DreamPi DX NOOBS-compatible image

[MrTamkis]

Interesting seems like a great way to get the most out of the raspberry pi when being used for the dreampi

Yeah, Raspberry Pis have a lot of usage for retro game consoles/computers. This was one of the main reasons why I created these images, so you don't have to waste a large capacity SD card for only using a small DreamPi install, and to get the most out of your Raspberry Pi that you've already purchased.

Other interesting retro console/computer usage I've found online for Raspberry Pis:

• XLink Kai Server - Raspbian package to enable LAN games online for OG Xbox-Xbox One, PS2-PS4, PSP/Vita, Gamecube, Switch. Think DC Now and DreamPi but for other consoles.
• Playback of speedruns on real hardware (too many examples to list)
• GameCube RAM hacking
• Atari 5200 multicart
• PC/XT computer floppy emulator
• SCSI device emulator
• IDE hard drive emulator
• C64 1541 floppy emulator
• C64 online modem emulator
• SIO2Pi - Atari 8-bit computer floppy/modem emulator

[MrTamkis]

With the recent release of DreamPi v1.7 DLE, I have updated the Dreampi NOOBS-compatible image today against v1.7 DLE in the OP. Also at my DreamPi NOOBS image webpage, I've added a section detailing how I convert the stock images into NOOBS-compatible ones, if anyone ever finds the need to roll their own images.

Main changes with the new NOOBS image:

• Updated NOOBS image against v1.7 DLE DreamPi image
• Updated installer slideshow
  • Added optional WiFi connection to the list of minimum hw requirements
  • Updated list of online-compatible games, and added link to list of online games at Dreamcast Live website
  • Added slide with info about DreamPi Companion app
  • Added slide with info about the DreamPi WiFi Config Wizard
  • Removed slide about the speed bugfix

Next DreamPi NOOBS image release I will look into adding an online auto-update feature.

With NOOBS Full version/PINN, there is a file called recovery.cmdline, which has a repo_list argument which points to an online JSON file. This file points to other online JSON files, which have a master list of distros and parameters for installing/updating distros online.

After hosting the image as an extracted 7z archive on Github, 3 things I could look into for implementing this feature:

• Contact the NOOBS/PINN authors with the NOOBS image info, have them implement the info into their master list
• Fork the master list files into my own repo. Keep it same as stock ones, but add my info for the DreamPi image.
• Modify the local overrides.json file within NOOBS/PINN, by adding the DreamPi image info to it with a shell script during install. This file overrides some of the info within the master list. I'll have to look into if adding a whole new OS that doesn't exist on the master file is possible.

Option 3 would probably be the best way to implement this, if it is possible.

[Bob Dobbs]

How 'bout Kodi?

Lol!

[MadnessHero]

Does the dreampi image have to be added via a Linux computer? I'm using Windows and I can't get pinn to detect it on SD or USB drives.

[MrTamkis]

Didn't notice that reply until now.

You can use Windows to extract the contents of the NOOBS-compatible DreamPi image archive with 7zip onto the root of an external SD card/USB stick. Make sure the external SD card/USB stick are formatted to FAT32, and that the archive extracts to "os\DreamPi" folder from that device's root, overwriting folders if asked. Then you would just have to install it from the PINN bootloader's OS listing (hold shift on boot). DreamPi should appear as an option and have a different icon indicating that it's to be installed from the external media (a USB icon iirc).

I just noticed a minor mistake in the download, that the archive is not flat . Odds are it extracted to "DreamPi_1p7_DLE_NOOBS\os\DreamPi" instead of "os\DreamPi\" on the device's root even if extracted correctly, which prevented PINN from seeing the image for install from the external device. I've updated the original download as a flat archive, so that others won't run into the same problem upon proper extraction.

[victoryrhoads]

So I've been trying this a lot of different ways, following the instructions the the T...

I’ve got a Pi3b.

- New SD card, format to FAT32
- Extract PINN download to SD card root
- Download DreamPi image, unzip
- move that "os" folder over to SD root and replace its existing "os" folder
- boot up Pi, install RetroPie, Raspbian Full, and DreamPi.

RetroPie and Raspbian work just fine. Each time I try to boot DreamPi though, the screen goes black and I lose video signal.

Other info:
When I run “Fix” in PINN some of the messages I get are:
In “File System Check”:
“fatCP437: Invalid argument”

In “re-run partition_setup”:
“DreamPidoes not support re-running the setup script.
DreamPi partions_setup.sh script error

DONE - some script errors detected”

Not sure if that helps or what it means, but yeah... Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

UPDATE******

I think it may have something to do with me formatting the SD card with macOS. Going to restart the process after reformatting it on Raspbian OS.

UPDATE #2******

Wasn’t able to format via Raspbian OS. Noticed that the Mac was creating ghost files(something it’s infamous for) that once plagued my Phoebe’s SD card- so I tried erasing all of those starting over from scratch; same effect. Blank black screen then video loss. I’m out of ideas.

UPDATE #3*****************

So I bought a 7" Raspberry touch screen display and the DreamPi booted up just fine on that with display. I had been using a HDMI to DVI cord onto my PC monitor. There's good reason to believe that the DreamPi image had been working just fine all along. If you encounter this issue and you don't have an alternate video out method, you could probably setup DreamPi blind(without display) by logging into the Pi and configuring the Wifi.

[MrTamkis]

Wondering if the HDMI to DVI cable (or the Mac "ghost files") may have been causing the problems, or something else breaking down within PINN or the DreamPi image with that particular AV setup.

Unfortunately, my personal DreamPi that I use for using/testing the NOOBS-compatible images I roll is an older, used Model 2B RPi with video out over pure HDMI, so I don't have the means to test for possible hardware bugs such as that in the distro on newer models. If somebody else with a Raspberry Pi 3B (or newer) could replicate that bug from this image (and provide the appropriate log files from within the DreamPi's FS), that would really help with determining the cause, determining if it's not a one-off bug, and help with digging deeper into the issue if so.

For now, I've added a note under a "Known Bugs" section on the DreamPI NOOBS image webpage, the OP, and within the image's ChangeLog file mentioning about this (possible) bug, and to workaround it if it happens using a CSI-2 bridge touchscreen for initial setup and terminal debugging.

[No1Dopechampion]

I have only just discovered this thread, what a useful option to have. Because I am trying a few different methods of an Internal Dreampi, I ended up buying a Pi3 model A (since at time of writing all Pi ZERO seem to be sold out). But for some reason this model I have wont boot a lot of Pre-made SD Images. Only NOOBS seem's to work. I intend to try this out.

[MrTamkis]

[center]DreamPi NOOBS Image v1.21 update![/center]

Back in December 2020, I updated the DreamPi NOOBS image to v1.21 and am now getting off my lazy butt and formally releasing it here today .

These new images are based off the same, latest DreamPi v1.7 DLE, but with a few minor updates:

• Updated slideshow (with the latest list of supported online games)
  • Internet Game Pack
  • Metropolis Street Racer
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon DX
• Two prebuilt images now included in the offline installation package
  • Raspberry Pi 4+ models ("DreamPi 4")
  • Older models ("DreamPi")
• Setup a 3rd-party PINN repository server !

The DreamPi 4 NOOBS image has been tested to be working on an Raspberry Pi 4 that I assembled for a fellow Dreamcast friend for Christmas, with an "industrial-Strength" LVI (joke) that I created for him. He's not very tech-savvy for stuff like Linux, assembling DreamPis, and soldering, so I got a DreamPi repository server setup for him so that DreamPi can update and work completely out-of-the-box for him .

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[center]New online PINN repository support[/center]

As mentioned that I would research into almost two years ago, I would create a 3rd-party, online PINN repository in order to download, to install, to update, and to maintain remotely the DreamPi images. After about a month of PINN research, I've managed to create such a 3rd-party repository server hosted online and instructions on how to access it .

Please see the OP for instructions on how to access the PINN repository ("Tamkis NOOBS Repo"). This server access has only been tested with PINN, and I recommend using Option #1 for accessing it.

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[center]Easiest installation for newcomers[/center]

I know the OP is a bad wall of non-concise BBCode text and formatting, but it was me documenting my experience, pain, and caveats for various NOOBS issue when I first started out rolling out my own DreamPi NOOBS image, especially on first initialization of NOOBS on a new SD Card.

For newcomers, the easiest installation I recommend is

• Use PINN (not NOOBS; copy PINN onto new SD card if not installed)
• Initialize PINN/new SD card for the first time if necessary (for PINN partition setup).
• Install appropriate DreamPi NOOBS image flavor for Raspberry Pi model ("DreamPi 4" or just "DreamPi")
  • Online installation
    • Recommended installation method
    • Access server via Option #1 (recommended)
  • Offline installation
    • Copy "OS" folder onto root of external FAT32 formatted USB stick
    • Install

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[center]Conclusion[/center]
I hope people find this new online repository support (and included DreamPi 4 1.7 DLE-based NOOBS image in the new package) very useful! Full technical usage details of the DreamPi NOOBS image, as well as technical research details on how to setup a PINN repository server online at the project webpage

Off-topic, but In the near future, I will be rolling other console-based PINN images and hosting them on the Tamkis NOOBS Repo later

• The DreamPi images
• VitaDock (PS Vita)
• Possible XLink Kai image?

[Ian Micheal]

Impressive