Balena Etcher (Windows, Linux and MacOS)

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to write an image to an SD card using Balena Etcher. Balena Etcher is a user-friendly and open-source tool designed for flashing operating system images to SD cards, USB drives, and other removable storage devices. It simplifies the process of writing images to storage media like sd-cards.

Step 1: Download and Install Balena Etcher

Download and install Balena Etcher on your computer:

Balena Etcher Download

Step 2: Insert the SD Card

Insert the SD card into your computer's SD card reader.

Step 3: Open Balena Etcher

Launch Balena Etcher on your computer.

Step 4: Select the Image

1. Click on the “Flash from file” button.
2. Select the image file you want to write to the SD card.

Step 5: Choose the Target

1. Click on the “Select target” button.
2. Choose your SD card from the list.

Step 6: Start the Flashing Process

1. Click on the “Flash!” button to start writing the image to the SD card.
2. Balena Etcher will validate the write process.

Step 7: Complete the Process

1. Once the flashing process is complete, Balena Etcher will display a success message.
2. Safely eject the SD card from your computer.

Write Image to SD Card with dd (Linux)

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to write an image to an SD card using the dd command on a Linux system.

Step 1: Insert the SD Card

Insert the SD card into your computer's SD card reader.

Step 2: Identify the SD Card Device

Open a terminal and run the following command to list connected storage devices:

lsblk

Identify your SD card device from the list. It will typically be something like /dev/sdX, where X is a letter corresponding to your SD card.

Step 3: Write the Image Using dd

Run the dd command to write the image to the SD card. Replace /path/to/image.wic with the path to your image file, and /dev/sdX with your SD card device:

sudo dd if=/path/to/image.wic of=/dev/sdX conv=fsync bs=1M status=progress

This command reads the image file (if) and writes it to the SD card device (of). The status=progress option provides real-time progress information.

Step 4: Verify the Write Process

After dd completes, run the following command to sync and ensure all data is written to the SD card:

sudo sync

Step 5: Eject the SD Card

Eject the SD card from your computer:

sudo eject /dev/sdX

The SD card is now ready for use.