Installing Retropie on top of Raspberry OS

mitu

Use https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/ as a starting point. The guide mentioned by @ExarKunIv is just an expanded copy of it.

EDIT: is this is for installiing Dolphin on the Pi4, then don't bother, the Pi4 is quite underpowered to handle GC/Wii emulation.

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv I see all of these for a pi5. I have a pi 4. Will it still work? Also, can you please explain to me what these links do?

ExarKunIv

@SquidCoder the guide will work the same way on a pi4 vs pi5

use https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/ since you are on the pi4

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv does bullseye support retropie now or was that post you gave me the link for kinda old?

ExarKunIv

@SquidCoder it does work on bullseye, but the devs are focused on bookworm since thats the most current main raspberry OS that raspberry pi is using.

so using bullseye something may or may not work. i dont know
bookworm is newer then bullseye FYI

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv Ok. Will bookworm work? If it doesn’t, can you give me the link to bullseye?

sugarfree

I believe the next RetroPie image for the Raspberry Pi 4/3/2/0 will use Bullseye, since Bullseye has recently moved to legacy support.

SquidCoder

@sugarfree So how do I download this?

sugarfree

@SquidCoder

You can download the images from here: https://files.retropie.org.uk/images/weekly/. However, please note that they are development images and haven't been thoroughly tested. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend using them for daily use.

SquidCoder

@sugarfree Ok. This looks like it will be very complicated. Can I upgrade the raspian os I put on my retropie to raspberry OS bookworm?

sugarfree

It is not possible.

SquidCoder

@sugarfree Ok. Would it be easier to build it on top of Ubuntu?

ExarKunIv

@sugarfree that might not be true
i already asked what version the next RetroPie will be and was told it will be bookworm since that has Pi5 support

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/34627/raspberry-pi-5-official-announcement/426

but who knows at this point

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv So waht should I do? I am so lost and my head is swirling. How do I do this, and how long will it last? It seems like raspberry os has a new version ever few days and the version that I build will only last a little while. Should I wait until it is supported by bookworm or should I try now?

sugarfree

@SquidCoder

Just download the latest stable version and enjoy your favorite old games: https://retropie.org.uk/download/

ExarKunIv

@SquidCoder since you are running a Pi4 just go with what @sugarfree suggests.

i have a Pi4 running a the version that you just get from the RetroPie downloads and its still fine
i stopped updating it about 9 months ago. i have mine offline so it does not need any security updates and all the systems are working fine for me. so no need to worry about updating to the most current versions on things.

you can go mad trying to keeping everything up to date.
as long as everything it working. then you are good to go

start here
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/First-Installation/

then you do want to at least update at least once to get the latest at this time
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Updating-RetroPie/

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv The version that comes with retropie is the outdated raspian OS. Meaning that many apps are not supported like pi-apps and pi commander.

ExarKunIv

@SquidCoder said in Installing Retropie on top of Raspberry OS:

pi-apps and pi commander

they are not designed to work with RetroPie to start with. at that point you are on your own.
they are designed to work with a desktop as RetroPie does not use one or install one. you have to manual install the desktop your self from the menu

SquidCoder

@ExarKunIv I know they don’t work with retro pi, but I thought they would work on raspbian? Is it still retropie or is it basically a temporary raspbian that you can download all the programs on.

ExarKunIv

@SquidCoder raspbian is the OS that Retropie is built over. which is why you Use https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Manual-Installation/ as a starting point if you want to run a newer OS then buster

the thing is pi-apps and pi commander need a desktop to work. RetroPie does work, but something might be broken if is use a desktop