Installing OpenELEC Part 1 (Linux)

Installing OpenELEC from a Linux computer is a very simple process and whether you're new to Linux or a hardened *NIX user, you shouldn't have any problems.

Things you'll need:

• A Linux computer (your normal PC)
• A target machine (your HTPC)
• One USB key to install from
• Media to install to (USB key, SD card, compact flash, HDD, etc)

The first thing you need to do is download the latest stable build of OpenELEC, so head over to the download page and download the correct version for your platform.

Once it's downloaded, you'll have a file that ends in .tar.bz2 - this file contains the OpenELEC installer files. We need to extract the files from the archive in order to use them.

Using the GUI

There are two ways to do this: the easiest way is if you're running a desktop (Gnome, KDE, etc). If you are, just open the folder you downloaded the file, find the file, right-click on it and select 'Extract Files...'. This will create a new folder with the installer files in it.

Using the CLI

If you're not running a desktop (or you just enjoy the terminal), then you'll need to navigate to where the downloaded file is:

cd /home/gilphilbert/Downloads

Then, extract the file. It'll be named OpenELEC then something regarding the architecture, then .tar.bz2. We need to use tar to extract the fles.

tar xvf OpenELEC-Generic.i386-0.99.1.tar.bz2

You should see a list of files - these are the contents of the archive as they're extracted.

Creating the key

At this point, whether you've used a graphic application or tar to extract the files, you now need a terminal open. Navigate to where you've downloaded the files, then into the folder the extraction has created:

cd /home/gilphilbert/Downloads/OpenELEC-Generic.i386-0.99.1/

Now, pop your USB key in that you're going to use as your installation media and find out what device it is (after you've inserted the key, use 'dmesg | tail' to find out. It should be something like /dev/sdb).

Next we need to create the installation key. You'll need superuser privileges to do this, whether you use the root user or sudo. Either way, you need to execute the following command:

sudo ./create_installstick /dev/sdb

(where /dev/sdb is the device you looked up a second ago). It's very important that you make sure you have the right device as it will be wiped as part of the process. For example, it's extremely unlikely that your device will be /dev/sda as that's almost always the first hard disk in your computer.

Note: make sure there's nothing important on your USB key as the above command will wipe it

You should then see the following on your screen:

#########################################################
#                                                       #
#             OpenELEC.tv USB Installer                 #
#                                                       #
#########################################################
#                                                       #
#     This will wipe any data off your chosen drive     #
# Please read the instructions and use very carefully.. #
#                                                       #
#########################################################
checking MD5 sum...
target/KERNEL: OK
target/SYSTEM: OK
writing new disklabel on /dev/sdb (remove any partition)...
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
4194304 bytes (4.2 MB) copied, 1.63624 s, 2.6 MB/s
create an partition on /dev/sdb...
make partition active...
tell kernel we have a new partitiontable...
make filesystem on /dev/sdb1...
mkfs.vfat 3.0.9 (31 Jan 2010)
install syslinux to /dev/sdb1...
mounting partition /dev/sdb1 to /tmp/usb_install...
finding UUID from /dev/sdb1 ...UUID=1CF6-F9AD
create bootloader...
copy files to /dev/sdb1...
syncing disk...
unmounting partition /dev/sdb1...
cleaning tempdir...
...ready

The installation may appear to hang at 'syncing disk' - that's because this is when the files are actually being written to your USB key.

You've now created your USB installation key, so head on to part 2 of the installation guide.