STICKY: PINN - An enhanced version of NOOBS.

[Haris1977]

Yes, I debated whether to keep the alias name when installing/re-installing/replacing or not.

Now that i think about it i beleive alias name should be kept. Think about libreelec updates (which are often). If i change the name from Libreelec_RPi2 to let’s say LibreELEC, and a newer updated version comes out, will the name go back to Libreelec_RPi2 after the update? If yes the alias name should be kept..

[zeeEahNB]

I wonder how to config Wifi in PINN. The FAQ states "Preconfiguring a WiFi network" and only mentions something about wpa_supplicant. I know that because I'm not a NOOB so that's why I migrated to PINN

So the point is I want to configure static IP settings like a predefined IP address, DNS and gateway. My self-build router that I use for a domotics network does not have DHCP because I don't want it too.
I did about anything I could think of to insert the network settings including configuring it from the commandline in the recovery mode which actually works to some extend but still I can't define some things because the iwconfig tool is missing. I even tried to edit the /etc/network/interfaces file but that doesn't work because the filesystem is readonly for everyone including to the root user.

Does anyone have suggestions how to accomplish this?

[procount]

As you've discovered, it's possible to add ip settings to the command line, but they only really work well with Ethernet not wifi. I did make an attempt to improve it some time ago, but it slipped to low priority. It's still on my future roadmap though.

So to summarise, the wpa_supplicant is sufficient for you to get connected to wifi, but you need static IP, DNS and gateway addresses?
These days I think dhcpcd.conf is the preferred file to edit rather than etc/network/interfaces, but that won't help you at the moment because it is also part of the read-only initial ramdisk.

[ThreeSixty123]

where can i find a overview of general function and possible OSes which are offered?

[procount]

You should look at the first post in this thread which contains a summary and the complete change history.

It also contains a link to the full documentation on github https://github.com/procount/pinn/blob/m ... ME_PINN.md

A list of supported OSes is available on my wiki
https://github.com/procount/pinn/wiki/O ... ed-by-PINN , but for an upto date list for a particular RPi model, visit Matt's webapp at http://pinn.mjh.nz . There are now 64 OSes for the model 3B and more being added all the time.

[zeeEahNB]

As you've discovered, it's possible to add ip settings to the command line, but they only really work well with Ethernet not wifi. I did make an attempt to improve it some time ago, but it slipped to low priority. It's still on my future roadmap though.

So to summarise, the wpa_supplicant is sufficient for you to get connected to wifi, but you need static IP, DNS and gateway addresses?
These days I think dhcpcd.conf is the preferred file to edit rather than etc/network/interfaces, but that won't help you at the moment because it is also part of the read-only initial ramdisk.

How about a somewhat different approach:
You've already created an option to provide a preconfigured wpa_supplicant file that will be used instead of the original one. Isn't that a suitable method that probably can be implemented to provide a preconfigured interfaces file or may be even a preconfigured dhcpcd.conf file too?

[DieHardjagged]

Hello,
i cant figure out what the exact problem is, so im glad this topic exists.
When i found out that PINN exists, i used it to install Raspbian, Retropie and LibreElec onto my legit 64GB Sandisk, it only ever sucessfully finished setting up twice, but since 2 days, i get writing errors when Raspbian is about to finish its installation, i tried different installation options, by first installing Retropie and Libre , then restarting the Pi 3B+ and then installing Raspbian ontop - always ends out in a write error, it does not matter in which order i install it, Raspbian ALWAYS ends up cancelling the installation by showing me a long list of write errors.
I then went and checked the url that has the file and it wouldnt start downloading the file on my Pi saying that the file cant be accessed but the file can be downloaded without problems on my PC.
After that, i tried Berryboot and NOOBS and installed Raspbian at least 2 times to make sure its working - and it works just fine.
I thought maybe its my wireless connection, but that wouldnt explain why its working with Berry and Noobs, its just strange it worked 2 days ago but now it doesnt.
I also used the custom commandfile, because i wanted Libre 1000mb, Raspbian 4600mb and Retropie 53000mb, i even used the default split but it would still give me an error with Raspbian.
Did anyone else encounter this and is there a workaround for this?
Cheers

[procount]

Hmm. That's an odd one, especially as it used to work and now it doesn't, yet it still works with NOOBs.
Which version of PINN are you using?
Which Raspbian are you trying to install (full/normal or Lite)?
Other options you can consider to help identify the problem are:
1) Using a smaller SD card (e.g. 32GB) if you have one.
2) Use PINN's download feature to download Raspbian to a USB stick, then install it offline from there.
3) Use the Troubleshooting section on my wiki to capture additional details.

[DieHardjagged]

Hmm. That's an odd one, especially as it used to work and now it doesn't, yet it still works with NOOBs.
Which version of PINN are you using?
Which Raspbian are you trying to install (full/normal or Lite)?
Other options you can consider to help identify the problem are:
1) Using a smaller SD card (e.g. 32GB) if you have one.
2) Use PINN's download feature to download Raspbian to a USB stick, then install it offline from there.
3) Use the Troubleshooting section on my wiki to capture additional details.

Im using the latest PINN zip file that was updated 4 days ago on its SourceForge site, im always going for Raspbian Full.
1) So far i tried it with 32/64/200GB legit SanDisk cards that i bought from legit Stores like Amazon (directly from them). (I also always use the modified recovery file for specific os sizes)
2) Oh, i have not even thought about trying that,i will try that out later, so i guess i could just install all 3 os system on the external and copy that to the card the Pi slot uses (should the Raspbian install even work)?
3) I will read trough it and try to get that done.
Thanks again for the help.
Cheers

[procount]

Can you be a bit more explicit on the PINN version? The last official release was p3.0.4, but I also released a test version p3.0.5c about the same time.
1) There is a h2testw tool that can be used to ensure your SD cards are working correctly.

2)

i guess i could just install all 3 os system on the external and copy that to the card the Pi slot uses (should the Raspbian install even work)?

That's not quite what I meant. Downloading and installing are different operations. Copying installed partitions from a USB to the SD card will not necessarily work, although the fix up options to re-run the partition-setup script might fix it up for you.
What I meant was to create a /os folder on a blank FAT32 USB stick, select the OS you want to download, then click the download button (menu 2).
Then select the same OSes (which should now display a USB icon to their right) and install them to your SD card. This time the OS source will come from the USB stick instead of the internet.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v3.1

V3.1 - Renaming, Hyperpixel & dhcpcd

• Nano - Added nano text editor
• Rename - Allows giving an OS an Alias name & change its description
• Hyperpixel - Added full kernel drivers to support Pimoroni Hyperpixel 3.5" and 4" touchscreens
• ScreenSwitch - Performs automatic screen switching at bootup
• dhcpcd - Now configurable

A tiny vesion of the nano text editor has been added to the recovery shell for easier editing.

It is now possible to rename an OS by providing it with an Alias name. The description can also be edited, which helps when you have installed multiple copies of the same OS for different purposes.
The underlying OS name remains the same so that new versions of the base OS can be identified.

Full touchscreen kernel drivers have been added for the Pimoroni Hyperpixel 3.5" and 4.0" displays. These are composite drivers that also configure the LCD screen, so it is only necessary to
add the appropriate entries to config.txt to load the driver. THe hyperpixel-display.zip and hyperpixel4-display.zip packages are therefore no longer needed. Sample config.txt files are provided as config.hyp3 & config.hyp4.

ScreenSwitch.zip is a package of files that allow PINN to detect and switch between 4 display types: HDMI, DSI (rpf touchscreen) and the Hyperpixel 3.5" and 4.0" screens at bootup.
Just unzp them to the same folder as PINN.
In the case where mutiple screens are attached at the same time, enter your preferred screen on the first line of `screenpref` as hdmi, dsi, hyp3 or hyp4.

When PINN detects a different screen is fitted, it will reconfigure itself and reboot to make this take effect, so it takes slightly longer to boot in this instance. The idea is that no matter which of these screens is fitted, PINN will always be able to make its display visisble. athough there are some limitations with the RPF DSI Touchscreen.

The dhcpcd.conf configuration file has now been made configurable in the same way as wpa_supplicant.conf. This enables static IP addresses to be configured, for example.

[Haris1977]

Thanks for the new update mate:)

I did "rename" LibreELEC_rpi2 to LibreELEC (i tried also to rename it to LibreELEC OS but space bar always creates a _ character link - that's a small bug check that out).

Just a question: If i update LE to a newer version (let's say 9.0.1) will it keep the alias name (LibreELEC) or will i need to "rename" it again?

[procount]

Spaces are replaced by underscores to make filename work better, but I may have put that in the wrong place by mistake.

To be precise, PINN doesn't have an "update" feature. Normally each OS can be updated independently with "sudo apt-get update/upgrade" etc. In this case, the alias name will remain (as will your data, customisations and additional installed apps etc)

If you mean the "reinstall" or "replace" option, where the entire OS is replaced with the latest factory fresh image, then I'm fairly sure the alias name is forgotten and you will have to rename it again.

[Haris1977]

Well i was talking about LE in specific.

For manually updating LibreELEC uses an *.img.gz file where you put it in your "update" folder (Updating using the Samba shares). Then - in next OS reboot - it auto updates.

Should that procedure change the alias name?

[procount]

If it is something you do WITHIN the OS itself (that doesn't involve using PINN), then the alias will remain the same.

[Haris1977]

That's good. Thanks:)

[DieHardjagged]

Ok i tried the newest PINN on my 64GB, no problems with the tripple OS install.
As soon as i use the modified recovery cmd file to give each OS its individual size, the installer still crashes when it tries to finish up Raspbian.
i will now try to do usb installs and if that doesnt work i will just give up.

[procount]

Can you post your modified recovery cmd file and I will try to replicate it.

EDIT: Another thing you can do is, when you download your modified recovery.cmdline, try making the size of the last OS a little smaller, by say, subtracting 10 from it. Repeat by subtracting larger numbers to see if it makes a difference.

[DieHardjagged]

Can you post your modified recovery cmd file and I will try to replicate it.

EDIT: Another thing you can do is, when you download your modified recovery.cmdline, try making the size of the last OS a little smaller, by say, subtracting 10 from it. Repeat by subtracting larger numbers to see if it makes a difference.

I will try that, also heres the cmd you wanted to see.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VFnin ... 62w3ZMVM_t

[procount]

Thanks, I will try it.

You said that a standard triple install works OK. But when you use Matt's Webpage to allocate a different amount of storage space to each OS that it fails on the last OS. So that might be a problem with Matt's webapp, not PINN. I suspect that the size he has assumed is available for a 64GB SD card might be too big compared to your actual SD card, since they do vary in size due to bad sectors etc. This is why I am suggesting making the partition sizes a little smaller. If it resolves your problem, I will make Matt aware of this issue.

[procount]

Looking at your cmdline, I would now suggest making your Retropie partition smaller (since it is the biggest), rather than the last one.

[DieHardjagged]

Thanks, I will try it.

You said that a standard triple install works OK. But when you use Matt's Webpage to allocate a different amount of storage space to each OS that it fails on the last OS. So that might be a problem with Matt's webapp, not PINN. I suspect that the size he has assumed is available for a 64GB SD card might be too big compared to your actual SD card, since they do vary in size due to bad sectors etc. This is why I am suggesting making the partition sizes a little smaller. If it resolves your problem, I will make Matt aware of this issue.
Looking at your cmdline, I would now suggest making your Retropie partition smaller (since it is the biggest), rather than the last one.

Ok, thanks alot for the help, i will just - as you suggested - make the Retropie partition smaller and try again and if that doesnt work i will just make it even smaller.. now the fun part, i made Matt aware of this issue and he sent me here so that i could find a solution to this problem.

[procount]

Lol! Well, let's see if my hypothesis is correct, first.

[DieHardjagged]

Lol! Well, let's see if my hypothesis is correct, first.

Yes you were indeed correct, when i used my custom "retropie2=51600&libreelec_rpi2=2500&raspbianfull=5000" line in the recovery text file, it installed without any problems, i will see how bigger i can make the Retropie partition without the installation failing.
Thanks again for the massive help.

Edit: Lol even though it was successfully installed, Raspbian will only give me the blinking tile after the Raspbian splash is gone.

[procount]

That suggests you have not allocated enough space to Raspbian. Try the recommended size of 8GB then it should be ok.
The OSes indicate a minimum size to install, but sometimes it is not really enough, especially if you want to update it later. I am contemplating adding a minimum recommended setting to each OS as a warning to overcome this.