Login and PW for Rasp Pi 4 first boot after flash? Stuck at "start login"

DIY Community Support
1

I’ve searched the threads and see others have flagged the problem, but without an answer as to how to proceed.

Followed instructions from the DIY in documents step by step, checked the card and the download, but always get presented with a login and password request that I can’t get past. There is no mention of either or their values in the documents.

Thank you.

2

There’s actually no way past this. People are often mistake StartOS for some kind of rehashed personal computer OS that you’d connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse to. It’s isn’t – it’s actually a serious server OS and once StartOS is installed on a device, that device becomes a network device, accessible from the network.

This is documented in the very first three steps of the guides:

First Steps

  1. Connect your server to power and ethernet.
  2. From a client device (desktop/laptop/phone) connected to the same local network as your server, open a browser and visit http://start.local.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions.
3

Yes. I have previously followed these instructions carefully.

To elaborate further:

  • SD Card with StartOS verified, inserted into Raspberry Pi 4 SD slot.
  • Rasp Pi connected by Ethernet to the network, Computer (Mac Air M3) connected by Ethernet to the same network.
  • Boot
  • From the computer, using Brave browser, enter exactly “http://start.local” (not https)
  • Computer is not connected to WiFi and firewall/VPN off
  • Browser tries to connect for several seconds to Pi and then shows error, unable to reach the device
  • To make sure things are functioning on the Rasp Pi with the SD card, connect monitor and keyboard, where I see a login start and password challenge, but I have neither
  • Stuck

It is understood that the Pi is a standalone server. My direct problem is how to solve the inability of the browser on the network attached computer to connect to the Pi (also on the same network, see above) to carry out the setup.

Are there any browser settings to consider on my computer?

4

Your browser on the Mac may not have permission to access the local network. Check those permissions. I can provide more info about that if you need it.

5

Please, yes.

Thank you

6
7

Update and SOLVED.

For what it is worth, and for anyone running into the same issue, here is what worked in my case. I can’t attest to using any other method or that this is a “better” way than another. It just works and that’s a win.

  • I bought a GL.iNet Opal travel router
  • Set it to repeater
  • Connected wirelessly to the router from my Mac
  • Connected the Ethernet port on the Rasp Pi 4 to an Ethernet Lan port on the router
  • Powered up the Rasp Pi
  • Waited until the IP for “start” popped up as a client, made note of the IP address
  • Attempted again to use “http://start.local”
  • This time it worked and I am now at the setup screen
  • I did not need to use the IP address noted above to get this to work

No idea why I was unable to do this through my normal router.

Thanks and hope this is of value down the road.

8

It sounds like your router is interfering with dot locals. A power cycle of the router might resolve it. If not, I think utilizing your server is going to be a continual exercise in frustration. There may be some firewall, vlan, and/or other specific network settings that need to be adjusted. StartOS is designed for for a typical flat home network, where all devices are on the same subnet, and devices can communicate with each other. If your network is not that, specific adjustments will need to be made.