Major Updates¶
The safest way is a clean install
The safest way to apply a major update is to start over with a clean install. It might take a little longer, but it will safely avoid all potential issues.
Minor KNULLI updates can be installed manually by simply exchanging the boot/batocera file, as explained in the Update section. However, a major KNULLI update comes with significant changes which require a clean re-flash. Furthermore, a major update might also require to set all settings back to default since new settings might be introduced and existing settings might have been removed. However, it is possible to salvage parts of your previous installation and thereby ease the process of setting up KNULLI anew.
Backing up your user data before re-flashing¶
If you run a dual SD card setup, all your user data is already stored on SD 2 anyway, so you do not need to back up anything.
However, if you run a single SD card setup, you might want to create a backup of your stuff before you re-flash KNULLI. Depending on the formatting of your SD card, you might be able to extract your user data either by plugging the SD card into a computer or by accessing your user data via Network Transfer. In any case, you should be able to back up the entire content of your /userdata folder (also known as \\KNULLI\share folder or SHARE partition) to a different data storage, e.g., a computer hard drive.
Re-flashing KNULLI¶
For a major update, it is mandatory to re-flash KNULLI entirely. Re-flashing basically means to go through the installation process step-by-step as if you were setting up KNULLI for the first time. During this process, all remaining data will be wiped off your SD card and all your settings will be set back to default.
Cherry-picking¶
Depending on your SD card setup, you might be able to cherry-pick certain things from a previous installation after you finished installing the new version of KNULLI. Basically, you will be able to cherry-pick almost everything, all your games, saves, themes, scraped media, decorations, etc. However, you will not be able to recover your previous settings. A major update requires to return to factory settings.
Salvaging settings
If you are really tech-savvy, you might be able to (partly) salvage single configuration files from within your system folder by comparing the respective files word-by-word and adopting single settings. However, this requires a deep understanding of what the files do and how they work, so we strongly discourage technically inept users from even trying.
You'd need to make sure only to adopt "harmless" settings and not to change any new technical defaults. In many cases, salvaging manually might take even longer than simply re-creating your settings from scratch. However, if you are really tech-savvy, it is theoretically possible.
Cherry-picking data from a single SD card backup¶
If you prepared a backup of your previous installation, you can put some of the folders back after the installation process of the new KNULLI version is complete. However, you should make sure not to adopt your previous system folder! This folder might have dated settings and configurations which are now obsolete and/or incompatible with the new KNULLI version. Restoring an old system folder after re-flashing a major KNULLI update will lead to unpredictable behavior.
Reset to factory settings on a dual SD card setup¶
If you ran a dual SD card setup before, all your user data is still stored safely on your SD 2. However, this SD 2 still has the old system folder which might have dated settings and configurations which are now obsolete and/or incompatible with the new KNULLI version. You need to make sure to remove the system folder and let KNULLI create a new one! Furthermore, we strongly recommend to remove the ports folder from roms to make KNULLI provide the PortMaster installer.
Reset to factory settings on an exFAT-formatted second SD card¶
If your SD 2 is formatted to exFAT (and therefore accessible from Windows), you can simply plug your SD 2 into your computer before you set it up as your data storage in KNULLI and delete or rename the system folder and delete the ports folder from roms. Afterwards, put SD 2 back in your device, switch Storage to Any External as explained in the Dual-SD-Card setup section and reboot to apply the change. During the reboot, KNULLI will re-create the missing folders system and roms/ports with their default values.
You can now start to set up your device and install PortMaster with the PortMaster installer that will have re-appeared in the restored Ports section.
Reset to factory settings on an ext4-formatted second SD card¶
If your SD 2 is formatted to ext4, you will not be able to read it from Windows, so you will have to restore factory settings after you put your SD 2 back to work. First, put SD 2 back in your device, switch Storage to Any External as explained in the Dual-SD-Card setup section and reboot to apply the change.
It is crucial now that you do not change any settings after rebooting. If you did change anything, please reboot again.
Now you need to delete or rename the system folder and delete the ports folder from roms, either by accessing your user data via Network Transfer or by using the built-in OD-Commander if you know how to use it. Afterwards, reboot immediately without changing any settings. During the reboot, KNULLI will re-create the missing folders system and roms/ports with their default values.
You can now start to set up your device and install PortMaster with the PortMaster installer that will have re-appeared in the restored Ports section.