In 2025, how to install Raspberry Pi OS (formerly known as Raspbian) on a Raspberry Pi board?
Installing Raspberry Pi OS#
Download Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) Lite from Operating system images – Raspberry Pi. Lite is designed to provide a minimal system environment for users to install and configure software as needed, without a graphical interface, and can only be operated via the command line. If you are using a newer 64-bit Raspberry Pi device and require higher performance, it is recommended to choose the 64-bit version. If you need support for specific older software or encounter compatibility issues, you may consider using the Legacy version.
You can try using BT download to improve download speed. For example, first download a torrent file https://downloads.raspberrypi.com/raspios_lite_arm64/images/raspios_lite_arm64-2024-11-19/2024-11-19-raspios-bookworm-arm64-lite.img.xz.torrent, and then open it with your BT download tool.
Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager from Raspberry Pi OS – Raspberry Pi. We will use this software to install the downloaded image onto the Raspberry Pi.
Open Raspberry Pi Imager, and the interface is shown below.
- The first button is to select the model of the Raspberry Pi
- The second button is to select the operating system to be burned
- The third button is to select the SD card (the operating system will be written to the device selected here)
When selecting the operating system to be burned, since we have already downloaded the operating system image, click the Use custom button directly.
Then Raspberry Pi Imager will ask if you want to modify the configuration options. Please enter the modification interface.
Please set the username and password. If you want to enable ssh, it is recommended to use public-key authentication.
Also, modify other configuration options according to your needs.
In the third tab, there is an option: Enable telemetry. What does it mean? If this option is checked, it will send statistical reports to the Raspberry Pi website to display relevant statistical pages.
Continue, after the installation is complete, insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi and start it.
The first boot may require waiting for the system to initialize, please be patient.
Changing Software Sources#
After installing the system, first run the command
sudo apt update
If you find the download too slow, you can change the software source for your region.
You can change the software sources for Debian and Raspberry Pi.
Changing Debian Software Sources#
Open Debian -- Debian Mirrors (worldwide), and choose a mirror site close to your location. Run:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Replace the original links with the links from the mirror site you selected, only replace the link part, and keep the content after the link unchanged.
You can open the mirror site to view relevant instructions.
Lines starting with # are comments and can be ignored.
Changing Raspberry Pi Software Sources#
Open Raspberry Pi OS Worldwide Mirror Sites List, and similarly choose a mirror site close to your location. Then run:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list
Again, replace the original links with the links from the mirror site you selected, only replace the link part, and keep the content after the link unchanged.
After changing the software sources, run the command:
sudo apt update
NTFS Driver#
Sometimes you may need to connect some NTFS formatted external hard drives to the Raspberry Pi.
Many old tutorials recommend installing the ntfs-3g driver, and AI assistants like ChatGPT also say the same, but in fact, this driver has long been outdated.
The new operating system has pre-installed the NTFS3 driver, which exists as a module. You can use the following command to confirm whether the NTFS3 driver is already pre-installed in the system:
modinfo ntfs3
References#
Raspberry Pi OS - Official Documentation
Raspberry Pi Imager updated to v1.6 - Raspberry Pi
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