2 Pi4 questions

bc320

yes.
I ran "sudo apt install ntfs-3g exfat-fuse exfat-utils pmount lockfile-progs" and got an error about the about it not working and I have to run apt---fix install. Then it worked

bc320

I ran that command again. A bunch of stuff installed. but still read only

Clyde

This should re-mount the partition writable, if nothing else prevents it:

sudo mount -t ntfs -o remount,rw /dev/sda2 /media/usb0

It wil remount the partition with standard options. If this doesn't work or produces any problems, you can try to remount it with all of the options it was mounted automatically before:

sudo mount -t ntfs -o remount,rw,nodev,noexec,noatime,nodiratime,sync,uid=1000,fmask=0177,dmask=077,nls=utf8.errors=continue,mft_zone_multiplier=1 /dev/sda2 /media/usb0

As before, you can check its mount status with mount | grep usb0.

And again, if there are any errors, please post them completely with copy & paste, preferably in a code block like I did.

bc320

Tried the first and got
remounting is not supported at present. you have to unmount volume and mount it once again.

the 2nd one gave me this
Mount: Bad usage

note, copy & past not an option. This is on my tv and I have to walk across my house to access pc. no way to copy frm tv to pc.

bc320

I think I may have broke something.
I was able to unmount then remoutn using (I forget how I unmounted)
sudo mount -t ntfs -o remount,rw /dev/sda2 /media/usb0

From there I did
sudo mv -v /home/pi/RetroPie/* /media/usb0/

Now I have 3 folders added to my drive along with a folder called "retropie-mount'

I continued to try to follow the directions found here for setting up the USB drive to be automounted on start up. However, the commands are not recognized.
I tried
ls /media/usb0 -l to try to view the usb file structure and then, when that didn't work, ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/ to find the UUID number. In both cases I received an error at 1s is not a valid command. When I went to emulationstation the only thing I had was favorites. Not even the retropie menu. Rebooted with USB plugged in and still black screen with just favorites. I turned the pi off completely, unplugged the USB drive, rebooted. Again, black screen with just favorites.

mitu

@bc320 said in 2 Pi4 questions:

I continued to try to follow the directions found here for setting up the USB drive to be automounted on start up. However, the commands are not recognized.

What commands ? Some error messages might help clear up why the commands don't work.
Did you modify the /etc/fstab file to get your disk auto-mounted ?

bc320

Got further along now. I mis-read the ls -l command as 1s -1 (lower case L vs # 1)
I got my UUID number, it is a lot longer then what is in the sample. I entered the following in the /etc/fstab
UUID=0ABC7E228C7E0889 /home/pi/RetroPie vfat nofail,user,uid=pi,gid=pi 0 2
I also tried changing vfat to ntfs since that is how the drive is formatted.
I used the Tab key between each section, not spaces.

I used ctr+x to exit. Entered Y, pressed enter again when it asked me the file name.
Started Emulation Station
Rebooted.

Still just favorites menu

mitu

Check if your drive is correctly mounted - run mount -a and see if your drive is mounted under /home/pi/RetroPie.
Do you have the roms folder - with the sub-folders - on the drive ?
Download the Emulationstation log file from /home/pi/.emulationstation/es_log.txt and post it on pastebin.com.

bc320

When I enter mount -a I get an error
mount: only root can use "-all" option
Yes I have roms folder with subfolders
How do I download? The only way I may be able to is through the file manager but right now I can't access that through emulation station. I installed a theme before I tried to do this and now when I get to emulation station all the I have is favorites. The menu for RetroPie is not there. It was before I moved everything to the USB drive

mitu

@bc320

When I enter mount -a I get an error

Use sudo mount -a and then just run mount to see the mounted filesystems.

How do I download?

Enable SSH on the Pi and then use WinSCP to access the full file system from your PC, just like you do with the file manager.

bc320

This post is deleted!

bc320

I see the drive. Not sure what it all means.
`/dev/sda2 on edia/usb0 type fuseblk (rw,nodev,noexe,noatime,sync,suer_id=0,goup_id=0,defaul_permissions,allow_other,blksize-4096)
log can be found here

mitu

From the log file, it looks like none of the ROMs folders are found. Your drive is not mounted under /home/pi/RetroPie/, but under /media/usb0, so it's normal that Emulationstation doesn't find them.
Did you disable the usbmount service before adding your drive to /etc/fstab ? Do you see the ROM folders under /home/pi/RetroPie/roms ?

bc320

Yes, usbmountservice is disabled.
no, /home/pi/RetroPie folder is empty. I believe the contents of this folder was moved to the USB drive when I did
sudo mv -v /home/pi/RetroPie/* /media/usb0/

bc320

I looked at the HDD and noticed that there are 4 folders in the root directory. One I created called retropie-mount and then the three copied over from the Pi. Should those 3 be in the retropie-mount folder? Could that folder be part of the issue? This is from when I tried to do the automatic method setting the usb hdd to store the roms.

bc320

think I got it
changed the ect/fstab from what the directions said to
UUID=0A8C7E228C7E0889 /home/pi/RetroPie ntfs-3g nofail,user,uid=pi,gid=pi,umask=0000 0 2

Not sure the difference but found this on a redit thread. now to try read/write.

Another question now that I have this set up (I hope)
To add roms can I do the following?

Power off Pi4 using the ES system shut down
Turn power off at switch
remove HDD and attach to PC
load other roms, bios, etc
plug hdd back in
power system on

Or is there another method I should be using? I like this for large files compared to Samba or WinSCP

mitu

@bc320 Sure, you can use the disk on your PC, as long as it's properly un-mounted from the Pi (shutdown will do that).

Clyde

@bc320 In addition to @mitu's advice, you should also safely remove the drive from your PC to avoid data loss and keep the NTFS in a consistant state (Linux won't mount it if its inconsistant).

That said, on a current Windows 10, the above may not be necessary anymore, but you should check if that option is enabled on your system.

bc320

Ran into a bit of an issue last night. After I got the USB drive working I tried all the systems I have on it. NES, SNES, GEN, and Atari all seem to work well. N64 doesn't. It is slow everything is slow and audio sucks. Could it be because it is coming off the USB or is it the Pi4? I will admit I failed to try it before I set up the USB hdd.

Clyde

N64 roms are only 5-30 MB each, which can be loaded in a blaze even from a slow usb device. I also suspect that RetroArch loads a rom completely and not only parts of it, so it should not matter after the game starts.

The N64 doesn't run well on a Pi 3 and the support of the Pi 4 is preliminary at best. So, I think that RetroArch and/or the underlying operating system is to blame for your problems, especially since older systems do run without difficulty.

If I were you, I would wait until the Pi 4 is properly supported by RetroPie. With NES, SNES, GEN, and Atari you have many systems to pass the time, after all. ;)