The first time we talked about the PiDrive was last March. Basically, what Western Digital offers us is the possibility of connecting a traditional hard drive to a Raspberry Pi without major hassles. The new Foundation Edition of the PiDrive expands the formatting options (USB flash or hard drive) and capacity, but it now includes a microSD card that makes the process of installing several operating systems on the mini computer a little simpler.
We could talk endlessly about the versatility of its hardware and the relatively low cost for the user, but it would be crazy to ignore the formidable software support the Raspberry Pi has. Several Linux distros have already adapted without problems to the mini computer or are in the process of doing so, and the number of compatible applications keeps growing. Still, the process of partitioning a microSD card and installing several operating systems on it is not entirely friendly. Most users have gotten used to the shortcut of swapping cards, which is indeed effective, but anyone wanting a more elegant solution (so to speak) can acquire the new Foundation Edition of the PiDrive hard drive marketed by Western Digital.
Two versions, one modified NOOBS installer
One interesting aspect is that the PiDrive brand is no longer limited to conventional hard drives. Under the Foundation Edition, the user has two options: a hard drive with capacities of 250 or 375 gigabytes, and a USB memory of 64 gigabytes. What they have in common is the inclusion of a microSD card with a special edition of the NOOBS installer, which allows creating multiple "project spaces" in which we can install several copies of PIXEL and Raspbian Lite, without needing to download images. The big weak point of this modified NOOBS is that it only enables PIXEL and Raspbian Lite, but once partitioned, it should be possible to install in each space the operating system we can think of.
There are no big variations in terms of its price, so choosing the right PiDrive Foundation Edition depends on the needs of the user. The Flash model costs $19, and the two hard drive variants have a ticket value of $29 and $37.50 respectively.
