With the release of the Raspberry Pi 5 a few months ago, many people are looking to upgrade from the Pi 3 or 4 to the Pi 5. We can only recommend this upgrade: the Pi 5 offers greater comfort in the Recalbox menus and improved performance on demanding games (certain “Cave” arcade games, PS1, Dreamcast, Saturn, etc.). What's more, with the arrival of version 10, new systems will require the Pi 5 to work properly.

However, there is one major obstacle preventing some users from taking the plunge: the fear of losing their data (games, backups, BIOS). This tutorial explains how to migrate safely. It's taken directly from Fabrice's video, which you'll find at the bottom of the article.

We assume that all your data (Recalbox, games, etc.) is stored on a microSD card before this migration.

📌 Step 1: Check Recalbox is up to date

Go to Main Menu > Update and make sure you have the latest version.

📅 At the time of writing, the required version is 9.2.3.

📌 Step 2: Back up your games, saves and BIOS

We're going to create a backup:

1️⃣ Switch off your Recalbox and remove the microSD card.

2️⃣ Connect it to a PC. Two partitions should appear: "RECALBOX" and "SHARE".

If either is missing, right-click on "Start", then open "Disk Management". Add a letter to the invisible partition, it will be displayed immediately.

3️⃣ In the "SHARE" partition, copy the ROMS / SAVE / BIOS folders and paste them into a "backup" folder on your desktop.

🛑 To avoid any compatibility problems, limit yourself to these three folders.

📌 Step 3: Download and install Recalbox on the Pi 5

Use Raspberry Pi Imager:

1️⃣ Select Raspberry Pi 5 as the model.
2️⃣ Choose Recalbox in the "Emulation and game OS " tab.
3️⃣ Select your microSD card as the storage device and start writing.

💡 Important advice :

• Use a microSD U3 for best performance (optimal read/write).
• Choose recognised brands** (SanDisk is a good choice).
• A 32GB card is more than enough**, your games will be stored elsewhere.
• This operation will erase all the data** already on the card.
• Once writing is complete, remove the microSD from your PC.

📌 Step 4: Install and configure Recalbox

1️⃣ Insert the microSD card into the Pi 5 switched off, then turn it on.
2️⃣ Let Recalbox install and configure your settings (language, display...).

📺 If you want more details on the settings, go to Fabrice's video from 9 minutes onwards.

3️⃣ Systematically configure your controller, even if it seems to be detected correctly.

4️⃣ Update the bootloader (in the advanced settings).

5️⃣ Restart Recalbox to save settings.

📌 Step 5: Prepare your external media to store your games

To avoid losing your games in the event of a problem with the microSD, we always recommend using external media (USB key, hard drive...).

1️⃣ Format your media to exFAT, even if it's brand new.
2️⃣ Connect your Recalbox on.
3️⃣ A message appears: Select "Initialise " (not "Move SHARE"!).
4️⃣ Once the operation is complete, unplug your external media and plug it into your PC.
5️⃣ Go to the folder Recalbox > roms and paste your ROMS folder saved in "backup " into it.

💡 Windows will ask you if you want to replace or keep the duplicate files: keep them.

📌 Step 6: Restore your Recalbox and BIOS

1️⃣ Power down your Recalbox and remove the microSD.
2️⃣ Connect it to your PC and open the "SHARE " folder.
3️⃣ Copy the BIOS and SAVE folders from your backup (on your PC) and paste them into "SHARE " (on your microSD).

4️⃣ When Windows asks to replace or keep files, keep them.

💡 If you don't want to use external media, you can ignore step 5 and copy your ROMS directly into "SHARE " on the microSD along with your saves and BIOS.

📌 Step 7: Finalise

1️⃣ Insert the microSD into the Recalbox.
2️⃣ Turn it on, then plug in your external media.
3️⃣ A message is displayed to re-launch the interface: Accept.
4️⃣ Check that everything is recognised (scrapped games, saves, BIOS).

🎉 Your migration is complete! You can now enjoy your Raspberry Pi 5 with Recalbox.

🚨 Good practices and support

✔️ Never unplug the microSD when the Raspberry Pi is switched on.
✔️ Cleanly eject the microSD before removing it from the PC.
✔️ If you have any doubts or specific configuration, go to the channel #support on our Discord.

🎥 Find Fabrice's video below for a visual accompaniment!