STICKY: PINN - An enhanced version of NOOBS.

[WODAK]

I saw on PINN resize page ( https://pinn.mjh.nz/ ) that Twister OS is described as 64 bit system and the version is 20.10 . According to Twister OS FAQ page ( https://twisteros.com/faq.html ) it says that Twister OS is a 32 bit OS and the latest version is 1.8.5 ....

am I missing something or is there a typo?

Hope there will be Lineage OS 17.1 added soon

thank you again for your GREAT work and maintaining PINN!

[procount]

Sorry, I used the wrong template for Twister. I shall update the description. (Fortunately it is only the description, but nevertheless it is a bit misleading).
LineageOS 17.1 is proving a bit tricky due to the change in Android structure, so it is currently delayed. I've got a few more useful improvements in PINN to do next, but hopefully it won't be long.

[PLowran]

Hi Everyone!
I Found PINN yesterday per a suggestion from someone on FB and It installed first try on a RPi3B+ with Rasbian, Retropie & Kano!
My 9 year old was super excited when she got it working.
"SANTA" is brining her and I a matching pair of Argon One m.2 Cases, RPi4b 8gb & 240gig m.2 SSDs so we can build them together.
I we are planning on installing RetroPie on the new Systems with either RasbianOS 64 bit or TwisterOS.
I want to be able to delegate about 30 gig to the RetroPie system and then the rest to the Desktop OS she will be using so she can have a bigger storage area for /home.
I have not been able to properly figure out if that is actually a Posibility...?

Thank You for Any & All Responses!
Phil

[procount]

Go to Matt's webpage at https://pinn.mjh.nz/ to choose the size allocated to your OSes and follow the instructions there.

[procount]

PINN has been updated to v3.5.2

Apologies if this seems like the 3rd update in as many days, but v3.5.1 was a little bugfix that I needed to get out to get 8GB versions working again, and this enhancement wasn't quite ready then. Now it is, so I wanted to get it out as soon as possible.

V3.5.2

• HDMI - Automatic switching between HDMI0 and HDMI1
• Translations - Update it translations
• KERNEL - Fix issue with PI4 8GB models

With the guidance of @incognitum, PINN will now finally work on either of the 2 HDMI ports on the Pi4.
So it will no longer matter which HDMI port you plug your monitor into, PINN will automatically display on it.
This long awaited update will avoid many support issues when users plug into HDMI 1 and only get the rainbow screen.

Unfortunately, it will not display on both screens at once, as this can cause many issues if the screens are different resolutions. If both ports are connected, PINN will use HDMI 0 only.
The HDMI ports are not hot-swappable, so don't go changing the HDMI connections when PINN is running and expect it to follow the connections, because it won't. It will just use the HDMI screen that was connected at power up.

If the RPF 7in DSI touchscreen is attached, this will take precedence over both HDMI ports.

For those of you who need to set a different screen resolution in config.txt using hdmi_group/hdmi_mode, don't forget these apply to hdmi 0. To set the resolution of HDMI1, you should use hdmi_group:1/hdmi_mode:1

[PLowran]

If you aren't successful with PINN, MultiBoot is compatible with all versions of RaspiOS as well as RetroPie and TwisterOS. MultiBoot supports specifying arbitrary partition sizes for each OS.

Oh Really....
Everything I was reading said PINN was the way to go and that it has more & better options....

I was thinking this morning; What if I set up extra project spaces say....
Project Space 1: RetroPie
Project Space 2:Empty
Project Space 3: TwisterOS
Project Space 4:Empty
Project Space 5:Empty
Then Possibly use GParted, Delete Project Space 2: and Resize RetroPie to use the empty Space?
Then Delete Project Space 4 & 5, Resize Twister to use the empty Space?

Thoughts?

[procount]

If you do that, you may have to manually adjust /settings/os_installed.json because you are changing all the partition numbers.
Better to just go to Matt's webpage as I suggested above and you can adjust the size of each OS as you want.

[WODAK]

If you aren't successful with PINN, MultiBoot is compatible with all versions of RaspiOS as well as RetroPie and TwisterOS. MultiBoot supports specifying arbitrary partition sizes for each OS.

Oh Really....
Everything I was reading said PINN was the way to go and that it has more & better options....

I was thinking this morning; What if I set up extra project spaces say....
Project Space 1: RetroPie
Project Space 2:Empty
Project Space 3: TwisterOS
Project Space 4:Empty
Project Space 5:Empty
Then Possibly use GParted, Delete Project Space 2: and Resize RetroPie to use the empty Space?
Then Delete Project Space 4 & 5, Resize Twister to use the empty Space?

Thoughts?

I did something similar.....and there were no problems....

[procount]

@PLowran - to elaborate on Matt's webpage, simply follow the instructions on his page (expanded here in simple steps):

1. Select your model of Pi
2. Select your size of storage (SD card / SSD etc)
3. Select which OSes you want to install
4. Adjust the size of storage you want to allocate for each OS using the handy sliders.
5. If you haven't already, download pinn-lite.zip and expand it to your storage device.
6. Download the customised recovery.cmdline file from Matt's webpage.
7. Replace recovery.cmdline file in PINN directory with downloaded file
8. Boot your Raspberry Pi
9. Select all systems and install
10. Enjoy!

[procount]

Ubuntu Mate 2010 arm64 now added to PINN.

[HJAST101]

So I've recently discovered PINN, and I want to use it to multiboot and try out Arch, but how would I do that?
The instructions on how to install Arch ARM can be found here, but that's not an .img file, but a separate boot and root folder. Would I be able to move these files into some of the folders of PINN to make it work, or is there completely different method? I'm really looking forward to trying out Arch, as it has a good KISS philosophy, and I think I have enough experience with Debian based distros in order to move onto something more complex.

[procount]

Just install PINN and boot it. It will present you with a catalogue of OSes (including Arch) that you can select from.

Please see the full instructions at https://github.com/procount/pinn/blob/m ... ME_PINN.md

[HJAST101]

Just install PINN and boot it. It will present you with a catalogue of OSes (including Arch) that you can select from.

Please see the full instructions at https://github.com/procount/pinn/blob/m ... ME_PINN.md

Yeah I just installed PINN right now and noticed it. Great app (OS? Installer? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) btw! I never knew this many OSes were supported by the Raspberry Pi. But I have another question now. I selected TwisterOS and Arch, and I plan to install Gentoo later (maybe in summer holidays when I have free time), but when I press install, it says it will install the operating systems I selected, and 'All existing data on the USB drive will be deleted.'. Does that mean I won't be able to install more OSes later? I just don't want to be disappointed/shocked later.
EDIT: okay, project spaces exist, I'll try that then see if I still need help.
EDIT2: alright I have a question now. Project spaces don't need to be equal to or more than the OS img, right? Also, does PINN dynamically manage how much space should be taken by each OS, or is it set from the beginning?
EDIT3: sorry for so many edits, but I wanna be sure of what I do. Is the Arch on PINN 32 or 64-bit?

[procount]

I think a lot of this is answered in the documentation, but just so that are are clear with it:

Does that mean I won't be able to install more OSes later?

Like NOOBS, PINN can install multiple OSes on one device (SD card, SSD HDD, whatever).
Each OS takes up a minimum amount of space depending on its size/features etc.
Any remaining space on your storage device is then shared out equally between all the OSes you have installed.
So after installation there is no more space to install another OS. Even if there was, PINN does not know how to add more OSes.

ProjectSpaces are a way to reserve space on your storage device for future OSes.
They're like OSes that have zero minimal storage requirements so they only get the amount of remaining storage space that is shared between all the OSes.
PINN can replace OSes with other OSes, so a ProjectSpace could be replaced by a different OS at a later date.
However, an OS can only be replaced by another that has the same partition requirements (number and size).
ProjectSpaces have a small fixed FAT partition and a flexible EXT4 partition for the rootfs, so they can only be used to reserve space for similar OSes (i.e. forget Android), but most OSes conform to this format.

Project spaces don't need to be equal to or more than the OS img, right?

Well yes, they need to be big enough for the OSes that you will later install into them. You can't allocate a 512MB ProjectSpace and expect to fit a 5GB OS in it!

does PINN dynamically manage how much space should be taken by each OS, or is it set from the beginning?

No, it is set from the beginning. PINN is not gparted!, but if you want to use gparted to adjust the partition sizes later, you could do, just don't change the partition numbers otherwise things may not boot anymore.
As I said above, all remaining space is divided equally between the installed OSes. If you want more control over the allocation at the start, i.e. to allocate 30GB to Retropie for all your game roms, and only a few GB for Raspberry Pi OS, then go to Matt's webpage at pinn.mh.nz. Here you can select your Pi model, size of Storage card and which OSes you want to install. Then it allows you to set the specific amount of storage you want allocated to each OS using some nice sliders. Just adjust your recovery.cmdline according to the webpage instructions and your installation will be as you want.

Is the Arch on PINN 32 or 64-bit?

The Arch on PINN is the same as on the Arch website. It is a rolling release, so you always get the latest version. There are 3 versions of Arch depending on your Pi model, but PINN will pick the right one for you (unless you select showall). Highlight the Arch OS and click on the info button, it will take you to the webpage of that OS. It looks like Arch4 is still 32bit because it also talks there about Aarch64 (which I haven't converted).

[HJAST101]

I think a lot of this is answered in the documentation, but just so that are are clear with it:

Does that mean I won't be able to install more OSes later?

Like NOOBS, PINN can install multiple OSes on one device (SD card, SSD HDD, whatever).
Each OS takes up a minimum amount of space depending on its size/features etc.
Any remaining space on your storage device is then shared out equally between all the OSes you have installed.
So after installation there is no more space to install another OS. Even if there was, PINN does not know how to add more OSes.

ProjectSpaces are a way to reserve space on your storage device for future OSes.
They're like OSes that have zero minimal storage requirements so they only get the amount of remaining storage space that is shared between all the OSes.
PINN can replace OSes with other OSes, so a ProjectSpace could be replaced by a different OS at a later date.
However, an OS can only be replaced by another that has the same partition requirements (number and size).
ProjectSpaces have a small fixed FAT partition and a flexible EXT4 partition for the rootfs, so they can only be used to reserve space for similar OSes (i.e. forget Android), but most OSes conform to this format.

Project spaces don't need to be equal to or more than the OS img, right?

Well yes, they need to be big enough for the OSes that you will later install into them. You can't allocate a 512MB ProjectSpace and expect to fit a 5GB OS in it!

does PINN dynamically manage how much space should be taken by each OS, or is it set from the beginning?

No, it is set from the beginning. PINN is not gparted!, but if you want to use gparted to adjust the partition sizes later, you could do, just don't change the partition numbers otherwise things may not boot anymore.
As I said above, all remaining space is divided equally between the installed OSes. If you want more control over the allocation at the start, i.e. to allocate 30GB to Retropie for all your game roms, and only a few GB for Raspberry Pi OS, then go to Matt's webpage at pinn.mh.nz. Here you can select your Pi model, size of Storage card and which OSes you want to install. Then it allows you to set the specific amount of storage you want allocated to each OS using some nice sliders. Just adjust your recovery.cmdline according to the webpage instructions and your installation will be as you want.

Is the Arch on PINN 32 or 64-bit?

The Arch on PINN is the same as on the Arch website. It is a rolling release, so you always get the latest version. There are 3 versions of Arch depending on your Pi model, but PINN will pick the right one for you (unless you select showall). Highlight the Arch OS and click on the info button, it will take you to the webpage of that OS. It looks like Arch4 is still 32bit because it also talks there about Aarch64 (which I haven't converted).

Wow, thanks a lot! That's a pretty detailed explanation. I didn't want to go to Matt's webpage since I don't even know how much space I want to allocate for each partition, but since the blank space is shared out, I guess that's not really a problem, and since I can use GPartEd without changing the partition numbers, that makes everything easier too. tbh it doesn't really matter if it is 32 or 64-bit, as most of the RPi related stuff is 32-bit anyway, but I'd rather have 64-bit for future support. Welp it's too late now since I was in the middle of the install process when I saw this post, but I guess I could swap it out later by changing the partitions, or just allocating to one of 2 project spaces I allocated. I can use replace on an actual OS, right?

Thanks a lot for the help, I installed TwisterOS and Arch, and I look forward to using an easy to use OS manager with these OSes.

Also, is it normal for Twister to just show a grey screen for a while, then reboot the system (i.e boot selection screen comes up) and then boots properly the next time?

[procount]

Yes, you can just replace another OS as required, subject to the caveats above.

Also remember that you can backup most OSes to a USB stick and then restore them with PINN to the same device, or even to another SD card.

Re: TwisterOS - Yes. Many OSes will try to expand the filesystem on first ever boot, and then reboot.
This is not necessary when installed by PINN, so I try to remove the script that does it, but sometimes I can't find it, and sometimes I forget.

[HJAST101]

btw, when I shutdown from TwisterOS everything shuts down normally, but the red LED power indicator stays on. I have to physically remove the power cable and insert it back in again in order to boot again. Booting fully from a SATA SSD connected via USB3.0. Using the (original) Argon One case that has a power button, so maybe that's a factor, because it does power off if I hold it long enough (about <10 secs, even though force shutting down should only be held for 5 secs).

[procount]

You probably need to install the ArgonOne script in order to for the ArgonOne to turn the power off fully.
As TwisterOS is based on Raspbian, the same script should probably work as is.

[HJAST101]

You probably need to install the ArgonOne script in order to for the ArgonOne to turn the power off fully.
As TwisterOS is based on Raspbian, the same script should probably work as is.

oh yeah I forgot to do that, thanks. Sorry if I'm annoying you with so many questions, but if there's anything I learnt from using Linux, it is to solve a problem from the very beginning before it escalates into something much MUCH worse.

[esvertit]

Hi, thanks a lot to PINN dev for this geat tool I've discovered few days ago...

I'm trying to installs some OS in a SSD but a have only an issue when I try to boot to Ubuntu mate 20.10. I have followed this steps:

1.- Go to Matt's webpage at https://pinn.mjh.nz/ to choose the size allocated to my OSes following the intructions mentioned there
2.- OSes intallation was successfully (in my case: Ubuntu 20.10 / Mate 20.10 / Twister OS / Raspberry Pi OS (32-bit) Lite / Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) beta / Data partition
3.- Boot OSes one by one. All of them boot OK except Mate 20.10. When I try to boot into Mate after logo and rainbow screens, a black screen appears for a while and then the systems to boots into Ubuntu instead of Mate. I try to install Mate alone and it boots fine. Only fails when I try to install it alongside with Ubuntu and I boot into Ubuntu first.

Any ideas about what I'm doing wrong...?

Thanks in advance. Pablo

[procount]

Ubuntu is not very good at booting multiple copies of itself I'm afraid. And that applies across different desktops (like Mate) too.

[esvertit]

Ubuntu is not very good at booting multiple copies of itself I'm afraid. And that applies across different desktops (like Mate) too.

OK, thanks for your answer. Anyway PINN is great!

[bialyikar]

Hello.
After installing Pinn 3.5.2, the Wi-Fi option is disabled in the menu. In previous versions, there was no problem with this. I was able to add my wi-fi network without any problem. Is this some kind of mistake?

[procount]

Which model of Pi do you have?
Are you using an external wifi dongle? If so, which one?

[yan]

It looks like NOOBS will be discontinued. Is this affects, with someway, the future of PINN project?

Thanks!