Raspberry PI $25 PC

Doge

Seeing much larger text in the Skin so it appears its upgraded to RC4.

Now to restore the config!

EJ22

waveform wrote: »

Seeing much larger text in the Skin so it appears its upgraded to RC4.

Now to restore the config!

What i done was in the folder where i had the installer and zipped image, i renamed the rc3 image and reran the installer. It then downloaded s new image which was considerably smaller (56mb to something around 6) and viola it was rc4. You can also check in your system info in raspbmc and check when it was compiled. If it was the 4th or 5th of august you're on rc4

Doge

Damn! Got an unexpected end of archive error when extracting the backup.tar.gz I made!

Upgrading

Some want to know how to upgrade easily and preserve their settings. This is actually quite simple and all that needs to be done is the following:

Login to the pi running an earlier Raspbmc build and type the following command (this can be done via the console or over SSH): tar -czf backup.tar.gz .xbmc/
Now, you need to transfer that file over. You can either do that with WinSCP or you could even login to the FTP server Raspbmc supplies.
Upgrade your Raspbmc install using the installer.
Restore the file to it’s original location
Run the following commands: sudo initctl stop xbmc;
tar -xzf backup.tar.gz;
rm backup.tar.gz;
sudo initctl start xbmc

Looks like I'll be reconfigurating manually.

EJ22

waveform wrote: »

Damn! Got an unexpected end of archive error when extracting the backup.tar.gz I made!

Upgrading

Some want to know how to upgrade easily and preserve their settings. This is actually quite simple and all that needs to be done is the following:

Login to the pi running an earlier Raspbmc build and type the following command (this can be done via the console or over SSH): tar -czf backup.tar.gz .xbmc/
Now, you need to transfer that file over. You can either do that with WinSCP or you could even login to the FTP server Raspbmc supplies.
Upgrade your Raspbmc install using the installer.
Restore the file to it’s original location
Run the following commands: sudo initctl stop xbmc;
tar -xzf backup.tar.gz;
rm backup.tar.gz;
sudo initctl start xbmc

Looks like I'll be reconfigurating manually.

Bad luck mate. I only ever had 1channel and webserver setup so i didnt care for configuration as i knew it was simple to do

Khannie

Cheap fast SD card on sale (for 12 hours only) here. Just got it in my inbox this morning and thought Pi owners might be interested.

mp3ireland2

I take it it would be noticebaly faster than http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013AV9TW/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00 which I've just bought? I'd be better off using the kingston in a camera and buying this for the pi!? 4mb/s vs 45mb/s? Would be noticed in running applications I take it?

Khannie

You would mostly notice it launching apps, but overall it's going to be a big speed improvement, yep.

M00lers

Has anyone overclocked yet? Care to share your config.txt values?

Tea_Bag

Khannie wrote: »

Cheap fast SD card on sale (for 12 hours only) here. Just got it in my inbox this morning and thought Pi owners might be interested.

bought, thanks.

setting up my Rpi has taken back seat, but I'm looking forward to doing it soon.

arodabomb

moolers2000 wrote: »

Has anyone overclocked yet? Care to share your config.txt values?

I've overclocked and overvolted. The highest overclock I got (without overvolting) was
arm_freq =1025
gpu_freq = 300
sdram_freq = 400
over_voltage = none

This crashed at 1050

with overvolting
arm_freq =1150
gpu_freq = 350
sdram_freq = 500
over_voltage = 6

Even bringing overvolt to 8 I couldn't get it to 1175

These were both with the debian image that is currently recommended


With Raspbmc I am running
arm_freq =1000
over_voltage = 6

As soon as I touch the gpu/sdram freq it crashes, and if I go to overvolt of 8 and arm of 1100 it corrupts the image and I have to reinstall.

Overvolting voids the warranty. It sets a one time bit on the board. But since the RPI is in mainstream production now, I didn't really care.

The debian image is still a bit slow for large pdfs and intensive browsing. But the o/c and o/v rarspbmc image is working really well so far. Really clean and fairly fast, and doesn't appear to stutter on large 1080p mkv's which I had a problem with on a pure RC4 image.

Fysh

A while back I was looking into the possibility of defining channels from locally-stored content in XMBC. I've recently discovered that the PseudoTV addon can do this, though I haven't tried it myself.

Anyone tried it or anything similar on raspbmc? Would be a pretty cool addition for any Pi-powered media centres, I reckon

Khannie

arodabomb wrote: »

I've overclocked and overvolted. The highest overclock I got (without overvolting) was
arm_freq =1025
gpu_freq = 300
sdram_freq = 400
over_voltage = none

What's stock for those? 700 for CPU if memory serves?

arodabomb

Khannie wrote: »

What's stock for those? 700 for CPU if memory serves?

Yep 700 is stock for the arm_freq.

All the defaults and a list of others o/c options (albeit a fairly short list) is here
http://elinux.org/RPi_config.txt#Overclocking_configuration

Different Pis seem to be able to hit different freq before crashing. I think one of the admins on the rpi site has said arm_freq=800 is stable for all builds (an indeed this is what raspbmc uses as default). A lot of the rpi testing team have said they are using overvolted Pis that can run at 1200 but I cant get mine that high.

arodabomb

Fysh wrote: »

A while back I was looking into the possibility of defining channels from locally-stored content in XMBC. I've recently discovered that the PseudoTV addon can do this, though I haven't tried it myself.

Anyone tried it or anything similar on raspbmc? Would be a pretty cool addition for any Pi-powered media centres, I reckon

Yeah, I have pseudotv running on the pi, a fair bit slower than on my laptop though. It puts up a white screen between channel changes and some files stutter occasionally.

Great addon though. It has some flaws in terms of channel regeneration. I had set one channel to be modern family and every time I loaded it back up it would start from episode one. This happened if I set it to play them in order. Although maybe it wasn't a flaw, I might have just chosen the wrong settings, but I couldn't for the life of me make it work the way I wanted.

ED E

Two things lads:

From the Rpi home page there is a new version coming soon(http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/image002.png). I'm considering ordering one today, or should I wait? Guessing the new one will be over subscribed to f'ck.

Secondly, our current network storage at home is a mixed bag of cr@p. Would be nice to build a pi based NAS. I could build a very clean little pillar to sit in the corner and look decent, would allow us to retire the old P4 box thats currently the power guzzling host. Anyone built something like this, and is there an easy way to power say (up to) 6 3.5"s & the pi without a full PSU?

Nate--IRL--

That isn't a Raspberry pi.

Nate

Fysh

ED E wrote: »

Two things lads:

From the Rpi home page there is a new version coming soon(http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/image002.png). I'm considering ordering one today, or should I wait? Guessing the new one will be over subscribed to f'ck.

That's not a new version, given the tag I'd guess that's based on the Gertboard, an expansion board used to let the Pi do more to control motors, servos, and all the sort of stuff that home automation etc might require.

They may come up with a GertPi or something, but unless you specifically need that stuff and not just a Pi, I'd say just go for a Pi. Aside from anything else if you order a Pi now you'll get it pretty fast, which can't be said for any new product they launch.

Neodymium

The gertboard is here!

User Manual : here (pdf)

Assembly Manual: here (pdf)

vibe666

ED E wrote: »

Secondly, our current network storage at home is a mixed bag of cr@p. Would be nice to build a pi based NAS. I could build a very clean little pillar to sit in the corner and look decent, would allow us to retire the old P4 box thats currently the power guzzling host. Anyone built something like this, and is there an easy way to power say (up to) 6 3.5"s & the pi without a full PSU?

i looked into it, but it's a non-starter i'm afraid.

unfortunately we'll just have to forget about using the Pi as a NAS (unless you only want to use a single disk), it's not got the I/O bandwidth to handle it nor the power to run a RAID set.

even if it could do the RAID part (or didn't want to use it at all), the only way you'd be able to connect disks would be via the USB ports which are sharing bandwidth with the 10/100 NIC so it's going to be dog slow for reading and writing, even without any RAID at all.

if you want to build yourself a NAS, go for the HP microserver and see if the cashback thing is still on, it's a great deal. check out the thread in bargain alerts, there's loads of info.

ED E

Thanks Vibe. Yeah, I was tempted by that deal many a times. If the Pi wont work my second option will be to try and track down ~10 bay rack for reasonable money as that'll fit nicely in my "Lack Rack"(ikea table) with the servers. I'll probably be trawling ebay and adverts for years.

vibe666

i managed to shoehorn 8x 2tb 3.5" disks into a HP ML110 G6 for my NAS, but if you can find a case with six free 5.25" front bays, icybox do some nice 5 bay 3.5" hot swap enclosures that would do the job nicely. but that's for another thread, i don't want to drag this OT.

Fysh

I've got an N40L and it's a great little HTPC/server. If the 4 standard bays aren't enough you can drop a 5th drive into the optical drive bay, and another 4 if you drop a PCIe eSATA expander onto the 16x slot. You'd probably want an extra fan in the N40L for cooling and a proper 4-bay enclosure to hold the drives hooked up to the eSATA adapter, though.

mp3ireland2

I have the LG 32LD450, was watching a film on XMBC on the pi and was leaving the room and hit pause on the tv remote by mistake instead of using the mouse... Much to my surprise the film paused! I'd bought a seperate remote so i'd have a sensor to use with my Logitech Harmony but looks like there was no need! Just a heads up to try it out with your tv remote first before you invest in one! think Simulink is the LG brand version of CEC, but could be wrong there on both terms as only heard of this last week and didn't even think to try it out.

EJ22

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

I have the LG 32LD450, was watching a film on XMBC on the pi and was leaving the room and hit pause on the tv remote by mistake instead of using the mouse... Much to my surprise the film paused! I'd bought a seperate remote so i'd have a sensor to use with my Logitech Harmony but looks like there was no need! Just a heads up to try it out with your tv remote first before you invest in one! think Simulink is the LG brand version of CEC, but could be wrong there on both terms as only heard of this last week and didn't even think to try it out.

Am I right in saying that you have your pi connected just to your tv? or are you going into a CEC box?

mp3ireland2

EJ22 wrote: »

Am I right in saying that you have your pi connected just to your tv? or are you going into a CEC box?

Just to the tv... could be a fair few people with these TV's as it was a bargain alert from amazon just over a year ago. Assume it'll work with all LG tv's though.

EDIT may have confused things by mentioning simulink, that's just what comes up on the tv when i turn on the pi....

EJ22

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

EJ22 wrote: »

Am I right in saying that you have your pi connected just to your tv? or are you going into a CEC box?

Just to the tv... could be a fair few people with these TV's as it was a bargain alert from amazon just over a year ago. Assume it'll work with all LG tv's though.

EDIT may have confused things by mentioning simulink, that's just what comes up on the tv when i turn on the pi....

Hmm gonna have to check this with my pi later as ive a sony bravia and i know its cec complient. Cheers for the heads up

EDIT: After switching to a different HDMI Cable, i got it working on my Bravia. Had to also update the libCEC script as outlined in a forum post but once i done that it worked automatically. I love it

mp3ireland2

What OS are people currently using on their pi? I'm currently using raspmbc. I find it very good however I am looking for something that starts automatically into XMBC but gives you the option of exiting XMBC and going to a desktop environment. I downloaded open elec last night so will try this this evening.

Also if downloading images, is their an easy way to expand an SD card image so that it uses all of a 16gb card instead of having just a 2gb or 4gb partition?

Chet T16

Raspbmc control is also working on my samsung d7000, useful seeing as my daughter has hidden my dinovo mini somewhere

Neodymium

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

What OS are people currently using on their pi? I'm currently using raspmbc. I find it very good however I am looking for something that starts automatically into XMBC but gives you the option of exiting XMBC and going to a desktop environment. I downloaded open elec last night so will try this this evening.

Also if downloading images, is their an easy way to expand an SD card image so that it uses all of a 16gb card instead of having just a 2gb or 4gb partition?

http://elinux.org/RPi_Resize_Flash_Partitions

EJ22

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

What OS are people currently using on their pi? I'm currently using raspmbc. I find it very good however I am looking for something that starts automatically into XMBC but gives you the option of exiting XMBC and going to a desktop environment. I downloaded open elec last night so will try this this evening.

Also if downloading images, is their an easy way to expand an SD card image so that it uses all of a 16gb card instead of having just a 2gb or 4gb partition?

I'm SD switching at the moment between Raspbmc, Squeezeplug with MiniDLNA and Samba server installed and RetroPie (Emulationstation and RetroArch-RPi). I think for what you're looking for you should look into Raspbian and install Xbian in it. Then you should be able to run at terminal sudo update-rc.d xbian defaults and that should set it to auto start Xbian on boot, but whether the xsession will start behind it I don't know.

Also as for expanding images, try get a gparted live cd. then its just a process of running that from the disk and resizing your SD card. This is something I still need to do with all my cards but I haven't been bothered :P