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KODIsetup

I tried a number of different platforms:

• Compaq Presario z3000s with Radeon 9550 (256MB)
• Intel Pentium 4 bare mobo with Radeon 9000 (64MB)
• HP t5740 thin-client with integrated Intel GM45 (256MB)

Setup Debian 8.4 "Jessie"

Using Disc 1 of the Debian 8.3 binary sets, I booted the CD and followed the setup procedure without difficulty. It follows the same pattern as all Debians in the past decade. A couple of key notes:

• When presented with the TaskSel menu, only check the box for "Basic Utilities". Do not install desktop.
• Modify /etc/fstab, including relatime (or noatime) on the root volume (minimizes writes to the flash DOM). Reboot.
• Update /etc/hosts with wget -O /etc/hosts http://jblaser.org/~jared/hosts
• After basic setup is complete and system is rebooted edit /etc/apt/sources.list to include:
  • non-free along with main if video card will require firmware binary (e.g., Radeon 9550)
  • deb http://http.debian.net/debian jessie-backports main
  • [2020-11-20: the default ftp.us will need to be replaced with archive now that Jessie is an obsolete release]
• Update packages list with apt-get update

Install X, ALSA, and KODI using apt-get, dselect (must be installed first) or aptitude. Allow the tool to install required dependencies:

• X packages:
  • xorg
  • firmware-linux-nonfree (if using a video card that needs binary firmware, e.g., Radeon 9xxx)
• ALSA packages:
  • alsa-base
  • alsa-utils
• KODI packages:
  • kodi

Double-check audio setup by running alsamixer and make sure the audio device volume is set and not muted.

start X and KODI with:

• # startx kodi

A better way is to create /root/.xinitrc with:

Now, a simple command of startx will start KODI.

Enabling auto-login and auto-start of KODI

Edit /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/getty@tty1.service and change:

to:

Then, to auto-start KODI, add the following to /root/.profile:

# start KODI if this is the first TTY login
if [ `ps t | sed -n '2 p' | tr -s ' ' | cut -d ' ' -f 3` = 'tty1' ] ; then
     startx
fi

Using disk image

I have made a master disk image that can be used to clone KODI onto HP t5740 boxes (2GB). It requires four steps:

• boot external USB (PuppyLinux) and write image to internal flash drive (/dev/sda)
• modify /etc/hostname with correct box name
• modify /etc/network/interfaces with correct IP address
• modify /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules with correct MAC address (must use lower-case)