Super Newb Taking On Pandora & Linux...


thepook

Still Fresh
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
27
Thanks for any help in advance. I'm sure you folks are all asking good questions in this forum. Honestly, most of it is swahili to me. :D

So, here's my current issue: got my Pandora, got it charged, put two 8GB SD cards in, which it recognises. Good so far.

Instructions for "dummies" sez:

Installation of a PND file is so easy, I almost wouldn't call it installing. Let's assume you have a blank SD card, you want to first create the folders that will contain the PND files. We will define the root of the SD card to be <SD>/ (likely to be something like G:/ on Windows). You want to set up the card to contain the following:

<SD>/pandora/appdata/
<SD>/pandora/desktop/
<SD>/pandora/menu/


Okay, so, my SD cards both show up as "SD/something" already, and it won't let me delete the "something" and rename them "<SD>/pandora/appdata", for instance. I tried creating folders for "appdata", "desktop", and "menu" on an SD card, but my PND files didn't show up on the desktop or in the menu once I placed them in there.

Also, once the PND files for an emulator are where they should be, do ROM files generally go in the same spot, or in sub-directories, like in Windows?
 
You need to put the folders you created inside a folder named pandora - that's what the text you've quoted is saying (I think it may need to be made a bit clearer, perhaps).

As far as where ROMs or other required files go, this varies per emulator at the moment, although to be honest, the vast majority I've encountered are happy with you putting them wherever you want - in my case, the root of my SD Card has directories such as SNES, TG-16, GP2X, MD, and so on, and I keep my stuff in those, except when the documentation for an app specifically tells me that I need to put things somewhere else.
 
Prometheus said:
You need to put the folders you created inside a folder named pandora - that's what the text you've quoted is saying (I think it may need to be made a bit clearer, perhaps).

Ah, yes - I get what you're saying here. I did try this as well, but it seemed to make no difference. :( I'll re-try just to make sure, and report back.

Prometheus said:
As far as where ROMs or other required files go, this varies per emulator at the moment, although to be honest, the vast majority I've encountered are happy with you putting them wherever you want - in my case, the root of my SD Card has directories such as SNES, TG-16, GP2X, MD, and so on, and I keep my stuff in those, except when the documentation for an app specifically tells me that I need to put things somewhere else.

So, unless stated as otherwise in the directions (as you say), the emulator will find the roms no matter what folder I place them in...or do I need to tell the emulator where to look?
 
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You need to tell the emulator where to look - for some you'll get a typical "Open File" sort of box to choose your game before the emulator runs, or in some cases you'll find an in-built file-browser in the emulator, and you can get to your ROMs from there. This isn't something exclusive to Linux or the Pandora - it's no different to using emulation software anywhere else. :p

Good luck with the PND setup!
 
thepook said:
I tried creating folders for "appdata", "desktop", and "menu" on an SD card, but my PND files didn't show up on the desktop or in the menu once I placed them in there.
I'm feeling that something is wrong somewhere. Atleast the quoted part is wrong.
Minimum to get a PND to show up on the desktop and work is
1. Start with a FAT32 (normally) formatted SD card.
2. Create folder named pandora and open it.
3. Create folder named desktop and open it. *
4. Drop the .pnd file in that folder.
5. Insert the SD card into the pandora (if you did above on a desktop).
6. The icon for the pnd will appear on the desktop. Double-click on it (or click and press enter) using any of the mouse-like devices (nubs or touchscreen).

Also create a folder named menu in the folder pandora and put the PND's that you want to show up in the XFCE menu (somebody fill in minimenu stuff for me :p ).
The PND system will create appdata if it doesnt exist (IIRC), so that will appear in the pandora folder. It wont hurt to create that yourself, but...

I dont run that many emulators (just SNES), so I dont really know but usually they will offer a file-picker to pick the ROM to run so you can put them in where you want.
BIOS files and game data (for the commercial ports) will usually (now) go to appdata, but read the documentation they come with (usually will shop up in the XFCE menu under "Documentation").

If your pandora is new, you should right away install HotFix 3 and propably the codec pack on it. See http://www.open-pandora.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178&Itemid=32&lang=en
 
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urjaman said:
If your pandora is new, you should right away install HotFix 3 and propably the codec pack on it. See http://www.open-pandora.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178&Itemid=32&lang=en

Hmmm, but it says to only do this "if I really need to". Do I?

Also, how can I tell if my SD card is FAT32 formatted? And what's the "root" directory folder on my SD card? Is that the one I'm having a hard time making?
 
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How did you format your SD Card? This is generally how you would know. ;)

As for the root directory, it just means what you see when you double-click on your SD Card in a file manager. The "base", so to speak.
 
thepook said:
Hmmm, but it says to only do this "if I really need to". Do I?
Yes, yes you do. Until they get everything working the way it was meant to, you'll need every hotfix. At some point in the future, hotfixes will no doubt be minor security updates or some extra useful features or things like that, but right now they're actual fixes to the fundamental OS; you need them.
 
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The thought occurs that thepook may be looking at the reflashing instructions, rather than the Hotfix instructions and download link, which is a bit further down that page. :p
 
WizardStan said:
Yes, yes you do. Until they get everything working the way it was meant to, you'll need every hotfix. At some point in the future, hotfixes will no doubt be minor security updates or some extra useful features or things like that, but right now they're actual fixes to the fundamental OS; you need them.

Gotcha.

Prometheus said:
The thought occurs that thepook may be looking at the reflashing instructions, rather than the Hotfix instructions and download link, which is a bit further down that page. :p

Ohhhhh...I see now. I was def. confused w/Hotfix vs. reflash!


Prometheus said:
As for the root directory, it just means what you see when you double-click on your SD Card in a file manager. The "base", so to speak.

Okay; easy enough.

Prometheus said:
How did you format your SD Card? This is generally how you would know. ;)

Um...I didn't! I popped it in, and started making folders, and they seemed to work (in terms of being able to see them). D'OH! Is that it?

With my Dingoo, I just threw a card in, and all worked fine. Didn't format it...
 
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If you just put the card in, chances are it was formatted as FAT32 at the place of manufacture, so this shouldn't really be an issue.
 
Okay - all of the PNG files on my SD cards refuse to execute, including codecs and hotfix.

I found my internal memory's desktop folder, but I don't want to execute from there, right?
 
Are you absolutely certain you're putting them in the right directory on your SD card? /pandora/desktop for the desktop, and /pandora/menu for the menu (/pandora/apps for both)
 
thepook said:
Okay - all of the PND files on my SD cards refuse to execute, including codecs and hotfix.

I found my internal memory's desktop folder, but I don't want to execute from there, right?
FTFY*

How are you trying to execute them? Do the icons appear on the desktop or the menu? IIRC the Desktop folder isnt even in the default PND search path so no reason to drop them there. OTOH the icons will appear in your desktop if you put them in the pandora/desktop folder in your SD, so in a way you do want to execute them from your desktop, its just that what you're clicking isnt the PND file but a .desktop file (think of a shortcut in windows) used to launch them.

*
xD'd at PNG files fail to execute
 
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WizardStan said:
Are you absolutely certain you're putting them in the right directory on your SD card? /pandora/desktop for the desktop, and /pandora/menu for the menu (/pandora/apps for both)

Good question. I really don't know.

Here's what I see, and what I'm doing:

*Click SD card icon ("SD/MMC Drive")
*Top of pop-up window: "mmcblk1p1 - File Manager"
*Underneath: drive icon, "media" button, "mmcblk1p1" button (look like directories)
*Icons on side, top to bottom: (my username), Trash, Desktop, File System, SD/MMC Drive, SD/MMC Drive
*In the window: "pandora" folder
*In "pandora" folder: "menu" folder
*In "menu" folder: CodecPack.pnd and HotFix3-Zaxxon.pnd. Neither will execute....
 
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thepook said:
WizardStan said:
Are you absolutely certain you're putting them in the right directory on your SD card? /pandora/desktop for the desktop, and /pandora/menu for the menu (/pandora/apps for both)

Good question. I really don't know.

Here's what I see, and what I'm doing:

*Click SD card icon ("SD/MMC Drive")
*Top of pop-up window: "mmcblk1p1 - File Manager"
*Underneath: drive icon, "media" button, "mmcblk1p1" button (look like directories)
*Icons on side, top to bottom: (my username), Trash, Desktop, File System, SD/MMC Drive, SD/MMC Drive
*In the window: "pandora" folder
*In "pandora" folder: "menu" folder
*In "menu" folder: CodecPack.pnd and HotFix3-Zaxxon.pnd. Neither will execute....
You cant execute them from the file manager, but according to that structure, they should be somewhere in your XFCE menu (the big one that you can get from the lower left corner of the screen). I dont remember their categories right now, so go search for Codec Pack and HotFix 3 in there... (was)


EDIT: Frak it, if you cant find them in the menu (i couldnt, WTF'd), just make a folder named "desktop" in the pandora folder and move them there... Or maybe even rename menu folder to desktop...

EDIT2: Oh great works for you then (my pandora OS could be a bit over-tuned...)...
 
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urjaman said:
thepook said:
WizardStan said:
Are you absolutely certain you're putting them in the right directory on your SD card? /pandora/desktop for the desktop, and /pandora/menu for the menu (/pandora/apps for both)

Good question. I really don't know.

Here's what I see, and what I'm doing:

*Click SD card icon ("SD/MMC Drive")
*Top of pop-up window: "mmcblk1p1 - File Manager"
*Underneath: drive icon, "media" button, "mmcblk1p1" button (look like directories)
*Icons on side, top to bottom: (my username), Trash, Desktop, File System, SD/MMC Drive, SD/MMC Drive
*In the window: "pandora" folder
*In "pandora" folder: "menu" folder
*In "menu" folder: CodecPack.pnd and HotFix3-Zaxxon.pnd. Neither will execute....
You cant execute them from the file manager, but according to that structure, they should be somewhere in your XFCE menu (the big one that you can get from the lower left corner of the screen). I dont remember their categories right now, so go search for Codec Pack and HotFix 3 in there... (was)

Awesome, thanks. Found them under system. HotFix3 is running...I'll post my progress.
 
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HotFix3 installed. Now I've got a red light on the left side of my Pandora. I thought these things were supposed to have some silkscreened icons or something to tell me what the lighs mean...

Codec pack installed. Now to try some emulators...
 
thepook said:
HotFix3 installed. Now I've got a red light on the left side of my Pandora. I thought these things were supposed to have some silkscreened icons or something to tell me what the lighs mean...

Codec pack installed. Now to try some emulators...
That's propably the wifi LED, works better with than without HF3. Leds: SD1,SD2,Wifi,BT --- hinge --- empty,empty,charge,power. Silkscreening was left out (could have been poorly aligned and could have caused more delays), anyways doesnt the quick start guide contain also the LED assignments (i dont remember)?.
 
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thepook said:
HotFix3 installed. Now I've got a red light on the left side of my Pandora. I thought these things were supposed to have some silkscreened icons or something to tell me what the lighs mean...
They were originally, but then they decided they didn't have time for that (to the praise of some and criticism of others)
The red light is the wifi led. On the far left is SD slot one activity (blinks as you read and write to slot one), the second one is SD slot two activity; these are both green. The red light comes on when the wifi module is on (even if it isn't connected) and turns off when the module is disabled. There's still a bug with it: if you disable the wifi and then re-enable it, it does not turn the LED back on. The fourth one on the left is for bluetooth; I don't know what colour it is.
On the right, you've got power and charge, plus two empty pads where someone with a skilled hand can solder on two of their own LEDs for custom blinking.
 
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