Zynthian Software

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1 Stable ZynthianOS SD-image

Full Version: 

Stable ZynthianOS - Oram (Bookworm arm64) (MD5-sum)

Lite Version (reduced soundfont library): 

Stable ZynthianOS - Oram (Bookworm arm64) (MD5-sum)


2 Unzipping

The file you download is a zip or xz file that must be expanded to get a .img file that can be 'burnt' to the micro-SD card used by the zynthian device (Raspberry Pi). This process differs depending on the operating system you use: windows, mac or linux.


3 Preparing the SD-card

Latest SD-card image weight around 7 GB compressed and around 16 GB unzipped. It includes all the software you need for your zynthian, properly configured for working out-the-box with the latest official kits. After downloading, you have to write it to a suitable SD-card. You need a good-quality SD-card with a minimum size of 32GB. You can use a bigger one if you like, but big SD-card can be more problematic than smaller ones. We don't recommend to go above 64GB. Please, use SD-cards from trusted sources and well-known brands and models. Sandisk Extreme & Pro are known to work fine. Samsung SD-cards also are good candidates. Kingston are more prone to fail.

If you are a GUI guy, we recommend to use RPi-Imager to write the image into the SD-card. The Gnome Disk Tool also works fine, and probably others too. We don't recommend BalenaEtcher anymore because it's causing much trouble lately.

If you are a terminal guy, dd or pv will do the task. Don't forget to uncompress the file, unmount the SD partition before burning and sync before extracting the card. With root privileges. Run something like this: 

tar -xf zynthianos-last-stable.img.xz
umount /dev/sdc1
pv zynthianos-last-stable.img.xz.img > /dev/sdc
sync

or if you are a sudoer: 

tar -xf zynthianos-last-stable.img.xz
sudo umount /dev/sdc1
sudo pv zynthianos-last-stable.img.xz.img > /dev/sdc
sudo sync


Note:

RBPi2 is not longer supported by zynthianOS. If you want to use a RBPi2, you have to build your own SD-image.


4 First Boot

First boot could take some time. Don't be impatient and wait until you see the splash screen with the logo. If the display remains black after 1 minute, please, re-check the instructions and re-burn the SD-card again. If this still don't work, try with a different SD-card before reporting in the forum. For solving SD-card issues, it could be useful to check the RPi5 status LEDs.

Once you see the splash screen, it could 1-2 minutes to finish the configuration process. You deserve a beer (hey!! don't abuse if you already took one!!), or at less some tea or coffee. When the first-boot process finishes, the zynthian will reboot and you will be in the main menu, ready to play.

It's time to remove the display's protective sheet (please, do it!!) and take a look to the user's guide!


If the first boot did not finish right and you did not get into the zynthian user interface, you should carefully re-check the wiring before trying again:

  • If the display remains black, you should check the display cable connection.
  • If you get the ERROR screen, most probably your control board is not being detected and you should check the control-1 cable connection.

You should check both sides of connection. Check that orientation is correct, the cable is well inserted and the connector totally closed. If it still doesn't work, you could look for damaged cable contacts, solder bridges on the PCB connectors, etc.

WARNING!!

AFTER A FAILED FIRST BOOT, YOU SHOULD NOT BOOT AGAIN WITH THE SAME SD-CARD AS IT IS.


If hardware can't be detected, the SD-card is configured as "custom hardware" and first boot is disabled. You must re-burn the SD-card or reset the SD-card from the terminal with this command: 

set_first_boot.sh

You can reach the terminal from webconf or using SSH.

From the terminal, you can check the first boot log with this command: 

cat /root/first_boot.log

This could help you to understand what is going wrong. You should include this log when asking for help in the forum. Also, when reporting first boot issues, it could be very helpful to include the output of this command: 

i2cdetect -y 1

When everything is OK you should get something like this: 

    0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f
00:                         -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
20: 20 21 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- UU -- -- UU -- -- 
50: -- -- UU -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
60: UU -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

If things are not working OK, you could get something like this, for instance 

    0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f
00:                         -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4a -- -- 4d -- -- 
50: -- -- 62 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
60: 60 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Note the absence of the chips addressed in 20 & 21 (2 x MCP23017). This means your control board is not being detected and most probably is not well connected.


5 Configuration instructions

Recent SD-images auto-detect latest official kits V3, V4 & V5. If you are using an older kit or a custom hardware, your first step after booting should be accessing the webconf and configuring your hardware.

  • For accessing the webconf tool, see here
  • Once logged-in, go to Hardware -> Kit and select your kit version or "Custom". Click on save button.
  • Then, if you have a custom hardware configuration, configure each device: Audio, Display, Wiring. Use "Dummies" if you don't use any encoder/switch. Don't forget to save your configuration after each step.
  • When everything is configured, you can reboot zynthian using the System -> Reboot menu item


6 Choosing a software / firmware version

The image you download will set zynthian to the corresponding version, e.g. if you download the stable image then your zynthian will be configured to use that stable release. You may wish to change from the stable release, for example you may want to test a feature or bug that you have reported or maybe there is a need to protect your system from being updated. Webconf provides a mechanism to change the version under its SOFTWARE => Repositories options. The table below details how each version behaves and gives some hint as to which you may prefer.

zynthian versions
Release type Example version Risk level Description
Stable zynthian-2409 Safe The current major release. This is what most users should select and is what each stable release image will be configured for. Only fully tested, stable updates (point releases) will be advertised. If you want to experience the latest fixes and enhancements but want a stable platform, this is recommended. (See point release below for those who want even lower risk.)
Staging oram Adventurous Staging branch is where fixes and enhancements to the current stable release are tested before being released in the next point release. Users who want to use the latest version with fairly low risk and early access to updates may choose this version. If you were using staging before its major release, you will continue with the same update experience but lower risk of breaking.
Point release zynthian-2409.0 Paranoid A point release is a specific stable update. Chosing a point release will lock the zynthian to that stable version and will not receive any further updates. For users who have found a version that works and do not want any further changes.
Development bug/1196_zynaptic Desperate A branch that is developing or testing a specific fix or change. This branch may not include other fixes and will ultimately become a dead-end. For developers and users wanting to test a specific development effort.
Next Staging vangelis Wreckless The bleeding edge development for the next major release. This branch will change without warning and may be broken at any time. For developers and the most adventurous users.

7 Build your own SD-image

If you like, you can build your own SD image following these instructions: 

Building the SD Image using the Setup Script

Also, you would like to try the new docker-builder (thanks @guysoft!!): 

Building Zynthian with Docker
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