Thank you I’ll try to install now!
Hi guys,
Sorry to bother you with a retreated argument, but I’m going crazy and looking for help!
I have a raspberry PI 4 B 2GB updated to latest firmware as the guide suggests.
I can’t see in any way in the “system menu” option to transfer OS to USB, I tried connecting empty drives or FAT32 pen drive.
SO i flashed directly USB NVME adapter with a 500 GB drive and system booted, taking an age to have system available to SSH, 1min and 36 seconds and a little bit more 1min and 44 to have GUI (now playing) interface.
I managed to change boot order and set USB as first device:
BOOT_ORDER=0xf14
but loading time does not change, 30 / 40 seconds are lost without any activity on USB disk then starts and i can see Volumio logo on 1920X480 display, (Unable to see info at boot).
Reboot hangs the system, even after trying different values on
USB_MSD_PWR_OFF_TIME=2000
USB_MSD_STARTUP_DELAY=5000
But I can live without it!
thanks in advance for the help!
Alberto
Hey @Ciriola,
Volumio OS currently does not offer an option to directly transfer the OS to USB storage through the system menu. The “Install to Disk” feature is only available for directly attached storage (like a NVMe or SSD), not removable storage like USB drives. There’s no need to first flash Volumio to an SD card and then move it to a USB device. You can simply flash Volumio directly to USB storage in one step.
Many users also keep Volumio OS on a MicroSD card while using USB storage as their music library. Offering the ability to write directly to USB from within the system could cause issues — such as loss of the music library — as the process is irreversible.
The delay you’re experiencing is likely due to bandwidth limitations of the Raspberry Pi 4’s USB ports. All four USB ports share a single PCIe lane with a 4Gbps bandwidth. Additionally, the available power is limited to 1.2A, shared across all USB ports. Given that USB 3.0 SSDs can draw up to 900mA per port, these factors can contribute to slower performance.
Questions for Clarification:
- What is the exact model of your USB to NVMe adapter?
- Could you provide the specifications of the NVMe drive you’re using, and how it matches the available bandwidth?
- Are there any other devices connected to the Pi’s USB ports?
Additional Notes:
Time perception can be subjective. While USB-attached storage works, the actual performance depends heavily on the underlying hardware and system configuration. The “gluing” mechanism for USB storage is managed by the Raspberry Pi firmware, but performance benchmarks are often based on community contributions rather than official technical specifications.
Additionally, there’s ongoing debate about the resilience of USB storage versus MicroSD for running Volumio OS, but both options have their pros and cons.
Final Thoughts:
Don’t get discouraged. It’s easy to fall into the trap of misinformation online, even when the intention behind it is good. Verified technical specs and controlled environment tests are key to understanding performance limitations. If you have more details or questions, feel free to ask!
Kind Regards,
Thank you so much, nerd for you fast and so detailed reply,
got it!
this is not an exact science! 
My goal was to have a faster boot, as the SSD was already connected as storage for the songs,
I guess devices I used are working but not excellent, NVME adapter is chinese, and uses JMS583 USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe Gen3x2 Bridge Controller
Also the drive is a "500GB Union Memory "coming from discontinued laptop, I have a second 250 GB ssd from Samsung which could be better, but i don’t think performance willincrease!.
Thanks and have a good WE.
Ciriola
