Newbie install - Live DVD for 32 bit system

[James Freer]

Hi folks

I have an old machine i want to try debian on for the first time. I
understand that one can use the net install for a straight hard disk
install.

For a live DVD install as i want to check the hardware is okay i tried
using debian-12.5-i386-DVD-1.iso. This i presume would just spin up
but it has asked for partitioning etc which suggests it is going to do
a hard disk install. I have used Ubuntu, MX linux and Linuxmint in the
past and the live DVD just spins up which is all i wanted to do. Maybe
it just asks for country, keyboard, partitioning in preparation for a
hard disk install - i am not sure as i don't want to do a hard disk
install today. Just wanted to check the hardware through.

Please advise thanks

james

[Michael Kjörling]

Post by James Freer
For a live DVD install as i want to check the hardware is okay i tried
using debian-12.5-i386-DVD-1.iso. This i presume would just spin up
but it has asked for partitioning etc which suggests it is going to do
a hard disk install.

That is likely correct. You want one of the images with the "live" tag
in the name, which are only available for the amd64 architecture.

Note that i386 (i586, i686) support is being phased out more and more.
Debian 12 is quite possibly the last version of Debian with good i386
architecture support, and i386 support is not guaranteed throughout
its long-term support phase because of maintenance and upstream
issues. See the recent discussions regarding i386 and 32-bit on this
very list for more details.

[James Freer]

Post by Michael Kjörling

Post by James Freer
For a live DVD install as i want to check the hardware is okay i tried
using debian-12.5-i386-DVD-1.iso. This i presume would just spin up
but it has asked for partitioning etc which suggests it is going to do
a hard disk install.

That is likely correct. You want one of the images with the "live" tag
in the name, which are only available for the amd64 architecture.
Note that i386 (i586, i686) support is being phased out more and more.
Debian 12 is quite possibly the last version of Debian with good i386
architecture support, and i386 support is not guaranteed throughout
its long-term support phase because of maintenance and upstream
issues. See the recent discussions regarding i386 and 32-bit on this
very list for more details.
--
Michael Kjörling 🔗 https://michael.kjorling.se
“Remember when, on the Internet, nobody cared that you were a dog?”

I was hoping i was doing the right thing with this live DVD. I realise
32 bit is going but i just wanted to test the hardware. I can't risk a
hard disk install until i have leave from work and can spend the
necessary time on an installation. Seems odd to ask for partitioning
on a liveDVD.

james

[Thomas Schmitt]

Hi,

Post by James Freer
For a live DVD install as i want to check the hardware is okay i tried
using debian-12.5-i386-DVD-1.iso. This i presume would just spin up
but it has asked for partitioning etc

Seems odd to ask for partitioning on a liveDVD.

debian-12.5-i386-DVD-1.iso. is an installation ISO, not a Live one.
(Debian Live can be used for installing, too. But the installation ones
are better tested for that purpose.)

Michael Kjörling already stated that i386 has not much of a future in
Debian.
Is your machine really so old that it won't run a 64-bit Debian ?
In your situation i would just try one from:
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/bt-hybrid/


Beginning with 12.0, there are only amd64 (i.e. 64 bit x86) Live ISOs:
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/archive/12.0.0-live/

In case that your hardware really does not work with amd64, the youngest
i386 Live ISOs are for Debian 11:
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/archive/11.10.0-live/i386/iso-hybrid/


Have a nice day :)

Thomas

[Thomas Schmitt]

Hi,

Post by Thomas Schmitt
Is your machine really so old that it won't run a 64-bit Debian ?
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/bt-hybrid/

I gave the wrong link. Sorry. (The above is for BitTorrent download).

Correct for direct download via wget (or web browser) is

https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/


Have a nice day :)

Thomas

[didier gaumet]

Post by James Freer
I was hoping i was doing the right thing with this live DVD. I realise
32 bit is going but i just wanted to test the hardware. I can't risk a
hard disk install until i have leave from work and can spend the
necessary time on an installation. Seems odd to ask for partitioning
on a liveDVD.

Hello,

- As Michael and DdB have stated, you are not using a live (name
starting by debian-live...) image but an installation image. There are
no more 32 bits live images, as Micheal has said.

- You can use a Debian installation image as a repair image to start a
shell that permits you to verify some basic points (no GUI...)

- The Linux Hardware Database (https://linux-hardware.org/) allows you
to verify if your computer or its parts are compatible with Linux and if
there are detailed successfull installation reports of a particular distro

[didier gaumet]

Le 21/08/2024 à 14:28, didier gaumet a écrit :
[...]

Post by didier gaumet
- You can use a Debian installation image as a repair image to start a
shell that permits you to verify some basic points (no GUI...)

[...]

...without installing anything on the disk(s)...

[James Freer]

Post by didier gaumet

Post by James Freer
I was hoping i was doing the right thing with this live DVD. I realise
32 bit is going but i just wanted to test the hardware. I can't risk a
hard disk install until i have leave from work and can spend the
necessary time on an installation. Seems odd to ask for partitioning
on a liveDVD.

Hello,
- As Michael and DdB have stated, you are not using a live (name
starting by debian-live...) image but an installation image. There are
no more 32 bits live images, as Micheal has said.

My apologies i thought this image was a live image and that was what i
didn't understand. I realise 32 bit is going but i haven't the cash at
present to consider a new PC.

I appreciate your replies.

james

[didier gaumet]

Post by James Freer
My apologies

No need to apologize :-)
I should have remembered that traditional installation medias are rarer
amongst user-friendly distros like Ubuntu that provide primarily live-medias

Post by James Freer
i thought this image was a live image and that was what i
didn't understand. I realise 32 bit is going but i haven't the cash at
present to consider a new PC.

[...]

As Thomas suggested, you could try a (amd64) 64 bits live image
(Debian-live...) on this PC: some users assume their computer is 32 bits
because it was factory fitted with a 32 bits operating system, but
sometimes that computer is 64 bits hardware either for marketing or
technical reasons..
Nowadays, one can install a 64 bits operating system even on some 64
bits computers that have a 32 bits BIOS.

The last true 32 bits Intel CPU for PC has been launched 20 years ago.
Chances are that even if your PC is 10 or 15 years old, it is nontheless
64 bits hardware.

[didier gaumet]

Le 21/08/2024 à 15:44, didier gaumet a écrit :
[...]

it is nontheless 64 bits hardware.

Hey, reread your prose before posting, man! ;-)

=> nonetheless

[Felix Miata]

Post by James Freer
I realise 32 bit is going but i haven't the cash at
present to consider a new PC.

You may not need one. What CPU do you have?

lscpu

inxi -S

Both of these will report CPU model, from which you can tell if indeed it only
supports 32bit, or can upgrade to 64bit.

If you have or can find online the manual for your PC, you may find its RAM
capacity. If it supports more than 2GB, it's highly likely to support 64bit. How
much RAM do you have in it now? You do need more than 2GB to expect decent DE
performance. What GPU does it have? If it's not on a separate card on a PC that is
limited to 2GB or less, you can expect dismal graphics performance.

Even if you can't, used PCs that can are nearly everywhere available for cheap or
free.

[Joe B]

Hi James,

Did you ever resolve your issue? Did you do the suggestions that Felix
pointed out?

Post by Felix Miata
You may not need one. What CPU do you have?
lscpu
inxi -S

Run these above commands and paste each one here, then report back

Joe B