Can I boot a raspberry pi 5 from one of the Sata Drives on the hat?

January 11, 2025, 13:46

bouvreuil_

Hi, I’m about to buy a Raspberry Pi 5 and a Radxa Penta SATA Hat for my NAS project. I want to avoid any issues with the SD card, so I’d prefer to boot from one of my SSDs. However, when I look for information on this, I can’t seem to find a clear answer. Do you have one ?

k9t33n

yes ofcourse it can. are you using a usb adaptor for this?

k9t33n

i thought we had a <#1193641764330946741> on this but turns out we don't will have to remake one

bouvreuil_

No, I’m not using a USB adapter; I’m using a Radxa Penta SATA Hat for that (here’s the link if you want to check it out: https://radxa.com/products/accessories/penta-sata-hat/)

k9t33n

oh my sorry about that

k9t33n

oh thats really cool

k9t33n

okay

k9t33n

okay so first we just need to tell the pi to boot from pcie

k9t33n

do you have a usb or sd card for this step?

bouvreuil_

Yes, I have both. Just so you know, I haven’t purchased the Pi and the Hat yet because I’m waiting to see if it’s possible to boot from the Hat before making the purchase

k9t33n

yes it is

k9t33n

im booting mine from an ssd right now

k9t33n

wait give me a sec to just tripple check cause im making loads of mistakes today

bouvreuil_

K no problem

bouvreuil_

just so you know i'm french so if i make a mistake in understanding what you mean just say it

k9t33n

yeah im pretty sure you can

k9t33n

either way btw in a nas your not actually writing or reading to the sd card much at all unless you use swap so it shouldnt die too early

bouvreuil_

Actually, I have a friend who already contacted me because he had an issue with his Pi, and it turned out to be his SD card causing the problem

bouvreuil_

so that's why

bouvreuil_

..

k9t33n

yeah they definitely are less relliable thats why i use an ssd myself

k9t33n

but in certain situations, like when you are not constantly reading or writing to them, they are more reliable

bouvreuil_

Okay, not bad, but since I don’t plan on keeping my NAS running 24/7, it will need to boot quite often

bouvreuil_

it will run like 10 to 12 h a day

k9t33n

okay

bouvreuil_

is it the same procedure as booting from a USB drive?

k9t33n

similar

k9t33n

one sec let me get some screenshots

k9t33n

took me a while sorry

k9t33n

youd select this on a usb/sd drive

k9t33n

which allows your pi to boot from a ssd

k9t33n

wait actually hold up on buying, the wording on that spooks me

k9t33n

<@796000224690307072> sorry for the mention, read the first few messages. i am right that he can boot from the radza sata hat right?

oops.se

Yes, but it could need a firmware update. The best is to check the vendors instruction.

oops.se

All Raspberry Pi after 3+ can boot from USB and some NVME and Network.

k9t33n

radza doesn't actually give any information out about that

k9t33n

i was just confused because i had a slight tingling that nvme is specific to m.2 ssds

k9t33n

and like i said i already made a lotta mistakes today

oops.se

Radxa has a toon of information ,,, https://docs.radxa.com/en/accessories/penta-sata-hat/penta-for-rpi5 But as they doesn't mention any firmware updates, then it shouldn't be necessary.

bouvreuil_

Sorry to ask, but are you sure it’s going to work?

k9t33n

yeah

bouvreuil_

Okay, cool. Could you continue your explanation about whether the boot procedure is the same as for USB?

k9t33n

oh yeah

k9t33n

so you flash it with this

k9t33n

boot up the pi with the usb or sd

bouvreuil_

and then just change the order and that's it ?

k9t33n

then you just flash the ssd from your computer like normal(assuming you have a sata connector) and plug it in your pi should boot just like that

k9t33n

it will do it for you.

bouvreuil_

oh nice

oops.se

At https://radxa.com/products/accessories/penta-sata-hat/#support you can find communities that have the same hardware that you have.

bouvreuil_

ok thank you

bouvreuil_

Okay, so apparently, if you try to do it as you described, it won’t work. However, I found someone who solved this problem: https://forum.radxa.com/t/solved-ssd-boot-from-quad-sata-hat/5045/16 .

k9t33n

It definitely should work, also that thread is on a pi 4 which does change things quite a bit so your mileage would vary

bouvreuil_

oh ok anyway that means we can boot from this hat so...

k9t33n

Yeah

bouvreuil_

hey <@1071178789939331253> do you know any 3.3V 3 pin fan 40X10mm ?

k9t33n

3 pin as in pwm?

bouvreuil_

? sorry i don't understand

k9t33n

Pwm is a way to control the speeds of motors

k9t33n

The other option is DC powered which typically only uses 2 pins

k9t33n

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Noctua-NF-A4x10-Premium-Quiet-40x10mm/dp/B00NEMGCIA a quick Google gets me this. The closest I can reasonably find, it's 5v but may work (all be it with a shortened life span/may not work) with 3v.

bouvreuil_

This is exactly what I had until now but I know it might not be great so I wonder if there was one in 3.3 V

bouvreuil_

but if you say that there is no 3.3 V then I will do with it

k9t33n

I'm sure there might be this is a quick Google search

oops.se

There is small DC/DC Step Up converter modules that can step up 3.3 volt to 12 volt and they are pretty cheap. The picture is just an example of such module