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[petera]

So I lugged my hdmi monitor and cable down from my office dual display computer.  Plugged into my workshop computer and it came immediately to life, I could move icons to it.  So unplugged from pc plugged into pi - nothing.

Tried the other 8 TF cards I have made.  Nothing.

It DOES do something:  it flashes ACER logo for 1 sec, then 3 sec blank then repeats...  On any pi, and TF card...

I am beginning to wonder if this raspberry stretch LITE is LITE for a reason - no hdmi drivers?  I may try NOOBS again to verify if this is it - these pi's may be working fine with no hdmi output?

So THIS time I put stretch-lite image on a 4gb card in Tails linux via terminal window...  copied my wpa config and ssh to boot partician.    of course no wifi still, altho it is happily clinking along on the pi green LED...

NOOBs here I come!

No take things slowly. Raspbian Lite EXCLUDES the GUI Pixel. To have a GUI you must download the full version of Raspbian. Forget the NOOBS. No need for it.

Could you download the full version of Raspbian Stretch and report back if you get a GUI displaying on your monitor.

[petera]

Just for clarity

1. Download the full version of Raspbian Stretch
2. Unpack that download using 7 Zip or similar unzipping software
3. Image that unpacked zip file to your SD card using win32diskimage or similar software
3. Drop the blank SSH. and the wpa_supplicant.conf files into the /boot folder of the SD card
4. Make sure your power supply cable and your HDMI cable are attached to your Pi Zero before plugging in the power supply.
5. Allow the Pi to power up and configure first run. You should see the GUI displayed on the screen after a while
6. If wireless is not connected at this stage you can configure it from the GUI.

[Tuicemen]

What size SD cards do you have? I have a zero HG image for a 32 gig card on my site (GUI included).
I do can make smaller images but I'm not at the zero location right now.

[mike]

My TF cards are 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB. Quite The variety.

Although the light does not have a GUI I believe I do recall one time seeing one of them load on my display. It loaded One driver at a time three or four pages worth. I'm not even saying that any longer.

I downloaded noobs loaded at 8 GB card. It rattled the LED light for 40 minutes and no change on my display and of course no Wi-Fi.

I'm ready for 2 more tries before I give up on Raspberry Pi. First I will download the full raspbian although I suspect all that adds is a GUI at the end of three pages of driver loaded which I no longer see. Second I think I'll buy two more Raspberry Pi 0w cards before I throw in the towel.

[petera]

My TF cards are 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB. Quite The variety.

Although the light does not have a GUI I believe I do recall one time seeing one of them load on my display. It loaded One driver at a time three or four pages worth. I'm not even saying that any longer.

I downloaded noobs loaded at 8 GB card. It rattled the LED light for 40 minutes and no change on my display and of course no Wi-Fi.

I'm ready for 2 more tries before I give up on Raspberry Pi. First I will download the full raspbian although I suspect all that adds is a GUI at the end of three pages of driver loaded which I no longer see. Second I think I'll buy two more Raspberry Pi 0w cards before I throw in the towel.

As soon as you power up your Pi Zero what you should see is is the Linux kernel loading line by line in text format. That happens with or without a GUI. As soon as the Linux kernel had been loaded you will be presented with a login screen on the Raspbian Lite version or the X system (GUI) will start loading with the Raspbian full version.

I have to admit I've never encountered a user experiencing such difficulties like this trying to fire up a Raspberry Pi. You've got a good Pi Zero, good HDMI cables, good SD cards, good HDMI monitor yet you are seeing nothing on the screen.

One last thing that may or may not be important. You refer to your card as a TF card which is a TransFlash card. There is a little difference between a TransFlash card and a Micro Secure Digital card. Mainly down to SDIO. What brand of card are you using. . As far as I recall TF doesn't support SDIO which may be affecting wireless communication.

@Tuicemen just shrink the image you have on your site to a more manageable one, say 2gb unless you have it that size for a particular reason. Remember Mike still has to change his wireless credentials even if he downloads your image.

[mike]

What size SD cards do you have? I have a zero HG image for a 32 gig card on my site (GUI included).
I do can make smaller images but I'm not at the zero location right now.

I say TF card cuz I thought it silly to keep saying SD card;  SD card is much larger - the little TF card slides into a SD card adapter 9 out of 10 times.

Tuicemen your 2nd line above did not click with me:  I will download it and image a new 32gb card I have.

[Tuicemen]

@mike I'm not in the city where my Zero is located I only have access to the 3b+ and the image from it is not compatible.

@petera the image was my first attempt and I believe I zipped it. there is no particular reason why it is the size it is I actually was going to remove the images just haven't got around to it yet.

[petera]

@mike I'm not in the city where my Zerois locatedI only have access to the 3b+ and the image from it is not compatible.

@petera the image was my first attempt and I believe I zipped it. there is no particular reason why it is the size it is I actually was going to remove the images just haven't got around to it yet.

If you have a large image with a lot of unused space you can shrink it to a size that you could distribute more easily. This is something I use to achieve this in Linux
https://softwarebakery.com/shrinking-images-on-linux

[petera]

What size SD cards do you have? I have a zero HG image for a 32 gig card on my site (GUI included).
I do can make smaller images but I'm not at the zero location right now.

I say TF card cuz I thought it silly to keep saying SD card;  SD card is much larger - the little TF card slides into a SD card adapter 9 out of 10 times.

Tuicemen your 2nd line above did not click with me:  I will download it and image a new 32gb card I have.

Ok. I just refer to them as SD and micro SD card. Not an issue so. Curious to know what brand you're using and how old they are. Is your card reader/writer operating correctly. If possible start off with something like a brand new 8gb micro SD card and try the installation process with it to try rule out any problems at that end.

If all your hardware is testing good and your downloaded file has been imaged to micro SD card and verified it really is strange what going on.

I'd definitely target downloading and installing the full Raspbian Stretch distribution with the GUI. Once you have configured your wireless you can always disable it at a later stage. Don't forget sudo raspi-config allows you to configure wireless and many other options too.

Good luck and let us know if you make any progress.

[Tuicemen]

If you have a large image with a lot of unused space you can shrink it to a size that you could distribute more easily. This is something I use to achieve this in Linux
https://softwarebakery.com/shrinking-images-on-linux

Thanks for the link I may attempt this  with the latest HG install included but I doubt I'll continue to offer an image from my server.

[mike]

Reasearching TF name vs micro Sd name, I find they are identical for pi purposes.  Anyway, when I buy 32gb class 10 TF cards on ebay for $ 5 with free shipping, none have not worked in cameras and other uses.  I do not buy into an idea that the cards I have written, many different sizes and brands, are my issue.

Unfortunately Arduino raised their pi zero W price to $10 now, so my 5th one just cost me $ 15.00 with USPS shipping. 

Petera, since you confirmed pages of  text listings of drivers loading  DOES show on pi power up, and since my once working openhabian TF card loaded and worked as server and on wifi yet it ALSO did not show anything on the hdmi display on power up, the issue must be all 4 of my pi's hdmi outputs are defective.

I will blindly try one more brand new 32gb card (what a waste!) and see if raspbian works via wifi.  IF not, I await my 5th pi - they are are expensive!

[Tuicemen]

mike you sure are giving a valiant effort! Not sure I would have stuck with it by now.
If yor using the same SD image each time it is possible you don't have the correct one or it is corrupt.
You need to besure it is a image for a PI not some other board as the boot sequence is different for x86 or other SBC.

[petera]

If you have a large image with a lot of unused space you can shrink it to a size that you could distribute more easily. This is something I use to achieve this in Linux
https://softwarebakery.com/shrinking-images-on-linux

Thanks for the link I may attempt this  with the latest HG install included but I doubt I'll continue to offer an image from my server.

GParted is very useful in Linux. Even works for low level stubborn problems in Windows. I can't count the amount of SD cards I've revived with it. Those stubborn hard to delete partitions particularly.

If I was located near Mike I'd send him a pre installed version of Raspbian Stretch with HG installed on it but customs and other issues preclude this. it's so frustrating knowing that he has everything to "bake the cake" but it's just knowing the "right mix" to achieve it.

[Tuicemen]

GParted is very useful in Linux. Even works for low level stubborn problems in Windows. I can't count the amount of SD cards I've revived with it. Those stubborn hard to delete partitions particularly.

If I was located near Mike I'd send him a pre installed version of Raspbian Stretch with HG installed on it but customs and other issues preclude this. it's so frustrating knowing that he has everything to "bake the cake" but it's just knowing the "right mix" to achieve it.

I can certainly do that. I don't believe customs would be an issue.
The issue would be if mike couldn't view the GUI over a HDMI hook up as a monitor is required initially to setup the wi-fi.
I guess I could input the info prior to shipping if mike was comfortable with suppling that to me via e-mail. That way no HDMI connection would be required and you could use Putty to SSH into the PI for any additional configuration requirements.

[petera]

Reasearching TF name vs micro Sd name, I find they are identical for pi purposes.  Anyway, when I buy 32gb class 10 TF cards on ebay for $ 5 with free shipping, none have not worked in cameras and other uses.  I do not buy into an idea that the cards I have written, many different sizes and brands, are my issue.

Unfortunately Arduino raised their pi zero W price to $10 now, so my 5th one just cost me $ 15.00 with USPS shipping. 

Petera, since you confirmed pages of  text listings of drivers loading  DOES show on pi power up, and since my once working openhabian TF card loaded and worked as server and on wifi yet it ALSO did not show anything on the hdmi display on power up, the issue must be all 4 of my pi's hdmi outputs are defective.

I will blindly try one more brand new 32gb card (what a waste!) and see if raspbian works via wifi.  IF not, I await my 5th pi - they are are expensive!

It would be amazing if all your Pi Zeros were defective but it is possible.

At the risk of sounding desperate, you definitely have the correctly rated power supply going to the Pi Zero. If you haven't, you will still see the Pi Zero LEDs flashing with activity but what it actually is doing is pulling low power and going into a constant reboot cycle so obviously nothing will display on the screen.

As you probably know you'll get away with 1.2ah but for overhead I'd use 2.00ah. Again it's also down to build quality.

Don't throw in the towel just yet. I know you're nearly there. With a good downloaded Raspbian Stretch image and correctly working hardware you should be up and running soon.