Setting up the Bootable SD Card

Illustration for Setting up the Bootable SD Card documentation

Summary

This guide walks you through preparing a bootable microSD card for your Banana Pro or Banana Pi single-board computer. A properly flashed SD card is the first step to running Linux or Android on your board.

Who This Is For

New and intermediate users who have received their Banana Pro or Banana Pi board and need to install an operating system. Basic familiarity with downloading files and using command-line tools is helpful but not required.

What You Will Need

  • A microSD card — Class 10 or faster, minimum 8 GB capacity. Recommended brands include SanDisk, Samsung, and Kingston.
  • A microSD card reader (USB or built-in).
  • A host computer running Linux, Windows, or macOS.
  • An OS image downloaded from lemaker.org/resources/9-38/image_files.html.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Step 1 — Download the Image

Visit the LeMaker image downloads page and select the image appropriate for your board (Banana Pi or Banana Pro). Make a note of the published SHA-256 checksum.

Step 2 — Verify the Checksum

On Linux run sha256sum filename.img.gz. On Windows use certutil -hashfile filename.img.gz SHA256. Compare the output to the published value. If they do not match, re-download the file.

Step 3 — Extract the Image

If the download is compressed (.gz, .xz, or .zip), extract it to obtain the raw .img file.

Step 4 — Flash the Image

Option A — Etcher (All Platforms)

Download and install balenaEtcher. Select the image file, select the SD card drive, and click Flash. Etcher validates the write automatically.

Option B — Linux (dd)

Identify the card device with lsblk. Then run:

sudo dd if=image.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Replace /dev/sdX with the correct device. Double-check the target device — writing to the wrong device will destroy data.

Option C — Windows (Win32 Disk Imager)

Open Win32 Disk Imager, browse to the .img file, select the SD card drive letter, and click Write.

Step 5 — Verify the Write

Safely eject and re-insert the card. You should see a small FAT partition (often labelled boot) appear. If it does not mount, the flash may have failed.

Step 6 — Safely Eject the Card

Use your operating system's safe-removal feature before physically removing the card from the reader.

Verification

Insert the card into your Banana Pro or Banana Pi with power disconnected. Connect HDMI or serial console, then apply power. You should see U-Boot messages followed by the Linux kernel booting. If the board reaches a login prompt, the card is working correctly.

Troubleshooting

  • Card not detected by the host PC: Try a different USB reader or USB port. Some built-in readers have compatibility issues.
  • Board does not boot (no output): Re-flash the card. Ensure you downloaded the correct image for your specific board model.
  • Wrote to the wrong device: The dd command is destructive. Always verify with lsblk before writing.
  • Boot loop or kernel panic: The SD card may be too slow or defective. Try a different Class 10 card.

Related Pages

Author: LeMaker Documentation Team
Last updated: 2026-02-10