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So the Raspberry Pi likes to restart when plugging in USB hard drives. That doesn't gel with my intended use of the
Raspberry PI: HTPC which would have various USB hard drives and memory sticks regularly being plugged in and
out.
(Crudely explained by a novice with an incomplete understanding,
The Raspberry Pi restarts when a USB device, like a USB hard drive, is connected because the USB device in
essence suck up the power from the USB for a very short while. The Raspberry Pi experiences something like
a brownout [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownout_(electricity)] and restarts.
For a more exact explanation have a look at http://theiopage.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/increasing-raspberry-pisusb-host.html [http://theiopage.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/increasing-raspberry-pis-usb-host.html] where he explains
voltage droop and a mod applicable to the earlier versions of the Raspberry Pi (those with polyfuses limiting the
current on the USB ports). He also hints at how to properly fix the hotplugging problem of the Raspberry Pi.
David Sanz Kirbis describes how he fixed the hotplugging problem of the Raspberry Pi here:
http://therandomlab.blogspot.com/2013/01/raspberry-pi-mod-to-avoid-shutdown-on.html
[http://therandomlab.blogspot.com/2013/01/raspberry-pi-mod-to-avoid-shutdown-on.html] . I used his blog post as a
guide to do a similar mod on my own Raspberry Pi.
How the fix works is by increasing the capacitance of the Raspberry Pi, so that it can supply the USB devices with
the necessary power to fill the USB device's own capacitors without resulting voltage droop causing the Raspberry
Pi to restart. The capacitor C32 over the USB ports, as highlighted below, is a mere 47F.
[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--nMQL0oUiBk/UZdNOB7jLKI/AAAAAAAAAB4/jeugqI-JeUw/s1600/Capacitor+C32.jpg]
[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/Y2Qw7Zv7Ass/UZdVM8v5u9I/AAAAAAAAACI/4rP9qzWMMHY/s1600/Capacitor+10V+220uF.jpg]
[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ULTT0WTIYLc/UZdVNObx3tI/AAAAAAAAACM/Vxuf0xRpkig/s1600/Capacitor+legs+bent.jpg]
I also cut and bent the leads so that I can solder the capacitor over the exiting C32 capacitor. Take note of the
length that you cut the leads, because if the capacitor stands out above the USB ports then it is likely that your case
won't close.
Below the soldered on capacitor is shown. If you look closely you can see that my solder of the positive lead isn't
very nicely done. The soldering is a bit delicate, so be careful.
[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1EE6u8XXVY0/UZdVWHD9-dI/AAAAAAAAACY/gvryXbx_AaM/s1600/IMG_3833.JPG]
[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHMvFGdMQwg/UZdVfI_-3VI/AAAAAAAAACg/oTw5splkG6Q/s1600/IMG_3834.JPG]
I then tested the plugging in a multiple USB harddrives while the the Raspberry Pi was running and it didn't restart.
Success. It seems that the single capacitor is sufficient and the 2nd capacitor by the input power wasn't needed as
per therandomlab blog article.
Posted 18th May 2013 by Mynhardt Burger
9
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I did that on the original Pi. Still resets the darn thing. It really annoys me to death. I also removed the fuses for
each port. I got 2A connected via GPIO.
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