All Questions
35,730
questions
336
votes
23
answers
180k
views
Is the Raspberry Pi suitable for running continuously, 24/7?
I would like to run a headless machine to perform some basic automation and statistical generation (e.g. generating netstats, uploading to pvoutput.org), as well as any other trivial batch jobs that ...
325
votes
18
answers
450k
views
How do I backup my Raspberry Pi?
I have been writing programs for my Raspberry Pi (running Raspbian) for a few weeks now and would like to make sure I protect the work I have done.
How can I backup the files I have created?
Can I ...
305
votes
15
answers
703k
views
How do I turn off my Raspberry Pi?
Should I just pull the plug? Or is it best if I exit LXDE and any other running processes first?
292
votes
6
answers
1.3m
views
How do I set up networking/WiFi/static IP address on Raspbian/Raspberry Pi OS?
I have followed (any one of hundreds) tutorial, and it does not work.
How do I set up networking/WiFi/static IP address on the Raspberry Pi?
After the Foundation introduced the dhcpcd networking ...
287
votes
14
answers
182k
views
How can I extend the life of my SD card?
I'm not all that keen to buy a USB hard disk, but I'm aware that SD cards aren't suitable for many repetitions of reading and writing.
Are there any steps I can take to extend the life of my SD card ...
221
votes
12
answers
923k
views
Execute script on start-up
I am trying to execute a script when my Raspberry Pi boots up. I would like the web browser to open up automatically.
I have tried to find a simple solution, (like dropping my script in some "...
212
votes
2
answers
133k
views
What is rpikernelhack?
When doing an apt-get upgrade on my RPi 3, many lines of output show up like this:
Adding 'diversion of /boot/bcm2708-rpi-b-plus.dtb to /usr/share/rpikernelhack/bcm2708-rpi-b-plus.dtb by ...
198
votes
11
answers
310k
views
Prepare SD card for Wifi on Headless Pi
I need to SSH my Pi over wifi but because it is a model A board (using a usb hub is not possible - ever) and I have no ethernet, i can't configure the Pi to connect to my secured wifi network. I want ...
185
votes
11
answers
445k
views
Disable WiFi (wlan0) on Pi 3
Got a Pi 3 which will always use ethernet, so trying to figure out how to disable the WiFi such that it does not even turn on after a reboot.
If I do an ifconfig I see the wlan0 device. I can do ...
183
votes
5
answers
386k
views
How can I resize my / (root) partition?
Even though my SD card is 16GB, the image I flashed onto it was only 2GB and now I can only see 2GB of storage space on the disk.
How can I resize the image so that I have more space on my root ...
164
votes
1
answer
433k
views
What is the difference between BOARD and BCM for GPIO pin numbering?
When using the RPi.GPIO library in Python you have to call
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
and then
GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BOARD)
or
GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
What is the difference between these two options?
162
votes
16
answers
120k
views
Prepare for ssh without a screen
I have a Raspberry Pi model B at home, but I do not have a screen. My plan is to connect it to the Ethernet and then ssh into it. But this means that the SD card with the operating system (Debian ...
142
votes
5
answers
316k
views
How to setup multiple WiFi networks?
I go back and forth from home to school with my Pi. I just got the WiFi working last night at home using wpa.conf instead of wpa_supplicant.conf as the book I was using had the walk thru for that ...
141
votes
7
answers
30k
views
How can I run the Pi on Solar Power?
Has anyone successfully set up their Pi to run on solar power? If so, what would be the cheapest way to sensibly and reliably achieve this, using a combination of solar cells / batteries / voltage ...
139
votes
8
answers
812k
views
How can I reformat my SD card to use it normally again?
I wish to reformat my SD card to use normally again (it currently has one 78 MB FAT32 partition and one 3.9 GB Linux partition). How do I do this (on Windows/Mac/*nix)?
137
votes
9
answers
609k
views
How do I install Google Chrome?
When I go to download Google Chrome from http://www.google.com/chrome in Midori on the Raspberry Pi , I am presented with a modal dialogue box,
Please select your download package:
32 bit ....
133
votes
5
answers
175k
views
How to set up swap space?
Raspberry Pi has only 256 MB of RAM, so I would like to use swap space (either on SD card or attached USB storage). How do I set it up?
131
votes
7
answers
329k
views
How can I determine which OS image I am running?
I have been given a pre-installed SD card. It boots fine, and I know it is running some version of Raspbian. Can I determine exactly which release it is running?
121
votes
9
answers
318k
views
How do I supply power through the GPIO?
I have seen some examples of people powering their Raspberry Pis by wiring a DC "barrel plug" style power supply to the 5V and GND GPIO pins.
What considerations should be taken when doing something ...
118
votes
4
answers
273k
views
What does the lightning bolt mean?
There is a lightning bolt icon flashing on the top right of my screen. What does it mean?
Here's a picture:
116
votes
15
answers
532k
views
How to stream video from Raspberry Pi camera and watch it live
I am new to the Raspberry Pi and even new to the Raspberry Pi camera. I have seen a lot of tutorials online for the Raspberry Pi camera but have yet to find on that lets me stream straight from the ...
114
votes
2
answers
246k
views
How do I force the Raspberry Pi to turn on HDMI?
I have a Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc connected through HDMI to a dumb HDTV. (Does not support HDMI-CEC).
If I power on both the TV (both at source and display through remote) and Raspbmc at the same ...
109
votes
5
answers
246k
views
Can I use the GPIO for pulse width modulation (PWM)?
Can I use the GPIO as a pulse-width modulation output?
If so, how would I go about doing it and how many concurrent, distinct PWM outputs can I have?
108
votes
5
answers
29k
views
Can I use the GPU for calculations?
Is it possible to use the GPU for calculations? (e.g. CUDA/OpenCL)
107
votes
14
answers
178k
views
How can one control AC power (220V) with a Raspberry Pi?
I though about using the Raspberry Pi to switch on and off other electrical devices which unnecessary consume power in stand-by mode. In short, I'd like to control an AC socket or multiple sockets. ...
106
votes
11
answers
149k
views
How do I build a UPS-like - battery backup - system?
As we all know, the Raspberry Pi doesn't really use that much power (5v + 700mA is the spec).
I'd like to build a battery backup for power outages in a DIY-ish fashion. I don't need surge protection ...
103
votes
20
answers
219k
views
Find Raspberry PI address on local network
I need to find the Raspberry PI IP address on local network without connect the Raspberry to a monitor. How do I do it on Linux or Mac OS systems?
103
votes
2
answers
258k
views
How to run Raspbian on VirtualBox?
I have tried Debian on VirtualBox and would like to check out Raspbian. How do I install Raspbian on VirtualBox?
102
votes
3
answers
178k
views
Boot without starting X-server
During the installation of Raspian I chose "Start X-Server after boot", but now I want to boot it once without starting the X-Server, so I've got more memory to run a program.
How do I boot without ...
98
votes
9
answers
124k
views
Can a Raspberry Pi be used to create a backup of itself?
This question answers the question of how I use an external computer to create a backup of my RPi.
I'm wondering whether I can create a backup image of the SD card that is currently in use, and ...
98
votes
8
answers
108k
views
How to uninstall X Server and Desktop Manager when running as headless server?
I'm using my Raspberry Pi as a headless server which I can ssh into. I don't need the X Server, LXDE etc.
I'm running Raspbian "wheezy". I've already disabled "Start desktop on boot" using raspi-...
98
votes
3
answers
262k
views
How do I update software and firmware?
I understand that the software on the Raspberry Pi is divided into three sections: the closed-source GPU firmware, the patched ARM Linux kernel and the user space software.
Is the GPU firmware on the ...
97
votes
7
answers
188k
views
Installing Raspbian from NOOBS without display
I am trying to install Raspbian from NOOBS, but I have no other screen/keyboard available than my laptop screen/keyboard. I find enough information about using a laptop screen/keyboard for a Pi, but ...
97
votes
3
answers
178k
views
Differences between Raspbian Jessie and Raspbian Jessie Lite
What are the differences between Raspbian Jessie and Raspbian Jessie Lite?
What's better for a Owncloud server: Raspbian Jessie or Raspbian Jessie Lite?
89
votes
11
answers
151k
views
How do I get the serial number?
Where can I find the serial number of the Raspberry Pi I am currently using?
89
votes
9
answers
209k
views
Definitive List Of Operating Systems
What is a definitive list of operating systems that work with the Raspberry Pi?
I know of the distributions listed on their sites of course, but it could be beneficial to have a complete list of ...
88
votes
5
answers
198k
views
How do I prevent the screen from going blank?
I am running the Debian wheezy beta and using my Pi to display my geckoboard dashboards using midori, as a result I want to prevent the screen from going blank, which it does after 10 minutes (though ...
88
votes
3
answers
174k
views
How much energy does the Raspberry Pi consume in a day?
My searching efforts have failed when trying to find this. On average, how much energy does the Raspberry Pi consume in 24 hours (minimal usage vs. max usage in a day and USB vs. Micro-USB powered)?
88
votes
6
answers
99k
views
What should be done to secure Raspberry Pi?
Having tens of thousands of Raspberry Pi's connected to the internet is eventually going to capture the interest of some people who would like to do unsavory things to the little computers especially ...
87
votes
8
answers
52k
views
How do I build a GCC 4.7 toolchain for cross-compiling?
I already asked this question on Stack Overflow, but I would like to know if anyone managed to build a GCC 4.7 toolchain for ARM cross-compilation (for a x86/x86-64 Linux host). There are many ...
82
votes
12
answers
193k
views
How to set up Raspberry Pi without a monitor?
I recently bought a Raspberry Pi, type B model. I want to set it up directly to my laptop screen, without any other monitor. I have not set it up yet. How do I connect my laptop's screen as the ...
81
votes
2
answers
109k
views
Raspberry Pi Power Limitations
There are very many, often contradictory, claims about the power requirements and limitations of the Pi.
What are the exact requirements?
81
votes
6
answers
199k
views
Differences between /etc/dhcpcd.conf and /etc/network/interfaces?
I have this configuration in /etc/network/interfaces:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
allow-hotplug wlan0
iface wlan0 inet manual
wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
allow-hotplug ...
80
votes
8
answers
161k
views
How to automatically reconnect WiFi?
I'm using my pi to monitor my power meters. Data is transferred to PC by WiFi connection using Edimax EW-7811UN USB adapter. When the Wifi connection drops (switched off over night, or shaky ...
79
votes
10
answers
35k
views
What do I need to know to power from batteries?
What voltage range can it accept? What sort of batteries are appropriate?
77
votes
16
answers
407k
views
How to force NTPD to update date/time after boot?
The Raspberry Pi lacks a hardware clock. How do I force NTPD to update date/time immediately after every boot?
I'm running Raspbian and the Raspberry Pi is connected using an Ethernet cable.
77
votes
3
answers
151k
views
What is the optimum split of main versus GPU memory?
I read that it's possible to allocate either 128MB, 64MB or 32MB to the Raspberry Pi's video memory.
Given that my primary use case for this machine is educational: I will be running lightweight ...
77
votes
12
answers
284k
views
How do I turn on my Raspberry Pi after shutdown?
My Raspberry Pi runs OpenELEC. The XBMC has a Power-button in the left-bottom corner where I can shutdown the Raspberry Pi. That works fine, but I can't figure out how to turn it on again after the ...
76
votes
4
answers
9k
views
Can I use an airtight case?
Is it possible to reliably run a Pi in an airtight (watertight) case or is some form of ventilation required for cooling? I'm assuming it doesn't chuck out too much heat, but am wondering whether ...
76
votes
7
answers
139k
views
How do I enable Wake On LAN?
My first thought was to simply start broadcasting WOL magic packets over the network, but my Raspberry Pi is not waking up. So I'm assuming it either doesn't support WOL, or I haven't properly ...