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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

    Solved: Complete beginner - is it possible to setup and configure with just my Mac?

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    macbeginnerinstallationsshvnc
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    • N
      nuttymakes @dankcushions
      last edited by

      @dankcushions OK, perfect, I thought as much. I thought I might be able to get some of the work done first (like make sure it's installed right, connect the wireless controllers to the Pi) but if the VNC won't work in that way then it's pretty much a waste of time. Pity. It means I'll have to do the set up in snatched moments here and there in the house.

      Thanks for your quick response! I'll probably be popping in and out of here quite a bit over the next while. :)

      As an aside, for a complete beginner, I haven't found very much online. I mean, I had to google what the lights mean ("Raspberry Pi red light flashing green light meaning"), and even at that I mainly git results for Pi projects to control lights. Most beginner documentation tends to be aimed at people familiar with electronics but maybe not Pi. Perhaps I'm already in over my head attempting to start with Retropie. :/

      obsidianspiderO dankcushionsD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • obsidianspiderO
        obsidianspider @nuttymakes
        last edited by

        @nuttymakes Stick with it, and if you have questions, feel free to ask them here. This community has been very helpful to me and many others. Search through existing posts, and if you don't see your question addressed, ask away. If you look through my post history I'm sure you'll see plenty of questions that some would see as "dumb" but if I don't know, I'm sure someone else doesn't either.

        📷 @obsidianspider

        N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • dankcushionsD
          dankcushions Global Moderator @nuttymakes
          last edited by

          @nuttymakes said in Complete beginner - is it possible to setup and configure with just my Mac?:

          As an aside, for a complete beginner, I haven't found very much online. I mean, I had to google what the lights mean ("Raspberry Pi red light flashing green light meaning")

          to be fair i don't think running pi systems without a screen is a particularly 'beginner' task :)

          obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • obsidianspiderO
            obsidianspider @dankcushions
            last edited by

            @dankcushions said in Complete beginner - is it possible to setup and configure with just my Mac?:

            @nuttymakes said in Complete beginner - is it possible to setup and configure with just my Mac?:

            As an aside, for a complete beginner, I haven't found very much online. I mean, I had to google what the lights mean ("Raspberry Pi red light flashing green light meaning")

            to be fair i don't think running pi systems without a screen is a particularly 'beginner' task :)

            It took me a year and a half before I set up my first headless Pi, and even that was done with a keyboard plugged in and using a TV to do some initial tweaking before plugging it in to act as a Pi-Hole server.

            📷 @obsidianspider

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            • N
              nuttymakes @obsidianspider
              last edited by

              @obsidianspider said in Complete beginner - is it possible to setup and configure with just my Mac?:

              @nuttymakes Stick with it, and if you have questions, feel free to ask them here. This community has been very helpful to me and many others. Search through existing posts, and if you don't see your question addressed, ask away. If you look through my post history I'm sure you'll see plenty of questions that some would see as "dumb" but if I don't know, I'm sure someone else doesn't either.

              Thanks for the support @obsidianspider ! :) My background is design and social media so this is kind of a whole new world for me.

              @dankcushions I didn't realise that running it via my laptop rather than connecting to a screen and keyboard would be seen as an advanced task, I'll try and stick with doing it the beginner way from now on! :)

              Thanks both, if this all goes well I intend to experiment a bit more with it and become an active, productive member of this community! :)

              D herb_fargusH 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • D
                Dochartaigh @nuttymakes
                last edited by Dochartaigh

                Why not go simple? A ~$4.50 HDMI to DVI cable or adapter. Or a similar HDMI to VGA adapter. Or whatever you need to hook it up to a monitor at the office. Problem solved and you have this little adapter for future use.

                Also, I've tried ApplePi-Baker on literally 4 different Mac's with zero problems (from Yosemite to El Capitan to Sierra OS). What problems are you having with it? A bad card reader perhaps? ...tried it with at least 4 brands of micro SD cards as well.

                N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • herb_fargusH
                  herb_fargus administrators @nuttymakes
                  last edited by herb_fargus

                  @nuttymakes another way to run headless without needing an initial monitor is to plug the Ethernet in and ssh (provided you know what IP the pi gets) and configure wifi that way (though I know most workplaces are very particular about what devices are plugged into their networks) but as you've seen from the responses thus far, with the raspberry pi there are always 3-4+ ways of doing something.

                  If you read the documentation it will answer 99% of your questions: https://retropie.org.uk/docs/

                  Also if you want a solution to your problems read this first: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

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                  • N
                    nuttymakes @Dochartaigh
                    last edited by

                    @Dochartaigh It just goes idle after a few seconds, about 5% into the progress bar. I've seen other people online have had this issue, including a post on this forum where they tried on another Mac and everything worked fine. It's one of the official cards so compatibility shouldn't be a problem. I've also been able to browse SD cards from the card reader in the laptop so likely not a card reader issue either. Seems to have worked via the command line install, but I'll know once I plug it into a screen.

                    @herb_fargus Yeah, I'm starting to see that alright! :) I've tried using an Ethernet cable put as I don't know what IP the pi gets it has been problematic. If retropie doesn't use traditional desktops (as Ive learnt on this thread), then that method will only get me so far anyways.

                    I think I've squeezed about 2 hours of free time in the house tonight by sending the OH off on an errand so that should hopefully give me a bit of a start.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      MEPoss @obsidianspider
                      last edited by

                      @obsidianspider why it does not work for me with Raspberry Pi Zero W and Retropie installed?

                      obsidianspiderO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • obsidianspiderO
                        obsidianspider @MEPoss
                        last edited by

                        @MEPoss Did you enable SSH?

                        📷 @obsidianspider

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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