WD pi drive - Can't finish retropie + kodi project

balo7

Hello everyone my name is balo and i'm glad to join this community

I need HELP, i tought i could just do it by myself but now i am giving up
i was very exited when i started buying parts, watching videos and tutorials for retropie
REALITY I am not an expert on pc's but i've been able to handle making my own pc's, installing os's, software, etc.
but i have never used linux to program nothing at all outside an visual enviroment,
I've been researching and installing software for more than 2 weeks, but i can't make it work the way i want......

i just bought a raspberry pi3 model b + wd 375gb pidrive + accesories to achieve the following project

3 partitions in the main drive , booting from the SD card :

1. 150GB to install the latest KODI image build + all my media files to watch without a network
(using a bluetooth touch-keyboard, and replace my roku box)
2. 150GB to install the latest 128gb Rey's build image (having space left to add more roms)
(bought 2 bluetooth wireless controllers - 8bit nes pro gamepro to play all consoles)
3. 75GB to install another a 32gb retropie ps1 build image

What i did; i connected everything and booted from the SD card (NOOBS preloaded from WD, but i got a surprise)i couldn't partition the drive the way i wanted; so i booted it the way it came just to check,,and surprise again! it got stuck forever in the middle of the process 54% twice.

So i formatted the SD card and downloaded instead a software called PINN where you can make your own partitions in the next web page:

https://www.matthuisman.nz/2017/05/noobs-pinn-set-sizes.html

Then i resized the drive and it worked like a charm, tried the retropie OS, plugged a controller and i knew it was working; next step try to install my already downloaded images

// Plugged the drive in windows, couldn't write from there, so i downloaded a software to write inside the drive cause it;s linux based, tryed ext2, paragon extfs, and some others but, no one could write a raw image in the drive, so i installed virtualbox, downloaded Ubuntu 16.04 and explored the drive.

*NOTE the main idea is to install the already built images, so i don't have to do all the hard work that i don't know how to do with retropie and kodi systems

Next step, don't know how to write a raw image in a partition instead of a drive in linux (i don't even know if this it's possible and also how to do it).so after some research found a program called ETCHER, took the REY'S image from the pc and wrote it in the drive not caring about erasing the partitions that i did yet, just to see if i could make it work; cause ETCHER only writes to a drive and not a partition.

https://etcher.io/

Then i plugged the raspberry and the drive and of course as i suspected :joy::sleepy: i didn't run, cause the root now is another,,,, so i open virtual box again and couldn't make my PC to reach the SD card reader of my laptop, also installed guest additions to share the F:/ drive(sd card) without succes, then i thought maybe there is a file where i can modify the route of my HDD that is /dev/sdb , couldn't find it in windows, found something in internet about adding a JSON file in to os folder, F*** how the hell can i do that.....

*NOTE now virtualbox isn't recognizing the usb drives, maybe cause an update from windows, i erased everything and installed it again, but same problem detecting the USB's devices

TRUE, well my friends, the reality is that i don't have a clue of how to get thing done in Linux, I've been researching and using tutorials;I'am dissapointed cause i thought this project could be manageable for people like me and also fun, instead i've found so many people having same problems as me for being ambitious about their pi projects, pi drive seemed like the ultimate solution for what the pi needed SPACE instead a sd card, now i'm kind of regretting not had bought a 128 gb SD card and be playing by now.

SUMMARY I swear on my pi that i'll make it work!!! I totally love all this hardware,, looking for effective and simple methods

A)How to install/write 3 raw different images in 3 different partitions inside a drive, Linux based

1.kodi build
2.retropie 128gb build
3retropie ps1 32gb build

B)How to make this particular SD card to boot those 3 partitions (software?)
C)Once it's done, how to overclock the raspberry to play PS1 and N64 roms smoothly

If i where a linux user i'll be done by now I KNOW some may call me a dumb or whatever, I'am guessing that this topic right here is a piece o cake for a lot of people and a nightmare for some other like me..

Hope someone can help me
have a great day...!!!

balo

hardware:

_Alienware m17xr3 i7 Windows 10 pro GTX460m 10gb DDR3 , 250gb SSD + 1 TB _

Raspberry pi3 model b+ / wd pidrive + wd cable +wd power source + Wd 6x6 white case / heatsink and double fan for the pi+ 2 controllers 8bitdo nes30 pro + 1 bluetooth touch keyboard + 2.4hz mouse and keyboard kit

mitu

@balo7 said in WD pi drive - Can't finish retropie + kodi project:

150GB to install the latest 128gb Rey's build image (having space left to add more roms)

As noted in the https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first page, we cannot offer support for 3rd party images.
Having said that, what you're trying to do is superfluous - loading 3 of the same OS images, 2 of them running RetroPie already - when you could get the same functionality from just one.

My advice would be to load install the stock RetroPie image on the USB drive, first flashing it with Etcher on the SD card and making sure it works, then transferring the image on the HDD. You can find a few videos on Youtube on how to do that and how to boot from an external HDD instead of the SD card.

Once you get the RPI working with the external disk, then you can install Kodi from the RetroPie setup and you're done (https://retropie.org.uk/docs/KODI/).

balo7

took your advise, made just one partition. thanks a lot

programing pinn or noobs needed more work

(https://github.com/procount/pinn/wiki/How-to-Create-a-Multi-Boot-SD-card-out-of-2-existing-OSes-using-PINN)

Followed this fella on you tube who tells you how to boot from the sd card without a boot program, just rewriting a file, and the image is now working, now i'am enabling the unallocated space that's left in the drive to add more roms and media.

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thanks mitu !