Descent into Hell - NUCi7 + Batocera Installation Nightmare!

Mista_Mobsta

Mista_Mobsta

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So I decided to finally try out some emulation for the fun and games. Wanted to run it on a MiniPC to emulate a console that my daughter can just switch on and BOOM, it boots straight into the emulation software - also, MiniPC power draw is so low that the inverter barely coughs when the power goes on.

Purchased a NUC 7i7BNH that works great, boots into Windows and runs like a dream!

Let's install Batocera: grabbed 32GB USB, used Balena Etcher to write the Batocera ISO to the USB, popped it into the NUC, set the boot priority to USB 1st and...f0k0l.
Right, reset and try booting straight from the USB within the BIOS - nada.
Right, update BIOS to latest version - everything works but screen gets stuck after BIOS update - panic and fear sets in as I thought I may have bricked the bloody NUC. Reset and new BIOS is loaded and works! PHEW!

Progress!
Reflash the Batocera ISO onto the USB, after fully formatting the USD drive in Drive Manager of course, and using Rufus this time. Also, using Batocera V37 as the Batocera Website said it's tested and working GOOD.
Insert USB into NUC and try boot to Batocera - screen flashes "booting Batocera blah blah 1 second..." - black screen.
F0K mense
Why is it so bloody hard??

Going to try and remove the current NVME in the machine, then boot straight from USB to check whether that may work.

Anyone had any similar issues with this bloody Batocera Distro?
 
Not familiar with it at all.
There seems to be a few distro's aimed at creating a gaming environment.
itsfoss.com

Linux Distros That Turn Your PC into Retro Gaming Console

Looking to spice up your system as a retro gaming console? These Linux distributions can help you do that.
itsfoss.com itsfoss.com

Maybe one of the other options would be more compatible with the NUC.
 
Nod said:
Not familiar with it at all.
There seems to be a few distro's aimed at creating a gaming environment.
itsfoss.com

Linux Distros That Turn Your PC into Retro Gaming Console

Looking to spice up your system as a retro gaming console? These Linux distributions can help you do that.
itsfoss.com itsfoss.com

Maybe one of the other options would be more compatible with the NUC.
Click to expand...
Getting to that point but I must admit, I don't want to give up on Batocera just yet! It has a great following and excellent features.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
Linux OS needs the bitlocker turned off to install properly.
Click to expand...
Allrighty - again I must stress that I am booting the LinuxDistro from the USB and not even touching the installed NVME drive as of yet. It literally goes to a blank black screen after the Grub menu once booting from the USB drive. It doesn't even get to a point where I can install anything onto the NVME yet.
 
hopefully this helps.

secureboot [Batocera.linux - Wiki]

Secure Boot For Batocera v39 and higher on x86_64 systems, streamlined support for Secure Boot is present. This makes it easier to boot Batocera on PCs which have poor secure boot key management in the native UEFI BIOS. The process detailed below will install Batocera's security certificate...
wiki.batocera.org wiki.batocera.org
 
Also check if the graphics card is supported by the default installation. You might have to add the Intel drivers during installation.
 
DarkStarMonday said:
hopefully this helps.

secureboot [Batocera.linux - Wiki]

Secure Boot For Batocera v39 and higher on x86_64 systems, streamlined support for Secure Boot is present. This makes it easier to boot Batocera on PCs which have poor secure boot key management in the native UEFI BIOS. The process detailed below will install Batocera's security certificate...
wiki.batocera.org wiki.batocera.org
Click to expand...
Busy getting V38 and V32 of Batocera now to see whether it works

What a journey so far!
 
Why not just go RetroArch directly via Lakka?

Get Lakka - PC

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution based on RetroArch that transforms a small computer like a Raspberry Pi into a full blown retrogaming console.
www.lakka.tv www.lakka.tv

But maybe also worth trying Balena Etcher to burn the image.

As above though turning off all things SecureBoot may just save you a lot of trauma.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Why not just go RetroArch directly via Lakka?

Get Lakka - PC

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution based on RetroArch that transforms a small computer like a Raspberry Pi into a full blown retrogaming console.
www.lakka.tv www.lakka.tv

But maybe also worth trying Balena Etcher to burn the image.
Click to expand...
With Balena Etcher, the BIOS does seem to want to boot into the UEFI on the USB with Batocera. Flasing image with Rufus doesn't work as the BIOS doesn't pick up the UEFI boot file. Again, it takes me to the Batocera Install Grub screen and then screen goes black and stays like that!

I am not too familiar with Lakka and how it's installed - Batocera seems to have a LOT of support and info so I would prefer to have it loaded.

Just annoying that I can't get the bloody UEFI to function properly and, when it does, screen just goes black!
 
Mista_Mobsta said:
With Balena Etcher, the BIOS does seem to want to boot into the UEFI on the USB with Batocera. Flasing image with Rufus doesn't work as the BIOS doesn't pick up the UEFI boot file. Again, it takes me to the Batocera Install Grub screen and then screen goes black and stays like that!

I am not too familiar with Lakka and how it's installed - Batocera seems to have a LOT of support and info so I would prefer to have it loaded.

Just annoying that I can't get the bloody UEFI to function properly and, when it does, screen just goes black!
Click to expand...

Why intentionally start with an older version of Batocera though? Why not just use the latest first?

There should be a way to take the blank screen away and see the actual console, then you can see where it's getting stuck. Try Alt+F1 or Alt+F2 or even just Esc.

FYI this stuff almost never ever "just works" which is why Linux is not yet Desktop ready.
 
There are tutorials on YouTube, I don’t know if my posts are reflecting the page and video.
 
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