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I recently started to actually begin using my raspberry pi and first wanted to configure it using this guide.

After completing all the steps I rebooted once more and then pulled the plug for the day. Today, I went in to restart the pi and now it simply will not boot with both red and green lights staying on, neither one blinking. I've checked the micro SD card if it corrupted by using chkdsk command in Windows, but it returned that it was completely fine.

I am pretty new to this and need help. I'm thinking that it may be because I did not use the shutdown command and simply pulled the plug. Could this have somehow damaged my pi?

Not sure if this is related or not, but when I inserted my micro SD card into my computer it only showed a capacity of 55 MB. I think this has something to do with the formatting being wrong? I am very lost now and really want to fix this without clearing all my data if possible because of the work I did yesterday (even if it seems small to experienced people, it was my first time configuring such things).

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4 Answers 4

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Your problem is probably due to the fact that you pulled the plug on the RPi while it was busy doing something important. In general, it's a bad idea to pull the plug on any computer, including the RPi.

Your SD card is displaying a small capacity in Windows, because of the way Windows works. On removable media, Windows will only ever display the first partition. If you repartition the card through the administrative tools, it'll go back to normal.

As far as your RPi is concerned, the hardware itself is probably fine. That being said, you're probably going to have to reimage and reconfigure the RPi. Sorry.

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  • Just to clarify, would pulling the plug damage the micro SD card? If I recall correctly I wasn't actively doing something important when I pulled the plug. Also do you think I could simply wipe the SD card and reinstall/configure everything or will I have to get a completely new one? Thanks for the help!
    – Zolo
    Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 22:40
  • @Zolo the card itself should be fine. Just reimage it. Also, you may have not been doing anything important, but it seems like your OS was. Always use the shutdown command. :)
    – Jacobm001
    Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 22:45
  • last question I promise. How should one go around and thank people? It says that we shouldn't use the comments section for thanks and you seem very experienced on this site. Also being really new to this what does re imaging mean? Could you point me to an article or other source if you don't feel like answering.
    – Zolo
    Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 22:48
  • @Zolo: You should see arrows by the side of each answer. If you find answers useful, you can upvote them by clicking the up arrow. That gives the user a +10 reputation boost, and you can do it for as many answers as you like, whether you asked the question or not. Additionally, since you asked this question, you can accept an answer by clicking the check mark. This gives a +15 reputation boost.
    – Jacobm001
    Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 22:50
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It sounds like it could be an issue with your SD card. The size discrepancy in Windows is expected because of how the Raspberry Pi OS formats the SD card (most of it isn't visible to Windows). The Windows Chkdsk would only scan the partitions it can see, so the Linux partition could still be corrupted. Your Pi hardware is most likely fine though.

I would try installing on a different SD card, just to verify that it will boot with a different card. Also, you can use Win32DiskImager to try to make a backup of your current SD card and potentially restore it on a different SD card - that may or may not work depending on what exactly is wrong.

Check this RPi Troubleshooting - Solid Red/Green LEDs or this What does it mean if both LEDs are lit up? for some additional info. Good luck!

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  • It seems it is the micro SD card based off the answers, one last question, do you think it is something with the SD card directly or the files on it? If it is the files that is the problem, could I wipe the SD card and reinstall/configure it?
    – Zolo
    Commented Jul 28, 2016 at 22:46
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I think there may be a problem with your microSD card. You should have ran sudo shutdown now, waited for the screen to go completely blank (or wait until the green LED goes out, if you run the Pi headless), and then unplug it.

chkdsk won't work as Windows doesn't natively support Unix partitions. If you were to view the microSD in an OS that natively supports Unix partitions (ext2, ext3, ext4) such as Ubuntu or Raspbian you will see a folder called boot in the / directory. This folder corresponds to the partition you see in Windows.

The Pi itself should be fine. You may however, have to reimage your microSD card. Make sure you backup any files you may have stored before you reimage. The Raspberry Pi website will be able to help you with that.

cd /home/ tar czf pi_home.tar.gz pi

This command will backup your home directory.

Edit: Forgot to clarify what /boot actually is, and pretty much how to backup /home/pi

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  • I have the same problem over here. I have to reimage the MicroSD everytime I shut down the RPi (no matter if I use the CLI or GUI to turn it off)
    – Joshua Salazar
    Commented Apr 4, 2021 at 21:56
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Let try understanding your problem.

First question what Pi model are you using ?

I believe its a simple problem of your power supply - its not properly connected / working, please check. The only reason the red light would not glow is because its not getting power at all.

Even I had a similar issue - in my case the Red LED was getting on, but after starting sometimes in the middle the Red LED use to keep blinking, .....after doing search I found that it might be problem with power adapter, it might be propping the power below 5V.. I changed and brought original adapter of a phone with 5 volts..

Also small request try getting original pi and accessories from authentic seller, and not kits from Amazon (nothing to blame Amazon), but the seller selling there are not providing good quality adapters with the pi or part of the kit.

Anyone one using Pi B+ use adapter with following configuration 750ma Current Output 5.0V

Also please refer to the below link.. though a old wiki.. but it does help understanding various problems

http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting

Hope this Helps

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