HDMI stops with camera plug-in

[sonettguy]

I’m trying to get my first pi, a zero W, up and going. I walked through the raspi-config utility, enabled the camera, used the Raspbian shutdown command, started back up and got online, used the shutdown command, unplugged the Pi, connected a camera from Adafruit, powered the pi back up and no HDMI. Try as I might, I cannot get it back.

Here’s a detailed version of the events.

With my first Pi (Zero W) straight out of the box, I flashed an image of Raspbian onto a Sandisk 16Gb SD using Etcher. I connected HDMI to a TV. Nothing was connected to the USB yet. I popped in the SD and plugged in the Pi. I got a black screen with a raspberry in the upper left corner and a cursor. I thought this was odd since I was expecting a photo background. I waited an hour, doing other things, but it did not change. I unplugged the Pi, and since reading such scary things about not shutting down properly, I went back and re-imaged the SD. Actually, I reformatted it using Tuxera’s SD Card Formatter, then re-imaged it using Etcher, later realizing that the reformatting probably wasn’t necessary.

I connected a dongle through a USB OTG connector to enable a wireless keyboard and mouse. I plugged in a 5V, 1A power cable. This time I got the “road” to Raspbian. Yay! On the way there, I saw a screen flash by that indicated it was expanding Filesystem. (I thought I was going to do that…) I opened the raspi-config pop-up window and started configuring. Expand Filesystem was not listed, so I guess it actually did that automatically. I changed the Hostname. I changed my password. I selected Desktop Log In. I selected en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8. I changed the timezone to mine. I selected generic 101 keyboard (although my Logitech seems to have only 100), selected Other/English(US) on country and keyboard layout. I enabled camera. I skipped overclock. I enabled Bluetooth and paired it to my iPhone. I looked at the Memory Split and it was set at 128, which seems fine for the enabled camera, so I escaped out. I did not turn on SSH or look at it. (Is the default enabled? I've seen the forum say yes and Adafruit say no.) I didn’t look at any others. I used escape to get back out, I think. I can’t really remember how I went back to the main Raspbian screen. I got back on the internet from the pi to see if it was working and it was. I shutdown using the command under File. I unplugged the Pi after the green light stopped flashing (10-15 seconds, maybe).

I plugged in the camera. I plugged the pi back in. The green light flashed like it was booting and stayed on steady afterwards, but the TV didn’t recognize anything was plugged into the HDMIl port. I worked with the cable, tried typing some commands to see if the green light would flash, but nothing. I went to my computer and got on my router. It saw the pi, although it was calling it by the default name, not the Hostname I entered earlier. I downloaded an app (Command Pi) to control the pi remotely from my iPhone, thinking I could shut it down property from there. I used the IP address from the router and port 22 (which is a guess). It would not connect.

I don’t yet understand SSH or how to connect via computer, so I unplugged the pi again. I reformatted the SD using the overwrite option. I re-imaged Raspbian. I repeated the exercise above with the camera disconnected and no change. I re-imaged the SD again, and tried again without the camera, but no change. I inspected the pins on both the SD and the camera, but everything seems fine. I never forced either into its slot. Perhaps my HDMI cable is bad? I replaced it, re-imaged the SD and got the same result. I can’t get an active PuTTY session. Bluetooth does not connect. I’m at a loss as to what to try next. I’ve now been trying to get it running for five straight days reading countless troubleshooting posts, performed the Boot Problems Sticky, and I can’t even get the TV to see the pi. I don’t see my problem on Sticky: 26 Common Pitfalls for Beginners. Seriously? The sanity check using a USB to my computer shows the pi healthy. So frustrating. Have I reset my parameter selections? Have I disabled the HDMI? Why can’t I connect via WiFi? What can I try next?

[sonettguy]

Sadly, my pi zero W is isolating. Now, it does not appear to my router and I cannot connect by bluetooth, nor by HDMI. It still looks like it is booting with about twenty seconds of blinking green light.

[sonettguy]

Update. 7 days and zero pi zero. New Raspbian image produces same result. Then, I ran across a VGA-HDMI converter in my drawer and realized I could try an old monitor. I reformatted the SD and this time installed Noobs. I never started with Noobs before. Could that be the problem? I previously started with the Raspbian image. I powered up the pi zero w and, lo and behold, my old monitor lit up. It gave me a FAT error and could not go on. Rather than start to learn a new operating system, I imaged Raspbian onto the SD card and fired up the pi zero w with it. Ah, the beautiful sign of the infinite road popped up on my screen. Finally. So, I tediously went through the sudo raspbi-config. Same changes as before, except this time I enabled SSH. I also changed the hostname and password. There is my first mistake. I then found the expand filesystem command, which my tutorial says is the first item, but is actually one of the last, under Advanced. I noted that it requires a reset to take place. OK, is this my second mistake; having made changes to selections prior to reset for expanded filesystem? I got on the internet, set up mail, couldn't get the parameters right even following suggestions from a dozen posts and articles. Gave up on email. Did a formal shutdown using the Raspbian command; unplugged the pi; then plugged it back in. Username and password pop-up appears. Username? That was not one of the things I changed. Or did I? I set username for email, but I thought that was for my email account, not the pi. Maybe username is still "pi." Or, is it the hostname? I tried various combinations and it refused my login each time. I took a break, went and fixed dinner, came back in 3 hours and the screen was blank. Of course I don't mean sleep mode, I mean that when you moved the mouse the screen said NO SIGNAL. Oh no. The green light is solid. Nothing I could do would allow the HDMI port to awake. I tried unpllugging it and plugging it back in. Nothing. I tried connecting by WiFi, but couldn't get past login. Stone cold dead once again. This is soooo frustrating. Am I setting something that disables HDMI when it is just sitting there doing nothing? If the fuse was blowing, wouldn't the green light be off?

[sonettguy]

OK, I'm feeling a little lonely here. But, I have news. This is solved. Final posting.

Newbie with my first pi and I could not get it configured. I was losing the hdmi signal, but it seemed to be booting as judged by the blinking green light (it is a Pi Zero W). I bought a new pi. Tried to set it up. This time I did not change the password, but all other settings were done in the same way as previously mentioned. It did the same thing. Once I was done, the screen went blank. No communication. Not through html nor bluetooth nor WiFi. What is the same? I've changed the hdmi cable trying 3. Two different pis. Two different monitors. Same power supply; same USB OTG and dongle; same hdmi converter standard to mini...uhhhh, wait. Jiggling the converter, I pull it half way out. Suddenly I have life. The monitor shows the infinite road. Wholly cow. I just spent 30 days only to find that the hdmi converter disconnects the contacts when it is fully engaged. It must be pulled half way out. It is repeatable. It happens every time. The converter is from Adafruit, Part No. 2819. Don't use it! Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how many countless hours it has absorbed.

So, now I am back on my newbie path, learning all the newbie things and creating many more problems along the way.