Preinstalled SD card versus a blank SD card

Since the Raspberry Pi was released, a number of websites have been offering preloaded SD cards that come installed with one of the operating systems that are available for the Raspberry Pi. These are a good option for amateur enthusiasts looking to get started with the Raspberry Pi, who do not want to go through the setup process and are happy with a single, preloaded operating system.

Another option is to purchase a blank SD card and follow the instructions in this chapter.

With this in mind though, if you do not have a home PC or Mac to use in order to format a blank SD card, we recommend purchasing a preformatted card. This should come loaded with the Debian Wheezy Raspbian OS, as this is the version of Linux we will be using throughout the book.