I'm assuming you already have a RPi. What you need next is an SD card to boot from. I'd recommend a minimum of 4 gigs of capacity, and anything above Class 4 should suffice.
/jargon
SD (Secure Digital) Card
Your run-of-the-mill memory card, usually found in cameras. Speed classes are usually defined as a number that corresponds to speed at which data can be written, i.e, the minimum performance. The actual speeds however, depend on a number of other factors, which we won't get into detail about. Class 4 corresponds to a 4 MB/s write speed, Class 10 to 10 MB/s, you get the picture.
/endjargon
You could always get a pre-installed SD card which costs a tad more than buying just the card alone. But what's the fun in that? Save your money, and if you have some to spare, look to your right and hit that yellow button.
Getting your hands dirty is always the way to go. Always, and I can't emphasise this enough - ALWAYS try to do things in the hardest way possible, it's the only way you understand each step in the process, and as a Comps geek always knows - bugs will pop up no matter how much of an advanced programmer you are. The only way to troubleshoot and debug (and along the way, broaden your knowledge) is to understand and perform each individual step. Then again, if you're as lazy as I am, if automation ends up working, then yay!
We're going to be installing the much-acclaimed Raspbian Debian Wheezy for your RPi, which you can download from the download list below. On Windows, we'll be using a tool called Win32 Disk Imager which is used to write image files (here, our Raspbian OS image) onto SD cards. Another tool we'll be using is an SD card formatting utility to clean up your drive.
Download List
- Raspbian OS
- Win32 Disk Imager: Install
- SD Formatter : Accept EULA, and install
Push your SD card into your memory card reader slot, and open up My Computer. Note down which drive letter is assigned to your SD card. Now open up the SD Formatter, and make sure your drive is selected. Double check before you hit format, this tool has the ability to format your entire hard drive. You have been warned! Hit format to clean up your SD card. As you can see, for me the drive letter is G.
Now open up the Win32 Disk Imager Utility. Make sure to run it in administrator mode. Make sure device is selected as the drive letter assigned to your SD card.
After that, extract the Raspbian zip file, and click on the blue folder icon. Navigate to the Raspbian folder, and select the image file. After that, click the write button, and wait for the process to complete. Once completed, you're good to go.
I recommend booting into Linux for every step after this. Things can be done via Windows, but Ubuntu gives you access to the complete file system on the RPi, and this can serve as an opportunity to learn a few Linux commands, which should come in handy.
