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So when I say I'm new to raspberry pi, I've got nowhere...

I've taken my raspberry pi model B+ v1.2 out of the box plugged mouse, keyboard, hdmi (monitor) and sd card in. No Ethernet.

I've plugged in the power and all there is, is a black/blank screen. 2 lights on the board but nothing has happened??

I have no instructions or knowledge about these, so I expected the sd card to boot when I turned it on. What have I done wrong? Or is there something wrong the pi board/ sd card. I have purchased?

Edit: my screen says no signal detected and the keyboard appears to have no lights suggesting power.

EDIT

Could this be the problem?

F.A.Q.s Hey I just got a Raspberry Pi Model B+ and the USB/Ethernet doesn't work! Your kernel/firmware (operating system) has to be updated to support the new USB/Ethernet controller chip! The annoying thing is that to upgrade you kinda need network connectivity which you can't get if USB/Ethernet is down. If you have a spare Model B around, try running sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade To update to the latest kernel!

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    Hello and welcome. I notice you do not mention the installation of any operation system on the SD card. Did you buy it with a pre-installed system or is it an empty card - which would then require that you install an OS image to it.
    – Ghanima ♦
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 18:01
  • Assuming it is a quad core Pi 2, this is a duplicate of a duplicate, etc., because the green light on solid is what happens when no SD card, or an invalid SD card, is inserted. Try taking the card out and plugging the pi in -- exactly the same thing will happen. If this is not a Pi 2, leave a comment and I will re-open this.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 19:10
  • The box doesn't say anything about 'pi 2' just pi. Model b+ board It and SD card with operating system
    – LiamH
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 20:07
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    Okay, all apologies -- but you do need to be specific and include relevant details when you have a problem. If it's a B+, say it's a B+. Last I checked, although the form factor is the same, the B+ is different from the 2 in its behaviour WRT the green light being on steady with no SD card, but... "On" is ambiguous: are they both on solid? Is the green light flickering, or is the green light flashing in a steady, repeated pattern. All three are possible and mean different things.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 21:16
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    That power supply should be sufficient, but we do occasionally get people reporting improperly formatted SD cards from distributors. If the green light flashes irregularly and then settles down after a few seconds and goes off, that's normal, so you could try adding hdmi_safe=1 to config.txt on the first partition; this will give you the best chance of output if the system is running. github.com/raspberrypi/documentation/blob/master/configuration/…
    – goldilocks ♦
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 21:17

3 Answers 3

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Checklist for you :

  • Make sure your power supply is at least 5V and 1A. I've measured RPi during run, no greater power required, but 2+Amp power is a must-have for usage/load
  • Try to use USB2COM, and if it's OK via COM port, tweak options in txt config files for HDMI and so forth
  • Try a totally headless boot, find it's IP address obtained via wired ethernet and see for an error logs
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  • Power cable is fine, but all other ports are not working. I think my edit may begin to explain the issue.
    – LiamH
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 20:46
  • @LiamH is your DC input meterd by something like this ?
    – Alexey Vesnin
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 21:39
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As ghanima said above, this might be due to the SD card having the operating system installed (see here). Additionally, are you plugging the HDMI cable in before anything else?

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If you bought a pre-installed sd card then it could be a monitor issue. On my machine I should first turn on the monitor and only after that I have to turn on (plug) the PI. Also be sure to have your monitor set on HDMI in. Eventually go to the menu page on your monitor to check that.

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  • Then I suggest to download a new, latest, OS image (Raspbian in my opinion) and flash it on another sdcard (if you have a spare one). You can do it from a regular PC if you have an sdcard reader with usb plug. Just go on the official RPI site. Good luck!
    – Dunav Rajna
    Commented Feb 1, 2016 at 21:09

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