Raspberry pi sd card issues

Question

Even when everything is connected, my rasberry pi won't boot up. The pc (macbook pro) I am using as a display just stays on its normal screen. I suspect that this problem has something to do with my NOOBS-installed, formatted sd card, which will not load onto the pc even inserted properly into the sd slot, so I had to use a card reader to set it up. For some reason the sd card works only with the reader. Do you guys have any advice on what is causing this problem, and if so, what I can do about it?

rew · Answer

You have an HDMI cable that connects the Raspberry pi and the Macbook? This is a "problem" with the HDMI cables: They fit both ways around. This means that when you're connecting your raspberry pi to a TV you can plug the cable into your TV with either end and fit the other end in the raspberry pi. You never have to turn the cable around like with mains plugs or USB cables that have different ends. But it also means that you can fit the cable from one TV (image-showing-device) to another TV. Nothing will happen. And you can fit the cable between two image-producing-devices, for example a raspberry pi and a macbook. Your macbook cannot display an incoming HDMI signal on its internal display. You need a TV or monitor with an HDMI input.

fvan · Answer

As Roger mentioned: try to connect the pi to your TV using an HDMI cable, without connecting to the Mac. The Mac displayport is functioning as an output (for a second monitor), I'm not sure it works as an input.