Using an SSD to USB adapter

[bjkramp76]

Hello all. USB storage device quirks are a thing and I do not know if this subject has been brought up yet. Please see https://jamesachambers.com/raspberry-pi-4-usb-boot-config-guide-for-ssd-flash-drives/comment-page-64/ if you are having troubles booting from alternative USB storage devices, IE: USB to SSD. I will not suggest that the Team should do anything about this in config.txt, I am just bringing it up for awareness. Thank you all so much for your time and talents that make sBitx so much better with each update. Have a great day!

[drexjj]

Thanks for the link. I will see if we can add this info to the wiki.

[n1ai]

I like the idea of having such a page, but I read the linked article and unfortunately I think it is a bit outdated. It was written in 2019 and starts by saying there is now a newer bootloader available that makes things easier. Indeed that article has a bunch of steps in it that I did not need to do in modern times, such as editing config.txt by hand, etc.

A bit of a search on google led me to Tom's Hardware: How to Boot Raspberry Pi 4 / 400 From a USB SSD or Flash Drive which does describe the process I've used several times and IMO is quite easy to follow.

So, I think I will move forward using that as a reference.

[n1ai]

Here's some of my analysis. Please provide input and especially correct me if I am wrong about anything. @drexjj ...

I've read our How to Boot From USB page. It already has a lot of information in it about booting from USB, including how to update your bootloader if you need to do so.

The only thing I think may be an improvement is that it is written from the point of view of a person having a sbitx that is up and running a sbitx image presumably from sdcard. Our page Installing a sBitx image does cover the case of making an image from scratch but does not mention the need to update the bootloader should that be necessary. Maybe that should be added. It also doesn't mention restoring of the calibration files, or the need/desire to make new ones if you have no backup.

Overall we cover a lot of use cases but I'm not sure we directly cover the use case of what to do if your sdcard and/or usb stick go bad and you don't have a backup. In general this is the new image use case, but also either need to restore the calibration data or do the calibration procedure to make a new set of calibration data. Maybe we need an explicit page to cover this use case, even if it is somewhat redundant?

I have read Raspberry Pi images and as the title says it explains how to make a generic Pi image. I thought we are discouraging that these days because the 64b image has a lot of customization in it and we want them to start with that and not a generic image. If so we might consider deleting this page.

[drexjj]

I have read Raspberry Pi images and as the title says it explains how to make a generic Pi image. I thought we are discouraging that these days because the 64b image has a lot of customization in it and we want them to start with that and not a generic image. If so we might consider deleting this page.

It was written with the intent to inform newcomers about how and why we use img files for sBitx. Instead of deleting it; maybe we can reword it?