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SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 7:13
by wouterlet
Hello guys,
I couldn't find a topic/manual for this. But a want to convert my domoticz installation from SD to SSD. But I would like to prevent an new installation, is this possible? Or do I have to completely start over?
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 9:09
by HansOtten
Easy. No reinstallation required.
Look at the general SD to SSD recipes for Raspberry Pi, it is just a matter of copying the SD image to the SSD.
https://github.com/billw2/rpi-clone for example
Make sure you have a USB 3.0 adapter that is supported, the ASmdia chipset works fine.
And have a look at the the EEPROM update and boot order in raspi-config.
Keep the SD safe until the SSD is working. You can always restart the process then.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 9:48
by sammyke007
This is the best thing you can do with your Pi in my opinion. Just keep your SD somewhere safe. If something fails, you can always revert to it without a problem. I use BENFEI and UGREEN SATA to USB adapters and both work fine for +1 year.
Just check your Pi version and see if it needs additional programming before booting from SSD or not.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 10:37
by wouterlet
Ok,sounds good. My Pi is an 3B+. I'll have a look how to change the boot options.
Do you have any thoughts about this combination:
https://geekworm.com/products/x820-v3-0 ... 4783619160
Looks nice that I can build it all in a small housing. Or are there known issues with this board?
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 11:17
by EddyG
I use a similar housing from Geekworm for 2 ssd drives, I use those 2 ssd drive in raid 1, so if 1 ssd drive fails the system still runs.
I also use the power unit from Geekworm.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 13:14
by HansOtten
wouterlet wrote: ↑Wednesday 15 December 2021 10:37
Ok,sounds good. My Pi is an 3B+. I'll have a look how to change the boot options.
Do you have any thoughts about this combination:
https://geekworm.com/products/x820-v3-0 ... 4783619160
Looks nice that I can build it all in a small housing. Or are there known issues with this board?
Expensive. I use a USB 3 cableadapter (7,50 euro Pihut) and a SSD 240 GB 20 euro and a Raspbery Pi 4 and printed my own case.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 14:37
by EddyG
HansOtten wrote: ↑Wednesday 15 December 2021 13:14
SSD 240 GB 20 euro and a Raspbery Pi 4 and printed my own case.
Cheap SSD my WDC_WDS250G2B0A costed around € 40,-- per pce
Can your case be found on Thingiverse?
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 15:34
by thomasbaetge
I did that last year, copied the image from SD to a small 120GB SSD from Amazon.
It took me about 30 minutes and the system is running 24/7 ever since. I think 120GB is plenty of storage for this purpose, I am running domoticz with 500+ devices, mosquitto, Phoscon and node-red on a headless buster installation and still have 95% free storage.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 15:41
by HansOtten
EddyG wrote: ↑Wednesday 15 December 2021 14:37
HansOtten wrote: ↑Wednesday 15 December 2021 13:14
SSD 240 GB 20 euro and a Raspbery Pi 4 and printed my own case.
Cheap SSD my WDC_WDS250G2B0A costed around € 40,-- per pce
Can your case be found on Thingiverse?
A small SSD like 120GB is more than enough, you are only replacing a 16 GB SD. And they are about 20 euro now.
Yea, there are many cases on thingiverse, look for HDD + Raspberry.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2407893 is the one I use.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 17:16
by Thorgal789
And noone have tried eMMC card used with a SSD adaptator (no power needed) or a RasPiKey ?
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 17:21
by thomasbaetge
nope, small SSDs are dirt cheap, very reliable and don't need external power supply.
Total no-brainer with a lot of benefits

Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 17:40
by Thorgal789
don't need external power supply
Yep but still need one, by the USB port, so more consumption, and less for other USB devices.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 18:04
by thomasbaetge
not necessarily.
I have a z-wave stick, a conbee Zigbee stick and said SSD in the PI (3b+).
Plus it has a cooling fan.
it does not report undervoltage with the standard power supply and works perfectly fine.
maybe just because nobody told the PI that it may be too much

Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Wednesday 15 December 2021 21:25
by RobertM
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 11:19
by HansOtten
Thorgal789 wrote: ↑Wednesday 15 December 2021 17:40
don't need external power supply
Yep but still need one, by the USB port, so more consumption, and less for other USB devices.
Not true, most RPi's and small SSD's run fine without external power supply and are very fast and reliable.
And other USB devices? I have two more, the zigbee stick and a RFlink.
Do not over engineer!
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 11:19
by HansOtten
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 11:47
by thomasbaetge
just remember, if you clone a 16GB SD card to a 120GB SSD you will still have a 16GB image, not 120

Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 12:20
by EddyG
HansOtten wrote: ↑Thursday 16 December 2021 11:19
Not true, most RPi's and small SSD's run fine without external power supply and are very fast and reliable.
And other USB devices? I have two more, the zigbee stick and a RFlink.
Do not over engineer!
See what power is needed for an SSD, just to get an idea:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/8747/sam ... -review/10
You will have to set "max_usb_current=1" in the config.txt to be able to power an USB SSD drive properly.
For an Raspberry Pi 4B you will have to buy a 3 Amps charger because the Raspberry Pi 4B can consume 6 Watts.
Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 13:05
by thomasbaetge
I would not make it more complicated than it actually is.
I've just picked the first no-name SSD from Amazon, put my image on it and fired it up.
No undervoltage reported, no crashes or any issues for more than a year in 24/7 operation.
If I would search the internet long enough I will for sure find a website that tells me that it is a shitty idea, but I tend to not solve problems, that I don't have in the first place.

Re: SD to SSD
Posted: Thursday 16 December 2021 14:26
by user4563
It would be wise to get a SSD that is proven to be reliable through unless you don't mind starting over (Samsung, Plextor, WD, Kingston, etc)