Raspberry PI OS Review

A slim version of Linux intended for use with a Raspberry Pi hardware

Discovery

If you have purchased or worked with the Raspberry PI hardware, then your probably already familiar with Raspberry Pi OS. The Pi-Hole website recommends using Raspberry PI OS as the operating system when using Raspberry Pi hardware. The Raspberry Pi OS is a very 'light' fork of Debian Linux. You won’t find much in the way of frills. It's as basic as basic can be.

Installation

Raspi #1 installation was completed on a Hyper-V virtual machine from ISO as a learning process. (Actual Raspberry Pi hardware was not available at the time of review.) I downloaded the newest ISO file for Raspi and installed it using default settings. No problems were encountered.

My Raspi #2 install, I located and acquired an old i3 HP desktop that I acquired for free. This desktop had no memory or drive. Then I installed 8 gig of memory salvaged from another dead desktop. In order to give it a boost - I added a new 512G SSD that was in my inventory. Then, using the Balena Etcher software, I created a bootable thumb drive from the ISO. I installed Raspi from the thumb drive onto the i3 desktop. Performance is more than sufficient for testing purposes. The i3 is still a superior processor to actual Pi 4 hardware. The processor could be upgraded with a used one from eBay that fits the same socket if desired. Once again, there were no problems encountered during the installation.

Raspberry Pi v4B single board computer (w/o case)

Hyper-V Settings for Raspi

The following assumes you have some experience with Hyper-V. These are the minimal hardware settings that worked for me to create a new virtual machine in my test environment. You will need to specify your paths accordingly. If you are installing this for regular use, you will want to give the VM more memory and disk resources or dedicated hardware.

• Security = Key Storage Drive Disabled
• Generation = 1
• RAM = 2048 or more, (non-dynamic)
• Virtual Processors = 2 or more
• Virtual Hard-Disk = 100 Gig or more
• Network Adapter = vSwitch
• Integration Services = Check everything
• Checkpoints = disabled
• Page Files = disabled
• Autostart = Nothing
• Automatic Stop = Save

Start the VM, proceed through the setup process, assign your administrator password and your good to go!

Windows Hyper-V Video Settings for Debian Based Distros

I have noticed that using Debian based distros within Hyper-V do not allow a person to change the screen resolution by simply expanding the Window or by changing it within the OS. However it is possible by making a Grub modification to specify screen size. Contact Meyer Computer for these instructions and I can provide them.

SMB Support

Samba allows Windows computers to interact with file shares and printers on a non-Windows server, making it a crucial tool for interoperability between different operating systems.

This feature works just as expected without any additional installation or configuration. The first time you connect to a shared network drive, it may take a second or two. I am assuming the system has to search for the shared device and folder the network. Then, you’ll need to enter a password for the network share. Once that’s done, you’re good to go. The connection will stay active until the computer is shut down. You can access the shared folder as much as you want without re-inputting a password. I like to bookmark the location within the file manager/file explorer so I don't need to type the network path. This will save you a little time.

Software

I installed Raspi for the sole purpose of utilizing Pi-Hole software. It works well for the intended task. I have it on a headless machine that I can access remotely. I connect via SSH to run a Python script to keep the operating system and the Pi-Hole software up to date. The Pi-Hole software is accessed via web-browser.

Overall Impressions of Raspberry Pi OS:

This OS is not really intended to be a daily driver. It's very stripped down to the point of having the desktop with a web browser and thats about it. Naturally you can install other software. The OS is intended to run things like Pi-Holes, home automation, small DIY NAS units etc... The difficulties configuring SAMBA file access may be a concern for anyone who needs it. If you wan't to use Linux for a daily driver, Mint would be a much better choice.