June 29, 2020 • 32 • 4.4
The Raspberry Pi Foundation released on March 5 a new tool to install the operating system of your choice onto your Raspberry Pi's SD card. It combines OS download and flashing in a single tool. No more downloading an .img file separately and flashing it with Etcher. The benefit? A simpler SD card preparation with a dedicated tool that remains compatible over time and doesn't depend on a third party.
In this tutorial we will install Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) using Raspberry Pi Imager.
Install Raspberry Pi OS on the microSD card
A microSD card? Yes—the Raspberry Pi needs storage just like a computer. Given its compact size (roughly a credit card), it uses microSD cards as its storage medium. This card will contain the operating system as well as any programs or personal files you want to store on it.
If you bought a Raspberry Pi kit, the card is usually included. Otherwise you'll need to pick a microSD card.
- Recommended card: SanDisk Ultra 64 GB (Sponsored link)
- Recommended Raspberry Pi 4 kit (Sponsored link)
Once you have the microSD card, simply download the official tool from the foundation, Raspberry Pi Imager.
After downloading, install the app on your computer.
On launch, select the desired system—Raspberry Pi OS is the Linux-based system designed for the Raspberry Pi, formerly named Raspbian. Then select the card and click WRITE to flash the OS to the microSD card.
The process takes about 5 minutes.
Now that the SD card is ready, there are two options for the first boot:
- Set up the Raspberry Pi by connecting a keyboard, mouse, and display
- Preconfigure the Raspberry Pi by editing a few files on the SD card so that Wi‑Fi and SSH are enabled on first boot.
If this is your first time initializing a Raspberry Pi, prefer the first option. Otherwise, the second method saves time and avoids extra cabling.
Method #1: Classic setup with keyboard, mouse, and display
We made it! The card is ready—you can officially boot the Raspberry Pi!
Start by inserting the card into its slot.
Once everything is ready, connect the HDMI cable, mouse, and keyboard to the Raspberry Pi using the HDMI and USB ports. You can now power it on using a 5V, 2A power supply.
The Raspberry Pi initializes… and the desktop appears after a few seconds!
Mouse cursor moves unusually slowly?
Using a wireless mouse and the cursor moves unusually slowly, as if the system is lagging? No worries—the fix is simple. Open a terminal and type:
sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt
This opens the cmdline.txt file located in the boot partition at the root.
After running the command, a file with a number of parameters on a single line opens for editing. To fix the issue, append "usbhid.mousepoll=0" at the end of the line. The file should now look like:
console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=d9b3f436-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles usbhid.mousepoll=0
Save the change (Ctrl+X → Y (or O) → Enter) and reboot the Raspberry Pi.
On next boot, the mouse should move normally!
You can then open the Welcome to Raspberry Pi utility by typing piwiz in a terminal in desktop mode.
The “Welcome to Raspberry Pi” wizard opens and helps you configure your Raspberry Pi quickly. Follow the steps—here are a few screenshots.
Your Raspberry Pi is ready to use!
Method #2: Preconfigure the Raspberry Pi (headless: no screen, mouse, keyboard)
This method preconfigures your Raspberry Pi so it connects to your local network with SSH enabled on the first boot. You can then control it remotely without connecting a display, keyboard, or mouse.
Enable SSH
Before inserting the SD card into the Raspberry Pi, open the boot volume that appears in your file explorer. Enabling SSH is very simple.
Open the boot volume. Windows may suggest formatting the volume—ignore that.
At the root of boot, create an empty file named ssh to enable SSH on first boot.
Configure Wi‑Fi
With SSH enabled, you can now configure Wi‑Fi. Obviously skip this if you plan to connect the Raspberry Pi to your router via Ethernet.
Create a file named wpa_supplicant.conf at the root of boot.
Open the file and paste the following text, replacing the values inside <>.
If you’re not in France, replace fr with your two-letter country code.
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=fr
network={
ssid="<SSID_WIFI>"
psk="<MOT_DE_PASSE>"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
}
The SD card is ready—insert it into the Raspberry Pi and connect power.
On first boot it will connect to the Internet (assuming sufficient Wi‑Fi coverage) with SSH enabled. You can then connect from a device on the same network using PuTTY, for example (tutorial here). You’ll find the Raspberry Pi’s IP address in your router’s interface.
Read next
First boot without keyboard, mouse, or screen
Connect to Raspberry Pi via SSH
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