Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about BerryBoot

BerryBoot is a universal Operating System (OS) installer that enables multiple operating systems and applications to be downloaded to a local storage device attached to the Raspberry Pi. The operating systems are presented in a menu at boot-up and the user-selected operating system is launched and remains active until the system is re-booted. BerryBoot is provided to the community by its creator, Floris Bos, who launched it many years ago under a Simplified BSD license, and has since been well-received by the community. WDLabs is providing BerryBoot (via download and preloaded on SDcards) to simplify the task of installing and setting up software on Raspberry Pi, particularly in set-ups with mass-storage. It’s intended as an easy introduction to new use cases.

Yes. Operating systems are converted to SquashFS format to run under BerryBoot. There are a few limitations with the BerryBoot versions. Please see below:

• Operating system updates can’t be performed via the operating system menu or automatic updates (updates may download but won’t be installed. This is covered in more detail in a section below). The BerryBoot operating system download list may offer older operating system revisions. Manual update may be possible in some cases by placing the operating system's new SYSTEM file in BerryBoot’s storage/.update folder.
• File sharing between operating systems may require file permissions to be set manually (more info below).
• Because SquashFS is a compressed file system, there may be some performance and latency issues compared to a standard file system.

In many/most cases, the benefits of BerryBoot may outweigh the few limitations above. However, using a stand-alone operating system version is an alternative.

WDLabs has been working with BerryBoot’s creator, Floris Bos, to provide access to additional operating systems for download. These additional downloadable selections are in the Featured tab in the download list. This is a special implementation in the version of BerryBoot provided by WDLabs. The additional operating system selections are focused on mass-storage use with Raspberry Pi.

The list of offerings may change over time.

Yes, but file access permissions for each file and user need to be adjusted appropriately for proper access. The BerryBoot default configuration does not provide access from each operating system.

See standard Linux® constructs for complete understanding of file permissions.

You can use the chown command to set access permissions. However, this will be done at your own risk:

Example for setting up a shared folder:

Updates normally initiated within individual operating systems won’t work. BerryBoot uses SquashFS versions of the operating system (compressed images). If attempting to perform an update, the new operating system image may be downloaded but won’t be installed. Turn off automatic updates within the operating system; otherwise a new download will result each time. In some cases, updates may be done manually.

From the BerryBoot GUI menu one can set the access SSID and password:

1. On the BerryBoot main menu, select Edit Menu.
2. Click on the >> at the right side of the menu bar to open the extended menu.
3. Click on Advanced configuration.
4. Click on wpa_supplicant.conf and edit the SSID and password with the information of the router being used.
5. Exit the menus. BerryBoot will restart and connect to the access point.

There’s no way to change to a Wi-Fi connection after initially setting-up BerryBoot for a wired connection. A fresh installation is needed (re-format the SDcard, uncompress the BerryBoot zip file to the SDcard, etc.).

Critical: A fresh install will wipe out all data on SDcard and HDD.

SquashFS versions of the new operating systems or new operating systems can be created. For more information, see the BerryBoot links below:

• BerryBoot Terminal.
• BerryBoot Configuration & Installer.
• WD Labs Community.

This activity is normal behavior. BerryBoot is formatting the storage device to its default EXT4 file system. This operation can take some time to complete (upwards of 30 minutes). Downloading and/or running operating systems during this formatting process may cause download or operating system delays/hangs. For best results, wait until formatting is completed.

BerryBoot is presented and supported, including installation and usage information, by its creator, Floris Bos. Please see the link BerryBoot Configuration & Installer.

The WD Labs Community forum is also available for exchanging information with other users.

There’s online info provided by the individual operating systems and their communities. BerryBoot-related operating system information is not separately organized; however, BerryBoot is discussed on community forums, including the WD Labs Community forum.

These operating systems operate as headless servers (operated via network using a computer, phone, tablet, etc.):

motionEye:

• Launch motionEye from the BerryBoot operating system menu.
• Note the dynamic IP address presented at the end of the boot-up screen output.
• Use a browsing device (PC, phone, tablet, etc.) connected to the same network as the Raspberry Pi and browse to http://xxx.xxx.xx.x:80 (replace xxx.xxx.xx.x with the dynamic IP address noted above).
• Log in to motionEye (user: admin, password: {blank})

ownCloud:

• Launch ownCloud from the BerryBoot operating system menu.
• Note the dynamic IP address presented at the end of the boot-up screen output.
• Use a browsing device connected to the same network as the Raspberry Pi and browse to http://xxx.xxx.xx.x:80 (replace xxx.xxx.xx.x with the dynamic IP address noted above)
• Setup new ownCloud account (or login to existing).
• Use ownCloud via desktop and mobile ownCloud apps (see ownCloud documentation at doc.owncloud.org).

Screenly:

• After Screenly boots up, a URL will be briefly presented on the screen. It may take 1-2 minutes to reach this point. After brief presentation of the URL, Screenly will play some default material.
• Use a browsing device connected to the same network as the Raspberry Pi and browse to the URL.
• The Screenly web app will launch where you can set up content for playback.

PressPi:

• Launch PressPi from the BerryBoot operating system menu.
• Note the dynamic IP address presented at the end of the boot-up screen output.
• Use a browsing device connected to the same network as the Raspberry Pi and browse to http://xxx.xxx.xx.x:80 (replace xxx.xxx.xx.x with the dynamic IP address noted above).
• PressPi web app will launch.