Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 boot from SSD

[@TheSuperUser]

Probably the clearest instructions so far on YT - thank you! 👍

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks. Glad it was helpful!

[@paulathomas4944]

There's actually now (August 2024) two variants of the firmware you install. One tries to boot off USB and if that fails then tries the SD card. The other does the opposite :- SD first followed by USB. So you can choose the one which suits you best. Today I used the "USB first" variant and booted Fedora 40 from a USB SSD without a hitch. Fedora was installed on the SSD using Fedora's arm image installer program. It would probably be a good idea to check if your distro of choice has its own special installer or if the RPI imager can install it OK.

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into this.

[@TheUltimateAlieN]

Love this video. But how did you know that this was exactly the information that I needed right now? 😄

[@BytesNBits]

Just a lucky guess

[@Larry_Druhall]

Nice video. Thank you. I have got a Raspberry Pi 4B to boot from a SATA external hard drive. But I wonder if that can be done with a Raspberry Pi 5. Are you aware of any videos showing somebody going through all the steps to accomplish this with a Raspberry Pi 5?

[@BytesNBits]

I don't know any of the tip of my head but there will be some. I think the process is very similar but you might not have to update the bootloader.

[@Larry_Druhall]

@@BytesNBits Thanks.

[@SunLISunTube]

Hello, I have a Raspberry 4 B 8 GB and boot from a Sata 240 GB SSD. Do I need to increase the swap size ? Or should I completely turn it off ? The issue was due to a crash after an apt upgrade.

[@BytesNBits]

With 8GB of RAM you shouldn't really need a swap file, but it will depend on what software you're running. I'd be tempted to turn it off to improve performance and see if it works OK.

[@SunLISunTube]

@@BytesNBits thanks.

[@Tailslol]

If your usb3 device boot in usb2 ports but not in usb3 ports, max_usb_current=1 Can help . Note the pi use the bottom usb to boot.

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for the tips.

[@ivyr336]

If I already have a pi that's using an SD card can I copy everything from the SD card over to the SSD, then boot up the PI with an SD card+USB bootloader, let it install and then hook up the SSD with all the old files?

[@BytesNBits]

Sort of. You'll need to prepare the SSD by flashing it with a suitable image. You can then copy over the data files from the USB. Don't try to copy the operating system stuff as that will not work - just your data files.

[@Klannahar]

Main issue i did face is, not all SSD adapters can be used for this on RP 4B model. Hard to find a working one, i did a little bit of digging what was an issue why my adapter did not work, and it turned out the adapter uses a chip what RP not supporting. :/ When u buy or try to buy the adapter many times it is not inform u what chip they use in it.

[@BytesNBits]

Thanks for the explanation. You do need to be careful. I buy mine from maker outlets who have verified the adapter works rather than generic adapters from Amazon etc.

[@SunLISunTube]

Hello, there are working SSD Sata adapters.

[@h.m.9601]

I saw in another YT-video that it is not necessary to install a boot sector on the raspberry pi4. In the new versions of rsp pi4 it should be possible to boot directly from SSD. Can you confirm this?

[@BytesNBits]

Some of them already have the update installed. I went through the process to show how it's done. If you're not sure about your Pi4 just install it anyway.

[@h.m.9601]

@@BytesNBits ok, this

[@floralies11]

A great video. From my experience when an SD card pied up, losing all my saved programs and data, having a 500GB boot disk would seem to only make this problem the same if the boot procedure was compromised. Is it possible to partition the disk to mitigate against this eventuality and keep non-OS files safer?

[@BytesNBits]

The ssd gets partitioned into a boot FAT32 and an Ext4 rootfs partition. You can really resize and add partitions as you want after this initial setup.

[@floralies11]

@@BytesNBits Thanks for the advice.

[@pinobarbareschi6452]

hi brother, can you also start the pi5 operating system from the NVMe SSD?

[@BytesNBits]

Yes. I think the process is pretty much the same.

[@user-mn1ho5xp3g]

Sir, is it possible to connect a mouse, a keyboard AND an SSD drive with the RaspberryPi 5? Are there not only 2 USB 3.0 ports?

[@BytesNBits]

You need a USB3 hub. This converts one USB port to lots.

[@user-mn1ho5xp3g]

@@BytesNBits Thank you very much - I very very much appreciate this 🙏🙏🙏👍

[@n-hexane8271]

hey i tried installing an os from usb ssd headless. and for some reason the green led blinks twice and stays on for a while. is this some kinda error code. the official docs dont talk abt this. and its not random its regular.

[@BytesNBits]

I'm not sure. I haven't seen that one.

[@mr.anderson8987]

Fantastic clear help that no doubt will help many! Thanks so much for sharing this! :)

[@BytesNBits]

You're very welcome!

[@ai_pni]

Would you tell us that why i got error while booting my raspberry pi 4 with SATA 2.5 SSD through USB 3.0 " Error msg on boot - mmc1: Controller never released inhibit bit (s) "

[@BytesNBits]

Did you update the boot loader code? Do you have another USB drive you can try, even a USB stick? It might be a compatibility issue with the SSD drive. I hope this helps.

[@lp-tappy]

I had the “Welcome to the Raspberry Pi Desktop” screen for more than an Hour. The Adapter that I use had a controller in it that is not Supported for the Raspberry Pi 😪.

[@BytesNBits]

There are some bad one's out there. I buy mine from a Maker / Raspberry Pi specialist as they tend to test them before selling them.

[@osvaldoromero6072]

What happens if you dont get a green screen after you flash the new bootloader?

[@BytesNBits]

I guess that means that the software hasn't installed. I'd try again from scratch.

[@osvaldoromero6072]

@@BytesNBits It did it actually boots up and shows the Uboot screen looking for USB SSD image and then goes to SD Card. It works.. Just doesnt have a green screen in my case.. Thanks.

[@bettalinks]

Thank you for your work

[@BytesNBits]

You are very welcome

[@diogenes505]

I am unable to get past the create USB SSD step. Pi imager says verification failed. Plugged into USB 3.0 port applied power, lights SSD case flash but the Pi is not booting. Any suggestions to remedy?

[@BytesNBits]

If the imager is failing it sounds like the issue is between the PC and the SSD drive. Can you try flashing it on another computer? Do you have another SSD drive to try?

[@diogenes505]

I am now sure my RPI 4 is configured correctly to boot from a USB. A Kingston 240GB A400 SATA 3 2.5" Internal SSD SA400S37/240G connected to the RPI4 with a SATA to USB Cable - USB 3.0 to 2.5” SATA III Hard Drive Adapter boots just fine. Wanting a smaller form factor I got a Silicon Power 512GB A55 M.2 SSD SATA III Internal Solid State Drive 2280 mounted in a SSK Aluminum USB 3.2 Gen 1 to M.2 SATA NGFF SSD Enclosure Adapter. The RPI4 does not recognize the M.2 SSD. If you can tell me why it won't boot from the M.2 drive I'd appreciate it.@@BytesNBits

[@milesmoore5422]

What is the "Process of flashing this onto the ssd drive" ? My "General / service / options" window has passwords already installed. Why ? Should I erase them and create my own ? If i leave them will I be locked out ?

[@BytesNBits]

I think the flashing process offers some default values. As we're going to wipe and flash the drive just choose settings that match your setup.

[@milesmoore5422]

@@BytesNBits Mine is not working. Screen says "controller never released inhibit bits.

[@milesmoore5422]

@@BytesNBits Not working. My screen only says : "Controller never released inhibit bits". What is the problem ?

[@javvyjavvy]

I was using a custom pre build from arcade punks that died recently. If i setup the sd card can i burn my prebuilt onto the ssd instead of sd card and let it rip ?

[@BytesNBits]

You might need to use a disk cloning app to do this to make sure you get all the files copied over. A simple disk copy might not work.

[@javvyjavvy]

@@BytesNBits im using balenaetcher now and it went right after the ssd like a microsd. Gonna test fate tonight lol. Appreciate the reply.

[@International_Criminal_Court]

Could you please tell me what brand is your SATA to USB adapter? I tried few ones but they were horribly unreliable.

[@BytesNBits]

I bought mine from thepihut.com/ which is a UK maker shop. If you go for one of the Raspberry Pi dealers they tend to stock cables that have been tested with the Pi. Slightly more expensive but worth the reliability.

[@moonmansilly]

Followed the steps, but my RPi4 gets stuck on the white RPI Welcome window.

[@BytesNBits]

If you've updated the bootloader and checked the drive image it might be either the SATA converter or the drive. Try booting from a USB stick to see if the RPi is able to boot. That should help you identify which bits not working correctly.

[@RobinSingh-zh6wp]

I did as you said, but my pi 5 is stuck with an unblinking green light from the sd card used for flashing boot.

[@BytesNBits]

Try reflashing the SD card and see if that helps.

[@edrianloisarborilla4602]

How do i know if the sd card is complete change the bootloader to be able the usb boot?

[@BytesNBits]

You should get a flashing led and green screen - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqS2mH2lbLiFl6Msi=kum2M7TdBWvpZK3F&t=132

[@АндрейВладимирович-ш1ц]

Огромное спасибо бро! Очень помогло!

[@BytesNBits]

You're welcome

[@user-mn1ho5xp3g]

Thank you very very much - great share!!! 👍🙏

[@BytesNBits]

Thank you too

[@MechThumbs]

Thank you!

[@BytesNBits]

You're welcome!

[@twisteddancer7773]

Many thanks

[@BytesNBits]

You are welcome

[@SusanAmberBruce]

Lovely

[@BytesNBits]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@umutkayacan7659]

❤

[@gabriellasic2736]

All new. RPI 4B 8gb, SSD, SD

[@gabriellasic2736]

Hi, Sd update EEPROM ok green display, Imager Os in ssd 1Tb ok. Quit sd shutdown, connect SSD start and reboot in 2 oportunities and waiting more than 1 hour and frozen "Welcome to the Raspberry Pi Desktop.... Release 5.2 - March 2024"

[@BytesNBits]

I'd try reimaging the SSD. You could also try another SSD/USB drive to see if it's a compatibility issue.

[@DanielK-zd5mf]

Thank You

[@BytesNBits]

You're welcome