Need help solving new RPI 4 USB HDD setup

Decided to give Channels DVR another try after seeing the RPI info. Purchased the recommended hardwire identified on the website including the WD 4TB USB HDD.

Problem... after using the Raspberry Pi Imager to enable the RPI 4 USB boot and then burning the custom RPI image to the USB hard drive, I cannot get the RPI to boot. The RPI initiates the boot sequence and the HDD is accessed, but after a brief screen flash (see below ) the TV screen goes black and after a second or two the cycle repeats. So I have no clue what will fix the problem.

I did successfully install the Channels Server after booting from a Raspian SD card and subsequently using the terminal to execute the website Linux command:

curl -f -s https://getchannels.com/dvr/setup.sh | sh

So I'm reasonably confident my RPI 4 and network are working okay. Just don't know how to get the RPI 4 to boot from the USB HDD? Unfortunately I don't have a spare USB HDD available or I would have attempted another install using another USB drive.

Here are the only specifics (quick photo of the TV screen during the boot process) I've been able to capture re the failed USB HDD boot:

Appreciate any help. Really was hoping the RPI 'turnkey' was user-friendly and low maintenance. Have an older Dell Optiplex i5 I can resurrect if needed, but the simple RPI is really appealing.

Thanks

Scott

I had the exact same problem but with both a 2TB WD and a 2TB Segate HDD. I never actually solved the problem but instead decided that I would rather run the Channels Linux distribution on the Raspian SD card using the WD HDD as the data storage. I have run over a month with heavy use and have not had a single problem. It works greats. I have recorded almost 1.5 TBs of programing.

Before I gave up on the Channels Rasp Pi image, here are the troubleshooting steps I took:

  1. Successfully booted Raspian from the 2TB WD HDD connected directly to either of the Pi's USB3 ports
  2. Added a powered USB3 hub and successfully repeated step 1.
  3. Unsuccessful on trying to boot the Channels Rasp Pi image using all combinations of both WD and Segate HDDs, with and without powered USB3 hub and connected to any of the PI USB3 or USB2 ports.

If I had not decided to just go with Raspian, I would have tried using my Windows machine to delete the HDD partitions and try to reimage the Channels image (I was using that machine to format and write both the Channels image and the Raspian image to the HDDs.).

A Pro to using Linux Channels on Raspian is that I can run some Dockers (like the Pluto Docker). The only con I can think of is that I have to go in and update Raspian from time to time. I have had power outages and turned off the Pi and everything always came back up and started running fine.

I am very impress with the Channels DVR software.

Thank you for sharing. I’ve also had good luck in the past with the Channels DVR using both Linux and Windows boxes. Just never got past the wife factor. Thought I’d try again.

I only had marginal success installing Raspian on the USD HDD. Once I got it installed and tried to install the Channels DVR server, the DVR server failed to install and gave me a Linux error messages hat I wasn’t able to sort out (very little Linux expertise here).

Still hoping the official Channels tech support can help resolve this problem. Especially given the time they’ve invested to provide the custom RPI image. The RPI ‘turnkey’ is such a nice concept.

Thanks again.

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Current status... have a working RPI 4 + external USB WD 4TB HDD.

I managed to get my RPI 4 system working today using the Raspberry Pi Imager to install the Raspian OS image (32 bit) directly onto the USB HDD. I didn't figure out how to get the Channel's custom image to install.

Here are a few of my initial errors that likely caused problems...
-RPI doesn't natively support NTFS or EXT4
-Max partition size is 2TB for FAT32 which appears to be the simplest/easiest RPI 4 HDD format at this juncture.
-When using gparted (you'll have to download and install after installing Raspberry Pi OS) to set up your HDD partitions, you first need to create a partition table and then create your partitions
-Use 'gpt' and 'master boot record' settings when partitioning your HDD

So I reformatted both the USB HDD to FAT32 (using smaller partitions). I had already used the imager to set the correct boot order option (SD and then USB if no SD). Before attempting to boot the newly partitioned HDD, I first verified that the USB HDD was being recognized by my SD Raspberry OS install which I had booted to verify the RPI 4 was working okay and also to get access to gparted.

I attached the HDD (and removed the SD) and then added power to the RPI 4. The first USB HDD boot attempt yielded an error noting the setup couldn't increase the HDD partition size and recommended using raspy-config to address the problem which fortunately wasn't needed. I shutdown this first failed attempt and retried. This time the RPI booted correctly and setup went normally.

So, at this point I'm able to boot via the USB HDD and have Channels DVR installed and working.

Hope this update helps other newcomers at least avoid the RPI 4 OS hard drive file and format limitations.

Cheers

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A new release is out and the links to the RPI image have been updated on our website. This build should fix the boot issue, and supports more models like the Pi 400.

https://channels-distro.s3.amazonaws.com/2021.1008.0023/ChannelsDVRServer_PI4.img.xz

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Thank you for the updated custom RPI! 10 minute install + setup requiring zero technical expertise. Also, really appreciate being able to monitor and manage the RPI performance and shutdown (if ever needed) via the CHANNELS admin page.

I also did unsuccessfully try to restore (using my iMac) my initial setup using the SAMBA option. Was prompted for a login password (could not find one?) to gain access as a ‘registered user’ and the logon as ‘guest’ wouldn’t allow me to copy files to the RPI USB drive. No doubt my lack of technical expertise was the problem. But I had very little recorded on my initial install, so I elected to just start over.

Thank you again. The RPI plus your custom image is a really nice turnkey solution!

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Update from a happy customer! My RPI4 setup using the GetCHANNELS recommended hardware + custom GetCHANNELS RPIOS distro had been flawless since Oct 2021. I grin every time the automated ‘commercial skip’ feature skips a commercial. OTA TV is again enjoyable. Thank you to the GetCHANNELS team for such a great product.

Would be nice if the they had the same dedicated applaince type image for non pi hardware, like PC. (for those who need more power than the Pi can do)
DietPi has images not only for Pi, but many ohter SBC'd, even normal PCs.
Yes, can install some Linux OS, then install Channels on that, but, then you loose the directness and simplitcy of the image based device, where you only ever have 2 buttons to press to update things, and that the only things running on the device, not a full differnt OS with its own unnesessary software and management needs.

I have channels running on my RPI4 but I am not sure where to put my local media files. Can they be run from a different USB drive?

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Yep. Usb drives should auto mount.

Once you plug it in, add a directory to Local Content by browsing for it.

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