DeskPi Pro

Description

The DeskPi Pro is a hardware kit for converting a standard Raspberry Pi 4 from a naked SBC, with limited storage, into a mini PC complete with a power button, cooling, better ports and, via SATA then USB3, 2.5" or M.2 SATA SSD storage.

Note: Support M.2 SATA SSD only, Does not support M.2 NVME SSD

Purchase

shoppingchart DeskPi Pro

Currently tested operating systems that can support Deskpi scripts

  • Raspberry Pi OS(32bit) - tested
  • RaspiOS (64bit) - tested
  • Ubuntu-mate OS(32bit) - tested
  • Ubuntu OS (64bit) - tested
  • Manjaro OS (32bit) - tested
  • Manjaro OS (64bit) - To be tested
  • Kali-linux-arm OS (32bit) - tested
  • Kali-linux-arm OS (64-Bit) - To be tested
  • Twister OS v2.0.2 (32bit) - tested
  • DietPi OS (64bit) - tested
  • Volumio OS Version: 2021-04-24-Pi (32bit) - tested
  • RetroPie OS (32bit) - tested

Please Read this section carefully

  • if you are using 64bit OS, The script to control the fan is in the drivers/c/ directory. The file suffix with 64 means 64bit, and the other one is a 32bit executable file.
  • Before you install this script, please make sure your Raspberry Pi can access internet and can access github website.

How to install it.

For Raspbian and RetroPie OS. (32bit)

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

For Ubuntu 64bit OS

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-ubuntu-64.sh
sudo ./install-ubuntu-64.sh

For Ubuntu-mate OS

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-ubuntu-mate.sh
sudo ./install-ubuntu-mate.sh

For Manjaro OS

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-manjaro.sh
sudo ./install-manjaro.sh

For Kali-linux-arm OS.

  • Image Download URL: https://images.kali.org/arm-images/kali-linux-2020.3a-rpi3-nexmon.img.xz 
    cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-kali.sh
sudo ./install-kali.sh

For Twister OS v2.0.2

OS image: TwisterOSv2-0-2.img * Image Download URL:https://twisteros.com/twisteros.html 

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

For 64 bit Raspberry Pi OS (aarm64)

  • Image Download URL: http://downloads.raspberrypi.org/raspios_arm64/images/raspios_arm64-2021-05-28/

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-raspios-64bit.sh
sudo ./install-raspios-64bit.sh
* Uninstall: 
cd ~/deskpi/
chmod +x install-raspios-64bit.sh
sudo ./uninstall-raspios-64bit.sh

For DietPi OS 64bit

  • Make sure your OS can access internet and please install git first.
  • Execute this command in terminal: 
    apt-get update && apt-get -y install git
  • Image Download URL: https://dietpi.com/downloads/images/DietPi_RPi-ARMv8-Bullseye.7z
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd ~/deskpi/
./install.sh

For Volumio OS Version: 2021-04-24-Pi

  • Image Download URL: https://updates.volumio.org/pi/volumio/2.882/volumio-2.882-2021-04-24-pi.img.zip
  • Getting Start:　https://volumio.github.io/docs/User_Manual/Quick_Start_Guide.html
  • Make sure your Volumio can access internet.
  • There are some steps need to do.
sudo nano /etc/network/interface

make sure following parameters in file /etc/network/interface 

auto wlan0 
allow-hotplug wlan0 
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid "YOUR WIFI SSID"
wpa-psk "YOUR WIFI PASSWORD"

and enable the internet access by typing this command in terminal:

volumio internet on

and then reboot your DeskPi.

sudo reboot
  • Download DeskPi driver from github:
git clone https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git
cd deskpi/
sudo ./install.sh
  • TEST it after rebooting.

deskpi-config
Select 4 and press Enter, you would see the fan is spinning and the front USB port are now available.

How to Uninstall deskpi

DeskPi-uninstall
And then select the number against to your OS Type.

For Windows IoT OS

  • Unsupported due to lacking of driver.
  • Testing version: Midnight falcon

How to control fan speed mannualy.

  • Open a terminal and typing following command:
deskpi-config

You can follow the instructions to setup fan speed level by typing numbers as following example:

Selection explain

  • The number from 1 to 4 is to setting your fan speed to a static level.

  • Number 5 is just turn off the fan.

  • Number 6 is to guide you to create a file located to /etc/deskpi.conf and you can specify the threshold of temperature and fan speed level according to your idea, once the file has been created, the program will according to the configuration file to setup your fan.

  • Number 7 is to enable automatic fan control by default paramaters.

** Default arguments: 

TEMP   : Fan_SPEED_LEVEL
<40C   : 0%  
40~50C : 25%  
50~65C : 50%  
65~75C : 75%  
>75C   : 100%

Example

** If you want to change it, just typing :

deskpi-config

Select 6 and then input 45 and enter, and then input 50 means setup the fan speed level to 50% when CPU temp is above 45 degree it has 4 level to setup. NOTE: 50% Speed level means you have already send PWM50 to /dev/ttyUSB0 port, and this port will available when you add dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host to /boot/config.txt file and reboot your DeskPi.

How to boot from USB SSD/HDD?

After initial Raspberry Pi Configuration and once you have Internet Connectivity established, Install the DeskPi Pro Utilities from https://github.com/DeskPi-Team/deskpi.git

Open a Terminal / Console and run the following commands: 

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo rpi-update

When complete, run:

sudo reboot

Upon reboot, open Terminal again:

sudo raspi-config
* go to Advanced Options * Select Boot Order, select #1 USB Boot, Return to Advanced Options, * Select Boot Loader Version, choose Latest Version * Save & exit

Reboot again (to restart with new settings)

sudo reboot

After reboot, re-open Terminal again

sudo -E rpi-eeprom-config --edit
  • do not change anything, it is unnecessary
  • press Ctrl-X to save, answer Y to overwrite file.

sudo reboot
Now you are ready to install Raspberry-OS onto your USB Boot Device. You can use the Raspberry Imager from www.raspberrypi.org website. Depending on device the new SD Card Copier can transfer the SD-Card image to the USB Device (ensure you select generate a new UUID). Once your USB drive is imaged & ready to boot, shutdown your Deskpi-Pro, remove the SD-Card and power-up to boot from the USB Boot drive, once running & configured you can install your additional software and proceed as usual.

How to Use IR function onboard.

  1. You need to enable gpio-ir function by modify /boot/config.txt file. uncomment this line if not exsit please add it.
dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
  1. Install lirc package:
sudo apt-get install lirc
  1. Modify configuration file on location: /etc/lirc/lirc_options.conf and make sure it has following parameters:
driver          = default
device          = /dev/lirc0
  1. Reboot your Raspberry Pi and test it with following command:
mode2 -d /dev/lirc1

FAQs

OS Issues

What operating systems are currently tested on DeskPi Pro and works fine?

Dose it support 64bit OS such as Ubuntu 20.10?

  • It depends on Raspberry Pi offical support, we suggest that you can refer to offical source here:Raspberry Pi OS.

Front USB Issues

Why the USB on the front panel of my DESKPI cannot be used? I have burned the system many times?

  • Please check your /boot/config.txt file and make sure it contains dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host, and if you add it by yourself, it need to reboot Raspberry Pi to take effect.

Disk drive Issues

Why does my SSD hard drive not work normally after my Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard dongle is connected to DeskPi?

  • Because the 2.4G frequency used by Logitech's mouse and keyboard interferes with DeskPi's USB transfer interface, it will cause the disk to work in an unstable state. This problem with Logitech's keyboard and mouse also occurs on desktop computers. The current solution is best to replace the wireless keyboard and mouse or use a wired keyboard and mouse.

Why is it normal when I start the Raspberry Pi with a TF card, but the SATA SSD hard disk cannot appear on the desktop?

  • The disk cannot be displayed on the desktop may be caused by the following reasons:
  • Hardware connection - The hardware is not connected properly, such as forgetting to install the USB adapter.
  • Not Initialized Before - The SATA SSD hard disk is a RAW Disk, the brand new one has not been partitioned, formatted, or mounted.
  • Unavailable file system format - file sytem format not recognized by the Linux system is used, for example: NTFS

Solution and diagnostic

  • Reconnect SATA SSD to DeskPi Disk Adapter board
  • Format partitions and mount disks manually - Following steps: 
      1. Open a terminal or press "Ctrl+Alt+T".
  2. Typing: "sudo fdisk -l" to check if the disk has been recognized or typing: "sudo lsusb -t", typing: "dmesg |grep -i usb" to make sure disk has been connected.
  3. If the disk can be found by those commands, manually format and mount the partition:  
   for example: 
   3.1 `sudo fdisk /dev/sda` - sda means my first SCSI type disk which recognized by my system.
   3.2 `p` - typing `p` means print current partions that contains on the disk.
   3.3 `n` - new partion -> `p` - primary partion -> `1` -> partion number -> `Enter`-> first celinder -> `Enter` last celinder -> make the whole disk as a partion -> `w` - write the partion table to disk and quit. 
   3.4 `sudo partprobe /dev/sda` - make it recognized by linux kernel.
   3.5 `mkdir /home/pi/mydata` - create mounting directory.
   3.6 `sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1` - format partion `/dev/sda1` to `ext4` type which support `journal` on data saving.
   3.7 `sudo mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /home/pi/mydata` - mount the partion to mount point so that we can access it.
   3.8 `sudo chmod -R 777 /home/pi/mydata` - Set premission to the folder so that we can write and read date to disk.
  4. How To Automount File Systems on Raspbian(Linux)
   4.1 `sudo blkid` - Get the Name, In the output of this command, the first column is the name of your drives. The second column is the label of the drive (if you set a label for it) and the third column is the UUID of your drives.
First you need to know the name of the drive that is going to be automatically mounted. 
   4.2 `sudo nano /etc/fstab` - [Dangerous] If the operation fails, the system will not start, add your partion information and let it auto mount after rebooting, We need to append one line of code at the end of the file. The format of this line of code is as follows:
`UUID=<uuid-of-your-drive>  <mount-point>  <file-system-type>  <mount-option>  <dump>  <pass>`
* Note that you need to separate these items with `Tab key`. For example, I added the following line to the end of /etc/fstab.
`UUID=eb67c479-962f-4bcc-b3fe-cefaf908f01e  /home/pi/mydata  ext4  defaults  0  2`
Save and close the file. Then run the following command to see if it works.
* `sudo mount -a` - Test automount.
* `df -Th` - Check if there is a partion has been mounted on /home/pi/mydata.

Some Explanations

  • The defaults mount option will give users read and write access to the file system.
  • The value of dump field is usually zero.
  • The pass field is used by the fsck program to determine the order in which filesystem checks are done at reboot time. As you can see in this file, the value of the pass field for the root file system is 1. Swap partitions do not need to be checked and the value for them is zero. All other file systems should have a value of 2. So I set the pass value as 2 for my drive.

HDMI issue

My screen goes to black when I was booting up my deskpi.

  • Please try to shift HDMI cable from HDMI0 to HDMI1 which is beside 3.5mm audio jack and try again.

USB booting issue

Why does it take so much time when I boot it from USB booting?

  • It seems to be some tough question, some issues may caused by the usb controller chip performance issue.

HOWTOs

How to check OS Version

  • Open a terminal and typing: 
    lsb_release -a
  • Check the kernel version: 
    uname -a

How to check wifi connection status

  • Open a terminal and typing: 
    ifconfig -a
  • Wi-Fi adapter is called wlan0

How to check wifi signal level?

sudo apt update 
sudo apt -y install wavemon
sudo wavemon -i wlan0
Wavemon

  • Check if Raspberry Pi can connect to Internet 

    ping -c 4 wwww.apache.org

  • Check if DNS configuration is correctly. 

    cat /etc/resolv.conf
    make sure the nameserver is available, if not, please contact to your ISP(Internet Service Provider).

How to check SSD/HDD status

  • Check if the SSD/HDD has been recognized by OS, just check USB controller's status will be ok due to it is connected via an USB adapter. 
    dmesg |grep -i usb
  • Check if the it supports UASP, USB Attached SCSI (UAS) or USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) is a computer protocol used to move data to and from USB storage devices such as hard drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and thumb drives. UAS depends on the USB protocol, and uses the standard SCSI command set. Use of UAS generally provides faster transfers compared to the older USB Mass Storage Bulk-Only Transport (BOT) drivers.

UAS was introduced as part of the USB 3.0 standard, but can also be used with devices complying with the slower USB 2.0 standard, assuming use of compatible hardware, firmware and drivers. * Command: 

lsusb -t
If you can not find uas in the output message, it means it does not support uasp. if not, and the disk still not show up on your Raspberry Pi desktop, please check your hardware and repeat following steps:

Hareware checking steps:

  1. Please make sure the USB adapter is connect well.
  2. Please check the harddisk adapter board's 4Pin pinheader is connect properly.
  3. Please tell me what kind of OS did you use? Raspbian OS ?
  4. Please use the wall charger that we provide in the package.
  5. Please send us the result of those commands in terminal so that we can help you to diagnose the problem.
  6. Reboot your Raspberry Pi by typing: 
    sudo sync
sudo reboot

Software checking steps:

  1. Make sure the drive can be recognized. 
    sudo fdisk -l |grep -i 'dev'
    or 
    lsusb -t
    or 
    lsblk
  2. Make sure the drive is not raw disk or has NTFS filesystem on it. here /dev/sda is my test result, you shall change this as your result from sudo fdisk -l |grep -i 'dev' command. 
    sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda
    If it is a raw disk, means it has never been partied before, you need to make partition and format it, and mount it to a directory so that you can access it.
  3. Make Partitions 
    sudo fdisk /dev/sda
p
n
p
1
Enter
Enter
w

Explanation:

** p means: print partition table. **
** n means: new - create new partition. **
** p means: primary partition.
** 1 means: the first partition number. **
** Enter means: select default cylinder as start cylinder.
** Enter means: select the whole disk as end cylinder. **
** w means: save the change to partition table and quit. **

  1. Format partition 

    sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1
    It will format /dev/sda1 partition to an ext4 type filesystem which can be supported by most Linux distributions.

  2. Mount partition You need to mount the partition to a folder(directory) before you can use it. 

    cd 
mkdir mydata
sudo mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 mydata -v
sudo chmod 777 /home/pi/mydata

Explanation:

cd means go back to your home directory.
mkdir means create a directory for your partition.
sudo mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 mydata -v means mount /dev/sda1 partition to directory mydata with ext4 type filesystem format and -v will show the details when you mount this partition.
sudo chmod 777 /home/pi/mydata means everyone can have full privilledges on this mounting point. you have read,write, execute permission on this directory.

How to check if it has been mounted on

df -Th
or 
sudo mount

How to check front USB port

  • First, you need to check if /boot/config.txt file contains this parameter: 
    dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
    The front USB function is coming from dwc2 overlay, it selects the dwc2 USB controller driver, and dr_mode can be host, peripheral or otg. here, dwc2 mode must be host.
  • And if you want to add it without editing /boot/config.txt file manually, just typing this command in a terminal:
sudo sed -i '$a\dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host' /boot/config.txt

How to check HDMI configuration

  • Some people give us a feedback said there is a black screen when booting up Raspberry pi in a deskPi case, it may caused by several reasons.

Solution 1

  • You can solve this problem by according steps:
  • Modify /boot/config.txt file and adding this: 
    hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_group=2
config_hdmi_boost=4
  • Save it and reboot Raspberry Pi. 
    sudo sync
sudo reboot

Solution 2

  • Unplug HDMI cable and shift it to HDMI1 which is near by 3.5mm audio jack.

Solution 3

  • Change Resolution on desktop by click raspberry icon and select the app according to following picture.
  • Navigate to Screen Configuration Resolution1
  • Navigate to configure-> Screens -> HDMI-1 or HDMI-2 -> Resolution -> Select whatever your Screens Resolution is. Resolution2
  • Apply the change. Resolution3

How to check IR remote

  • Enable gpio-ir function by editing /boot/config.txt file. 

    dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17

  • Install lirc software. 

    sudo apt-get -y install lirc

  • Modify configuration file /etc/lirc/lirc_options.conf and make sure it contains those two parameters: 

    driver  = default
device  = /dev/lirc0

  • Save it and reboot Raspberry Pi. 

    sudo sync
sudo reboot

  • Test it by: 
    mode2 -d /dev/lirc1
    NOTE Please aim your IR remote controller direct to the power button. and different IR remote controller may have different response time.

How to check audio output

  • The audio output can be two ways: 3.5mm jack, HDMI cable. If you connect HDMI cable to your DeskPi on HDMI0 port which is beside USB-C Port on the back of the panel, it will be recognized by Raspbian OS as HDMI-1, and the other one is recognized as HDMI-2

How to change audio output.

  • Right Click the sound icon on the task bar. Audio Configure
  • And select which one you want to output:
    Analog - It will change audio output to 3.5mm jack.
    HDMI-1 - It will change audio output to HDMI0.
    HDMI-2 - It will change audio output to HDMI1.
  • And then restart your application you will heard the sound.

DeskPi home

More Product and information please visit: DeskPi Home