Getting Started
Video: Installing the Pimoroni NVMe Base on Raspberry Pi 5 📹
Learn: Getting Started with NVMe Base for Raspberry Pi 5 💾
Firmware
For the most hassle-free experience, make sure your Raspberry Pi OS is up to date, and your RPi 5 firmware is updated to 2023-12-06 (Dec 6th) or newer. This supports all the features of the RPi PCIe spec and means you don't have to mess with config files to get started.
Software update on the RPi OS should do this for you, but to force it you can:
open a Terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T)
run sudo raspi-config
and choose 'Latest' under Advanced Options > Bootloader Version.
Running sudo rpi-eeprom-update
in the Terminal will tell you which version of firmware is running.
PCIe 3 Mode
To enable experimental and not-officially-supported PCIe 3 mode, add the follow line to the [all]
section at the end of your Raspberry Pi /boot/firmware/config.txt
file like this:
[all]
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
Save and reboot - your drive is ready to use!
Formatting the NVMe and booting from NVMe
If you want to boot from the NVMe drive, follow these extra steps:
1. Make sure your firmware is updated as above!
2. Format the drive using Raspberry Pi Imager
3. You can do this with your NVMe Base installed by booting the RPi 5 from SD card and running Raspberry Pi Imager from the start menu.
4. Open a Terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T).
5. Run sudo raspi-config
6. Choose NVMe/USB boot under Advanced Options > Boot Order.
7. Reboot your RPi 5.
Notes
Always power off your RPi and disconnect the power supply before installing or uninstalling the NVMe Base.