Install OSMC on Raspberry Pi headless?

[stuzog]

Is it possible to install OSMC on a Raspberry Pi 2 headless? I’ve tried putting the RP2 downloaded OSMC_TGT_rbp2_20150830.img onto a 16GB SD card using Pi Filer on OS X but the setup doesn’t have SSH turned on by default, so it doesn’t appear on the local Ethernet and I can’t install from it.

Is there a config.txt file that, or adding something to the config.txt file that would allow this, or is this not possible?

[DBMandrake]

@stuzog

Is it possible to install OSMC on a Raspberry Pi 2 headless?

Yes, just image the SD card as normal then boot from it on the Pi - wait at least 15 minutes so it has plenty of time to finish installing. You can pre-configure static IP’s if you like from the installer.

@stuzog

I’ve tried putting the RP2 downloaded OSMC_TGT_rbp2_20150830.img onto a 16GB SD card using Pi Filer on OS X

Do you have something against the OSMC installer ? I don’t know what Pi Filer is so can’t speak for whether it will write the image correctly. Another way that would probably work on Mac OS X (although I have not tried it) is to unzip the image (from .img.gz to .img) then use Disk Utility to write the image to disk.

A third option is to use dd from a command line but you must be very careful to identify the correct drive (using ‘diskutil list’) so that you don’t wipe your hard drive…

@stuzog

but the setup doesn’t have SSH turned on by default, so it doesn’t appear on the local Ethernet and I can’t install from it.

On the contrary, a fresh install does have SSH enabled, so if you are unable to log in via SSH then the install has failed.

[stuzog]

After searching on the web, I found out how to use the installer. Who’d have thunk it was done from the Mac? Very nice – but it would really help if there was some documentation or instruction on how to do this – unless there is and I missed it. Now I can at least access via SSH; the next step is to set up VNC. Which VNC server runs on OSMC?

[Katze]

@stuzog

Which VNC server runs on OSMC?

This one:

[HowTo] Install a vnc server on the Raspberry pi

Update 2021 (November) @MarkusLange, has updated his script (check the 2019 update bellow for the link and instructions) to take care of the KMS/fKMS problem with the Pi4 if you are using Kodi version >=19.1, as seen here: [HowTo] Install a vnc server on the Raspberry pi - #482 by MarkusLange So just use his script to install vnc server on your pi…It is safer than doing it manually. Update 2021 (September) In order to make it work on the Pi4, after installation do the following: Update 201…

[stuzog]

Thanks, done.

[stuzog]

How does one make the viewer window larger? I have an iMac and want to use more of the screen. At the moment, it comes up too small to read the text easily.

[Katze]

@stuzog

How does one make the viewer window larger? I have an iMac and want to use more of the screen. At the moment, it comes up too small to read the text easily.

I’d guess that would depend on your VNC client. Look for a Scaling option, maybe?

[2ells]

@stuzog

would really help if there was some documentation or instruction on how to do this

I’ve just been through the whole process for the first time of installing OSMC on the Raspberry Pi and configuring Kodi with some additional repos. I’ve set the Pi up for headless access as well so can update and try things from my PC while it sits under my TV … managed to do most of the setup headless as well (you should be able to do the whole headless if you wish).

As I had to rely on a number of different sources to get through the whole process I thought I would document what I did, mainly for my own reference and understanding but it may be of help to others setting up for the first time too.

You can see it here… www.2ells.co.uk