I no longer use SD cards, is it the right move? SD vs USB on Raspberry Pi

Using a Raspberry Pi shouldn’t be complicated.

For a long time, using SD cards was the rule on Raspberry Pi, you didn’t have the choice. But now that most models support USB boot, you have the choice: SD cards, USB flash drives, or even SATA and SSD. I recently noticed that I’m using SD cards far less often these days, and in this guide, I will help you to make your choice.

Check the link below for more details:

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Raspberry Pi Bootcamp (course)

Master Python on Raspberry Pi

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#raspberrypi #sdcard #usb

---------- Chapters ----------
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Convenience
1:11 Pricing
1:59 Performances
3:40 Reliability
4:35 How to switch from SD to USB

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[cdgonepotatoes]

On a laptop I always prefer to occupy the SD slot with a card. Even if I may not really use it and just stick portable soft and games for the simple reason that I can.
Flash drives stick out, they're a snag point and can be leveraged on to break the port so it's best to plug them in only when it's needed and pull them out as soon as youre done with your business. SD cards sit flush, making them better portable workstations.

[keithmiller]

Me too, I have switched to USB flash drives. Easy to organise and one can add key fobs with a label.

[jeremyjohnson]

Last time I tried booting from usb (admittedly it's been a while) there was a know issue that pretty much killed the range of RF peripherals like logitech unify mouse and keyboard. That's all I use. Maybe it's fixed now but I went back to MicroSD and haven't tried since.

[Ja]

you are 100% right. I had nothing but problems with the crappy MicroSDs (class 10!), and the PC wouldn't even recognise them to reformat. Then I changed to USB voila, no more problems. I am running Windows 11, Raspberry OS 32 bit to run a robot and -64 bit for the rest on my Raspberry Pi 4 B. The boot order I changed as well so RaspPi always looks for the USB first.

[-someone-.]

Excellent! Very well put together bro👊

[Native]

For me, it's where do I store my roms, sd card or flashdrive?

[NoProblem]

I enable read only file system, not sure if that’s possible with USB drive?

[phonewithoutquestion]

If you do use SD cards just opt for the high or max endurance cards, if you are worried so much. Yes, speed is already off the table; you (perceptibly) need the longevity anyways.

[realcartoongirl]

my pi 3b has issues with the usb where it Would disconnect when power overload and disconnecting the system drive crashes the system so i had to use sd card

[rebeccakickass]

Do you have to format to use an SD on a normal computer?

[craftymulligar]

I know you can have files dissappear using sd cards. Corruption problem adding removing games. Sometimes you can repair the sd cards but won't always work. Can have problem with reformat with boot drives but with a program helps.

[RafaCoringaProducoes]

0:00 is that an eMMc raspberry "sd key"? Ive saw leepspvideo recomending it, and it seems nice since it lets the usbs free!

[patilvarad]

Will that be ok if i add os in sd card and attach pendrive for storage?

[oenone]

i have rpi2 model b v1.1 no usb boot option is available so im stuck with sd cards

[sahilljd]

SD's eventually became damaged and unbootable when the device is switched off without a proper shutdown "many many" times. (A powerfail/shutdown hat can prevent this, at a little extra expense.) Is the USB similarly damaged after many powerfail/improper shutdowns?

[RHawkAdventures]

I like the mini Sandisk 256 g $28 at Amazon. Hardly know it's in

[Grzeebcio]

In raspberry pi4 i have two ssd to OMV. Can i use USB 2.0 to boot rpi? USB2.0 with ssd will be faster than good SD card?

Hello thank you so much for the video.
Would you also be so kind to explain or even better, create a video explaining, how we can use an SSD with ext4 (or NTFS) file format to boot and install OS on?
As far as I know the imager currently converts the main boot partition to FAT32. I also notice that the SD CARD COPIER also doesn't give any option for file format.
Is there a way to flash OS drives with in Raspberry Pi OS with and option to select file format?
I really would like to set my "first" pi on an SSD which is using ext4 (or NTFS or at least ExFat at the very least). I would like to install the OS on an ext4 drive and boot from it for the most resilient setup, before I even delve into the Pi world wormhole.

Would really appreciate any comment, help or guidance from you.

[africantwin]

My USB 3 get very hot when booting from a pi4. So i still using sd cards.
But Since Raspberry's are not available anymore i leaning towards using Thin Clients or Intel Nuc's.

[slave]

In my findings, SD Cards are cheaper, consume less energy from the PIs power supply, leave an USB Port open and unused, and yes, are slightly, but only slightly, slower than USB 3.0 I'm sticking to SD Cards.