Semi-automated SD-Image Maker for FabMo
Issue: Newer 8GB RPi 5 boards may show a white/red "Install an OS" screen on first boot.
Cause: Factory EEPROM has NET_INSTALL_AT_POWER_ON=1 enabled by default (board hardware setting, not SD card).
Fix (one-time per board, after flashing image):
sudo raspi-config
# Navigate to: Advanced Options → Network Install UI → Disable
# RebootImportant: This setting is stored in the board's EEPROM hardware, not on the SD card. Each physical board needs this configuration once, but it persists across SD card swaps and re-flashes.
See BOOT_FIX_SUMMARY.md for technical details.
4_19_26 Difficult initializing "Trixie" first try so switched to legacy, but still supported bookworm for build today. Here is chatter with Perplexity.
Yes — for your use case, I would go back to Bookworm for production image creation. The official Raspberry Pi downloads page still offers Bookworm as “Legacy” with security updates, including Pi 5 compatible 64-bit images, all refreshed as of April 13, 2026. (Raspberry Pi)
Why I’d choose it:
- What you just hit was not a small nuisance. You had a broken first-boot user shell and a failed desktop launch on a fresh image. For a production SD-card master image, that is exactly the sort of fragility you want to avoid.
- Bookworm is older, but it is still maintained by Raspberry Pi as a supported legacy branch with security updates. (Raspberry Pi)
- Raspberry Pi itself treats major-version changes cautiously: when Trixie launched, they explicitly said they do not recommend or support in-place upgrades from Bookworm, which is another signal that a major OS jump is something to adopt only when you have a real reason. (Raspberry Pi)
As to whether you need anything in Trixie right now: probably not.
Trixie is the current Debian 13-based Raspberry Pi OS, and Raspberry Pi has continued updating it, including a 6.2 update in April 2026. One notable change is that new Trixie installs disable passwordless sudo by default, which is more secure but may require a few setup-script adjustments if you rely on old assumptions. (Raspberry Pi)
So the practical tradeoff is:
- Trixie: current branch, newer base, ongoing fixes, some behavior changes.
- Bookworm Legacy: still security-updated, Pi 5 compatible, much lower risk for a known-good appliance image. (Raspberry Pi)
For FabMo, where your priorities are stability, repeatability, NetworkManager/AP behavior, and not having to rediscover OS quirks during the once-or-twice-a-year image build, I would treat Trixie as a test track, not the release base.
My recommendation would be:
Use Raspberry Pi OS Legacy (Bookworm) 64-bit as your production base for now, and keep one separate Pi or SD card for Trixie evaluation.
A reasonable trigger to move to Trixie later would be if you specifically need:
- a package version only available there,
- a kernel/driver fix that matters to your hardware,
- or you’ve run through your full FabMo image-build and field-test process on Trixie without surprises.
Right now, from what you just saw, I don’t think Trixie is earning its keep for you yet.
If you’d like, I can outline a simple “production image policy” for your team: when to stay on Bookworm, when to trial Trixie, and what 10 checks to run before promoting a new OS into your SD-card build.