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Raspberry Pi does not come pre-installed with an operating system. This means we can choose and install various operating systems on the SD card of Raspberry Pi. In this article, Mytour will guide you through the process of installing and running Windows, macOS, or Linux operating systems on Raspberry Pi.
1. Choose Raspberry Pi Operating System
Due to the availability of various operating systems for Raspberry Pi, ranging from recommended Raspbian Stretch to Ubuntu MATE, passing through Kodi, RetroPie, and many other projects, via some alternative Linux and non-Linux distributions.
You can choose any operating system to install on Raspberry Pi, but make sure to download the ISO or IMG file of the operating system on your Windows computer to write to the SD card of Raspberry Pi.
2. Write the Operating System to the SD Card or USB Drive
To install an operating system for Raspberry Pi, we will need to use Etcher. This is a tool for writing an image to a USB drive or SD card. Etcher is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Download Etcher to your computer by clicking here: Download Etcher
After installing and running Etcher, you'll see 3 buttons.
Simply click each button one by one. Click the Select Image button, then browse to the ISO or IMG file of the operating system. Next, click Select Drive to choose the SD card. Etcher is smart enough to detect which SD card is connected or inserted in your computer.
Finally, click Flash to start writing the data. You don't need to format the SD card as Etcher will handle this process.
After completion, click OK to finish and exit Etcher. Remove the SD card and insert it into the powered-off Raspberry Pi. Connect the power cord and wait for the computer to boot up the operating system.
If you find using Etcher to install the operating system complex, you can purchase an SD card pre-installed with Raspbian.
3. Booting up Raspbian for the First Time
With Raspbian installed, you'll need to log in using the following information:
- Username: pi
- Password: raspberry
For other operating systems, check the documentation to find default login information.
Note that the password will not be displayed as you type, there are no Windows-style * symbols representing letters, which do not appear when you type the password. This is a security feature in Linux to prevent other users from guessing your password.
After Raspbian has booted up, change your password by running the command:
Run sudo raspi-config
Select the Change Password option and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Installing Raspberry Pi Operating System with NOOBS
Another way to easily install popular Raspberry Pi distributions is to use NOOBS.
NOOBS stands for New Out Of Box Software, incorporating features of Arch Linux, OpenELEC Kodi, RISC OS, and various Raspbian distributions.
NOOBS is available on raspberrypi.org and does not require writing to the SD card like Raspbian and other Raspberry Pi operating systems do.
Download NOOBS to your computer from this link: Download Noobs
You will need to prepare an SD card formatted with a capacity greater than 4GB. Note that both offline and online NOOBS installers are available, with different sizes, where downloading the smaller installer requires the Raspberry Pi to be connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable.
Additionally, you'll need a keyboard/mouse and an HDMI monitor to access the operating system setup menu with NOOBS.
With Raspberry Pi booted into the NOOBS interface, you can select the operating systems.
5. Fine-tuning Raspberry Pi Operating System
Different Raspberry Pi projects require different software, all depending on your purpose.
For instance, if you want to use Raspberry Pi as a Media Center, you can use NOOBS to install one of the Kodi options.
However, afterward, you will need to install available updates, some applications, or other extensions you may need like Vimeo or YouTube, ... .
Similar to any computer system, installing the operating system is just the first step. Additionally, you will need to install updates, software, and other tools to use on Raspberry Pi.
6. Creating a Backup of the Operating System
Once satisfied with the operating system you have installed, the next step is to create a backup of the operating system. The process is similar to creating a computer backup and saving data to a hard drive. Cheap SD cards are prone to damage when power is disconnected, so a smart solution is to create a backup.
There are many tools available to create a full backup image of the Raspberry Pi SD card. You can save the backup to another SD card and use it if there are system errors.
The article above from Mytour just guided you on how to install the operating system for Raspberry Pi. Clearly, Raspberry Pi relies on the SD card at this level or another level; moreover, you can refer to how Speed up Raspberry Pi here.
Writing an operating system to an SD card for Raspberry Pi is equivalent to installing an operating system, but this process is much faster and easier than installing Windows on an HDD.
