# DFRobot 2.8 USB TFT Pi 2 Raspbian Setup Guide ( Advanced ) **URL:** \ **Category:** Projects\ **Created:** [March 26, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594 "2015-03-26T16:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/21 "2015-07-27T03:19:48Z")
Yes, its on a pi2. And nothing shows up on th USB display. Not even the rainbow square. :( ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/22 "2015-07-27T03:22:54Z")
Hi Sorry for another question. Do you have any setup that I can setup the USB display on NOOBS? Thanks a lot. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 8:56am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/23 "2015-07-27T08:56:21Z")
NOOBS isn’t really an OS, it’s just an installer with which you’re, presumably, installing Raspbian and should just follow the instructions above once you’ve gone through the first steps to install it. There’s no support for any of the other OSes in NOOBS, just Raspbian at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/24 "2015-07-27T23:30:03Z")
hi. Thanks for that. I will try to use NOOBs and then these steps. How to use startx? I have no idea about that. I choose to automatically start with desktop on boot. Thanks a lot for your time. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 9:00am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/25 "2015-07-28T09:00:10Z")
`startx` is only necessary if you want to get from command line ( if you’ve chosen to boot up into it ) into a graphical desktop. If you’re booting into a graphical desktop by default, these settings should “just work”… in theory! ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/26 "2015-07-31T04:45:49Z")
hi, sdrothrock you suggested me to do everything said in first two posts inside raspberry pi forum. can you please specify which two topics? I can install raspberry pi and use its wifi and run programs. so if i need to do anything before the steps suggested in this post (other than installing), please suggest. thanks a lot in advance ^\_^ ---
**Author:** ![sdrothrock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@sdrothrock](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/sdrothrock)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/27 "2015-07-31T04:58:09Z")
The first two posts in this topic by Gadgetoid. ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/28 "2015-07-31T07:05:18Z")
Guys it worked!! But I must say the display is not comfortable. Like, I can’t see whole screen and etc. Did any of check that if you enable the camera module you can’t see anything on the USB display, rather on the HDMI? Thanks a lot gadgetoid and sdrothrock (I still couldn’t find the posts you mentioned about) for your time. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/29 "2015-07-31T13:16:20Z")
It’s definitely not a display you’d want to use a full X desktop on, which is why I was investigating running it alongside a normal screen where you could test/deploy Python/PyGame apps to it. I wanted to get PyGame working with not only the screen, but the touch input too, but it was tricky and I ran out of time to tinker. ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/30 "2015-07-31T15:46:33Z")
Hi, Gadgetoid you mean the camera should not show up on the usb display? I am trying to google it, but naturally not much luck yet. But my supervisor wants to see if we can use this display without the HDMI plugged in with the camera module. :( ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/31 "2015-08-01T08:51:39Z")
To mirror the camera preview you’ll need to use something like FBCP, [https://github.com/tasanakorn/rpi-fbcp](https://github.com/tasanakorn/rpi-fbcp). This copies the main framebuffer, which the preview window draws to, to the external display. There’s a thread about it here: [https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=45059](https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=45059) ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/32 "2015-08-02T23:56:00Z")
Hi gadgetoid, thanks a lot. I will “try”. I am still a newbie. and so I am worried. But hopefully I can nail it. ^\_^ ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/33 "2015-08-19T01:16:23Z")
Hi, I have a new question regarding the display again! How to use the USB display with a raspberry pi model earlier than Raspberry pi2? I saw I need to buy a new Sd card :( If someone has an SD card already can you suggest me any forum where I can find steps to set up the display. thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/34 "2015-08-19T01:24:15Z")
sorry I meant SD card with raspbian installed. Just like these steps written by gadgetoid if i could follow some steps to set up the USB display with Raspberry Pi B+. Thanks for your help. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 9:17am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/35 "2015-08-19T09:17:36Z")
I haven’t produced steps for the B+ because the manufacturer already has that covered, you’ll need to download the image file here: [http://docs.robopeak.net/doku.php?id=product-rpusbdisp-downloads&#prebuilt\_firmwares](http://docs.robopeak.net/doku.php?id=product-rpusbdisp-downloads&#prebuilt_firmwares) And write it to an SD card like you would a Raspbian image. I think everything’s covered in this guide: [http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=DFblog/blog&id=60&search=2.8"+USB+Touch+screen&description=true](http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=DFblog/blog&id=60&search=2.8%22+USB+Touch+screen&description=true) ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/36 "2015-08-20T05:57:48Z")
Hi gadgetoid, thanks. But can I not alter the existing raspbian image and use the existing SD card to install it on a raspberry pi B+? ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/37 "2015-08-20T15:43:11Z")
Their image is almost a year out of date now, it’s possible you could grab the kernel and modules from it, but I don’t know how nicely they would get on in a new Raspbian system. They actually have a guide for grabbing the kernel and modules from their full system image: [http://docs.robopeak.net/doku.php?id=rpusbdisp\_faq#q5](http://docs.robopeak.net/doku.php?id=rpusbdisp_faq#q5) It’s a somewhat arduous and tricky process which is very similar to the steps outlined at the top of this thread. I’ll see if I can grab the kernel and modules into archives. Their image is almost a year out of date now, however, so it might be better to compile the modules from scratch yourself. ---
**Author:** ![tkamal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tkamal](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/tkamal)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/38 "2015-08-21T02:41:36Z")
hi gadgetoid, thanks for putting up this effort for us. I am still a newbie but I could setup the display with my pi2 using your thread because of the way you put it. Thanks a lot. If you could please do me this favor so that I can set it up using an existing raspbian by only changing the kernel and modules it would be much help. I am looking the link you have suggested. thanks a lot once again. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 8:40am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/39 "2015-08-21T08:40:34Z")
Okay, I’ve packaged up the modules for you. Follow the instructions at the top again, only this time substitute the wget commands for: ```bash wget https://get.pimoroni.com/kernel-rpusb.img ``` and ```bash wget https://get.pimoroni.com/modules-bplus.tar.gz ``` ---
**Author:** ![gadgetoid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/gadgetoid/32/13_2.png) [@gadgetoid](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/gadgetoid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594/40 "2015-08-24T19:18:23Z")
Just a quick update- there’s now an update to Raspbian containing Kernel 4.1.6, it looks like some recent changes to support other products have had the knock-on effect of making it much, much easier to get the DFRobot/RoboPeak 2.8 USB TFT up and running. It’s early days, and I’ve got to make sure I test it under a fresh install of Raspbian on both the B+ and the Pi 2 ( since they use different kernels ), but it looks like I’ll be able to write a script which will drop the `rp_usbdisplay.ko` module into the right place, run `sudo depmod` and get the display up and running in seconds. No need to download, install and run a full kernel and modules anymore, which is nice. Anyway! Bear with me. [Previous page](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/dfrobot-2-8-usb-tft-pi-2-raspbian-setup-guide-advanced/594.md?page=3)