We really like using balenaEtcher for burning SD cards. Works great on any version of Windows, macOS and Linux. It will not over-write your backup disk drive, and can handle compressed images so you do not need to unzip them!

Step 1.

Download Etcher from: https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Step 2.

Run the downloaded app to install!

You can start immediately, doubleclick the Etcher desktop icon, or select it from the Start menu

Step 3.

Eject any external storage devices such as USB flash drives and backup hard disks. This makes it easier to identify the SD card. Then insert the SD card into the slot on your computer or into the reader.

Step 4.

Run the Etcher program

This will launch the following application.

Step 5.

Select the image file by clicking Select Image you can select a compressed file such as a .zip or .gz

Step 6.

Etcher will automatically try to detect the SD drive, check the size to make sure its the right one

Then click Flash!

Check that you have the right device, as it will be reformatted, and then click Install.

It will take a few minutes to install, but once the SD card is ready, you will see the following.

That's all there is to it. Your SD card is ready for use in your Raspberry Pi.

Faster writes

If you burn a lot of cards, speed it up by turning off Validate write on success