Uncompressing this file lets you browse and restore every file and directory.įor this use the terminal and issue the following commands. In this method, we will take the backup of only the home folder as a compressed file. It lets you backup raspberry pi without removing sd card. This method comes with a fix for the issue. This involves removing the SD card from your Pi, inserting it into your computer, take the back, and reinserting it into the Pi. The main drawback of the first method is that you need to create regular backups. Once completed, the entire SD card will be written into an image file.It will start creating the image file and you can see the progress like this.Choose the device at the top right corner and enter C:/raspberryexpert.img (you can use any name as you wish) in the Image File text box and click Read.Click Yes to the security alert dialog box.Just download, install, and open the program.On a Windows machine, you can backup the SD card by using the Win32 Disk Imager which can be used as a raspberry pi backup software.This can be achieved by using the dd command in reverse, or by using an application like Etcher to flash the SD card. This will create a complete image file of your SD card (Raspbian os) and you can use this raspbian.img file to restore your entire operating system in its current state to an SD card.Sudo dd bs=4m if=/dev/rdisk2 of=raspbian.img Sudo dd bs=4M if=/dev/sda of=raspbian.img For example, on a Mac system, the name will be something like /dev/rdisk2, and on a Linux machine, it will show /dev/sda (the names may vary so be sure to check carefully). Now you will see a newly mounted drive.If your SD card is not showing up, unplug and replug the card. Now, if you are using a Mac or Linux computer open a Terminal window and type df.Put it in a card reader or an adapter and plug it into your computer. Power off your Pi and remove the SD card.This is how exactly OS image files are created in the first place.įollow the steps to create a full backup image of your SD card: But here, we are packing all the data on the SD card to a single image file that can be restored whenever necessary. It actually unpacks all the OS files and configures them to work on the Pi. This is exactly the opposite of flashing an OS on your SD Card. This method involves copying the entire SD card as a single image file. This is the simplest method to backup Raspberry Pi SD card. In this tutorial, I’ll show you 3 methods to back up raspberry pi to an external drive and restore it whenever needed.
All you need is to restore it on your SD card.īut how do I do this? Well. If you already have such a backup before experimenting and running into any issues, it will definitely help your out. This is the context where a full OS backup will come to the rescue. Or in case if you are a beginner just starting out with python and raspberry pi accessories, then you are also likely to end up with the same situation. If anything goes wrong with your experiments, you will lose all your data for sure. And, the chances are high that you may end up with some mishaps with your Pi and its SD card. If you are crazy about involving in the development of innovative raspberry pi projects, you are likely to do tons of experiments on your own. Creating a full backup of Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) is always a need for enthusiasts like us and it’s also a great skill to know.