How to Setup Batocera Linux and turn your old PC / Laptop into a Retro-Gaming Beast

[@billkelly6981]

Nice video, I have that exact laptop and was going to scrap it. I flashed the image directly to an SSD, and put it in the drive bay and all was good. Cheers

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome, happy that this video helped! It's great when we can recycle older tech into a fun retro gaming console and give it new life.

[@marccaselle8108]

@@WagnersTechTalk can you run batocera directly from a flash drive? I want to see if it will run on my 13 year old laptop.

[@RJ_chaos]

@@marccaselle8108 you certainly can. I set up my mid-2009 MacBook Pro to run Batocera off a flash drive last night. Goldeneye stutters a little, but I haven’t tried tweaking the settings yet. Other N64, PS1, and below run easily

[@tigerscott2966]

I just downloaded Batecera a few days ago. I can't wait to try it too.

[@tigerscott2966]

I have a laptop just like that! Mines is blue and Grey. That one was headed to the landfill too. I'm glad I can get something out of it.

[@terrapinflyer273]

Depending on the specs it could make for a nice little low end indie gaming system and run some older games too.

[@oinque]

I have a T43 ThinkPad which was just sitting there not really being used. Thanks for this video now I can repurpose it.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome, makes me happy to hear when these machines can be re-purposed instead of sitting in a landfill. Thank you for letting me know and for watching!

[@oinque]

@@WagnersTechTalk i finally returned home and turns out they sold it :(

[@onebigbadgamer]

This how to tutorial helped me create an amazing retro gaming on my vintage pc system with over 100,000+ games. Thanks @WagnersTechTalk

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome to hear, you're very welcome! I have several more similar videos on my channel, if needed.

[@Zuk0109]

i actually jumped when i noticed that we have the exact same dell latitude. i think. its amazing how this machine i got at goodwill can run stuff like this. 👏

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Great to hear!

[@181Xplor]

You deserve an award for this very effective and informative tutorial!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hey, thank you for your kind comment! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jean-marclestic8150]

Update after installing on a D820 (basically the same laptop, only slightly bigger): Any version after 5.26 (so 5.27.2 , 29 and 30) will not work on it. Thank you for the video, helped me tremendously!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Most welcome, happy I could help!

[@MrDVDfanatic]

I wish I could read this sooner i have the same laptop and I had to look closely at the video to figure out why it wasn't working

[@terrapinflyer273]

I was somehow able to update from v5.26 to v5.27 on an old usb install. I think I may have done a manual update or an online update from within Bato's menu. I think they may have taken the repos offline for legacy builds now tho. Or may have changed the repo location (In the case of online updates from within Bato). Really wish they would make an MBR version of new versions available. Doesn't seem like it would take much work on their end tbh. And newer versions indeed do run at first boot. But, being GPT disk format they refuse to boot on legacy systems after rebooting. Still haven't found a proper fix for converting GPT bootable disks to MBR without complications. :/

[@MrJ0mmy]

wow thanks you saved me so much work having to copy roms to the usb then copy them to my other pc

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad I could help

[@tres6198]

Awesome very in depth and well explained video.Would love to see mame and fba broken down on where to set it etc.Truly appreciate this video and you sharing your knowledge

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Very welcome, thank you for your kind words! This link has a little bit more information on copying games from Batocera's wiki : wiki.batocera.org/add_games

[@boat5522]

@@WagnersTechTalk So let's say i had a SD card, and it was my only laptop. would i be able to do this without resetting my whole device?

[@anthonynorton666]

Nice presentation. Lots of information and questions answered. Definitely one to be bookmarked for future reference. Thank you.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad it was helpful, thank you for watching!

[@paddy6824]

Ha ha sit down buddy. Thanks man I reckon I'll try this. Seems like it might work better than my retropie setup I have atm. Great idea for the old laptop!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

It's a great way to recycle those older laptops into useful retro gaming stations for friends, family or yourself. Hope you enjoy it and thank you for watching!

[@shariffsimpson7865]

to people who cant boot or shows no bootable device after installing batocera on internal hardisk, try switching the boot mode to legacy or any other option, make sure secured boot is disabled. you can go into bios setting by pressing F2, ESC, DELETE depending on your computer company

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Great points, thank you for your feedback! I do cover secure boot and the various methods of entering the system BIOS in a more recent video+guide here: wagnerstechtalk.com/pc-batocera .

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

I did on an older netbook, with 32 bits. Enough to run some games. It suppose that should be able to run ps1 but barely if can run snes. No HDD nor keyboard, it was a recycle project. Great video. Yours is a decent laptop great for lots of games.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. I've definitely not tried a Netbook with Batocera. Thanks for the heads up, I should probably get one at some point though.

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

@@WagnersTechTalk it's the 32 bit version but maybe recalbox could be a better option. This one had termal issues. But basically It's like the first pies. Maybe Is the atom chip so that's why a core duo is a great option. Good luck with the project if you get a netbook.

[@mchief3463]

Thanks man you make the best guides (especially the one on emu deck) 😊

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you my friend, several more are in-process. Hope you find them helpful too!

[@Zuk0109]

im back here, since i am having troubles with a black screen after the splash screen. edit: i fixed the problem. this is honestly a great explanation video.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad to hear the issue was resolved, thank you for watching and your kind support!

[@Zuk0109]

@@WagnersTechTalk i am now having another problem with installing batocera to the internal hard drive. it will say it is retrieving some file and then it will say its completed, even though it isnt

[@WagnersTechTalk]

May want to join the Batocera discord (a few other helpful links here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-batocera/#Resources ) and see if someone there can tell you how to correct it. I've not encountered this issue. If you resolve it, please let me know what it was. Depending on the age of your computer and if it is x86 (32 Bit), you may need to use the image at the bottom of the download page: batocera.org/download . If your computer is 64 bit, use the one at the top.

[@brylexanderlandicho7783]

how did you do it bro

[@themadnes5413]

Just got an fx4300, 8gb ram, gtx 750 for 30$, want to make it an emulation only system. Thank you for this video.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Very welcome!

[@levelbylevelgaming2833]

Fantastic vid! I use batocera on a lot of my channel builds.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you Sir! I'm a bit new to it myself, but very impressed with Batocera.

[@barneyDcaller]

Mine is Dell Latitude D630. Will definitely try this

[@barneyDcaller]

Update: this worked! Now my 2006-ish pc has now risen from the ashes of my web filled storage

[@Out2GetYaWorldAKAMcfly]

Great video. I have a minipc Lenovo m79 that i modded a while back. Took the mobile cpu out and dumped in a desktop cpu. Then i used a dead r7 gpu pulled the cooler off it. Did some chop and drill work . now i can complete the project with Batocera . Thanks to your straightforward instructions. BTW i too have a hard time letting go of old tech lol . At least I'm not alone on that 😎👍🇨🇦

[@terrapinflyer273]

How far does that M79 go w emulation?

[@sethtoybes9392]

Great video I really enjoy your stuff! It's engaging and approachable. Any chance you'd be interested in a video of why to choose Batocera vs. Lakka vs. Retropie vs. Recalbox. I can't seem to find a real assessment on why to choose one over another and which is best for which application (ie. an old laptop vs raspberry pi or putting it on some other system like a handheld) Thanks, and keep up the great work!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

That is a great suggestion, I'm not quite to that point of comparing all the versions (still gaining experience with some of them). Even so, I would simply mention the pros/cons of each and leave it up to the viewer to determine what is best for them. Often times, it really depends on what you have available and what you want to buy that really matters. Most of my Retro-Gaming videos are centered around Raspberry Pi/RetroPie. However, I wanted to demonstrate an option for those that may simply want to make better use of equipment they already have or could pick up cheaply at a thrift store, garage sale, etc. After trying Batocera on the Pi4 (and really liking it), only made sense to follow-up with a video that covers using a machine I already had on-hand and was doing nothing with. Thanks again for your suggestion, once I feel knowledgeable enough on the distros you mention I may do that!

[@sethtoybes9392]

@@WagnersTechTalk Using the Pros and Cons approach totally makes sense. I feel like the ideal or typical application of a system or what a system is designed for may help the viewer decide too. Regardless of the route you take I really appreciate it. I'm really enjoying videos. Thanks again! (What is the reason one might choose Batocera vs. RetroPie? How are they different?)

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Both can pretty much play all the same emulators/games (though, Batocera 5.27 now shows PS2 on the list which I will be trying soon on the Raspberry Pi 4). I didn't notice much of a performance difference of one vs. the other. Batocera is supported on many different platforms, it's a self-contained OS. RetroPie is comprised of Emulation Station, RetroArch and additional components which sit on top of a linux os (Debian, Raspbian, Ubuntu, etc.) If you are wanting to take an existing laptop/PC and turn it into a Retro Gaming station, you can do it with either. However, IMO Batocera makes it a little easier in some cases since you don't have to install the OS, then download RetroPie, then update the scripts to auto-start RetroPie. When you download/install Batocera, it just boots right into it. However, if you want a Desktop OS (like Rapsbian, Twister OS, etc.) and don't want to dedicate it exclusively to RetroGaming, then RetroPie makes the most sense. Again, just really depends on user-preference and how they want to use it. Hope this helps some. I personally love them both and keep each on their own microSD cards. But then again I make videos and need to bounce between each, so there's that 😃

[@ZeronimeYT]

Why is batocera directly install and reformat the SSD instead of selecting the partition on the SSD ?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Batocera creates two partitions of it's own and therefore requires the full drive. If that's an issue, you pay prefer this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fSd6CbgM-UrdU

[@comixof2morrow]

toshiba satellite p745-s4320 is my laptop. Which version of Batocera Linux should I get?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I would go with the x64 Standard Desktop/Laptop (upper-left) here: batocera.org/download

[@comixof2morrow]

@@WagnersTechTalk Thank you so much

[@comixof2morrow]

If someone acquired a Batocera Flash drive plug n play... would I need to turn my laptop off and then connect flash drive and go to boot menu? Or will it automatically load?

[@HerecomestheCalavera]

This very cool. I am going to have to try this on an old laptop I have laying around. I do have one question. In the video you mention how the update from 5.26 to 5.27 wouldn't work and you had to downgrade. The latest Batocera is called Batocera 34. I am wondering if this will work on an older laptop (I think it is from around 2010) or if I will have to get the older 5.26 version? Thanks.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I would try the latest version first, your laptop may be new-enough that you won't run into the issue I did. If it doesn't work, at the very bottom of their download page (link batocera.org/download ) see "Batocera.linux for very old PCs (15+ year-old)" and that version should work.

[@Gumplayer2]

@@WagnersTechTalk How can I install downloaded image? So I don't want it to download latest. Thanks

[@brianbauer9399]

Hi. Awesome video. Love this as I can actually play old games from back in the day (1990's) when my parents couldn't afford game machines. Could there be a follow video in more detail as to what each game platform minimum requirements are. And also where do get the games for various platforms. Id prefer to be able to download a large collection if possible and how do I add other platforms as my install only shows about 8 console platforms. Allot is missing as the list shows almost 90 platforms... thank you.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad you enjoyed! Definitely doing more on Batocera in the future. My goal was to demonstrate what it can do and help you get started. There are rom packs that can be downloaded for various emulators, though I don't provide links to those for obvious reasons.

[@brianbauer9399]

@@WagnersTechTalk Thank you for the reply. And I understand. Keep up the great videos.

[@Out2GetYaWorldAKAMcfly]

Archive.org has tons of roms also. Most are public domain due to their age so no copyright issues to worrie about. The site is a Preservation program for everything digital.

[@chrisplissken4626]

As soon as I get home I'm gonna re try from a pendrive and install it to the hard drive

[@atariforever2002]

Great video! Couple of questions if I may. 1. How does Botacera get the drivers needed for this older hardware. Drivers for the audio, video, network ect ect? 2. Does Botacera keep the older versions of its software available for download so that you don't have to revert back to run these older systems? Thanks!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you! The drivers are packaged within the installer. Yes, they do keep older versions of their software around, I documented that here sometime ago (well, for one specific version anyways): wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Revert_to_Batocera_526 . You can also ask on their forums here if you want more details: forum.batocera.org/ Hope this answered your question.

[@Mchenrygames]

thanks for the tutorial, you just gained a new subscriber.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome, thank you for your support! Got some very interesting stuff coming that I hope you enjoy.

[@ryanmintaraga_blogger]

Thank you, very detailed tutorial.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad it was helpful, thank you for watching!

[@humanbeingfromearth]

This video is very helpful, I enjoyed it. Thanks!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bugshot4760]

Hi,nice video here.Batocera is really awesome as I see,but I have one question.Where do you find games that Batocera runs, for example ps3?

[@tykkym]

Great video. Learned a lot from your videos

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[@jasonshiers5771]

I’ve done this before still run Batocera of the usb if you want without the need to copy it to the hard drive .

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Jason, thank you for watching! It depends on the age of the PC. The PC I was using only has USB 2.0 ports and it was really slow trying to run off USB. However, with modern machines USB 3.0 is great. For that reason, made a video here that does exactly that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fSd6CbgM-UrdU

[@suyahatesntr]

I have three PCs and one laptop (I use this for school which is why I made sure to buy an expensive one). Only one PC is being used for gaming and heavy tasks while the other one has mid specs so we just use it for our printing works and documents. But the other one is hopeless. I built it with scraps from my uncle's computer shop. He had more than 6 computers but 4 of them were destroyed by rats and mice. Wires have been bitten off, many parts have become unusable. But I've dedicated some time to build a single PC and I've succeeded. The PC is slow though so I can't even run windows 10 because it's slow. I've tried Linux mint on it which runs smoothly, I tried some games and the best it could handle is GTA San Andreas (through Lutris). So instead of turning it into another computer. I want to turn it into something different. Which is why I'm watching this video.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome, depending on the age of the machine the information here should be helpful to you! I honestly didn't think a 14 year old laptop would be usable for much and was pleasantly surprised!

[@TheDanielalonso4]

Great tutorial, however you lost me when you copied over the dreamcast bios files.. Where did you get those files from and are they neccesary? Thanks!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Daniel, the BIOS files are needed for Dreamcast. I can't link to roms/bios files, but search the filenames and you'll be able to find them.

[@JimmyCougar]

Distributing BIOS files and Roms are illegal because of copyright infringement and blahblahblah. It's unenforced and the files are easy to find with a search engine.

[@FlintG]

I have a old mac mini from 2012 that I could install this to since I barely use it and it is an intel mac but has ubuntu on it for now. Been wanting to make it into a retro gaming mac.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I've never owned a Mac, so I honestly can't say. Since it's an Intel CPU, it very well might. If you give it a shot, let me know how it works out for you!

[@francescogioia1654]

Thank you for making this tutorial.... I have an old Acer extensa 5630 ,intel centrino . Can I be able to transform this old laptop in to this amazing retro gaming station ?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Quite possibly, make sure you backup anything on the hard drive that you may to save. Then, give it a shot. Let me know how it works out, I was very impressed with how Batocera performed on mine.

[@mustafacankoken1434]

9:05 can you change vram and see if your performance increased ?

[@realmchat6665]

Great video as always.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you RC, I appreciate it!

[@sebasdt2103]

Great video! One thing I'm running into is that it will not boot into batocera if it's installed on an internal drive. The only way I can make it work is plugin in a usb tumb drive with batocera on it and unplugging it later. This could be because I have a second internal SSD with windows installed on it. Any thoughts?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You may need to go into the bios on your computer and change the boot order to the internal hard drive that has Batocera installed. I only had a single drive installed and didn't encounter any issue. If changing the boot order doesn't help, you can post a message on the Batocera forums here: forum.batocera.org .

[@sebasdt2103]

@@WagnersTechTalk hey To do that i needed to enable legacy support inside the bios. Now I dont need a usb to jump start it.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Great news!

[@JerrardJDDavis-gy9hh]

I Love Batocera It's A Great Emulator On My Laptop

[@rm1floyd]

Hello again. I did this with desktop PC and all went well. I subscribed to a "scraper" and have made my installation look very good. Lots of retro games, etc. My biggest problem is with the retro consoles like NES and SNES is the "Start" button. Batocera uses the start button to return to the main menu area, but the game wants the start button to start the game. Do you have a work-around or a favorite controller to get around this problem? Thanks much!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

When mapping the buttons, map SELECT as the HotKey. This way, to exit a game it will be SELECT+START typically. There are also other combinations such as SELECT+X to enter RetroArch, etc. Hope that helps Bob!

[@rm1floyd]

@@WagnersTechTalk Thanks!

[@martkt10]

Very helpful video, by chance did you try and zx spectrum games, as i can't seem to get any to run, would a ryzen 3 3200g be the problem they won't run ?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you. I've not tried to install any zx spectrum games on Batocera. All indications on the Batocera wiki indicate it "should" work: batocera.org/compatibility May need to reach out to the Batocera developers on this one. I honestly don't know why it wouldn't run. or if there is some new incompatibility in the latest 5.27 build.

[@martkt10]

@@WagnersTechTalk Okay, Thank you for your reply and will have a look at the wiki too, thanks

[@Aeroslyer200]

Great vid! NOW I CAN GET A LAPTOP AND PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you and enjoy!

[@AJDRAGON01]

I have 5.26 installed and it is running good, at 6:46 you switch to some sort of network for the share file and that's where you lose me. I'm not sure how to get to there.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

If you have a separate computer (Windows PC) and want to see the files on the Batocera machine, if both are connected to your local network you can enter "\\batocera" on the Windows PC to view the share on the Batocera machine. Then, transfer any files (bios/roms) that you want. I have a more recent video that you may find helpful as well (skip over the parts you've already done): kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fSd6CbgM-UrdU

[@AJDRAGON01]

@@WagnersTechTalk Thank you that helped a lot.

[@murphyrichard6485]

how do we get the same games you have? Ive been having problems with downloading games and keep getting virus'

[@nathanielbarajas7105]

Hi, cool video. I have Batocera installed on an old chrome book. I accidentally changed the video output to edp -1 and it lost the hdmi 1 setting that was there before. Do you know how I can get that setting back so I can play on my tv like before?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I don't have a good answer for you, may want to post your question here for a faster response: forum.batocera.org Sorry, I don't have a Chromebook and can't reproduce the issue.

[@AgeofReason]

"Linux because derrrr it just works" I hate that about any Linux. One odd change to see if something works and you're gonna start sudo'ing in terminal to fix things up.

[@AJDRAGON01]

Hi, good video it explains a lot, but I really do not like how you HAVE to log into Batocera's website in-order to install there program onto your computer, or the fact you need a network in-order to install rom's or bios's!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you and for watching! There are other ways that you can copy games/bios files, more here: wiki.batocera.org/add_games

[@pierregrobbelaar9116]

Just a quick question.How does this differ from retroarch?I am using my desktop pc which are way overkill for retro gaming.Can i run it from a flash drive?Or do i have to install it.What i am planning,I have a old amd 4600+ 939 cpu with a gt 9600.It's not massive but good enough for the games i play.Neo geo,nes/sega master system,mame etc. My plan is to use a second pc for that as my friend and i come together every sunday and cramp some mame games.I would rather use the 939 for that.I may have some compatibility issues.As i tried to install linux and it would stuck on start up.I ended installing it on my main system but decided to take it out again.I would love this to work on my older system.

[@francescogioia1654]

Also I’m not very good with computers in general 😱😱😱..... Do you think with a bit of patience’ and watching your fantastic tutorial “ I can be able to install this amazing program???

[@WagnersTechTalk]

In the video description is a link to my web page where I have a little more info. step-by-step. That and this video should help you get Batocera installed. If it's something you're interested in doing, it should help.

[@ryansgale22]

Great video but you completely missed the step of how to bring up OPTIONS or Menu on a keyboard not everyone has that controller.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I appreciate your feedback, I'll correct that in future videos. Thank you for watching!

[@ryansgale22]

It is just space bar. I literally pressed every single button on my keyboard. I can not fix the resolution and it is extremely annoying. I even tought about using xrandr in terminal. I think it is my ghetto TV. I am going to try a DVI to VGA adapter tried the BIOS and every setting on my TV.

[@Mr72Dolphins]

Can I send you my wonky Samsung? The motherboard is a mess! Keep up the great work.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

lol, man you're too funny! I appreciate it Sir!

[@uuu1147]

I was searching for batocera videos and boom my laptop XDD

[@KH_1]

I just installed it in my spare HDD, I would say it's not easy as I think, just use an usual desktop linux like Ubuntu are much easier. In Batocera I need to keep switching between the game menu and the file manager to copy & paste files and do other setup are so annoying.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Batocera is designed as a retro gaming OS, not a typical Desktop environment. If you have a secondary computer, you can also use (in Windows) the UNC path to copy files across the network such as \\batocera or \\[ip address] , go to the share and copy to the \bios or oms folder as-needed. Then update the game list. btw- recently released a video and detailed guide for Batocera on the Steam Deck, there are many sections on this new guide that are also applicable to running it on a PC, you can find it here: wagnerstechtalk.com/sd-batocera/#Navigating_Batocera

[@jefferyleaver2847]

Hey just an idea but this seems like an excellent way to repurpose old iMacs since installing windows can be tricky do you think you could do a video on that upgrading a iMac 2011 to be a gaming beast

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Jeffery, I wish I could but I don't own a single Mac at this point. I've always wanted to pick one up and may later this year. Thank you for the excellent suggestion!

[@jefferyleaver2847]

@@WagnersTechTalk i suggest keeping a eye towards Goodwill that's where I've found a few , i know that Linux and Mac are both based off Unix and Linux runs on everything 😅🤙 so in theory it should install without much issues

[@XxReDxFoXxX]

Thanks for the tutorial. Everything went fine, but it asked to configure the controllers even though it wasn''t supposed to, and the shoulder buttons don't seem to work. The rest works fine after being configured, though. Any idea of what it could be?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad the video was helpful to you! For issues that are specific to a particular piece of hardware, probably best to post a question on the Batocera forum here: forum.batocera.org . I didn't have any button mapping issues myself so I probably wouldn't be able to re-create it. What model controller had a problem?

[@tigerscott2966]

Best Buy has gaming computers starting at $650.00. I think Batecera on a used computer with a decent video and sound card is much better.

[@KaraokeDuov2]

Please note: Screenscraper only allows so many scrapes and then you need to make an account from there website.

[@Zerzayar]

Cannot confirm. Sometimes you get a notification, that the API is closed for unregistered users, but that only happens when their server is on the brink of collapse. Just try again at a different time.

[@Gamingcs11692]

Where do you get the game files? This is the second video that I have watched that has previously downloaded game files that are not shown in the video.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

There is very good reason why you won't see many videos that discuss this or show you where to find them. Please see this as an introduction: wagnerstechtalk.com/emulegal

[@christiantolentino20]

Can I ask a favor? I tried to install Batocera on my new disk and then an error always pops up saying: "An Error Occured: check the system/log directory". Sorry, I'm really not good computers and stuff. Thank you.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

That's not an error I've encountered, you may want to post this question to the Batocera forums here: forum.batocera.org . The developers there are very active and helpful and may have a suggestion.

[@returnofmerenguespersempre]

Awesome! But where does the system get its drivers from for cpu and gpu?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

When you install the image for the target platform, they are included in the image.

[@returnofmerenguespersempre]

@@WagnersTechTalk Brilliant, thanks!

[@returnofmerenguespersempre]

Just wanted to give you another huge cred for this video. I have a 2nd gen Ryzen 3 Lenovo m715q and I bought a SSD hd just for this purpose. I switch between Windows and Batocera with F12 while booting so the workstation function as both emulation machine and legit browsing and youtube viewing device. For some reason I had a really hard time accessing Batoceras share folder (6:50) on my network via my main PC that uses wire connection (so does Lenovo m715q). I worked this around by finally accessing it through my laptop using wireless connection. Windows 10 for some reason, gives me a really rough time with other device network connection when using cables, but since laptop was wireless, it worked flawlessly. I have no idea how or why, but if it can help someone else, even better. I wasted 4-5 hours on trying to connect Lenovo to my main stationary PC.

[@JohnBrown-of4pw]

I was under the impression that batocera could be used as a live disc without installing it to a hardrive?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

It can, but this video is more about repurposing an old laptop. Many of which have USB 2.0 ports and a live disc would be slow. I've been thinking of creating a similar video about what you suggest.

[@JohnBrown-of4pw]

@@WagnersTechTalk Looking forward to your video

[@joe96787]

I got this but can't get it to boot up! went into the bios changed the setting for it, tried every F1-F12 and nothing, and for some reason it shows two hard drives instead of one.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

After you installed to the HD, did you remove the USB stick, then boot? What brand+model computer you're using it with?

[@joe96787]

@@WagnersTechTalk the one I got is on a 2tb hard drive from ebay, all it ever shows is ERROR!

[@salehalshemali2419]

Great Very Nice :D 1- Can i install Batocera in external Hard disk ? 2- How can i insert/ add the roms in external Hard disk ? 3- how i play when i plug that external hard disk on another laptop or pc ?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you Saleh for watching and your kind comment. I would recommend asking your questions to the Batocera forums here: forum.batocera.org . Primarily because in this video I demonstrate how to upgrade an older laptop and install Batocera to the internal hard drive. What you're asking is a bit different than what is shown here and unless I've tested/documented it, could be wrong. Also, be sure to mention the model of PC/laptop you plan to use when posting to the forum. The folks on the forums on Batocera are very kind and helpful.

[@comixof2morrow]

I have an old Toshiba Satellite Laptop that has an i5...I bet that would work well for just a retro station. Blu-ray drive isn't working and WiFi card may need replaced. But I have lan cable and after I install what I want I don't need it to be online

[@WagnersTechTalk]

It will likely work fine, once Batocera is installed you won't need WiFi and if you want to scrape the artwork you could use the LAN connection. Just make sure there isn't anything on the internal drive you need to save before starting. Hope it goes smoothly and it's a great way to recycle these older/unused machines.

[@comixof2morrow]

@@WagnersTechTalk there's nothing I need to keep on it. I only really ever used it for school and media,hence,why the Blu-ray drive is not working...over used. LoL. Would you recommend Batocera or Ubuntu?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Got it. Definitely Batocera for retro gaming.

[@comixof2morrow]

@@WagnersTechTalk would my laptop be good enough to run Ubuntu? I have 2 i5 laptop's

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Almost certainly it would be fine. I can run Ubuntu on a Pi4 which is less powerful.

[@AgeofReason]

Great show

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching!

[@dennisneo1608]

Did you mention which Batocera to download?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I did at 02:20 . It will depend on your PC/Laptop, if 32-bit then x86 if 64-bit the n x64. Most likely x64, if manufactured in 2004+.

[@andyroid9965]

what were the last 2 games in video & system please not seen them before?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Sure, last two were Space Invaders on the Virtual Boy (ahead of it's time) and the last one Solar Quest on the Vectrex. Thank you for watching!

[@Mark20-f5t]

I have an old laptop that has 4GB of internal storage, if i wanted to put games more than the size of it how can i do it? sorry for dum question

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You could add a larger internal drive or possibly use an external USB drive/stick. However, the laptop likely has USB 2.0 ports which means any external drive connected would likely be quite slow.

[@Mark20-f5t]

@@WagnersTechTalk it was an asus eee pc 4G btw

[@reymiliobalan8536]

05:35 how did you manage to boot the batocera from an Internal drive? done mine and all I got is no bootable device detected, done everything according to the video, though stuck when installing to internal drives.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

After selecting the options to install to the internal drive, it was bootable afterwards. It could be that your computer is x86 and not 64-bit, if that's the case use the image for x86. Search the model number of your machine to determine which platform your machine supports. At the very bottom-left of this page, you'll find a link for "Old Desktop/Laptop with a 32-bit CPU" : batocera.org/download

[@AJDRAGON01]

Hi, By any chance do you know if you can do this with Batocera V39, or does it have to be the version you used in the video ?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

It will depend on the age of your computer. If your computer is 20+ years old (32-bit CPU), see the link at the very bottom of this page: batocera.org/download . If it's newer than that, you can use the link at the top of the page for Desktop PC's. If you'd like to install Batocera to a USB Stick to create a portable version, see this page: wagnerstechtalk.com/pc-batocera . Hope that helps!

[@AJDRAGON01]

@@WagnersTechTalk I installed that and it's pretty clunky, so I'm going to see about installing the same version you used and see if that works better. the system I have is a Acer Aspire 5517 with a AMD Athlon 64 x2 TK-42 1.6 GHz, 3GB of memory, and a 320GB HD.

[@JackyVinson-sw4py]

Thank you for all information and advice i really like about your project and will do same as you do to my oldest i5 laptop 💻 😀 😊 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🤩

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You're very welcome, thank you for watching! Just an FYI - I have another guide on Batocera that was created about a month ago if you want to install Batocera to a USB stick and try it out without wiping the internal HDD: wagnerstechtalk.com/pc-batocera

[@pierpig7058]

Very cool video, should it work with an MacBook 2007 Intel core duo 2gb ram from usb stick? Is it possible to use an Android smartphone as controller?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I've honestly never owned a Mac, so can't answer that based on experience. It may, given it's an Intel processor. There may be a BT remote control-type app. for Android but it's not anything I've used or looked into. Sorry, I'm not very helpful with this question.

[@pierpig7058]

@@WagnersTechTalk yes, it has an Intel core duo 1.9ghz, since Mac os 10.6 is not usable i use Ubuntu Mate 18 64, so it's like any same age notebook (i installed on it in the past XP 32 and 7 64 using bootcamp)

[@GamingWithKirara]

Yeah I got like 50 of them I got them from a computer repair place near me because they were free because they're either they're outdated or not repairable not 50-something laptops in a couple of desktops laying around that I don't even use or touch

[@WagnersTechTalk]

With 50 or so machines, you should be able to re-purpose at least a few of them with Batocera. Let me know how it goes, curious to hear what you wind up with!

[@GamingWithKirara]

@@WagnersTechTalk I'm trying to do that right now it's just not letting me install to a new disk from batocera it just keeps freezing at 32%

[@WagnersTechTalk]

At the bottom of the Batocera download page, you'll find a link for 'Old Desktop/Laptop with a 32bit CPU'. That might be the one you need to use, depending on the CPU of the machine(s).

[@GamingWithKirara]

My device is 64-bit I know because I did this on an old hard drive that I recently lost and it doesn't freeze up 32% I don't know what to do I'm kind of confused I'm not sure if it's bonasera itself or if it's my Wi-Fi my Wi-Fi is perfectly fine

[@GamingWithKirara]

@@WagnersTechTalk I got it to install on my hard drive apparently I wasn't being a patient enough I didn't know it would take this long I let it run the whole time I was at McDonald's and it's done now is that do is get the BIOS and get some thanks man I really appreciate it

[@liquidcnake]

I flash it on my usb but its not bootable. i checked it in the boot sequence but there no usb drive there. Sorry for my bad english.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Check with the manufacturer+model of your computer and see how to boot off a USB. Different manufacturers use slightly different methods or some may not support it.

[@stevent7944]

What if u follow the instructions and when u go to restart... nothing happens? Blank screen! Now what?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

In that case, you're likely using a computer that's as old or older than mine. See the very bottom-left of this page for the "Old Desktop/Laptop with a 32bit CPU" and instead, use that image: batocera.org/download

[@Veilamia]

How can I do this if I don't have a spare USB/SD card to use and just got the HDD that's in the laptop itself? Help is appreciated

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You'll need a spare USB/SD card. There is another option here to boot from the USB stick, however again it requires one: wagnerstechtalk.com/pc-batocera

[@Veilamia]

@@WagnersTechTalk thanks so much for the quick answer ❤

[@funkydude74]

How do you copy the flash drive to your pc so it plays it directly from the hard drive? I have a similar setup and it does not work when I copy to the hard drive. Only works when on when flash drive is plugged in. Thanks. :)

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Fred, my guess is when you went to install to the Hard Drive you didn't select the Hard Drive. A good way to check is to get into the computer's BIOS and see what the name of the drive is. Then, I have all the steps I used here: wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Hard_Disk_Installation Worked just fine, remove the USB stick after that and boots from the HD..

[@onkelhiphop]

Mine doesn’t work either and I did select the right hard drive is it something with the target architecture 🤔

[@dutchcinephile1362]

My laptop doesnt boot into windows anymore Can you boot a laptop with batocera instead?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Yes, that's exactly what this video shows you how to do.

[@edmgame2332]

when i install batocera , evrything on disk C os erased ??

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Yes, incase you missed it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGKqpJukdr6lf6s

[@thegardeningguylol5037]

i have a laptop that i use currently still for various things odd jobs purchases family photos so on but i want to use it for batocera is there a way to switch back an forth between batocera and windows so i can still do my normal well stuff and keep everything important or just boot through bios

[@WagnersTechTalk]

There is actually, please see this guide+video which is more recent and will step you through it: wagnerstechtalk.com/pc-batocera/

[@SNeal5966]

Is the Batocera fllavor of linux install offering Dual boot?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

No, what is shown here will completely erase everything on the drive and replace it with Batocera linux.

[@ExploitEntertainment]

I'm using a M.2 SATA 2TB on an ASUS H110M-A M.2 board (got the M.2 from a SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD). I removed the M.2 from the SanDisk Portable USB case and inserted it to the ASUS mainboard. It gets recognized as a normal SATA drive but after install to the M.2, any changes will result in a default batocera after reboot... I don't know why. :( please can anyone help me? I just want batocera to save my settings instead of starting from 0 after every reboot...

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Not sure about this, after I booted from a USB thumb drive and installed it to the internal HD it would save changes just fine after removing the thumb drive. You may want to ask your question here for a greater chance of a helpful reply: forum.batocera.org

[@ExploitEntertainment]

@@WagnersTechTalk I fixed it by myself with try and error.. I changed the storage to ANYEXTERNAL. Maybe the pc thinks it's an external drive (even if it's in the M.2 slot)

[@WagnersTechTalk]

@@ExploitEntertainment Great news, thank you for letting me know what fixed it!

[@ExploitEntertainment]

@@WagnersTechTalk you're welcome

[@StoneyAngel]

Any idea why it reduces my thumb drive from 200 gigs to under 7

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Batocera creates two partitions, the boot partition (readable by Windows) and a userdata partition (not readable by windows). You can learn more about it here: wiki.batocera.org/batocera.linux_architecture . It is possible to view the userdata partition under Windows using a tool such as Disk Genius. Search my site for more information on that, if needed.

[@radadyproductions2414]

Great video, thanks so much. When trying to scrape I get an error message in German? "Erreur de login: Verifier les identifiants utilisateurs".. any suggestions? Thanks! Also, n64 games looks like it starts to load, then just goes back to the home screen. Maybe my laptop is too old.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Very welcome, thank you for the kind comment! That error message likely means you need to create an account for the scraper you're using. Here's a handy trick, click this link and it will take you to translate.google.com and translate the text to English: translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&text=Erreur%20de%20login%3A%20Verifier%20les%20identifiants%20utilisateurs&op=translate For N64, you'll need to search for the BIOS files. That's why it's exiting, the BIOS basically is the machine-specific code used by the emulator to run the game. You'll locate the files and copy them to the BIOS sub folder and should be good to go.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

Can I turn my old Dell i3 laptop into a portable Mortal Kombat (mame) machine? Does 2 player work? I only have two Xbox Series X controller (wired via usb)

[@WagnersTechTalk]

It may play fine, I don't have the same chipset on any of my machines I also don't have the same controller. However, I've used wired xbox 360 and 8-Bit Do controllers and they work fine. In the controller setup you can designate which one is P1 or P2.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

@@WagnersTechTalk ok, thanks :)

[@d.a.r.y.l639]

7:49 It's my creation !

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You created the artwork for the Batocera logo? That's awesome and excellent job on it!

[@d.a.r.y.l639]

@@WagnersTechTalk thank you! Batocera is a great collaborate job!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

@@d.a.r.y.l639 I agree, it's awesome!

[@JonDaBrickFace]

Wait... Does Batocera run games slower when it runs off of the USB drive? Reason I'm asking is because I'm running it on a 6 year old laptop (with no hard drive), and for some reason it can't even run playstation games at full speed, and I remember it running fine when it had Windows. Edit: After installing the latest update, it runs Crash Bandicoot 1 at full speed, and it fixed the screen tearing on Mario 64, but that's it.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I ran Batocera off the laptop's internal hard drive and it ran very well. Booting from a USB stick will of course be slower, if it's a USB 2.0 port. N64 and PS1 played rather well on my 14 year old laptop. Your newer laptop should see even better performance.

[@JonDaBrickFace]

@@WagnersTechTalk the thing has no USB 2.0 port. Just USB 3.0. I plugged the thing into every USB port it has and it ran the exact same. So should I just try installing it on an SSD?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You can ask the question here: forum.batocera.org/ But if I had an available SSD, yes I'd give it a try. As mentioned, it ran just fine off the internal HD.

[@JonDaBrickFace]

@@WagnersTechTalk ah ok.

[@JonDaBrickFace]

@@WagnersTechTalk Me again. I installed Batocera an SSD, and now it can run GameCube at full speed. Appreciate your help!

[@IamTheGameWJWF]

I got Batocera to load just fine last night, but now it loads and I see the title screen, but then the video is just black. I hear the audio though. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

[@WagnersTechTalk]

This is what I had to do, may not be valid anymore: wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Revert_to_Batocera_526 . Depending on the age of your computer, you may need to install the 32-bit version (x86) at the bottom here: batocera.org/download

[@IamTheGameWJWF]

I actually deleted and redownloaded Batocera and it worked again. Thank you. I’ll keep this in mind if I run into this problem again

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Awesome, great to hear you're up and running!!

[@IamTheGameWJWF]

@@WagnersTechTalk well, almost. Just trying to figure out how to get some roms on there. I'm trying for MAME roms, but I'm not having luck. I think it's either the wrong file type or I'm just doing something wrong

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Perform a search for "archive mame romset", should get you what you're looking for 😉

[@fatbelly2438]

my old laptop has a broken screen and i cant get this too out put to external screen

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Check with the manufacturer of your laptop (search the model # and manufacturer for the machine), there is usually a Function key and another key (perhaps blue on the keyboard) that can be used to set the laptop to display through an external VGA/HDMI port. Hope that helps get you going!

[@Angryeddie14]

I been trying this on my old dell vostro 200 but first the etcher wouldn’t load, just a blank white screen and then I got Rufus and that worked to get batocera into the usb. However after running it I only got a weird grainy picture of the batocera loading screen and then screen goes black with a little curser on top left. I’ve tried to reinstall and redo the process but no dice. Not sure what I could be doin wrong. If anyone could help that would be great, thanks.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You could possibly try this older version of Batocera: wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Revert_to_Batocera_526 by connecting an Ethernet cable to your Dell (running the version of Batocera that you have now, with the cursor in the upper-left). The network is actually most likely working just fine even though it isn't fully booted into Batocera. Then, remote connect from another computer using PuTTy and run the command on that page (this is what I had to do on my old laptop). It will down-grade the version of Batocera to a version that may work. If that doesn't work, I'd recommend posting your question to the Batocera forums here: forum.batocera.org/ Lots of helpful folks there that may give you better recommendations on things to try. Hope to hear you get it all up and running soon!

[@Rekyeme]

Great video man, but im having a little trouble with the booting of batocera, and the problem is when it goes to that blue screen on the begining of the process, it stays there on the 75% and then gives me a black screen and nothing more... The machine that im using is similar to the one of the video, but it is a Fujitsu Amilo Pro, and has more HD and RAM.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Sora, thank you for your kind words! I had a similar issue with this older laptop, I documented the steps I took here: wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Revert_to_Batocera_526 Perhaps you can try it and see if it works for you as well. Hope it helps!

[@Rekyeme]

@@WagnersTechTalk ok, so I will try to that by following the steps indicated on your website, but I haven't understood something yet, the batocera is not installed and all I have on the hard drive is an version of Ubuntu that can run on that machine, said this, how am I supposed to change to that specific version? Do I need to use the Ubuntu terminal to do so?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You didn't mention anything about Ubuntu in your initial question. I'm not following the problem, if Batocera isn't already installed then what I mentioned previously won't help. What are you trying to do with Ubuntu? Thought you said you were trying to boot Batocera?

[@Rekyeme]

@@WagnersTechTalk I'm very sorry, I didn't express myself correctly, actually for being an old machine it has an Ubuntu OS, but I want to erase it and install Batocera, the big problem is what I mentioned earlier, it stays in that black screen on the start of the whole tutorial and I can't proceed to the part of configuring the control.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Gotcha now, sorry it wasn't clear to me. In this case, it may be best to connect to your network over Ethernet and then the link above may work for you at that point (WiFi won't work if it hasn't been setup using the menu options). If not, you can post your question on the Batocera forums here: forum.batocera.org , I know the devs monitor the posts very closely and will likely be more helpful. Please make sure to explain fully the issue and the system you're using (and year/model) which should get you more accurate answers. Hope this helps!

[@bradleymorris4492]

I can’t get the games from PlayStation I put on the drive or the PlayStation console to show on my list

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Try pressing Start/Quit and Restart Emulation Station. They should show up then.

[@bradleymorris4492]

No I figured it out, thanks. It’s because I put it on there as a zip file and pax doesn’t support it so I had to extract the .bin and put that on there

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Ah, yes correct. Glad you got it!

[@joehanson891]

i tried to do a dualboot win8 and batov30 on a single HDD could not get it to work even with grun2win i tried a .img store and fresh install and neither windows or linux installer wanted to install one or the other on the single HDD, i had to get a separate drive just for bato. v29 and v30 might be too much for older system like mine amd 7750 3rb ram with gefore 6150se. might need to go back to v25 or v26 or v27

[@terrapinflyer273]

Ugh. I'm stuck with not 1, but 2 motherboards with that infernal Geforce 6100/6150 Nforce4. Terrible!! Tried to install Windows98... Win9x drivers exist, but they don't work!😂 If you're stuck with Legacy BIOS on your system, try this!! . . . Anyone looking to use Batocera v5.27+ or v30+ on old legacy BIOS hardware... After working passively on it since v33 introduced MegaBezels, I finally did it!! So far, no issues with Batocera v35 booting an MBR USB 2.0 drive on non-UEFI legacy BIOS. Here's how: I used Windows 7, Rufus (portable), and MiniTool Partition Wizard 12 (free, and portable if you'd like), but any OS and disk management app should do as long as it has the options mentioned in step 4. 1.) Flash Batocera normally. Boot from it. Let it run through the install and expansion process. Let it load (wait 5 mins or so for good measure). Shut down from menu. 2.) Remove your Batocera drive. Boot into Windows and reinsert Batocera drive. 3.) Open MiniTool Partition Wizard, locate your Batocera drive in the app and triple-check it's what you will be clicking on! 4.) Right-click the drive header (not on it's partitions) and select 'Convert GPT to MBR.' Then, right-click again and select 'Rebuild MBR.' Finally, right-click the FAT32 partition and select 'Set Active.' (I restarted in between each option and was greeted with "Failure to boot." I also applied each step after selecting it, but I don't think either of these steps will matter.) 5.) Restart your PC and boot into the Batocera drive! Feel free to pass this info along wherever you'd like, or post a video tutorial and make some sweet ad revenue off of this info! I'm just happy it works!!

[@johnhurst7226]

Falshing this to a USB Drive it's not working have done it 2 times now on 2 pen drives and it comes up with Flash Failed

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Could be an issue with the USB stick, bad/corrupt download or a hardware issue. To eliminate a software issue, give Pi Imager a try (here's how: wagnerstechtalk.com/common/#Burn_an_Image_with_Raspberry_Pi_Imager ). If it still doesn't work there, delete the download and re-download it and try again.

[@johnhurst7226]

@@WagnersTechTalk ty it workd it is on my usb now

[@jinjin45]

I keep getting the error "There is not enough space on share" When I try copying roms over

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Sounds like you've filled up your microSD/Hard drive. Keep in mind, some games take up a lot of disk space and some older laptops don't have that large of a drive. The older the system (earlier than PS1, for example) the lest disk space the games take up.

[@terzocosta]

Hi, I have an ancient laptop with a Pentium M at 2.00 GHz with 512M RAM. Do you think it's worth the trouble installing Botacera or not? Will it run or will it be slow? Please let me know. Thanks in advance.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

That's going to be really iffy, the CPU is almost pushing 20 years old. It may be able to play NES/Atari and some MAME games but not likely to be able to play N64, PSP, etc. May be worth a try to see how it goes. If you do, after installation you'll likely see just a black screen. You'll need to connect it over Ethernet and then do this to back-port to 5.26: wagnerstechtalk.com/pcretrogaming/#Revert_to_Batocera_526 It's what I had to do on my old laptop.

[@ozlo]

It should be able to emulate all mainstream 8 and 16 bit systems flawlessly. It technically should emulate 32bit systems like PSX as well, but since you will be stuck at v5.26 of Batocera you may have trouble. Unfortunately there is a bug with that version related to PSX bios files not being loaded. N64 would not be very playable, maybe if you disabled sound and did some other tweaks.

[@stefanovalentino5727]

mine always says "error system Check log directory", can you help me please?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Not sure what it could be, I did not encounter this error. You may want to ask your question on the Batocera community forums for a faster answer: forum.batocera.org/

[@danyshimony]

Happens to me as well

[@unread_virus8371]

Make sure you on internet and have nothing in the batocera files.no screenshots no games videos marquees.

[@lightcaptianguy7570]

Hey can you help I installed batocera, but my transferred game aren't working

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Kind of vague here 😃 The game you're trying to run may require BIOS files, did you add them? More info on BIOS files on the Batocera page here: wiki.batocera.org/what_are_bios_and_how_to_add_them

[@pamelacarrazco2866]

I am having issues with the username and password when trying to connect batocera computer which is connected through ethernet and I am trying to transfer files from my other computer which is connected over wifi. Please help

[@WagnersTechTalk]

The username is root the password is linux, if that doesn't help you should be able to find more information on their forums here: forum.batocera.org/ Hope that helps!