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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

    can i backup retropie image from a virtual machine and install it on a raspberry pi 3b+ ?

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    • S
      sohailoo
      last edited by

      this seems like a stupid question but i looked everywhere and couldn't find an answer to it

      Basically what i want to do is install retropie on a virtual machine and do all the configuration i want and then make a backup of the image and install it in the raspberry pi.

      i know i can do all that directly from the pi but i always mess up my image and have to re-flash the sd card. its much better to do it on a vm since i can take snapshots to help me if i broke something.

      so the question is

      1- can i install and configure retropie on a vm then back it up and install the configured image on my pi ?

      2- if yes , is there a specific OS i should use( raspbian, ubuntu, debian, etc... ) or it doesn't matter ?

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      • mituM
        mitu Global Moderator
        last edited by

        In short, no. The Pi has a different architecture, based on an ARM CPU, which is not emulated on simple VM on the PC. You'd be installing a PC based Linux distribution, which will not work on a Pi.

        S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • S
          sohailoo @mitu
          last edited by

          @mitu if i back it up manually ( transferring config, roms, BIOS ) would i run into the same problem ?
          cuz all i care about is the emulators i install or at least the configurations i do to these emulators

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          • mituM
            mitu Global Moderator
            last edited by

            You can transfer BIOS and ROM files - like usual - but the emulator configs usually contain platform specific settings which should not be transferred. It's ok to transfer EmulationStation's setting - gamelists and metadata.

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