No signal to monitor!

[Tony61]

As an absolute beginner i thought I'd seek some help here!

Having bought the ModMyPi Ultimate Raspberry Pi start up kit, a freebie Acer monitor from work (VGA output) and a HDMI to VGA adapter from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Laptop- ... HL+support I thought I was good to go.

But no plugged in everything and monitor came up with "no signal" message. Any thoughts?

will plug Pi into HDMI TV tonight to check if that is working but having looked around was wondering if I should have bought the Pi-view adapter instead which whilst more expensive appears to be the only RPi approved one around.

Thanks in advance for any help and apologies if I messed up the web link!

Tony

[Burngate]

ModMyPi is one of the more reputable companies around, so the bits that came with the kit should be ok, though it would be worth checking that the SD card has the latest image on it.

Your first port of call should be http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting
But the following might be helpful
When you first apply power does the red PWR led light?
Does the green ACT led flash semi-randomly for about 20secs?

Try adding (or uncommenting) hdmi_safe=1 in the config.txt file - you can find that file if you put the SD card in a Windows computer

[Tony61]

Hi,
Thanks for the help. regarding RPi light action yes I have a constant red light and I believe the green light did flash briefly but can say if it was for 20 secs!

I'll certainly try your suggestion and thanks again.

[klricks]

Make sure you have the latest image. Older images don't work with some of the newer RPi boards.

The HDMI to VGA adapters take a lot of power. I have the PI View but It won't work if I have my WIFI adapter plugged in at the same time. The fuse F3 on the RPi gets tripped. If I put my WIFI on a powered hub then that will work.
Later I got a HDMI to VGA adapter with it's own power adapter no problems after that.

[texy]

Hi,
I think it's a priority in this case to know that the SD card is valid. This means the green LED's should be flashing whilst data is read/wrote from/to the sd card as its booting. So I would disconnect the hdmi adapter and the switch on the power to the pi and check the green LED is as described. If it's not. the blame the sd card or the power source. If it seems to be behaving, then switch off, connect up the hdmi adapter, then switch on again and see if it does the same. Thhat way you can narrow down the problem area.
Also see this thread :
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt ... 26&t=43218


Hope this helps,
Texy

[mahjongg]

its possible you need to force hdmi output with the right resolution, by setting the correct entry in config.txt. To start with it might be wise to use the safe video mode, also use config.txt
see the wiki for more info.

Its possible that using an unpowered HDMI to VGA has overpowered the PI's polyfuse, and it needs some time (several hours to days) to recover, so to avoid blowing it repetitively don't connect the adapter at first! If you can, try using it with the composite output on an old television, with a yellow video input (or SCART using an adapter).

[Tony61]

As I said I am a complete beginner so I'll need to read up a bit more to work out what I need to do in reference to the config change recommended.

What exactly do you mean by an unpowered HDMI to VGA? as you can see in my original post it stated that it is specifically for use with a RPi. Is there anyway of telling if it is an "unpowered" adapter?

thanks for your help

PS I have no idea what a polyfuse is

[klricks]

Actually all the adapters are powered. However the PI View and the Amazon adapter you have, get their power from the RPi board via the HDMI connector.
The better adapters have their own external power supply which you plug into the side of the adapter.

A poly fuse is a type of self resetting fuse. Regular type fuses work only 1 time then you have to replace them. A poly fuse works many times and self heals.
If a Poly fuse trips due to high current load, then It must rest and cool down for a period of time before it will work again.
It may take several hours to become workable again.

Did you have a WIFI adapter on the RPi at the same time?

[aelsas]

Hi,

those cheap HDMI adapters without external power supply only cause problems, switch to an external powered one!

Best regards

Alex

[Tony61]

Alex,
Any recommendations?

[klricks]

I have this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007VI ... UTF8&psc=1
This one has HMDI audio pass through as well as an external adapter.

Note when searching be sure to look for HDMI to VGA (HDMI IN to VGA OUT).

There are many out there that do the opposite and look very similar.

[Tony61]

Just to say thanks to everyone and I've managed to get everything working with the recommended s/w mods.

Now just got to figure out how to get my 9 yr old off Minecraft and doing something more interesting with her new mini computer!