PIP40 Family Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

PDF Manuals, Data Sheets, and Press Releases can be found in the MPL Documentation area of this homepage.


Question #428: I'm experiencing intermittent problems with the DVI port and the screen connected to it. After a power-up of the system, no output is visible on the DVI screen in some cases, while in other cases all is working fine.
But as soon as the OS is started and takes over control of the graphics outputs, DVI is working fine in all cases.
I already have switched the DVI cable and DVI screen, but without success.
Answer: Is the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) enabled in the BIOS?
If yes, then this is a known issue of the legacy VGA BIOS, which Intel is not willing to fix.

Please use either DP to connect the screen/monitor device or boot the system with "CSM" disabled.
Please check the corresponding BIOS manual for details.

Question #249: All the LEDs on the SBC are lit. What's wrong?
Answer: This means that the internal power supply of the SBC has detected an overload or even short-circuit condition on one of its power rails.

Please follow the steps below:
  • Disconnect the power, wait 10 seconds, then reconnect the power again.
  • If this doesn't help, disconnect the power, remove all cables and/or add-on cards (especially the ones which may have been recently installed or changed) except the power cord and reconnect the power again.
  • Try to isolate the culprit by reconnecting / reinstalling all the previously disconnected / removed items one after the other.
  • If the problem persists, the system needs most probably to be returned to MPL for a detailed analysis.

Question #424: I have a MPL SBC with "Secure Boot" enabled. I have also installed a "Secure Boot" capable OS some time ago and all was working fine so far. Now I updated the BIOS of the SBC and since the update, the OS does not boot any longer. What's wrong?
Answer: Does the PCN for the new BIOS mention an "Update to the Secure Boot Keys" or similar?
In this case the BIOS update most probably has installed some new "revoked" keys into the list of known "forbidden" keys maintained by the BIOS.
Unfortunately your installed OS seems to use one of this "forbidden" key, resulting in a non-bootable OS.
As this is NOT primarily a problem of the MPL SBC, but rather a problem of the used OS, please check with the manufacturer/vendor of OS how to fix this issue.
Please note that a BIOS update is NOT the only way for a new "revoked" key to be inserted into your system. The same can be triggered by an ordinary OS update or even manually as well.

Question #297: What's the MTBF of your PIP products?
Answer: Please note that the whole story of MTBF (and especially MTBF numbers) is a lot more complicated than it may look at first sight.
Please check No MTBF for more information.

If you are still convinced that MTBF is really what you are looking for, please see below:
Based on the experience of the past few years, the typical MTBF is above 100'000 hours.

Question #426: I'm facing the problem that an external monitor seems to be detected only at boot time by your SBC.
If I connect it after the SBC has booted, the system does not seem to detect its presence.
Answer: Is the monitor connected to a video output implemented using eDP?
If yes, than the above is the correct behaviour.
Please note that eDP scans for possible output devices only once during system start-up. Any changes in system configuration or device state afterwards are simply ignored.

Question #416: I am unable to install the Intel graphics driver on my PIP4x running Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB (or earlier) or Windows Server 2016 for Embedded Systems (or earlier).
Answer: Intel has decided to not support Windows 10 versions earlier than version 1709 with the current graphics driver.

Both Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB and Windows Server 2016 for Embedded Systems are based on the Windows version 1607 codebase and are therefore not supported.
For these Windows versions, a previous version of the Intel graphics driver can be used (see PIP40 Family Downloads).

Supported by the current Intel graphics driver are Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2019 LTSC and Windows Server IoT 2019. Both are based on the Windows version 1809 codebase.

Question #419:
  • Under Linux with an active graphical text console, the attached monitor is not working in its native resolution. The resolution seems to the fixed to something like XGA.
and/or
  • When GNOME / KDE / or any other GUI is started, all I get is a (more or less) empty screen without any windows or menus to interact with. What's wrong?
Answer: The Linux graphics driver unconditionally enables the eDP port (as primary port), although there is no panel configured or attached. This results in either a wrong screen resolution on the rest of the display interfaces or in problems with multi-screen mode configurations (you only see a part of the actual screen).

The work-around for both cases is to add the following to your kernel command line: "video=eDP-1:d".

If this does not help, it may be worth to check the DDC lines of your monitor/cable/connectors as well.

Question #415: I'm facing problems with the integrated graphics ("unknown monitor", wrong or non-native resolution, no multi-monitor support, ...) on the PIP4x under Linux.
Answer: Please make sure that you are running an up-to-date kernel:
  • If you use a mainline (vanilla) kernel, please use Linux kernel version 5.6 or higher.
  • If you use a distro-kernel, please check that support for all Coffee Lake IGT variants (CFL_X_GTx) has been (back-)ported to the distro-kernel.

Question #401: If there are two (or more) drives connected to the SATA ports of your SBC, Windows [7|8|10] is normally labeling the drive connected to SATA0 as "Disk 0" and the drive connected to SATA1 as "Disk 1".
But sometimes it's just the other way around!
Answer: This is a Windows "feature" as explained here: Disk drive numbers may not correspond to the SATA channel numbers

Question #325: How can I reset the BIOS settings to factory defaults?
Answer: There is a special menu entry in the BIOS setup screen, which will reset all BIOS settings to their factory defaults.
If entering the BIOS setup screen is not possible, the recommended way is to switch off the CMOS backup power (either by removing the CMOS battery completely from its holder or by using the corresponding DIP switch as described in the product "User Manual"). That way, the BIOS settings are gone and the default ones are loaded at next system boot. After the system has booted successfully, don't forget to connect/switch on the CMOS backup power again.

Question #247: My MPL SBC does not [boot|start] up. What can I do?
Answer: First of all, what precisely is meant by "does not [boot|start] up"?

Is the system not powering up at all or is there some reaction / output from the BIOS/bootloader, but no operating system is loaded or started?

If it is the former, please do the following:
  • check the status indicators (LEDs) if any.
  • press the power button if available.
  • check the power supply, cabling and fuse.
If it is the latter, please do the following:
  • try to boot the system from a known good bootable media (CD/DVD, USB, network, ...).
  • check the integrity and status of the default boot media. Replace the boot media if necessary.
  • if the software and/or hardware has been changed recently, retract the change(s).
  • recover the system from a backup.


Please note that the above is just a rough list of things to check and try. Please use the corresponding manual for detailed information and precise instructions for a particular MPL product.

Question #228: I observe power-up problems or sudden, unmotivated resets of the MPL SBC during normal operation. It seems to get worse if an additional add-on card is installed and/or the CPU and/or GPU load is increased.
Answer: Sounds like the external power supply is unable to sustain the highly dynamic power requirements of most modern CPUs.
  • Have you checked that the power supply is suitable for the SBC? Please check the corresponding documentation for details on the power requirements of the SBC in question.
  • Have you tried another, more powerful power supply yet?

Question #313: My PIP does not start up when power is applied. I checked the input voltage and the fuse inside the PIP, both are OK. The only system activity is a yellow lit power indicator LED.
Answer: If the PIP is in the so-called "Power Button Override" mode (for example by previously pressing the power button for longer than 4 seconds), the system will not start up automatically next time power is applied but stay in "soft-off" (S5). The "Power Button" has to be used to wake up the system again. So either press the power button (if one is installed) or use a short piece of wire to do a short circuit between pin 2 and pin 4 of the external power connector / power button connector depending on your actual PIP model. As an alternative, clearing the CMOS RAM will also help. For more information, please check the "Power Up Behaviour" chapter of the corresponding "PIP User Manual / PIP Technical Reference Manual".

Question #272: What is delivered with the PIP?
Answer: There are several differently equipped base versions available. Additionally, you can choose the amount of DRAM, the type of mass storage (Hard / Flash disk) etc. according to your requirements. Please see the "PIP Options" entry in our Homepage for further information or contact one of our distributors for assitance.

Question #345: I'm having trouble to get an USB device to work with one of your SBC. Either the USB device is not working reliable (or not at all) or the MPL SBC is even being reset if I insert the plug into the USB port or if the device is activated. The same USB device works without problem if I connect it to my laptop/desktop.
Answer: Is the USB device powered from the USB port only (no external power supply is being used)? If yes, your USB device most probably needs more power than it is allowed to do. The USB standard specifies that an USB device must not consume more than 500mA for USB2.0 / 900mA for USB3.0 (even not more than 100mA before being successfully initialized). For all USB peripherals with higher power requirements than the values mentioned above, the use of an external power supply is mandatory.
So please make sure that you use an external power supply or try to find another, standard conforming USB device.

Please note that the use of an "Y" shaped USB cable to "steal" power from a second, unused USB port is NOT a solution!
 Copyright © 1997-2023 MPL AG Elektronikunternehmen, a member of the HT Holding AG  |  Privacy Statement
MPL on LinkedIn    MPL on twitter