Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

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br1anstorm
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Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#1 Post by br1anstorm »

I am thinking of resurrecting an old laptop, and wonder if I can install MX18.x on it.

The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 8600. It is a 32-bit system, has 2GB of RAM (apparently the maximum possible), an Intel Pentium M processor 1500MHz, and a modest 60GB hard drive. It still has the OEM Windows XP installed.

I already have an old-ish USB with MX 16 on it, from which I had installed MX16 on to another old 32-bit non-pae desktop some time ago (I can't remember what if anything I did about pae back then...)

I have successfully run a Live session of MX16 on the Dell 8600 laptop from that USB, using the "non-PAE" kernel option. I have also run a live session of Linux Mint 17 by following Mint's advice to edit the boot menu on the splash screen of the Mint Live session to add the "force-pae" command. But Mint 17 is no longer supported, and more recent Mint versions are not available in 32-bit. Hence my looking at MX.

I have not yet downloaded an MX 18.x ISO on to USB. But the MX18 manual appears to suggest that while a 32-bit version of MX18 is available, non-PAE processors are not supported (the advice is to try AntiX instead).

I understand that the Intel Pentium M processor (Banias family...) is in fact capable of running PAE, but just won't admit it, so needs to be told!

Hence my question. Does MX18 32-bit still come with a "non-PAE" kernel option? Can the "force-pae" command be used to make the laptop - or rather its processor - run with a PAE kernel? In either case, does this only last for the duration of a Live session? If actually installing, what needs to be done at, or after, installation, to make the arrangement permanent? I understand that it might be necessary to edit the grub file to add the force-pae option as a permanent instruction which applies each time the system boots.....

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Adrian
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#2 Post by Adrian »

MX18 doesn't come with a non-PAE kernel option. If your CPU is able to run PAE then maybe is a matter of changing a setting in BIOS.

I suggest either using antiX or if you really prefer MX interface you could use USB in persistency mode on a different computer that does PAE, install a non-PAE kernel, remaster and then install on the old computer.

br1anstorm
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#3 Post by br1anstorm »

Adrian wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2019 2:46 pm If your CPU is able to run PAE then maybe is a matter of changing a setting in BIOS.
.
Thanks Adrian. I had assumed - from the fact that it was possible to use the "force-pae" command to run a Live session of Mint 17 - that this proved the Intel Pentium M CPU was/is able to run PAE if told to do so. So the question then arises, what setting(s) in the BIOS and/or in the grub menu, would be required in order to ensure this?

This does seem to be the easier route than the other alternative you suggest:
I suggest either using antiX or if you really prefer MX interface you could use USB in persistency mode on a different computer that does PAE, install a non-PAE kernel, remaster and then install on the old computer.
I have never used antiX and would definitely prefer to stick with MX if possible. I think I understand the logic of the process you describe, and I have another more up-to-date computer on which I could do the work. I understand persistence and how to set that up. But your summary of how to do the rest of the work is a bit cryptic. I'd need a bit more specific guidance on (a) what non-PAE kernel to install, and how to do so; (b) how to remaster (I assume that means create a new ISO - can this be done within a Live session, or if not, exactly how is it done?); and (c) then what next - do I copy that remastered ISO on to another USB stick, and then install on to the old computer from there?

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Adrian
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#4 Post by Adrian »

Here's a video about changing the kernel (better explained by Dolphin Oracle than I could ever do)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWvwbwTGOZ8

a) in MX Packageinstaller in "kernel" section you'll find a number of "no-PAE" kernels (from Debian, antiX, etc)
b) you use remaster option in MX Remaster Control Center
c) no, you don't actually create a new ISO and you don't need a new stick, that's the point the remastering process updated the current stick.

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chrispop99
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#5 Post by chrispop99 »

It seems your CPU is one that supports PAE, but doesn't advertise it, based on the fact it worked with Mint using the force pae cheat.

You can do this with MX Linux. When you boot from live media, and get to the screen where you set locale etc, just type forcepae. It will appear in the text line on the screen. Press enter, and it should boot as normal.

If this works ( and I believe it will) you can install as usual, and that cheat code will be 'remembered' for future boots.

The 32-bit machine I use to test MX with has a similar Pentium M, and it works fine like this.

Chris
MX Facebook Group Administrator.
Home-built desktop - Core i5 9400, 970 EVO Plus, 8GB
DELL XPS 15
Lots of test machines

br1anstorm
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#6 Post by br1anstorm »

Yay! Good news, and better news - though I haven't actually tried it yet.

Good news from Adrian - both about Dolphin Oracle's video guide, and the clarification about the remastering process (which is something I've never attempted before).

Even better news from chrispop99 - that in fact that process might not be necessary, and that my Dell and its Intel Pentium M should be able to run MX18 if I insert the forcepae command in the right place. Useful to know that the command is remembered and retained for future booting once the OS is actually installed. This also confirms what I had already understood from my previous experimenting with Mint - that the CPU does support PAE but just "......doesn't advertise it".

I'll now have a go at a Live session of MX18 and installation with the forcepae instruction included, and see if it all works. Will report back in due course, whatever happens.

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pianokeyjoe
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#7 Post by pianokeyjoe »

Well this seems to be an old topic but one that needs resurrecting for my sake! I have a old HP tablet PC with the same Pentium M 1ghz CPU that MX complains is not a supported PAE CPU and I have to use the forcepae cheat code on live boot to make it boot to the desktop. My situation however has not given me positive results. I can not run the MX installer in the live session with MX 18 on this old Tablet PC. It errors out with exit code 0 in the terminal if I type minstall in root. As such there seems to be no way to install MX on a Pentium M successfully as this is the SECOND Pentium M HP device I attempted to install MX 18 to and it fails in one way or another. So much for my wishing I could go back in time with a MX18 DVD to revolutionize the computer industry lol! I can install MX on a P4 system but not Pentium M or P3 systems. So what now? The tablet HAD XP tablet at one point but the person who gave it to me tried to put Windows 7 32bit and that failed, leaving me with a bricked tablet that Only MX could revive. That is, if I can FORCE the installer to just work already.. My next option is SUSE LINUX 9.3 which is currently installed on the other HP device.
Pianokeyjoe
Intel i5 3.10ghz ,8GB ram, Intel onboard everything, 500GB HDD, MX-LINUX 19.3 :penguin:

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Stevo
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#8 Post by Stevo »

Do you have another machine where you could do a snapshot of MX with the Debian 4.9 non-pae kernel?

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jeffreyC
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#9 Post by jeffreyC »

For anyone looking for a non-PAE ISO, I found one of 18.1 here:

http://iso.mxrepo.com/Downloads/Snapshots/

I was looking for something else when I found it, bookmarked it for possible use on some old computers I own.

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penguin
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Re: Can I install MX18.x on an older non-PAE laptop?

#10 Post by penguin »

jeffreyC wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 6:41 pm For anyone looking for a non-PAE ISO, I found one of 18.1 here:

http://iso.mxrepo.com/Downloads/Snapshots/

I was looking for something else when I found it, bookmarked it for possible use on some old computers I own.
I will suggest to have MX Linux 19 386 as non pae version. I downloaded and installed MX Linux 18.1 non_pae on an IBM Laptop X31 (really IBM Laptop) ,also in a X60 Lenovo. Seems great.Memory in use is less than Antix 19.1 (i386).Antix 19.1 i386 is really a non_pae iso. I tried to make a snapshoot MX from installed machine (X60 Lenovo) but creating of iso failed when I chose compression : lx4,gzip,lzo, The message saying : Make sure that you have enough space ... bla bla (I changed also path to an external drive). The only possibility to create a snapshot was to use xz compression ( I stored it directly to an external drive and did not tried under /home/snapshoot). In the end, the process gives me warning that this iso is not bootable in all bios. Meanwhile I am writing I burned this iso in USB(with MX Linux Live USB maker) and I will try it to boot in my laptops.

Results:
Iso can boot in X60 Lenovo laptop.
Iso can boot on IBM X30 laptop.

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