Using the most recent Raspberry Pi image

neel

Hey all,

I downloaded the most recent raspberry pi image from the google drive. This file has a different format than the others, however.

When I tried to image it to an sd card using balena, it was unable to verify the image. The raspberry pi didn't boot when I skipped verification.

When I tried to extract it, it didn't have a file extension. Balena didn't know what to do with it.

Any thoughts on how I can use this image? The previous version, 9.7, works fine for me.

OskarSonc

Hi neel

I just tested the latest image and ran into the same issue as you when using BalenaEtcher — it failed during the verification step with a “writer process ended unexpectedly” error.

However, I was able to flash it successfully using the official Raspberry Pi Imager instead. You can grab it here:
🔗 https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

Just select “Use Custom” and point it to the image file you downloaded.

Also, yes — the new image is packaged differently than the previous version. It uses the .xz compression format (same as the official Raspberry Pi OS releases), whereas older ones were in .7z. Functionally it's the same type of image inside, just wrapped in a different archive format.

I’ll dig in a bit more and share updates, but in the meantime give the Pi Imager a shot and let me know if it works.

Thanks,
Oskar

neel

Will do! Thanks for trying it out. I should have tried the RPI imager as well.

neel

@OskarSonc The Raspberry Pi imager had no problem, but I also got a kernel panic when I tried to boot the device. This is the same thing that happened when I skipped validation on Balena and tried to boot the rpi.

OskarSonc

@neel,

I got it working on my end. Here’s what I did:

After downloading the .xz file, I extracted it using WinRAR. The extracted file didn’t have an extension, so I manually renamed it to .img. Then I flashed it using BalenaEtcher, and it worked without any issues.

Hope that helps! I’ll still look into why Balena is failing when trying to flash the .xz directly — it might be a bug or an issue with how the file is packaged.

Best,
Oskar

neel

Thanks for checking, @OskarSonc. Doing that with either Balena or the official RPi imager results in the kernel panic that I shared earlier. I'm not sure if it's because I'm on a raspberry pi 5, but I can't think of what else would cause it.

It looks like the files have been on GDrive for quite a while without others reporting the issue. I might just stick with the 9.7 image. Do you know if there are change logs for the different image versions, or even a description of how they differ from the stock Raspberry pi image? It might actually be easiest for me to use the default RPi OS and add whatever extras the OAK-D image has.

OskarSonc

neel
That’s really strange, since I’m also using a Pi 5 and the same image, and it works fine for me.

When you followed my method — extracting the .xz with another tool (like WinRAR or 7-Zip), renaming the extracted file to .img, and flashing it with Balena — did Etcher give you any errors during the verification step?

On my end, Balena’s verification completed successfully using that approach, and the Pi 5 booted without issues.

neel

I also tried the RPi 64 bit os file that was uploaded in Feb of 2024, and I got a kernel panic with that one as well. I'm just going to install the official RPi image and install the libraries that make sense to me. It would be great to know how the Luxonis image differs from the stock image so that I can make the appropriate changes.

OskarSonc

neel
Here is the file with how our images are created in in which way they are changed:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c4JhIY2ulcgaaycUBOsAbUI1EJ_7Zx4ux4alaxFc_ts/edit?tab=t.0

neel

OskarSonc I don't get any validation issues when using that approach. I just tested again to confirm that I get the kernel error, though.

I've attached an image of the contents of the card after I flash the image.

I have a screen attached to the GPIO pins, and I'm also using mac's native archive tool. I'm going to try using a 3rd party archive tool later, then I'll try removing the screen. I think I've read that macOS's native xz support is perhaps more limited than some other tools.

neel

I just tried a different archive tool and got the same error. I realized that another thing I should probably try is a different SD card, although the card I have works with other images (including the 9.7 image).

I asked Perplexity, and I mentioned that other images work for me. It suggested the following.

Image/Kernel Incompatibility: The new image you’re trying to use may still be incompatible with your Raspberry Pi model or revision, especially if it is a custom, third-party, or older Raspberry Pi OS version.

Configuration or Flashing Problems: The process of flashing the new image could have gone wrong, or the image file itself may have been corrupted during download.
Peripheral Compatibility: If you changed connected hardware (like HATs, PCIe, or USB devices) between images, that could still be causing the issue.
Partition Issues: Sometimes, switching between very different images (for example, 32-bit vs. 64-bit, different OS families) can leave old partitions or files behind that confuse the boot process if the SD card isn’t fully wiped before writing the new image.

I'll try it without the screen attached and report back.

neel

Just tried to boot without the screen attached (pretty easy to do), and I got the same kernel issue.

I'll try working from the google doc you left to build an OS that works for me. Thanks for sharing it.

OskarSonc

Hey @neel

Sorry to hear you're still running into issues — it's definitely strange since it's working fine on our side with the Pi 5. From the screenshot you shared, everything on the boot partition looks normal — all the expected files seem to be there. I will look more into this (saw online that could be an outdated EEPROM on the Pi…)

In the meantime, setting up your own OS and installing everything manually sounds like a solid plan. Hopefully that gets things working smoothly. Let us know if you run into anything or need help along the way!

Best
Oskar

neel

OskarSonc Yeah. Definitely strange, but I appreciate your help. Thanks!

FWIW, I just bought this raspberry pi from microcenter last weekend.