Would you like an all-in-one retro emulation USB drive you can take anywhere? This guide shows how to make a USB gaming drive with Batocera Linux, a portable retro solution that works on any compatible PC.
Batocera is a free, open-source operating system for retro gaming. It turns a PC, Raspberry Pi or compatible hardware into an emulation device, with an easy interface, built-in scrapers, shader effects, Bluetooth controller support, and support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Because it’s a full operating system, you boot from the USB drive, which can be tricky. The good news is that it doesn’t modify your base operating system, so everything happens on the USB drive.
What you need
- A USB 3.0 stick (16GB minimum, 64GB or more recommended for larger libraries)
- A PC that can boot from USB
- Batocera from batocera.org
- Balena Etcher to flash the image
Step 1: Install Batocera on the USB stick
Download Batocera from batocera.org (version 41 when we recorded). Choose the first option, “Desktop PC, Laptop, NUC and Intel-based Apple Computers”. It’s a big download at 3.3GB, and there’s also a torrent that can be faster. Get Balena Etcher from etcher.balena.io for your operating system. Open Etcher, choose Flash from file and select the Batocera image, click Select target and choose the USB stick, then press Flash.
Step 2: Boot from the USB stick
The way to open the boot menu depends on your PC: you press a specific key at startup, which differs by manufacturer. If Secure Boot is enabled, like on our Lenovo laptop, you have to enrol a certificate from the Batocera USB stick, or you can just disable Secure Boot.
Once booted you see EmulationStation. The first thing we do is disable the front-end music, which honestly should be off by default. Then enable internet access to help transfer files: Main Menu > Network Settings > Enable Wi-Fi, choose your network and enter the password.
Step 3: Set up controllers
Batocera works with a wide range of controllers, from the latest 8BitDo to Google Stadia. Pair by Bluetooth or connect with a USB cable. To remap buttons, go to Main Menu > Controller Settings > Controller Mapping and press and hold any button to start. We use the Select button as the hotkey, but you can choose another.
Step 4: Add games and BIOS files
The easiest way to transfer files is over the network from another PC. On Windows, type \\BATOCERA\share or \\IP_ADDRESS_OF_THE_DEVICE\share. We tried copying directly from a RetroBat USB drive and it was very slow, so for that kind of transfer use Batocera’s built-in file manager by pressing F1 on a keyboard.
Most BIOS files are proprietary, so we can’t tell you where to find them. Put the ones you have in the bios folder. Put your games in the folder for each console or arcade system. After adding games, press Start > Game Settings > Update Gamelists to refresh the lists without restarting. We recommend curating the collection with games you know and will actually play.
Step 5: Artwork and themes
Go to Main Menu > Scraper > Scraper Settings, scroll down to enter your screenscraper.fr username and password, return to the Scraper screen and choose Scrape Now to download artwork and media. To change the theme, go to Main Menu > Updates and Downloads to get new themes and bezels. We recommend the CKAU-BOOK theme, which gives a scrolling carousel of titles.
Tips
- Batocera’s capabilities depend on the PC you boot it on. A high-end PC can emulate more demanding systems, so include games that run on both low-end and high-end machines
- A quality USB stick goes a long way. Use a known brand like SanDisk or Samsung with USB 3.0 or better. An external USB drive with higher speeds works too, and this guide applies to those as well
- If something goes wrong, reset Batocera with System Settings > Reset System Settings. You’ll need to re-enter settings like Wi-Fi and restore your themes
You now have a portable gaming OS you can take anywhere. Want to install Batocera permanently on an old computer instead? See how to install Batocera on an old computer.
