RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login
    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Stuck on 'Rainbow Screen'

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    pi2failsd card failureloading screen
    13 Posts 6 Posters 12.8k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • S
      Slighty
      last edited by

      Model: Pi 2 B+
      Software: XBMC & Raspiban (post 2016)

      So you may remember i am the fella that tried to update the RetroPi, left it overnight to find the SD card is now fried (not detectable/readable in any OS Windows / LINUX - cant format nor Chk Dsk!)

      Well it turns out that my wonderful Pi also has gone sideways, I have 3 in total -

      1 x RetroPi
      1x Raspian
      1X XBMC

      However i now find that when i put my (working perfectly fine) XBMC or Raspian SD Cards in the "RetroPi" to test it, green light comes on, shows the Rainbow screen immediately and goes no further.

      I am on board to the fact that the SD Card may have shafted/burtout when the RetroScript was updating however would the hardware go up the wall too?

      Any advice suggestions are welcome and I remain in your debt !!

      Cheers in advance

      herb_fargusH edmaul69E rbakerR 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • herb_fargusH
        herb_fargus administrators @Slighty
        last edited by

        @Slighty either a corrupted sd card, or insufficient power supply perhaps. There is the off chance there is something wrong with the pi but generally it's the sd card or power supply

        If you read the documentation it will answer 99% of your questions: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/

        Also if you want a solution to your problems read this first: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • S
          Slighty
          last edited by

          Sorry to sound amateurish but when you say "Power Supply" do you mean the plug ? or a circuit on the board?

          I am at ease with ditching the SD Card (as i say it seems to be unrecoverable due to it not being identifeid/readable by many OS) and buying a new one but i don't like the idea of the Pi going in the bin too.

          Is there anything i could do to check the power supply?

          herb_fargusH 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • herb_fargusH
            herb_fargus administrators @Slighty
            last edited by

            @Slighty yes the power cord. Should be 2A minimum for pi2 and 2.5A for pi 3.

            I'd say 90% likely its a corrupted sd. I'd start with that.

            Probably very unlikely it's the pi itself.

            If you read the documentation it will answer 99% of your questions: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/

            Also if you want a solution to your problems read this first: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S
              Slighty
              last edited by

              Thank you so much for your help mate.

              ... again sorry to sound vague but then why doesn't the Pi (that was updatign the Retro PI scripts) now work with 2 readable SD Cards? it just freezes on the rainbow screen

              these cards boot up fine in their respective Pi's (I currenty have 3)

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • obsidianspiderO
                obsidianspider
                last edited by

                If you have a card that reads just fine on another comparable model Pi, but won't read in this Pi, then it could be the Pi. Are they connected in a similar manner? Did you try using the same known good power supply from the other Pi? Do you have a bunch of "stuff" plugged into the "bad" Pi? I know in my Super Famicom build I have a ton of stuff connected to GPIO that my other "test" Pi doesn't, and some GPIO miswiring was causing it to reboot. I also had a bad USB cable that was causing a short. Try to eliminate variables.

                📷 @obsidianspider

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • space cadetS
                  space cadet
                  last edited by

                  I am also getting the rainbow. I'm almost sure it's the sd card that's corrupt. Going to try another sd with retro 4.02 on it. Otherwise power supply or bad connections.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    Slighty
                    last edited by

                    Thank you people...great responses.

                    I will try the other power supply (plug) - in the RetroPi (not working) I only have a Bluetooth dongle - for my joystick, and a Wifi adapter for SSH Roms /Updates plugged into the RetroPi so it shouldn't be overloaded in anyway.

                    Really gutted about all this as due to work commitment I haven't been on the RetroPi for Months, a pub here in Ireland have one in the corner for customers and I got load of ideas for games i had forgotten about through the years, manged to acquire the ROMs, then decided to update the script...then this ...potentially software AND hardware failure...brutal !!!

                    You live n learn...

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • edmaul69E
                      edmaul69 @Slighty
                      last edited by

                      @Slighty what version of raspberry pi's are these three pi's? What version of retropie is on the two good cards?

                      S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • rbakerR
                        rbaker @Slighty
                        last edited by rbaker

                        @Slighty You could try to put boot_delay=1 in /boot/config.txt

                        So put the card in your reader. Under windows, you might see several files - bootcode.bin, kernel.img and config.txt should be one of them. You can open it in wordpad. Just add "boot_delay=1" and save the file.

                        This has worked for me in the past and the fact that you get the rainbow suggests that some of the card is readable. Maybe the socket for the sd card is not gripping either.

                        This solution can be found here: http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#Coloured_splash_screen

                        S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • S
                          Slighty @edmaul69
                          last edited by

                          @edmaul69 I only have Retro on the 1 card, the other 2 have XBMC and Raspian for general coding and 'messing around' (Pi Lite etc) I couldn't give you version numbers sorry, but definitely pre 2016, I haven't upgraded any for a while, if it isn't broke don't fix it etc, the Pi are ALL Pi 2B+.....I have a 3 in the post, as a result of this .

                          S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S
                            Slighty @Slighty
                            last edited by

                            @Slighty RBAKER yes I read that mate, good advice but the (RetroPi) SD Card is totally unreadable in any OS I put it in 3 different SD card readers the pc does the 'dur doop' noise to signal new hardware detected but nothing, the best I had was 'removable disk' in Windows Explorer show up and I tried to format only to be told 'F is unreadable' I tried ChkDsk in DOS similar outcome ... All a bit brutal mate, time the SD card met the bin, but I would hope to not have to throw away the Pi too

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • S
                              Slighty @rbaker
                              last edited by

                              @rbaker yes I read that mate, good advice but the (RetroPi) SD Card is totally unreadable in any OS I put it in 3 different SD card readers the pc does the 'dur doop' noise to signal new hardware detected but nothing, the best I had was 'removable disk' in Windows Explorer show up and I tried to format only to be told 'F is unreadable' I tried ChkDsk in DOS similar outcome ... All a bit brutal mate, time the SD card met the bin, but I would hope to not have to throw away the Pi too

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • First post
                                Last post

                              Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                              Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.