RaspEX Rpi4 based on Ubuntu 20.04 “Focal Fossa” with LXDE, kernel 5.4.83-exton-v7l+, Raspotify, RealVNC, PuTTy, Samba and Bluetooth – Build 210101

NEWS 210101 about RaspEX with LXDE based on Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa.
I have upgraded the whole system and replaced the old kernel 4.19.108-exton-v7l+ with kernel 5.4.83-exton-v7l+. RaspEX Build 210101 is a Linux ARM system for Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB/4GB/8GB RAM and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. It is based on Debian, Ubuntu 20.04 and Linaro (Open Source software for ARM SoCs). Both Firefox and Midori Private Browser are pre-installed. I have also installed Samba and RealVNC so you can connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 4 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). Furthermore some extra Network Tools, SMTube (YouTube browser which allows to browse, search and play YouTube videos), PulseAudio for better sound in YouTube and RaspotifyRaspotify is a Spotify Connect client for Raspbian on the Raspberry Pi that just works. Study all installed packages in RaspEX Build 210101.

NOTE: Build 201227 is ONLY for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 2GB/4GB/8GB RAM. My new RaspEX Build from 210101 is also for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

Softpedia review
RaspEX version 181010 with BunsenLabs was reviewed by Softpedia 181010.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…


The Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB RAM made in May 2020. It has:

  • 2x USB 3.0 ports
  • 2x USB 2.0 ports
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Power-over-Ethernet (this will require a PoE HAT)
  • 40-pin GPIO header
  • 2× micro-HDMI ports (up to 4Kp60 supported)
  • H.265 (4Kp60 decode)
  • H.264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
  • OpenGL ES, 3.0 graphics
  • DSI display port
  • CSI camera port
  • Combined 3.5mm analog audio and composite video jack
  • Micro-SD card slot
  • USB-C power
  • 8GB RAM

More about RaspEX
RaspEX is a full Linux Desktop system with LXDE (an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment) with many other useful programs pre-installed. Firefox is used as Web Browser and Synaptic as Package Manager. You can use Samba and RealVNC to connect to your Windows computers in your Home Network and/or control RaspEX on your Raspberry Pi 4 from your Windows computers with VNC Viewer and/or PuTTY (Telnet and SSH client). You can use Synaptic to install any extra packages you may need. For example LibreOffice. RaspEX uses Ubuntu’s software repositories so you can install thousands of extra packages if you want.

Kernels
Kernel 5.4.83-exton-v7l+ (for Rpi 4) and 5.4.83-exton-v7+ (for Rpi 3/2) are used in Build 210101.

Why shall I use RaspEX?
Eight Operating Systems are recommended by Raspberrypi.org. Among them Noobs, Raspbian (Debian Buster) and Snappy Ubuntu Core. RaspEX is faster (“fast as lightning”), more useful and more fun to use. (In my opinion). One member at this site thought that running RaspEX (for Raspberry Pi 2 Model B) was like running Raspberry Pi on “steroids“. If you use the new Raspberry Pi 4 RaspEX will run even faster!

How do I install RaspEX in Windows?

Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file (raspex-ubuntu-rpi4-20.04-lxde-1370mb-210101.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-ubuntu-rpi4-20.04-lxde-4400mb-210101.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Rufus 3.13 in Windows. It will look like this.

How do I install RaspEX in Linux?
You can of course also install RaspEX in any Linux system using the dd command. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):
dd if=raspex-ubuntu-rpi4-20.04-lxde-4400mb-210101.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
Note:
Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…
(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also SanDisk MicroSD Ultra 128GB Class 10. Write speed up to 100 MB/s. NOTE: If you can’t run RaspEX at all you should try with a new “better” card.


How do I use RaspEX?

When you start up your Raspberry Mini computer with RaspEX you will (after a few seconds) end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user raspex. The password for raspex is raspex. When logged in as raspex you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

You can log in as root with password root. You can of course also create a new ordinary user if you want. Command: /usr/sbin/adduser MyNewUser. If you don’t want to be automatically logged in as raspex you shall edit /etc/slim.conf.

When logged in as the ordinary user raspex your Desktop will look like this.

Click to view a larger picture

First two things to do after installation to your SD card
1. Run the command sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.sh
After that all the space on the SD card will be used.
2. Run the command sudo dphys-swapfile setup
A SWAP file of 2 GB will be created. Then run the command dphys-swapfile swapon Very useful if you want to run many programs at the same time. If you forget to run said command a SWAP file of 2 GB will be created automatically after a reboot.

Error no_pubkey when trying to upgrade the system
When you run the command sudo apt-get update it can happen that you can’t update the sources due to missing pub_keys.
The solution is to run the following commands.

$ cd /var/lib/apt
$ sudo mv lists lists.old
$ sudo mkdir -p lists/partial
$ sudo apt update

After that you can run apt-get update with success even though you still will get the same “no_pubkey” errors. Don’t worry. This error won’t prevent you from upgrading the system regularly with the command sudo apt upgrade.

Wireless connections
The new Raspberry Pi 4 has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN.

Expand the filesystem on the SD card
If you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.sh

NOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 128 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards.

How to use Raspotify
Raspotify (Raspotify is a Spotify Connect client for Raspbian on the Raspberry Pi
that just works) is pre-installed and immediately ready for connections. You’ll need a
Spotify Premium account in order to connect to for example your mobile phone running Spotify.
1. Screenshot of my mobile phone showing Devices available when RaspEX is running
2. Screenshot of my mobile phone showing the possibility to connect to Raspotify
3. Screenshot of my mobile phone when Raspotify is connected and running

About SSH, PuTTY, Samba, RealVNC and VNC Viewer
SSH, PuTTy (Telnet/SSH client for X), Samba and RealVNC are pre-installed in RaspEX Build 201227. You need to install PuTTy and and VNC Viewer in your Windows system if you want to connect to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 4 from Windows. (Please read the developers information about how to configure PuTTy and VNC Viewer).

Bluetooth connections – working in Build 210101
It seems difficult (maybe impossible) to use the “built in” Bluetooth adapter running RaspEX on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.
Using a Bluetooth dongle for example Asus USB-BT400 dongle on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Raspberry Pi 2 you should have no trouble using Bluetooth in RaspEX. Watch these two screenshots when Blueman (Graphical Bluetooth Manager) is running – see below. Using the new Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ it should be easier to use Bluetooth. NOTE: In RaspEX LXDE Build 200321 you have to use a Bluetooth dongle to make Bluetooth work. That is not necessary when running RaspEX Build 210101.

1. Showing “paring” with my Android phone
2. Showing the sending process of a file from RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 4 to my Android phone
3. Showing the sending process of a file from my Android phone to RaspEX/Raspberry Pi 4

View all installed packages in RaspEX – Build 210101

Compatibility :: March 2021
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 4 computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, exGENT, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspEX Kodi, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1, RaspAnd Pie, RaspAnd 10, RaspAnd 11 Build 210321, EXTON OpSuS Rpi, FedEX Rpi3 and RaspArch. I have until now (210321) only upgraded RaspAnd 11, RaspAnd 10, RaspEX, RaspEX Kodi, RaspArch, exGENT and RaspEX with OpenCPN. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 4.

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot 1 – raspex’s Desktop 210101
Screenshot 2 – root’s Desktop 210101
Screenshot 3 – running YouTube in Firefox
Screenshot 4 – RaspEX connected to Windows via Samba
Screenshot 5 – RaspEX connected to Windows via PuTTy
Screenshot 6 – RaspEX “running on” Windows with VNC-viewer
Screenshot 7 – RaspEX using Pavucontrol (for sound control)
Screenshot 8 – RaspEX running SMPlayer
Screenshot 9 – RaspEX running the Bluetooth Manager
Screenshot 10 – RaspEX running Raspotify
Screenshot 11 – Resizing system (SD card)
Screenshot 12 – RaspEX Build 210101 running on a Rpi 3 B+

DOWNLOAD – raspex-ubuntu-rpi4-20.04-lxde-1370mb-210101.zip from SourceForge.net

RaspEX Build 210101 can also be downloaded from The Swedish Linux Society

md5sum for raspex-ubuntu-rpi4-20.04-lxde-1370mb-210101.zip

Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

READ also about my RaspEX Build 210109 (for Raspberry Pi 4, Pi 3 Model B, Model B+ and 2 Model B) with OpenCPN pre-installed
OpenCPN is a free software (GPLv2) project to create a concise chart plotter and navigation software, for use underway or as a planning tool. OpenCPN is developed by a team of active sailors using real world conditions for program testing and refinement.

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!
Posted in Exton Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RaspAnd 11 (Android 11) for Raspberry Pi 4 with Firefox, Clash of Clans, Root Explorer, Aptoide App Manager and F-Droid :: Build 201020

RaspAnd 11 for Raspberry Pi 4 :: Build 201020 :: with Firefox, Clash of Clans, Aptoide App Manager “Independent Android App Store”) and F-Droid – “Free and Open Source Android App Repository”

About Raspberry Pi  4
This build (RaspAnd 11 201020) works very well on the new Raspberry Pi 4. I used the latest model with 8GB RAM, but you can of course use the other models too.

ABOUT RaspAnd 11
RaspAnd 11 runs very well on a Raspberry Pi 4. I.e. the system is pretty responsive if you use a micro SD card of good quality. RaspAnd 11 has the following apps pre-installed: Firefox, Clash of Clans, Aptoide App Manager, F-Droid, Aida64 and Root Explorer. Unfortunately not Google Play Store, but Aptoide and F-Droid work as good replacements for it.

Startup of RaspAnd 11 Build 201020
The first thing you will see on the screen is this boot animation.

If you do not see this animation you haven’t installed RaspAnd correctly on the SD card. (Please use Rufus 3.12 in Windows for the installation to the SD Card).

About Aptoide App Manager
Aptoide is a software “marketplace” application for installing mobile applications which runs on the Android operating system. In Aptoide, unlike the Android-default Google Play Store, there is not a unique and centralized store; instead, each user manages their own store. So Aptoide works as a pretty good replacement for Google Play Store. I think.

About F-Droid
F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. The client makes it easy to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device.

About different launchers
If you install Lucid Launcher via Aptoide App Manager you can change wallpaper to whatever you want.

ABOUT Android 11, which was released 200908…

My sources
You can find my sources for RaspAnd 11 here. Following those instructions you can build your own “RaspAnd”.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

The Raspberry Pi 4 made in May 2020. It has:

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (without GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (with GAPPS)!
Posted in Android, Exton Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

RaspArch Rpi4 Build 201006 :: Run Arch Linux on your new Raspberry Pi 4 computer :: Install it using Rufus 3.11, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher in Windows!

rasparch-logoRaspArch Build 201006 especially for the new Raspberry Pi 4 released in May 2020
This version (201006) is especially made for
the new Raspberry Pi 4, but it can of course also be used on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

RaspArch is a “remaster” of Arch Linux ARM. The original compressed system is of about 230 MB. After I have added the LXDE Desktop environment, PulseAudio, Firefox, Yay, Gimp and NetworkManager the system has increased a lot. RaspArch is a “ready-to-go” ARM system. It must be installed on a Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or Raspberry Pi 2 Model B computer.

Most important change in version 201006: Use Rufus 3.11 to install RaspArch to the SD card
This version can be installed in Windows using Rufus 3.11, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. Previous versions could only be installed when running a Linux system. Using Rufus or Win32 Disk Imager has one disadvantage though. Only about 300MB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. The system is of 4GB and the system partition of 5GB. If you use a card of 128GB about 123GB will be unused. A few month ago a member on this site wrote about how to get rid of the 5GB limit after Rufus, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher has been used:
– write the image with Rufus 3.11
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
screenshot during resizing
– resize the DATA (/dev/sdb2 ext4) partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!
This screenshot shows that RaspArch now has about 113GB free storage. NOTE (very important): You should do the resizing directly after you have transferred the image to your SD card. That is if you don’t think that 1GB (5GB – 4GB) is enough for new installations etc.

Writing the image using Rufus 3.11. See the screenshot below.



UPGRADE RaspArch
If you have downloaded and installed one of my previous versions of RaspArch before you can still use the Micro SD Card with RaspArch on the new Raspberry Pi 4 after a full upgrade of the system. Commands: pacman -Sy followed by pacman -Syu. Most important the old kernel will automatically be replaced by kernel 5.4.69-1-ARCH. NOTE (very very important): After a full upgrade you must install the kernel once more. The kernel installed the first time is not for Raspberry Pi 4. Run this command before you reboot your Raspberry Pi 4: Pacman -S linux-raspberrypi4
If you forget to run this command your Raspberry Pi 4 can’t boot (with RaspArch).
To get sound you must also add dtparam=audio=on to /boot/config.txt.

NEWS in RaspArch Build 201006
A new kernel – 5.4.69-1-ARCH. All included packages have been updated to the latest version as of 201006. I’ve also replaced Yaourt with YayYet Another Yogurt – An AUR Helper Written in Go. I came to know that Yaourt is dead. I.e. Yaourt is not being developed anymore. I have also installed PulseAudio. Finally the sound works very well in RaspArch. Nice if you like YouTube. I’ve also replaced Wicd with NetworkManager. It works better. NOTE: To be able to install Yay I had to install a lot of development tools.

Compatibility :: March 2021
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 4 computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, exGENT, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspEX Kodi, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1, RaspAnd Pie, RaspAnd 10, RaspAnd 11 Build 210321, EXTON OpSuS Rpi, FedEX Rpi3 and RaspArch. I have until now (210321) only upgraded RaspAnd 11, RaspAnd 10, RaspEX, RaspEX Kodi, RaspArch, exGENT and RaspEX with OpenCPN. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 4.

What is Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…

The Raspberry Pi 4 made in May 2020. It has:

        • 2x USB 3.0 ports
        • 2x USB 2.0 ports
        • Gigabit Ethernet
        • Power-over-Ethernet (this will require a PoE HAT)
        • 40-pin GPIO header
        • 2× micro-HDMI ports (up to 4Kp60 supported)
        • H.265 (4Kp60 decode)
        • H.264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
        • OpenGL ES, 3.0 graphics
        • DSI display port
        • CSI camera port
        • Combined 3.5mm analog audio and composite video jack
        • Micro-SD card slot
        • USB-C power
        • 2GB, 4GB or 8GB RAM

        Raspberry Pi 4: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+?

        Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3 B: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 2? Raspberry Pi 3 is performing 10 times faster than that of the Pi 1 and around 50 percent better than that of the Pi 2 according to testers.

        Raspberry Pi 3 Model 3 B+: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B? The tiny computer is supposed to be faster and better in every way, including upgraded processor speed, wireless internet, and Ethernet connections.

        More about RaspArch
        When you have installed RaspArch to your Micro SD Card you can use the system like any other Arch Linux system. I.e. install new programs etc. Arch motto is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). RaspArch uses kernel 5.4.69-1-ARCH and the LXDE Desktop environment.

        Login and passwords
        After the boot process is ready you will end up at LightDM‘s login page – see the screenshot below. Log in as the ordinary user archpi with password raspberry or as root (“other”) with password root. While logged in as archpi you can use Sudo to become root. Example commands: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm.



        Program Management in Arch Linux

        Arch Linux uses a proprietary system called Pacman. It is similar to that found in CRUX Linux. Read about Pacman.
        You can also read all the documentation on Arch Linux. Seven commands are basically the only ones you need to use:
        1) pacman -Sy (update the packages database)
        2) pacman-key –refresh-keys
        3) pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring
        4) pacman -Syu (upgrading the whole system)
        5) pacman -S MyUsefulProgram (the package installation command)
        6) pacman -R UnnecessaryProgram (uninstall a package).
        7) pacman -S –overwrite MyUsefulProgram (in case you get an error about “conflicting packages”)
        Very simple!
        Note1: You can also use Yay – see below.
        Note2: When running RaspArch on a Rpi4: Don’t forget to run the command Pacman -S linux-raspberrypi4 after a full upgrade.

      • Using Yay – Yet Another Yogurt – An AUR Helper
        If you want to install certain special packages you can/must install Yay. Study this tutorial about how to install and use YayYet Another Yogurt – An AUR Helper Written in Go. Note: Yay is pre-installed in RaspArch Build 201006. If you want to install new packages through Yay you’ll have to run the command su archpi before yay -S MyNeededProgram. If you’re not logged in as the ordinary user archpi. (You can’t run Yay as root). Watch a screenshot when I’m installing SMPlayer using Yay.How do I install RaspArch?
        Use Rufus 3.11, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher – see above. Unzip the downloaded file rasparch-rpi4-exton-1520mb-201006.zip. You will get the image file rasparch-rpi4-exton-6400mb-201006.img which is the file you shall install to your micro SD card.

        Different
        Micro SD Cards
        For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also SanDisk MicroSD Ultra 128GB Class 10. Write speed up to 100 MB/s. NOTE: If you can’t run RaspArch at all you should try with a new “better” card.
        Wireless connections
        Just use NetworkManager, add your password and connect.Installing/using Samba
        A way to reach your Windows computers in your home network is to install Samba. Command: pacman -S samba gvfs gvfs-smb sshfs
        Then start Samba with the command systemctl start smb.service nmb.service
        After that you can connect to your Windows computers via PCManFMwatch this screenshot. (My Raspberry Pi 4 running RaspArch is connected to one of my computers in my home network). NOTE: Samba is already installed and configured in RaspArch Build 201006. Just run the command sudo systemctl enable smb.service nmb.service. You may have to reboot your Rpi before you can use Samba.

        Sound in RaspArch

        In Build 201006 I’ve installed alsa-utils, PulseAudio and Pavucontrol. The sound works alright now. From Arch Linux for Raspberry Pi Wiki I learned this. If you want/need sound in RaspArch you should follow the instruction below. Run the following command: amixer cset numid=3 X
        Where X corresponds to:
        0 for Auto
        1 for Analog out
        2 for HDMIAdd the following lines to /boot/config.txtdtparam=audio=onandaudio_pwm_mode=2 (if you use the 3.5mm analogue output)
      • WHO should run Arch Linux/RaspArch?
        My answer: The system fits the “advanced” Linux user/enthusiast, who would be willing to run an occasional command from time to time.

      • BENEFITS of Arch Linux/RaspArch

        “Cutting Edge”-software and speed. A member on this site recently wrote this about RaspArch: I’ve used Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu & Arch. I prefer Arch. Ubuntu is easier to install, Arch is easier to keep up to date. You do not go through big, painful, changes every year instead you just update, once in a while, make changes if instructed. Arch has most of the benefits of Gentoo without the pain of recompiling _everything_. When you do need to build a package in Arch its painless especially if you use one of the tools that support AUR (I like Yay). Arch avoids the politics of Debian and Ubuntu and delivers a great Linux distribution. RaspArch now brings these advantages to the Pi 2.Study all installed packages in RaspArch

        SCREENSHOTS
        Screenshot 1 of RaspArch’s Desktop – logged in as archpi
        Screenshot 2 of RaspArch’s Desktop – logged in as root
        Screenshot 3 – Using Yay (while installing SMPlayer)
        Screenshot 4 – Samba connection to a Windows computer
        Screenshot 5 – showing that you can watch 4K videos using Firefox

      • DOWNLOAD
        This build has been replaced by RaspArch Build 220216…

 

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!
Posted in Exton Linux, RaspArch, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

RaspAnd 10 (Android 10) for Raspberry Pi 4 – Build 200814 – with Firefox, Spotify, Clash of Clans, SkyTube, Aptoide App Manager and F-Droid

RaspAnd 10 for Raspberry Pi 4 :: Build 200814 :: with Firefox, Spotify, Clash of Clans, SkyTube, Aptoide App Manager “Independent Android App Store”) and F-Droid – “Free and Open Source Android App Repository”

NEWS 200814
I’ve made a new extra version of RaspAnd 10 with some extra apps pre-installed.

ABOUT RaspAnd 10 – Build 200809 and 200814
RaspAnd 10 runs very well on a Raspberry Pi 4. I.e. the system is pretty responsive if you use a micro SD card of good quality. RaspAnd 10 has the following apps pre-installed: Firefox, Spotify, Aptoide App Manager, F-Droid, Aida64 and ES File Explorer. Unfortunately not Google Play Store, but Aptoide and F-Droid work as good replacements for it. NOTE 200814: In RaspAnd 10 Build 200814 I’ve added the following apps: Lucid Launcher, Clash of Clans (still very popular), App Manager, SkyTube (An open-source YouTube app for Android) and jQuarks (LineageOS Jelly Browser with ads blocker).

Startup of RaspAnd 10 Build 200814
The first thing you will see on the screen is this boot animation.


If you do not see this animation you haven’t installed RaspAnd correctly on the SD card. (Please use Rufus 3.11 in Windows for the installation to the SD Card). As regards RaspAnd Build 200809 you will only see the text A N D R O I D. I.e. no boot animation.

NEW SCREENSHOTS

1. The Desktop after first boot if Lucid Launcher (pre-installed) is used
2. The Desktop when a wallpaper is used

READ MORE…

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!
Posted in Exton Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

RaspAnd 10 (Android 10) for Raspberry Pi 4 – Build 200814 and 200809 – with Firefox, Spotify, Clash of Clans, Aptoide App Manager and F-Droid

RaspAnd 10 for Raspberry Pi 4 :: Build 200809 :: with Firefox, Spotify, Clash of Clans, Aptoide App Manager “Independent Android App Store”) and F-Droid – “Free and Open Source Android App Repository”

NEWS 200814
I’ve made a new extra version of RaspAnd 10 with some extra apps pre-installed. Both versions are included for $ 9.

About Raspberry Pi 4
This build (RaspAnd 10 200814 and 200809) works very well on the new Raspberry Pi 4. I used the latest model with 8GB RAM, but you can of course use the other models too.

ABOUT RaspAnd 10 – Build 200809 and 200814
RaspAnd 10 runs very well on a Raspberry Pi 4. I.e. the system is pretty responsive if you use a micro SD card of good quality. RaspAnd 10 has the following apps pre-installed: Firefox, Spotify, Aptoide App Manager, F-Droid, Aida64 and ES File Explorer. Unfortunately not Google Play Store, but Aptoide and F-Droid work as good replacements for it. NOTE 200814: In RaspAnd 10 Build 200814 I’ve added the following apps: Lucid Launcher, Clash of Clans (still very popular), App Manager, SkyTube (An open-source YouTube app for Android) and jQuarks (LineageOS Jelly Browser with ads blocker).

Startup of RaspAnd 10 Build 200814
The first thing you will see on the screen is this boot animation.

If you do not see this animation you haven’t installed RaspAnd correctly on the SD card. (Please use Rufus 3.11 in Windows for the installation to the SD Card). As regards RaspAnd Build 200809 you will only see the text A N D R O I D. I.e. no boot animation.

About Aptoide App Manager
Aptoide is a software “marketplace” application for installing mobile applications which runs on the Android operating system. In Aptoide, unlike the Android-default Google Play Store, there is not a unique and centralized store; instead, each user manages their own store. So Aptoide works as a pretty good replacement for Google Play Store. I think.

About F-Droid
F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. The client makes it easy to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device.

About different launchers
If you install Lucid Launcher via Aptoide App Manager you can change wallpaper to whatever you want. Watch a screenshot when Lucid Launcher is used…

ABOUT Android 10, which was released 190903…

My sources
You can find my sources for RaspAnd 10 here. Following those instructions you can build your own “RaspAnd”.

What is Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. It’s capable of doing everything you’d expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet and playing high-definition video, to making spreadsheets, word-processing, and playing games.
Read more about Raspberry Pi…


Raspberry Pi 4 released in September 2019. Specifications:

  • Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
  • 2GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model)
  • 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • 2 USB 3.0 ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports.
  • Raspberry Pi standard 40 pin GPIO header (fully backwards compatible with previous boards)
  • 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported)
  • 2-lane MIPI DSI display port
  • 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port
  • 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
  • H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
  • OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics
  • Micro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage
  • 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*)
  • 5V DC via GPIO header (minimum 3A*)
  • Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled (requires separate PoE HAT)
  • Operating temperature: 0 – 50 degrees C ambient

About sound
For some unknown reason sound via HDMI doesn’t work. You’ll have use the 3.5mm jack and connect speakers.

Compatibility :: March 2021
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 4 computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, exGENT, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspEX Kodi, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1, RaspAnd Pie, RaspAnd 10, RaspAnd 11 Build 210321, EXTON OpSuS Rpi, FedEX Rpi3 and RaspArch. I have until now (210321) only upgraded RaspAnd 11, RaspAnd 10, RaspEX, RaspEX Kodi, RaspArch, exGENT and RaspEX with OpenCPN. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 4.

MORE NEWS 200809 ABOUT RaspAnd 10
RaspAnd 10 can be installed to a Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) in Windows 10 using Rufus, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. You can alternatively (of course) use the dd-command in a Linux system. Unzip the downloaded file raspand-android-10-rpi4-642mb-200809.zip. Then open a terminal and run the command dd if=raspand-android-10-rpi4-4300mb-200809.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4MiB
(Change X to b, d or…).

Using Rufus it will look like this.

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also Samsung MicroSD EVO 16GB Class 10. Write speed up to 48 MB/s. Price 47 $ respectively 10 $ (in Sweden).

Using GParted to increase the data partition

As I said above RaspAnd 10 can be installed in Windows using Rufus, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher. This method has one disadvantage. Only about about 3GB can be used as data storage no matter which card you use. Now say, for example, that you use Micro SD card (preferable a class 10 card) of 64GB about 58GB will be “wasted”. You can, however, change that with the help of GParted. See below how to do it.

How to get rid of the 3GB limit after Rufus, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher has been used:
– write the image with Rufus, Win32 Disk Imager or Etcher
– start up Ubuntu or another Linux system – you can also use a Linux Live CD/USB stick
– insert your card
– start GParted – screenshot before resizing
– resize the DATA partition – screenshot after resizing
– done!

Kernel
Kernel 5.4.51-exton-v7l+ is used in RaspAnd 10 Build 200809.

WiFi support
The newer versions of RaspAnd has excellent support for WiFi (on Raspberry Pi 4, 3 Model B and Model B+). Previous problems with the WiFi connection are gone. I.e. the WiFi connection will automatically be re-established after every reboot.

Spotify
Spotify works very well in RaspAnd 10. Just log in and play your favorite music! The app is pre-installed.

NOTE/WARNING
PLEASE NOTE
that you must be aware of the fact that the Raspberry Pi 4 computer has its limitations and that Android 10 is a very advanced Linux system. Having said that I must also say that the apps I have included in this Build (see above) work very well.

KNOWN ISSUES
1. Bluetooth doesn’t work.
2. You can’t run Netflix.

SCREENSHOTS
1. The Desktop with Clash of Clans and Angry Birds installed
1b. The Desktop when Lucid Launcher is used in Build 200814
2. Using Aptoide App Manager
3. Running Spotify
4. WiFi Settings – (WiFi works very well)
5. Aida64 running showing the system info
6. YouTube running in Firefox
7. Clash of Clans running (installed via Aptoide)
8. Angry Birds running (installed via Aptoide)
9. ES File Explorer running showing that the card of 64GB is fully used

DOWNLOAD
raspand-android-10-rpi4-642mb-200809.zip and raspand-android-10-rpi4-948mb-200814.zip for 9 $

md5sum for Build 200809
md5sum for Build 200814

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!
Posted in Android, Exton Linux, RaspAnd | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

RaspEX Kodi 64-bit for Rpi4, Rpi3 and Rpi2 with the LXDE Desktop and Kodi 18.7 Media Center “Leia” based on upcoming Debian 11 “Bullseye” and Raspberry Pi OS (previously called Raspbian) – Build 200726

ABOUT RaspEX Kodi 64-bit
RaspEX Kodi Build 200713 (32-bit) and 200726 (64-bit) with LXDE/Kodi Desktops can be downloaded from SourceForge.net for free. The system is made especially for the new Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB, 4GB and 2GB). RaspEX Kodi is based on Debian 11 Bullseye respectively Debian 10 Buster, Raspberry Pi OS (previously called Raspbian) and Kodi Media Center. In RaspEX Kodi I’ve added the LXDE Desktop with many useful applications such as VLC Media Player and NetworkManager. Makes it easy to configure your wireless network. I’ve also upgraded Kodi to version 18.7 Leia, which makes it possible to include useful addons such as Netflix and Amazon Video. Which I’ve done in Build 200713. Study all included packages in RaspEX Kodi Build 200713 respectively Build 200726.

NOTE: Build 200726 (64-bit) is missing the Netflix and YouTube add-ons. You can (possibly) install them yourself. Without the YouTube add-on many other add-ons can’t run. Read about how to create and setup your YouTube API Key, ID and Secret for Kodi.

Passwords
pi/raspberry and root/root

Boot problems as regards RaspEX Kodi Build 200726

If you can’t boot up the system after installing to the SD card using Rufus 3.11 in Windows it’s because the files /boot/cmdline.txt and /etc/fstab has the wrong content. I.e. the PARTUUID for the card is wrong. Then you’ll have to edit said files. Do it like this.
1. Start up a Linux system (Ubuntu or…).
2. Insert your SD card with RaspEX Kodi installed. It will be seen as /dev/sdb1 (boot partition) and /dev/sdb2 (root filesystem).
3. To find out the correct PARTUUID for /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2 run the command blkid /dev/sdb1 respectively blkid /dev/sdb2
4. Now change to the correct PARTUUID in /boot/cmdline.txt and /etc/fstab on the SD card. Use Leafpad or Mousepad for that. Never LibreOffice writer!

The file cmdline.txt can look like this:
console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=347a28ab-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles

The file fstab can look like this:
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
PARTUUID=347a28ab-01 /boot vfat defaults 0 2
PARTUUID=347a28ab-02 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
# a swapfile is not a swap partition, no line here
# use dphys-swapfile swap[on|off] for that

Expand the filesystem on the SD card
If you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo raspi-config. Click on “Advanced Options” and choose A1 Expand Filesystem.
NOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 32 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards. Watch a screenshot when raspi-config is running.

SCREENSHOTS
1. The LXDE Desktop logged in as the ordinary user pi in Build 200726
2. The LXDE Desktop logged in as root (super admin) in Build 200726
3. Kodi system info re. Build 200726
4. Error message when trying to run the YouTube add-on in Build 200726
5. Kodi running in Build 200726

READ MORE
This Build has been replaced by Build 210208…

 

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (without GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (with GAPPS)!
Posted in Exton Linux, Raspberry Pi systems, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

RaspEX Kodi for Rpi4, Rpi3 and Rpi2 with LXDE Desktop and Kodi 18.7 Media Center “Leia” with Netflix, YouTube, Plex and Amazon Video addons – Build 200713 (32-bit) and Build 200726 (64-bit)

ABOUT RaspEX Kodi
RaspEX Kodi Build 200713 (32-bit) and 200726 (64-bit) with LXDE/Kodi Desktops can be downloaded from SourceForge.net for free. The system is made especially for the new Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB, 4GB and 2GB). RaspEX Kodi is based on Debian 11 Bullseye respectively Debian 10 Buster, Raspberry Pi OS (previously called Raspbian) and Kodi Media Center. In RaspEX Kodi I’ve added the LXDE Desktop with many useful applications such as VLC Media Player and NetworkManager. Makes it easy to configure your wireless network. I’ve also upgraded Kodi to version 18.7 Leia, which makes it possible to include useful addons such as Netflix and Amazon Video. Which I’ve done in Build 200713. Study all included packages in RaspEX Kodi Build 200713 respectively Build 200726.

NOTE: Build 200726 (64-bit) is missing the Netflix and YouTube add-ons. You can (possibly) install them yourself. Without the YouTube add-on many other add-ons can’t run. Read about how to create and setup your YouTube API Key, ID and Secret for Kodi.

Replacements

My first version of RaspEX Kodi from 190124 was a replacement for RaspEX Kodi with OSMC, which was released 190117. Sam Nazarko (founder of OSMC) contacted me 190118 claiming that I was “violating” his rights to the trademark OSMC and the rules in GPLv2. I don’t think I did, but I’m also very tired. Therefore I made a new version (190124) of RaspEX Kodi without any traces of OSMC. I would say that version 190124, 190321, 190803, 191117, 200210, 200713 and 200726 are as good as the old one from 190117. I.e. excellent video and sound performance both in Kodi and LXDE. For version 190124 I charged 9 $. This new version (200713) can be downloaded for free from SourceForge.net. People should not refrain from downloading RaspEX Kodi because of the money issue. I want all Linux and Raspberry Pi enthusiasts to enjoy the system. It runs very well on a the new Raspberry Pi 4. I.e. fast and responsive. Especially on the Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB or 8GB RAM – released May 2020 (8GB). RaspEX Kodi Build 200713 can also run on Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Raspberry 3 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B. I’ve included an extra kernel for that. The system will automatically determine which Raspberry Pi you are using and load the correct kernel.


Raspberry Pi 4: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+?

More about RaspEX Kodi
Running RaspEX Kodi you will immediately end up in X and LXDE as the ordinary user pi. After the first boot you shall use NetworkManager for configuring your network connection. Just click on the network icon in the upper right panel and chose your wireless network. Watch this screenshot. The big difference between Raspberry Pi OS and RaspEX Kodi is that Kodi 18.7 Leia is pre-installed in RaspEX Kodi together with some really useful addons (Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Video). Those addons need Widevine to run. While you are logged in to the LXDE Desktop you can use Synaptic Package Manager to install all extra packages you may need. Since RaspEX Kodi is based on Raspberry Pi OS/Debian you’ll have about 30000 packages to chose between. When logged in as pi you can use Sudo to become root. Examples: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. While logged in to the LXDE Desktop you can (of course) go on to Kodi directly. Just open Kodi like any other program. NOTE1:The latest stable version of Kodi is 18.7. If you have downloaded and installed any of my previous versions of RaspEX with Kodi 18.5 it is not necessary to reinstall RaspEX Kodi. Just use Synaptic and upgrade to Kodi 18.7. This change of Kodi version won’t effect your Kodi settings. They are stored in /home/pi/.kodi. NOTE2: You cannot run Kodi as root.

Log in as root (super admin)
If you for some reason want to run RaspEX as root you can do so. Just log out from LXDE and in again as “other” from LightDM‘s login screen. Log in as root with password root. NOTE: You cannot run Kodi as root. And you can also not run Chromium as root. I have therefore installed Firefox (and uninstalled Chromium) so you’ll have a Browser while logged in as root.

Passwords

pi/raspberry and root/root

Used kernels

1) 5.7.7-exton-v7l+ (for Rpi4) in Build 200713
2) 4.19.102-v7+ (for Rpi3 and Rpi2) in Build 200713
3) 5.4.51-v8+ (for Rpi4) in Build 200726
4) 5.4.51-v7+ (for Rpi3 and 2) in Build 200726

The system will automatically determine which Raspberry Pi you are using and load the correct kernel.


How do I install RaspEX Kodi in Windows?

Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded ZIP file raspex-rpi4-kodi18.7-lxde-netflix-plex-amazon-video-2560mb-200713.zip) and transfer the IMAGE file (raspex-rpi4-kodi18.7-lxde-netflix-plex-amazon-video-6400mb-200713.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 8GB. For that you shall use Rufus 3.11 in Windows. When running Rufus it will look like this.

How do I install RaspEX Kodi in Linux?
You can of course also install RaspEX in any Linux system using the dd command. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):
dd if=raspex-rpi4-kodi18.7-lxde-netflix-plex-amazon-video-6400mb-200713.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
Note:
Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…
(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

Boot problems as regards RaspEX Kodi Build 200726
If you can’t boot up the system after installing to the SD card using Rufus 3.11 in Windows it’s because the files /boot/cmdline.txt and /etc/fstab has the wrong content. I.e. the PARTUUID for the card is wrong. Then you’ll have to edit said files. Do it like this.
1. Start up a Linux system (Ubuntu or…).
2. Insert your SD card with RaspEX Kodi installed. It will be seen as /dev/sdb1 (boot partition) and /dev/sdb2 (root filesystem).
3. To find out the correct PARTUUID for /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2 run the command blkid /dev/sdb1 respectively blkid /dev/sdb2
4. Now change to the correct PARTUUID in /boot/cmdline.txt and /etc/fstab on the SD card. Use Leafpad or Mousepad for that. Never LibreOffice writer!

The file cmdline.txt can look like this:
console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=347a28ab-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles

The file fstab can look like this:
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
PARTUUID=347a28ab-01 /boot vfat defaults 0 2
PARTUUID=347a28ab-02 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
# a swapfile is not a swap partition, no line here
# use dphys-swapfile swap[on|off] for that

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also SanDisk MicroSD Ultra 128GB Class 10. Write speed up to 100 MB/s. NOTE: If you can’t run RaspEX Kodi at all you should try with a new “better” card.

Kodi 18 in action – see below…

Wireless connections
The new Raspberry Pi 4 computer has “built in” 802.11n Wireless LAN. Just use NetworkManager to configure your connection. You may have to enable wireless first. Watch this screenshot. NOTE: When using WiFi you may have to reconnect after every reboot. Not as regards Build 200713.

Using Bluetooth
For Bluetooth to work you’ll have to install some extra packages. I.e. bluetooth, blueman, Bluez and bluealsa. Use Synaptic for that. Then run the following command: sudo systemctl enable bluetooth.service. Reboot your Rpi. Now Bluetooth is ready for connections.


Click on the image to watch a big version.

Why can’t I start Kodi?
If you install certain (faulty) add-ons it can happen that you can’t start Kodi anymore. In that case the file profiles.xml (/home/raspex/.kodi/userdata/profiles.xml) is corrupted or empty. Replace it with this file – download. The file shall have this content.
<profiles>
<lastloaded>0</lastloaded>
<useloginscreen>false</useloginscreen>
<autologin>-1</autologin>
<nextIdProfile>1</nextIdProfile>
<profile>
<id>0</id>
<name>Master user</name>
<directory pathversion=”1″>special://masterprofile/</directory>
<thumbnail pathversion=”1″></thumbnail>
<hasdatabases>true</hasdatabases>
<canwritedatabases>true</canwritedatabases>
<hassources>true</hassources>
<canwritesources>true</canwritesources>
<lockaddonmanager>false</lockaddonmanager>
<locksettings>0</locksettings>
<lockfiles>false</lockfiles>
<lockmusic>false</lockmusic>
<lockvideo>false</lockvideo>
<lockpictures>false</lockpictures>
<lockprograms>false</lockprograms>
<lockgames>false</lockgames>
<lockmode>0</lockmode>
<lockcode></lockcode>
<lastdate></lastdate>
</profile>
</profiles>

Expand the filesystem on the SD card

If you install many new big programs and/or download large files (for example videos) you may run out of space on the SD card. That is best fixed by running the following command: sudo raspi-config. Click on “Advanced Options” and choose A1 Expand Filesystem.
NOTE: That’s all you have to do. Just wait for the script to fix everything. If you use a SD card of 32 GB all the space on it will be used afterwards. Watch a screenshot when raspi-config is running.

SOUND in Kodi
For HDMI sound to work in Kodi you’ll have to change the Sound Settings. Watch this screenshot.

Running the Netflix add-on in Build 200713

When you try to start Netflix for the first time you will probably see this error message. That’s because you haven’t logged in to Netflix yet. Just log in and that won’t happen again. When logged in to Netflix it will look like this. Sometimes it can happen that a movie start with the “wrong” subtitle. Change it to your liking as this screenshot shows. Germans (in particular) like to dub English movies (and movies in other languages) to German. Change the audio language as this screenshot shows.

Set up subtitles for Netflix
From Kodi’s home screen, go to Settings -> Player settings -> Language – screenshot. Select the languages you want to get when searching for subtitles – screenshot. That’s it!

RaspEX Kodi performance
RaspEX Kodi is a very fast and responsive Rpi4 system. Much due to very low memory (RAM) usage. About 200 MB as this screenshot shows. I’ve said that RaspEX LXDE Build 200324 is very fast. RaspEX Kodi is even faster. The video and sound quality is also very very good. Even while running RaspEX Kodi on big TV screens. I.e. you can really enjoy Netflix and YouTube running on your Rpi4 mini computer!

Install/experiment with extra Kodi Builds in RaspEX Kodi
On a web site called FireStickTricks you can find instructions how to install 27 (?!) extra Kodi Builds with their own repositories and skins. The article is called Best Kodi Builds February 2020. I have tried three of them myself. No Limits Magic, Diggz Xenon and Innovation. They are very easy to install and work very well. Perhaps you’ll find your own favorite!

Compatibility :: January 2021
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 4 computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, exGENT, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspEX Kodi, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1, RaspAnd Pie, RaspAnd 10, RaspAnd 11, EXTON OpSuS Rpi, FedEX Rpi3 and RaspArch. I have until now (210101) only upgraded RaspAnd 11, RaspAnd 10, RaspEX, RaspEX Kodi, RaspArch, exGENT and RaspEX with OpenCPN. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 4.

SCREENSHOTS
1. Running Kodi in Build 200713
1b. Running Kodi in Build 200726

2. The LXDE Desktop logged in as the ordinary user pi in Build 200713
2b. The LXDE Desktop logged in as the ordinary user pi in Build 200726

3. Netflix running showing very good video quality
4. YouTube running showing very good video quality
5. Choosing program addons in Kodi
6. The LXDE Desktop logged in as root (super admin)
6b. The LXDE Desktop logged in as root (super admin) in Build 200726
7. Kodi system info re. Build 200713
7b. Kodi system info re. Build 200726
8. VLC running showing very good video quality
9. Samba connection with a Windows computer
10. Screenshot about how to configure HDMI sound in Kodi
11. Error message when trying to run the YouTube add-on in Build 200726

DOWNLOAD
RaspEX Kodi Build 200713/200726 has been replaced by Build 210205/210208. Read about both RaspEX Kodi systems…

Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Kodi is a trademark of XBMC Foundation

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (without GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (with GAPPS)!
Posted in Exton Linux, Raspberry Pi systems, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

About Raspup Buster for Raspberry Pi 1, Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4 – all from the one download – test 200514

My test of Raspup Buster 8.2 built from the Woof-CE build system originally developed by Barry Kauler, the creator of Puppy Linux

Raspup supports Raspberry Pi 1, Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4 all from the one download.

Raspup’s features
– pTheme global theme manager designed by zigbert(AKA Sigmund Berglund)

– JWM-2.3.6 window manager from Joe Wing and Rox Filer updated by @woodenshoe-wi
– Run internet apps as unprivileged user “spot”, see Menu > System > Login and Security Manager and click the “Help” button.
– shinobar’s on the fly SFS loading and unloading – updated version
– Well stocked package manager (PPM) with access to Raspbian repositories
– SFS Manager for extra large packages including LibreOffice, browsers, full development environment (compilers, headers and assemblers) and kernel sources plus more.
– A great suite of programs included by default including but not limited to, web browser (Midori), word processor (Abiword), spread sheet (Gnumeric), email client (Sylpheed), chat client (irrsi), image editor (mtpaint), video player (mplayer), audio/video processor (ffmpeg), music player (pMusic), audio editor (mhwaveedit), text editor (geany, nano, leafpad), ftp file transfer (gftp), file sharing clients and servers (ftp, samba), games, printing (cups) and even more!
– Amazing size at ~375MB, which includes 3 kernels to support the different Pi versions.

My test results
I ran Raspup on a Raspberry Pi 4. I installed Raspup to a SD class 10 card using Rufus 3.10 in Windows. According to my experience Rufus is the best (most reliable) image writing program there is out there. I.e. other programs may not make the card bootable. Raspup works very well (as expected). Like Puppy Linux Raspup runs from RAM. So it is quite fast. When rebooting or power off the system you will be asked to save your system changes. Do that and be sure to change boot options so that Raspup will acknowledge your system changes. Watch this screenshot. As you can see my save space is called raspupsave-puppex. Raspup is compatible with Debian Buster (Debian 10). New packages are easily installed with Raspup’s Package Manager. Watch this screenshot. Be sure to update the repositories before you try to install anything.

Screenshots
1. Changing boot options
2. Using Raspup’s Package Manager
3. Running Firefox and YouTube

READ MORE about Raspup…

About PuppEX Bionic 64
You may also be interested in my remix of Puppy Linux BionicPup64. It’s compatible with Ubuntu Bionic (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS).

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at

andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at

raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd Pie 9.0 (without GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (with GAPPS)!

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exGENT (Gentoo) Rpi4 for Raspberry Pi 4 with LXDE, NetworkManager, Gimp, SMPlayer, Vivaldi Browser and kernel 4.19.113-exton-v8 :: Build 200410

ABOUT exGENT Rpi4
I’ve built a Gentoo system for Raspberry Pi 4. Just for fun, but it took me four days to compile everything from “scratch”. Six days if I include failed attempts to install Firefox and Chromium. exGENT Rpi4 is a full Gentoo/Linux Desktop system with LXDE (an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop environment). Study all other included packages in exGENT Rpi4. The most important apps are NetworkManager, Gimp (photo editor), SMPlayer and the Vivaldi Browser –
From the creators of Opera, a browser that is fast, but also a browser that is rich in functionality, highly flexible and puts the user first.

Raspberry Pi 4: How much better is it than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+?

Compatibility :: January 2021
Unfortunately not all systems made for Raspberry Pi 3 and 2 will run on the new Raspberry Pi 4 computer. They need to be upgraded with a new kernel. I therefore have to upgrade the systems I distribute. I.e. RaspEX, RaspEX with OpenCPN, exGENT, RaspEX BunsenLabs, RaspEX Kodi, RaspAnd Marshmallow, RaspAnd Nougat 7.1.2, RaspAnd Oreo 8.1, RaspAnd Pie, RaspAnd 10, RaspAnd 11, EXTON OpSuS Rpi, FedEX Rpi3 and RaspArch. I have until now (210101) only upgraded RaspAnd 11, RaspAnd 10, RaspEX, RaspEX Kodi, RaspArch, exGENT and RaspEX with OpenCPN. Read about the new Raspberry Pi 4.

KERNEL
Kernel 4.19.113-exton-v8 is used.

How do I install exGENT Rpi4 in Windows?
Just like any other Raspberry Pi system. I.e.: Unpack the downloaded raw.xz file (exgent-rpi4-64bit-lxde-200410.raw.xz) and transfer the IMAGE file (exgent-rpi4-64bit-lxde-200410.img) to your Micro SD card of at least 16 GB. For that you shall use Rufus 3.9 in Windows. It will look like this – see below. NOTE: The .raw.xz file is of 1010 MB. The .raw file is of 6050 MB. Before using Rufus you’ll have to change the file extension from .raw to .img.



How do I install exGENT Rpi4 in Linux?
You can of course also install exGENT Rpi4 in any Linux system. Just open up at terminal and run the following command (as root):
xzcat exgent-rpi4-64bit-lxde-200410.raw.xz | dd bs=4M of=/dev/sdX iflag=fullblock oflag=direct status=progress; sync
Note:
Change /dev/sdX to for example /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc, /dev/sde or…
(Check it carefully before you run the above command so you won’t lose important data).

Different Micro SD Cards
For best performance you should use SD Cards of good quality. I can recommend Samsung MicroSD Pro Plus 32GB Class 10. Write speed up to 95 MB/s. Also SanDisk MicroSD Ultra 128GB Class 10. Write speed up to 100 MB/s. NOTE: If you can’t run exGENT Rpi4 at all you should try with a new “better” card.

How do I use exGENT Rpi4?
When you start up your Raspberry Mini computer with exGENT Rpi4 you will (after a few seconds) end up at SLiM‘s login page. Log in as the ordinary user pi or as root (admin). The password for pi is raspberry. When logged in as pi you can use Sudo to become root. Example: sudo su and sudo pcmanfm. The password for root (superuser) is root. You can log out from LXDE and log in again as root (if you want). This is how it looks at SLiM‘s login page.

First thing to do after installation to your SD card
Run the command sudo sh /root/resize_rootfs.sh
After that all the space on the SD card will be used. If you look at Conky‘s window (system monitor) in the upper left corner you can see that you only have about 500 MB free space before resizing. Watch two screenshots.

1. Before resizing
2. After resizing

Swap space
When installing big apps such as Firefox and Chromium a lot of RAM is needed. If you use a Rpi4 with 4 GB RAM that may not be sufficient. When I tried to install Firefox in exGENT Rpi4 my RAM was consumed after a while. I therefore created a SWAP space of 2 GB with the following commands. See this screenshot.
$ fallocate -l 2GB /swapfile
$ chmod 600 /swapfile
$ mkswap /swapfile
$ swapon /swapfile

If you want the SWAP space to be permanent you shall add this line to /etc/fstab:
/swapfile swap swap defaults 0 0

Notes about Vivaldi, sound and YouTube
For some unknown reason the sound is distorted when running SMPlayer and Vivaldi with for example YouTube when logged in as the ordinary user pi. When logged in as root the sound (via HDMI) is very good. To be able to run Vivaldi as root I had to change the execution command to vivaldi –no-sandbox. Running Vivaldi without sandbox is supposed to be a security risk. You should therefore not use exGENT Rpi4 and Vivaldi in sensitive cases.

UPGRADE the System

The exGENT Rpi4 System (Build 200410) is in very good shape, since I, without problems, have been able to update the whole system with the following commands:

# emerge –ask –update –newuse –deep –with-bdeps=y @world
# emerge –depclean
# revdep-rebuild

NOTE 1: Before running the above three commands you’ll have to run the commands emerge –sync followed by emerge –oneshot portage

NOTE 2: You should run the above commands at least every month (to keep the system in good shape).

Using SSH (Secure Shell)
You can connect to other Linux computers in your Home Network using SSH. You’ll have to edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config first. Change line number 88 and 89 to look like this. Watch a screenshot when I’m running Exton|OS (Ubuntu based) on one computer connected to exGENT Rpi4 running on my Raspberry Pi 4.  And a screenshot when I’m running exGENT Rpi4 from Exton|OS. As you can see I could run SMPlayer, (which in installed in exGENT Rpi4). To start LXTerminal from exGENT Rpi4 on the Exton|OS computer I used the command ssh -Y live@192.168.0.36 lxterminal. I got the correct IP address by running the command ifconfig on the Exton|OS computer.

exGENT Rpi4 performance
The system is quite fast if you use a Raspberry Pi 4. You can run exGENT Rpi4 also on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and B+, but I can’t recommend it. If you, for example, start the Vivaldi Browser and try to run a video in YouTube your RAM memory will be consumed quickly. The video will then stop or lag. I.e. 1 GB RAM is simply not enough for exGENT Rpi4.

Bluetooth
In exGENT Rpi4 Build 200410 you have to use a Bluetooth dongle to make Bluetooth work. For example Asus USB-BT400 dongle. I could not make the built in adapter work. When using a dongle Bluetooth worked without problems. Screenshot showing “paring” with my Android phone.

WHO should run Gentoo Linux/exGENT Rpi4?
My answer: The system fits the “advanced” Linux user/enthusiast, who would be willing to run an occasional command from time to time.

SCREENSHOTS
Running Vivaldi and YouTube in exGENT Rpi4
Running SMPlayer in exGENT Rpi4

DOWNLOAD – exgent-rpi4-64bit-lxde-200410.raw.xz from SourceForge.net

exGENT Rpi4 can also be downloaded from The Swedish Linux Society

md5sum for exgent-rpi4-64bit-lxde-200410.raw.xz, which is of 1010 MB

Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Foundation

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and

about my Android 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se
– latest is RaspAnd 11 (without GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (with GAPPS)!
Posted in exGENT Rpi4, Exton Linux, RaspEX | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The very best OS for Raspberry Pi 4/3/2 – genpi64 :: gentoo-on-rpi-64bit

Yesterday I was thinking of building a Raspberry Pi OS based on Gentoo with all common Gentoo/Linux packages included. Only to find that this is already done! A girl called sakaki (unscary Gentoo girl) is behind genpi64 (gentoo-on-rpi-64bit). It’s a bootable 64-bit Gentoo image for the Raspberry Pi4B, 3B & 3B+, with Linux 4.19, OpenRC, Xfce4, VC4/V3D, camera and h/w codec support, weekly-autobuild binhost.

genpi64 performance
The system works so good that it’s hard to believe at first. After all Gentoo is a quite complicated Linux system. Some say it’s extremely difficult. If you think so I’m certain you will change your mind when you have tried genpi64! Everything works out of the box. The system also runs very fast if you use a Raspberry Pi 4. Your SD card will be resized automatically after first boot.

Study all included packages in genpi64…

Screenshot of the Desktop (after some customizing).

READ MORE about genpi64…

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