Thanks again for your help, much appreciated.

Thank you everyone for your support. It seems that in the end, it was down to using Raspbian Lite. After downloading the full build and following the instructions on your github, were all sorted. Well… almost, I’ve got some sizing to play around with and still need to load my custom .css and .js but that shouldn’t be an issue at all. Thanks again for all your help, especially @sdetweil

use my installer script, it handles piw -4, odroid, jetson nano, any unix variant.

see the readme here

https://github.com/sdetweil/MagicMirror_scripts

it will setup to launch chrome against serveronly exactly as it appears you have done…

oh, you need raspian buster… jessie and stretch are too old now

This is the code:

/bin/sh
unclutter &
xset -dpms # disable DPMS (Energy Star) features.
xset s off # disable screen saver
xset s noblank # don’t blank the video device
matchbox-window-manager &
#midori -e Fullscreen -a http://localhost:8080
chromium-browser --incognito --kiosk http://localhost:8080/

I’ve checked my mm.sh file and it reads as follows. Not sure where to go from here?

cd ~/MagicMirror
node serveronly &
sleep 30
xinit /home/pi/chromium_start.sh

I’ve checked my mm.sh file and it reads as follows. Not sure where to go from here?

cd ~/MagicMirror
node serveronly &
sleep 30
xinit /home/pi/chromium_start.sh

Boot, open terminal window and dump the env looking for display

Linux raspberrypi 4.19.58+ #1245 Fri Jul 12 17:20:08 BST 2019 armv6l

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Last login: Sat Apr 11 19:25:01 2020

SSH is enabled and the default password for the 'pi' user has not been changed.
This is a security risk - please login as the 'pi' user and type 'passwd' to set a new password.

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ls
chromium_start.sh  mmstart.sh                         package-lock.json
LCD-show           node-v10.16.0-linux-armv6l
MagicMirror        node-v10.16.0-linux-armv6l.tar.xz
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ ./mmstart.sh
Starting MagicMirror: v2.8.0
Loading config ...
Loading module helpers ...
No helper found for module: alert.
No helper found for module: clock.
Initializing new module helper ...
Module helper loaded: calendar
No helper found for module: MMM-TFL.
No helper found for module: currentweather.
No helper found for module: weatherforecast.
Initializing new module helper ...
Module helper loaded: MMM-UKNationalRail
All module helpers loaded.
Starting server on port 8080 ... 
Server started ...
Connecting socket for: calendar
Starting node helper for: calendar
Connecting socket for: MMM-UKNationalRail
MMM-UKNationalRail helper started ...
Sockets connected & modules started ...

Ready to go! Please point your browser to: http://localhost:8080
Whoops! There was an uncaught exception...
{ Error: listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use 127.0.0.1:8080
    at Server.setupListenHandle [as _listen2] (net.js:1279:14)
    at listenInCluster (net.js:1327:12)
    at GetAddrInfoReqWrap.doListen [as callback] (net.js:1460:7)
    at GetAddrInfoReqWrap.onlookup [as oncomplete] (dns.js:61:10)
  code: 'EADDRINUSE',
  errno: 'EADDRINUSE',
  syscall: 'listen',
  address: '127.0.0.1',
  port: 8080 }
MagicMirror will not quit, but it might be a good idea to check why this happened. Maybe no internet connection?
If you think this really is an issue, please open an issue on GitHub: https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror/issues


X.Org X Server 1.20.4
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: Linux 4.15.0-48-generic armv8l Raspbian
Current Operating System: Linux raspberrypi 4.19.58+ #1245 Fri Jul 12 17:20:08 BST 2019 armv6l
Kernel command line: coherent_pool=1M 8250.nr_uarts=1 bcm2708_fb.fbwidth=480 bcm2708_fb.fbheight=320 bcm2708_fb.fbswap=1 smsc95xx.macaddr=B8:27:EB:B2:0B:D5 vc_mem.mem_base=0x1ec00000 vc_mem.mem_size=0x20000000  dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=ttyS0,115200 console=tty1 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline rootwait fbcon=map:10 fbcon=font:ProFont6x11 logo.nologo
Build Date: 05 June 2019  12:49:54PM
xorg-server 2:1.20.4-1+rpt1 (https://www.debian.org/support) 
Current version of pixman: 0.36.0
        Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
        to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
        (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
        (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sat Apr 11 19:27:57 2020
(==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
(EE) 
Fatal server error:
(EE) no screens found(EE) 
(EE) 
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support 
         at http://wiki.x.org
 for help. 
(EE) Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.
(EE) 
(EE) Server terminated with error (1). Closing log file.
xinit: giving up
xinit: unable to connect to X server: Connection refused
xinit: server error
pi@raspberrypi:~ $

I’ve attached copy of the Xorg.0.log. It appears the main issue is there is no screen selection or default monitor. Any help is greatly appreciated.

  GNU nano 3.2                     Xorg.0.log                                
[  1272.263]
X.Org X Server 1.20.4
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[  1272.264] Build Operating System: Linux 4.15.0-48-generic armv8l Raspbian
[  1272.264] Current Operating System: Linux raspberrypi 4.19.58+ #1245 Fri $[  1272.264] Kernel command line: coherent_pool=1M 8250.nr_uarts=1 bcm2708_f$[  1272.265] Build Date: 05 June 2019  12:49:54PM
[  1272.265] xorg-server 2:1.20.4-1+rpt1 (https://www.debian.org/support)
[  1272.265] Current version of pixman: 0.36.0
[  1272.265]    Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
��������to make sure that you have the latest version.
[  1272.265] Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setti$��������(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
��������(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[  1272.267] (==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Sat Apr 11 19:45:42$[  1272.269] (==) Using system config directory "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d"
[  1272.279] (==) No Layout section.  Using the first Screen section.
[  1272.283] (==) No screen section available. Using defaults.
[  1272.284] (**) |-->Screen "Default Screen Section" (0)
[  1272.284] (**) |   |-->Monitor "<default monitor>"
[  1272.288] (==) No device specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
��������Using the first device section listed.
[  1272.288] (**) |   |-->Device "Allwinner A10/A13 FBDEV"
[  1272.288] (==) No monitor specified for screen "Default Screen Section".
��������Using a default monitor configuration.
[  1272.289] (==) Automatically adding devices
[  1272.289] (==) Automatically enabling devices
[  1272.289] (==) Automatically adding GPU devices
[  1272.289] (==) Max clients allowed: 256, resource mask: 0x1fffff
[  1272.290] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic" does not exi$[  1272.290]    Entry deleted from font path.
[  1272.290] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/" does not exis$[  1272.290]    Entry deleted from font path.
[  1272.290] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/" does not exist.[  1272.291]    Entry deleted from font path.
[  1272.291] (WW) The directory "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1" does not exist.
������������������������������[ Read 76 lines ]
^G Get Help    ^O Write Out   ^W Where Is    ^K Cut Text    ^J Justify
^X Exit��������^R Read File   ^\ Replace     ^U Uncut Text  ^T To Spell

Thanks again for your help. Let me know if you need to see any other code.

# For more options and information see
# http://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/config-txt.md
# Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details

# uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
#hdmi_safe=1

# uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
# and your display can output without overscan
#disable_overscan=1

# uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
# goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
#overscan_left=16
#overscan_right=16
#overscan_top=16
#overscan_bottom=16

# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus
# overscan.
#framebuffer_width=1280
#framebuffer_height=720

# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
hdmi_force_hotplug=1

# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
#hdmi_group=1
#hdmi_mode=1

# uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
# DMT (computer monitor) modes
#hdmi_drive=2

# uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
# no display
#config_hdmi_boost=4

# uncomment for composite PAL
#sdtv_mode=2

#uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
#arm_freq=800

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
dtparam=spi=on
enable_uart=1
# Uncomment this to enable the lirc-rpi module
#dtoverlay=lirc-rpi

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on
dtoverlay=waveshare35a
#dtoverlay=ads7846,cs=1,penirq=17,penirq_pull=2,speed=1000000,keep_vref_on=1,swapxy=0,pmax=255,xohms=60,xmin=200,xmax=3900,ymin=200,ymax=3900
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
#max_usb_current=1
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=1
hdmi_mode=87
hdmi_cvt 480 320 60 6 0 0 0
hdmi_drive=2
display_rotate=0

Have you tried the installation from here?
https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/4inch_RPi_LCD_(A)
It should work with the waveshare description.
Can you post your config.txt here or at least the last 10 rows?

https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/4inch_RPi_LCD_(A)

Well they are using the LCD-show “drivers”.
I might be preoccupied since I have had my own fight with these drivers.
But at least they have a good wiki.

LCD-show and and installed LCD35-show.

THese “drivers” are honestly a mess and not very helpful.
If the screen is connected via hdmi, installing LCD-Show might even set the wrong config options.
Have you had a look on the website of waveshare who are distributing these?
https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/4inch_HDMI_LCD

I doubt your 4inch screen has a native resolution of 320*480.