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Raspberry Pi 2 Not booting

Former Member

When I power on the Pi, the HDMI attached monitor shows a screen with shades of various colors and I have no clue where to go from there.  The keyboard is attached to one USB port and the a Wi Pi to another.  Of course the power cable is connected and the SD card (with the OS) is installed.  Ive gone through the Start Up video but the things that are suppose to be happening are not.  This is my first experience with the Raspberry Pi.  But I have years of experience using Microsoft and OS X.  Can someone kindly help this Pi newbie get started?imageimage

 

imageimage

  • 0

    I recommend checking the RasPi Troubleshooting Wiki: http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#Coloured_splash_screen

     

    According to the Wiki, the screen you're seeing means that the GPU is running correctly, but the Linux kernel isn't.  You may have the wrong version, or there's a problem with your SD card.  Adding the boot delay might fix it, so try that first.

  • 0

    Hi Mel,

     

    I've just spent the best part of a day on my Raspi 2 and so I may be able to save you some future grief.

     

    First, your immediate problem is that the Raspi 2 requires the very latest Raspbian image. I think you are using an earlier image. Get the latest one from http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/  The one I am using is the 2015-01-31 version of Raspbian. That may be all you need to do.

     

    However, I have been having problems after an OS upgrade that you may wish to avoid. From your photos I think you are using a powered hub to connect your mouse, keyboard and wifi dongle. Please continue to do that for the time being. I have found that using the four USB ports directly for mouse/keyboard wireless dongles and wifi dongles can cause problems in booting to the desktop with the Raspberry 2.

     

    Also, once you have burnt the up-to-date image on to your card, access the boot partition in Windows or Mac and open config.txt in a text editor.  Change the lines,

     

    # uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
    # no display
    #config_hdmi_boost=4
    to,

    # uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or

    # no display

    config_hdmi_boost=4

     

    Sometimes the Raspberry Pi may boot to a blank screen because there is not enough HDMI signal to drive the monitor. Most of my Raspberry Pis are happier booting to the desktop with this setting, although it may not be necessary at all with your system or you may only need a boost of 2. Once you are booting up and closing down without problems then you can restore this line and see if it is OK for you. If you boot to a blank screen, the only way out is to turn the power off and this may corrupt some of the files. You may want to jump ahead, at this point, and read the bit about backing up the partitions.

     

    All of my Raspberry Pis work well at 1000MHz. When you first boot up, a program called raspi-config will run automatically. I suggest you use option 7 for Overclock and choose the option,

     

    Pi2    1000MHz ARM, 500MHz core, 500MHz SDRAM, 2 overvolt│

     

    DON'T USE ANY OF THE OTHER OPTIONS except for the 700Mhz or 800Mhz lines.

     

    Finally, if you have partition backup software on your Windows PC, back up the two partitions on the SDHC card once you have set up the desktop with the programs and configuration that you want. I use Linux with partimage for partition 1 and fsarchiver for partition 2. That way, if any experiments go wrong, you can repartition the card and restore the partition contents. This, of course, preserves all your system configuration, data files and installed programs from the moment you made the backup. The reason I suggest this is that if you boot to a blank screen or the mouse and keyboard stop working then the only answer is to turn the power off. You may well corrupt the files on either of the partitions, but especially the FAT16 boot partition.

     

    Once you have done this, it is safe to try plugging the mouse, keyboard and wifi dongle straight into the Raspberry Pi and putting the hub to one side until you need it for an external hard drive or a DVD burner.

     

     

  • 0 in reply to royleith

    Thank you for the suggestions.  I will work my way through them and let you know if it works.  BTW I am not using a powered USB hub, but I may try one.  Everything is plugged into the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, as shown in the pictures.

  • 0 in reply to johnbeetem

    I sadly, adding "Boot_delay=1"  make no difference.  Corrently, I have the A/C adapter plugged into a Power Strip.  Maybe it needs to be plugged to the wall outlet.

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    Hi Mel,

     

    Which image are you using? Have you updated to one published this year? Are you still getting the multicoloured square (this indicates an old, incompatible image).

     

    Only modify the line in config.txt that I indicated. Anything else you want to change is best done by raspi-config.

     

    My A/C adapter is plugged into a power strip which is plugged into a power strip which is plugged into a power strip which is plugged into a wall outlet. I don't think it causes any problems.

  • 0

    The coloured screen generally indicates a failure to boot from the MicroSD card. Can you provide details of what type of MicroSD card you are using, and how you imaged it, and whether you used the latest 2015 Raspbian or Noobs images? Please check the card is inserted correctly - it should be firmly "clicked in" to the latching slot, with the text facing the bottom side of the Raspberry Pi. It should not protrude from the board by much - it should look like this: http://cdn1.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/DSC_7716.jpg

     

    Please note that I've had compatibility and stability issues with certain cards, inclusive of the Samsung Plus and Samsung Evo cards - could you try a different card?

     

    The next possibility is a lack of power - the multi-cored Pi 2 does need at least 700mA of power on its own, with no peripherals. The USB cable is of vital importance as well - your cable doesn't look particularly high quality or beefy. Please try another microUSB B cable - preferably an original one from an Android Phone or Tablet, which generally has thicker conductors to ensure high current charging works.

     

    If you still have no success, it could be indicative that the image is not correctly written to the microSD card, or you have some other potential hardware issues.

  • 0 in reply to Gough Lui

    Thank you.  That info was useful.  My MicroSD card came from Newark Element14 (SKU 68X3795).  It is a Samsung (Mfr Part# MMCTR08GUBCH-RMLMK-FARN/KIT).  NOOBS came preinstalled.  The MicroSD was inserted in the Pi 2 as shown in the photo that you included.  There are folders and files on the SDcard because I am able to view them on my Mac and on a PC. Here is what I see.

     

    First the Root directory.

    2275.contentimage_178311.tiff

     

    Next the OS folder:

    3755.contentimage_178312.tiff

     

    Here is the Raspbian directory.

    2768.contentimage_178313.tiff

    Finally, the the boot and config.txt files are included as attachments.

     

     

    My initial post included a picture of the splash screen that appears on the monitor when I attempt to boot.

     

    I agree that the power card is not very beefy.  It was recommended by a sales rep at Newart Element 14.

     

    I look forward to hearing from you about this new information that I have included.

     

    Mel

  • 0 in reply to royleith

    How do I know which image I am using?  The SD card I ordered is suppose to have all the files preloaded.

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    Seeing as the files in your card's root directory are dated from 2014, it seems that your card may have been a NOOBs card with an image from prior to the launch of the Raspberry Pi 2 and thus cannot be booted on the new Raspberry Pi 2.

     

    You should download a new NOOBs image from the Raspberry Pi foundation and write that to the card following the instructions here. There's a good chance that this will make it work.

  • 0 in reply to Gough Lui

    Thank you everyone.  Your replies taught me a lot. And the Winner is [Drum Roll] ...  Gough Lui.

     

    The SD  card that someone at Newark Element 14 told me was what I needed for the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B does NOT work.  Beware of SKU 68X3795.  The Pi 2 freezes on the splash screen and does not boot.  It took three days and help from Gough Lui before I worked up the courage to wipe clean the SD card from Element 14, using the recommended Format program.  Then I  downloaded the correct software from the Internet and everything worked beautifully.

     

    If anyone is in the same place I was, follow Gough's excellent instructions.