Raspberry Pi does what Microsoft can’t!
As any experienced Raspberry Pi user can tell you, the popular single-board computer does not come with an OS preloaded. Unless you buy a third-party kit / card that comes with Raspberry Pi OS on it, you must download the operating system on a PC or Mac and write it to a microSD card or USB storage device for the Pi. We have articles on how to set up a Raspberry Pi and how to create a headless Raspberry Pi that show you how to do this.
But what if you don’t have access to a computer (or don’t have a card reader)? A new version of the Raspberry Pi bootloader, which is now available in beta, allows you to download and write the OS onto a microSD card, using the BIOS and an Ethernet connection.
This new bootloader is designed for the Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 and we ran three tests to determine whether this new tool is worth your time. The short answer: yes it is. When we used the network install tool to install Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit and 64-bit on a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB, we expeScreenshot from 2022-03-18 09-07-24rienced no issues at all. We then used the tool to install the 32-bit OS to a Raspberry Pi 4 with 1GB of RAM. We expected this to fail as the downloaded OS image was 1.2GB – more than the RAM – but everything worked as expected, albeit a little slower than in the previous two tests.
Updating to the Beta Bootloader on Raspberry Pi
The new beta bootloader which brings network boot to the Raspberry Pi needs to be installed on to the Raspberry Pi. This is only for current Raspberry Pis as future models will have this feature installed by default.
Updating the bootloader isn’t difficult, thanks to Raspberry Pi Imager providing an automated process that makes it as easy as inserting a micro SD card and powering up our Pi.
1. Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager to your computer. From version 1.7.1 onward there is a special entry for the Beta firmware.
2. Insert a 16GB micro SD card. This card will be erased so make sure to backup any files before using it.
3. Open Raspberry Pi Imager and click on CHOOSE OS.
4. Scroll down and select Misc utility images.
5. Select Beta Test Bootloader.
6. Select Network Boot.
7. Click CHOOSE STORAGE.
8. Select your microSD card.
9. Write the image to the microSD card.
10. When complete, put the card into your Raspberry Pi.
11. Connect your Raspberry Pi to a display, then power up and wait for the screen to go green.
12. Power off the Raspberry Pi. The bootloader has now been updated.
13. Format the microSD card as a FAT32 drive in your computer, then return it to the Raspberry Pi.
For further instructions on how to boot from your network see: https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/raspberry-pi-network-install
