Stuck on Ubuntu Splash Screen

[w2eck]

Just received the Helioclock sd card and put in Rasp Pi 4B. Powered up and it seems stuck or stopped on a black and orange screen – Orange circle in middle and Ubuntu at bottom. Any suggestions ?? Rasp Pi has heat syncs installed and in case with a fan.
Paul w2eck

[AA6CP]

My SD card wont boot up either

[AA6CP]

my message is UNABLE TO READ PARTITION AS FAT

[helioclock]

Stuck on the Ubuntu loading spinner after boot? Start here.

A few customers have reported their Pi 4 getting stuck on the animated Ubuntu circle after powering on, never reaching the Helioclock display. If this is you, please work through the steps below in order, then reply to this thread with the specifics requested at the bottom even if one of the steps fixes it. I’m tracking a pattern and your details will genuinely help.

Try these first
Give it a couple of minutes. On a slow or unusual network setup, the spinner can occasionally take longer than normal before Helioclock appears. If it resolves within 2 to 3 minutes, you’re fine, just a slow network handshake at boot.
Full power off, not just a reboot. Unplug the power completely, wait 30 seconds, then power back on.
Check your Pi 4’s RAM size. Pi 4 boards were sold in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB versions. Helioclock needs 4GB minimum. If you’re not sure, it’s usually printed on the board itself near the RAM chip, or you can check the box it came in. This is a common cause of exactly this symptom.
Confirm you have a case, fan, and heatsink installed. Helioclock runs the CPU hard, and an uncooled Pi can behave unpredictably during boot.
Try a different network connection if possible. If you’re on WiFi, try Ethernet instead (or vice versa), just to see if it changes anything.
Reseat the MicroSD card. Power off, remove the card, reseat it firmly, power back on.

If none of that resolves it, reply with:
RAM size of your Pi 4 (1GB / 2GB / 4GB / 8GB)
Roughly how long you let it sit on the spinner before giving up
WiFi or Ethernet, and if WiFi, roughly how far from your router

When and how you got this card (original Hamfest purchase, or a replacement, and roughly when)
Whether it’s always stuck, or only sometimes

Thanks for bearing with me on this. Every reply helps narrow down what’s actually going on.

73, Anthony KA9NWM

[Author]

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