DreamPi NOOBS-compatible image
Background
Background
While setting up a new Raspberry Pi with DreamPi distro, the smallest micro SD card I had on hand was a whopping 16GB SDHC one. Considering how much excess free space on the SD card I would have after the DreamPi install, I figured I would look into installing other Linux distros on the same SD card via a multi-boot setup. Unfortunately, the official DreamPi distro image is a raw image (containing both a boot and root partition inside) and needs to be written directly to the card; thus it is not easily partitionable for booting with other Linux distros.
About
In order to get around the lack of multi-booting with DreamPi for myself and others, as well as to help out new people creating a DreamPi setup with a simple installer, I have created an unofficial NOOBS-compatible DreamPi image! The download package includes a NOOBS-formatted DreamPi image for both Raspberry Pi 4+ and older (both based off of DreamPi v1.7 DLE), a DreamPi OS icon, and an informative image slideshow about DreamPi during installation.
For those unfamiliar with it, NOOBS (New Out Of Box Setup) is a simple bootloader and operating system downloader/installer for Raspberry Pi. By downloading/installing NOOBS-formatted distro images through NOOBS, the distros will be installed in such a way as to allow for easy multi-boot. By extension, this image is compatible with PINN (PINN Is Not NOOBS), which is an enhanced version of NOOBS that I highly recommend using over vanilla NOOBS.
PINN has the following extended features over NOOBS:
- Various ways to install OSes
- Install from SD Card (offline)
- Install from online repository servers (with a wider variety of OSes)
- External Media
- USB Flash Drive
- External SD Card via a USB SD Card reader
- Install additional 512MB ext4 Data partitions, for general data usage
- Reserve empty partitions ("project spaces") for future OSes.
- Download and archive to the SD Card the OSes from the online server, for offline installation
- Easily reinstall OSes if something goes wrong (without having to redo a fresh PINN setup)
- Replacement and upgrading of OS partitions
- Dual PINN firmware support to handle Pre-Raspberry Pi Model 3B+ models and later models
- Various maintenance capabilities
- OS maintenance utility
- Recovery shell
- SD card clone utility
- Password restorer
- File System Checker
Usage (offline installation)
To use this NOOBS-compatible DreamPi image through NOOBS/PINN for offline installation, you will need to extract the download's contents to the root of the SD Card, and then install DreamPi through the bootloader. The bootloader should determine whether your Raspberry Pi is a RPi4+ model or an older model. Please install "DreamPi 4" image for RPi4 or newer models; otherwise just install "DreamPi" for older models.
It is a little more complicated than this, however, and I recommend backing up your SD card before doing anything in case you do something wrong.
- Upgrading an existing DreamPi partition from an older NOOBS image to a newer one on an existing PINN setup
- If your version of PINN does not have a "replace [OS]" feature in the maintenance menu, please upgrade PINN to the latest version
- Feature added after PINN ~v2.4.5 (Feb 2018)
- Feature is necessary to upgrade the DreamPi partition!
- Upgrade PINN
- Online update feature
OR
- Manual install
- Copy all files/folders from new PINN zip folder onto SD card except Recovery.cmdline
- Recovery.cmdline on a fresh PINN install "includes the 'runinstaller' option by default. WARNING: If you DO copy recovery.cmdline by mistake, it will wipe out all your existing installed operating systems due to the runinstaller option! If upgrading an existing PINN system, please check recovery.cmdline does not include the 'runinstaller' option."
- Copy all files/folders from new PINN zip folder onto SD card except Recovery.cmdline
- Online update feature
- Feature added after PINN ~v2.4.5 (Feb 2018)
- Extract the contents of the newer DreamPi NOOBs image archive onto the root of an external medium (USB Stick or USB SD Card Reader+SD Card)
- Boot into PINN with the external medium inserted
- DreamPi OS entry should say "[NEW VERSION]" and have a USB icon
- Click "More (m)" button to navigate to the "Maintenance" menu
- Check the appropriate "DreamPi" OS for your RPi model and click "Replace"
- Select the new DreamPi image to replace the old partition in the dialog box that appears
- Click "OK"
- A warning dialog box shall appear warning you that all data on the DreamPi parition will be deleted during the OS replacement. Click "Yes" if you wish to continue.
- Check the appropriate "DreamPi" OS for your RPi model and click "Replace"
- Let the latest DreamPi image replace the old partition
- Done!
- Setting up a new SD Card:
- Format the SD Card to FAT32
- This will erase all data on it!
- Download latest version of either NOOBS (full version) or PINN (latter highly recommended)
- Put the contents of either download onto the root of the SD Card
- Download my DreamPi NOOBS compatible image
- Extract the contents from my download onto the root of the SD card; overwrite any files/folders.
- Also copy the folders for any additional NOOBS-compatible OS images there too (for NOOBS setup, if necessary)
- To quote the PINN documentation:
"Make sure to add any OSes to the /os/ folder before you boot [NOOBS/PINN] in [an] RPi for the first time.
Otherwise you will find the partition has been shrunk to its minimum size and
there will be no room to add any more OSes to the card later."
- Also copy the folders for any additional NOOBS-compatible OS images there too (for NOOBS setup, if necessary)
- Place SD Card into Raspberry Pi, and boot the Pi up.
- Install the OSes (DreamPi and others).
- Important: For NOOBS, make sure you check you all of the OSes you want installed at once!
Installing a single OS may wipe any currently existing ones, and you aren't easily able to change OSes installed afterwards!
- Important: For NOOBS, make sure you check you all of the OSes you want installed at once!
- Enjoy your new multi-boot capabilities!
- Format the SD Card to FAT32
- Setting up an existing SD Card with NOOBS/PINN already installed
- NOOBS Lite
- Upgrade to either NOOBS Full-version or PINN (recommended), then follow the "Setting up a new SD Card" section.
This is required, because we need offline installation for the DreamPi NOOBS image!
- Upgrade to either NOOBS Full-version or PINN (recommended), then follow the "Setting up a new SD Card" section.
- NOOBS Full-version
- Follow steps in "Setting up a new SD Card section" for NOOBS setup.
Backup data before doing so, and make sure you either have local access to all OSes
OR - Upgrade to superior PINN instalation
- Follow steps in "Setting up a new SD Card section" for NOOBS setup.
- PINN
- Format USB Stick/external SD Card to FAT32
- (if not already; USB Stick/SD Card will be erased!)
- Download my DreamPi NOOBS image, extract contents onto the root of USB Stick/external Card, overwrite any files/folders
- Boot up Pi with USB Stick/USB Card reader+SD Card inserted, install DreamPi
- Format USB Stick/external SD Card to FAT32
- NOOBS Lite
Usage (online installation from repository)- Installing DreamPi (by internet server)
- For NOOBS or PINN, you can alternatively install DreamPi NOOBS image via the internet instead of from external media
- This has the benefit of auto-updating for when new versions of this image are built and easier maintenance!
- Make sure PINN initializes for the first time before trying (boot up PINN for partition initialization process)
- How to access the Tamkis Repos online
- PINN
- Goto the Maintenance menu
- Check "PINN [Fixed]" and highlight it (click the PINN OS)
- Click "Edit Config"
- Select "recovery.cmdline" tab
- Click "Edit Options" button
- Click "Source" tab
- Option #1
- Preferred option
- Change alt_image_source to http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tamk1s/Tamkis_NOOBS_Repo/main/os_list_v3.json
- Click OK
- Close all windows (Click OK for everything)
- Reboot
- Have an ethernet or WiFi connection active (connect online)
- DreamPi should appear in the Games tab (indicated with an ethernet port icon)
- Install DreamPi!
- Option #2
- Fallback option if option #1 doesn't work, may be more reliable
- Temporarily change repo_list from the main PINN repo list to the Tamkis repo list
- This option can be more stable and reliable
- Set alt_image_source to the URL in repo_list (usually http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tamk1s/Tamkis_NOOBS_Repo/main/os_list_v3.json by default
- Set repo_list to http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tamk1s/Tamkis_NOOBS_Repo/main/repo_list.json
- Temporarily check "no_default_source" and "showall"
- Click OK
- Close all windows
- Reboot
- Have an ethernet or WiFi connection active (connect online)
- Only Games tab should appear in distro lists, with DreamPi (indicated with an ethernet port icon)
- Install DreamPi!
- Restore original repo_list and alt_image_source and tweaked settings above
- Option #1
- Click "Source" tab
- Goto the Maintenance menu
- NOOBS (untested)
- Open up recovery.cmdline in a text editor on a PC at the root of the SD card
- "Repo=" option
- This option contains URLs to repositories to fetch distro images
- Consists of URLs enclosed in "quotes" and separated by spaces. (E.g. repo="www.url1.com" "www.url2.com")
- Add option if it does not exist or append this URL to list
- Boot up raspberry Pi
- DreamPi distro should appear in "Games" tab
- Install DreamPi from internet!
- PINN
Known bugs:
Some newer models of Raspberry Pi (newer than Model 2B, especially Model 3B) may not display video over HDMI; however the distro will still work normally in the background. If this happens, a valid workaround is to display video out of the CSI-2 bridge port instead (via a CSI-2 Raspberry Pi Touchscreen), which would be needed at least for debugging and initial setup of Wi-Fi and other settings on first usage. After initial setup, the distro should work out-of-the box and video then really isn't needed.Download!
DreamPi NOOBS-compatible image
(v1.21, based off of DreamPi v1.7 DLE)
Image webpage
(To be updated as DreamPi is updated)
Also includes information on how to convert other DreamPi images into NOOBS-compatible images, setup online repository serversCredits- Kazade - For making DreamPi
- pcwzrd13 - DreamPI DLE bugfixed images
- Shuouma, et. al - for resurrecting many offline Dreamcast games back online!
- Creators of NOOBS and PINN
- Sega - For making the Sega Dreamcast
- If your version of PINN does not have a "replace [OS]" feature in the maintenance menu, please upgrade PINN to the latest version
This is very helpful, great write up!
