Problem booting

deadherring

Hi all,

I have an arcade cabinet and had been using a retropie 2.
Something happened to either the device or the install (the device wouldn't boot any more) so I completely rebuilt the device from scratch and also told my kids to keep it on (not turn off) thinking maybe that would help keep it up.

Well, it lasted about 2 months and now the device is shot again. I've taken some pictures of the boot sequence. I'm hoping someone can tell me generally, what went wrong. I saw the pi 4 is out. If someone can help me determine if my pi 2 hardware went bad, I will invest in a new one and if a certain model/storage combination of the memory card is best used I will buy that too and go through the reinstall process again. i am hoping to reach the point of a stable install that will stay up and running. When it works, we love playing on it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Nathan

I tried embedding the images in the post without luck, hopefully this works:

https://imgur.com/st5YrjA
https://imgur.com/HkfMx7Z
https://imgur.com/2BCTzoQ

mitu

Looks like the filesystem or SD card is corrupted. Are you using a proper power source for the Pi ? Did you get any under-voltage signs (yellow thunderbolt on the upper right corner of the screen) while using it ?

deadherring

@mitu Thanks for the reply. I'm not 100% sure on the under voltage signs. It's possible I switched power supplies by accident somewhere down the line.

I'm thinking i want to start fresh with a new card, new device, where i know the power supply is correct etc.

Can you help to recommend a setup? Can i get a new Pi 4 and card? Can you recommend a card?

Thank you.

Nathan

mitu

@deadherring said in Problem booting:

Can you help to recommend a setup? Can i get a new Pi 4 and card? Can you recommend a card?

The PI4 is not yet supported by RetroPie, so it's not going to work right away. If you want to start right now and not wait, get a Pi 3B+ model. Any Class 10 SDcard should be supported and working fine, but I don't have any specific recommendations - maybe others can chime in.

deadherring

@mitu Do these look about right?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BC7BMHY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A30ZYR2W3VAJ0A&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073JYVKNX/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Thanks,

Nathan

mitu

The card looks fine, but for the kit I'd advise something that has the official power supply, especially for the 3B+ model.

deadherring

@mitu How about this one?
https://www.amazon.com/ABOX-Raspberry-Complete-Motherboard-Heatsink/dp/B07D8VXWRY/ref=sr_1_12?crid=AVH4SHWSM4W7&keywords=raspberry+pi+3+b%2B&qid=1561556569&s=electronics&sprefix=rasp%2Celectronics%2C140&sr=1-12

Sorry to be annoying, just want to make sure I'm getting the right thing. I wonder if the problems I have been having are related to the wrong power supply.

Thank you!

mitu

@deadherring The Cannakit looks better than this.
If you're in the UK, then use the PiHut or Pimoroni to get a kit containing the official power switch. I cannot recommend any of those 2 kits - because I didn't buy the Pi with a Kit and had problems with a - similar but not quite the official - power source and under-voltage.

deadherring

@mitu I'm in the US. I'm just not sure how to ensure that the power supply is the official power switch? The cannakit description says:

CanaKit 2.5A USB Power Supply with Micro USB Cable and Noise Filter - Specially designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (UL Listed)

Not sure if that means it's official.

I looked at pi hut and it looks like it is UK based and the power supplies look like they are european style. I also don't know if they ship to the US and what that would cost.

Looking back at my order history, I can see that the original PI I used for the arcade was a cannakit so I'd like to avoid that and get something that will give me a better chance of success. Any idea where to order a setup for the US?

Also, just curious, if you have a retropie setup on a PI, has it been rock solid for you? Just curious if my situation is an anomaly. AS I mentioned i had two installs fail after a while for me.

Thanks,

Nathan

mitu

By 'official' I mean this, which comes with adapters for worldwide usage. Try to find a local supplier for one of those.

I wouldn't say I'm a regular user, so my usage might be not a typical one. I leave my Pi on all the time, have usually just 2 controllers attached and I don't overclock my Pi, though I have a heatsink on it.
I haven't had problems with failing sd cards or filesystem corruption and I usually power/reboot rarely, but I never yank out the PSU when doing so - always through the ES quit menu.

deadherring

@mitu Thanks. I ended up ordering the Canakit and this powersupply

I was going to use the official powersupply with the Canakit Pi. Is that what you were suggesting?

Then, in terms of the install process just to make sure I am doing the right thing on that, i was going to download ApplePi Baker to format the card and then download the latest Retropie and install on the SD card. Does that sound right?

Thanks.

mitu

@deadherring Looks fine. ApplePi Baker will write the image without the need to format (I don't think it knows to format the card).