Why older operating systems don't boot in Raspberry Pi with fix

Introduction

If you can't install an old Operating System on Raspberry Pi, be it any version, say for example that the Operating System was built 4 years ago, then this article is for you. 

I've gone around, researching a solution for this problem around the internet and here's what I've found.

How can you find it? Well, if you're stuck in the black screen after rainbow screen, that's a symptom. There could be several others but the main symptom, which was reported by the majority, including me, is this. Let me know in the comments below if there are any other symptoms experienced.

Today, we'll discuss why is this problem caused and what you can do about it.

Why older operating systems don't boot in Raspberry Pi?

The reason is quite simple: the firmware of raspberry pi is up-to-date whereas the OS isn't updated. Take for example, the Raspbian OS by the Raspberry Pi community. If you install an older version now, in 2021, then the operating system will probably not boot. 

That's why I was wondering why the OS didn't boot, despite flashing the OS multiple times and checked my Micro SD Card if it works correctly.

How to fix it?

The only thing you can do is to find the latest version of the operating system or find a suitable alternative. In this case, download the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS.

Update  using  sudo apt update 

Upgrade using  sudo apt upgrade 

Wait, the article doesn't end here.

There's one more way, but I would strongly suggest you not to do/use it. 

I am not responsible for any damage caused whatsoever by whomsoever to your device. Do adhere to the instructions strictly.

The  rpi-update way:

It is a command line application used to update the linux kernel, files and etc. It can be used to do it either way, update or revert it back. It is a highly dangerous command and is advised not use it in most scenarios. 

Warning provided in the official Raspberry Pi Documentation:

WARNING: Pre-release versions of software are not guaranteed to work. You should not use rpi-update on any system unless recommended to do so by a Raspberry Pi engineer. It may leave your system unreliable or even completely broken. It should not be used as part of any regular update process.

The rpi-update script is supplied by a third party developer, named "Hexxeh" on the internet, and is also supported by few Raspberry Pi engineers. The script source can be found on GitHub at https://github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-update

What it does?

the rpi-update command will download the latest pre-release version of the linux kernel, its matching modules, device tree files, along with the latest versions of the VideoCore firmware. It will then install these files to relevant locations on the SD card, overwriting any previous versions.

How to use it?

The command is fairly simple to use. Follow the steps below:

• The command needs to run as root. Use  sudo rpi-update and use the older commit code specified in GitHub to revert the firmware back.
• For example:   $ sudo rpi-update b19779b2c8b769b3bd2bc9fb4cf858f340a11cf5  -
  
  This command will revert the firmware back to the 24 Jul 2016 release of the rpi firmware.
• You'll have to reboot using $ sudo reboot for changes to take effect.

From Raspberry Pi Documentation 

How to get back to safety?

If you have done an rpi-update and things are not working as you wish, if your Raspberry Pi is still bootable you can return to the stable release using:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt install --reinstall libraspberrypi0 libraspberrypi-{bin,dev,doc} raspberrypi-bootloader raspberrypi-kernel

You'll have to reboot using sudo reboot for changes to take effect.

Conclusion

The methods here are the only available methods available as of now. You can find various alternatives to the older operating system you'd look to install in the internet. Do let me know if there are any other. Thank you.