What is the process for upgrading from a Pi3B+ to a Pi4?

aidy80's

Pi Model or other hardware: B+
Power Supply used: Original Pi PSU
RetroPie Version Used: 4.5.1
Built From: retropie-4.5.1 -rpi2_rpi3.img.gz
USB Devices connected: PS3 controller & usb keyboard
Controller used: PS3 controller

I've got my Pi3B+ working really well, loads of games working on various systems and scraping nearly complete now, but I feel I could do with upgrading to a Pi4 to benefit from a more powerful system. Plus, as the Pi4 is officially supported now it makes more sense. Do you have to start completely from scratch when moving from one system to another? Can I start with the latest official image and use my existing ROMS and Bios files and copy them over? I'm guessing it is not as simple as just plugging in my existing SD card straight into the Pi4?

With MAME I've got it setup so that certain ROMS open with a certain version of MAME i.e some with 2003 and some with 2010, would I have to change all those settings again?

mitu

Do you have to start completely from scratch when moving from one system to another?

Yes, since they use different versions of Raspbian and an upgrade in place is not recommended.

Can I start with the latest official image and use my existing ROMS and Bios files and copy them over? I'm guessing it is not as simple as just plugging in my existing SD card straight into the Pi4?

Yes, you can back-up your ROMs, BIOS and configs, then transfer them to the new system, after installation. As always, a SD card backup is recommended if you intend to re-flash it with a new image. Otherwise, you can just keep both systems online and transfer from one to the other, testing things as you restore to the new system.

With MAME I've got it setup so that certain ROMS open with a certain version of MAME i.e some with 2003 and some with 2010, would I have to change all those settings again?

This is part of the config folder - the ROM-to-Emulator association is kept in \\retropie\configs\all\emulators.cfg - you can just copy it over to the new system.

aidy80's

@mitu Thanks very much for the detailed response. It doesn't sound quite so difficult as I imagined it to be. I expect it will take some time, but hopefully be worth it in the end.

Clyde

I migrated 90% of my setup from my Pi 3 to my Pi 4 in about an hour. Having my complete roms directory on an external sdd helped a lot since it spared me bigger copy orgies. I re-configured most controls and RetroArch options manually after that to clean up the setup from the mess of many testing reconfigurations that I did over the last two years. 😇

Okay, the 14 years with Linux as my main OS and the 2½ years of heavy RetroPie tinkering may have helped a little, too. But it definetely is not rocket science to migrate a RetroPie setup to a new version. Kudos to the developers for such a clean, logically structured system. 👍

IceChes1

@Clyde said in What is the process for upgrading from a Pi3B+ to a Pi4?:

Kudos to the developers for such a clean, logically structured system. 👍

Absolutely.

aidy80's

@Clyde This is great to hear. Looking forward to getting a Pi4 and enjoying the benefits!

Clyde

@aidy80-s Have fun. 😁