Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
To flash Raspberry Pi OS (previously known as Raspbian) onto the eMMC of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) using a Raspberry Pi 5 and the usbboot tool, you will need a CM4, a CM4 IO Board, a jumper, a USB to microUSB cable, and a 12V DC power supply. Start by inserting the CM4 into the IO Board and placing the jumper on the J2 pins to temporary disable eMMC boot. Connect the microUSB port on the IO Board to one of the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi 5 using the USB to microUSB cable, and power the IO Board with the 12V DC supply. On the Raspberry Pi 5, ensure the necessary dependencies are installed by updating the system and installing git and build-essential, then clone the rpi-usbboot repository and build the tool. Run the usbboot tool to detect the CM4 and load the bootloader. Once detected, use the Raspberry Pi Imager or a similar tool to write the Raspberry Pi OS image directly to the eMMC of the CM4. After flashing is complete, power down the IO Board, remove the jumper, and your CM4 is ready to boot from the newly flashed OS. Please note the same steps can be applied for flashing another GNU Linux distribution instead of Raspberry Pi OS.
📚 Useful Links
===
anavi.org/article/296
github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4/?variant=raspberry-pi-cm4001000
raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4-io-board
raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5
raspberrypi.com/software
To flash Raspberry Pi OS (previously known as Raspbian) onto the eMMC of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) using a Raspberry Pi 5 and the usbboot tool, you will need a CM4, a CM4 IO Board, a jumper, a USB to microUSB cable, and a 12V DC power supply. Start by inserting the CM4 into the IO Board and placing the jumper on the J2 pins to temporary disable eMMC boot. Connect the microUSB port on the IO Board to one of the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi 5 using the USB to microUSB cable, and power the IO Board with the 12V DC supply. On the Raspberry Pi 5, ensure the necessary dependencies are installed by updating the system and installing git and build-essential, then clone the rpi-usbboot repository and build the tool. Run the usbboot tool to detect the CM4 and load the bootloader. Once detected, use the Raspberry Pi Imager or a similar tool to write the Raspberry Pi OS image directly to the eMMC of the CM4. After flashing is complete, power down the IO Board, remove the jumper, and your CM4 is ready to boot from the newly flashed OS. Please note the same steps can be applied for flashing another GNU Linux distribution instead of Raspberry Pi OS.
📚 Useful Links
===
anavi.org/article/296
github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4/?variant=raspberry-pi-cm4001000
raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4-io-board
raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5
raspberrypi.com/software
