i wouldn't recommend debian since they've dropped 32 bit support in trixie, their latest release. the previous release, bookworm, still supports 32 bits archs, but it eol's less than a year from now
From trixie, i386 is no longer supported as a regular architecture: there is no official kernel and no Debian installer for i386 systems
[...]
Users running i386 systems should not upgrade to trixie. Instead, Debian recommends either reinstalling them as amd64, where possible, or retiring the hardware.
but the debian i386 architecture means all 32 bit x86 processors. there's no "i686" build of debian
there are no i586 or i686 kernel or iso available, you can look for them. i386 packages only exist for compatibility reasons, so you can run 32 bit applications on amd64 machines. please read the release notes
maybe compatibility reasons. i guess they used to support i386 back in the day and didn't want to break the couple of systems that were installed on bo and have been upgrading ever since
Not a screenshot since I havent set up any internet communication except package installing yet, but a bad photo is manageble. Now I just have to figure out how to make a specific user that automatically boots into Abiword on login!
Debian Security Support ends in 9 months and the LTS's supported platforms haven't been announced. It could very well be that in 9 months the i386 version of Debian 12 stops getting security updates. https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
Also note that the Debian team uses i386 to mean what we think of by 32 bit x86, not just CPUs from the very old i386 generation. https://wiki.debian.org/i386
One of the OG eeepc is what got me into Linux. The distro it shipped with was ass (it was a Linux variant) so I went hopping and discovered Puppy Linux and a bunch of others. Ended up sticking with !# (crunchbang) which later renamed to BunsenLabs and I still run it on most of my devices to this day.
I ran Puppeee on my original which loaded completely to ram and only wrote to disk every 10 minutes or when prompted due to the early ssds very limited life span. It helped me get through folkhögskola and was small enough to let me easily work on the 1 hour 30 min bus ride to and from school. I think that model was called 4G and it was even tighter keyboard than my current due to åäö-keys being almost half width
Gentoo will work if you have the time to work through the install, and stick with provided binaries for large packages (or have a lot of patience with updates).
Another issue others are not addressing is the memory limitations of 32bit software. I am facing it now with a large database that is stuck in a 32 bit world. You may have issues finding 32 bit builds of software as well.
Depending on the age of the EEE, you might run into problems because the old low end CPU doesn't support instruction set extensions that are assumed to be present by distros nowadays.
I think it was SSE2...?
FreeBSD offers a 32 bit variant still via their i386 image.
Expect a small learning curve if you've never used UNIX, but most things are similar enough that you'll be fine. If you're ok picking up the FreeBSD handbook.
40 Comments
anon5621@lemmy.ml · 17 pts · 1y
Antix,Debian ,arch i386 project
bunitor@lemmy.eco.br · 5 pts · 1y
i wouldn't recommend debian since they've dropped 32 bit support in trixie, their latest release. the previous release, bookworm, still supports 32 bits archs, but it eol's less than a year from now
chloroken@lemmy.ml · -1 pts · 1y
This is not true. (Edit: nevermind, I was wrong)
They're dropping support for i586 and below. 32-bit systems with i686+ processors will still run fine.
bunitor@lemmy.eco.br · 3 pts · 1y
https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.html#reduced-support-for-i386
chloroken@lemmy.ml · -1 pts · 1y
Not all 32-bit systems are i386. For example, my 32-bit Debian thinkpad runs Trixie just fine. Because it's i686 which is still supported.
So again, Debian 13 isn't dropping 32-bit support. Just i586 support and below.
bunitor@lemmy.eco.br · 2 pts · 1y
but the debian i386 architecture means all 32 bit x86 processors. there's no "i686" build of debian
there are no i586 or i686 kernel or iso available, you can look for them. i386 packages only exist for compatibility reasons, so you can run 32 bit applications on amd64 machines. please read the release notes
JackbyDev@programming.dev · 2 pts · 1y
https://wiki.debian.org/i386
That was very confusing to me. I'm sure they have their reasons, but calling it something like x86 would've been more clear to me.
https://wiki.debian.org/SupportedArchitectures
bunitor@lemmy.eco.br · 1 pts · 1y
maybe compatibility reasons. i guess they used to support i386 back in the day and didn't want to break the couple of systems that were installed on bo and have been upgrading ever since
chloroken@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 1y
I was wrong. Thank you. And I don't have Trixie on the 32-bit Thinkpad, it was my other laptop.
0x0@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 1y
Puppy, Porteus, antiX, Q4OS, Slax run on 32-bit x86 and are supposed to be under the 256 MiB RAM mark.
Zorin Lite and Xubuntu ~512MiB.
Mint, LXDE and Bunsenlabs ~1GiB.
YMMV
hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org · 12 pts · 1y
slackware, netbsd, openbsd
edit: i forgot tinycore, you gotta try that too
m33@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 1y
+1 for NetBSD it’s such a great OS for ressource limited platforms. Rough edges by today standards but it worth a try on OP’s PC.
Edit : would you please post something like neofetch screenshot when your eeepc is up and running ? :)
Droechai@piefed.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 358d
Not a screenshot since I havent set up any internet communication except package installing yet, but a bad photo is manageble. Now I just have to figure out how to make a specific user that automatically boots into Abiword on login!
https://imgur.com/a/MX3YbNu
bunitor@lemmy.eco.br · 11 pts · 1y
@ everyone recommending debian: it no longer supports 32 bit x86 machines: https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.html#reduced-support-for-i386
JackbyDev@programming.dev · 1 pts · 1y
transientpunk@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 1y
This thread is making me nostalgic for Ubuntu Netbook Remix
Eggymatrix@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 1y
Since I doubt the latest and greatest drivers interest you, I suggest debian. Might as well profit from extreme stability and reliability
JackbyDev@programming.dev · 1 pts · 1y
Debian has dropped support for 32 bit in Debian 13.
Eggymatrix@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Use debian 12 then, again, its not like you need the latest and gratest
JackbyDev@programming.dev · 1 pts · 1y
Debian Security Support ends in 9 months and the LTS's supported platforms haven't been announced. It could very well be that in 9 months the i386 version of Debian 12 stops getting security updates. https://wiki.debian.org/LTS
afk_strats@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y
My eepc is also 32 bit with 2gb of RAM. I did Debian 12 with LXDE from the net installer and it works really well.
PetteriPano@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y
OpenSUSE has a 32-bit build.
Running modern web browsers is no fun.
bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net · 1 pts · 1y
ikidd@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y
Debian. Just Debian. No drama.
JackbyDev@programming.dev · 2 pts · 1y
Not Debian 13. https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.html#reduced-support-for-i386
Also note that the Debian team uses i386 to mean what we think of by 32 bit x86, not just CPUs from the very old i386 generation. https://wiki.debian.org/i386
floofloof@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 1y
I've had good luck with Antix on very old machines.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org · 6 pts · 1y
antiX
That said this machine will not be able to cope with the www of 2025.
kibiz0r@midwest.social · 6 pts · 1y
I loved my Eee PC so much.
I’ve been watching and hoping for a modern ARM equivalent, but haven’t seen anything quite right so far.
HereToday@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 1y
MX runs fine, but applications such as browsers are very slow because of the old CPU 😐
ace_garp@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y
Something with LXDE or XFCE Desktop Environment, that is usually the DE for low-spec distros.
ICastFist@programming.dev · 3 pts · 1y
MenuetOS or KolibriOS
Maybe Haiku if you're feeling fancy
TerkErJerbs@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 1y
One of the OG eeepc is what got me into Linux. The distro it shipped with was ass (it was a Linux variant) so I went hopping and discovered Puppy Linux and a bunch of others. Ended up sticking with !# (crunchbang) which later renamed to BunsenLabs and I still run it on most of my devices to this day.
Droechai@piefed.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 358d
I ran Puppeee on my original which loaded completely to ram and only wrote to disk every 10 minutes or when prompted due to the early ssds very limited life span. It helped me get through folkhögskola and was small enough to let me easily work on the 1 hour 30 min bus ride to and from school. I think that model was called 4G and it was even tighter keyboard than my current due to åäö-keys being almost half width
hobbsc@lemmy.sdf.org · 2 pts · 1y
flubba86@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y
+1 for Gentoo
nyan@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Gentoo will work if you have the time to work through the install, and stick with provided binaries for large packages (or have a lot of patience with updates).
infjarchninja@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 1y
vortexal@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 1y
I'm not familiar with Eee PCs but I'm assuming you'd want something lightweight. Q4OS has a 32-bit version available.
jhdeval@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y
Another issue others are not addressing is the memory limitations of 32bit software. I am facing it now with a large database that is stuck in a 32 bit world. You may have issues finding 32 bit builds of software as well.
Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 1y
Depending on the age of the EEE, you might run into problems because the old low end CPU doesn't support instruction set extensions that are assumed to be present by distros nowadays. I think it was SSE2...?
OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y
Lets say I had 8 chromebooks 4gb ram idk CPU and their all working. What realistically could I do with them? Some lenovo some google.
mvirts@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y
... Run ChromeOS? :P which is basically android. Maybe run Linux if the bootloader is unlockable
ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 1y
FreeBSD offers a 32 bit variant still via their i386 image.
Expect a small learning curve if you've never used UNIX, but most things are similar enough that you'll be fine. If you're ok picking up the FreeBSD handbook.
NOOBMASTER@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 1y
Void
DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml · 0 pts · 1y