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My lovely RaspberryPi is dead...

Former Member

I was so looking forward to it and I was pleasantly surprised how the  RaspBMC from the NOOBS package worked, I have even bought a wireless  keyboard for it ( http://www.totalhtpc.com/logitech-k400r-wireless-touch-keyboard-review/ ) but...

 

The problem started about a week ago, when I had to unplug  everything to get the image going, as it was all stuck. Several reboots  and it started working again but all that unplugging and plugging it  back again - maybe it was the electricity somehow damaging some of the  HDMI/composite circuitry?

 

I can see  that it is powered up (there is red light inside) but neither HDMI, not  Composite cables give me any image whatsoever, on the TV.

 

I  have reformatted and copied the NOOBS files to the SD card, as  described on your pages - but I get no system booting in any way. Not a  flicker of an image on my TV.

 

The SD card seems OK, as I have dealt with it in my laptop without a problem.

 

I also tried other OSs, like RaspBMC alone, as well as OpenELEC. Alas, to no avail. The same applies.

 

I have tried different ports and different cables. Not a squeak.

 

Therefore, I must conclude it is the HW that is faulty.

 

Please, instruct me how to return the Pi to you.

 

A refund is preferable to "repair and return", at this point. No response from "sales" at Fernell, sadly... Just forwarded it to the other email...

 

========================================

 

In addition, I hope this might help a bit...

 

I  have read that Pi  might be susceptible to varying voltage/electricity problems. I have a  Belkin safety multiple extension cord, with serious protection against  electricity surges. So, can it still be an electrical mishap?

 

Or is it simply the power supply issue, as some here have suggested, in which case we would need a really good one, properly advertised here and on sales website...

 

May  I also suggest a ON/OFF switch, as a good idea, which may go  a certain  way towards preventing this from occurring. I understand that it only  uses very little electricity but I think this is beside the point.  Sometimes my NAS would not go to "Standby" mode after 10 minutes as I  set it up because it seems that RaspBMC could have been queering it?

 

Not  sure what exactly went wrong but I can see quite clearly that both HW  and SW improvements are possible. I would urge you to contact the patent  holders ASAP, in order to make the Mark III...

 

Best regards,

 

gorski

 

P.S. Anyone with multiple HDMI switches experience? I have this one in my mind: http://www.amazon.it/Ligawo-%C2%AE-switch-attivo-automaticamente/dp/B002I9LH2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382270091&sr=8-1&keywords=ligawo+5x1

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  • in reply to Former Member

    Only the PWR red led is ON, sadly...

     

    Tried aother SD card, as well, with RaspBMC - nothing...

  • in reply to Former Member

    ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION

    FOR RASPBERRY RED LED PROBLEM -
    NO BOOT - NOTHING WORKS!

    @ Gor Ski

     

    Hi Gor Ski!

    Since there is no answer until now for many people...and after more than 3 years I have one answer for the red led problem with the raspberry pi: I had the same problem and in the end I solved it with pure logic and a simple repair.

     

    Problem and situation:

    1. the raspberry stopped working suddenly for no special reasion after months of work in perfect condition

    2. after trying to reboot: only the red power LED was on, no blinking, no boot, no nothing nada. The device seems to be completely out of order. I did the formatting and rewriting the Image back onto the SD card with no effect. It did not play any role if I powered the device with or without a card inserted - still only the red pwr LED.

     

    image 2 relevant questions:

    a) is it a electricial problem?

    b) is it a mechanical problem?

     

    image Answer to a) No!

    because....after measuring (with connected PSU) the power at points TP2 and TP1 (or TP2 and F1) it showed up 5.1 Volts on the multimeter.

    Seems to be OK. I always connected an old Samsung phone power supply which always worked fine (somewhat under 1000 mA or so).

     

    image Answer to b) YES!

    because as I discovered... the SD card housing itself was deformed due to mechanical force coming from the metal contacts (like small springs) on the PCB in combination with heat coming from the processor. As we know polymere deforms easier under the influence of heat and/or mechanical force.

     

    See the picture attached below! I made the illustration and a scheme to understand the cause of the "red LED raspberry pi problem".

     

    Explanation:

    As the SD card is permanently inserted into the raspberry slot for several month, there a two things to remember: First of all there is a mechanical force coming from the spring like contacts on the pcb. Second there is heat from the processor that warms up the pcb and the sc card holder. So the sd card warms up and in the same time it is under  pressure of the contact's...the result is a deformation of the sd card housing and so the contacts can not fit in place.

     

    Conclusion: No contact - no signal flow - no boot - no nothing. It was that easy.

     

    Solution ################

    Just bend the sd card slightly back into a flat shape. That may hopefully work for some time. May be a thin metal plate glued onto the sd card could prevent it from beeing deformed again... I'll see.

     

    GOOD LUCK for everything.

    Andreas

    (http://andreas-lenne.de)

    image

  • in reply to Former Member

    Perfect explanation. Solved my issue, THANKS!, Raspberry PI B is working perfectly again. Thanks man!!! image

    Regards,

    Aleš

     

    PS: I have registered here to note that this article was helpful! image

  • in reply to Former Member

    Right on the spot, I can't thank you enough.

    This particular pi have been off for about 2 years and had a lot of dust inside (clear acrylic box with a lot of holes), I cleaned it with IPA, scrubbed the contacts on the SD slot and card but never never never thought that the card could be slightly deformed.

    Maybe this happens more with SD (large) cards, the microSD inside the adapter might be more rigid.

     

    Thank you