Raspberry Pi boot up SD solution

Part three from retrotext.blogs...
Looks like I can Get it going quickly with a hair dryer!

[@DrewCoatney3]

Same problem and the trick miraculously fixed it. Power shouldn't be a root problem for me. That was my initial hunch for the solid red light so I bought a 5.25V, 1A power source from Adafruit - providing plenty of space for drops. This is the most bizarre fix, thanks for finding it. I'm curious why this works though.

[@SondreDanielsen]

Worked for me on first go with 20 sec of hairdrying, after fiddling and formatting the SD-card for several hours. Amazing.

[@CarlAttrill]

hi hborkwook, I have also used a 5v 700 ma Supply , and the results exactly the same. I have a 1000 mA supply that I will not connect to it, as the suppliers have now said they will replace this board as It is likely a fissure in a solder joint that is closing upon thermal conduction. The Hair dryer is only raising the temp very slightly, I am sure a trouser pocket is warmer, so I don't think power was an issue.

[@hborkwood]

If you look at the Wiki on the pi website it says the MINIMUM current it needs is 700mA, remember it's basically got a mid power smartphone's chip as it's CPU, I tried a samsung 550mA charger from what was considered a powerful phone a few years but it wasn't powerful enough - sometimes it booted sometimes it didn't, but a blackberry's or my friend's Samsung Galaxy Y or almost any modern smartphone's charger 5V and 700mAh or over and with a micro USB connector should work, hope this helps.

[@rancegarrett3696]

Perhaps it isn't the hair dryer air fixing it, but the electromagnetic waves fluxing up the circuit internals...

[@CarlAttrill]

Also I have today replicated the same experiment in the from cold ( not used for 72 hours) but in the afternoon when the room is warmer and it works on both PSUs first time. ????

[@CarlAttrill]

hi hborkwook, I am using 550mA samsung PSU, the latest theory is that the heat is closing up a crack in the soldering somewhere. is yours Okay? your PSU sounds just right.

[@CarlAttrill]

UPDATE Farnells have replaced this PI and my new one works first time every time.

[@hborkwood]

Are you using a phone charger with at least 0.7 Amps (700mA)? I'm using a blackberry's charger.

[@nosebeareatsfudge3275]

so much for my quiet emulator station setup.

[@fredericseverino]

Gee! It worked for too. I really can't believe it

[@pmrpla]

Had the same problem, hair dryer solved it.

[@mohamedfatih8879]

Is this solution work for raspberry pi B+

[@SuperBloopie]

Wow... This actually worked. Why is this though?

[@hborkwood]

Sounds like your charger isn't powerful enough, borrow friend's smartphone charger or pay about a fiver on ebay for one (message seller first though to ask what the current is on the label), my pi is lukewarm (board doesn't even need a heatsink!) to the touch even after a few hours and I can hold it in my hand when on, it's definately not a phat xbox 360 which has solder cracks and needs reflowing with a hot air gun to melt solder joints or such, try the charger first, let me know, glad to help.

[@aarcher73k]

I'm so fucking skeptical about this... I mean, I have a good understanding of electronics and I know the hair dryer won't fuck up any of the components... but still... I'll report back.