If you are interested in learning more about the new Raspberry Pi Network Install feature, Pi enthusiast Jeff Geerling has published a new tutorial video on how you can use Raspberry Pi mini PC is equipped with the EEPROM chip. Or Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory to use the new feature which is currently in its beta testing phase.
The feature allows you to instantly set up your new Raspberry Pi mini PC by downloading everything from the Internet using the computers Ethernet via your home network. If you want to try out the network installer you’ll first have to install a beta version of the bootloader. However the Foundation is planning to roll out future Raspberry Pi computers already installed with the boot loader so this step will no longer be necessary.
“The easiest way to update the bootloader on your Raspberry Pi 4 or 400 is by using Raspberry Pi Imager, either running on your Raspberry Pi or on another computer, to copy the required software onto an SD card. You’ll need a spare blank SD card and, if you’re using a Raspberry Pi or another computer that doesn’t have an SD card slot, a USB to SD card dongle.”
How to use Network Install with your Pi
Earlier this month the official Raspberry Pi Foundation development team asked for help testing the new Network Install feature supported by a Raspberry Pi 4, or Raspberry Pi 400.
There is now a beta version of the Raspberry Pi bootloader that implements network installation, and we’d like your help to test it. The new Network Install feature can be used to start the Raspberry Pi Imager application directly on a Raspberry Pi 4, or a Raspberry Pi 400, by downloading it from the internet using an Ethernet cable. The Raspberry Pi Imager application, which will run in memory on your Raspberry Pi, can then be used to flash the operating system onto a blank SD Card or USB disk, just like normal.”
For more information on setting up your Raspberry Pi using the Network Install feature jump over to the official Foundation website by following the link below.
