Raspberry Pi 2 Initial set-up and configuration with NOOBS / Raspbian
Unlike the Arduino, the Raspberry Pi is not a micro-controller, but rather a small, bare-bones computer that needs an operating system in order to run. The most popular OS for the Raspberry Pi currently is a version of Linux, called Raspbian, specifically optimized for its hardware. I plan to use Raspbian exclusively on my new Raspberry Pi 2 and this posts assumes you will be too. Things you will need to set-up your Raspberry Pi 2: A computer with internet access to download the required software for the Raspberry Pi. An 8 gig (for some extra space, a 4 gig one should work too) Micro SD card. You also need a way to write to the card either by using the SD card slot in your laptop, or a USB SD/Micro SD Card Reader/Writer. A HDMI display (computer monitor, or TV) and an HDMI cable. A DVI display will work as well, if you have a HDMI to DVI cable/adapter. A USB keyboard and a USB mouse. Wireless ones will work most of the time, but if you run into problems, try the “old school” wired versions. After the initial set-up, you can configure remote access to your Raspberry Pi, from another computer and drop the peripherals and the extra monitor. 5 Volt micro USB power supply that can provide at least 1.2 A, with a 2.5 A recommended if you plan to use all 4 USB ports of the Pi. Here is more info on the Raspberry Pi power requirements. Internet connection via an Ethernet cable, or a WiFi adapter to update the software. One of my two WiFi adapters did not work with the Pi, so I recommend to use the Ethernet cable for the initial set-up. I will cover the WiFi configuration in a follow-up post. Formatting the SD Card The Micro SD card for the Raspberry Pi 2 needs to be formatted using the FAT32 format. To do that you can use the SD Formatter program by SD Associates, available for Windows and for Mac. For Linux, the Raspbian.org start-up guide recommends GParted, a free application for managing disk partitions using a graphical interface. On my old Ubunto laptop, I had to install the package with “apt-get” and run it as administrator. ...