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Manual · 01

Installation

In this chapter you install SD Migrator on your Raspberry Pi 5. You also learn how to update or remove the program and how to prepare the Pi for use on the road.

Requirements

  • Raspberry Pi 5
  • Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit (Debian 13 “trixie”)
  • The installation package sd-migrator_<version>_arm64.deb

SD Migrator is installed as a normal system package, so you receive security updates together with the usual system updates via apt. The package automatically installs all required additional programs.

Installing SD Migrator

  1. Copy the installation package to the Pi and open a terminal there in the same folder.
  2. Install the package:
sudo apt install ./sd-migrator_<version>_arm64.deb
  1. Give your user admin access so that you can manage SD Migrator without sudo:
sudo adduser "$USER" sd-migrator
  1. Log out and back in for the admin access to take effect.

During installation the package sets up everything that is needed, including the basic settings and the security certificate for the encrypted connection to the web interface.

Updating SD Migrator

To update, use the same command as for installation, just with the new package file:

sudo apt install ./sd-migrator_<version>_arm64.deb

An update never overwrites your settings.

If the update is refused

An update or removal restarts SD Migrator. If a job is currently running (copying, verifying, cloud upload), the package therefore refuses the operation and tells you which job is running.

  1. Wait until the job has finished, or cancel it.
  2. Start the update again.

If you want to carry out the update immediately anyway, force it like this:

sudo SD_MIGRATOR_FORCE=1 apt install ./sd-migrator_…_arm64.deb

Caution: A forced update interrupts the running job.

Tip: This protection only applies to updates from version 0.4.5 onwards. What matters is the version already installed, not the new one.

Removing SD Migrator

  • Remove the program only:
sudo apt remove sd-migrator
  • Remove the program together with settings, credentials, certificates and status data:
sudo apt purge sd-migrator

Your backed-up media are always kept in both cases.

Enabling iCloud Drive for cloud backup (optional)

For Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and pCloud, the supplied components are sufficient. For iCloud Drive you need rclone version 1.69 or later; Debian 13 only ships 1.60. Replace it with the official package from rclone.org:

V=$(curl -fsSL https://downloads.rclone.org/version.txt | cut -d' ' -f2)
curl -fsSLO "https://downloads.rclone.org/$V/rclone-$V-linux-arm64.deb"
curl -fsSL "https://downloads.rclone.org/$V/SHA256SUMS" | grep "linux-arm64.deb" | sha256sum -c -
sudo apt install "./rclone-$V-linux-arm64.deb"

Power the Pi off completely instead of just halting

By default, the Pi 5 only halts when shutting down. To make it power off completely:

  1. Open the settings:
sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit
  1. Set POWER_OFF_ON_HALT=1 and save.
  2. Restart the Pi. This setting only needs to be made once and applies from the restart onwards.

Disabling the graphical desktop

You operate SD Migrator exclusively via the web interface. Disable the graphical desktop:

sudo raspi-config nonint do_boot_behaviour B1

Caution: If the desktop remains active, it mounts inserted drives itself. SD Migrator then cannot read these drives.

To return to the desktop, use:

sudo raspi-config nonint do_boot_behaviour B4

Preparing drives

For large video files, use drives with the ext4 or exFAT file system.

Caution: FAT32 only allows 4 GiB per file. Long videos often do not fit.

SD Migrator never formats or partitions drives. Prepare your drives yourself beforehand.