Creating an image of a Raspberry Pi SD card is an essential task for any Pi enthusiast or developer. It allows you to easily back up your system, transfer it to another Pi or share it with others. To create an image, you’ll need a few things: a Raspberry Pi, an SD card reader, and imaging software. Once you have these, simply insert the SD card into your computer, open the imaging software, and follow the steps to create an image. There are a variety of imaging software options available, each with their own pros and cons, but using a reliable and user-friendly program like Etcher is recommended. Taking the time to create an image of your Raspberry Pi SD card can save you hours of setup time in the future and ensure you have a stable, reliable system that’s always ready to go.
Win32 Disk Imager
Win 32 Disk Imager is a well-known tool on Windows for Raspberry Pi And Linux users.
It’s often used to create SD cards (or USB disk) from an image of an operating system downloaded on the Internet.
Win32 Disk Imager Official Website: https://win32diskimager.org/
It looks like this:
But the goal today is the opposite: creating an image from an SD card.
Win 32 Disk Imager can also do this, let’s see how!
Step-by-step image creation with Win32 Disk Imager
Here are the steps to follow to create an image of any SD card on Windows, with Win 32 Disk Imager:
- Insert your SD card in your computer.
- Find the partition letter corresponding to your SD card:
Take note of the drive letter, you’ll need it later.
- Open Win 32 Disk Imager.
- Start by choosing an image location and name for the image:
Make sure to have enough free space on your disk where the image will store (a 64 GB SD card can quickly fill an SSD disk). - Then select the device for back up:
typically it will show the “boot” partition, but don’t worry, Win32DiskImager will create an entire image of all partitions on the device. - click on “Read” to start the copy:
- The process will start and it can take some time depending on the SD card size (between 15min and 1h in general for a standard size):
Once done, the image is safe now.
My name is Rayhan and I’m an IT professional with over 10 years of experience in the field. I’m passionate about all things tech, and I love helping people solve their IT problems. In my free time, I enjoy tinkering with new gadgets and software, and I’m always on the lookout for the latest tech trends. I believe that technology has the power to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, and I’m excited to be a part of this ever-evolving field. Thank you for taking the time to visit my page.