SetupHelper with Package Manager available

Question

question

Kevin Windrem asked Dec 16, '21

SetupHelper with Package Manager available

As of v4.13, PackageManager now backs up gui, SetupHelper and PackageManager log files to removable media in addition to SOME dbus Settings and custom logos.

Just finished the beta phase. v4.0 now released

This is a major rewrite to SetupHelper.

It uses menus in the Venus GUI to control automatic and manual downloads and installs, uninstalls.

You no longer need a command line to install my packages. Blind install SetupHelper, then use the menus for everything else.

Packages are auto discovered by their existence in /data, so if you have some packages already stored in /data, they should appear in the versions menu.

Default packages appear in Package Editor when Add Package is chosen.

Current version is available here:

https://github.com/kwindrem/SetupHelper/

just download venus-data.tgz and follow the blind install instructions in the ReadMe.

You can leave the branch set to beta to participate in the next beta phase, or change the branch to "latest" to stay on the latest released version. The beta tag will continue to point to the latest version whether it is a released or a beta version.

As always, please report any issues or if you have questions

Venus OS setup

13

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gainestr commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 01:02 AM

Is there a way to set up Package Manager to backup to a compressed file within the /data folder so then I can transfer the archived data via SFTP instead of having to have local access to the USB drive. I think this would be a nice feature to be able to select an option of where the backup is stored.

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Kevin Windrem gainestr commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 07:42 AM

I think that can be done. I would not backup the logs to /data since they live there already.

setupOptions is also in /data already

custom logos are also in /data/themes/overlays so those would not need to be backed up either.

The settings backup file is pretty small without compressing (17 KB on my test system). So I think I can always write the settingsBackup file to /data somewhere, or only write it when removable media isn't present.

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Kevin Windrem gainestr commented · Feb 27, 2023 at 12:05 AM

I added commands to the Backup & restore settings Package Manager menu to store and restore to/from local media. The file /data/settingsBackup is created on backup which you can then access via FTP, rsync or whatever.

logos are already in /data/themes/overlays

logs are already in /data/logs

setup options are already in /data/setupOptions

So these can be easily accessed via your favorite transfer program.

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cray2023 commented · Feb 25, 2023 at 09:54 PM

CerboGX runing latest -20 firmware.

Tried blind install of package manager. The menu option shows up in the "settings" but it stated

"Package Manager not running"

I've rebooted several times, even uninstalled using the uninstall file then reinstalled. Still get not running.

Any ideas?

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Kevin Windrem cray2023 commented · Feb 25, 2023 at 11:38 PM

It's working OK for me on my Raspberry PI test system. Blind install checked too.

If you can get to the logs, the following files might help me debug your issue:

/data/logSetupHelper

/data/log/PackageManager/current

What version of SetupHelper are you using?

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cray2023 Kevin Windrem commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 03:32 AM

I'm using the newest thats linked in the github instructions. Attached logs

logs.zip

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logs.zip (10.4 KiB)

Kevin Windrem cray2023 commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 07:26 AM

Thanks for the logs. I found the problem. Some folder in /data has a zero length file named "version". It also contains a file named "setup". I use these two files to identify a potential new package.

What I do not know is what the folder has the invalid version file.

I was not checking for a zero length version file before checking it's contents. That will be fixed in SetupHelper v4.36 which I'll post tomorrow after some additional testing.

You might look around in /data and see if you can find the offending directory that contains a version file with nothing in it (except maybe spaces).

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cray2023 Kevin Windrem commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 01:15 PM

I looked in the GuiMods folder that was in the data directory.

It had the blank version. I renamed that version file and almost instantly package manager started and had replaced the file with another.

But now GuiMods will not run. When I go to package manager, available packages, it shows the "github" version, "Stored version" but "installed is blank.

So I went back and renamed the GuiMods folder to GuiMods1. The GuiMods are running on the screen, but now package manager shows this screen shot.

Am I ok to just delete all the GuiMods folders and have it try again? I must have had some wonky version of that. This CerboGX had previously used GuiMods back in 2.90 versions. It had been powered off through the winter. When it powered up it downloaded 3.0 and then things went haywire.

Thanks for all the help!

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screenshot-2023-02-26-at-61054-am.png (131.0 KiB)

Kevin Windrem cray2023 commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 05:05 PM

Go into the GuiMods1 package and uninstall it.

Then remove the package.

Do the same for GuiMods, although it will already be uninstalled.

Then, delete the GuiMods and GuiMods1 folders.

You should also remove /data/setupOptions/GuiMods1 and .../GuiMods folders.

Not sure why this happened. The system should have updated from a previous firmware and updated to the latest GuiMods version but it's possible something got interrupted during the process.

The GuiMods1 in the active packages list is because I look for folders in /data that might be a package that should be included in PackageManager. A better way would be to move GuiMods to something like /data/disabled/GuiMods then PackageManager won't see it (only looks one level deep in the directory tree).

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cray2023 Kevin Windrem commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 06:04 PM

OK I went to package manager. Uninstalled "GuiMods" but "GuiMods1" does not have that option.

I deleted all the GuiMods folders that were in "data"

Here is a screen shot, plus a screen shot showing whats in the "Data" directory.

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screenshot-2023-02-26-at-110142-am.png (109.6 KiB)

screenshot-2023-02-26-at-105937-am.png (149.2 KiB)

Kevin Windrem cray2023 commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 07:14 PM

Try Reinitialize PackageManager in the menu before Active packages

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cray2023 Kevin Windrem commented · Feb 27, 2023 at 02:02 AM

The reinitialize finally seems to have it all sorted. Thanks for the help!

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Kevin Windrem cray2023 commented · Feb 26, 2023 at 07:15 PM

also rm -rf /data/setupOptions/GuiMods1

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Modifications Space

Node Red Space

Answer 1 · 2022-01-06T17:01:28Z

Lars Filusch answered · Jan 06, 2022 at 05:01 PM

installed @venusOS 2.8~33

But do not manage to install a package

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 06, 2022 at 05:20 PM

I'd like to help with your issue but need some additional information.

Is PackageManager running? You should see it's menu at the bottom of Settings. It will indicate if PackageManager is running.

The latest version does not install any packages by default. You need to add them manually from the inactive packages list.

Logs may help. They are available via the command line at:

/data/log/SetupHelper

and /data/log/PackageManager/current

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Lars Filusch Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 13, 2022 at 09:08 PM

yes PackageManager is running, there are packages at the inactive page, nut i can´t install them, nothing happened...logs.zip

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logs.zip (2.3 KiB)

Kevin Windrem Lars Filusch commented · Jan 14, 2022 at 02:47 AM

Thanks for the logs.

What version of SetupHelper are you running?

I checked the change log and v4.0~31 fixed an index out of range crash in that section of code. This happened when there are NO packages in the list, as when you run v4.0 for the first time.

The current beta version is v4.0~38

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Lars Filusch Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 14, 2022 at 06:17 AM

reinstall beta

seams to be running as it shout be...

thx

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Answer 2 · 2022-01-06T21:48:20Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Jan 06, 2022 at 09:48 PM

Update: I'm nearing the beta test phase for SetupHelper 4.0.

The latest version (v4.0~30) includes a settings backup and restore mechanism similar to the one Victorn is working on. Victron is saving the settings XML file and restoring portions of it and has reported problems. My mechanism reads select parameters from com.victronergy.settings via dbus and writes them to a file, then reverses that for the restore. Settings must exist to be saved and also to be restored. When the Victron mechanism is released, this one will be removed.

I have been working with 123electric to incorporate the first third party package for SetupHelper: 123SmartBMS-Venus. Thanks to all who have taken time to test and provide feedback.

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Answer 3 · 2022-01-15T00:57:01Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Jan 15, 2022 at 12:57 AM

v4.0 beta has ended. Released version available. See revised text in original post above.

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Answer 4 · 2022-01-15T11:10:25Z

not sure what's going on, woke up today to both my systems showing a blank screen (accessed remotely) were fine last night. Tried checking what may be wrong, didn't go far.

The Rpi which is next to my desk (test rig) was easy to try the blind install, didn't work. rebooted, cleared everything related to SetupHelper from /data, tried blind install again, worked (as in I see that there is a /data/SetupHelper folder now there) screen is still blank.

Ideas welcomed. Obvs, system runs fine, coms with bms fine, reports ok.

Adding /data/log/PackageManager/current log. Cannot seem to be able to add /data/log/SetupHelper in here...

cheers

V.

current.txt

EDIT: re did the blind install having first wiped the SetupHelper log now log states:

@4000000061e2b5251ae984cc SetupHelper/reinstallMods: /data/reinstallScriptsList file not found
@4000000061e2b5260b6e3754 SetupHelper-blind/blindInstall: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061e2b527312d8bd4 SetupHelper-blind/blindInstall: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061e2b529185df404 SetupHelper-blind/blindInstall: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061e2b52d07838fa4 SetupHelper-blind/blindInstall: blind install did NOT update SetupHelper (probably an older version)
~

and the current:

@4000000061e2b61416ee7db4 Traceback (most recent call last):
@4000000061e2b61416ee913c   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 3229, in <module>
@4000000061e2b61416ee9cf4     main()
@4000000061e2b61416eea4c4   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 3162, in main
@4000000061e2b61416eeb464     package.MoveFlagFiles ()
@4000000061e2b61416eebc34   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 1306, in MoveFlagFiles
@4000000061e2b61416eec7ec     os.mkdir (optionsPath)
@4000000061e2b61416eecfbc FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/data/setupOptions/SetupHelper'
@4000000061e2b6150d301364 WARNING:>>>> PackageManager v4.0 starting
@4000000061e2b61518c5a2fc Traceback (most recent call last):
@4000000061e2b61518c5b29c   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 3229, in <module>
@4000000061e2b61518c5c23c     main()
@4000000061e2b61518c5ca0c   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 3162, in main
@4000000061e2b61518c5d5c4     package.MoveFlagFiles ()
@4000000061e2b61518c5dd94   File "/data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py", line 1306, in MoveFlagFiles
@4000000061e2b61518c5e94c     os.mkdir (optionsPath)
@4000000061e2b61518c5f504 FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/data/setupOptions/SetupHelper'
~

Answer 5 · 2022-01-15T13:05:48Z

Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) answered · Jan 15, 2022 at 01:05 PM

The whole package turned out really great! Thank you for the fantastic work. I think Victron is always looking for skilful and innovative developers!

Maybe a minor issue on PackageManager: the reboot feature (i.e. when required after installing RPiDisplaySetup) seems to do nothing and I had to use reboot from console or from the General menu.

And another one: when on keyboard, adding a package in Add package menu seems to be impossible. Scrolling down makes it landing on the Cancel button and there is no way to get onto the Proceed button, unless you tap on it with mouse or display.

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 15, 2022 at 03:33 PM

On the reboot failure:

Depending on the state of the system when the setup script is run, a reboot may not be required.

Did the active packages list indicate a reboot was needed?

Interesting on the keyboard issue as I've tested this several times. The buttons don't always highlight in the expected order but you should eventually get to the one you want. I don't actually have any control over this as it's handled in the Venus gui code.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 15, 2022 at 03:51 PM

Yes, a reboot showed up in the active package list. And when I clicked reboot, it looks like the restart actually happened. But nothing really happens.

On the keyboard issue: this also happens on the navigation in the package edition, especially Previous Next Install Download Uninstall buttons with unpredictable results.

Cursor down gets me to Previous button. From there I would expect cursor right to get to the next menu item (I now know its cursor down...), but cursor right changes the Package Name to SetupHelper and makes Previous button disappear (because SetupHelper does not have this button). Same for all other active packages.

System: Venus OS v2.80~36 Rpi 4 v1.2 4GB

gui_current_log.txt

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gui-current-log.txt (16.6 KiB)

Answer 6 · 2022-01-15T16:02:07Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Jan 15, 2022 at 04:02 PM

For those experiencing a blank screen, apologies. I've been in beta with v4.0 for some time and thought I'd found all such problems.

The logs provided don't show the GUI issue so I'll need the gui log: /data/log/gui/current

There is an issue in Package Manager as shown in the logs above which I will fix. This bug will prevent PackageManager from running

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Answer 7 · 2022-01-15T16:20:33Z

/data/log/gui/current, rpi4 running latest large:

@4000000061e2f11b06320d4c QVNCServer No password configured, accepting connection
@4000000061e2f11d1190548c QVNCServer disconnected from "127.0.0.1"
@4000000061e2f11d21a73a0c QVNCServer new incoming connection from "127.0.0.1"
@4000000061e2f11d26c6db64 QVNCServer Client protocol version RFB 003.003
@4000000061e2f11d26c6eeec
@4000000061e2f11d26c8852c QVNCServer No password configured, accepting connection
@4000000061e2f11d34df1e3c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f11d34e07dcc connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f17734dfe95c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f17734e173e4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f1d1350fcb2c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f1d1350fe29c connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f22b3518fabc connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f22b351a9cb4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f2853518e734 connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f2853518fea4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f2df351dec5c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f2df351e03cc connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f339350ab27c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f339350c779c connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f393351df814 connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f393351f9df4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f3ed351bd14c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_c24a0d9b5798_cable"
@4000000061e2f3ed351d4c34 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
~

doesn't look v.helpful though Kevin :-(

V.

Answer 8 · 2022-01-15T16:27:48Z

and logs from my rpi3B+ running latest Large VenusOS on the boat which I've not even rebooted since this happened today.

/data/logs/PackageManager/current:

@4000000061e2215a352cb584 ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e2215b36713ba4 ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e2215c37af459c ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e2215d38f3009c ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e2215e3a3c5534 ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e221600033b454 ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e22161013787f4 ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e2216202795aac ./run: line 3: /data/SetupHelper/PackageManager.py: No such file or directory
@4000000061e22164285a873c WARNING:>>>> PackageManager v4.0 starting
@4000000061e221651fd1d214 WARNING:adding GuiMods2
@4000000061e29436288413f4 *** CCGX booted (0) ***
@4000000061e2943a34212184 WARNING:>>>> PackageManager v4.0 starting

/data/logs/gui/current:

@4000000061e2f3022c4d6c4c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f3022c4fc1f4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f35c2c496cdc connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f35c2c4baefc connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f3b62c51ae24 connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f3b62c51d14c connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f4102c50fe5c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f4102c512184 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f46a2c10a99c connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f46a2c10ccc4 connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f4c42c0b17d4 connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f4c42c0dabfc connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""
@4000000061e2f51e2c4bf164 connman/cmservice.cpp Property changed "/net/connman/service/ethernet_ba076e5362ef_cable"
@4000000061e2f51e2c4e470c connman/cmservice.cpp Update Property "Domains" ""

/data/logs/SetupHelper:

@4000000061d85682082f2d3c SetupHelper/setup: installing default packge list
@4000000061d856821061affc SetupHelper/setup: restarting SetupHelper service
@4000000061d8568215951004 SetupHelper/setup: completed
@4000000061d85683157199e4 SetupHelper/updatePackageVersions: creating dbus Setting /Settings/PackageVersion/2/PackageName
@4000000061d85685027591ec SetupHelper/updatePackageVersions: creating dbus Setting /Settings/PackageVersion/2/PackageVersion
@4000000061d856862e0dbdd4 SetupHelper/updatePackageVersions: creating dbus Setting /Settings/PackageVersion/3/PackageName
@4000000061d8568821b3867c SetupHelper/updatePackageVersions: removing dbus Settings /Settings/PackageVersion/4/PackageName /Settings/Pac
@4000000061d8573b2c717eac SetupHelper/setup: restarting SetupHelper service
@4000000061d8573b31ce82dc SetupHelper/setup: completed
@4000000061d857d43508417c GuiMods/setup: installing GuiMods files
@4000000061d857d52b7cc254 GuiMods/setup: ++ GuiMods installed
@4000000061d857d52f18926c GuiMods/setup: completed
@4000000061d857e63ae8dd2c SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857e936be7914 SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857eb25c6b144 SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857ed1d716c14 SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: starting up
@4000000061de37e9333828e4 SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: ERROR: no version for SetupHelper kwindrem current on GitHub - can't continue
@4000000061de3a4135cc740c SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: ERROR: no version for GuiMods kwindrem current on GitHub - can't continue
@4000000061d857e637d305f4 SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857e9371b911c SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857eb2ce80e3c SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857ec2b7de74c SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061d857ed31574b54 SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: starting up
@4000000061e221600637b684 SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: found SetupHelper on GitHub
@4000000061e2216006d12bac SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdater: continuing in cleanup script - SetupHelper exiting
@4000000061e221620ead1a5c SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdaterCleanup: running SetupHelper setup script to reinstall
@4000000061e2216211b9ae7c SetupHelper/packageAutoUpdaterCleanup: reinstalling SetupHelper
@4000000061e22162387550d4 SetupHelper/setup: restarting PackageManager service
@4000000061e294342d921d64 SetupHelper/reinstallMods: reinstallMods starting
@4000000061e294360652a8f4 SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061e2943904c93e1c SetupHelper/reinstallMods: waiting for dBus settings
@4000000061e2943e32b5c9e4 SetupHelper/reinstallMods: reinstallMods complete

not sure how old these are though.

hope it helps

V.

Answer 9 · 2022-01-15T18:01:05Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Jan 15, 2022 at 06:01 PM

Sorry for all the issues with v4.0.

I just put v4.1 up on GitHub

The white screen was related to the large version. This has been fixed.

I found a PackageManager crash on new systems that I believe I fixed this also.

Any more issues, please report immediately and include logs if possible:

tail -50 /data/log/PackageManager/current | tai64nlocal

tail -50 /data/log/SetupHelper | tai64nlocal

tail -50 /data/log/gui/current | tai64nlocal

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vassilis-bourdakis commented · Jan 15, 2022 at 07:45 PM

usb blind install worked fine on the local rpi4, well done!

Now all the old mess is gone, packagemanager works fine, all's perfect!

Since I'm not planning to visit the boat now, any way to get the update on the other rpi from sh remotely?

What if I copy the contents of the tgz into /data and reboot once? :-)

it's only the SetupHelper-blind folder and the ._rcS.local and rcS.local files

cheers

V.

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Answer 10 · 2022-01-15T19:48:55Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Jan 15, 2022 at 07:48 PM

You could do it that way. The two files from the archive you need are rcS.local and SetupHelper directory.

You could also copy the contents of SetupHelper from one system to another then run /data/SetupHelper/setup install

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vassilis-bourdakis commented · Jan 16, 2022 at 09:30 AM

copied over the SetupHelper-blind and the rcS.local rebooted once, job done.

well done Kevin, many thanks for the work you've put on it!

cheers

V.

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Answer 11 · 2022-01-16T23:03:00Z

Al answered · Jan 16, 2022 at 11:03 PM

Great work @Kevin Windrem! Thanks for spending the time on this to add to Venus OS.

Just updated the Venus beta, saw GuiMods had disappeared, but with the new package manager It was really simple to download and update SetupHelper and GuiMods and all working without having to faff around with Command line and micro sd cards. :)

screenshot-20220116-191657.png (263.2 KiB)

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 16, 2022 at 11:15 PM

Just so you know, package reinstalls are attempted when Venus OS firmware is updated. If a package detects an incompatible version it will not install, which is most likely why GuiMods disappeared.

The GUI-based PackageManager was intended to make upgrades painless.

If you leave auto downloads set to Normal and auto installs on then you'll get new versions as they are pushed to GitHub.

On mission critical systems, I recommend allowing new versions to download but not auto install so you can pick the time of update.

It's also easy to roll back by setting the branch/tag to a previous version number, downloading and installing. Even with auto downloads/installs enabled, you'll not move from that version until you change the branch.

Glad you found it useful.

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Al Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 16, 2022 at 11:46 PM

Ah, that makes sense about the 'incomplete' OS message or something like that I saw initially stopping GuiMod re-install.

Thanks for the tips, I'm only allowing update installs when I'm free to make sure everything works for Venus and GuiMods etc as a caution anyway.

Cheers Al

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Answer 12 · 2022-01-18T12:06:10Z

johnny-brusevold answered · Jan 18, 2022 at 12:06 PM

@Kevin Windrem

Installed Setup Helper in blind mode, which worked fine, but detected something strange.

All input devices in node-red switched state to disconnected.

In the drop-down menu where I can, for example, select BMV-702, two units with the same name appeared. When I switched to unit two, everything worked as it should.

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 18, 2022 at 03:29 PM

I don't believe your node-red issues are related to SetupHelper. If you uninstall SetupHelper do the problems persist? If so, the problem lies elsewhere.

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Answer 13 · 2022-01-19T00:14:56Z

abucas01 answered · Jan 19, 2022 at 12:14 AM

@Kevin Windrem

After returning from holidays, my Cerbo updated to the new Setuphelper/package manager.
I had to enable Normal Auto downloads and Auto install.

After the system updated I had the following in the Active packages screen.

So I did a Backup of the settings, then I uninstalled the GuiMod2 version (which I had previously removed when you combined the functionality into GuiMods), then removed the package.

After this GuiMods did not appear to be running, so I did a restore thinking this may fix it, but it did not. I then had to reboot the Cerbo to get GuiMods screens working again.

After this I am left with the following entries in ActivePackages

Going into the <Blank> package entry and selecting remove package does nothing.

Is there a problem having this blank entry, if so how to remove it?

All else appears to be working ok

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 19, 2022 at 01:09 AM

The blank row is not good but if things are running I'd say it won't cause problems.

What happens when you try to remove it? Do you get any prompts? Does it just sit there removing ... ?

Can you send me the PackageManager log. zip the entire /data/log/PackageManager folder and post it as an issue to GitHub.

PackageManager looks in /data for things it thinks is a package. Those appear in the active packages list.

I created a new package and removed its name via dbus-spy. Even with a blank name, I was able to remove it from the active list.

I added GuiMods2 to /data manually and it appeared in the package list. I removed the directory, then removed the package from the active list. All worked OK.

There is a script in the SetupHelper directory that will wipe out all dbus settings related to PackageManger. This will cause PackageManager to rebuild it's settings from scratch. It is necessary for PackageManager to not be running at the time, hence the svc lines.

svc -d /service/PackageManager
/data/SetupHelper/removeManagerSettings
svc -u /service/PackageManager

After you run this script, I think it will rebuild the list from packages already in /data. But you may have to add packages back into the active list. You'll also need to set auto download and auto install again.

FYI, Backup and Restore only backup and restore settings for things you can transport from one system to another, or restore on the same system after some unexpected event. I purposely skip the PackageManger package database from this because those settings can't reliably be restored at a later time.

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abucas01 Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 19, 2022 at 03:19 AM

@Kevin Windrem,

I have added the zip file as an issue as requested.

I also ran the script you posted, and this has removed the Blank Active Package entry

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Answer 14 · 2022-01-19T03:34:52Z

boatguy answered · Jan 19, 2022 at 03:34 AM

That feeling when your in way over your head but learning. I built a pi. I loaded venusOS. I made cables and can use the Victron Connect to see my devices from the remote console. I built a 5 lcd case. Now I need package manager. Blind install is perfect for noob like me. I format my USB in WIndows. I copy venus-data.tgz to it. I put it in the pi. The pi boots from my venus SD card. I go to the remote console, settings and scroll down. No Package manager. reboot twice as per instuctions. no Package manager. Im sure I am missing something, but I dont know what. SHould I unzip the tgz file? I realize I am new but Im figuring it out. Thanks

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 19, 2022 at 03:50 AM

No, you should not unpack the .tgz file.

Do you have console access to Venus?

If so, look in /data. There should be a folder named SetupHelper. If you find SetupHelper-blind instead, the blind install didn't work for some reason. Logs are helpful if you can capture them:

/data/log/SetupHelper

/data/log/PackageManager/current

You can zip them and post them as an issue to SetupHelper on GitHub.

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boatguy Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 20, 2022 at 09:03 PM

Turns out it was a bad usb/sd card or reader. I installed Package Manager. I used package manager to activate RPI DIsplay. But unfortunately even though my screen turns on the scan rate and or resolution must be bad because it literally scans and nothing is useable. I dont know how to calibrate, or adjust the display. I know the display is good because it works when I boot from my traditional PI OS sd card. It did have an install/driver step so maybe it wont work with Venus.

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Kevin Windrem boatguy commented · Jan 20, 2022 at 09:16 PM

On my PI 4 the "official 7" Raspberry PI touchscreen" just worked without any tweaks. The only thing RpiDisplaySetup does is activate screen dimming and blanking.

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boatguy Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 20, 2022 at 10:35 PM

This is what I bought. You will see in the description that it takes a driver to run. Oh well I learned a lot in this process and believe me I have wasted more money than a cheap screen. I never thought that it would be a raspian only device. Thanks for you help and patience. I love learning new things

Amazon.com: Longruner Raspberry Pi Touch Screen with Case, 5 Inch TFT LCD Display HDMI Module 800x480 for Raspberry Pi 3 2 Model B and RPI 1 B+ A BB Black PC Various Systems （with Protective Case） : Electronics

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Al boatguy commented · Jan 21, 2022 at 01:57 AM

Is your main purpose for the screen to use it to view the Victron flow overview etc, or for other stuff with the pi?

Maybe not a solution for the latter, but could you run a tablet in kiosk mode. That's what I do with a ccgx and now an Amazon fire 10", which is also a better size than a 7" and has auto dimming.

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Al Al commented · Jan 21, 2022 at 01:02 PM

@Boatguy If you have a spare tablet you can use local wifi with the Pi:

https://community.victronenergy.com/articles/5930/disable-hotkeys-in-venus-remote-console-on-lan.html

Which allows you to view with remote access on your tablet, Kiosk mode (Hotkeys disabled) as I have a touchscreen tablet and GuiMods also installed:

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boatguy Al commented · Jan 21, 2022 at 04:10 PM

Great Idea! Thanks. I think thats what I will do. I will also start to figure out how to get my Onan generator on the screen like yours. Thanks for being patient. Im having so much fun learning.

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Al boatguy commented · Jan 21, 2022 at 04:25 PM

My red box is blank using the more recent versions of GuiMods - Unless the generator is running - then it looks as above. It should be the same for you automatically once you if you have GuiMods installed.

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Answer 15 · 2022-01-22T10:20:01Z

Lars Filusch answered · Jan 22, 2022 at 10:20 AM

trying to install RpiDisplaySetup

error file set incomplete,

also tried to remove and install again….

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 22, 2022 at 03:37 PM

This usually means that one of the files the package replaces has been modified from what is supplied with the Venus update.

The simplest remedy is to reinstall the Venus firmware. And the easiest way to do that is to boot to the stored backup the INSTALL the version you want again. (Don't simply boot back to the original Venus version because it will have the modified file.)

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Lars Filusch Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 22, 2022 at 03:52 PM

Ok, íll give it a try

thx

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Lars Filusch Lars Filusch commented · Jan 22, 2022 at 06:04 PM

success !

only the slider for display brightness is missing....

original Rpi 7" touch display

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Kevin Windrem Lars Filusch commented · Jan 22, 2022 at 06:32 PM

RpiDisplaySetup requires the setup script to be run again following the install. It should have rebooted and run the script again automatically but this might not have happened. Try running setup again from the PackageMonitor and see if it gets you the brightness slider.

If it works and you have console access to the GX device, send me the SetupHelper log:

tail -100 /data/log/SetupHelper | tai64nlocal.

To avoid clutter here, post as an issue to SetupHelepr on GitHub.

The reason for the second setup run is because the first one installs the display brightness overlay. The second one looks for the appropriate files in /sys and installs the brightness stuff if it is found.

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Lars Filusch Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 22, 2022 at 06:54 PM

success !

thx one more time

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Answer 16 · 2022-01-23T14:00:48Z

Lars Filusch answered · Jan 23, 2022 at 02:00 PM

is there an other method to rotate the display then to edit the /u-boot/config.txt ?

lcd_rotate=2

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 23, 2022 at 04:42 PM

Not that I know of

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Answer 17 · 2022-01-27T16:46:29Z

Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) answered · Jan 27, 2022 at 04:46 PM

Hi Kevin, my relay hat needs an alternative gpio_list, which unfortunately gets overwritten by SetupHelper after every Venus OS firmware update. I realize that a copy can be saved to the data partition and then the original replaced via a shell script or just manually by copying to /etc/venus.

I'm just wondering if there might be a much more convenient way, maybe via SetupHelper, and if I think about it further, maybe also the possibility to change the gpio_list via SetupHelper or an Gui_Mods element?

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 27, 2022 at 05:24 PM

v3.6 of RpiGpioSetup just put up on GitHub looks for /data/setupOptions/RpiGpioSetup/gpio_list and use that when installing that package instead of using gpio_list from the package directory.

You can place your custom GPIO list there. This storage is persistent and survives a Venus firmware update as well as a package update.

I hope that works for you. I'd rather not add setup script options or options to GuiMods to implement functionality that's probably best handled with a text editor anyway.

In the next update to SetupHelper, I will include the setupOptions directory in the PackageManager backup/restore settings functionality so you can transport this customization to another system.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 27, 2022 at 05:35 PM

That's great! Much easier than I had imagined. I'll try that in a moment and just switch back and forth between different firmware versions.

I have a similar problem with the blanking of the 5" Waveshare DSI display. In order for blanking to work, I have to add the overlay manually after each firmware update with:

cd /u-boot/overlays
wget https://github.com/kwindrem/RpiDisplaySetup/raw/main/rpi-backlight-overlay.dtb
echo "/sys/class/graphics/fb0/blank" > /etc/venus/blank_display_device

Is there a more elegant solution for this, e.g. via RpiDisplaySetup?

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Kevin Windrem Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented · Jan 27, 2022 at 05:58 PM

As of v2.4, the RpiDisplaySetup setup script always installs the overlay, then reboots and runs setup again. So you should not need the wget.

The script then uses the presence of

/sys/class/backlight/rpi_backlight

to automatically select the RPI display or HDMI 0

For HDMI 0, it sets up the venus/blank_display_device exactly as you do manually.

So I'm not sure why RpiDisplaySetup isn't working without your additional steps.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 27, 2022 at 06:26 PM

This is how I had to do it since using RpiDisplaySetup.

v2.4 made no difference, not even last night when I updated Venus to v2.80~43.

It's "only" the blanking that doesn't work. Everything else like the slider will install properly and is ok. I remember we had a lengthy thread in the past about dimming and blanking the Waveshare DSI display. Maybe I'm missing something here. Even considering to buy a bigger display..

By the way, at some point I was actually able to switch off the display so that the display was completely black and didn't even show the two white backlight LEDs on the bottom. I just can't remember how I managed it ;-)

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Kevin Windrem Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented · Jan 27, 2022 at 07:33 PM

I think the issue is the setup script is finding enough to think the display is the "official RPI touchscreen" so it is setting /etc/venus/blank... to point to the rpi device, not fb0.

You can't run the setup script manually because there is no option to have dimming enabled for HDMI 0.

I'll give the issue some thought.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 29, 2022 at 06:03 AM

I can confirm that v3.6 of RpiGpioSetup is working now as expected and re-installs my custom gpio_list after firmware update to Venus OS 2.80~44.

For RpiDisplaySetup there is no change. Still requires manually update the overlay.

From /var/log/messages:

Jan 29 05:13:53 raspberrypi4 user.info kernel: [    0.268875] bcm2708_fb soc:fb: FB found 1 display(s)
Jan 29 05:13:53 raspberrypi4 user.info kernel: [    0.273510] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 100x30
Jan 29 05:13:53 raspberrypi4 user.info kernel: [    0.275887] bcm2708_fb soc:fb: Registered framebuffer for display 0, size 800x480
Jan 29 05:13:53 raspberrypi4 user.info k

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Kevin Windrem Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented · Jan 30, 2022 at 12:23 AM

RpiDisplaySetup v2.5 now permits custom blank and dimming files as I recently added for RpiGpioSetup.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 30, 2022 at 11:06 AM

Thanks very much, Kevin! I will report back after the next firmware update.

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Kevin Windrem Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 30, 2022 at 07:04 PM

i just posted v2.6 which allows a CUSTOM display type selection along with the /sys/class/... devices for blanking and dimming.

This works from the command line only but once the custom blank and dim files exist in /data/setupOptions/RpiDisplaySetup then an install will use that info ignoring the device type.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 30, 2022 at 08:21 PM

I can't see the custom option when calling setup from console.

Uninstalled and installed again from PackageManager plus deleting all RpiDisplaySetup files/folders manually did not help.

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Kevin Windrem Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ commented · Jan 30, 2022 at 10:40 PM

make sure you have RpiDisplaySetup v2.6

I just did the download and got the CUSTOM option during installation from the command line.

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Stefanie (Victron Energy Staff) ♦♦ Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 31, 2022 at 05:40 AM

v2.6 was installed. It was more like the operator's incompetence. Working now. Thank you.

For those with a similar display (Waveshare 5" DSI) the device for blanking and dimming are:

/sys/class/graphics/fb0/blank
/sys/class/backlight/rpi_backlight

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Answer 18 · 2023-01-21T10:29:20Z

satmaster200 answered · Jan 21, 2023 at 10:29 AM

Hi Kevin!

I like SetupHelper and the PackageManager a lot and want to thank you first of all for the great work you provide to the communitiy!

I have these packages installed:

I think, since I upgraded to Venus OS 3.00-15 the PackageManager shows mangled menus:

When I further scroll down, it get's all "overlayed" on top of each other somehow and is not acessible properly anymore:

I allready reinitialised the PackageManager but that did not solve the Problem

Is this a kown Issue? Am I doing something wrong here? What can be done to resolve the issue?

Oh and I hope this is the right spot "report issues"?

Thank you very much!

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Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 21, 2023 at 04:42 PM

Yes, a known issue. Testing a fix now.

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satmaster200 Kevin Windrem commented · Jan 21, 2023 at 09:49 PM

Thanks Kevin!

Much appreciated!

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pau1phi11ips commented · Jan 21, 2023 at 05:53 PM

@satmaster200 It's best to stick to the non-beta Venus releases if you're using mods

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satmaster200 pau1phi11ips commented · Jan 21, 2023 at 09:51 PM

Yes true! But this is my test system, so I'm fine finding and reporting some issues as they can be fixed for the next major release.

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Kevin Windrem satmaster200 commented · Jan 21, 2023 at 11:17 PM

I do appreciate the help testing my software. Thanks.

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Answer 19 · 2024-04-01T10:03:45Z

hussl1 answered · Apr 01 at 10:03 AM

did a blind install as mentioned in the readme. Seemed to have worked, but somehow setuphelper appears to behave strangely. Already tried to initialize and rebooted the cerbo several times. Setup helper appears to do nothing. Happy easter everyone!

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Answer 20 · 2024-04-01T15:19:38Z

Kevin Windrem answered · Apr 01 at 03:19 PM

I'd need logs to look into this. There are instructions in SetupHelper ReadMe to gather logs even if you don't have command line access.

Please post the logs to the issues section of the SetupHelper GitHub repo.

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