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    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

    No sd card install

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    no sd install
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    • B
      benion51
      last edited by

      I got a pi3 with a bad sd card slot(spent time with a rep and they agreed the sd card slot was in fact bad). The board works fine other wise. Is there a way to install retropie via USB, without the use of a sd card?

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      • mituM
        mitu Global Moderator
        last edited by

        It's possible, but you'd still need to boot from a SD card to make the necessary configurations. See https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/bootmodes/msd.md

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          benion51 @mitu
          last edited by

          @mitu then it's not possible. Once again the sd card slot doesn't work.

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          • O
            ortsac
            last edited by

            The question is how did it go bad? You won't be able to booth the RPi any other way without the SD card slot functioning.

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            • mituM
              mitu Global Moderator @benion51
              last edited by

              @benion51 Sorry, I misread your post as 'the SD card is not working', not realizing that the slot is at fault.

              According to the https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=58151, any RPI is tested to boot before shipping, so you've been given a defective unit - or one that's been badly damaged . You should definitely ask for a replacement, if still possible.

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                benion51 @mitu
                last edited by benion51

                @mitu they already gave me a working replacement. I now have this "free" unit sitting here. Short of resoldering a new sd slot on I was trying to find a work around. I will probably solder on a new slot, but it would be so much easier if I could just use USB or my network even to download retropie to the pi. It sounds like a problem like this is rare, so no real work arounds yet.

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                • demesauceD
                  demesauce Banned
                  last edited by

                  Have you tired other SD cards? I once bought a bad batch of SanDisk 32gb cards. Went through 5 before trying a different batch.

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                    benion51 @demesauce
                    last edited by

                    @demesauce I've tried four different brands and capacities. Those other cards booted other pis right up, so I was able to rule that out.

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                      benion51 @ortsac
                      last edited by

                      @ortsac no idea really. There is no physical damage to the slot or board. It powers up just fine, just can't get the green light to appear. I've inspected the slot pins as best I could and they seem to be in place. I'm gonna try and bend the pins up some more to see if spacing is an issue.

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