Although this device is small, it shows promise in terms of versatility for developers and tech enthusiasts. Supports a wide variety of operating systems that have been adapted to play with their performance and perform the necessary tasks quickly and safely.
It is the best-selling plate of all time in Europe, where he was born from the hand of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, as an alternative to learning and competitions of products from larger brands.
Know the operating systems that can be installed and their different functions according to the needs you have as a developer.
List of all the operating systems that we can install on a Raspberry Pi without problem
If you wish adjust this plate to your personal project, it is important that you know from this moment which operating system is the best for you and your project. Because, We present you this complete list of all the operating systems that you can install legally and no risk of hardware damage.
Go for it:
Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian)
With the acquisition of this board, the first operating system we get It is the one that was previously called Raspbian and it is based on Debian and has basic functions that control all the components of your Raspberry Pi 4 and earlier versions.
You should know that there are three versions that complement each other:
- Complete version: It contains all the functions that any developer requires to adjust the device to their technology projects.
- Standard version: only the operating system will be installed, without the different programs that experienced developers require in their projects.
- Lite version: it takes up less space, perhaps about 400 Mb. It is the version that is required when the developer has his own programs to install and is looking for more available storage space.
The three versions support all kinds of programs adjusted to it, such as office packages similar to those of Open office, which is free software. We recommend you first document the type of system that can best work for your purposes before installing an ISO image.
Windows 10 IoT Core
The acceptance of Raspberry Pi in the developer community has been so high that even Microsoft he had to join her. This brand published in 2015 a system based on the idea “Internet of things” or “Internet of Things, IoT”, as it is better known in the computer world.
Is a Windows version adapted to Raspberry Pi hardware, so it is not exactly a good computer with Windows 10 as you imagine, but allows you to install basic and simple programs that only work with it and that you can use to adjust the plate to other projects.
Kali Linux
Undoubtedly, Kali Linux is one of the best operating systems for this Linux-based device. It was launched in 2013, making it one of the first to provide solutions to developers who prefer this plate. It is used to do security and network monitoring tasks, so it is the ideal option if your project is oriented to this field.
It has more than 600 pre-installed toolssuch as network scanning and data analysis Exploit. If you are concerned about security, this is one of the options with the highest layers of protection, constantly receiving updates to ensure proper operation and fully shielded.
Pidora
The creators of Fedora decided develop a lighter alternative from scratch and that it contained most of the application packages. This proposal came onto the market in 2014 and was designed to be supported on ARMv6 processors, which are used by Raspberry.
One of the advantages is that, in case of failures, a monitor is not required to perform some recovery tasks and operating system repair, but this can only be done in the hands of an expert, so it is not an operating system for beginners.
Ubuntu Core
It is also a Linux distribution. It works to convert hardware into both mini desktop computer and personal server. Its development began in 2004 and had an important space when the Raspberry Pi sales increased. Each solution is an individual application, which means that in case of failures and security problems they will only affect individual cores and not the entire operating system. The best thing is that it has good developer support.
RISC OS
It has a history with small plates, this system started with BeagleBoard and PandaBoardBoth with ARM processors like those used by Raspberry, they later found a market of important developers who prefer their design because it allows better performance of the device. The equipment is required to have 2 Gb, so it allows to obtain the cheapest Raspberry models, but there is not much development of solutions for this operating system and that is a real limitation among this community.
SARPi (Slackware ARM for Raspberry Pi)
Has 20 years in development and it has been given better known for its adaptability to the Raspberry Pi. It allows the fulfillment of functions to be better, faster and with a higher level of security. All performance libraries are installed manuallyThis ensures step-by-step configuration monitoring.
With experience, developers now release updates only when they are sure they work and are secure. There is a high control in the installation, but the operating system requires a lot of hardware and its developer community is small.
Arch Linux ARM
The advantage with this operating system is that the updates are continuous, there are no large or robust changes in one hit. This allows developers to maintain greater control of settings. that they should do every time there are updates to the operating system. Offers a kind of digital signature In order to allow users to be certain that the packages that are installed are official, this implies an important level of security and trust in the clients.
FreeBSD
This community has more than 400 certified developers, so you will find a greater variety of solutions to different needs, industrial or personal. It is fully compatible with generations of ARMv6 and ARMv7 processors. And for those who have old versions of Raspberry, such as Raspberry Pi 1 and Raspberry Pi 2, there are still solutions and support, although the Raspberry Pi Foundation has discontinued the manufacture and distribution of these versions.
Learn step by step how to install any operating system on a Raspberry Pi from scratch
You know what there are different types of operating systems for Raspberry Pi computers, but there are steps that are common and you should know before trying to install one of them.
Let’s see next:
What to have on hand?
Before you begin, it is best if you install from a Windows 10 computer, as we will show in this example. You should also use a Micro SD card. Also, although it seems obvious, it will take a Internet connection where you can download the operating system of your choice.
Since the procedures are the same for any operating system, For the purposes of this step by step we will do it with Raspbian, which is the official brand.
Download the installer
-
Sign in to the following address:
raspberrypi.org.
- Press access to “Software”.
- Select the option “Raspberry for Desktop”.
- Scroll down the page until you find “Download”.
- Select the destination of this download and download it.
Install with Raspberry Pi Imager
Which we downloaded was the ISO image of the operating system that is now due install.
Remember that it is now called Raspberry Pi OS and not Raspbian:
- The image that was downloaded must be installed on your Windows 10.
- Then you can run “Raspberry Pi Imager” whose button you find in the list of Windows 10 applications.
- Will ask you administrator permission for the installation to be done correctly.
Install the operating system
One time you have placed the Micro SD card in the Windows 10 computer, an SD adapter may be required.
Now you can install the operating system you prefer on this card:
- Download the OS version that suits you best.
- Open the program “Raspberry Pi Imager”.
- There will be various operating systems and options available, each one fulfills a function.
- In this case, we select “Raspberry Pi OS”, in its 32-bit or 64-bit version if the hardware allows it.
- Select the micro SD card where the system will be installed.
- Now press the option “Write” which would be the equivalent to install.
- Wait for the writing reaches 100%. It may take several minutes to install.
- Then, it goes through a process of verification that must also reach 100%.
- Now you can remove the micro SD card.
Begin to work
When you already have the operating system installed in the micro SD memory, You just have to remove this memory from your Windows 10 computer and place it on the Raspberry Pi computer. You can access it remotely or by placing a monitor. If you are an experienced developer, you will know that no monitor is required to adjust the equipment to your project, so the various ways to make the device wireless make it easy to start setting up your new operating system.