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Install Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi Using NOOBS

Learn how to prepare an SD card with NOOBS, install Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi, complete raspi-config setup, and start the historical LXDE desktop.

Overview

This guide explains how to install the historically named Raspbian operating system on a Raspberry Pi using NOOBS. You will prepare an SD card on a separate computer, boot the Raspberry Pi into the NOOBS installer, select Raspbian, complete the initial configuration, and reach the command line or graphical desktop.

For related preparation guidance, see the Raspberry Pi Raspbian installation guide.

What Raspbian Is

Raspbian is a Raspberry Pi-focused operating system historically based on Debian, a widely used Linux distribution. It provides the general-purpose capabilities of Linux while being adapted for Raspberry Pi hardware.

Raspbian was suitable for beginners because it included a graphical user interface (GUI), bundled applications, and familiar desktop controls such as windows, menus, and icons. It could also be used from a shell, which is a command-line environment for logging in and running commands.

In the historical desktop arrangement covered by this lesson, LXDE was the lightweight desktop environment and Openbox was the window manager used with it. The desktop environment supplies panels, menus, and applications; the window manager controls how application windows are displayed and moved.

Raspbian and NOOBS are different things:

• Raspbian is the operating system installed on the SD card.
• NOOBS is an installation manager that presents supported operating-system choices and installs the selected system.
• The SD card is removable flash storage that holds the Raspberry Pi boot files, installer, partitions, and installed operating system.

What NOOBS Does

NOOBS is prepared on an SD card before the Raspberry Pi is turned on. At startup, it presents an operating-system selection screen. You choose Raspbian there, and NOOBS prepares the card and installs the selected system.

The basic workflow is:

1. Download the appropriate NOOBS archive from an official Raspberry Pi source.
2. Extract the archive on a computer.
3. Copy the extracted files and folders to the root directory of the SD card.
4. Insert the prepared card into the Raspberry Pi and connect the hardware.
5. Boot the Pi and choose Raspbian in NOOBS.
6. Confirm the operation that erases or repartitions the card.
7. Wait while NOOBS downloads or copies files, partitions the card, and installs Raspbian.

The card must be prepared correctly. Copying only the ZIP file, or placing all the extracted content inside an extra directory, can prevent the Raspberry Pi from finding the installer.

Hardware and Materials Checklist

Back up any files already on the SD card. Preparing installation media and installing an operating system can overwrite existing partitions and data. After transferring the installer, safely eject the card from the computer before removing it from the reader.

Download and Unpack NOOBS

1. Download the installer

On the separate computer, obtain the NOOBS archive from an official Raspberry Pi source. Select a release that supports your Raspberry Pi model and provides the operating-system choices you expect.

2. Extract the archive

Use the computer's archive utility to extract the downloaded ZIP archive to a local folder. Do not copy the ZIP file to the SD card as the only installer content. NOOBS needs its extracted files and folders to be visible.

3. Copy the extracted contents

Insert the SD card into the reader and open it in the file manager. Copy the contents of the extracted NOOBS folder to the top level, also called the root directory, of the SD card.

The card should contain the installer files and folders directly. Avoid a layout such as SD-card/NOOBS/installer-files when the archive's contents were intended to be at the card root. The exact filenames vary by release, but expected NOOBS files, folders, and operating-system data should be visible immediately when you open the card.

When the copy finishes, eject the SD card safely through the computer's operating-system controls. This allows pending writes to complete before you remove the card.

Connect and Boot the Raspberry Pi

With the Raspberry Pi powered off, use this physical setup order:

1. Insert the prepared SD card into the Raspberry Pi's SD-card slot.
2. Attach the USB keyboard and USB mouse.
3. Connect the display to the Raspberry Pi through HDMI, then select the display's correct input.
4. Connect the suitable power supply.

Connecting power starts the Raspberry Pi. The display should show the NOOBS installer and its operating-system selection list. The first startup may take longer than a normal boot, so do not interrupt it by removing power or the SD card.

Select and Install Raspbian

1. Locate the Raspbian entry in the NOOBS operating-system list.
2. Select its checkbox or list control.
3. Choose the Install action.
4. Read the warning explaining that the SD card may be erased or repartitioned.
5. Confirm only if you have backed up data and intentionally want to install Raspbian.
6. Wait for the download or file copy, partitioning, and installation stages to finish.

Do not remove the SD card and do not disconnect power during installation. Interrupting the process can leave the card without a bootable system. When successful, NOOBS reports completion and the Raspberry Pi proceeds toward the installed Raspbian system or its initial configuration screens.

Initial Configuration with raspi-config

raspi-config is a text-based Raspberry Pi configuration utility. It uses menus rather than a graphical desktop and may appear after installation. Depending on the release, it can provide choices for initial setup and system settings.

Review or complete the choices presented by the utility. Follow the release-specific prompts for items such as account or regional settings, then move through the menu until the setup is complete. Choose the menu's Finish option when you are done, and confirm any prompt to reboot or continue.

Finishing the configuration menu is important: it lets the installed operating system leave the setup utility and continue booting. This is the transition from NOOBS and configuration screens to the Raspbian system installed on the SD card.

Log In and Start the Desktop

A terminal login gives you a shell prompt where you type commands. A graphical desktop is a GUI session with windows, menus, icons, keyboard interaction, and mouse interaction. They are two different ways to use the same installed operating system.

For releases that still provide the historical preconfigured account, the initial credentials are:

• Username: pi
• Password: raspberry

If the system boots to a shell prompt and the applicable installation uses the historical X11 desktop arrangement, start the graphical session with:

startx

If successful, this opens the historical LXDE/Openbox desktop. The command is not a universal instruction for every modern Raspberry Pi configuration; use it only when it is supported by the release and desktop stack installed.

Installation Workflow at a Glance

Post-Installation Checks

• Confirm that the Raspberry Pi reaches a shell prompt or graphical desktop without boot errors.
• Test the keyboard and mouse.
• Confirm that the display has a stable picture and the correct input is selected.
• Check that the SD card and installed storage are recognized.
• Check network connectivity, if networking is part of your setup.
• Apply available system updates as a follow-up task, using instructions appropriate to the installed release.
• Record the new account credentials in a secure place after changing the initial password.
• Shut down the operating system safely before removing power or the SD card.

Troubleshooting

The NOOBS installer does not appear

• Confirm that the archive was extracted rather than copied as a ZIP file.
• Open the SD card on another computer and verify that the extracted installer contents are visible at the top level.
• Check that the card is fully inserted and is not corrupt, incompatible, or counterfeit.
• Reconnect the HDMI cable and select the correct display input.
• Try a known-good SD card and a suitable power supply.

Raspbian is unavailable or cannot be selected

• Verify that the installer download completed correctly and that its contents were copied completely.
• Confirm that the operating-system list matches the release being used; not every installer release presents the same choices.
• If the installation requires an online download, check the installer's network connection.

Installation stops or fails

• Make sure power was not interrupted and do not remove the SD card while the installer is working.
• Retry with a reliable card of adequate capacity.
• Download and extract the installer again if the archive may be corrupted.
• Check for insufficient free space or an incompatible card.

The listed credentials do not work

• Confirm that the installed release still provides the historical pi account and raspberry password.
• Check whether credentials were changed during first-boot setup.
• Check the keyboard layout, since typed password characters can differ between layouts.
• Use the configured account instead of assuming historical defaults.

The desktop does not start with startx

• Review console messages for errors.
• Verify HDMI cabling and the monitor input.
• Confirm that the installed release supports startx and the historical LXDE/Openbox desktop stack.
• A different desktop configuration or damaged graphical packages may require release-specific repair steps.

Summary

To install Raspbian with NOOBS, back up the SD card, extract the installer archive, copy its contents to the card root, and boot the Raspberry Pi with the display and input devices connected. Select Raspbian, confirm the intentional storage erase, wait for installation to finish, complete raspi-config, and log in. On applicable historical installations, change the default password and use startx to open the LXDE/Openbox desktop from a shell.