Hi all,
I have a 32 bit Thinkpad that is in great shape and want to get some use out of it if possible. It is running Ubuntu 11.10 and as I understand things, 11.10 is the last of the 32 bit versions. Since it is now unsupported, I cannot get upgrades, add Chrome and replace Unity. I am willing to put up with Unity but I would like to find a way to get updates, if possible. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
ZZ

32 bit Ubuntu is available here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

(Look for the "choose your flavour" dropdown on the right hand side)

Sooner or later, of course, your aging computer will not meet the minimum requirements for future Ubuntu versions. Here are the current requirements as of this date: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...emRequirements

ps You don't need to use Unity if you don't want to; you can use any of the other desktop environments, such as: Gnome, KDE, LXDE, Xfce, etc.

You can install/upgrade to 12.04 LTS which ships with x86 flavour as well.

All members of the "Ubuntu family" come with the package "ubuntu-minimal". This is a package that pulls in a lot of things that are quite cycle hungry.

I would try some other distro on an older box.

Don't see any reason why 12.04 would have trouble running on that box but I think just about any other distro would be faster.

Manjaro OpenBox is a very nice OS with an easy to use OB set up, best OB noob set up I have seen. Should run really well.

Debian has netinstall images. You can install a very light OS that way if you know what you are doing. Most of my installs are of that nature. I have a Dell Latitude that has no wifi capability but does come with both DSL and Dial up functionality plus a floppy drive. Debian 7 (Wheezy - current stable) runs fine on it.

If you insist on Ubuntu I would go with Lubuntu. Better yet get the Ubuntu netinstall image (will still get the ubuntu-minimal package)and install the Lubuntu desktop stuff on to that. You will have to look for the packages needed I have no idea what is in the Ubuntu repos and have no desire to know.

32 bit Thinkpad covers a lot of ground. I run AntiX on both of my IBM a22m and T23.

I guess Ubuntu minimal with fluxbox or Icewm or Openbox would run on them.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try Lubuntu. I am not hard over on using Ubuntu and I am willing to try other linux versions. Since posting my original message, I have learned that the limitation I am encountering with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is a PAE issue. I do not understand exactly what this means but it involves the processor.

I will continue this project with some other Linux versions.

Many thanks,

ZZ

I run Slackware current on some pretty old hardware. It is easy to install and easy on resources with Fluxbox or Xfce. Highly recommended, worth considering. And PAE not a problem.

I have a thinkpad t42 (t40?). It does not support PAE. So, I had choice of Xubuntu 12.04 LTS, Linux Mint Debian Edition or Slackware with 486 kernel. My choice (whenever I have one) is Slackware :-) If you are not familiar with Linux you can try either of Xubuntu 12.04 or LMDE. Both are solid distros. Please note that latest releases of Ubuntu, Linux Mint do not support non-PAE kernels.

P.S.: PAE stands for Physical Address Extension. This is a technology which allows 32-bit systems to use more than 4GB of RAM, non-PAE systems can only use a max of 4GB memory. This is as much as I understand and think you may bother to know ;-)

The reason that I suggested Lubuntu, which is an Ubuntu family member, is that it is not bloated to the point it is hard on resources.

I am an Xfce user. Xubuntu is polluted with a huge number of Gnome packages that for some reason are included. It is a huge install and the Gnome packages mess with the Xfce settings manager so that it appears to not work well. Xubuntu, in other words, sucks.

With either of them you will have the pae problem.

LMDE is a nice distro but there again they don't Xfce release so you have to go with something else. Mate is a nice DE and works well and is available with LMDE.

I have never installed Slackware. Keep intending to. This may be the best for your elderly box. Xfce is a very nice DE if the distro just offers it pretty much the way the Xfce project sends it out.

I like a panel system and the Xfce panel is what the Gnome panel always wanted to grow up to be.

Get a Debian netinst or a CD1 of either LXDE or XFCE and install from there. The CD will install a 486 non pae kernel as well as a 686-pae kernel and you just uninstall the one you do not want later. You could also use DVD1. MATE is still a 3rd party repository install at the moment but not for long but you will need DVD1 for that until Debian gives it its own CD1 like the other DEs have.

Greetz well everything has it's tradeoffs doesn't it? So here's a plus you get as a tradeoff for a little less convenience under the hood. Slackware, by default boots in text mode to the commandline... and stops. Where Debian/Ubuntu uses 2 runstate runlevels (ie not starting or shutingdown) Slack uses 3, with the extra being Multi-User, No X environment. Some people don't want to see those nuts 'n bolts and consider it a waste of time to have to type "startx" or "kdm" or whatever to get to the desktop.

However besides the fact that low level work, like installing nVidia, ATi, or Intel 3D Accelerated drives is recommended and best done outside of X, invoking a Display Manager (which also acts as a login/session manager) allows a user to select from many DEs. If you've ever tried to add XFCE to any login manager you know what I mean when I say it is so nice that it is just there, by default in Slack. Slack comes with at least 4 WindowManagers and you can install as many as you like and select each one from either typing it's init command or using the graphic login called by the Display Managers. The install process asks what you wish for default so it is still simple if you just want one and have no sense of adventure

I like KDE these days but I find myself coming back to XFCE over and over so it has become my default. If it is setup to start KDE services upon login ( a simple checkbox) it does most of what KDE can do anyway. It also has one for Gnome but I have no use for Gnome, just a few of it's apps.

Slackware does have a learning curve but for a very good reason (it want's you in control) and it isn't bleeding edge but because it isn't it is solid and fast.

The Porteus LiveCD is pretty close so you can get a preview if you like and it comes in 2 flavors, basically KDE and XFCE.

Thanks to all for their suggestions. Here is what I did...I installed Xubuntu 12.04 LTS and with a couple of lines in Terminal, I installed Gnome Classic and the Ambiance color scheme from Ubuntu, which I like very much. The computer has been saved from a death sentence until 2015 or so. I tried Xubuntu 13.10 but I found that it requires a PAE enabled processor in order to boot, so no joy there.

I know that it is only a matter of time that all 32 bit computers will have to placed on the scrap heap.

Many Thanks again,

ZZ

Glad you settled on something. By 2015, if you switch to Slackware, it can keep your pc alive for further many more years :-)

Btw, if your issue is solved please mark the thread as solved.