Installing linux on rpi remotely

[cpu2007]

Hello everyone, I'm new to raspberry pi and would like some advice on how to set it up.

I have previously used linux/ubuntu and have some basic knowledge of it but I'd say that i'm not that fluent when it comes to using this OS.

I have purchased a rpi 512mb and would like to install the wheezy distribution remotely as I don't have keyboards and mouse, and looking to install it in my home and use it remotely anyway. Is it possible to do this ?

THank you

[texy]

Hi and welcome to the forum,
the OS isn't installed as such for the Pi like you would a conventional PC. The OS is downloaded as an image onto the SD card remotely - not whilst it is fitted to the Pi.
On a conventional PC, there are many different hardware options, but on the Pi this base hard is the same, no no need to a hardware of driver to install.
Hope this helps,
Texy

[cpu2007]

Thank you for the answer. If I understand this correctly your saying that I should install the wheeze distribution on the sd card and then access it through a virtual machine, install all the relevant drivers to make it accessable through and then finally put it inside the rpi right?
or do I have to modify it and then install it into the sd card?

[Cloudcentric]

er no you download the Raspbian "wheezy" in zip format, unpack the zip, which gives you an .IMG. http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads

The .IMG needs to be copied to an SD Card see: http://elinux.org/RPi_Easy_SD_Card_Setup

Once the SD Card is created you slot in the Pi and boot up see: http://debianarmpi.blogspot.co.uk

[rurwin]

You don't need to load any drivers, but you can log in to the Pi remotely using SSH and do whatever you need, once you have done the SD card stuff above.

[cpu2007]

The link above contains a tutorial that shows how to setup a raspberry pi while connected to a tv through hdmi, keyboards and mouse; My question was about having access to it without connecting it to a monitor.

I'd like to setup the wheezy distribution(which I already did) into the sd card and put it inside my rpi,once this is done, I want to be able to access my rpi through my laptop using ssh so that I can see everything on the screen of my laptop.

How can I achieve this?

[rurwin]

Connect the RaspPi to your router using an Ethernet cable. Then install putty on your PC and then connect to the RaspPi with ssh. The difficult part is finding out the IP address of the raspPi.

• If you have iTunes installed, then you can connect to "RaspberryPi.local".
• If you can go to the router's webpage, you can find the IP address that it has leased to the RaspPi. Probably on the DHCP page.
• If you have an Android or iOS device, install "Fing" and it will tell you the IP addresses of everything on your network.
• Install "nmap" on your PC and it will tell you the same, but be aware that it can make IT admins ask you difficult questions, since it is used by hackers.
• Find the IP address of your PC and try different addresses, varying the final number, until you strike lucky.

[cpu2007]

Thank you

I already have the IP address of my device as I can find it through my router or using advanced ip scanner(just a side question, on my win7 os when I run advance ip scanner, after that I can't browser anymore through any browser,even once the sacnning is complete and the program is shut,however if i ping through command line, everything seems fine)

basically my question was regarding the blind remote access,which i finally found a guide online.

So after installing wheeze, I used putty to connect to the ip and used the login name and password to access my rpi; I wasn't aware of this last stage as I thought this was a stage that needs to be configured before being able to access rpi remotely.


Can I access the system through a GUI?

[rurwin]

Yes. Install Xming on the PC. Then, when you start the session in putty, check the X11 tunnelling checkbox. Then when you've logged in to the Pi, give the command "lxsession &".

Note for anyone else reading: do not use "lxsession &" on an Apple or Linux box; it will mess up your desktop. It only works well in Windows.

[cpu2007]

I'm not sure where I've read this but is it also possible to open graphical windows through command lines?
For example, in putty, if I run midori, will it open the browser in a window or it is compusory to have xming installed first?

[rurwin]

It's compulsory to install Xming first. Xming is an X server; it give Windows the capability to host X window applications. Or to put it another way, it is a conversion shim between the Linux windows system and the Microsoft Windows system.

[cpu2007]

Thank you for the clarification.

I have installed xming and after reading a guide I have also created a config file using xlaunch.
Unfortunately, I couldn't actually get in the desktop of rpi; i've used startx but it just hangs in there.
However,when i typed "midori", it opened the midori browser interface.

[rurwin]

DO NOT type startx. That starts an X server on the local screen. You are not using the local screen.
Type "lxsession &" instead. That starts an lxde session on your remote screen, ie the Windows PC.

[russdunn]

The OS can be installed remotely provided you have a spare partition with enough space to satisfy that required by the root file system.

An example would be to use one of the following
- A third partition that was set up prior to expanding the file system.
- A usb drive partition

Both scenarios are viable provided they are executed correctly.

There is a good tutorial linked below that explains how to remotely reinstall using a USB partition. The only catch is that the USB obviously needs to be plugged in which unless already is the case, is quite hard to achieve remotely!

http://www.binarycents.com/raspberry-pi ... e-install/

Disclaimer - I am the author of the above tutorial