# Tried p3.9.7 (latest release tag)wget https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/download/p3.9.7/pinn-lite.zipwget https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/download/p3.9.7/pinn.zip# Both returned: 404 Not FoundDownloaded release page HTML to search for download links:
Code:
wget -O pinn_releases.html https://github.com/procount/pinn/releases/tag/p3.9.7# Searched for zip filesgrep -i "\.zip" pinn_releases.html | grep -i download# Result: No output - no .zip files foundgrep "pinn.*\.zip" pinn_releases.html# Result: No outputgrep -i "asset\|download\|\.tar\|\.img\|\.gz" pinn_releases.html# Result: No relevant download links found```**Downloaded file details:**- Filename: `pinn_releases.html`- Size: 194KB (198,132 bytes)- Successfully downloaded but contains no visible download links for .zip files#### D. Alternative Formats- Checked for `.tar.gz`, `.img`, or other archive formats - none found- GitHub "Assets" section may be empty or using different hosting- Release page may require JavaScript to display download links[b]### 4. Current Blockers[/b]**Cannot proceed because:**1. Don't have working bootable USB stick (hardware issues)2. Cannot write PINN to partitioned backup drive (Pi Imager limitation)3. Cannot manually download PINN files (broken/missing download URLs)4. Don't know if PINN even fully supports Pi5's new bootloader architecture## PINN Version Information- Original USB had PINN v3.9.3 (Nov 2024 build)- Includes Pi5 device tree file (`bcm2712-rpi-5-b.dtb`)- Contains `kernel8.img`, proper overlays, config.txt with `[pi5]` section- BUILD-DATA shows: `PINN Version: v3.9.3`, `PINN Git HEAD @ 5da164510a115587cd7734c6669e9e94ae1f1d60`## Questions for Forum1. **Does PINN p3.9.7 (or v3.9.3) fully support Pi5's new bootloader?** Despite having Pi5 files, it won't boot on Pi5.2. **What are the correct download URLs for PINN?** All attempted URLs return 404: - Tried both v3.9.3 and p3.9.7 tags - Tried both `pinn.zip` and `pinn-lite.zip` filenames - Release page HTML shows no download links3. **Has PINN changed its distribution method?** The release page exists but contains no downloadable assets.4. **Can Raspberry Pi Imager write to specific partitions** instead of whole disks? Need to write PINN to 8GB partition without erasing 1.8TB backup data on same drive.5. **What causes "command: 4 error: 11" and "error -110" USB boot errors on Pi5?** Is this a known compatibility issue with generic USB sticks?6. **Minimum USB stick size for PINN-Lite?** Planning to buy new USB stick - will 4GB work? (Original PINN boot partition was only 124MB)7. **Alternative to PINN for multi-boot on Pi5?** Are there other multi-boot solutions that work better with Pi5's redesigned bootloader?## System Information```Pi5 OS: Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)Kernel: 6.12.47+rpt-rpi-2712EEPROM: pieeprom-2025-11-05.binBoot order: 0xf461 (USB → SD → NVMe)USB delay: 2000msUSB stick: Generic "UDisk" 7.6GB (LogiLink, idVendor=abcd, idProduct=1234)NVMe enclosure: JMicron JM583 (USB 3.2 capable, running at USB 2.0 speed)Successfully backed up and restored TAILS OS image (8.2GB) using dd, split into three parts to accommodate FAT32's 4GB file limit on backup drive. This confirms the backup workflow is sound, but PINN specifically won't boot or download.
Statistics: Posted by eiger3970 — Mon Nov 24, 2025 9:31 am