Installation on a Raspberry Pi 4b: "Unable to read partition as FAT"

mister_he1merD0ng3r · December 18, 2024 at 1:10 PM New

Hi everyone, this is the error that I see when plugging the pi to the TV:

Code

Unable to read partition as FAT

``I know that this is a very generic error and I've seen tons of threads about this. Most folks say that the micro sd card is broken and people should get a new one. I tried a 32GB micro SD card that I had used for a different pi project in the past and got this error. Then I just now bought an 8GB micro sd card. I unpacked it and the very first thing that was ever done with this brand new SD card was format it with libre elec. And again I get this error... How can this be with a brand new card? I'm starting to think that the micro SD card is not the issue here...

Further information:

I've used this image: LibreELEC-RPi4.aarch64-12.0.1.img.gz from the download section: https://libreelec.tv/downloads/raspberry/
I've written the image to the micro sd card using dd

Any recommendations what I could try next?

johnny depp · December 18, 2024 at 2:10 PM New

Hello

just as an idea

try a fast USB stick (approx. from USB 3.1, 250 MB/s) with an img

(translated with deepL)

jd

MatteN · December 18, 2024 at 3:22 PM New

Try with Etcher, it never failed me.

balenaEtcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives

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**chewitt** · December 18, 2024 at 4:42 PM New

How is the RPi being powered? .. weak PSU's cause problems

mister_he1merD0ng3r · December 18, 2024 at 5:25 PM New

using this: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, USB-C, 5.1V, 3A

(it says that it is supposed to be the official PSU, has the logo on it)

**Da Flex** · December 18, 2024 at 9:07 PM New

Quote from mister_he1merD0ng3r

Any recommendations what I could try next?

Can you read the FAT partition on your desktop PC? If yes, then maybe your RPi card reader is broken.

**mglae** · December 18, 2024 at 10:47 PM New

With dd did you unzip the image?

Code

gzip -dc LibreELEC-RPi4.aarch64-12.0.1.img.gz|dd of=/dev/xxx bs=64k

**HiassofT** · December 18, 2024 at 11:15 PM New

FWIW: I've been simply using zcat for years without any issues:

Code

zcat LibreELEC-RPi4.aarch64-12.0.1.img.gz > /dev/sdX

If you are using Linux, Windows or MacOS you can also simply use the Raspberry Pi Imager - LibreELEC is available in the Mediacenter section.

Raspberry Pi OS – Raspberry Pi

From industries large and small, to the kitchen table tinkerer, to the classroom coder, we make computing accessible and affordable for everybody.

www.raspberrypi.com

so long,

Hias

johnny depp · December 19, 2024 at 9:38 AM New

Quote from Da Flex

Can you read the FAT partition on your desktop PC? If yes, then maybe your RPi card reader is broken.

That's why I advised him to use a USB stick (for testing)

sd card out usb in!

jd

mister_he1merD0ng3r · December 19, 2024 at 9:44 AM New

Quote from mglae
With dd did you unzip the image?
Code
gzip -dc LibreELEC-RPi4.aarch64-12.0.1.img.gz|dd of=/dev/xxx bs=64k

oh my god, i'm the biggest clown alive... I forgot to unzip it. I really need a break from computers now. glad that holidays are around the corner.

Thank you so much mglae 🙏🙏🙏🙏 its working now

Thanks everyone else!

I'll now go ahead and prepare this pi and make it a gift for my xmas parents. Got a case and a remote for it too.

mister_he1merD0ng3r · December 19, 2024 at 12:09 PM New

Quote from HiassofT
FWIW: I've been simply using zcat for years without any issues:
Code
zcat LibreELEC-RPi4.aarch64-12.0.1.img.gz > /dev/sdX
If you are using Linux, Windows or MacOS you can also simply use the Raspberry Pi Imager - LibreELEC is available in the Mediacenter section.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/
so long,
Hias

pi imager is a phantastic recommendation! I just installed it and it looks really nice. I'll definitely use this in the future

MatteN · December 19, 2024 at 7:17 PM New

With Etcher there is no need to unpack the img archive.