Setting up and configuring the Raspberry Pi
Getting started with the Raspberry Pi has become much easier since its early days. It used to be recommended to buy an SD card with the operating system pre-installed. Nowadays, however, there are Raspberry Pi Imager that make installing and configuring the operating system a breeze. All you need is an SD card reader and the appropriate software. Since most computers only have an SD card reader, you'll probably also need an SD-to-microSD card adapter, as the Raspberry Pi requires a microSD card.
To install the operating system, we'll use the Raspberry Pi Imager. This allows for the quick and easy installation of Raspberry Pi OS and other operating systems on a microSD card. In just a few steps and about 30 minutes, you'll have a microSD card with a preconfigured operating system. You can specify a user name and password, the Wi-Fi connection (SSID and password), the time zone, and the keyboard layout. If you also enable SSH, the Raspberry Pi can also be used without a keyboard, mouse, and screen. However, I would only recommend this for experienced "Rasperians."
Below, I'll provide step-by-step instructions for the setup process:
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Start Raspberry Pi Imager
- Choose model:
The Raspberry Pi Imager allows you to create a microSD card for all Raspberry Pi models.
- Select operating system
With the Raspberry Pi Imager, you can create a microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS, as well as other operating systems. Choose Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) for a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, and Raspberry Pi OS (32-bit) for a Raspberry Pi Zero or Pico.
- Select SD card
Then click on Continue to configure the operating system
- Configure Raspberry Pi operating system
Select Edit Settings.
- General settings
Here you can specify the host name, a user, the access data for the Wi-Fi network and the language settings.
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Customize services
Enable SSH so you can access it from another computer on the Wi-Fi network. This will allow you to work with the Raspberry Pi later without a keyboard, mouse, or screen. You can then connect to the Raspberry Pi using programs like PUTTY.
- Select options
Here you can specify what should happen after the microSD card has been successfully created. Now you just need to confirm that you really want to erase and rewrite the SD card. After about 30 minutes, the operating system will be on the microSD card.
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Insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi and let your development ideas run wild.
