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Monday, 11 May 2026 07:24

My Batocera Notes

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I have made a PC that will go under me television for playing retro games and I choose Batocera for the OS

Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer or nano computer like Raspberry Pis and Odroids into a gaming console, for one game or permanently.

Batocera.linux does not require any modification on your computer. Note that you must own the games you play in order to comply with the law.

  • Official Sites
  • General
  • What is Batocera?
    • Batocera
      • is an OS built from scratch, it is not based on another distro.
      • Uses EmulationStation
      • It has a system partition and Share partition to keep system and user files separate.
    • What is Batocera? - YouTube | Batocera Nation - This video gives you a brief description of what Batocera is all about. Thinking about installing Batocera? This video is for you.
  • Which Emulator is best?
    • Bazzite
      • You are really into gaming
      • Ideal for a dedicated Linux gaming
      • This uses Retroarch
    • Retroarch
      • You have one PC and it is Linux.
      • Your are not using Bazzite.
    • Retrobat
      • Retro gaming on windows
      • You have one PC and it is Windows.
      • Better Steam support
    • Batocera
      • full retro box
      • Games Cabinet
      • Old PC hardware
  • Tutorials
    • install_batocera [Batocera.linux - Wiki] - Official Installation Guide
      • I used Raspberry Pi imager - as per the instructions but you can use Etcher and USB Imager.
    • secureboot [Batocera.linux - Wiki]
      • Secure Boot For Batocera v39 and higher on x86_64 systems, streamlined support for Secure Boot is present.
      • This makes it easier to boot Batocera on PCs which have poor secure boot key management in the native UEFI BIOS.
      • The process detailed below will install Batocera's security certificate into the machine's “Machine Owner Keys” (MOK) into the PC's UEFI variable store.
      • This will allow the machine to execute Batocera's bootloader, which has been digitally signed with Batocera's certificate, even when Secure Boot is enabled in the BIOS.
    • Before You Upgrade Batocera - What You Need to Know! - YouTube | Batocera TV
      • In this video, we go through everything you should know before upgrading your system.
      • How the upgrade process really works, what might change in version 42, and what to do if something doesn’t work after the update.
    • How to Fix Boot Partition Space Issues in Batocera – Step-by-Step Tutorial - YouTube | Batocera TV
      • Batocera just keeps growing with every release -€” more features, more systems, more updates!
      • But with all these improvements, you might run into a problem: your BOOT partition may no longer have enough space to handle automatic upgrades.
      • In this video, I’ll guide you step-by-step through the process of extending the BOOT partition so you can keep updating Batocera without any issues.
      • We’ll use Ventoy to create a bootable USB stick and GParted to safely resize the partitions — a method that’s simple enough for anyone to follow.
    • How to connect Bluetooth controller on Batocera - YouTube | Showtime Gaming
      • A quick tutorial on how to quickly and easily connect a Bluetooth controller. 
      • This example demonstrates an Xbox controller connecting to the PC that is operating the system. The PC or device used to operate batocera must have WiFi and the Bluetooth controller must be compatible as well.
    • How to SSH into Batocera from Windows (No Install Needed!) - YouTube | Batocera TV
      • Want to access your Batocera system via SSH without installing anything on Windows?
      • In this quick and easy tutorial, I’ll show you how to connect to Batocera using PowerShell and even take a screenshot with a simple command!
    • How to Install Windows Games in Batocera - YouTube | Batocera Nation
      • This is a quick tutorial that teaches you how to install and setup Windows games in Batocera.
  • WiFi and Bluetooth
    • Try the hardware you have, you might find it just works.
    • Not all BT and WiFi is supported.
    • Wifi and BT combos seem to have issues in Linux.
    • The driverless dongles (aliexpress, eBay etc...) are not driverless, they present a USB drive with the drivers on it.
    • hardware:compatible_dongle_list [Batocera.linux - Wiki] - This list is out of date and a lot more devices out of the box are supported.
    • USB-WiFi/home/Recommended_Bluetooth_Adapters_for_Linux.md at main · morrownr/USB-WiFi · GitHub
      • I have started this list because of my strong recommendation to Linux users to avoid USB WiFi adapters that include bluetooth support.
      • I have seen too many problems with combo adapters over the years.
      • There are technical reasons for the problems that users see with combo adapters and problems happen on both Linux and Windows.
      • I will explain this in detail on this page as I have time.
  • Keys
    • File Manager: F1
    • Menu: Spacebar
    • Hotkey: En the xbox one controller, it is the Xbox logo button.
    • Exit Emulator: Hotkey + Start/Menu

Installation

I need notes, eg fastboot can sometimes cause an issue, make sure you BIOS is uptodate.

Read 1 times Last modified on Monday, 11 May 2026 08:04
Published in Emulators
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