# New Zynthian kit boots only to cli - turned out to be an sd card access issue

**URL:** <https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830>\
**Category:** Using Zynthian\
**Tags:** issue\
**Created:** [February 14, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830 "2026-02-14T16:57:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/1 "2026-02-14T16:57:16Z")

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Hello,

I recently purchased a Zynthian V5.1 and building it went swimmingly.

However, I can’t get it to boot to the actual interface, or get into the webUI unless I manually start zythian\_webconf.py or zynthian\_webconf.sh. When I manually start zynthian.sh too it loads the splash screen but gets stuck on that until I cancel the process.

Looking through the logs with journalctl, it looks like there are many systemd units not starting up due to bad unit file settings.

[log.txt](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/short-url/817soNIv6YDoskzNYBskNqkLzIH.txt) (3.8 KB)

This is with a brand new SD card and the latest stable image from the docs. Any help would be appreciated.

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/2 "2026-02-14T21:20:04Z")

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Hello @ArcticSin and welcome. What brand and size of SD Card are you using? I would suggest not going above 64 GB and using SanDisk or Samsung, and using Raspberry Pi imager.

You could try opening the case and putting the SD Card directly in the RPi for troubleshooting purposes.

Here’s a thread about SD Cards that may provide some good info and tips:

> [@SD-cards for zynthian V5](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/sd-cards-for-zynthian-v5/11630):
>
> I would like to open this thread to discuss the SD-card subject and to centralize reports about SD-cards that works nicely, don’t work, have been counterfeited, etc. To start the thread i have a first report about these 2 beauties that i just opened and burned with the intention of sending to several community members that have issues: They seem good, right? Yes, i buy from amazon, from a “supposedly” trusted source. Indeed, i have or…

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/3 "2026-02-14T21:40:10Z")

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It’s a Sandisk Extreme Pro 32gb, and was flashed using rpi-imager on my Steam Deck. I will try putting it directly into the RPi and let you know what happens.

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/4 "2026-02-14T22:39:00Z")

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Sounds good. I would recommend rewriting a fresh image to the sd card before retrying the boot. Because Zynthian tries to figure out what kind of hardware it is running on and saves that info on the sd card, so if you fix a hardware issue you can still get bad results if you don’t re-flash the image. It can be quite confusing. I would also suggest trying a different brand or type of card.

First boot can take a few minutes sitting at splash screen!

And may the Force be with you.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/5 "2026-02-15T01:54:22Z")

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Ok, plugging the micro sd card directly in seemed to do the trick. What should I look for now? Is it a faulty sd card cable then?

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 5:17am UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/6 "2026-02-15T05:17:38Z")

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Good, that shows we’re in the right area, but no, it might be a faulty cable, or mainboard, but it’s still much more likely that the SD Card is the culprit. Could you try another card from a reasonably solid vendor and brand and see if it works? Have you read the link above, SD-cards for Zynthian V5? It provides a lot more info and a link to a video also about the issues, which mostly relate to accessing the card faster with RPi5, although there were issues with counterfeit cards way before the RPi4 as well!

A pox on ye counterfeiters!

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**Author:** ![jofemodo](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/jofemodo/32/2_2.png) [@jofemodo](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/jofemodo)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/7 "2026-02-15T12:50:08Z")

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> [@ArcticSin](#):
>
> Ok, plugging the micro sd card directly in seemed to do the trick. What should I look for now? Is it a faulty sd card cable then?

Or a bad SD-card. Not all SD cards are equally good.  
Anyway, i will send you a replacement ASAP.

Regards,

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/8 "2026-02-15T12:56:26Z")

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Oh OK, thanks, we’ll see what happens when the cable arrives.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 12:59pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/9 "2026-02-15T12:59:16Z")

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I’d have to go get another SD card since this is the only one I have at the moment, but this issue only seems to be happening when I use it through the cable. It’s perfectly fine with SD card reader on the pi itself. But I’ll look into acquiring one directly from the manufacturer to guarantees I don’t get a counterfit one.

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/10 "2026-02-15T15:38:31Z")

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OK, it’s your choice which to try first, cable or card. It makes sense to have a few SD Cards for a Zynthian in order to allow you to switch versions without destroying the current one. Good luck with buying directly from the manufacturer, the closest I’ve gotten is an authorized distributor such as Digi-key.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/11 "2026-02-16T19:02:51Z")

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I hadn’t considered a need for multiple SD cards yet but that makes sense. I’ll keep it in mind for sure, thanks.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/12 "2026-02-27T21:08:12Z")

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I completely forgot to actually do this after getting the zynthian to work (with the sd card plugged right into the pi), but I’m going to get some various SD cards tomorrow.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/13 "2026-03-16T21:44:36Z")

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I received the replacement ribbon cables today. Both of them still had the same issue, and with all 3 of my new SD cards.

Systemd starts up on the screen upside-down, a network-manager-wait something service fails to start, and it repeats trying to start the alsa to jack bridge and timidity services until it goes through the rest and gives up to getty. I also can’t ssh until I manually reset. If I do, it still doesn’t get to the splash screen.

What could be going on? It works perfectly when the sd card is plugged into the raspberry pi (I’ve even been using it all this time as such) but not with the ribbon cable.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/14 "2026-03-16T21:52:24Z")

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Forget that, I guess I had to leave it there for like 20 minutes, because it now just booted up properly. Don’t know what fixed it but thanks for the replacement parts!

Edit: Although using the UI and modifying stuff via the web UI are much slower than when plugged directly into the rpi. Maybe all three of my micro sd cards just suck. I’ll keep updated.

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/15 "2026-03-16T23:59:53Z")

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Could you verify you are not overclocking the RPi? You can check on the main menu screen in webconf, AKA the dashboard.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/16 "2026-03-17T01:10:06Z")

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Yeah there’s no overclocking, I just checked. It’s a completely fresh install of the latest image too.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/17 "2026-03-17T21:30:57Z")

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Is it possible that what I’m using to flash the SD card is causing the issues? I am flashing the sd card from a steam deck, maybe I should try a normal Linux PC? It’s with the raspberry pi imager flatpak regardless

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**Author:** ![tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/tunagenes/32/7279_2.png) [@tunagenes](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/tunagenes)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/18 "2026-03-17T21:34:31Z")

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I don’t think so, because of the card working when you plug it in directly, but it’s certainly worth a shot.

Here are the possibilities I see as the source of the issue:

It’s still the actual sd card(s) - I realize you’ve tried different ones already. You could try actually getting an ‘official’ Raspberry Pi card.

It’s a problem with the Mainboard itself, perhaps even the flat cable connector on the Mainboard.

It’s something about how you connect the Pi-Mainboard cable. For example not inserting it fully.

It’s a design problem - some type of worst case timing issue with the SD card traces or components. I wonder if you can set something to slow down the SD Card access.

I don’t speak for Zynthian Labs, but I think @jofemodo (who does) would be willing to swap Mainboards if-when we’ve exhausted the other possibilities.

I am sorry you’re having to deal with this much trouble and wish I had better suggestions. Hopefully working with the card directly in the RPi has shown you that Zynthian is worth it.

May the Force be with you.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/19 "2026-03-17T22:02:45Z")

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I have a micro center near me so I’ll try getting an official rpi sd card and see what happens.

I do think it has something to do with the read/write speeds, I couldn’t even get it to test an update properly or even install something small like vifm through ssh.

I could open it up and take a picture of cable so you can tell me if it’s seated properly or not.

And I absolutely love the Zynthian btw, I use it in conjuction with Reaper and Rosegarden as a sort of modern Sound Canvas type thing since I’m teaching myself to make video game soundtracks. If in order to keep using it means I have to take the back cover off whenever I need to change the SD card (which I can’t imagine I’ll have to do often) then so be it. It’s more of a minor inconvenience than anything else.

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**Author:** ![ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@ArcticSin](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/ArcticSin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 10:17pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830/20 "2026-03-17T22:17:55Z")

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![IMG_20260317_181336_482](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/default/original/2X/0/0667848c38661613520537309ae301e65af84501.jpeg)

This is how my cable connection currently looks

[Next page](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-zynthian-kit-boots-only-to-cli-turned-out-to-be-an-sd-card-access-issue/12830.md?page=2)