How to Install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 4 e Pi 3
Do you think installing and starting Windows 10 on Raspberry is feasible? Yes, apparently it is possible, I tried it and it worked, to my great satisfaction. Now I will show you all the steps necessary to do this.
In fact, but not for long, all the material to carry out the transaction in title in total safety is present on the net. The developers finally installed the ARM-optimized version of Windows 10 on the Raspberry Pi 4, after some people managed to get it to work on the Raspberry Pi 3 in the first half of 2019 as well.
Table of contents…
1. Windows IoT Core vs Windows 10 ARM
Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 3 officially support the IoT Core version of Windows 10, which is not the same version of Windows 10, so to speak, the one that runs on a desktop PC, but is a smaller version for low-power computers.
The ARM version of windows 10, which we will install on Raspberry, is a normal windows version, as we all know it, but with only the necessary services active when the operating system starts, but I repeat that it is a normal windows installation with all the features to which windows in the meantime has accustomed us.
There is a huge difference between the Iot version of windows and a version compiled for ARM, but we see some differences between these two versions. For example, Windows 10 IoT Core won’t let you run traditional Win32 apps or launch on the desktop. The IoT allows you to run a single UWP app at a time, and the real purpose of the operating system on the Raspberryi is to run small applications, designed for tiny computer boards.
Fortunately, there is a new guide to getting Windows 10 running on ARM on Pi 3 B + and Pi 4B using an unsupported technical preview build. Unlike IoT, Windows 10 ARM is an ARM-focused OS redefinition, which comes with a traditional desktop and Win32 app support via emulation.
This means that by installing an ARM version of windows on Raspberry, you will be able to run any type of application that normally runs on traditional 32 and 64 bit versions of windows.
2. Download the necessary software
Before proceeding with the installation of the operating system, we must obtain everything necessary to continue. Then you will find listed below all the software needed to install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi4 and 3.
2.1 Download UEFI firmware
Download the UEFI firmware for Pi4 from here and for Pi3 from here, for Pi4 click on the RPi4_UEFI_Firmware_v1.29.zip link, while for Pi3 on the RPi3_UEFI_Firmware_v1.29.zip link and extract it to a FAT32 formatted MicroSD card.
2.2 Download Windows 10 ARM
Download Windows 10 ARM64 Build from here. Click on the ARM64 button relating to the “Latest Public Release build”, never choose the cumulative version and if the system shows you multiple versions of windows 10, choose only one you like between Home and Pro, and follow all the suggested steps, at the end procedure you will download a zip file, with three batch files inside. If you are using windows on your pc, run the one with the cmd extension.
2.3 Download WOR “Windows on Raspberry”
Download “Windows on Raspberry” from here. This software will allow you to install the previously downloaded Build on the MicroSD that you will insert into the Raspberry.
After downloading these files, you need to carefully follow the technical steps that I will now give you.
3. Installing the Windows 10 ARM ISO on MicroSD
Let’s go back to the ISO you downloaded earlier for a moment. In the sources folder, there is a file: install.wim, remember this file and the path to reach it, it will be very useful when you are asked.
As a first step you have to mount the ISO, the operation is very simple click with the right mouse button on the ISO and select the mount context menu item. In the explorer you will find another device with all the ISO files mounted, just as if you were reading the contents of a DVD from the optical drive.
Now extract and start, with administrator rights, the “Windows on Raspberry” program, downloaded previously, by clicking on the executable WOR.exe in the extracted folder.
Well a little more patience and we are almost done. Once the WOR program, which stands for “Windows On Raspberry”, is open, the window will be shown as shown in the image below:
credit: tomshardware.com
In the “welcome” tab, all you have to do is select the language and click Next.
In the second “Select device” tab you must select the Raspberry Pi4 or Pi3, depending on your needs, also select the MicroSD and click Next.
credit: tomshardware.com
It’s time to select our install.wim file, remember? Then click on the file selection button, present next to the wording “select image” and go to the resource created at the ISO mount and reach the sources folder, double click on the install.wim file and click on the Next button again.
credit: tomshardware.com
At the request to load the drivers, check the item “get the latest drivers from the internet”, click on Next again.
credit: tomshardware.com
The time has come to specify the updated firmware appropriate to the type of Raspberry in your possession. Among the downloaded files, you will remember that you have downloaded two zip files one for the Pi4 and one for the Pi3, the file name is more or less in this form: RPi4_UEFI_Firmware… .zip or RPi3_UEFI_Firmware… .zip, logically you will feed it the appropriate zip file.
credit: tomshardware.com
In the “Configuration” tab, make sure MBR is selected as the boot type and click Next again and then Install. To successfully conclude the procedure, there must be an internet connection for the entire ISO installation phase.
credit: tomshardware.com
At the end of the entire installation procedure and only after the display of the message, which will indicate the correct transfer of the operating system to MicroSD, you can disconnect the MicroSD from the PC and insert it into the Raspberry. Connect the keyboard, mouse, monitor and power supply to the Raspberry and wait for the BIOS to load.
It is necessary, when starting the Raspberry, to click on esc, and reach the menu item change order boot, and specify the SD / MMC as the first loading device of the operating system. Another very useful advice is to try to overclock the Raspberry, selecting the max item in correspondence with what is indicated on the RPI Configuration page.
At this point, exit the BIOS and click on the continue link, present on the BIOS home page, and wait for the correct start of the windows 10 installation phase.
Read also: Controlling Raspberry Pi GPIO pins from script bash
4. Conclusions
Windows on ARM performs better on the Raspberry Pi 4 than its predecessor, but the system continues to drop frames when watching 1080p video or streaming Netflix using the Windows Store app. Graphics-intensive activities are incredibly slow, and some apps may crash if you switch between them. Logically we are talking about an intensive use of the operating system, it is worth remembering that the applications that we will run on Raspberry must be low impact applications for the operating system.
We don’t want to create a Windows virtual machine, of course, so let’s change the settings a bit. First, choose a descriptive name for your virtual machine (for example, “Raspberry Pi”), then select Linux from the Type dropdown menu and Debian (64-bit) from the Version dropdown menu. After that, click Next.
On the next screen, you can use the recommended memory size of 1024 MB – this corresponds to the Raspberry Pi 3’s memory size.
The next screen is about adding a hard disk to your new virtual machine. Just click Create, unless you have some reason to modify the settings. Then, click Next on this screen and again on the next.
Finally, you can choose the size of your hard disk. We used the recommended size of 8 GB, but you may want to have a larger hard disk. When you’re ready, click Create.
Now we have the settings of our virtual machine in place.
Step 4: Install Raspberry Pi Desktop
Click Start to start the installation of Raspberry Pi Desktop. You should see a screen like this:
Browse to the folder where you saved the image file of Raspberry Pi Desktop, select the file, and click Start. What you should see next is a menu titled “Debian GNU/Linux installer boot menu. ” Use the arrow keys – or i – and Enter to select Install.
On the next screen, select your preferred keyboard layout and continue by pressing Enter.
Choose Guided – use the entire disk and keep pressing Enter to Select disk to partition and choose the Partitioning scheme. Finally, Finish partitioning and write changes to disk.
You might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea while the system is installing.
After a while, the installation wizard prompt you: “Install the GRYB boot loader to the master boot record?” Select Yes, and choose /dev/sda.
When the installation wizard has installed everything, you should see a screen like this:
Look familiar? If you’ve used Raspbian before, it should!
Step 5: Make the virtual machine interactive
Our virtual machine is successfully running Raspberry Desktop now, but the screen size is a bit small, and it doesn’t get bigger when you click Maximize. We can make our machine more interactive by installing VirtualBox Guest Additions. Guest Additions makes it possible for us to resize the screen, use the clipboard, and share files between our PC or Mac and the virtual machine.
To do this, first open Terminal and make sure that your system is up to date:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade
You’ll have to type the commands because our virtual machine isn’t very cooperative, yet.
Now we’re ready to install VirtualBox Guest Additions:
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) virtualbox-guest-dkms virtualbox-guest-x11
With Guest Extensions installed, click on the Devices menu and select Shared Clipboard > Bidirectional.
If you rebooted your virtual machine now, you would be able to use the same clipboard on both your PC or Mac and the virtual machine. You would also be able to resize the screen. But let’s not reboot, yet. Instead, let’s first to add our user to the vboxsf group to enable file sharing between the virtual machine and PC or Mac:
sudo adduser pi vboxsf
Now we’re ready to shut down our virtual machine and set up a shared folder. This the shutdown command:
shutdown -h now
Step 6: Set up a shared folder
To set up a shared folder, right-click on your virtual machines name and select Settings…, or press Ctrl+S with your virtual machine selected.
From the menu that opens, select Shared Folders.
Click the button with the green plus sign that adds a new shared folder.
From the Folder Path dropdown many, select Other… and then the folder you’d like to share. When you’re ready, click OK and check Auto-mount.
If you start your virtual machine again and launch the file manager, you should see your shared folder with the prefix “sf_” in the /media directory. Any file you put in that folder will also show up in the corresponding folder in/on your PC or Mac, and vice versa.
And that’s it! You now have Raspberry Pi Desktop running on a virtual machine on your PC or Mac, and you can easily use the clipboard and manage folders while you’re working on your next project.
Raspberry Pi 2.3 with 5-inch screen and touchscreen / Raspberry Pi / stD
The monitor comes with a U-shaped HDMI-HDMI adapter, a stylus and brass stands with screws.
There is a switch on the back of the screen, move it closer to the micro usb connector.
Hello.
I have already written about installing OS on Raspberry Pi without graphics and about GPIO control. Now we will install OS RASPBIAN JESSIE with graphics and connect a 5-inch touch screen, which can be purchased at the chip and dip store for 4000r.
Plus, we will install a full-fledged Kodi media center on top of the main OS for easy viewing of video content. That is, switching between RASPBIAN and Kodi will not require a reboot.
To work with this screen, we will install not the latest release, I had difficulties with it (problems with the touchscreen and something else) , and the image of six months ago — Raspbian Jessie 2016-09-23 5GB (rpi2+3) (kernel 4. 4+).img.7z . You can download it here and a direct link, just in case here.
Unpack the image that will weigh 4 plus GB .
SD — the card is best to use at least 8GB and preferably a good quality well-known brand (I have a Transcend Premium 400x) . The speed of the raspberry greatly depends on this.
How to put an image on a flash drive is written in the previous article, starting from this point and up to chapter « Launch «. After completing the steps described there, do not remove the card and return here.
Now you need to find and edit the file config.txt (if you work in windows, be sure to download the Notepad ++ text editor and do everything in it)
In windows, this file is located in the root of disk (actually, this is the boot partition, about 100Mb. It is marked as FAT32. The other part of the flash drive is marked in ext4 and windows simply does not see it) on which the image was written . ..
… and in on the boot partition.
The layout of the card is as follows: the first partition (boot) is created for boot files and formatted in FAT32 , 100MB in size, and the second partition is formatted in ext4 for a file system, about 5GB in size. At the first start, the file system is automatically expanded to the entire remaining space of the card (in previous releases, this was done manually). nine0006
Well, I digress…
Open the file config.txt and find the lines there:
# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA) #hdmi_group=1 #hdmi_mode=1
Change them like this:
# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA) hdmi_group=2 hdmi_mode=1 hdmi_mode=87 hdmi_cvt 800 480 60 6 0 0 0
So far, that’s all with this file, now the raspberry will start up with our monitor (without these lines, there would be only ripples on the screen) .
We save the file, disconnect the card, take it out of the computer and insert it into the RPI.
We assemble a “sandwich” from the screen and raspberries (so that the HDMI connectors match) , insert the HDMI adapter (it comes in tightly) , and supply power to the RPI and to the screen (that is, you need to stock up on two wires with micro usb and two power supplies) . Yes, don’t forget to connect your keyboard and mouse.
PSU for raspberries should be about 2 amps, and one is enough for the screen. If there is not enough power, then an icon with a yellow lightning bolt will appear on the screen. nine0006
If the raspberries are overheated, a thermometer will appear on the screen.
After starting, a multi-colored square will appear on the screen, and then an inscription on a white background, indicating that the file system has been extended to the entire remaining space of the card. Next, four raspberries will appear in the left corner and various lines will run, then the screen will darken for a few seconds and the desktop will appear . ..
Your data:
Login — pi
Password — raspberry
A small digression: firstly, the touchscreen does not work for you yet, and secondly, if the window does not fit on the screen and you do not see any buttons, then you need to hold down the left Alt and use the mouse to drag the window for any place.
The system must first be configured.
You can do this by opening the terminal and writing commands there (although this is not very convenient because it is small) .
Or connect via ssh (login and password are written above) . I will do it via ssh and I advise you to do the same.
So, we enter the command:
sudo raspi-config
We ignore the first item since the file system has already been expanded automatically. You can verify this by opening another terminal and giving the command:
df -h
The second point — changing the password, remains at your discretion.
We do not touch the third and fourth points.
Open the fifth item and select Change Locale
If you need to return to the previous window, press Esc .
Use the down arrow to scroll to ru_RU.UTF-8 UTF-8 , put an asterisk with a space and press Enter .
In the next window, select ru_RU.UTF-8 and again press Enter .
We return to the fifth point and go to Change Timezone , select Europe and press Enter .
Select your city and press Enter .
Again we return to the fifth point and go to Change Keyboard Layout , select Generic 105-key (Intl) PC and press Enter .
In the next window, select Other and press Enter .
Turn the arrow to Russian and press Enter .
In the next window, scroll up to Russian and press Enter .
Next, choose a convenient way for you to switch layouts and press Enter .
In the next three windows just press Enter .
Then do so and Enter .
Now press Tab to select » Finish » and press Enter .
This completes the basic configuration (if you wish, you can return to it at any time) , reboot the system with the command:
sudo reboot
Now about updates.
Update the repositories with the command …
sudo apt update
… But do not update the system — sudo apt upgrade , if you do this, problems with the touchscreen, keyboard layouts and something else will start.
Next, you can install different programs, I first install the package manager synaptic and mc (because I often do things via ssh) .
sudo apt install synaptic mc
Install xscreensaver without which the screen will go blank after 10 minutes.
sudo apt install xscreensaver
Decide what else to install.
Now you need to display the keyboard layouts icon on the top panel. If this is done by regular means, then it will work until the first reboot. Therefore, we will go the other way. nine0003
Install the program gxkb
sudo apt install gxkb
Add gxkb to autoload:
nano /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/6 autostart 9002 @gxkb
Save and close the file.The choice of key combination for switching is done in the file - /home/pi/. config/gxkb/gxkb.cfg, by default alt_shift is specified there, I redirected to ctrl_shift :
nano /home/pi/.config/gxkb/gxkb.cfgSave, close the file and reboot.
Touchscreen
Download archive to your home folder:
cd /home/pi wget https://istarik.ru/file/LCD-show-161112.tar.gzThe archive was taken here.
After unpacking it:
tar xvf LCD-show-161112.tar.gzYou will have an LCD-show folder that you need to go to...
cd LCD-showAnd run the script:
sudo ./LCD5-showAfter that, the raspberry will immediately reboot and come to life with a working touchscreen. If the positioning accuracy suits you, then you can not calibrate anything.
If calibration is needed, then go to the folder LCD-show…
cd /home/pi/LCD-showAnd install the package xinput-calibrator_0. 7.5-1_armhf.deb
sudo dpkg -i -B xinput -calibrator_0.7.5-1_armhf.debThe same can be done in the "explorer" by right-clicking on the package and selecting "Install packages".
Now go to the program menu, in the section under "Options" and select "Calibrate Touchscreen". After an accurate hit on all four targets, settings will appear that need to be written to the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-calibration.conf .
Launch another terminal, open file there...
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/99-calibration.conf... and remove everything from it.
We return to the window with the calibration data, copy the “InputClass” section and paste it into the previously opened and empty file.
Section "InputClass" Identifier "calibration" MatchProduct "ADS7846 Touchscreen" Option "Calibration" "171 3957 174 4042" EndSectionYou have your numbers.
To add a "right mouse button" do this:
Section "InputClass" Identifier "calibration" MatchProduct "ADS7846 Touchscreen" Option "Calibration" "171 3957 174 4042" Option "EmulateThirdButton" "1" Option "EmulateThirdButtonTimeout" "550" Option "EmulateThirdButtonMoveThreshold" "50" EndSectionFor the context menu to appear, you need to hold the stylus for about half a second. The last option is apparently the jitter threshold.
Save the file, close and reboot. Now everything will be correct.
Because the calibrator makes small changes to the file config.txt (which we corrected on the computer) , then it’s worth saying a little about it. This is the file that contains the startup settings, let's open it and see:
sudo nano /boot/config.txtOur edits disappeared and appeared at the end, with one more line:
# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835) dtparam=audio=on hdmi_group=2 hdmi_mode=1 hdmi_mode=87 hdmi_cvt 800 480 60 6 0 0 0 dtoverlay=ads7846,cs=1,penirq=25,penirq_pull=2,speed=50000,keep_vref_on=0,swapxy=0,pmax=255. ..We'll also add...
Find lines:
# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus # overscan. #framebuffer_width=1280 #framebuffer_height=720And make them like this:
# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus # overscan. framebuffer_width=800 framebuffer_height=480A little lower we find this:
# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output hdmi_force_hotplug=1And add three lines:
# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output hdmi_force_hotplug=1 hdmi_ignore_cec_init=1 hdmi_ignore_cec=1 gpu_mem=256You can try to allocate more memory for the video - gpu_mem=512.
If you want to increase the current supplied to usb, then add the line somewhere:
max_usb_current=1But here you need to understand that if you connect powerful consumers, then the current of the raspberry itself may not be enough, which results in unstable work. nine0006
Save the file and reboot.
The described settings are enough for normal RPI operation, but I recommend reading about the various parameters of this config here.
Wifi and Bluetooth
If you want to disable wifi and/or bluetooth, then you need to create a file - /etc/modprobe.d/raspi-blacklist.conf
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/raspi- blacklist.confAnd paste this into it:
#wifi blacklist brcmfmac blacklist brcmutil #bt blacklist btbcm blacklist hci_uartThis is how wifi and bluetooth are disabled.
And so only wifi is disabled:
#bt blacklist btbcm blacklist hci_uartSamba
Install:
sudo apt-get install samba samba-common-binBackup config:
sudo mv/smb.conf/smbc/smb.conf bakCreate your own:
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb. confContent:
[global] workgroup = WORKGROUP netbios name = RaspberryPi server string = share security = user map to guest = bad user browseable=yes [istarik] path = /home/pi/folder writeable=yes browseable=yes guest ok = yesSave and close.
Create a folder for samba:
mkdir /home/pi/papkaGive it permissions:
sudo chmod -R 777 /home/pi/papkaRestart samba: 900d7/etc7 90 /samba restart
Configured for guest login (come in whoever you want) and read-write.
Kodi Media Center
Create an «input» group if it doesn’t exist:
sudo addgroup --system inputInstalling Kodi :
sudo apt-get install kodiAfter installation, do not launch anything.
Create a file — /etc/udev/rules.d/99-input. rules
sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-input.rulesAnd add the following to it:
SUBSYSTEM==input, GROUP=input, MODE=0660 KERNEL==tty[0-9]*, GROUP=tty, MODE=0660Save and close.
Create another file — /etc/udev/rules.d/10-permissions.rules
sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/10-permissions.rulesWith this content:
# input KERNEL=="mouse*|mice|event*", MODE="0660", GROUP="input" KERNEL=="ts[0-9]*|uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="input" KERNEL==js[0-9]*, MODE=0660, GROUP=input #tty KERNEL==tty[0-9]*, MODE=0666 # vchiq SUBSYSTEM==vchiq, GROUP=video, MODE=0660Save and close.
Next add user pi to various groups:
sudo usermod -a -G audio pi sudo usermod -a -G video pi sudo usermod -a -G input pi sudo usermod -a -G dialout pi sudo usermod -a -G plugdev pi sudo usermod -a -G tty piNext, at the end of the file (before exit 0) /etc/rc. local add the line — chmod 0777 /dev/tty0
sudo nano /etc/rc.localIt will turn out like this:
Save and close. nine0006
We reload the raspberry for the changes to take effect.
Now in the program menu in the «Audio and Video» section we find «Kodi Media Center» and start …
You will see how the image blurs and turns into a
frogstripes. This will happen for a couple of minutes, and then the picture will appear. In the middle there will be a window offering to disable incompatible repositories — click Yes .I have to warn you right away that the touchscreen in Kodi does not work correctly, we can say that it does not work at all. I don’t know how to solve this problem yet. Therefore, we only have a mouse and keyboard at our disposal. nine0006
Now let’s set up Kodi. Press button SYSTEM , then Appearance and finally International . Press Language and select Russian (Russian) .
Next, click on the icon with the house at the bottom right, click the big button SYSTEM , and then the small button on the left — «System». Select «Audio output» and under «Audio output device» select — PI: Analogue . After that, Kodi will start normally without any stripes on the screen. nine0003
The fact is that before our changes, both sound and video went through the HDMI channel, and it turned out to be “mess”. Now only video goes through HDMI, and sound through the headphone jack.
Now click on the house icon again, then the shutdown button (left-bottom), and then «Exit». Most likely you will see a frozen black screen, so reboot the raspberry by turning off the power.
After the reboot, start Kodi again, now there will be no stripes anymore. It remains only to make sure that the player does not freeze when exiting. nine0003
To do this, create a script — /usr/local/bin/ startkodi
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/startkodiContent:
#!/bin/bash fbset_bin=`which fbset` xset_bin=`which xset` xrefresh_bin=`which xrefresh` if[! -z $fbset_bin ]; then DEPTh3=`$fbset_bin | head -3 | tail -1 | cut -d " " -f 10` fi kodi "$@" if[! -z $fbset_bin ]; then if [ "$DEPTh3" == "8" ]; then DEPTh2=16 else DEPTh2=8 fi $fbset_bin -depth $DEPTh2 > /dev/null 2>&1 $fbset_bin -depth $DEPTh3 > /dev/null 2>&1 fi if[! -z $xset_bin ] && [ ! -z $xrefresh_bin ]; then if [ -z $DISPLAY ]; then DISPLAY=":0" fi $xset_bin -display $DISPLAY -q > /dev/null 2>&1 if[ "$?" == "0" ]; then $xrefresh_bin -display $DISPLAY > /dev/null 2>&1 fi fi VT="$(fgconsole)" if [ "$VT" ]; then sudo chvt 7 sudo chvt "$VT" fiSave, close and give the script permissions:
sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/startkodiNow in the terminal, issue the command:
startkodiNow «exit» will work as it should.
Running the script through the terminal is not convenient, so it needs to be added to the program menu. Go to the menu, in the «Options» item, find «Main Menu Editor» and run it. Select «Audio & Video» on the left and click the «Create Item» button on the right.
In the window that appears, opposite Name: write MyKodi, and opposite Command: write startkodi.
Press OK , a new item will appear in the list — MyKodi
Press OK again.
Now to launch the media center, in the Audio and Video menu there is a button MyKodi .
Here you can read about Orange Pi.
That’s about it, thank you all. nine0003
Home cinema on Raspberry / Habr
It so happened that I decided to simplify the issue of watching movies online, the standard smart TV option did not suit me, and the constantly sticking out HDMI cable for connecting to a laptop annoyed me. I saw the solution to my problem in acquiring a Raspberry Pi 4, which can be neatly hidden behind the TV case.
I ordered a ready-made set on Ali and while I waited I read how and what to do. There were two solutions suitable for me:
- Turn the raspberry into a mini computer and stream video from the browser like I usually do with my laptop
- Install a Kodi player and use a raspberry as a kind of set-top box.
In the process of implementation, I decided to combine both options: set up autostart of the Kodi player and, if necessary, exit it to the Raspbian system. And it was in this decision that the main problem disappeared, but everything is in order.
I will explain step by step how I did it. nine0003
Step one: Select the correct SBC version.
In my case, I took the top version of what the seller had:
- Raspberry Pi 4 itself:
Processor Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1. 5GHz
Memory 4GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM
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
2 × micro-HDMI (supporting 4k 60fps)
4-pole stereo audio and composite video
H.265 (4kp60 decode), h364 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
OpenGL ES 3.0
USB-C connector for power connection (minimum 3A, 5V DC) - Dual cooler active cooling case
- 5V output power supply with built-in power off button
- SD card 64GB class 10 with USB adapter
nine0676 1.5m HDMI/microHDMI cable
If you wish, you can take a simpler and cheaper kit, but I decided to take what is called «in reserve».
Step two: Install the operating system.
The first launch of Raspderry is described in detail and even shown in pictures on the official website.
I took a slightly different approach and used the balenaEtcher utility to extract the Raspbian system image to an SD card. Who decides to follow this path, you can download it here. The utility itself is primitively simple to manage: insert a flash drive for firmware into the computer, launch balenaEtcher, specify the path to the system image and press Flash! nine0003
You can download the Raspbian image from the official website.
I used the «Raspbian Buster with desktop and recommended software» version, which is almost a «out of the box» solution. Inside there is a desktop environment and pre-installed software. This version uses the PIXEL (Pi Improved Xwindows Environment, Lightweight) environment by default, which is essentially a refinement of the LXDE environment.
The first time you start Raspbian, it will ask you a few configuration questions (choose your country, language and time zone / set a password / connect to Wi-Fi / get the latest updates) and prompt you to reboot. We will not dwell on them, because. they are intuitive and described in pictures at the link above on the official website. nine0003
Step three: Setting up.
You may need to adjust the monitor resolution, you can do it like this: Start / Settings / Screen Configuration. The Screen Layout Editor window will open where you need to go to Configure / Screens / HDMI / Resolution / select the desired resolution from the list and click on the green checkmark.
We need to configure the ability to switch the layout language. This is done like this:
- Right-click on the Taskbar and select «Add / Remove Panel Items». nine0677
- The Panel Settings window will open, click Add.
- In the list that opens, find the «Keyboard layout handler», select and click «Add».
- We will return to the previous menu, in which the item «Keyboard layout handler» should now appear, select and click «Options».
- Uncheck «Save system settings»
- In the «Keyboard Layouts» window that has become active, click «Add» and select the desired layout. nine0677
- Just below it will be written «grp:shift_caps_toggle» — this is a hotkey combination for changing the layout. You can click here and change this keyboard shortcut to the usual convenient one by choosing from the list provided.
- Check the «Do not reset existing settings» checkbox.
- Click the cross to close the Keyboard Layout Handler window. the “Close” button does not work here and close the Panel Settings window.
Of the additional software that had to be installed — the Onboard virtual keyboard, because. My plan is not to use a physical keyboard. nine0003
You can do this in two ways:
You need to search for the keyboard in Start / Accessibility / Onboard.
This completes the setup process.
Step four: Install the Kodi player.
Before installing the player itself, it is worth doing some manipulations to set up memory allocation between GPU and CPU, expand the used memory space and enable 4k 60fps mode, this can be done in at least three ways, but in my opinion this is the easiest:
- Launch terminal and type:
sudo raspi-config
- The configuration settings window will open (Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool (raspi-config). You need to enable several items in it:
7 Advanced options / A1 Expand filesystem — will expand file space usage to the entire flash card
7 Advanced options / A3 Memory split enter a value from 160 to 640 (default 64) — this is the amount of memory in MB allocated to the GPU, the minimum 160 should be enough. If a black screen occurs or there are slowdowns when playing video, then you need to allocate more memory for the GPU. nine0009
7 Advanced options/AA Pi 4 Video Output — enable 4k 60fps
Next, the raspberry will ask you to reboot, which is worth doing. After that, open the Terminal again and get the system updates with the commands (required if you installed the system some time ago):
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Next, install the Kodi player with the command:
sudo apt-get install kodi
After this command, the system will ask if we want to continue, to which, of course, we answer “y” and wait for the installation to complete. Then we reboot the system.
After all these manipulations, you can start the Kodi player (Start / Audio and Video / Kodi).
Step Five: Set up Kodi autostart.
Now, when you turn on the raspberry, we will start the PIXEL environment and then you can start Kodi as a normal application. But I need Kodi to start at system startup and, if necessary, be able to get into the PIXEL environment. To do this, you need to configure the application to autostart when the raspberry starts. We return to the Terminal again and write:
sudo nano ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart
An empty autorun configuration file will open, enter the line into it:
@kodi
Close with saving Ctrl+x/y/Enter. Here the Terminal may begin to swear that there is no such directory. Then this directory will have to be created first and there are three options:
- Try to set something on the desktop, for example change the wallpaper (Desktop/RMB/Desktop Options/Picture). Then the folder will be created automatically. nine0677
- In Terminal type mkdir ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi
- Open the File Manager, press Ctrl+H to show hidden files and folders, then go to .config/lxsession/ and then create the LXDE-pi folder
We restart the raspberry and now instead of PIXEL we see the Kodi interface. Now, if we try to exit Kodi, then we should get into the PIXEL environment and here lies the main problem that took me a while. Instead of PIXEL, we will see a black screen of the Openbox environment, which is not at all what we expected to get. The solution to this problem is simple — let’s go back a step when we made changes to the autorun file. Single line @kodi
is not enough, you still need to start the PIXEL environment. Therefore, in this file you need to write the following:
@lxpanel --profile LXDE-pi @pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE-pi @kodi
Now everything should work as intended at the very beginning. It remains only to configure Kodi itself, but here everyone configures it for themselves, and there are many articles on the Internet on how to do this.
Step six: Quick tips for setting up Kodi.
I’ll give you a hint only on those settings that are most likely to be needed.
Change language: Settings/Interface/Regional/Language
Adjust Resolution: Settings/System/Display/Resolution
Add keyboard layout: Settings/System/Input/Keyboard layouts
Install add-ons from repository:
- Add add-ons repository: Add-ons/Add-ons Browser/Install from ZIP file. You can download the repository, for example here.
nine0676 Install from repository: Add-ons/Add-ons browser/Install from repository
A convenient feature would be to manage Kodi from your phone, for this:
- Go to Settings / Services / Control and enable two items:
Allow remote control via HTTP
Allow application control on other systems - We immediately write down the data for connecting to Kodi (they will be needed by the application on the phone): port, username and password.