MiSTer FPGA Part 2 – Install and Setup

FPGA, How To, MiSTer, Posts, Retrocomputing, Retrogaming, Single-Board Computing

Following on from the hardware overview, here’s how to install and configure your MiSTer to play the latest arcade, computer and game console cores.

What you’ll need

Hardware:

  • DE10-Nano Board and power supply
  • microSD card (at least 2GB) and reader
  • USB keyboard – to navigate the MiSTer menus and configure the device
  • USB “On-The-Go” (OTG) connector or hub – to connect your keyboard and other peripherals
  • Ethernet connection – to update the MiSTer and download cores
  • HDMI Monitor/TV and HDMI cable

Software:

Setup guide

Step 1. Flash the downloaded image onto microSD

Flash the downloaded image onto your microSD card. Follow the BalenaEtcher instructions here. Make sure you pick the right drive!

Step 2. Put the microSD card into the DE10-Nano and power on

Put the microSD card into the DE10-Nano and power on. After a few seconds the orange LED on the board should light up. If you have a TV or monitor connected, you should see the installation splash screen:

The installer will automatically re-partition and resize your SD card and copy all the necessary MiSTer files onto it. Once complete the DE10-Nano will reboot and you’ll be greeted with an (empty) MiSTer menu:

Step 3. Run MiSTer update script

Connect a keyboard to your DE10-Nano and hit F12 to open the menu. Make sure you have an (Internet-enabled) Ethernet cable connected and navigate to Scripts → Yes → update. This will trigger the update script which will download:

  1. All MiSTer cores
  2. Video scaler filters
  3. GameBoy palettes
  4. Cheat codes
  5. Scripts

Once complete the DE10-Nano will reboot. When it loads again, you’ll see a fully-populated menu with all cores. Good to go!

That completes the MiSTer setup. Next up: Network Access and Copying Files.

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