This is going to assume you have a network that you can connect using an Ethernet cable and appropriate port on the Raspberry Pi (ie. If using a Windows computer then only the boot partition will be visible. One is the boot partition which can be used to provide parameters to Raspbian for when it starts up, and the other is rootfs which is the root partition.

The SD card will now contain two partitions. You can then write them to the SD Card using a SD card tool such as Etcher or perform a binary copy to the SD Card (eg. The image downloads are available from: Raspberry Pi Raspbian Downloadsĭownload an unzip the files. If there is a chance you may connect a screen at some point in the future then you may be better with the Desktop version, but if you are tight on SD Card space then the Lite option may be better. This is based on the Debian Stretch distribution which is available to download as Raspbian Stretch with Desktop or Raspbian Lite. So if you are able to connect a monitor during install and then use it without a monitor attached then you may want to do that instenad. The first thing to be aware is that it is far easier to perform the configuration with a monitor or TV attached, and in the case of a problem it's far easier to fix by being able to see the console messages. You can however install without any of those physically attached. If you have installed onto a Raspberry Pi using the NOOBs image then you will have seen that you need a screen and keyboard (and optionally a mouse) to start the install process.

This maybe because you want to run it as a server, in a robot, or in a position where your HDMI cable cannot reach.

The Raspberry Pi Linux computer can be used as a regular computer connected to a TV or monitor, but it's sometimes useful to use without any screen (headless). Running the Raspberry Pi headless with Raspbian

Headless pi zero setup