SD Card Installation

Overview

All LeMaker boards boot from a microSD card as their primary storage medium. Properly preparing the SD card with a bootable operating system image is the first step to getting your board up and running. This guide provides a general procedure applicable to all LeMaker boards including the Banana Pi, Banana Pro, LeMaker Guitar, and HiKey series. The process involves selecting a compatible SD card, downloading the correct OS image, verifying its integrity, flashing it to the card, and performing the initial boot.

SD Card Selection

Choosing the right microSD card is critical for reliable performance. Use a card rated at Class 10 or UHS-I (U1) speed class as the minimum, with UHS-I (U3) or A1/A2 application class preferred for better random read and write performance. A capacity of at least 8 GB is recommended, with 16 GB or 32 GB providing comfortable space for the operating system, packages, and user data. Brands with proven reliability on LeMaker boards include SanDisk Ultra and Extreme, Samsung EVO and EVO Plus, and Kingston Canvas Select. Avoid generic or counterfeit cards, as they frequently cause boot failures, filesystem corruption, and data loss.

Image Download

Download the operating system image for your specific board from the LeMaker downloads page at www.lemaker.org. Available images typically include Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian-based distributions, Android, and specialised images such as OpenMediaVault for NAS use. Ensure you download the image that matches your exact board model, as images are not interchangeable between different LeMaker boards due to different SoCs and hardware configurations. Images are usually provided as compressed archives in .img.gz, .img.xz, or .zip format.

Checksum Verification

Always verify the integrity of the downloaded image before flashing. The download page provides MD5 or SHA-256 checksums alongside each image file. On Linux or macOS, run sha256sum imagefile.img.gz and compare the output with the published checksum. On Windows, use certutil -hashfile imagefile.img.gz SHA256 in PowerShell or Command Prompt. A mismatched checksum indicates a corrupted or incomplete download. Re-download the file and verify again before proceeding. Skipping this step risks flashing a corrupted image that may cause intermittent boot failures or filesystem errors.

Flashing with Etcher (Recommended)

Etcher (also known as balenaEtcher) is the recommended cross-platform tool for flashing SD cards. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux with a simple graphical interface. Download Etcher from balena.io/etcher and install it. Launch Etcher, click "Flash from file" and select your downloaded image (Etcher can handle compressed archives directly). Select the target microSD card drive. Click "Flash!" and wait for the process to complete, including the automatic verification step. Etcher will safely unmount the card when finished.

Flashing with dd (Linux and macOS)

On Linux or macOS, the dd command provides a command-line alternative. First, identify the SD card device with lsblk (Linux) or diskutil list (macOS). Unmount any mounted partitions on the card. Then flash the image with sudo dd if=image.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync, replacing /dev/sdX with the correct device path. Warning: specifying the wrong device path will overwrite that device's data irreversibly. Always double-check the target device before executing the dd command.

Flashing with Win32DiskImager (Windows)

Win32DiskImager is a lightweight Windows-only tool for writing images to SD cards. Download it from SourceForge and install. Extract the compressed OS image to obtain the raw .img file. Launch Win32DiskImager as administrator, select the image file, choose the correct drive letter for the SD card, and click "Write". Wait for the operation to complete. Safely eject the card using the Windows system tray before physically removing it from the card reader.

First Boot

Insert the flashed microSD card into the card slot on the underside of the board. Connect HDMI, Ethernet, and a USB keyboard. Apply power using a 5V 2A micro-USB power supply (or the appropriate connector for your board). The first boot may take longer than subsequent boots as the system performs initial setup, resizes the filesystem partition to fill the SD card, and generates SSH host keys. Monitor the boot process via HDMI or serial console. Once the system reaches the login prompt or desktop, your LeMaker board is ready for use.

Troubleshooting

If the board does not boot, verify the image was correctly flashed by re-inserting the card into your computer and checking for the boot partition. Try a different SD card, as card compatibility issues are common. Ensure sufficient power supply current, as undervoltage causes random failures. Check the board's LED indicators for activity during boot.

Related Pages

For board-specific SD card setup, see the Banana Pro SD Card Installation and Setting Up the Bootable SD Card guides in the board-specific documentation sections.

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