• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Linux distro for 32-bit (i386) machines?

bluefuzz

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
1,043
Likes
1,772
Do our Linux users have any suggestions for a lightweight distro that will run on a 32-bit laptop and be supported for at least the next several years?
I've been happy running MX-Linux on a ~15 year old Thinkpad. It seems to be a sensibly put together distro. Also excellent for newer hardware. MX is Debian-based so should be familiar if you are used to Ubuntu. MX-Linux seems to be one of the more popular distros at the moment so should be supported for a while.
 

mansr

Major Contributor
Joined
Oct 5, 2018
Messages
4,685
Likes
10,700
Location
Hampshire
Gentoo, but compile stuff in a chroot on your workstation then make a simple binhost (using rsyncd) and rsync the kernel binaries (or just use the new gentoo-kernel-bin). That's what I did for my Thinkpad x61s.

Alpine isn't too bad, otherwise, but Portage really is the greatest. I do pay attention to budding competition like Ravenports, though.
I run Gentoo myself, but I have a 16-core EPYC to compile things on. On the OP's old machine, compiling some modern bloatware like Firefox will likely be not just unpleasant but actually impossible.
 

q3cpma

Major Contributor
Joined
May 22, 2019
Messages
3,060
Likes
4,416
Location
France
I run Gentoo myself, but I have a 16-core EPYC to compile things on. On the OP's old machine, compiling some modern bloatware like Firefox will likely be not just unpleasant but actually impossible.
There's firefox-bin, fortunately. Qtwebengine is the biggest pig here, often exhausting my 16 GB of RAM before digging into the zram (with 16 threads); modern C++, ho.
 

q3cpma

Major Contributor
Joined
May 22, 2019
Messages
3,060
Likes
4,416
Location
France
Isn't it funny how we all like/love IBM Stinkpads?
Or older Dell Latitude/Precision. Laptops with a real keyboard, trackpoint and actual modularity (removable battery, easy replaceable components/thermal paste, modular drive bay) are simply not sold anymore because of hipsters with noodle arms.
I hate to be that grandpa saying "everything was better in the olden days" at not even 30 years old, but that's just truth.
 

mhardy6647

Grand Contributor
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
11,211
Likes
24,170
1613913965731.png


https://dilbert.com/strip/1992-09-08

I remember chaining snatches of programs into and out of memory on a Tek 4051 that had -- if (heh) memory serves -- 4k of RAM. :)
That would've been 1980-81 timeframe.
 

somebodyelse

Major Contributor
Joined
Dec 5, 2018
Messages
3,680
Likes
2,958
I run Gentoo myself, but I have a 16-core EPYC to compile things on. On the OP's old machine, compiling some modern bloatware like Firefox will likely be not just unpleasant but actually impossible.
Hence not recommending it unless the OP wanted a learning experience;) Those of us still talking about Gentoo seem to be aware of the problems of building on an old target, and the workarounds. We've probably given a fair indication of quite how much learning might be involved.
 

AnalogSteph

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,334
Likes
3,278
Location
.de
I have a T500 here that I'd really like to reanimate -- but there is actually something (intermittently) wrong with it...maybe the onboard graphics. I had actually installed the aforementioned SSD in the T500 a few weeks back, installed the (a) current 64 bit Linux Mint on it, used it for a couple of days, and it started acting wacky again.
Oh, I've read about that, I think. They're a bit notorious for that apparently. With a bit of luck a reflow of the graphics chip (it's an ATI/AMD job so hopefully no nVidia "bumpgate" type disaster) and inspecting the cooling solution for why it might not be making good contact plus some new thermal paste may be all that's required.

A lot of older models from the CCFL backlight era aren't so hot any more these days, they just aren't that bright (literally)... the T500 is pretty much the last generation like that. T510s are pretty neat machines, too, unfortunately I haven't been able to find a way to adjust display PWM frequency on the older version with the fixed nVidia graphics which is quieter. The oldest model we still have in productive use right now are T520s... those may be a bit prone to PCH issues if memory serves (and you better not run an old BIOS since they seem to have had a bricking issue with SSDs having an ATA password set), but I mean what do you expect from a naked chip stuck on the underside of the board.

@restorer-john What model Tecra is this? They made several models in this case design, A and S series. Going by 2008 I'm guessing A9 series? I am all too familiar with these chunky beasts, years ago I bought a whole batch of S10s as internet + word processing machines for our clients, and they do have great keyboards with some decent travel still. (Those had ordinary Intel 82567LM-2s for LAN, not sure why yours would have an issue. Should be recognized at least - maybe turned off in BIOS? Hmm, looks like Win10 drivers want at least a 82579 Sandy Bridge era chip, while the A9 would have a 82566MC with "legacy" drivers up to Win7 only. Worth a shot, but don't be too surprised if you run into problems.) Pray that you never have to clean out the cooling system, I had a look at the service docs once and it seems you have to rip the entire machine apart for that. Stupid design. The Sanken OEM'd power supplies fairly commonly suffer from bad caps.

Toshiba still made another series of Tecras, the A11 and S11 models with Westmere era hardware based on an entirely different construction (OEM?), also quite nice machines and they seemed to ship with better power supplies. They pretty much gave up on this type of machine after that though.
 
Last edited:

restorer-john

Grand Contributor
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
12,579
Likes
38,273
Location
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
@restorer-john What model Tecra is this? They made several models in this case design, A and S series. Going by 2008 I'm guessing A9 series? I am all too familiar with these chunky beasts, years ago I bought a whole batch of S10s as internet + word processing machines for our clients, and they do have great keyboards with some decent travel still. (Those had ordinary Intel 82567LM-2s for LAN, not sure why yours would have an issue. Should be recognized at least - maybe turned off in BIOS? Hmm, looks like Win10 drivers want at least a 82579 Sandy Bridge era chip, while the A9 would have a 82566MC with "legacy" drivers up to Win7 only. Worth a shot, but don't be too surprised if you run into problems.) Pray that you never have to clean out the cooling system, I had a look at the service docs once and it seems you have to rip the entire machine apart for that. Stupid design. The Sanken OEM'd power supplies fairly commonly suffer from bad caps.

Toshiba still made another series of Tecras, the A11 and S11 models with Westmere era hardware based on an entirely different construction (OEM?), also quite nice machines and they seemed to ship with better power supplies. They pretty much gave up on this type of machine after that though.

It's a Tecra A10.
IMG_4073 (Small).jpeg


I guessed it was built around 2007/8 at the time when I picked it up. It was locked up with a password, but the Admin account was still active, so was easy enough to get into. Full of malware and crap, so I just dropped in an SSD I had and it goes really well. No issues to date with anything Win10. 20H2 went in fine.

I actually haven't checked the LAN is turned on in the bios- that could be the issue, but I think it worked before I put Win10 in. Not sure. WIll check.

IMG_4076 (Small).jpeg


And yes, it was pulled right down, cleaned and rebuilt. I do that to all old stray laptops that find me. ;)
 

restorer-john

Grand Contributor
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
12,579
Likes
38,273
Location
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Those had ordinary Intel 82567LM-2s for LAN, not sure why yours would have an issue. Should be recognized at least - maybe turned off in BIOS?

Well! Give the man a cigar! I never bothered to check the bios, because I thought the Wired LAN connection worked before I put W10 in it. Thing is, it was so clogged up with malware prior, I probably never actually checked, I just shut it down, pulled the HDD and stuck in an SSD.

bios lan.jpeg


I fought with all sorts of drivers, compatibility modes, older W7 drivers etc and just gave up. Use the WiFi N or a little USB-GB LAN adaptor. Turned it on and voila! All good at 1000mbs.

Cheers and thanks! :)
 
Last edited:

mhardy6647

Grand Contributor
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
11,211
Likes
24,170
The R60 definitely has "mood lighting" for its display -- sort of like 1950s Cinemascope ;) Perfectly usable, though. My "goal" (as much as I have one) is to use it as a handy keyboard & display for streaming, mostly from our recently upgraded NAS. :)

The T500 display looked pretty decent to me (FWIW). Thanks for the tip on the graphics chip! Hey, that rhymes! Maybe an opportunity to craft a Thinkpad rap..
 
OP
D

Dialectic

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
1,738
Likes
3,090
Location
a fortified compound
Thanks to all for the thoughts above. I finally got networking configured using MX Linux on this ancient machine. It is used to sync music backups to a remote server.
 
Top Bottom