Switching Raspberry Pi to SSD now simple
I cannot believe how simple it is now to get a Raspberry Pi 4 running from an SSD rather than from an SD Card. It is a newly-smoothed process – in the last month or so – and those folks at Raspberry Pi and the people in the ecosystem have done a terrific job of sorting it all out; so hats off to them from the start. Raspberry Pi 4 has a boot eeprom on-board which starts up the Pi when you first apply power – before Raspberry Pi OS is fired up – it is the thing that starts the OS.
This eeprom can be updated; and the latest full release of this eeprom firmware enables the Pi to find its own operating system over the Internet if it is powered up without one; even is it has SSD storage rather than an SD card.
Short version:
- Re-programme Pi’s eeprom
- Let Pi find its own operating system, and programme its own SSD, automatically over the Internet
With more detail:
(assuming your Pi has a screen, keyboard and mouse connected)
To re-programme the Raspberry Pi 4 eeprom
(not to be done if you don’t need to, warns Raspberry Pi)
- Get Raspberry Pi Imager from the Pi website onto what ever computer (Pi, PC or Mac) you are using; you are going to use this to programme a microSD card; all existing data will be lost on the card.
Start Raspberry Pi Imager, and scroll down to select ‘Misc utility images’.
- Here select ‘Bootloader’
- Then select either ‘SD Card Boot’ or ‘USB Boot’ – these are both SD-card-or-USB-boot; with a choice of priority; I picked the first (don’t select Network Boot – it might have ‘network in its name, but it is not the right thing for what we are doing here).
- Use Imager to put this onto your microSD card (it takes a few seconds).
Put this programmed microSD card into your Pi, and power it up.
- Its green led will flash rhythmically, and in a few seconds the Pi’s screen will go all green to show the eeprom has been reprogrammed.
- Remove power and take out the SD card – you are finished with that.
Before you re-power the Pi:
- Connect it to the Internet via a wired Ethernet cable – there is no wireless option.
- Connect your blank SSD to the Pi via one of the USB 3 ports and a suitable interface cable
- Ensure no microSD card is fitted.
- (BTW, if you instead fit a blank SD card and no SSD, that will get the fresh operating system).
Now power up the Pi
- Realising it has no valid local operating system, the Pi will boot into a mode that will ask you if you want it to go and find a suitable operating system.
- Once you have answered ‘yes’ by pressing and holding a ‘shift’ key, it will do its stuff, offering you a selection of operating systems (I picked the new 64bit Raspberry Pi OS option), and will guide you through the remaining steps.
Simple, flawless and brilliant.
Again, hats off to Raspberry Pi and all those who aid its progress.
