How to Make or Clone a Batocera SD Card | AGC

Want to create a new Batocera SD card, copy your arcade setup, or keep a backup before making changes? The right method depends on whether you want a fresh installation, a second working drive, or a backup image you can restore later.

For an American Gear Company arcade, a tested backup can preserve hours of work configuring controls, artwork, audio, and accessories. This guide covers SD cards, USB drives, and SSDs—use the storage type your machine actually boots from.

Choose the right method

Your goal	Method	What you get
Start from scratch	Flash an official Batocera image with balenaEtcher	A fresh Batocera installation
Duplicate a working build	Clone the entire source drive to another drive	A copy of the partitions and data on that drive
Keep a restorable backup on your computer	Read the drive into an image file	A file you can flash to replacement media later
Move to different hardware or a smaller drive	Fresh install, then migrate compatible user data	A new installation with selected games, saves, and settings

Copying the files you can see in Windows is not the same as cloning a bootable drive. A drive image includes the partition layout and boot information as well as files.

Before you start

Gather a computer, a suitable SD card reader or USB drive adapter, your destination media, and—if cloning—the working source drive. Cloning two SD cards directly normally requires two readers. With one reader, save a backup image first, then swap cards and restore it.

Flashing erases the destination drive. Label your working source “ORIGINAL” and the replacement “COPY,” disconnect unrelated external drives, and verify the model and capacity before approving any write.

Shut Batocera down through its menu before removing storage. Clone the source while it is offline, using another computer; do not clone a drive while Batocera is actively using it.

Only copy games, BIOS files, and other content you are authorized to use.

Method 1: Make a fresh Batocera SD card with balenaEtcher

1. Download the correct Batocera image

Visit the official Batocera download page. Choose the image for the destination hardware. Raspberry Pi models and PC builds are different; use the download page’s current hardware and CPU compatibility guidance.

For an existing AGC machine, record its hardware and Batocera version before starting. A fresh download will not include your cabinet’s custom setup.

2. Install balenaEtcher

Download balenaEtcher from its official website. It is available for supported Windows, macOS, and Linux computers.

You generally do not need to format the destination first. Etcher replaces its existing contents when it writes the image.

3. Select the image and destination

Insert your blank card or connect the destination drive. Open Etcher, choose Flash from file, and select the downloaded Batocera image, typically an .img.gz file.

Choose Select target and identify the correct destination by model and capacity. Never choose your computer’s operating-system drive.

4. Flash and validate

Click Flash!, approve the required operating-system permission, and let writing and validation finish. Do not unplug the reader early. A successful validation checks the write; it does not replace testing the drive in your machine.

5. Boot the new drive

Safely eject it, install it in the powered-off destination machine, and start Batocera. A fresh image expands its user-data partition during initial setup; allow this to finish.

On a PC, select the Batocera drive in the boot menu if necessary. If boot security blocks it, follow the official Batocera installation guide for your hardware.

If Windows asks to format the card after flashing, cancel. Batocera uses Linux storage that Windows may not recognize.

Method 2: Clone your current Batocera build

Choose this when you want another drive containing the same working setup, particularly for the same machine or matching hardware.

1. Check destination capacity

For a straightforward whole-drive clone, the destination must be at least as large as the source in actual bytes, not just have enough room for its used files.

Two cards labeled “128 GB” can differ slightly in usable size. If Etcher says the target is too small, stop; use a larger target or migrate to a fresh installation.

2. Connect both drives to another computer

Shut the arcade down, remove its source media, and connect the source and destination to your computer. An internal SSD requires an adapter or enclosure compatible with its interface—SATA and NVMe are different.

3. Choose Clone drive in Etcher

Open Etcher and select Clone drive. Choose the working Batocera drive as the source. Then select the blank replacement as the target.

Before continuing, check these roles aloud: read from ORIGINAL; write to COPY. Reversing them can erase the working build.

4. Start the clone

Click Flash! and allow copying and validation to finish. A full clone can take substantial time on large drives. Keep the computer awake and the connections secure.

Etcher’s drive-cloning guidance on the balena forum also specifies a target of equal or greater capacity.

5. Test the copy by itself

Safely eject both drives. Keep the original disconnected and boot the arcade from the clone. Test several games, save loading, player controls, audio, network access, and installed accessories such as spinners, light guns, RGB lighting, or Pixelcade.

Retain the original unchanged until the replacement passes these checks.

What does the clone include?

A whole-drive clone copies the data stored on that drive, including its boot partition and local user data. It does not copy games on a separate SSD, NAS, or other external storage device. Inventory those locations and back them up separately.

Moving the clone to different hardware may require new controller mappings, display/audio settings, accessory configuration, and account sign-ins. A clone does not make a Raspberry Pi image compatible with a PC.

Method 3: Save a restorable backup image on Windows

A second physical drive is useful, but a dated image file gives you another recovery option. Win32 Disk Imager’s official project page provides a Windows tool that can read removable media into a raw image.

Connect the powered-down Batocera source drive to your Windows computer.
Open Win32 Disk Imager with the required permissions.
Set Image File to a new .img filename on a different drive, such as AGC-Arcade-Backup-2026-10-28.img.
Select the source device carefully. Confirm its drive letter against Windows Disk Management; do not initialize or format it.
For a full backup, leave Read Only Allocated Partitions unchecked if that option appears.
Click Read to save the drive into the image file. Write goes the opposite direction and overwrites the selected device.
Wait for completion and retain the image somewhere separate from the source.

Plan free space approximately equal to the source drive’s full capacity. Use a destination filesystem that supports large files, rather than FAT32. Some internal-drive/adapter combinations may not appear in this tool; do not guess a device selection.

To restore later, connect an equal-or-larger replacement drive and flash the saved .img with Etcher’s Flash from file workflow. Test the restored drive before relying on the backup.

What if you are upgrading to a bigger drive?

Cloning preserves the old partition layout, so extra capacity may initially remain unallocated. Do not assume a clone will expand the same way a fresh installation does.

For beginners, a practical alternative is a fresh installation on the larger drive followed by migration of compatible user data. Preserve games, BIOS files, saves, artwork, and configuration you need. Batocera keeps user data under /userdata, exposed as the SHARE area; see its file-transfer instructions.

Treat configuration transfers between hardware or Batocera versions cautiously. Some applications also require Linux permissions and file attributes to be preserved. Follow the official migration and manual-upgrade guidance, and keep the original intact.

Do not blindly enable autoresize=true on an existing build. Batocera documents data-loss risks in some manual-upgrade scenarios. Get version-specific advice before changing partitions or boot flags.

A note for American Gear Company arcade owners

Before replacing a working arcade drive, photograph its connections and record the PC model, Batocera version, storage capacity, controller settings, and accessories. If the drive is internal, power the machine off and unplug it before accessing hardware.

For a cabinet you want to preserve exactly, start with a tested clone on compatible hardware. For a hardware change, start with the correct fresh image and migrate carefully. If you are unsure which drive contains your setup, contact American Gear Company through your Owner Portal before removing or overwriting it.

Video walkthroughs

These videos supplement the written steps; menus and downloads can change between releases.

Retro Game Corps: PC Batocera installation walkthrough — starts at the installation section. This walkthrough uses Raspberry Pi Imager, so its flashing buttons differ from Etcher.
ETA Prime: Install Batocera on Raspberry Pi 4 — a Pi 4 walkthrough linked by the official Batocera wiki. Use the correct current image for your Pi model.