I can't find a working tutorial that gets the wifi module installed.

[full-pixel]

I've followed guides over and over and flashed my sd card over and over but it still can't detect the wifi in my area even after it saying "OK" when testing the wifi. What is kerne7, if I am to delte that to make room? I tried last version 9 of picore and deleted 9.0v7.gz, I guessed that I was supposed to as a youtuber using a version 9 deleted a similar filename, but there's also 9.0.gz, I don't know what to delete so that the /opt/ folder with the wifi module in it can fit. I suppose 9.0v7.gz was not it and broke it? The readme nor the book are helping my pondering over why it keeps failing to install the wifi module. I tried the v 12 first, but the guide didn't match closely anywhere. One says to delete kernel7, where that is I don't know, one says to make the opt folder and one doesn't, it's all so confusing. Is it because 'filetool.sh -b' isn't included in guides online? I thought echo made it remember things. I'd keep trying but I'm bound to burn out the sd card.

tl;dr: the guides always have something impossible to follow, where is this kernel7? Which file do I delete to make room for opt? Why is opt called opt and not optional? Why would it say Ok but not be able to detect the wifi right afterwards?

[Rich]

Hi full-pixel
After you have flashed the image onto the SD card, you need to expand the second partition.
From:
http://tinycorelinux.net/11.x/armv6/releases/RPi/README

Code: [Select]

SD card partitioning
====================

First partition, mmcblk0p1 is VFAT type; it contains the basic piCore
system and the Raspberry Pi boot loader, firmware and other support
files. Partition is unmounted during operation, system is not using it
after boot and never writes.

Second partition, mmcblk0p2 is a Linux ext4 partion which contains
preinstalled extensions, openssh and mc (Midnight Commander) and
configuration files. It is a small partion with no free space, you must
expand its size to have enough room for additional extensions, updates
and  backups. It can be done on the running system locally or remote
via SSH following these steps:

1) Start fdisk partitioning tool as root:

   sudo fdisk -u /dev/mmcblk0

   Now list partitions with 'p' command and write down the starting and
   ending sectors of the second partition.

2) Delete second partition with 'd' than recreate it with 'n' command.
   Use the same starting sector as deleted had and provide end
   sectore or size greater than deleted had having enough free space
   for Mounted Mode. When finished, exit fdisk with 'w' command. Now
   partition size increased but file system size is not yet changed.

3) Reboot piCore. It is necessary to make Kernel aware of changes.

4) After reboot expand file system to the new partition boundaries with
   typing the following command as root:

   resize2fs /dev/mmcblk0p2

Now you are ready to use the bigger partition.

[full-pixel]

I followed such guides and the fdisk part worked out, but not the wifi part, even though when tested it outputs ok for things. I assume I'm deleting the wrong file to make room for /opt/ wherein the wifi module goes?

What file is to be deleted to make room so I don't break the OS trying to install the wifi module?

[Rich]

Hi full-pixel

... I assume I'm deleting the wrong file to make room for /opt/ wherein the wifi module goes? ...

Where are you finding that information?

[full-pixel]

https://www.novaspirit.com/2018/01/09/tiny-core-raspberry-pi-zero-w-install/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKvW59uk4PY

Such places ^ as the readme was hard for me to wrap my mind around on it's own. One says delete kernel7, the other says to delete a filename I don't see. Confusing.

[Rich]

Hi full-pixel
Do you have a wired network connection you can plug into your pi?

[full-pixel]

No. There's only wifi here, and even if not this is a pi zero w that has no ethernet port anyway. Because it's a pi zero putting raspbian on it is silly so I was looking for a smaller Linux that has gui, but so far raspbian won't fit on the sd, and this os doesn't like it's own wifi module software, or I'm derping hard and missing some step somehow, I assume it has to do with the file being deleted to make room for the module software on the card. Without deleting a file there's no room in the /opt/ folder.

[Rich]

Hi full-pixel
After you expanded the second partition, you will have room to add the extensions you need. The files you need to download
go into  tce/optional/  on the second partition. Skip the delete kernel7 part.

[full-pixel]

I tried following the tutorial, without adding the wifi module software into the opt folder, and then after resizing I put it into my computer again to paste it into it but it says there's not enough room. I suppose windows 7 can't alter linux partitions this way? Win7 32bit is what I'm using to install it. I'd boot up something like lubuntu on it, live, but I'm locked out of the bios boot order and could never crack the code to get into the bios's boot order. I could remove the cmos but don't want to break my win7 laptop, to try to reset the password and all.

Anyway, it's still not working out. I can't paste it in without deleting something.

[Rich]

Hi full-pixel
I'm not very familiar with pi so I can't tell you which files can be deleted.
The second partition uses an EXT4 file system. Google  win7 ext4 support  to find a driver so you can write to the card.

[Greg Erskine]

There are multiple kernels on your SD card so it will work on both single and quad core CPUs.

So if your are using a 4 core RPi it is not a good idea to delete its kernel. If the instructions are for a single core RPi0 then it will tell you to delete the quad core kernel and visa-versa.

Look at config.txt for which kernel it is using.

"opt" is a confusing directory name as there are both /opt and /mnt/mmcblk0p2/tce/optional directories on the root partition. If it is just a temporary directory on your boot partition for transferring extensions, then you can call it anything you like.

What RPi is it?

[CNK]

I believe Windows usually isn't able to access the second partition on an SD card, which is where the extensions go. And even if it could access the second partition in Windows, you'd have to install 3rd party ext file system drivers. You're likely copying to the first partition, used for booting. This is small, and isn't expanded during installation, hence you're running out of space.

If you have enough space in the first partition to hold every extension on its own, you could copy them one-by-one, booting the Pi can moving them over to the tce/optional directory on the second partition from there afterwards. Easier would be to use a USB memory stick (AKA "flash drive"), put the extensions on that from the Windows PC, then connect it to the Pi Zero (via a microUSB - USB adapter) and copy them from the memory stick to to tce/optional/ on the SD card's second partition.

[full-pixel]

There are multiple kernels on your SD card so it will work on both single and quad core CPUs.

So if your are using a 4 core RPi it is not a good idea to delete its kernel. If the instructions are for a single core RPi0 then it will tell you to delete the quad core kernel and visa-versa.

Look at config.txt for which kernel it is using.

"opt" is a confusing directory name as there are both /opt and /mnt/mmcblk0p2/tce/optional directories on the root partition. If it is just a temporary directory on your boot partition for transferring extensions, then you can call it anything you like.

What RPi is it?

It's a pi zero w.

[full-pixel]

Hi full-pixel
I'm not very familiar with pi so I can't tell you which files can be deleted.
The second partition uses an EXT4 file system. Google  win7 ext4 support  to find a driver so you can write to the card.

I don't want to break my win7. Last time I installed a driver on it, it bluescreened over a wifi dongle. Dell pc's and drivers have given me learned helplessness with it, so I used my roommate's lubuntu laptop and it said there wasn't enough room on the disc and that it copied with errors, so I will have to reflash the sd yet again. I must have pasted it into the wrong partition. I didn't realize it showed up as two drives, the other drive must have been the partition that wasn't named picore. It's confusing because I had a flash drive with the module, and then the picore showing up as two drives, I guess that's how the partitions are shown but oh well because the roommate will be bothered if I sit there with his computer a second time tonight. As it is I don't know where to paste it in the second drive, in it's root, or in one of it's sub-folders? I can't try again right now without inciting drama with the roomie. He's going to sleep now.

[CNK]

The extensions go in tce/optional ("optional" folder inside the "tce" folder) on the second partition. Add the names of the extensions on individual lines in the tce/onboot.lst file (edit it as a text file) if you want them to load on start-up.