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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Pixel Desktop -- No Taskbar

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    • mituM
      mitu Global Moderator
      last edited by

      You can install the Raspberry Pi OS desktop edition - like you had before - and then add RetroPie on top - see https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/.

      You can then chose to run EmulationStation instead of the desktop when you want to play.

      F 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • F
        fscii @mitu
        last edited by fscii

        @mitu I may try that route but before I do, I'd like to try to uninstall pixel desktop and reinstall it.

        https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#where-did-the-desktop-go

        I unraveled it by doing the
        sudo apt-get remove --purge
        lxde xorg raspberrypi-ui-mods rpi-chromium-mods

        then
        sudo apt install --no-install-recommends lxde
        sudo apt install xorg raspberrypi-ui-mods rpi-chromium-mods

        reboot
        exit emulation station
        startx

        same thing - argh

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        • F
          fscii @mitu
          last edited by

          @mitu FYI

          I pulled the usb flash drive I have been using and opened a new one and used the prebuilt image 4.7.1 just now, installed pixel desktop and same chromium behavior. After installing pixel desktop I ran the option to remove unneeded packages like pulseaudio, cups, wolfram etc. I had not done that last time and had to manually uninstall pulse.

          I purposely didn't update the OS etc. as I had done so on the last image and was wondering if that was the cause.

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          • F
            fscii @mitu
            last edited by

            @mitu I was afraid maybe my gpu or something was messed up but did a clean install of Raspberry OS using their imager and Chromium works fine.

            In Retropie I even tried changing the gpu memory from 64 to 128, 256 and even 512 suspecting not enough memory but no effect.

            Is there a way to report this to Retropie development team as it only happens in the Retropie build?

            mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • mituM
              mitu Global Moderator @fscii
              last edited by

              @fscii said in Pixel Desktop -- No Taskbar:

              Is there a way to report this to Retropie development team as it only happens in the Retropie build?

              You can consider this a report, though without being able to reproduce it, it's going to be difficult to find the cause. FWIW I've also installed the desktop from scratch on a - updated - 4.7.1 image and still can't reproduce the issue.

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              • F
                fscii @mitu
                last edited by fscii

                @mitu So far it makes only 2 of us who can reproduce it. Yikes.

                Ok I imaged with raspberry pi os, and went to the link you sent and manually added in Retropie and seems to be working.

                To boot into Retropie/Emulationstation I followed:
                https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi

                Then killing pulseaudio:
                sudo apt-get remove --purge pulseaudio

                What I'm looking for now, is to get back to the expected behavior of launching the desktop from within emulation station. I've done this with Kodi, and need to replicate it with Pixel desktop as it will no longer appear under ports due to manual install (I suggest adding this to docs under manual install).

                https://howchoo.com/kodi/how-to-install-kodi-on-retropie#optional-turn-kodi-into-a-retropie-system

                I can make the changes to say desktop and within the .sh change the command to startx - is that enough?

                What do I need to do to get an appropriate icon for it?

                This is a really long way around just installing the retropie package but it is what it is at this point and I appreciate your help VERY much.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • mituM
                  mitu Global Moderator
                  last edited by mitu

                  I can make the changes to say desktop and within the .sh change the command to startx - is that enough?

                  The Ports entry added by the RetroPie setup just runs

                  startx -- vt1 -keeptty

                  and this starts the desktop. Add this to roms/ports/desktop.sh and it should be fine.

                  What do I need to do to get an appropriate icon for it?

                  Find a raspberry icon, copy it in the ports folder, then edit the entry in EmulationStation (Select will allow you to edit the metadata for the any game/program entry) and add path in the image tag.

                  F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • F
                    fscii @mitu
                    last edited by

                    @mitu Everything is working as expected now. Thank you very much for your patience and your help!

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      Matt 0
                      last edited by Matt 0

                      I have exactly the same problem. So make that three people!
                      Burn Retropie 4.7.1 onto a 32GB sd card with Raspberry Pi Imager v1.6.2
                      Let it install on a Raspberry Pi 4 2GB
                      Setup the bare mininum, XBOX 360 control, and Wifi
                      Quit emulationstation to terminal
                      sudo ~/RetroPie-Setup/retropie_setup.sh
                      Configuration/Tools -> raspiantools -> Install Pixel Desktop
                      Wait to finish installing
                      startx
                      I get a desktop with no icons or taskbar, empty taskbar does flash a few times at top of screen but ends with a blank desktop
                      Cut power to Raspberry Pi because I see no way to close it down.
                      Boot up again, select Desktop on Ports menu in Retropie
                      Open Chromium from Taskbar
                      I get exactly the same issue as shown above with Chromium being slanted

                      Is there something I am doing wrong or missing? Any ideas what I can do? I've only had my pi for 2 days, so don't assume I know any pi or linux specific terms or menus.

                      I did also try using Retropie inside Twister OS, but I couldn't access the Roms folders on Retropie by connecting to the PI's IP in WIndows Explorer.

                      Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

                      W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • W
                        whyza @Matt 0
                        last edited by

                        @matt-0 said in Pixel Desktop -- No Taskbar:

                        I have exactly the same problem. So make that three people!
                        Burn Retropie 4.7.1 onto a 32GB sd card with Raspberry Pi Imager v1.6.2
                        Let it install on a Raspberry Pi 4 2GB
                        Setup the bare mininum, XBOX 360 control, and Wifi
                        Quit emulationstation to terminal
                        sudo ~/RetroPie-Setup/retropie_setup.sh
                        Configuration/Tools -> raspiantools -> Install Pixel Desktop
                        Wait to finish installing
                        startx
                        I get a desktop with no icons or taskbar, empty taskbar does flash a few times at top of screen but ends with a blank desktop
                        Cut power to Raspberry Pi because I see no way to close it down.
                        Boot up again, select Desktop on Ports menu in Retropie
                        Open Chromium from Taskbar
                        I get exactly the same issue as shown above with Chromium being slanted

                        Is there something I am doing wrong or missing? Any ideas what I can do? I've only had my pi for 2 days, so don't assume I know any pi or linux specific terms or menus.

                        I did also try using Retropie inside Twister OS, but I couldn't access the Roms folders on Retropie by connecting to the PI's IP in WIndows Explorer.

                        Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

                        I have the same issue with chromium on a pi400 with latest software.

                        my desktop is running on HDMI mode @ 1920x1280

                        Interestingly the problem is present when the chromium starts, as it does not start in a full window

                        It starts in a window roughly the size of half the screen, and the issue is present.

                        If I increase the window size to roughly 3/4's of the total desktop size, the problem is no longer present.

                        If I set the chromium window to maximum size, the problem is not present.

                        With the window max size, the issue is not present, unless you open the drop down menu inside chromium. This drop down menu has the problem.

                        So it seems to be a window size/scaling? issue.

                        If the window is not large enough, the problem is present.

                        Hopefully that helps to reproduce the issue.

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                        • W
                          whyza @whyza
                          last edited by

                          @whyza

                          I was able to work around this chromium issue with the following commands

                          sudo apt-get remove rpi-chromium-mods
                          sudo apt-get install chromium

                          After this, chromium works fine.

                          W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • W
                            whyza @whyza
                            last edited by

                            @whyza

                            actually just the one command will do all the work for you

                            sudo apt-get install chromium

                            It will remove rpi-chromium-mods

                            W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • W
                              whyza @whyza
                              last edited by

                              @whyza

                              specifically the problem is with package

                              chromium-browser 88.0.4324.187-rpt1

                              work around is to install chromium meta package

                              sudo apt-get install chromium

                              which installs

                              chromium 90.0.4430.212-1~deb10u1

                              and the issue is worked around.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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