redirect rom folder to usb flashdrive?

[cosmodk]

Is it possible to redirect the ROMS folder to a flashdrive? i am having major issues with my memory card on my RaspPi 2 filling up with roms :(

i would love to keep my memory card clean and free of Roms, and keep those separate on a USB Stick instead.

for that past week i have been trying to find a solution online, however i am no Linux wizard and have to rely on outdated guides, that in the end prove to be non functional :(

Please oh Gurus of RetroPie help me out :)

Kind regards
Jimmy

[retrouser15]

Let me make the following assumptions for example purposes:

/dev/sdb1 is the partition for the flash drive
ext4 is used as the filesystem
flash drive mounted as /mnt/games

First we add the device to be mounted at boot (ignore filesystem checking, you can make this 0 2 if preferred for filesystem checking)
sudo echo "$(blkid /dev/sdb1 | cut -d' ' -f2) /mnt/usb ext4 defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab

Next we mv all the existing ROM data to the flash drive
mv /home/pi/RetroPie/roms /mnt/usb/roms

Create a symlink from the existing location to new
ln -s /mnt/usb/roms /home/pi/RetroPie/roms

Then all should be well.

[cosmodk]

I will try this :)

My filesystem is FAT32 would that be an issue? will this also prevent my SDcard Roms folder filling up with roms?

Thanks

//Jimmy

[retrouser15]

You should subsitute ext4 for FAT32 in the first command then. Additionally run blkid /dev/sdb1 by itself to determine which field has the UUID and change the -f int he cut command to match.

It will then use onlyt he flash drive. Symlinks are treated as if they exist in the source when they do not. So your SD card will not be written to using this method as it will reirect to the flash drive.

As with any advice on commands given via the internet ensure you have backups and check man pages if unsure. Not responsible for data loss. I have not tested this but was discussing it with someone earlier in any case.

[Author]

Posts