Computers and Programming Experiences

RetroPie ZX Spectrum / Z80
The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Z80 in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download Sinclair Roms to a temporary location...
C:\SinclairRoms\RomName1.tap
C:\SinclairRoms\RomName2.z80

• Copy Roms TAP and Z80 (C:\SinclairRoms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\zxspectrum\ 

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to Emulation Station.
• If ROM fails to load, Press 'A' button at launch screen to switch Emulator.
• SELECT displays on-screen keyboard.

RetroPie Atari 2600
The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up the Atari 2600 in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download Atari 2600 roms to a temporary location and decompress...
C:\Atari2600Roms\RomName2.a26

• Copy roms (C:\Atari2600Roms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\atari2600\ 

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to Emulation Station.

RetroPie Atari 7800

The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up the Atari 7800 in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download Sinclair Roms to a temporary location and decompress...
C:\Atari7800Roms\RomName2.a78

• Copy roms (C:\Atari7800Roms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\atari7800\ 

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to Emulation Station.

RetroPie Amstrad CPC

The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up the Amstrad Colour Personal Computer in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download Amstrad CPC Roms to a temporary location and decompress...
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\a\aRomName1.dsk
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\a\aRomName2.dsk
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\a\aRomName3.dsk
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\b\bRomName1.dsk
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\b\bRomName2.dsk
C:\AmstradCPCRoms\c\cRomName1.dsk

• Copy roms (C:\AmstradCPCRoms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\amstradcpc\, emulation station excepts subfolders for grouping of roms (i.e. a, b, c, etc).

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to Emulation Station.
• Keyboard Controlled.

RetroPie Megadrive
The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up the SEGA Megadrive (Genesis - USA) in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download SEGA MegaDrive Roms to a temporary location...
C:\MegadriveRoms\RomName1.7z
C:\MegadriveRoms\RomName2.7z

• Roms compressed with 7 Zip are not recognised by RetroPie, this will need converting to regular ZIP compressed files.
• Open WinRAR, in the address bar enter the Megadrive ROM Folder (i.e. C:\MegadriveRoms).
• Press CTRL+A to select all ROM files.
• From the 'Tools' tab, select convert archives.
• Press 'Conversion' button and select ZIP Archive Format, press 'OK'
• Tick 'Delete original archives'.
• Press 'OK' to start conversion process. 
• Click 'Close' when the conversion process is done.
• Close WinRAR.     
• Files should now be all ZIP Compressed archives. which is recognised by Emulation Station...
C:\MegadriveRoms\RomName1.zip
C:\MegadriveRoms\RomName2.zip

• Copy Roms (C:\MegadriveRoms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\megadrive\ 

Reboot RaspberryPi

The following instructions are used reboot the RaspberryPi to activate changes made.

On Terminal Emulator:

• Enter the following command to reboot the RaspberryPi...
sudo shutdown -r now 'Maintenance Reboot'   

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to EmulationStation.
• If ROM fails to load, Press 'A' button at launch screen to switch GBA Emulator.

RetroPie GameBoy Advance
The following instructions are used as a guide for setting up GameBoy Advance in RetroPie / Emulation Station.

On Windows Device:

• Download Gameboy Advance Bios (gba_bios.bin) and copy to \\RETROPIE\bios\

• Download GameBoy Advance Roms to a temporary location...
C:\GBARoms\AllRoms\GBAXXXX-XXXX\GBA Roms XXXX - XXXX\XXXX - RomName (J)(Provider).zip
C:\GBARoms\AllRoms\GBAXXXX-XXXX\GBA Roms XXXX - XXXX\XXXX - RomName (E)(Provider).zip
C:\GBARoms\AllRoms\GBAXXXX-XXXX\GBA Roms XXXX - XXXX\XXXX - RomName (U)(Provider).zip
C:\GBARoms\AllRoms\GBAXXXX-XXXX\GBA Roms XXXX - XXXX\XXXX - RomName (F)(Provider).zip

• In Windows PowerShell ISE run the following command to extract English (USA & European) Titles only...
Get-ChildItem "C:\GBARoms\AllRoms\*" -Recurse -Include "*(U)*", "*(E)*" | Copy-Item -Destination "C:\GBARoms\EnglishRoms\"

• Copy Roms (C:\GBARoms\EnglishRoms\*) to \\RETROPIE\roms\gba\ 

Reboot RaspberryPi

The following instructions are used reboot the RaspberryPi to activate changes made.

On Terminal Emulator:

• Enter the following command to reboot the RaspberryPi...
sudo shutdown -r now 'Maintenance Reboot'   

Troubleshooting

• SELECT + START to exit emulator and return to EmulationStation.
• If ROM fails to load, Press 'A' button at launch screen to switch GBA Emulator.

RetroPie KODI (Ports) Setup
The following instructions are used to setup Kodi Media Center for access directly from RetroPie Emulation Station.

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'RETROPIE SETUP' and press 'A' button.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Manage packages' and press 'X' button to select.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Manage Optional packages' and press 'X' button to select.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Kodi' and press 'X' button to select.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Install from binary' and press 'X' button to select.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Exit' and press 'X' button to confirm.
• Repeat back out until at main RetroPie Setup menu.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Perform reboot' and press 'X' button to select.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Yes' and press 'X' button to confirm.
• Use DPad, select 'PORTS' menu and press 'A' button to enter.
• Use DPad, highlight 'KODI' and press 'A' button to select.

KODI Media Center 

KODI Controls: Controller DPad + 'X' to SELECT and 'A' to back out.

TL-WN725N N300 Mini WiFi Driver Installation & Setup
The following instructions are used to install and configure the TL-WN725 (Version 2.0) N300 Mini WiFi Driver. If you don't have this specific WiFi adapter this can be skipped.

Credit goes to MrEngman for providing up-to-date drivers for this adapter.

On Terminal Emulator:

• Enter the following commands to update the Raspbian O/S...
sudo curl https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/80256631/install-wifi.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo ./install-wifi

• Enter the following command to reboot the RaspberryPi...
sudo shutdown -r now 'Maintenance Reboot'   

RetroPie WiFi Setup
The following instructions are used to configure a WiFi Adapter from within RetroPie.

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'WIFI' and press 'A' button.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Connect to WiFi network' and press 'X' to select.
• Use DPad, highlight your WiFi SSID and press 'X' to select.
• Enter WiFi Password and press 'x' to continue, if connection is successful ESSID will display your WiFi SSID.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Exit' and press 'X' to confirm.
• The Ethernet Cable can now be disconnected from the RaspberryPi.

Show WiFi IP Address

The following instructions will show you how to display the RaspberryPi IP Address.    

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'SHOW IP' and press 'A' button.
• Record WiFi IP Address, this is required for SSH access from remote machines (i.e. Windows Device).
• Press 'A' to select OK to return to Emulation Station - RetroPie Menu Options.  

    

Update RetroPie
The following instructions will update the RetroPie Setup script and Package Update.

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'RETROPIE SETUP' and press 'A' button.
• Press 'X' button at the notice screen.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Update all installed packages' and press 'X' button.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Yes' and press 'X' button.
• Press 'X' button to acknowledge RetroPie-Script update.
• Press 'X' button at the notice screen.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Yes' and press 'X' button to update underlying OS Packages.
• Wait for updates to complete...
• Press 'X' to acknowledge packages have been updated.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Perform reboot' and press 'X' button.
• Use DPad, highlight 'Yes' and press 'X' button to confirm reboot. 

Note : The frist thing I noticed is the 'RetroPie' menu header now displays 'CONFIGURATION' instead of the misleading 13 GAMES AVAILABLE message.

FIX : DragonRise Inc. Generic USB Controller Issue - After RetroPie Update
Following the RetroPie update the controller stopped working when navigating up & down using the DPad.The controller name and the DPad up & down values have changed.

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad and attempt to scroll up & down through the menu options.
• If DPad Up & Down not responding, choose one of the following methods...

Method 1 - Reconfigure using RetroPie Console
This can be reconfigured on this specific controller by pressing the 'KXD' button and then using the Right Axis joystick instead of the DPad, you can then reconfigure the controller by pressing the 'START' button and selecting 'Configure Input'. Before repeating the controller reconfiguration process, turn off the 'KXD' button.

Method 2 - Update configuration files on Terminal Emulator

• Enter the following commands to setup the correct controller configuration file...
cd /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig
mv 'DragonRiseInc.GenericUSBJoystick.cfg' 'DragonRiseInc.GenericUSBJoystick.cfg.bak'
touch 'DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg'
nano 'DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg'

• Add the following configuration.
input_device = "DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  "
input_driver = "udev"
input_r_y_plus_axis = "-2"
input_l3_btn = "10"
input_l_btn = "4"
input_load_state_btn = "4"
input_start_btn = "9"
input_exit_emulator_btn = "9"
input_up_axis = "-1"
input_a_btn = "1"
input_b_btn = "2"
input_reset_btn = "2"
input_down_axis = "+1"
input_r_btn = "5"
input_save_state_btn = "5"
input_r2_btn = "7"
input_r3_btn = "11"
input_right_axis = "+0"
input_state_slot_increase_axis = "+0"
input_x_btn = "0"
input_menu_toggle_btn = "0"
input_select_btn = "8"
input_enable_hotkey_btn = "8"
input_y_btn = "3"
input_left_axis = "-0"
input_state_slot_decrease_axis = "-0"
input_l2_btn = "6"

• Press 'CTRL+x' and then press 'Y' to confirm save.
• Press 'ENTER' to keep exisiting filename.
• Navigate to RetroArch Auto Configuration directory...
cp 'DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg' 'DragonRise Inc.   Generic   USB  Joystick  .cfg.bak'
sudo reboot

SSH Remote Session
The following instructions are used to implement an enhanced terminal server onto a Windows Device.
Required Software:
MobaXTerm Portable - Enhanced Terminal Emulator (http://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/MobaXterm_v9.4.zip)

On Windows Device:

• Download MobaXTerm using the URL Provided.
• Decompress ZIP file to a permanent location for tools (i.e. C:\Tools\MobaXterm).
• Run 'MobaXterm_Personal_9.4.exe'  from tools location.
• Click 'Session' to open Session Settings.
• Click 'SSH' to select a Secure Shell (SSH) session.
• In Basic SSH settings, set Remote Host to 'retropie'.
• Tick Specify Username check box and set to 'pi'.
• Click 'OK' to start SSH Session with RaspberryPi.

On Terminal Emulator:

• Enter default password for the pi credentials ('raspberry').
• Enter 'No' at save password confirmation box, it is more secure not to save any passwords.

• Enter the following command to display the initial O/S Version Information...
uname -a

 

RetroPie Initial Boot
The following instructions are based on the GitHub RetroPie First Installation Setup Guide (https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/First-Installation).

On RaspberryPi:

Connect LAN Cable, as TP-Link TL-WN725N N300 Mini WiFi Adapter (Version 2.0) is not recognised by RetroPie/Raspbian out-of-the-box.

• Power on Raspberry Pi to start the initial RetroPie boot. 
• Follow 'Configure Controllers' section in GitHub RetroPie First Installation Setup Guide.

• Once Controller is configured, the main Emulation Station menu will be displayed. 
• The 'RetroPie' menu header displayed 13 Games Available, this actually means within the RetroPie menu there are 13 options (i..e Audio, Bluetooth, WiFi etc), no roms are installed by default.

• Press 'A' button on controller, to access RetroPie Menu. 

Register Bluetooth Keyboard
The following instructions can be skipped if your keyboard is automatically recognised by the RaspberryPi (i.e. Wired Keyboard or USB Wireless Keyboard).


On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'Bluetooth' and press 'A' button.
• Use DPad to highlight 'Register and Connect Bluetooth Device'.
• Press CONNECT button on Bluetooth Keyboard.
• Press 'X' button to select register device option.
• Use DPad and select Bluetooth Address for the Bluetooth Keyboard, this can be obtained viewing the Bluetooth Device Address on your Windows Device (Bluetooth Settings > Hardware > DEVICE NAME > Details > Property: Bluetooth Device Address).
• Use DPad select first security mode option, press 'X'.
• Press 'X' to acknowledge success, if failed repeat steps with second security mode and so on.
• Press RIGHT DPad, select 'Cancel' and press 'X' to return to Emulation Station - RetroPie Menu Options.

Update Raspbian Configuration
The following instructions will overclock your RaspberryPi and enable SSH access over default port 22. See previous article (http://programmingexperiences.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/raspberrypi-enabling-ssh-access-via.html) if you want to alter the secure port.      

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'RASPI-CONFIG' and press 'A' button.
• Use DPad and scroll down to 'Overclock'.
• Use RIGHT DPad and highlight 'Select', press 'A' button.
• Press 'A' button to acknowledge overclock warning, it's your choice if you decide to overclock your RaspberryPi.
• Use DPad and scroll down to 'Medium'.
• Use RIGHT DPad and highlight 'Ok', press 'A' button.
• Press 'A' to acknowledge overclocking configuration change.
• Use DPad and scroll down to 'Advanced Options'.
• Use RIGHT DPad and highlight 'Select', press 'A' button.
• Use DPad and scroll down to 'SSH'.
• Use RIGHT DPad and highlight 'Select', press 'A' button.
• Use DPad and select 'Yes' to confirm installation of SSH Server, press 'A' button.
• Press 'A' button to acknowledge SSH Server enabled.
• Use DPad and select 'Finish', press 'A' button.
• Use DPad and select 'Yes' to confirm RaspberryPi Reboot.

 Show IP Address

The following instructions will show you how to display the RaspberryPi IP Address.    

On RaspberryPi:

• In RetroPie Menu, use DPad to scroll up & down, highlight 'SHOW IP' and press 'A' button.
• Record IP Address, this is required for SSH access from remote machines (i.e. Windows Device).
• Press 'A' to select OK to return to Emulation Station - RetroPie Menu Options.