Easy Way to Make Raspbian Read Only
Here is a solution then yous can turn your Raspberry Pi handheld estimator on and off from the power plug (power cycle information technology) just like any other appliance in your dwelling! And it can all exist done through just one setting.
With a unremarkably set-up Raspberry Pi, power cycling tin cause your Micro-SD card to become corrupted. Thus, Safely Shutting via the operating system or a safe shutdown button is crucial. Lets be clear, when you Safely Close down the Raspberry Pi it volition offset check that it has completely stopped writing new information to the Micro-SD card, and in one case the Pi is sure, it will then stop supplying power to information technology's circuit lath. There are situations even so where it is inconvenient to plough the device off safely every fourth dimension (exist it due to location or time constraints).
Then, knowing that Micro-SD card abuse only occur when you lot turn off the Raspberry Pi in the instant that it is writing new information to the Micro-SD bill of fare, lets completely terminate the power for the Raspberry Pi to write new files to the Micro-SD card. Then corruption volition never occur and you can be gratis to power cycle it whenever you desire!
In this guide, we are making our Raspberry Pi Palm-Sized Computer Read-Simply. Notation that this is likewise a reversible process. Below are the contents of this guide.
- What You Need
- Overview of Procedure
- Demonstration
- How to Revert Process
- Situations Where This Is Perfect
This set-up is perfect for kiosks, multi-utilise work terminals, educators managing a classroom worth of Raspberry Pi boards, and completely finished projects that you want the ease of power cycling. With no concern of corruption, your Micro-SD card will be able to run its natural life, which should be 10+ years.
At that place are going to exist some concessions. Once y'all have turned your Raspberry Pi into Read-Only no changes (be it creating new code, irresolute files, deleting directories) volition exist remembered adjacent time you turn on the Raspberry Pi). For instance, if you lot create a directory on the desktop of a Read-Just Raspberry Pi when it restarts that binder volition accept disappeared. This is because we have completely disabled the write function of the Raspberry Pi. All these created files on a Read-Only Raspberry Pi are going to be temporarily stored in the RAM. This means if you create or try to download files larger than the RAM available the system OS won't allow it (or be able to practice it).
Data can be pulled from a Read-Just Raspberry Pi via USB Bulldoze or in whatsoever other normal manner. Crontab (a method of getting the software to run on kicking) and time synchronisation (pulling the time data from the cyberspace) will as well work perfectly fine with a Read-Only Raspberry Pi.
As always if you have any questions, queries, or things to add delight let united states know your thoughts!
What You Demand
Below is everything you need to prepare your Raspberry Pi to exist Write-Just. No soldering or extra hardware to make a safe power cycling Raspberry Pi. This process can also be done headless meaning yous wouldn't need to use peripheries, bank check this guide on how.
- Raspberry Pi Palm-Sized Computer (this process will work with all varieties)
- Micro SD Card flashed with almost recent Raspberry Pi OS (a quick how-to linked here)
- Ability Supply
- Monitor
- HDMI Cord
- Mouse andKeyboard
Overview of Process
So, with your Raspberry Pi set up with all your settings and data exactly how you lot want to permit's effectively take a permanent snapshot of this moment (which the system will revert back to whenever it is rebooted) by turning the Raspberry Pi to Read-Just. The steps are every bit follows (just first for real, back up your Micro-SD card, super really, back up that card).
With Raspberry Pi OS displaying like normal, open up upward a new last using the black push at the top left of the screen. The method demonstrated from here on out will be the verbal same process if you are accessing the Raspberry Pi Headlessly or directly.
In this new terminal blazon and enter the post-obit below line. This volition open up the configuration carte du jour of the Raspberry Pi. See further below for an paradigm of this line written into the terminal. This line starts with | sudo | which means it will run the following with admin privileges.
sudo raspi-config
The menu will look similar the image below, you tin navigate this space using your keyboard and select options past pressing enter. Old school graphics but super incredible and useful. Navigate down to Performance Options and press enter.
Afterwards pressing enter on that option it will look like the image below, presenting a couple of other options. In this folio you are going to navigate down to the | Overlay File System |. This is where yous are going to enable or disable the Read-Only file system. Press enter on this setting.
Having done this y'all will see two things happen subsequently each other. First information technology will bounce dorsum to the Black Terminal for less than 30 seconds to update the normal root files. Every bit it is doing that the final volition display exactly similar the image below.
Then it will jump back to the configuration menu and display the below screen and nowadays the message to the user| The overlay file system is enabled |. This step can existseen in the epitome below.
So after pressing enter on that screen it will show a new message which tin exist seen in the below image. Brand certain to say Aye hither as this will make the boot partition (the Micro-SD Card) be write-protected. If the disk is write-protected, so it is Read-Only and that is exactly what we want to have happen.
Thus having pressed enter on Yes it having done this information technology displayed the below page. Then on rebooting the system my Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is completely in Read-Just Mode. Thus no new permanent information can be written to the Micro-SD card ever.
Sit-in
I've created a new directory on the desktop (called in this example 'New Annoying Folder'). See below in the prototype for this happening. To double analyze, I am creating this new folder on the desktop after I accept rebooted the Raspberry Pi OS. So right at present the Micro-SD card is Read-only. Just because it is Read-only doesn't mean you can't alter and create new files, they just will not be saved upon reboot.
At present, this has happened let's reboot the system. Knowing that the setup is Read-Only nosotros would expect after a reboot that file would accept disappeared. Equally we can see in the prototype below this is exactly what has happened!
How to Revert the Procedure
Y'all can reverse this process nicely and easily but it will require two reboots. Simply, you can go through the same process to revert your Raspberry Pi from Read-only back to the default Read and Write. The setting | Overlay File System | acts as a toggle so one time navigating back to this setting using the Raspberry Pi Configuration Card like before you lot can simply toggle Write On and Off. Remember though it will have a reboot to disable the overlay file system and and so another reboot for the boot partition to get enabled. Each reboot will give the setting a chance to stick (so don't do any important work until yous practise make your organization Read and Write lest your information is lost). See the images beneath for each step of reverting the procedure, each pick highlighted is the ane to do. This process has been compressed into a single image as it is simply very similar to before (correct click and open up image in a new window if the writing is too small to see).
Part of the reason why the naming is a piffling confusing and 2 reboots are required (I believe) is it is done on purpose to forbid immature nefarious agents reverting it back to normal Read and Write and and so causing mischief. Worth noting, another method to plough the Raspberry Pi Os to read and write is simply washed by re-flashing the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Micro-SD Bill of fare.
Situation Where This Is Perfect
Kiosk Applications and Digital Signage are oftentimes not properly shut down only instead simply unplugged at the terminate of the solar day. The same goes for Video Looping Machines. Repeating this increases the risk of file system corruption.
This is besides very valuable for educators. Say you have pre-loaded files and settings on a whole bunch of Raspberry Pis. That way when your students come in and do the form work they do not need to jump through the preliminary process of doing those settings and installing the files for the course. Thus, when the students go far they can get correct into the content that the educator wants to teach. But the fearfulness of every direct-edged educator (and rightfully and then) is those curious students will start downloading all kinds of things, mess around with the settings, download games, remove the course work, and cause all kinds of mischief.
And then, after the lesson, damage control would need to occur. You lot would and so demand to get through the procedure of wiping the micro-SD card, fixing the settings, and re-installing the desired coursework ready for the next form. For each of the Raspberry Pi Boards. And that can become a series investment of fourth dimension for xx+ Micro-SD Cards (we know this and fifty-fifty created a Mass SD Carte du jour Prototype Writer to make this job faster).
What if instead each time yous power cycled your Raspberry Pi the data reverted back to that bespeak at the start of the course. All that mischief and setting changes will be forgotten and you lot'll be back at your original custom fix-up. And that is exactly what a Read-Just Raspberry Pi can do for you.
Another scenario where you would want this is when you take fully completed a projection and you want to turn it on and off from the wall switch or via an external timer. By converting the Raspberry Pi into Read-But, it will never decadent and your organisation will work perfectly (or at least until the natural lifespan of an SD-carte which is effectually 10 years).
Also, say you are operating in an environment with intermittent power and the power shuts downward on y'all unawares (and you lot haven't got a brilliant UPS hat like the one from PiJuice) then those lingering one-half-written files tin return the SD card completely unbootable. There are plain methods to perchance patch up the abuse but sometimes at that place is no recourse but to whip out the card reinstall everything.
And to those who say My Projection doesn't even write whatever data. It may exist truthful that your application or program does non write any data only your operating system (Raspberry Pi OS) or GUI (such as Chromium or Firefox browser) certainly is. Constantly during operation, they will be writing temporary files, log files, cache files, etc. There is a lot going on under the hood and this is what eventually causes your SD card to corrupt in the mid-to-long run of not safely shutting down. Then why not prevent it all together.
Here is a solution so you tin turn your Raspberry Pi handheld computer on and off from the power plug (ability cycle it) just 50...
Source: https://core-electronics.com.au/tutorials/read-only-raspberry-pi.html
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