OSMC installation stuck formatting

Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me out.
I am trying to install osmc onto my PI2 but it just gets stuck at “formatting device”.
I have tried adding “gpu_mem=32” to the config.txt file but it does not work.
Thanks

gpu_mem=32 should not be required for a pi with 1gb RAM… Did you image it with windows? Can you paste the install.log from C:/users//

I am using MacBook

whether I use “gpu_mem=32” the result is the same, stuck at formatting device. How can I see the log on the mac? Thanks
I have also tried 2 different micro SD cards - if I knew how to get the log, I’d post it on here.
In the end, after being stuck at “formatting device”, it finally says “install failed: can’t mount root”.

I wonder if there is any reason why I am getting no answers from ActionA… Sorry if I offended you! I do tend to be “to the point” and sometimes rather blunt…
Anyway, thank you for trying to help me in the 1st instance.

This is a power supply issue i think … remove all usb devices and just boot with sd card and hdmi in and use a good stable supply with at least 2a output … should have you up and running in no time :wink:

@westfields8 I’m having this problem with a Raspberry Pi 2 using a power source of 2Amp (more than recommended Raspberry Pi Documentation). The only USB device I have is a remote receiver.

I already tried 2 different SD cards (2 GB) and various versions of OSMC (2015.06 to 2016.04).

I’m running OpenElec with the same hardware (using 1 of the SD cards that I mentioned), and it runs perfectly.

I tried several times and a log file was never produced.

Any suggestion?

Thanks

dont use the osmc-installer…

it happend just now to me as well…

i tried to install it to 3 diffrent micro SD, all turned to be stuck at formatting device

TIP:

download the image disk : OSMC_TGT_rbp2_20160130.img
download WIN32 Disk Imager
format the card with partitioning tool or something… make the whole card fat32…

Write the img file with win32diskImager to the card… voila :wink:

This is totally unnecessary since the image write is done at a block level. Initial format type of the card is irrelevant.

Hi @ebeng,

Thank you for the suggestion, but it didn’t solve the problem.
I wrote the image to the SD Card using WIN32 Disk Imager, but the installation process still got stuck at “formatting device”.

Did you find a fix? Im having the same issue.

Hi,

No, I didn’t find a fix. I gave up :disappointed:

ohh damn… really want to get this fixed…

My Pi will boot but then gets stuck at Formatting Device… I have tried installing to USB and SD… power supply is official… sd card is legit…

Help please!?

Thanks
Gershy13

Which SD card you have?

Do you have another one at hand to try?

I’m not sure why you’d get a hang at formatting on a USB installation, as no partitioning of the SD is needed for this scenario, and it’s unlikely that both USB and SD are problematic.

However, if the Format succeeds, but then there is some problem beginning the extraction, then you may only see the Formatting Device message.

I would try another card.

Please don’t open identical threads.

Consolidated.

Hi all.
I had the same issue getting stuck on the formatting device stage. I tried changing gpu_mem to 32 but it just caused the Pi not to boot at all.

What worked was changing the config.txt settings order to as follows (using notepad++):

gpu_mem=16
disable_overscan=1
framebuffer_depth=32

I am using:

raspberry pi 3

16gb class 10 Samsung SD card (new genuine and verified) formatted to fat32 primary.

32gb USB 3 150MB/s Samsung memory stick (new genuine and verified). formatted to fat32 primary.

OSMC 2016.08-1 (image downloaded manually not via installer)

2.5A PSU

HDMI out

no internet connection

no other devices plugged in.

This shouldn’t be necessary at all.

How long did you wait for formatting? Some SD cards can take a while. It also seems like you may have been trying to install OSMC to a USB stick; partitioning can take a little longer here.

The install.log on the SD card will surely show the problem if it happens again.

Hi Sam

Yes it was a USB install.

First attempt:
No changes just let the installer do its thing. SD and USB formatted to fat32. left running for 30min.

second attempt:
No changes just let the installer do its thing. SD and USB reformatted to fat32. left running for 2 hours.

third attempt
just rebooted

forth attempt
just rebooted

fifth attempt:
reformatted USB only to fat32 left running for 20 minuets. (after this attempt and previous ones the usb drive had been stripped of any formatting after letting installation run)

sixth attempt
reformat USB to EXT4 and left running for 15 minuets.

seventh attempt
reformat USB and SD to fat32, downloaded disk image manually.

eighth attempt
reformat USB to fat32, downloaded disk image manually, changed gpu_men to 32, no boot.

eighth attempt
changed gpu_men to 64, no boot.

ninth attempt
changed gpu_men to 256, no boot.

tenth attempt
thoroughgoing toys out of pram… reformat USB and SD to fat32, downloaded disk image manually, changed gpu_men to 16 and placed at top of list, format was completed in 20 seconds rest of the installation took about a minuet.

There should be no need to change gpu_mem, and I can’t see how that would impact installation for you.

You also don’t need to pre-format your USB stick, as this is handled automatically by the installer.

The only thing we need is the log, which would be located on the SD card. If it’s running now though, you don’t need to upload it, as this is the first (of a seemingly isolated) report, so I don’t think there is a problem in general.