I made a Raspberry PI Laptop

[samighi11]

hackaroto wrote: "Edit your config file."

Could you please specify the entire path of the config file? Where is it in the filesystem?

Where in the config file do I copy and paste your script? At the beginning of the config file or the end?

This raspberry pi forum is not newbie friendly nor student friendly. I should not have to ask simple questions for clarification.

If I understand the question, config.txt is in /boot FAT partition.

I am using 5 Lapdock Atrix with Model A, B 256 and B 512 for a class enviroment. None of them needed any editing and show up in 1300x cleanly. Very rarely does mine come up and not in full screen. I just reboot, and I am fine. i suspect that is due to faulty HDMI connection due to straing. I recently got some better cables and will link and provide my feedback on how to cable better/best.

I am starting to gather the 100 is totally different. I don't have one to test out. If I come across one, I will provide my feedback.

[Jimakos]

Hey guys, few months ago i had made a Lapdock to Pi converter for my lapdock. The story is, my lapdock now is broken, so i'm am selling the converter. Video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGt2EmQEo8), latest photos here (http://share.pho.to/45sw7). Waiting offers.

[tulblut]

I'm trying to connect my Raspi model B 512MB (a chinese RS unit) to an Atrix Lapdock but I have power issues. I'm powering Raspi through the microusb port of the lapdock (I split power and signal cables routing the first to the microusb of the raspi and the second to the Raspi USB).
The raspi boots and everything seems fine, but after a couple of minutes it halts without any reason.
Anyone have a similar issue?

[samighi11]

I'm trying to connect my Raspi model B 512MB (a chinese RS unit) to an Atrix Lapdock but I have power issues. I'm powering Raspi through the microusb port of the lapdock (I split power and signal cables routing the first to the microusb of the raspi and the second to the Raspi USB).
The raspi boots and everything seems fine, but after a couple of minutes it halts without any reason.
Anyone have a similar issue?

Please describe your issue a bit more. Does the system power off? or halt?

I have several of these and they appear to be OK. I have found with several Pi cases, the micro-USB connector doesn't fully fit into the micro-USB power. it powers up and runs, but If I touch the box, the connector becomes loose and power is lost. I resolved this by not touching it or getting a longer micro-SD male connector. If this should close to your situation, remove the Pi from the case and reply back your status.

[johnbeetem]

I'm trying to connect my Raspi model B 512MB (a chinese RS unit) to an Atrix Lapdock but I have power issues. I'm powering Raspi through the microusb port of the lapdock (I split power and signal cables routing the first to the microusb of the raspi and the second to the Raspi USB).
The raspi boots and everything seems fine, but after a couple of minutes it halts without any reason.
Anyone have a similar issue?

You might be having a problem with polyfuse F3 overheating: see RasPi Troubleshooting Wiki. If your Model B has no F1 or F2 polyfuses, you can back-power RasPi through a full-size RasPi USB port.

[Tide]

Is it necessary to physically disconnect Lapdock and Pi after shutdown? My model A Pi is powered via the Lapdock itself but I modified it with a switch to cut power to the Pi. After shutting down the OS I simply switch the Pi off and close the lid. Not sure if the Lapdock is happy with it though, you can still hear it humming and probably wondering why there's still something connected

Obviously I'm concerned about wearing out the connectors vs damaging the Lapdock

[Jimakos]

You must cut the CEC/DEC ground in order to shut down the lapdock without disconnecting the pi.

[Tide]

My solution (can't take credit for actually building it this time though!)

[Tide]

You must cut the CEC/DEC ground in order to shut down the lapdock without disconnecting the pi.

Sounds like a HDMI thing on pin 17, am I right?
How would I do that?

[johnbeetem]

You must cut the CEC/DEC ground in order to shut down the lapdock without disconnecting the pi.

Sounds like a HDMI thing on pin 17, am I right?
How would I do that?

For a summary of Atrix Lapdock interfacing, see the RasPi Hardware Wiki. For gory details of the DDC/CEC ground, see my 'blog entry at element14. I set the comments to start with a very elegant hack by Tim Underwood who installed a small switch in a HDMI Micro D female to HDMI A male adapter and posted photos.

[The element14 links were broken at the Wiki -- I fixed them.]

[tulblut]

I'm trying to connect my Raspi model B 512MB (a chinese RS unit) to an Atrix Lapdock but I have power issues. I'm powering Raspi through the microusb port of the lapdock (I split power and signal cables routing the first to the microusb of the raspi and the second to the Raspi USB).
The raspi boots and everything seems fine, but after a couple of minutes it halts without any reason.
Anyone have a similar issue?

Please describe your issue a bit more. Does the system power off? or halt?

I have several of these and they appear to be OK. I have found with several Pi cases, the micro-USB connector doesn't fully fit into the micro-USB power. it powers up and runs, but If I touch the box, the connector becomes loose and power is lost. I resolved this by not touching it or getting a longer micro-SD male connector. If this should close to your situation, remove the Pi from the case and reply back your status.

The power simply went off. It's not a problem of the microsd connector of the pi or the F3 fuse: I tried connecting the microusb of the lapdock to one of the Pi USB ports and it had the same problem.
Now I'm backpowering the Pi from one of the lapdock USB ports and I have another usb cable (with red and black cables cutted) only for signal going from the lapdock microusb to the other Pi USB port.
I used the Pi all day, turbo-overclocked (700-1000MHz), playing OpenArena and surfing the web and everything seems all right but I'm a bit concerned that the power of the lapdock usb ports will be not enough in the long run. I haven't an amperage tester but I'm expecting only 500mA from the lapdock USB ports (as per USB specs), someone can confirm this?
I'm thinking there's something wrong with the microusb in the lapdock itself, but I don't know how to check further...

[Tide]

Thanks, that looks like really useful info John!
Nice writeup too

[ohashi]

So I see some people talking about cutting the power in the USB cable itself. I did not do this and noticed that my pi stays powered through the USB and not via the normal power plug. Is this a bad thing? Just want to make sure I don't need to cut that wire.

Cheers!

[Mortimer]

I have been running mine that way since June 2013, with no problems.

[ohashi]

Thanks, I think the Lapdock 100 is quite different...

...I have found that I can get it to boot an OS through NOOBS v1.3, but an external PSU is required.
Here is my procedure:.
1. Enure lapdock is not powered by mains adaptor and is charged sufficiently.
2. Connect HDMI to Pi.
3. Connect USB to Pi. I have a model B rev 2 so the USB will power the Pi directly. The PI will power on, but not the screen at this point. After 5-10 secs, the lapdock will power off.
4. Now it is fully off, with the lid open, pressing the battery button will start the Pi again with the screen on this time.
5. Noobs boots to the OS selection screen. Now attach an external PSU to the PI through its micro USB socket to ride through the loss of power in the next steps.
6. Select an OS. The Pi will now reboot. Loss of the USB connection will turn the HDMI screen off.
7. Disconnect the USB lead from the lapdock to the Pi. Wait 20 secs or so for the Lapdock to turn off the USB power (The battery switch LED appears to flash when the power is turned off).
8. Reconnect the USB lead from the Lapdock to the Pi.
9. If the screen comes on, great. If not, press the battery button.
10. The screen should come on and display the selected OS.
11. Now you can remove the external PSU to the Pi.

Though a bit tedious, this worked perfect for me. Does anyone have a work around for this process?

Also - has anyone considered cutting into the docking cable on the Lapdoc 100 to get a little more room for the plugs? I whittled the cable housing off both adapters and they are still plugged in tight at a slight angle (see picture) and I had a heck of a time finding the adapters (might order some plain extensions for the micro connectors then put the adapters on those if there's no way to split at the dock cable). I don't have the money sitting around to buy another lapdock if I bungle the process, but if anyone else has done this and can provide some guidance it'd be much appreciated (found a great post where someone took apart the other version of the Lapdock, but none for the 100 model).



Thanks in advance!

[Loonhaunt]

I concur with this. This was my experience with NOOBS 1.3 and Atrix Lapdock 4G: http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt ... 50#p431501

I have tried this a couple of times to no avail. Have you come up with anything since? My screen will come on for about 3 seconds then go away again, I can not continue the process.

DB

[Mortimer]

After the initial install and first run of NOOBS to get Raspbian up and running with a power adapter connected. After that the lapdock and Pi have worked as expected.

[Loonhaunt]

Hi. I have both Atrix Lapdock and Lapdock 100. They indeed behave differently in many aspects. One seems to be the brightness control.

On Atrix lapdock brightness control is builtin and work just fine without the pi noticing anything at all (unlike sound volume control keys which send key codes and must be handled by pi in software).

With Lapdock 100 the brightness control doesn't work for me at all. And sadly the keys do not sent any key codes to the pi so I am not sure how this is supposed to work. However when the pi boots once it detects lapdock's usb keyboard/mouse the brightness is automatically set to maximum! So it looks like maybe it can be software controlled?

Anyone with lapdock 100 can verify how brightness control works for him?
Anyone with lapdock 100 and compatible phone can verify if the brightness is software controlled (i.e. you can change it via android controls from the phone)?

Did you actually get your lapdock 100 to work on a consistant basis. I can't not get my monitor to stay on for more than 2 seconds no matter who's "How To" instructions I follow. I am about to give up on the 100.

[fanoush]

Did you actually get your lapdock 100 to work on a consistant basis. I can't not get my monitor to stay on for more than 2 seconds no matter who's "How To" instructions I follow. I am about to give up on the 100.

Yes, it works for me. Lapdock 100 needs usb to be connected together with hdmi.Then it does not turn off. Also NOOBS system breaks it since it shows the menu/splashscreen and then reboots to your selected system. This momentarily disconnects usb while it reboots to different linux kernel which confuses the lapdock. With normal raspibian without NOOBS it works fine. While it is off with everything connected you can just push the button and the system boots and after shutdown it turns itself off like regular laptop (so there is no need to disconnect anything). The only practical issue is that you cannot do direct reboot, only shutdown and then power on. BTW, I power my PI directly via USB (called backfeeding here).

[Loonhaunt]

Did you actually get your lapdock 100 to work on a consistant basis. I can't not get my monitor to stay on for more than 2 seconds no matter who's "How To" instructions I follow. I am about to give up on the 100.

Yes, it works for me. Lapdock 100 needs usb to be connected together with hdmi.Then it does not turn off. Also NOOBS system breaks it since it shows the menu/splashscreen and then reboots to your selected system. This momentarily disconnects usb while it reboots to different linux kernel which confuses the lapdock. With normal raspibian without NOOBS it works fine. While it is off with everything connected you can just push the button and the system boots and after shutdown it turns itself off like regular laptop (so there is no need to disconnect anything). The only practical issue is that you cannot do direct reboot, only shutdown and then power on. BTW, I power my PI directly via USB (called backfeeding here).

If you are talking about plugging in the HDMI first, then the power (USB) from the lapdock, I have tried that with the result being the screen comes on for a second then shuts off. Do you mean you try to simultaneously plug them both in? As soon as the USB is connected the Pi starts to boot up? I have tried USB 1st, then HDMI, then HDMI 1st then USB, neither worked. I have two lapdock 100s and they both act the same.

Dave

[johnbeetem]

Did you actually get your lapdock 100 to work on a consistant basis. I can't not get my monitor to stay on for more than 2 seconds no matter who's "How To" instructions I follow. I am about to give up on the 100.

Yes, it works for me. Lapdock 100 needs usb to be connected together with hdmi.Then it does not turn off. Also NOOBS system breaks it since it shows the menu/splashscreen and then reboots to your selected system. This momentarily disconnects usb while it reboots to different linux kernel which confuses the lapdock. With normal raspibian without NOOBS it works fine. While it is off with everything connected you can just push the button and the system boots and after shutdown it turns itself off like regular laptop (so there is no need to disconnect anything). The only practical issue is that you cannot do direct reboot, only shutdown and then power on. BTW, I power my PI directly via USB (called backfeeding here).

If you are talking about plugging in the HDMI first, then the power (USB) from the lapdock, I have tried that with the result being the screen comes on for a second then shuts off. Do you mean you try to simultaneously plug them both in? As soon as the USB is connected the Pi starts to boot up? I have tried USB 1st, then HDMI, then HDMI 1st then USB, neither worked. I have two lapdock 100s and they both act the same.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I'm trying to understand what's happening with Lapdock 100 without having access to one. I think fanoush is saying that both the USB (also power backfeed) and HDMI are both plugged in -- with the power off -- and stay plugged in. Then he turns on the Lapdock 100 by pushing "the button" (I don't know which button he means -- I only have an Atrix Lapdock). Since HDMI is connected at this time, pushing "the button" turns on Lapdock 100's USB power which brings up RasPi, including RasPi USB. It may be that RasPi USB has to starting sending messages within a short period of time or Lapdock 100 gives up and shuts down. In any case, RasPi USB has to stay up. If you lose RasPi USB -- e.g., by shutting down your RasPi OS -- then Lapdock 100 shuts down automatically. I would appreciate comments that confirm or correct my understanding of this.

I googled "Motorola Lapdock 100 reset button" and found out about a hidden reset button on the bottom side of the Lapdock 100 that you can push using a paper clip. I hope this isn't "the button" fanoush is talking about. The hidden reset button restores factory settings, and might be useful if Lapdock 100 has somehow gotten itself into a strange mode.

[Loonhaunt]

Hello John,

There is a power button near the bottom right side of the display between the keyboard and the display. If my battery is fully charged, the instant I plug in a USB cable from the Pi, the power comes on on the lapdock and the Raspberry Pi begins the boot process. So I have been plugging in the HDMI first then plugging in the USB. If I do this in reverse the Lapdock doesn't recognize the HDMI after power has been turned on. In the first iteration that I have described above, the display will turn on for maybe a second or two then shut off. It would maybe make sense to try to connect both HDMI and USB then push this reset button? Or if there was a way to keep the lapdock from attempting to start before the RPi begins to boot??

The fact that the lapdock sees the Raspberry Pi for an instant would indicate to me that I don't have a ground issue in the cable?
If there was a way to pause the RPi during boot to give both parties time to communicate equally. I really don't know what version of NOOBS I am using so I am trying to avoid making this RPi exclusive property via rolling back to an older version of NOOBS of the Lapdock, as I am attempting several non lapdock experiments with the same Pi.

Before I forget, I wish to express my thanks for your interest in this issue. Likely it isn't an issue at all just me.

Dave

[mrnnwstg]

I have no problems starting my RPI 2 with Wheezy and connected to my my Lapdock 100.
Connected are the USB cable and the HDMI cable, not the micro Usb.
To start I press the battery-check button just above the del-button. The RPI starts up, but not the screen. I see the leds in the RPI flickering, but after about 10 seconds everything stops. Then I immediatly restart with the battery-check buttun, the RPI starts again and now in the most cases (9 of 10) WITH screen and complete boot.

[Loonhaunt]

I have no problems starting my RPI 2 with Wheezy and connected to my my Lapdock 100.
Connected are the USB cable and the HDMI cable, not the micro Usb.
To start I press the battery-check button just above the del-button. The RPI starts up, but not the screen. I see the leds in the RPI flickering, but after about 10 seconds everything stops. Then I immediatly restart with the battery-check buttun, the RPI starts again and now in the most cases (9 of 10) WITH screen and complete boot.

If understand you, you plugin both cables,(My RPi Starts as soon as I plug in the USB, not the Micro USB!), then you push the battery button, which in my case causes the RPi to reboot right away, then you push the battery button again? I think that I have tried that, but I am going to give it one more try when I get home tonight. I will report back.

Thanks again,

Dave

[fanoush]

Yes, I mean the battery button. This is the button I press when the lapdock powered itself off and it simply boots when I press it. In no situation it powered itself off instantly for me. Once I press the button or attach the cables it turns on the screen and boots. Only when usb is not detected it turns itself off in approx 9 seconds after power on. Also once the raspberry pi detects the lapdock (and prints its mouse/keyboard/hub devices to console) the lapdock turns the screen brighthess up (to maximum?) so it definitely knows it got detected by the PI. The lapdock 100 is simply too clever. It needs to know its keyboard/mouse was detected by the usb host device (the PI) and disconnecting usb or hdmi even momentarily via software confuses it and it powers itself off in approx. 9 seconds once it happens.