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| layout | title | parent | grand_parent | nav_order | has_children | permalink |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| default | balenaEtcher | MainsailOS | Setup Guides | 2 | false | /setup/mainsailos/balena-etcher |
This method requires manual setup for SSH and Wi-Fi. {: .info} This method is cross-platform and works with Windows, Linux and MacOS. {: .info}
We strongly recommend you use a premium SD card from a reputable manufacturer such as Sandisk, Kingston or Samsung, using an "A1" (or better) grade SD card.
Low end cards will often fail quickly when used in this application.
{: .warning}
FLASHING WILL DESTROY ALL DATA ON YOUR SD CARD AND CANNOT BE REVERSED {: .alert}
Preparation
Whilst this guide makes specific use of balenaEtcher it is entirely possible to use any flashing software of your choice and then follow the manual steps to enable SSH / network after.
- Download the latest MainsailOS release (don't unpack the zip; you don't need to).
- Download and install the latest balenaEtcher.
Flashing MainsailOS
balenaEtcher appearance may vary depending on the host OS. {: .info}
-
When opening balenaEtcher you will be presented with the following:
-
Select the 'Flash from file' button ('Select image' on Windows) and navigate to the downloaded MainsailOS zip.
-
Select the 'Select target' button and choose the SD card you want to flash.
-
Return the the main screen, and select 'Flash'. Accept any warnings to continue. FLASHING WILL DESTROY ALL DATA ON YOUR SD CARD AND CANNOT BE REVERSED {: .alert}
-
balenaEtcher will now decompress (unzip) the MainsailOS archive, write the disc image to the card and verify the flash.
-
balenaEtcher will confirm the flash is complete.
Enabling SSH
You may need to safely remove (eject) the SD card and reinsert it for the /boot partition to show. {: .info}
Before you move on, it is important to check SSH is enabled.
This is done by creating an empty file with no extension named 'SSH', or 'SSH.txt' in the /boot partition of the SD card. MainsailOS includes this file.
If for some reason the file is not present, then on linux it can be created by navigating to the /boot partition and opening a terminal:
sudo touch SSH
sudo touch SSH.txt
RaspberryOS will check if /boot/SSH(.txt) is present at first boot. If the file is present then SSH will be enabled.
Setting up Wi-Fi / Network
SSID's are case-sensitive! {: .info} Don't forget to set the country! {: .warning}
To setup Wi-Fi for a headless Pi install the network SSID and password must be entered into mainsailos-wpa-supplicant.txt
With the SD card inserted into the computer, navigate to the SD card's /boot partition and open mainsail-wpa-supplicant.txt.
Locate the relevant section to your network, remove the comment marks (#) and enter the SSID and password. WPA/WPA2 is the most common.
Original:
## WPA/WPA2 secured
#network={
# ssid="put SSID here"
# psk="put password here"
#}
Filled out:
## WPA/WPA2 secured
network={
ssid="CaseSensitive_WIFI"
psk="SuperSecrets"
}
...
# Uncomment the country your Pi is in to activate Wifi in RaspberryPi 3 B+ and above
# For full list see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2
country=GB # United Kingdom
Save and exit the mainsailos-wpa-supplicant.txt file.
You are now ready to move on to the first boot of MainsailOS.
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