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Display Images From A USB Drive Using PhotoFrame

Thu, 02/21/2008 - 21:59 — wansti

There is a way that will allow the PhotoFrame Chumby Widget to display images that are stored on a USB drive; it is a bit tricky, but it works. The idea is to replace the web server that runs on the Chumby with one that is installed on the USB drive which will allow you to configure it easily.

Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Follow this tutorial to get lighttpd running on your Chumby. If you simply use the pre-built binaries, like I did, this is merely a matter of minutes.

  2. Install the PhotoFrame widget as described here. Copy the crossdomain.xml file into the “lighty/html” directory on the USB drive.

  3. Put your images and images.xml file into a subdirectory of “lighty/html”. Alternatively, you can put them into any directory on the USB drive and edit lighttpd.conf to create an alias:

    server.modules = ( "mod_cgi", "mod_accesslog", "mod_alias" )
alias.url = ( "/yourdirectory/" => "/mnt/usb/path/to/your/images/" )

  4. On the Chumby website, configure the PhotoFrame widget so it points to the following URL:

    http://localhost/yourdirectory

  5. Make sure that the USB drive is plugged into the Chumby when you power it on. PhotoFrame should now display your images.

Comments

Tue, 05/26/2009 - 15:36 — Klaus (not verified)

Problem starting lighty?

Hi there,

it seems to me that since updating the firmware to version 1.7 the lighttpd doesn’t start anymore from the USB-stick. When connecting via SSH and trying to start lighttpd manually I get an “file not found” error … (and the file is there, triple-checked it).

Might this be a problem with the new versions of libs that came with firmware version 1.7?

Thanks for advice and help, K.

P.S.: When pointing my browser at the right address I get the same message like hiro: “Loading images.xml” forever …

Sun, 05/31/2009 - 12:45 — Anonymous (not verified)

I’m running 1.7 (not tried

I’m running 1.7 (not tried 1.6), and had the same problem using the precompiled version. I recompiled lighty from source and it fixed the problem. It was pretty straightforward: just follow the directions on the chumby wiki .

Wed, 06/10/2009 - 11:22 — Klaus (not verified)

Yup, building lighty from

Yup, building lighty from source did the trick, now it works! Thx for the hint!

Wed, 01/21/2009 - 21:49 — George (not verified)

Display Images From A USB Drive Using PhotoFrame

I read your post, I wonder if what you say means that using this method allows the Chumby to continue to operate even if connectivity to the Internet is disrupted. I read on the Chumby site that the Chumby becomes a little more useful than a brick in that event.

Tx,

George