Raspberry doesn't start - you can do that
The Raspberry Pi is the most popular and widespread single-board computer. You can find out what you can do if it no longer starts in this practical tip.
Raspberry Pi won't start - how to do it
If your Raspberry Pi no longer starts, the LEDs on the main board provide initial help to find the error. The following LEDs are the most important:
- Green LED: The LED is labeled "OK" and indicates access to the memory card.
- Red LED: The red LED has the designation "PWR". It shows the status of the power supply.
Red LED does not light up or flashes
If your Raspberry Pi does not start and the red LED does not light up, the following error may be present:
- The power supply is not connected correctly or supplies too little voltage - Connect a 5 volt power supply correctly.
- If the red LED flashes, the voltage supply is not stable. The power supply has a defect or does not supply enough voltage - Connect an intact 5 volt power supply.
Red LED lights up - Green LED does not light up
As soon as you can rule out the problems with the power supply - red LED lights up continuously - the problem with the boot process must be looked for. If the red LED is on and the green LED is off, the following problems may exist:
- No bootable operating system can be found on the SD card. Check that the SD card is seated correctly. You should also check the correct installation of an operating system on the SD card on the computer.
- Remove all connected accessories from your Raspberry except for the power supply and start it.
- If the green LED starts to flash, repeat the process and insert the accessories one after the other. So you can find out the defective accessories.
Raspberry Pi crashes during or shortly after the boot process
If your Raspberry Pi crashes during the boot process or shortly thereafter, the following can be a cause:
- A defective or too small power supply is often the case. We recommend at least one power supply with an ampere rating.
- If you have large power consumers - e.g. external hard drives without a power supply unit - connected, they can lead to voltage drops and thus crash. Only connect large power guzzlers to the Raspberry via an active USB hub.