Hi everyone,

I’m a computer engineering student, and I was assigned to try to diagnose and possibly repair a GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon RT system because we currently do not have the budget to ship it to Germany for FARO service/repair.

I’m looking for advice from anyone familiar with GeoSLAM/ZEB systems, LiDAR scanners, embedded Linux dataloggers, or rugged field-mapping hardware.

Device

• System: GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon RT
• Datalogger model: GS-610334
• Scan head model: GS-610090

Background

The history is not fully clear, but I was told that the unit may have been interrupted during a firmware update. However, before the attempted update, the system was already randomly shutting down, which is why the update was attempted in the first place.

Earlier, the scan head reportedly used to light up briefly for a few seconds and then turn off. Now the scan head does not light up at all.

Current symptoms

• The datalogger powers on.
• The datalogger status LED flashes blue indefinitely.
• It never changes to orange or any other state.
• The CPU fan never turns on.
• Ethernet repeatedly connects/disconnects when connected to a computer.
• The scan head receives some power — I can hear faint internal/electrical/mechanical noise — but:
  • the scan head LED strip never lights,
  • the head never rotates,
  • the scan head never initializes.
• When connected to a monitor via DisplayPort, the datalogger starts booting Linux, shows boot logs, then appears to reboot. I keep seeing the motherboard/BIOS screen repeatedly.
• The boot log shows Linux starting services, but the system does not remain stable long enough to finish normal startup.

What I found internally

The datalogger is basically an embedded x86 PC:

• Intel-based embedded board
• DDR3 RAM
• Transcend M.2 SATA SSD, 128 GB
• DisplayPort/HDMI output
• USB ports
• Ethernet
• Internal IFB/interface board connected to the scanner/control system

FARO support said the issue could be either the SSD or the IFB board, and that normally the full system should be returned for service and calibration. Unfortunately, shipping + repair cost may be too high for us.

What I already tried

• Tested with a charged PAG battery.
• Connected the scan head normally.
• Connected the datalogger to monitor via DisplayPort.
• Confirmed it reaches Linux boot messages.
• Tried reading the M.2 SATA SSD using a USB enclosure, but neither Mac nor PC detected it. I am not fully sure whether the enclosure supports M.2 SATA correctly or only NVMe/SATA combo claims.
• I have not installed a fresh OS or overwritten the SSD.

My questions

1. Does this sound more like:
   • corrupted SSD / OS,
   • failed M.2 SATA SSD,
   • IFB/interface board fault,
   • power rail issue,
   • watchdog reboot,
   • or scan head fault?
2. Since the datalogger reaches Linux boot logs, is it realistic to repair this by cloning/replacing/reimaging the SSD, or is the GeoSLAM software/configuration too proprietary?
3. Would installing a fresh Linux be pointless because the GeoSLAM services, drivers, calibration files, and IFB board software are proprietary?
4. How would you diagnose whether the reboot is caused by:
   • watchdog,
   • missing/faulty IFB board,
   • overheating/fan issue,
   • bad SSD,
   • or power instability?
5. Should I focus first on:
   • getting a proper M.2 SATA adapter and cloning the SSD,
   • checking boot logs,
   • replacing the fan,
   • checking power rails with a multimeter,
   • or testing the IFB board?

I’ll attach screenshots/video of the boot process and the startup behavior.

I know this is a niche device, but it seems like a very interesting embedded Linux + LiDAR hardware recovery project. If anyone has experience with GeoSLAM, FARO, mobile mapping systems, embedded Linux watchdogs, or scanner dataloggers, I’d really appreciate your guidance.