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By default, How to Boot Raspberry Pi and stores all of its programs on a microSD memory card, which has a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 50 MBps on the Raspberry Pi 4 and only 25 MBps on older models. Even the best microSD cards for Raspberry Pi can only write sequentially at about 38 MBps in real life.
Using an external SSD as your main storage drive could make things go a lot faster, and you can do that with just a few commands and a firmware update. In our real-world tests of a Raspberry Pi 4 with SSD from last year, sequential transfer rates of up to 140 MB/208 MBps for reading and writing were very impressive. You can also use a regular USB flash drive, but we found that in many cases it worked worse than a microSD card.
How to Boot Raspberry Pi
Flash USB Bootloader Firmware
- Download, install, and launch the latest version of the Raspberry Pi Imager tool. Also, connect the microSD card to your computer system.
- Click Choose OS and select Misc Utility Images > Bootloader > USB Boot.
- Click Choose Storage and select the microSD card.
- Click Write. Wait for it to complete. Once completed, dismount/eject and then disconnect the microSD card from the system.
- Turn off the Raspberry Pi 4 and insert the USB boot microSD card.
- Connect the power supply to the Raspberry Pi 4. The Pi will turn on and the USB bootloader will flash automatically. This will take only a few seconds. The green LED light on the Raspberry Pi will blink steadily once the bootloader is flashed successfully. If you have connected the HDMI port to a display, you will see a green screen once the firmware is flashed.
- You can now turn off the Raspberry Pi and remove the microSD card.
Flash Network Boot Firmware
- Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager tool on your computer system and attach the SD card.
- Click Choose OS and select Misc Utility Images > Bootloader > Network Boot.
- Click Choose Storage, select the SD card, and click Write. Wait for this to complete.
- Insert the network boot SD card into Raspberry Pi 4 and turn it on.
- The network boot firmware will be flashed. The green LED will start blinking once that is complete.
Boot Raspberry Pi via Network Connection (Ethernet)
If you have flashed the network boot bootloader on your Raspberry Pi 4, it will load the Raspberry Pi Imager tool. You need to follow these steps to flash the OS from the internet when network boot is enabled.
- Press and hold the Shift key for a few seconds.
- Connect a router-connected Ethernet cable to the Raspberry Pi 4.
- It will start downloading the installer. Once downloaded, you can use the Imager tool to flash the SD card just like you do on a computer.
Create and Boot Raspberry Pi 4 using Bootable USB Media
- Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager tool and click Choose OS to select the OS from the list. If you want to flash an OS image you have downloaded on your local machine, select the Custom option and then select the .img OS file from your system.
- Click Choose Storage to select the connected USB storage media and click Write.
- After the OS is flashed on the USB boot media, such as an external SSD or thumb drive, dismount/eject it and then disconnect the drive from the system.
- Connect the USB drive to one of the USB 3.0 ports on your Raspberry Pi 4.
- Connect the power supply to turn on the Raspberry Pi 4. The Pi will check for the bootable USB media first and if found, it will start booting the operating system from the connected USB storage drive.
- You can now use the Raspberry Pi with the OS running via the USB storage drive. This will enable you to try various operating systems and projects, such as the DIY Philips Ambilight for any TV.
FAQ
How to boot from terminal Raspberry Pi?
- When you are in the command line, log in with default user password (if you did not change it). …
- When you are logged in, run the following command: sudo raspi-config. …
- In this configuration screen, look for the option of Enable Boot to Desktop/Scratch.
Why won t Raspberry Pi start?
Most problems with a Raspberry Pi 4 not booting are due to the HDMI cable being connected to the wrong port. Be sure to use the left-hand connector, HDMI0. It isn’t only the Raspberry Pi 4 that can have problems booting.
Where is boot in Raspberry Pi?
The boot Folder. In a basic Raspberry Pi OS install, the boot files are stored on the first partition of the SD card, which is formatted with the FAT file system. This means that it can be read on Windows, macOS, and Linux devices.
How do I know if my Raspberry Pi is bricked?
If your multimeter shows 0 volts on the 3v3 pin, congratulations on successfully bricking your Pi! Of course, if you’re the conscientious sort, you can verify that it won’t boot by plugging the power supply into the micro USB port and ensuring the green LED doesn’t turn on.