You signed in with another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.You signed out in another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.You switched accounts on another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session.Dismiss alert
Copy file name to clipboardExpand all lines: docs/User-Guide_Getting-Started.md
+23-5Lines changed: 23 additions & 5 deletions
Display the source diff
Display the rich diff
Original file line number
Diff line number
Diff line change
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@ Before you start, please make sure you have:
5
5
- a proper power supply according to the board manufacturer's requirements <!-- TODO: link to power issues -->
6
6
- a reliable SD card (at least 'Class 10' and 'A1'-rated is **highly** recommended)
7
7
8
-
You will also need an existing operating system and a SD card writer tool. We recommend using [USBImager](https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/usbimager) because it can validate written data **saving you from corrupted SD card contents**.
8
+
You will also need an existing operating system and an SD card writer tool. We recommend using **[Armbian Imager](https://github.com/armbian/imager/releases)** — the official Armbian flashing tool.
Armbian Imager is a **lightweight, native flashing tool** that supports both **selecting and downloading an Armbian image before flashing**, as well as **flashing an already downloaded image**.
10
13
11
14
!!! warning
12
15
@@ -39,7 +42,7 @@ You will also need an existing operating system and a SD card writer tool. We re
39
42
40
43
## Download the image
41
44
42
-
If your hardware is [supported](index.md#which-hardware-is-supported), you must download an image for your board. All of our system images can be found at <https://www.armbian.com/download/> or at one of our [many mirrors](Mirrors.md). You will find that there are different types of images, either using Debian GNU/Linux or Ubuntu as their base operating system.
45
+
If your hardware is [supported](index.md#which-hardware-is-supported), the recommended way to get started is to use **[Armbian Imager](https://github.com/armbian/imager/releases)** to select your board, download the appropriate image, and flash it in one step; alternatively, images can also be downloaded manually from [https://www.armbian.com/download/](https://www.armbian.com/download/) and flashed using Armbian Imager.
43
46
44
47
<!-- TODO: add some information about using the user interface on the site -->
45
48
@@ -179,14 +182,29 @@ There are multiple ways to deploy the image to your board. The easiest and most
179
182
180
183
### Flash to SD Card
181
184
182
-
Write the **.xz compressed image** with a tool like [USBImager](https://gitlab.com/bztsrc/usbimager) onto your **micro-SD card** or **USB drive** (if booting from it is supported). Unlike other tools, it can validate written data **saving you from corrupted SD card contents**.
185
+
Use **[Armbian Imager](https://github.com/armbian/imager/releases)** to flash the image.
186
+
187
+
Armbian Imager can:
188
+
189
+
- download official Armbian images
190
+
- flash **already downloaded `.img`, `.img.xz`, or custom images**
191
+
- automatically verify written data
192
+
- protect your system disks from accidental overwrite
193
+
194
+
Steps:
195
+
196
+
1. Install and open **Armbian Imager**
197
+
2. Select your board or choose a local/custom image
198
+
3. Select your SD card or USB drive
199
+
4. Flash and wait for verification to finish
183
200
184
201
!!! warning "Other tools"
185
202
186
-
We are aware that there are many programs that can be used for this step. **But**, they usually cannot validate the written data to catch a bad card, a faulty card reader, problems writing the image. etc. Issues like these have caused too many error reports. Thus, please follow our advice and don't use other tools, especially if you are a novice user.
203
+
We are aware that many programs can be used for this step. However, tools without proper verification and safe target selection can hide problems such as bad cards, faulty readers, partial writes, or accidentally selecting the wrong drive. These issues have caused too many avoidable error reports.
187
204
188
-
Due to known issues, [balenaEtcher](https://www.balena.io/etcher/) can no longer be recommended as an alternative at this time.
205
+
For this reason, **Armbian Imager is the recommended tool**.
189
206
207
+
Due to reports of image corruption caused by decompression issues, [balenaEtcher](https://www.balena.io/etcher/) is not recommended.
0 commit comments