Raspberry Pi Imager

Raspberry Pi is a small computer commonly used in robotics, but that you can also use as a desktop PC. Not only is it low-cost and compact (credit-card size), but you can also use it as a standard mouse and keyboard when plugged into a TV or monitor.

Raspberry Pi Imager is a tiny tool designed to help you easily install the Raspberry Pi operating system on the SD card. The app can come in handy for those annoying situations when the OS does not boot.

More often than not, if the operating system does not boot, then one of the most common reasons is that the SPI EEPROM is corrupt. You can easily verify whether this is the cause by disconnecting and reconnecting the SD card. In case the green LED light does not flash at all, then the EEPROM is corrupt.

Thanks to this tool, you can fix this nuisance, especially since it enables you to prepare the SD card for the fresh installation. Moreover, according to the developer, the app can also reprogram the EEPROM as it completely erases all data during the process. You can find the restoration option by browsing to the Misc utility images and then selecting the Raspberry Pi 4 EEPROM boot recovery.

Once you make sure you have a clean and formatted SD Card, you can select this from the corresponding tab and then proceed to hit the Write button. Once the writing process is complete, you should be able to view a rapid blink with a steady pattern of the green LED light mentioned earlier.

If you are working with Raspberry Pi regularly, then chances are that you may want to reinstall or perhaps run older or test versions in a virtual machine for instance. You will be happy to learn that Raspberry Pi Imager supports the creation of a live disc that enables a quick and painless recovery or fresh installations.