Got a Pi for christmas!

I registered on this forum some time ago, but eventually stopped hanging around because I didn't think I would ever get around to actually getting one. Especially since the waiting times to get one were so long.

Anyway, now that I have one I'm of course excited beyond belief to do something with it

My plan is to use it as a lightweight NAS and web server (it only has to service the local network). I'm crap at forum searching, so if anyone can point me to useful threads I'd be very grateful.

Also: Merry Christmas!

congratulations! you sir, have arrived! although sorry to say if you wish to get anywhere at all with this here thing you will need to become bloody marvelous at forum and google searching. there are literally hundreds of threads about setting up the pi as a webserver and dozens are amazing websites packed with info about various configurations and options.

the watch word for linux is control. like my old friend captain planet used to say -- the power -- is yours!

This is a good place to start: http://elinux.org/Main_Page

Hi everyone

Santa brought a raspberry pi for my son! However, I’m a tad concerned about the smell of it, very strong when we took it out of the little plastic wrapper. Can anyone tell me what is the smell (almost cross between plastic/electronics etc) – is it harmful in anyway? Thanks from a neurotic mummy!

Uh-oh, here comes the barrage of Christmas or other religious denomination “Just got my pi” posts.....Will not boot, will not reboot, will not shutdown, freezes, disconnects at random times, no leds lit, wifi does not work, crashes, can't see the password, what case do I buy, what is the password, keyboard repeats characters, gets too hot, capacitor fell off, can't image sd card, what image is the best to use, where do I start, voltage is too low, what is it good for, is it supposed to smoke, what electronics do I buy, this is all I got for Christmas...Where is my iPhone, etc., etc.

Some starting points for future new users:

1) The WIKI. The best and most informative place to start. You really should read every link BEFORE you buy the raspberry pi and peripherals to save yourself a huge, let me repeat, huge amount of grief and wasted time.:

http://elinux.org/RaspberryPiBoard

2) Google the entire world and start reading up

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=raspberry+pi

3) Read through or Google this forum or other forums. Use Google to search this forum, not the search box if you want better results. This forum is another fantastic resource to select peripherals that are recommended to work with the pi:

site:raspberrypi.org “put search terms here without quotes”

4) The MagPi magazine is a great start for beginners

http://www.themagpi.com/

5) Get yourself a Linux book if you have the cash. You can start with any one of the very beginner series that are available, but for a very easy to read book that covers a little of everything that you really need to do anything useful, my recommendation for beginner to intermediate users is to get the most recent “Bible” series of books from author Christopher Negus; it is very easy to read.

6) Use all the command line help tools that come with Linux (Don't type the “ or < or > characters).

a) online manual

man <enter command here>. Type “man man” for help

b) search online manual with keyword

man -k <enter any text here>

c) If it isn't available with man, try info. Type “info info” for help.

info <enter command here>

d) get help with shell built-in commands. You guessed it, type “help help” for help.

help <enter built in shell command here>

e) There is a ton of detailed online documentation for specific packages in the sub-directories of /usr/share/doc. Usage, examples, etc.

NOTE: So that you can read the text from these commands, if it is more than one page pipe it to the “less” command. You can use the arrow keys or page/up page/down keys to scroll up and down the page. Type “q” to quit.

For example:

man ifconfig | less

congratulations! you sir, have arrived! although sorry to say if you wish to get anywhere at all with this here thing you will need to become bloody marvelous at forum and google searching. there are literally hundreds of threads about setting up the pi as a webserver and dozens are amazing websites packed with info about various configurations and options.

the watch word for linux is control. like my old friend captain planet used to say -- the power -- is yours!

Thank you

I'm an intermediate linux user with a good amount of programming experience, so I'm probably not the complete n00b I came off as Back when I used to hang around this forum there were quite a few active threads about using the Pi as a NAS/web server. Now, as you say, there are hundreds of threads about web servers (probably NASs as well). The difficulty is thus not finding, but sorting. I'll probably start some threads when I have things up and running to get feedback.

First step now is to find a HDMI to DVI lead... or maybe a disk image that starts the Pi as a headless server off the bat... Now that would save time and money.

Hi everyone

Santa brought a raspberry pi for my son! However, I’m a tad concerned about the smell of it, very strong when we took it out of the little plastic wrapper. Can anyone tell me what is the smell (almost cross between plastic/electronics etc) – is it harmful in anyway? Thanks from a neurotic mummy!

My Pi didn't smell anything that I could feel (though I'm almost as stuffed up as the rest of my family right now -- yay holiday colds!). If I were you I would have a look through the forums at http://www.element14.com/community/groups/raspberry-pi?view=discussions and http://www.designspark.com/theme/raspberrypi for info on that. Thank poing for those links - they were accesible through the one he provided. It's probably just that brand-new-electronics whiff that will wear off in a couple of days.

Keep in mind that the Pi is a naked circuit board. If he's fiddling with it he should wear an anti-static bracelet (to save the Pi from any barely-perceptible static discharges that can harm it) and have it unplugged. That said I don't think you should be too worried. It's a very low-powered device. When my daughter was only a couple of months old I found her sucking on a phone charger similar to the micro usb adapter you need to power the Pi. It was plugged in, but she didn't seem to care the least.

No. You may not take that as some kind of expert advice. Neither on electronics nor parenting

As long as you're worried about the smell, just keep an eye on it when it's running. If it ever starts to emit smoke, unplug it. Also, if you notice any part of it going hot enough to burn you, unplug it.

Hi everyone

Santa brought a raspberry pi for my son! However, I'm a tad concerned about the smell of it, very strong when we took it out of the little plastic wrapper. Can anyone tell me what is the smell (almost cross between plastic/electronics etc) - is it harmful in anyway? Thanks from a neurotic mummy!

Who did you buy yours from? Where was it manufactured and by who? I am sensitive to such odors and was worried mine could present an odor, but it thankfully did not. Got it from Allied, was made in China.

Depends on the source of the odor. For people whose bodies cannot handle the chemical onslaught of the modern world, it could add to their load.

But it is a controversial issue - most people will say such odors cannot harm anyone.

That will be your decision. A lot of new electronic gadgetry is pretty odiferous nowadays, most will gas off in time, some will not.

First step now is to find a HDMI to DVI lead... or maybe a disk image that starts the Pi as a headless server off the bat... Now that would save time and money.

In the latest and greatest Rapsian build, SSH is enabled by default. So you should be able to get your RPi's IP address from the router, and SSH into it without a problem.

The smells are common to electronics components. A couple of mine had those smells really strong also. All of them have it if you smell them close enough. Just wash your hands after playing with it. Getting a case is a good idea, less handling of the actual board.

I have not killed any of my RasPi and do not use an anti-static strap ever. I would not recommend dragging your feet on the carpet. If it is connected to the tv (grounded) I would touch the TV first to bleed of any static, then touch the RasPi. My whole house is carpeted and I have not lost a RasPi yet. Only one of them has a case.

Have fun, that is the main thing to remember!

[clive]

Uh-oh, here comes the barrage of Christmas or other religious denomination “Just got my pi” posts.....Will not boot, will not reboot, will not shutdown, freezes, disconnects at random times, no leds lit, wifi does not work, crashes, can't see the password, what case do I buy, what is the password, keyboard repeats characters, gets too hot, capacitor fell off, can't image sd card, what image is the best to use, where do I start, voltage is too low, what is it good for, is it supposed to smoke, what electronics do I buy, this is all I got for Christmas...Where is my iPhone, etc., etc.

Why "Uh-oh? One of the main functions of the forum is to help and support people who need it, including those for whom all of this is a new and mysterious.

I welcome these questions, as I'm sure most members here do: it's a chance to help someone with their first exploration of the Raspberry Pi and computing, and to help others in future who might have similar problems. A young person who doesn't know how to shut down a Linux machine this Christmas might be compiling custom kernels by the next.

So anyone thinking that their question is too trivial or silly: it isn't! Ask away

[clive]

Hi everyone

Santa brought a raspberry pi for my son! However, I’m a tad concerned about the smell of it, very strong when we took it out of the little plastic wrapper. Can anyone tell me what is the smell (almost cross between plastic/electronics etc) – is it harmful in anyway? Thanks from a neurotic mummy!

Hi simone -- it sounds like it's normal "new electronics" smell (if you could sniff the mainboard of your desktop computer or mobile phone when it was new you would smell the same thing.) It should fade over time. If it doesn't, or it gets worse, post back here.

The smell of bare electronics, possibly the chemical cleaner that is used to clean the excess solder flux away in manufacture. This is not harmful in the quantity you will get left over on one Pi, best not lick it too many times though

Or, it could be the packaging. Anti-static bags sometimes wiff a bit.

Why "Uh-oh?

I spend a lot of time on these forums helping people out, but what irks me are those that don't even make an attempt to solve problems themselves. The amount of posts with the same questions asked over and over again, where the answers are very easy to acquire with a very simple search of these forums, the main web site or Googling is quite unbelievable. That is why I supplied the basics in my previous post. Now granted, anyone who is new to Linux, software, or computer hardware, etc. is going to be completely overwhelmed when their pi arrives, and I do understand this.

Thanks Guys for all the replies, ESP today

I ordered my pi from Farnell, so pretty reputable. I think as you say it is typical 'new electronics' smell. Looking forward to getting to play with it! Have a great Christmas all

Simone

[clive]

Why "Uh-oh?

I spend a lot of time on these forums helping people out,

We know - thanks by the way - which is why I wondered about the "uh-oh"!

I think we just have to accept that we'll get repeat / common questions from people who are new to this (Raspberry Pi specifically and non-Windows machines in general)

Having said that, I think that this question was pretty unique and interesting though - and therefore a good addition to the body of knowledge

I ordered my pi from Farnell, so pretty reputable. I think as you say it is typical 'new electronics' smell.

If is not a question of reputability, my query was because there are people whose immune systems have been compromised, who cannot handle such odors, and information about who manufactured your Raspberry Pi can help them make purchase decisions.

If you would be so kind as to look at the edge of your son's Pi and tell us where it was manufactured, that is very important information.

And I will be interested to hear how long it takes for the odor to go away, if you think of posting back in this thread later on when that happens.

Meanwhile, welcome to the community and have fun with your Raspberry Pi!

I think we just have to accept that we'll get repeat / common questions from people who are new to this (Raspberry Pi specifically and non-Windows machines in general)

Having said that, I think that this question was pretty unique and interesting though - and therefore a good addition to the body of knowledge

My original post was not directed at the OP at all, although I can see the misunderstanding, it was the title of the thread that did it; just trying to nip some future posts in the bud. Actually there was a different post today that set me off due to the person's obvious extreme laziness factor. Combine that with Christmas and all, the most horrible time of the year, and it was the perfect storm. Well, tomorrow is another day.