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So, I just bought a brand new Raspberry pi for the first time. I followed the instructional videos on their website, and I've got the default OS installed, however, after just a few seconds clicking around on the desktop, I see a splash of Rainbow colours, and then the system reboots. Over and over.

Am I doing something wrong here, or did I get a bummed unit?

This unit is literally about 2 hours old.

level42
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  • Has it ever booted successfully before? There is most likely something wrong with the SD card. It is unlikely that there is anything wrong with the Pi since all units are tested. – Allan Burleson Aug 14 '17 at 01:40
  • This page should be helpful: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=58151 – Allan Burleson Aug 14 '17 at 01:41
  • Thank Allan, This is my first attempt ever to put an OS on this device, I will try and rebuild it from scratch to see if my results change. – level42 Aug 14 '17 at 01:46

1 Answers1

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Check your power supply, it may not be able to provide enough current to keep the Pi running.

For example the recommended current supply for the Pi 2 and 3 model B's are as follows:

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B 1.8A

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B 2.5A

Source: https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/faqs/#powerReqs

chrislacey
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  • I had it powered with a bunch of adapters off my Nintendo Switch Docking station. I will try this again with an iPad brick and a proper USB Micro lead. Thanks for the tip, I will let you know if this worked out. – level42 Aug 14 '17 at 13:49
  • @level42 there's exactly one reference and that's the 5.1V 5.2A official supply (note the 5.1V instead of 5V). Only use this to check against and for faulty Pis. Later, you can use whatever power supply you like. But trying to RMA a Pi that you've tested on a (fake?) iSomething supply will only buy you a round of laughter, I'm afraid. Shell out the few bucks for the reference power supply and be done with it. – TheDiveO Aug 14 '17 at 16:12
  • Amazon has a Raspberry Pi 3 PSU from CanaKit (Who is who I bought my Pi from. Would this pass as an official PSU? – level42 Aug 14 '17 at 16:29
  • [EDIT] I see that the CanaKit PSU is only 5v, and I found the Official Pi PSU at 5.1v. I will pick this one up. Thanks for the tip. - ORDERED - Will follow up soon as it arrives in the post. Thanks! – level42 Aug 14 '17 at 16:35
  • While the 5.1V are not strictly necessary, this gives more reserve at higher loads. I've seen a lot of 5V power supplies that quickly go down well below 5V under load; while they still keep within the USB specifications, that is insufficient for a Pi and with mediocre USB cables in between that have high resistances. – TheDiveO Aug 15 '17 at 05:24
  • Ok, so I reinstalled the OS and got the oem PSU, it seems to be working much better now. Thanks for the help! – level42 Aug 16 '17 at 16:03