@hellothere

I boot my Pi4 from USB but I use a conventional 2,5" harddrive.
This is much more reliable and faster than using SD-cards.
My experience is that normal harddrives live much longer that SD-cards and SSD-drives.
SSD drives are based on the same technology than SD-cards, go figure.

I haven't used an SSD on my Pi4, but my overall experience with SD-cards and SSD drives is not that good.
Ok, SSD drives are fast and use less energy, but just like SD-cards their lifetime is limited versus that of physical hard-drives.
If you do a lot of writing then SD-cards and SSD-drives will not live that long. ( for example, compiling programs with a swap on will definitely age the SSD faster )
Three of my 128GB SD-cards didn't live longer that 7 months or so, go figure !

The backdraw of physical harddrives are mostly the energy consumption.
My PI4 can supply my 2,5" over the USB without an external powersupply but, besides the mouse and keyboard, you can't connect other hungry devices anymore.
Using harddrives with external power should fix this problem though.

And remember, you have to have a good PI4 power supply or you get trouble also !
The official PI4 power supply is 5.1 V and 3.0 A !!!

@ashpoo

But don't you think (IMHO) that having the Pi stowed away and out of sight, there are other solutions available - focusing on substance and no need for style?

Sure, once the Pi is hidden inside the bartop, there is no more need for style. Actually, I liked the metal of the case, which kept the Pi pretty cool and therefore no need of extra ventilation.

I think I will go for the stock case instead, which will do the job as well.

Thank you!

@mitu yes

@yogsodoth interesting that it didn't work, I've never had a problem with Win32DiskImager yet. But it's good to know if I run across a similar issue I can always try out etcher.

@mitu your frequency of helping people never ceases to amaze me. Thank you for all the time you put into helping all of us.

@RyanT besides the fact that we dont support 3rd-Party-Images as mitu mentioned: imo your advise is a bit of asking a crystal ball.
If his Pi only shows the bolt with this new "prebuiltimagefromdahood" - and not with others...i guess it contains overclocking parameters by default.
Without knowing the exact configuration it is impossible to recommend a specific PSU. Maybe the Image was meant for a watercooled Raspberry Pi with a 600Watt PSU - who knows?

@thestarglider said in SNES controller ghosting on Retropie/Kodi etc... An interesting find...:

It would be interesting to know if anyone else had tried an alternative power source to their Pi when they've had issues with ghosting, because in all the threads I have read, I don't remember anyone else bringing it up.

i kinda did :) https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/8187/gamepads-making-involuntary-movements-in-emulation-station

the issue is power interference so it figures that changes to power supply or connection can influence it. however it won't fix it for everyone.

@emclinux thankyou I will give that a try tonight

Final Update:

Turns out it was my charger all along . Here is what I ended up doing.

From my Pi3 I run a DC Barrel Jack to Micro-USB B Male Connector (http://a.co/d/4yVdU3c) . Then from the barrel jack I have a normal power supply (http://a.co/d/7j0vMr3) . No voltage issues at all and everything seems fine.

I resurrect this old thread just to add some more info for future reference. I came across this topic multiple times while searching the best way to turn on an Iot-relay, such as the one @DougA mentioned above. (My original way was to use a USB plugged into the Pi, with - & + going to the relay)

I am using an ADAfruit arcade bonnet, so some gpio pins were causing conflict with the controls.

To test I used:

sudo su cd /sys/class/gpio echo 8 > export cd gpio8 echo out > direction echo 1 > value

To set a specific pin to turn high/low (on/off), add one of these options in /boot/config.txt

xx is the BCM number of the GPIO you want to use

dtoverlay=gpio-poweroff,gpiopin=xx

for the default where GPIOxx will go low on boot and high after shutdown

dtoverlay=gpio-poweroff,gpiopin=xx,active_low

to make the GPIO go high while the system is up

Adding to the /boot/config.txt allowed my Iot-relay to power on the switched outlets within 1-2 seconds of boot

references
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=154824

I'm using a Pac-Drive from Ultimarc for my LED buttons. @savetheclocktowr made a controller software for some nice sequencing effects. It's not needed for permanent lighting, the Pac-Drive will do that out-of-the-box in Retropie.

ok.. i was mainly curious if this was a standard, or decent way of doing things or not... seems a little wonky, but also works. since I do clear cabinets, it can all be seen :)

0_1514490853552_IMG_2445.JPG

@suleske I found several inexpensive and simple circuits I could build. This little board has some added features (e.g. setting the key press switch delay), so I bought it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/262199569276

I suggest that you buy the raspberrypi charger wire as you will have no problem here is the one I have

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Raspberry-Pi-3-Model-B-5V-3A-Power-Adapter-Micro-USB-Port-Power-Charger-EU-US/32761294031.html?src=google&albslr=220568862&isdl=y&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&source={ifdyn:dyn}{ifpla:pla}{ifdbm:DBM&albch=DID}&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=494-037-6276&isdl=y&albcp=756822904&albag=35305934810&slnk=&trgt=68416666751&plac=&crea=en32761294031&netw=g&device=c&mtctp=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw_TNlLew1wIVmTUrCh0bLgcOEAQYBCABEgLoD_D_BwE

I also use the PowerBlock and it is well supported here. The guy who runs the place is a Global Moderator in this forum. Check the unit here:
https://blog.petrockblock.com/powerblock/

So, the power source is really such an important point that in no case should not be neglected? And let's say if I want to use an external HD that does not have its own power, then it is desirable to buy a USB hub with its own power supply? But even so, I still can not understand what would be so terrible if the external HD is powered by the pi itself.

@Darksavior said in [Hardware] Power Help:

Not sure what made you think it was Uk exclusive.

I just assumed, given that the Raspberry Pi is made in the UK, so the power supply would be too. I ordered a powered USB hub from them for my Nintendo build, and it was UK exclusive. No biggie, thanks for letting me know!

@TMNTturtlguy said in [Hardware] Power Help:

@hansolo77 you mentioned microcenter before. Get the microcenter brand QVS 2. 5Amp micro USB. They have it with the pi3 stuff and it is made exclusively for raspberry pi 2 & 3. It costs $10.99 US. I have 3 of them on 3 units and have never had a problem.

I've seen those QVS brand products. I've always been kinda shy to buy stuff like that. Sure, generic food and drugs is ok.. but when it comes to electronics I prefer to stick with a higher class brand. That said, I never even heard of this "iEssentials" brand before. But I saw it was cheaper than the QVS and just went with that. I suppose you do get what you pay for. I sort of impulse bought the 2nd one, because I couldn't remember if it was THIS one I had trouble with, or if it was the one inside the MCM Media Center kit (CanaKIT branded). It's good to know that the QVS brand is decent quality. Might consider that for my next project (whatever that will be lol).