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Use Class 10 (32Gb minimum) SD card.
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Real or Fake SD card? use “fakeflashtest.exe” to do a full test (read/write)
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Correctly Partitioned SD card? - Use “Diskpart” to manage partitions.
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Fully formatted SD card? use “SD Card Formatter” for do a full overwrite format.
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Have a spare SD card of same make, class and size to do comparative tests.
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Add a reset button or jumper to your R-pi so you can shut down without potentially corrupting the SD card.
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Power supply 5.1 Volts/2.5A (measured as close as possible to the USB input) Use clean connector and correct thickness power cable. Use a scope on the power supply to watch for fast voltage drops-out during boot/downloads (your power supply could be failing only on higher current peaks!)
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Never cut the power to your R-pi without holding reset first, (unless your really sure it is shutdown)
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Avoid “hot plugging” your USB power, better to switch on using a external switch.
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Use the HDMI monitor to see activity.
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Use the correct WIFI settings on the CONFIG/My-network file.
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Use Etcher or win32diskimger to flash your SD card.
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Don’t pull out you card reader/writer until you are sure it has finished flashing.
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Make sure you are installing the correct firmware for your R-pi hardware 3B, 3B+ (64), 4 etc
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Make sure you are unzipping your downloaded image files before flashing (winrar etc)
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Use your router’s traffic monitor to check for downloads activity (I use mikrotik winbox).
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Make sure your WiFi router is set up correctly, I have solved install-download issues by re-loading the router config and re-booting.
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Get used to the R-Pi green LED indicator and how it flashes, (Example: when I reset the R-pi, I know that it is ready to power off when it does 7 or so regularly spaced 1/2 second flashes).
Comments/edits welcome
Cheers
/P