Manual install on top of Buster Full
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@mitu so what I'm actually trying to set up is a Raspberry Pi with a desktop which I can use for web browsing and other apps, that can also run EmulationStation alongside SteamLink. When I boot, I would like to see the desktop. If I want to use EmulationStation, I would like to be able to enter a command or bash script that will switch over to RetroPie mode. When I'm finished, I'd like to be able to go back to the desktop.
Is this possible or am I just crazy?
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@LogicalUnit said in Manual install on top of Buster Full:
Is this possible or am I just crazy?
It's possible - just need to find out how.
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I found this on the forum, but have not tried it:
https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/12713/run-emulationstation-from-x-scriptFor my own setup I run boot into emulationstation, and launch a separate vnc desktop from /etc/rc.local with this command:
su pi -c vncserver :1 >/dev/null 2>&1 &I can then use vnc to server:5901 to get a desktop when needed for file downloads or updates.
Both my pi's run headless, and everything is done via ssh or vnc
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This is interesting. I have used a PC to run a fresh install of Ubuntu and just launched emulationstation from a terminal and it worked fine. Granted it was not a Pi so that could make a difference but my PC didn't seem to hesitate running ES just fine when launched from the desktop environment.
I've also done it from a VM install of Ubuntu. It never occurred to me that I would have to kill the desktop before launching.
Edit: The downside I discovered when running from the VM was the audio was delayed about a half second from the video images.
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@YFZdude said in Manual install on top of Buster Full:
This is interesting. I have used a PC to run a fresh install of Ubuntu and just launched emulationstation from a terminal and it worked fine.
On a PC, EmulationStation is meant to be run from a desktop environment - but not on a PI.
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Does anyone have a suggestion for where I might find out how to do this? I've Googled the error but didn't learn much.
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You can always use startx to start the desktop from the text console.
My pi works fine with this configuration. I am not sure why your is messing up. My personal favorite fix to everything: copy your /home/pi/Retropie folder to your PC and then reinstall. Then reinstall Retropie, delete the new /home/pi/Retropie folder and replace it with the old one. -
Did I say reinstall twice? Oops.
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Okay, I've made some progress. By running sudo raspi-config, I was able to go into Boot Options and switch to Console Autologin. Now when I boot the pi, I get a command prompt. From there, if I want the desktop, I run startx. When I'm done with the desktop, I can exit to command line. If I want EmulationStation, I just run emulationstation. Again, when I'm done, I can exit back to command line. Great!
My next issue is that I have a USB stick with a folder called retropie-mount. In here I have various ROMs and save state files. When I use the normal RetroPie image, all these ROMs are detected and added to EmulationStation. But right now, it's not finding any of them. Any idea how to make EmulationStation search a USB stick for ROMs?
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@LogicalUnit You need to install and enable the
usbromservicepackage from the RetroPie-Setup, it's in theoptionalpackages section. -
@mitu awesome, that did the trick! I now have RetroPie, SteamLink, and Linux desktop all running on Raspberry Pi :)
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