Raspberry Pi Troubleshooter

Fast checklist for the most common Raspberry Pi problems. For interactive help, use the FixPaste Pro homepage and choose Platform → Raspberry Pi.

1) First: identify your Pi + OS

uname -a
cat /etc/os-release
cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -E "Model|Revision"
vcgencmd version || true

If vcgencmd is missing, you’re likely on a minimal install. That’s OK.

2) No sound / audio not working

• Check mixer / mute
• Select correct output (HDMI vs headphone vs USB DAC)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y alsa-utils
alsamixer
aplay -l
pactl info 2>/dev/null || true
pactl list short sinks 2>/dev/null || true

On older Pi OS images, HDMI audio can be forced via config (location depends on OS):

# Try /boot/config.txt OR /boot/firmware/config.txt
grep -n "dtparam=audio" -n /boot/config.txt 2>/dev/null || true
grep -n "dtparam=audio" -n /boot/firmware/config.txt 2>/dev/null || true

3) Wi‑Fi not working / unstable

rfkill list
iwconfig 2>/dev/null || true
ip a
sudo dmesg -T | tail -n 120
sudo journalctl -u NetworkManager --no-pager -n 120 2>/dev/null || true

Common fixes: power supply quality, country code, correct driver firmware packages, and disabling aggressive power save.

4) Boot issues (won’t boot / stuck)

vcgencmd get_throttled || true
# If you can boot at least once:
sudo journalctl -b -1 --no-pager -n 200 || true

If get_throttled shows undervoltage, fix PSU/cable first.

5) Camera / overlays / GPIO

On modern Pi OS, camera stack may use libcamera. Overlays are configured in boot config.

# List overlays
ls /boot/overlays 2>/dev/null || true
ls /boot/firmware/overlays 2>/dev/null || true

# GPIO tools (if needed)
sudo apt-get install -y gpiod
gpioinfo | head

When to use FixPaste Pro

Paste the output of:

sudo dmesg -T | tail -n 200
sudo journalctl -b --no-pager -n 200

Then select Platform → Raspberry Pi for Pi-specific commands.

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Back to FixPaste Pro.