Formatting Your Memory Card for MyVRSpot’s Digital Sign Solution

Step 1: Cloning the Pi Memory Card to Install the Operating System

There is a two-step process to create a memory card to run MyVRSpot’s digital sign solution. The first step includes formatting the memory card with an .IMG file provided by MyVRSpot, and the second step is to designate which of your digital signs would be associated with that specific memory card. We recommend using at least a 32GB memory card, but you can use a card as small as 8GB.

Formatting the Memory Card

Please contact MyVRSpot at support@myvrspot.com for a copy of the most recent documentation on formatting memory cards and setting up your Digital Sign.

Step 2: Configuring the Digital Sign

This step contains some required and optional sub-steps.

A. Expand File System (Required for memory cards larger than 8GB)

All of the disk images created are formatted with 8GB memory cards. This allows it to be installed on any memory card the same size or larger than 8GB. After the card has been cloned, you must complete the process below to expand the filesystem to take advantage of the full size of your memory card.

  1. Take the memory card that you just formatted from your computer and place it into the Raspberry Pi unit.
    1. Make sure the Pi unit is connected to the internet, hard wired or wifi.
    2. For this configuration, you will also need a keyboard and mouse connected to the Pi unit.
  2. Plug in the Raspberry Pi unit and let it boot up.
  3. Once it boots up, you will see a large MyVRSpot screen towards the right side. Ignore this for now.
  4. Move your mouse over the Terminal icon at the top left of the screen, and click to launch a Terminal window.
  5. At the terminal prompt, type the following: sudo raspi-config
    1. A menu pops up. Select Advanced Options (number 7)
    2. Select A1 – Expand File system
    3. Tab to and select the Finish button at the bottom
    4. Reboot (this takes much longer than a standard reboot)

B. Entering Sign Credentials (Required)

  1. Once the Pi reboots, you will be taken back to that MyVRSpot screen. There are two fields that you are required to complete. The top field is the Sign ID field, and the bottom field is the API key.
  2. From your MyVRSpot account, click on Admin and then Manage Signs.
  3. Click on the View icon (eyeball) to the far right of the sign that you want to associate with this specific memory card. At the top of the page, you will see the Sign ID and the API key for this particular sign.
  4. Type these credentials into the corresponding fields on the Raspberry Pi screen.
    1. Note: It is far easier to launch the browser and log into your MyVRSpot account from the Pi unit. This allows for easy Copy and Paste commands instead of manually typing in those credentials.
  5. After you enter the credentials, click the Start button. Assuming that you already have some content on your Digital Sign, it should display now on your screen.
  6. Lastly, we suggest that you reboot the Pi unit (unplug and replug) to make sure it boots up as expected, which would as an end result, display any media that you have associated with that particular digital sign.

C. Changing the Pi Root Password (Recommended)

  1. Once the Pi boots, you have 5 seconds to stop the sign from manually starting. To exit, simply close the Terminal window or press CTRL-C.
  2. Move your mouse over the Terminal icon at the top left of the screen and click to launch a Terminal window.
  3. In the terminal, type: sudo password root this will prompt you for the old password and a new password. The most updated documentation provided by MyVRSpot will include the root password.
  4. You should use a secure password and keep it in a safe place.

D. Changing Display/Audio or any other Pi preferences (Optional)

  1. Many of the audio and video preferences can be changed using the Raspberry Pi Configuration application. If you are having issues with the audio or video display, this configuration application can help to solve the problem.
  2. Move your mouse over the Terminal icon at the top left of the screen and click to launch a Terminal window.
  3. At the terminal prompt, type the following: sudo raspi-config
  4. Navigate through any of these options and depending on the setting you are looking to change, you will usually need to reboot for the settings to change.

E.  Disabling SSH (Optional)

If you are not planning on using SSH to remotely manage your Pi units, you may want to disable SSH access to the Pi. Use the steps below to disable SSH. If you do not know what SSH is, then you most likely want to disable this.

  1.  Move your mouse over the Terminal icon at the top left of the screen and click to launch a Terminal window
  2. At the terminal prompt, type the following: sudo raspi-config
  3. Select Interfacing Options, Select SSH, Choose Yes, Select Ok, and Choose Finish
  4. SSH will now be disabled upon reboot (it can be re-enabled using the same steps).

F. Remote Management (Optional)

All Raspberry Pi units can be managed remotely. We highly recommend changing the root password first. To remotely manage the Pi, you would need the local IP address of the Pi and would need to connect while on the same network.

To get the local IP address, open a Terminal window on the Pi, and type: sudo ifconfig Look for the inet addr value (example 192.168.0.101). Using this value you should be able to use another system on the same network to SSH into the Pi. Using the IP address above, you would use basic SSH commands to connect.

Example: ssh root@192.168.0.101

For any further assistance, please  don’t hesitate to call our office at 888-237-6740 or email us at support@myvrspot.com.