Generally, the answer is "No", because each new hardware release (i.e., the Pi5), generally requires the latest version of the OS (RaspiOS) in order to have the right drivers for the latest hardware.
So, if you have a working, say, Buster, OS working on your Pi4, it won't boot on a Pi5, because it doesn't have the drivers for the Pi5.
Comments:
1) Board people tend to get around this problem by always insisting that everybody is running the latest version of the OS regardless of which model board they have. In the real world, people don't do this.
2) It sounds like you are using a pre-baked system - that is, your system is based on some version of some released Rpi OS, with customizations done by a vendor to run a specific application (i.e., a so-called "turnkey installation"). This is a real problem when you want to upgrade hardware, because you can't just download and install the latest OS from Rpi; you have to get your vendor to upgrade their thing and then of course, install that on your system (without losing all your data and customizations).
3) If you know what you are doing, it is usually possible to grab the appropriate "firmware" files from a current version of RaspiOS and "Frankenstein" them into your existing system and if you're lucky, have it work. This may or may not be something you care to look into.
So, if you have a working, say, Buster, OS working on your Pi4, it won't boot on a Pi5, because it doesn't have the drivers for the Pi5.
Comments:
1) Board people tend to get around this problem by always insisting that everybody is running the latest version of the OS regardless of which model board they have. In the real world, people don't do this.
2) It sounds like you are using a pre-baked system - that is, your system is based on some version of some released Rpi OS, with customizations done by a vendor to run a specific application (i.e., a so-called "turnkey installation"). This is a real problem when you want to upgrade hardware, because you can't just download and install the latest OS from Rpi; you have to get your vendor to upgrade their thing and then of course, install that on your system (without losing all your data and customizations).
3) If you know what you are doing, it is usually possible to grab the appropriate "firmware" files from a current version of RaspiOS and "Frankenstein" them into your existing system and if you're lucky, have it work. This may or may not be something you care to look into.
Statistics: Posted by BigRedMailbox — Tue Mar 25, 2025 1:14 pm