The HDD is a 1TB Samsung 2.5, previous one was a 2TB 3.5.
Linux Distros:
Linux Mint 21.2 desktop
Linux Mint 21.2 live CD
Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS live CD
CLI command using DD shows lots of garbage, such as when opening a non-text file with a text editor. It does complete, at least it says so at the end after a long while.
I also tried Disk Image Writer in both distros and had no luck. This runs a lot faster.
I do see the LED becoming solid green in most instances. But cannot ping 192.168.1.1 regardless if my desktop interface is set to DHCP or static 192.168.1.2/24.
I do see the two partitions created as well.
Hard drive works in other systems or can be mounted and files read/write to it.
I suspect you're doing it slightly wrong, dd as used here is simply binary copying from the file to the drive, it should not show anything except a confirmation when it's done.
The correct command in your case, assuming the target hard drive is at /dev/sdd (like your second screenshot seems to suggest), would be:
(You can speed it up by using bs=1M or similar, but since this is a one-off operation it really doesn't matter that much.)
That would suggest that the image writing process was successful and the MBL has booted completely.
Confirm that there is network activity, the MBL's ethernet port LEDs should light up and blink when connected. (I have personally seen those ethernet ports die for no reason whatsoever. The MBL hardware is now going for more than a decade, sometimes unfortunately less strong.)
If that is not the issue, to rule out it's a problem with the current 23.05 version, maybe try a 22.03 image. Using it myself on several drives I can personally confirm that 22.03 works fine, but I'm currently not able to try a 23.05 version on a test disk.
I got past the DD output, I think I know what I was doing wrong.
However, during those times I was using the disk image writer and now with DD, I still for some reason cannot get an IP, regardless if I set my interface IP to DHCP or static 192.168.1.2/24. Tried two different cables and two different PCs. Also tried your version vs the latest one.
MBL boots, the status LED goes from blue, yellow, blinking green, to solid green. The interface on MBL shows both LEDs, one solid and the other one blinking.
Connecting the HDD back to the Ubuntu machine, I see both partitions and their contents.
The newer images I guess do not have a static IP, even the video referenced in the installation for MBL page shows so. It's set as DHCP client now.
So I soon as plugged it into my network, I saw it got an IP.
All previous times I was connecting directly a CAT cable to my PC and setting my PC with static IP as well. Since my LAN is not set to 192.168.1.0/24.
I do not remember seeing this anywhere on the installations or docs, perhaps I missed it, FYI for others...
For a brief second I actually thought about that possibility but then dismissed it, what with having written most of the MBL page in the wiki including the installation instructions when it still defaulted to a static IP.
I actually follow the APM821xx and especially the MBL changes quite closely, not just because I have a few of the devices but also because it's a target that's a bit dear to me. And I have the faintest of memories that, at the time, I was not entirely happy with the change. Not only because it can possibly leading to problems like yours, but also because I'm not super fond of the idea that you need a second device (a DHCP server) to get the device up and running. But also I didn't regard it as a worthwhile dispute to have, and I must subsequently have forgotten about the change completely.
I edited the wiki to reflect the "new" default. Thank you for pointing it out.
