STICKY: PINN - An enhanced version of NOOBS.

[abortivetokens]

Was it something I did or does PINN only work downloading OSes via WiFi? I got an error on the download for everyone OS when I was connected via the wired port. I could load the webpage and everything. Switched to wireless and things started installing like normal. Oh sorry using the latest PINN v2.0 on a RasPi 3.

[procount]

PINN is based on NOOBS, so it uses the same wired ethernet or Broadcom wifi drivers that NOOBS uses. The additional wifi and ethernet drivers allow it to be used on a wider range on network adaptors. So it should work fine for you on the built-in wired ethernet port on a RPi3. It could have just been a timing error if it didn't download the list of OSes before in a certain time. Did you try booting it multiple times? Maybe it took a long time to get an IP address from your DHCP server?

Please have a look at the Troubleshooting guide to see if that helps. Whilst you are in the rescue shell you could try the 'ifconfig' command to see the list of network adaptors and the state of each connection.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v2.0

This version has bumped the kernel to the rpi-4.4.y branch and updated the rpi firmware to match those used in NOOBS v2.0
The rtl8188eu wifi driver has now been added. This is used in a few popular wifi dongles and in the HubPiWi.
Also added is an install of Retropie. This is v3.8 which is not the latest version, but I hope to update it in the near future.

V2.0

• Network Drivers - Added the popular RTL8188eu wifi driver (for HubPiWi and others)
• New Firmware - Updated Firmware and Kernel to match NOOBS 2.0
• Retropie v3.8 - Added installation of Retropie v3.8

Please see the documentation on github describing the full features.
pinn-lite.zip on sourceforge will always be the latest version.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v2.1

Just a quick update to add support for the redbear IoTpHAT wifi that uses the same chipset as the RPI3 wifi.

V2.1

• IoTpHAT - Added support for the IoTpHAT wifi

Please see the documentation on github describing the full features.
pinn-lite.zip on sourceforge will always be the latest version.

[stuartiannaylor]

With the ethernet drivers can PINN support ethernet gadget mode?

It would need a config file as no keyboard and mouse with the otg takeover of the usb

[procount]

I suppose this is in reference to you other post: viewtopic.php?f=91&t=167979&hilit=noobs

I'll add it to my list to investigate, but it may be a while since I have some more general features to add first, and I would need to acquaint myself with the necessary drivers.
What is the purpose - to download OSes over the gadget ethernet device? Or to control PINN over this ethernet interface?
NOOBS and PINN both have a VNC mode that can be used over this interface, so you don't need another method to select the OS.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v2.1.1

V2.1.1

• CEC - Added support for CEC - remote control using the TV remote

PINN can be controlled with a TV remote if the HDMI TV has CEC support.
The CEC remote keys are mapped as follows:

To simulate a mouse the following keys are used:
- Cursor Up/Down/Left/Right - moves the mouse cursor in each direction
- Select - mouse click

For quicker selection the following keys may be easier:
- Channel Up - previous list item
- Channel Down - next list item
- 0 key - select/Enter Key (I chose this because on my Samsung remote it is near the channel up/down keys)

- Exit Key - Escape
- 9 key - Toggles the advanced menu
- 1-8 keys - select the menu buttons numbered from left to right

Any of the above remote keys can be used instead of the keyboard shift key on startup to access the main menu.

Note also that moving the mouse onto the boot selection dialog will now stop the 10 second countdown too.

I have only tested this on a Samsung TV. It should work on others that are CEC enabled, but I know of one instance where it doesn't work, so any feedback on this feature would be welcome.

Please see the documentation on github describing the full features.
pinn-lite.zip on sourceforge will always be the latest version.

[procount]

I have added a test version 2.1.2b to try out a new feature.
You can find it on Sourceforge as pinn-212b.zip.

This adds a checkbox on the boot selection dialog next to each OS which allows one of them to be made a default OS.
It means that PINN will behave as if only this OS has been installed and will boot directly into it without delay.
Hold the shift key down to go to the main menu and then exit to change or remove the default OS selection, or to select another OS temporarily to boot to.

A new recovery.cmdline option 'bootmenutimeout=X' has been added to change the amount of time (in secs) that PINN will wait to allow the user to select an OS when several have been installed.
This is only used if a default OS has NOT been selected.

See also https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs/issues/168 for more info.

A left mouse click can now be used as well as the shift key to select the main menu.

If people like this option, I will include it in the next release.

[mastoul]

Hello. I have a rpi3 with a 64gb sd card. I would like to multi boot different OSes. I would like to use also some OSes that are not listed to download (like rasplex). How can I load the to the SD and then install them from the PINN ui?

[procount]

Hi. See the documentation on how to create your own custom OS at https://github.com/procount/pinn/blob/m ... os-version
In essence you need to install it to your SD card first on its own, then save it as two tar files (one for each of the boot and root partitions). Then you need to add some additional files to tell PINN how to install it. But this is all explained in the above link.
Once you have done this for each custom OS, unzip pinn-lite.zip to your empty SD card, create a /os folder on it, and then a separate folder under there for each OS, into which you store the installation files. Then when you boot it, you should be able to install of those OSes.
If you want to save some space on your SD card, you can store the /os installation folder on a USB stick and plug that into the Pi before you boot PINN.

[mastoul]

Thank you for your reply. The only problem I have is that I cannot understand how to configure the os_list_v3.json file and were I find it.

[procount]

You don't need it. It is for remote downloads.
Each OS has its own os.json, partitions.json etc that you need to create, or copy an existing one. The parameters are fairly explanatory. they basically tell PINN how to format and partition the drives for this OS.

[mastoul]

Ok thanks. So the only thing I do is to install the OS I need, compress the boot and root folders in .tar and move them in os/OS_name folder.

[procount]

There's a little bit more than that if you look at the details but that is basically right. But it is all in the i structions -you just need to follow them.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v2.1.2

V2.1.2

• Default Boot - A default OS can be set in a multi-boot setup for quicker boots.
• Bootmenutimout - The timeout of the boot selection dialog can be changed.
• SHIFT key - The PINN interface can be reached using the Left mouse button or a CEC enabled TV remote key as well as the SHIFT key.

This adds a checkbox on the boot selection dialog next to each OS which allows one of them to be made a default OS.
This means that if an OS is checked, PINN will behave as if only this OS has been installed and will boot directly into it without delay.
Hold the shift key down to go to the main menu and then exit to change or remove the default OS selection, or to select another OS temporarily to boot to.

A new recovery.cmdline option 'bootmenutimeout=X' has been added to change the amount of time (in secs) that PINN will wait to allow the user to select an OS when several have been installed.
This is only used if a default OS has NOT been selected.

See also https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs/issues/168 for more info.

A left mouse click, or CEC enabled TV remote key, can now be used as well as the shift key to select the main menu.

[Milliways]

PINN Is Not NOOBS
Announcing PINN - a fork of NOOBS.
EDIT: Now updated to v2.1.2 (09/01/2017)


Pinn-lite.zip (30M download, the equivalent of noobs-lite) is downloadable from sourceforge.

NOOBS/PINN is not suitable for everyone. If you prefer to DD your image files directly to the SD card, then carry on.
But if you like NOOBS and like the idea of the above new features, then maybe give PINN a try.

I decided to give this a try. The link to pinn-lite.zip did not initiate a download, although it went to sourceforge. Searching for pinn-lite seemed to produce a confusing list of "testing" 2121 files

[procount]

Some people don't like download inititing links for security reasons so I just link to the folder. Instead of going into the testing folder, just click on the pinn-lite.zip file at the end of the list. Or you can click on the link to the latest download.

[Milliways]

Some people don't like download inititing links for security reasons so I just link to the folder. Instead of going into the testing folder, just click on the pinn-lite.zip file at the end of the list. Or you can click on the link to the latest download.

Just because "some people" allegedly don't like links which work, you include a link which takes 15 minutes of detective work to decode (assuming you don't get disillusioned first). There is no "pinn-lite.zip file at the end of the list".

I did actually get it installed, but only Arch Pi2 seems to exist, and while it boots on the Pi3, seems to be lacking WiFi support.

[procount]

Ahh, I see what you mean.
I forgot that I included a direct link and a link to the sourceforge folder (to cater for both those who do and don't like direct downloads)
The direct link had broken, so I have now fixed it in my first post of the thread. (The link to sourceforge would have at least gotten you to the right sourceforge folder, but my apologies anyway)

I don't understand why you can only see a download for Arch2. If you are connected to the internet, you should see ALL the OSes normally provided by the RPF on their download server PLUS the additional links I added for Arch, Retropie and the restored link to OpenElec. Did you get any error messages pop-up? (Note you will only see the OSes that are compatible with your Pi (ie. Pi2/3). OSes for other Pi (Pi1 and PiZero in your case) will not show unless you specify "showall", just like NOOBS (see the documentation)

I am not responsible for the content of the OSes you download - they are provided by the maintainers of those respective OSes.
In the case of Arch, the link is direct to the arch website to guarantee you get the very latest version.
As I understand it, Arch is a cutting edge rolling release, but quite barebones, so normally you have to add anything extra that you need over and above a basic system. I guess this must include wifi support as well, but I have never used Arch. You should ask on the Arch forums how to do that.
I hope that helps.

[Martin Frezman]

Note that Arch has "WiFi support", in that most adapters are recognized and assigned a device name (e.g., "wlan0"). It recognizes and uses mine, and I would assume (and be very much surprised if it did not) it supports the builtin WiFi on the Pi3.

However, and this is a biggie, Arch comes with no GUI installed. All you get is a command line, and if you want X, well, you are expected to know how to find it. There is an item in the Arch forum on this board, entered by me, about how to get X going on Arch (it is simple enough, but by no means trivial).

The point of all this is that it is quite possible that the poster who says Arch doesn't support WiFi is expecting it to be all GUI-ized like it is in Raspbian. Since there is no GUI, it is unlikely in the extreme for the WiFi to be GUI-ized.

But it (WiFi) does work - you just have to script it with wpa_supplicant and either dhcpcd (which is there by default) or dhclient (which I personally prefer, because it is easier to work with).

And if all of that makes (rhetorical) you uncomfortable, then perhaps Arch is not for (rhetorical) you.

[procount]

I did actually get it installed, but only Arch Pi2 seems to exist

I guess from your other post that you meant that there wasn't a version of Arch for the Pi3, rather than it being the only OS in the list.
So I have now clarified in the OS description that Arch2 is suitable for the RPi2/3

[paulwratt]

for the next update can you please add VoidLinux to the OS install list:
https://repo.voidlinux.eu/live/current/

they are rootfs archives, for Pi1/0 & Pi2/3, with Musl or with GlibC

Thanks for all your work, hopefully NOOBS will get some of ur improvements

Paul

[I621148]

Successfully loaded PINN.
My particular Sharp TV remote has recognized the CEC commands for SHIFT at boot and also left, right, up and down navigation. The enter button is also successful. However, the number key 0 does not emulate Return. So I can make it to the Select OS to boot screen but not actually boot. I can check all the boxes with the Enter key. Is there some work around I can use or a key remap method?

[procount]

Great!
On the OS installation dialog, do the other number keys (1-9) work on your Sharp TV to select the buttons?

Manufacturers tend to support different levels of CEC, so it might take a while to find a common subset of keys that work for all. Would you be willing to provide me with some debug information from your TV via PINN so that I can see what keys it does support? It would just mean downloading a test version of PINN, pressing some buttons and returning the key codes?

[I621148]

No, the only keys that work are the up, down, left and right and select.
Also when you press select repeatedly, it increments the cursor arrow to the left.
I also discovered a strange effect where if you click outside of the dialog box then you get the error code uploaded in the attached picture:
I PMed you if you want to provide a test link: