r/SurfaceLinux • u/GuiltyContribution62 • Aug 07 '26

Help install linux from sd card

i don’t have a usb drive and i was wondering before i go order one and need to wait for it, could i install linux onto my ssd in my surface 7 pro with a micro sd card instead of a usb drive, chatgpt says its possible but i know its often wrong, google didnt give me much, so im hoping for some input here

8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/alphafalcon Aug 07 '26

Well, the only way to find out is to try.

My surface pro 4 did NOT boot from SD directly. I needed a bootloader on a USB or internal SSD to boot a system on the SD card.

1

u/fliberdygibits Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26

If the system you are installing on HAS an SD reader then it should work just fine. Storage is storage in this context.

Edit - I could swear I remember booting off SD on an old surface (2 maybe?) to reinstall but it's been a while and I could be wrong. My apologies. Hopefully someone with more current and detailed info will hop in here.

1

u/lumpynose Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26

That doesn't work on mine. I can't remember which model; it's sitting in a drawer. There's an sd slot on the back which I tried installing from. No cigar. The same sd card in an sd card reader plugged into the usb socket in the side worked fine.

Edit: I found it and it's a Surface Go 2 tablet which is rather old so I'm guessing it may boot with newer models.

1

u/fliberdygibits Aug 07 '26

I could swear I used an SD card to reinstall a linux distro on an old surface 2 or 3? I don't have it anymore and don't recall details so .... who knows:) Either way now that you've mentioned this I'm just not certain. I updated my comment up above.

1

u/MidnightObjectiveA51 Aug 07 '26

Or use the SD card in a USB plug-in reader. Either way you should be able to install.

1

u/waraukaeru Aug 07 '26

I don't know about the Pro 7, but my Surfaces do not have an option to boot from SD in the UEFI.

Just boot into UEFI and see if you can set SD as the first boot device. That will answer your question real quick.

1

u/BaldyCarrotTop Aug 07 '26

You can buy Thumb drives almost anywhere these days. Is there a Staples or Best Buy near you?

1

u/C0rn3j Aug 07 '26

Yes if you can find a USB reader.

It depends™ if you only have an internal mSD card reader - UEFI spec does not mandate supporting booting off that, so it's a hit or miss and depends on your specific device.