The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized single-board computer (SBC) that fully integrates the components and interfaces required for a microcomputer. It’s designed for computer programming education, though it’s also popular with hobbyists and makers.
Quick Start Tutorial
1. SD card for Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi contains no internal storage. Users must use a micro SD card, which acts as the computer’s hard drive (earlier Raspberry Pi models used full-size SD cards). The operating system and applications are installed on this micro SD card, and the Raspberry Pi development board also boots from the SD card.
Note: SD card requirements
Due to hardware limitations in the Raspberry Pi 0, 1, and 2, the boot partition on the SD card must be 256GB or less, otherwise the device will not boot.
Successors of the Raspberry Pi 2 (with the BCM2837 SoC) such as the Raspberry Pi 3, 4, Zero 2 W, and Raspberry Pi 400 do not have this limitation. They use a smaller boot partition and do not interfere with the Raspberry Pi OS.
Recommended SD card capacity
In general, it is recommended to use an 8GB or larger SD card with the Raspberry Pi operating system. If you are using LiteOS, you can use a 4GB card. Other operating systems have different requirements: LibreELEC, for example, can run on smaller cards. Check with your operating system vendor for their recommended SD card capacity.
2. Install the operating system
Raspberry Pi recommends using the Raspberry Pi Imager tool to install the operating system directly to the SD card. You will need another computer with an SD card reader to install this tool. Before you start the installation, don’t forget to check the SD card requirements for your chosen OS. For more information, please refer to: Raspberry Pi Operating System.
Note:
You may have heard of the NOOBS installation system. NOOB stands for New Out Of the Box Software, which makes it easier for users to use it on the Raspberry Pi development board. However, NOOBS is no longer recommended or supported for Raspberry Pi. So from now on, use Raspberry Pi Imager if possible.
3. Raspberry Pi Imager Tool
The Raspberry Pi Imager tool is a graphical SD card writing tool that runs on Mac OS, Ubuntu, and Windows; for most users this is the easiest option as it automatically downloads the image and installs it to the SD card.
Figure 2 - Raspberry Pi Imager Tool
The Raspberry Pi Imager supports Windows, Mac, and Linux (Ubuntu for x86). The easiest way is to download it directly from the official website and save it on your computer. Then:
- Prepare an SD card first and connect it to the computer via an SD card reader (Ensure the computer can recognize this SD card!)
- Open Raspberry Pi Imager and select the desired operating system from the menu displayed (CHOOSE OS) (Figure 3)
Figure 3 - Raspberry Pi OS menu
- Choose where you want to write the image ( CHOOSE STORAGE) （Figure 2)
- Check your selections and press the Write button (WRITE) to write the software to the SD card.
Note:
If using Raspberry Pi Imager on Windows 10 and enabling controlled folder access, you will need to explicitly allow Raspberry Pi Imager permission to write to the SD card. If this is not done, the imaging process will fail with a “write failed” error.
For more information on installing the operating system, please refer to the official website.