microSD card topics#

microSD cards are fragile and fickle. The microSD card is the weak link in the Raspberry Pi computer and you should expect to have to replace it from time-to-time. But do not fret! Replacing the SD cards is simple.

How to get the most out of your microSD card#

Note

We strongly recommend against using consumer-grade TLC microSD cards with Raspberry Shake. Use commercial-grade (MLC) or industrial-grade (SLC) microSD cards instead. Raspberry Shakes have shipped with MLC microSD cards since ~August, 2018.

Note

Because in some cases the microSD card grade is not reported on its technical specifications, it is recommended using search terms such as “endurance/high endurance microSD”, “surveillance microSD”, or “high-performance microSD”. The cards under these categories are typically designed with higher tolerances, making them more suitable for continuous writing and reading tasks which often require more durable NAND flash technologies.

Since all of the software that makes Raspberry Shakes run lives on the microSD card, it is worth protecting them.

The life of your microSD card will be a short one unless you take some easy steps to protect it including:

  • If you plan to move your Raspberry Shake from one location to another, or shut her down for any reason, always do so from the web front-end. Never just pull the plug on her. Doing so will damage the microSD card and may even render it dead.

  • We recommend pairing your Raspberry Shake with a small UPS backup power supply. UPS’s that have Ethernet protection are the best. Doing this will protect your Raspberry Shake from spikes and other inconsistencies in the power supply (something less important for highly developed countries) but, more importantly, it will help the Raspberry Shake bridge short- to medium-term power outages, dramatically extending the life of the microSD card.

Note

We recommend using the official power supply to guarantee optimal working performance for your Raspberry Shake.

How do I know that my microSD card is corrupt and needs to be replaced?#

If either:

  1. The green ACT LED on the Raspberry Pi computer board does not occassionally blink; or

  2. The same LED is permanently lit.

Then your microSD card needs to be replaced.

Details:

If you suspect that your microSD card has died, you can usually tell by checking the LEDs next to the power connector on the Raspberry Pi Computer. There should be a red one labeled PWR. You can ignore this, it only tells you that the unit is powered on. Right next to it is another green LED labelled ACT. This should blink every now and again. This blinks when there is activity on the microSD card which can only happen if the operating system booted successfully. If you never see this green LED blink or it is permanently lit up, then the microSD card likely needs to be replaced.

Note

If a filesystem is marked “read-only”, or you get a “disk full” message, this means that the disk is corrupt. Try to re-burn the OS on the card before trying a new one. Instructions on how to do so are on this page, just below.

If I replace my microSD card, will my station name change?#

Nope.

For more details, see: Raspberry Shake Station Naming Convention

How to burn the Raspberry Shake OS image to your microSD card#

Note

All models of Raspberry Shake, including the RS1D, RS3D, RS4D, RBOOM, RS&BOOM and RJAM use the same software.

The Raspberry Shake software image burning procedure has been greatly simplified with a new release format. It is now possible to either use a special program to “burn” the “image” or simply open the .zip file and extract its contents to the micro-SD card.

1) Format the microSD card#

  • Insert the microSD card into your PC/laptop (via adapter or port)

  • Once it appears on your computer, right click on it and select Format, or use one of the Format Utilities

  • Use/Check that the file system is FAT32 (or exFAT for 64 GB or larger cards)

  • Once the process is complete, confirm the card shows its full capacity (e.g. ~32 GB for a 32 GB card).

Note

The minimum recommended microSD card size is 8 GB.

Warning

If the formatting fails or the card shows the wrong size, use the steps below in relation to your operating system. Otherwise, skip to point 2).

Windows (using SD Card Formatter)#

  1. Download SD Card Formatter for Windows here.

  2. Extract it to any folder (Desktop is fine).

  3. Open SDCardFormatterv5_WinEN.

  4. Run SD Card Formatter 5.0.3 Setup EN.exe and install it.

  5. Insert the microSD card into your PC/laptop and launch SD Card Formatter (clicking Yes if prompted).

  6. Select the microSD card in the top menu (if not already selected).

  7. Leave Quick format enabled and click Format.

macOS / Linux#

Use Disk Utility (macOS) or your preferred disk tool (Linux) to format the card as FAT32 (or exFAT for cards ≥64 GB). As always, confirm the full capacity is available afterwards.

Warning

If the formatting still fails, refer to the Alternative formatting method in the Troubleshooting section below.

2) Download the Shake OS#

Go to Shake OS download page

Once done, you will have a file named raspishake-release.zip on your computer.

3) Install the Shake OS#

Note

This method does not require imaging software It’s as simple as copy and pasting.

  • Open raspishake-release.zip.

  • Extract/Unzip all contents directly to the microSD card. This should take ~60-90 seconds.

    • If you already extracted it somewhere on your computer: copy all extracted files/folders onto the microSD card.

4) First boot#

  1. Insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Shake, connect the LAN and power cables in this order, and then turn it on.

  2. Wait for the automatic install to finish

    • Depending on the card size and type, this will take between 10 and 17 minutes

    • During this process the LED lights will display the following: Blue LED-solid on the Raspberry Shake board, and Red and Green LEDs-solid on the Raspberry Pi board

    • When completed, the LEDs will be: Blue LED-solid on the Raspberry Shake board, with Red LED-solid and Green LED-blinking on the Raspberry Pi board

    • You will know the system has booted when you are able to find an IP address on the network belonging to the Raspberry Shake. For example, either via your router interface, or using a program like Fing

  3. And from all of us here at Shake Central, enjoy your Raspberry Shake!

Note

The microSD card image will be automatically resized to use the full capacity of the disk upon first bootup sequence.

Troubleshooting#

If the Shake does not boot properly, or there are errors in any of the steps above, try the alternative burning/formatting methods below.

Alternative imaging method#

  1. From raspishake-release.zip, extract only the file rshake-os.xz to a folder on your computer.

  2. Write the image in that file to the microSD card using a burning program such as Balena. The process is easy to complete:

    • Click Flash from file

    • Select the rshake-os.xz file from where you extracted it

    • Click Select Target and select the microSD card

    • Click Flash

Done!

Note

If the microSD card does not appear in the selection menu, or an error appears during the process, then the card may be damaged. Please try with a different microSD.

Alternative formatting method on Windows#

Warning

These steps permanently erase the selected disk without any possibility of recovery. Double-check you fave selected the correct microSD card after point 4 of the list below.

  1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (all commands below are followed by pressing Enter)

  2. Type DISKPART

  3. Type list disk

  4. Type select disk X (choosing the microSD card)

  5. Ensure that the correct disk has been selected by typing list disk again. Ensure the microSD card is marked with a * before it.

  6. Type clean

  7. Type create partition primary

  8. Type format fs=fat32 quick

  9. Type exit

The card should now display its maximum capacity, and it is now ready for the Shake OS to be installed on it.

Note

If the microSD card does not appear in the DISKPART list, then it may be damaged. Please try with a different microSD.

Note

If, after the DISKPART process, the microSD card still doesn’t display its maximum capacity, it may be damaged, so please replace it with a new one.

A special note for users who plan to use the Raspberry Shake as a stand-alone datalogger#

We recommend saving the continuous waveform data to an industrial USB. See here for details: How to mount a USB to store the waveform archive

microSD card Facts#

More memory and reliability do not always go together when it comes to SD cards.

There are 3 kinds of SD cards, in order of robustness and price:

  1. Consumer grade:

    • highest capacity and lowest cost

    • NAND Type: Triple-level cells (TLC)

    • Geometry: 3 bit/ memory cell (this means that TLC cards can be larger in size than MLC & SLC cards. Anything over 8 Gb is definitely TLC.)

    • Write cycles: 2,000 - 3,000

    • The higher the storage capacity, the lower the life of the SD card because the way they cram more space onto these little microSD cards compromises their ability to recover from corrupt memory footprints

Warning

We strongly recommend against using consumer-grade TLC microSD cards with Raspberry Shake. Use commercial-grade (MLC) or industrial-grade (SLC) microSD cards instead.

  1. Commercial Grade:

    Raspberry Shakes have shipped with Commercial-grade (MLC) microSD cards since ~August, 2018. - NAND Type: Mult-level cells (MLC) - Geometry: 2 bit/ memory cell - Write cycles: 100,000

  2. Industrial Grade:

    • NAND Type: Single-level cells (SLC)

    • Geometry: 1 bit/ memory cell

    • Write cycles: 2 million

To find out more about microSD card technologies, we recommend: