RetroPie breaks in different ways everytime I shut down

[RetroResolution]

@riel.fox sorry, as I said I only had time for a scan of your post. I edited my earlier reply just before you responded, adding a link to an article on testing an sdcard which may help.

[riel.fox]

@RetroResolution
Thanks, I'll definitely have a look.

[riel.fox]

@RetroResolution

Hey RetroResolution,
I did the SD card script test using my RPi and Putty, as suggested by the link you have given me.

The test started with:

Testing overclock stability...
reading: 1

No other information was printed for quite a while, but I thought that my card is pretty big (128 GB) so I needed to give it its time.
So, I left the house and left my PC, Raspberry Pi and Putty running to give it as much time as it wanted to complete.
I came home 12 hours later... and it was still at the same stage.

I don't think it will ever finish. Is this an indication of a bad SD card?

Here's the full Putty log for reference:

[IMG]http://i63.tinypic.com/2cf8cpi.png[/IMG]

[BuZz]

It could also mean your PSU isn't good - to test the card you can do sudo badblocks -v /dev/mmcblk0

How cheap was the card ? There are lots of fakes on ebay.

You may need a new PSU and a new card - but what's the PSU output ? No point testing anything if your PSU is too weak.

[RetroResolution]

@riel.fox the test can take a long time, but my 64gb class 10 doesn't take 6 hours for one pass (maybe a couple, I can't recall to be honest) - it may be that the Pi crashed.

[riel.fox]

@RetroResolution
I connected the HDMI to the Pi to make sure it hasn't crashed.
It was still responsive with the controller, so pressed Start and selected Shutdown Device, like always.

This is the message I got once the Shutdown process was complete and as I was ready to power off:

[IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/21n4pbl.jpg[/IMG]

Then once I booted up again, surprise surprise, the image was corrupted and it ended with a Kernel panic...

[IMG]http://i64.tinypic.com/50nq02.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i65.tinypic.com/314xw8o.jpg[/IMG]

[BuZz]

@riel.fox Please can you provide me with some information as I requested - What is the specs of your PSU ? (eg 5v 2.5a) - if your new PSU didn't arrive yet, then I would wait before trying anything.

Sorry for butting in the thread @RetroResolution I just don't think there is any point debugging further if the PSU is no good (even if the sdcard is fake). Once we have the PSU sorted, we can check the sdcard. I suspect it may be dodgy though also.

[riel.fox]

@BuZz
The eBay listing was for:
2016 SanDisk 128GB microSDXC 80MB/s Ultra 128G microSD micro SDXC SD

and the price was £14.99 from uk eBay

I thought it was a great deal. Now it especially seems dodgy to me since the seller has disappeared from eBay.

I am ready to start a case at the Resolution Center for my money back, but is there a way to produce hard evidence with some tool that I got scammed?

I will certainly try the PSU too, although I tried it with two different PSU's (the official PSU will arrive shortly by mail)

[BuZz]

I doubt that is a real 128GB micro sdcard - way too cheap, that sdcard is around £35-£45 - do not buy sdcards from ebay (unless they are a reputable shop with an ebay store) - if the seller has disappeared I think you have your answer. Time to get a new sdcard.

I am still interested in the specs of the PSUs you tried.

[riel.fox]

@BuZz

These are the PSU's I have used, both from smartphones.

[IMG]http://i63.tinypic.com/qnnzg0.jpg[/IMG]

The first is the charger for a OnePlus One.

[IMG]http://i63.tinypic.com/2i91g15.jpg[/IMG]

It says
Input: 100-240V~50-60Hz 450mA
Output: 5V -- 2100mA

The other is from Apple, it says:
Input: 100-240V ~50/60Hz 0.15A
Output: 5V -- 1A

I am not very experienced with hardware but I guess it's not right?

The PSU I ordered and waiting for I got exclusively for the Pi3 and is 5V 2.5A.
Should I just wait for it and retry or - meanwhile- request a refund for the SD card?

[BuZz]

The first one may be enough depending what you are plugging in to the rpi. The second is not.

I'm pretty sure your sdscard is fake - could test it with something like https://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/h2testw-14-gold-standard-in-detecting-usb-counterfeit-drives/

[A Former User]

@riel.fox

You definitely need a 2.5a power adapter supply for the Pi 3. Without it you run the risk of the Pi being unstable due to insufficient power. When you start using multiple ports, internal Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, the system starts drawing more power.

I would put in a request to dispute the Micro SD card with PayPal or whomever you used to pay with. It is almost guaranteed to be a fake. Get a 64gb-128gb card from Amazon or from someplace local to use for awhile.

[riel.fox]

@BuZz
Thanks
I'm running the test as we speak.
It will take a while...

Meanwhile, I have opened a case on eBay

[RetroResolution]

@BuZz no problem BuZz, I missed the notification again anyway -'titally agree with you, without a decent 2.5a supply no testing will be valid

[RetroResolution]

@BuZz I'd also add that you should be cautious of Amazon resellers / third-parties when it comes to sdcards - when I buy mine I ensure they are being sold directly by Amazon itself.

I recently bought a 64gb class 10 Samsung card for about £12, which arrived in factory-sealed packaging (always a good sign).

First thing I do with new sdcards is a full erase (not a fast / MBR only erase), then write a known-good image taken from an identical card (granted, that isn't always an option) - just to ensure the actual capacity of the card is genuine (plenty of other ways to do this from a bash shell under Raspbian or other Linux distro)

[riel.fox]

@BuZz
Yep, there's our culprit... The SD card was a scam.
Now I have hard evidence.

Test concluded with:

Warning: Only 127958 of 127968 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
8.0 GByte OK (16799287 sectors)
116.9 GByte DATA LOST (245258697 sectors)
Details:0 KByte overwritten (0 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
116.9 GByte corrupted (245258697 sectors)
0 KByte aliased memory (0 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x0000000200ac6e00
Expected: 0x0000000200ac6e00
Found: 0xaaf3171d41908688
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 8.77 MByte/s
Reading speed: 5.22 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Now all I have to do is wait for the return period to end so that eBay may review my case and, hopefully, give me a refund.
I've attached the results of the tests to them.

Thanks for the help guys. I am experimenting with an 8 GB microSD I has lying around (that I know is legit) and it seems to perform well, no corruptions.

[BuZz]

@RetroResolution yeh. Always best to get direct from known good companies