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Topic: Might there be a 32-bit version? (Read 5166 times) previous topic - next topic
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Might there be a 32-bit version?

I love Arch and I'm ready to ditch systemd, but Artix won't run on my 32-bit hardware.  Are there any plans to offer a 32-bit version, maybe based off of archlinux32.org?

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #1 –
We don't plan official i686 support, we are already thin maintaining x86_64.

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #2 –
@afurrow jonathon over at Manjaro has got behind  a 32bit version. It does use systemd though. Manjaro is basically Arch with some extras added to make it a bit easier & in some ways better than Arch. If you use the stable repo things are more tried & tested than if you were using Arch, in an effort to make it easier for those that haven't had enough experience with Linux (Arch) to be able to diagnose & solve their own problems.

Anyway, just a thought. ;)

https://forum.manjaro.org/c/announcements/manjaro32

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: afurrow – on
I love Arch and I'm ready to ditch systemd, but Artix won't run on my 32-bit hardware.  Are there any plans to offer a 32-bit version, maybe based off of archlinux32.org?

Here is the link to the manjaro systemd 32 bit xfce iso
Perhaps you can migrate it to openrc?
https://sourceforge.net/projects/manjarodev/files/review/manjaro-32/17.1.1-rc2/xfce/
This says there is a 32bit openrc iso with LXDE
https://wiki.parabola.nu/Get_Parabola#Parabola_LXDE_ISO

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: afurrow – on
I love Arch and I'm ready to ditch systemd, but Artix won't run on my 32-bit hardware.  Are there any plans to offer a 32-bit version, maybe based off of archlinux32.org?

I was using Parabola OpenRC. Use normal networkmanager & polkit-elogind packages.

Maybe once we're more tech-savvy we can make our own unofficial artixlinux32 distro lol. 

With Parabola OpenRC I had to use the normal linux kernel, as linux-libre kernel wouldn't allow me to shutdown.

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #5 –
Hi there,

[And sorry to reply to a somewhat old thread; I'm reluctant to open a new one as this covers pretty much my exact topic ]

I realize Artix is a bit low on manpower, but a 32-bit version is something I'd definitely like to see as well. It really fits well into the freedom of choice scenario, and also prevents older systems from becoming prematurely obsolete (as well as breathing life into old ones!) Has there been any thought on collaborating between Parabola and Artix (I guess some people on here might have used their repos in Artix in order to get 32-bit functionality)?

I was very pleasantly surprised with Artix as it reminds me of what Arch used to be like without all the recent, ever-increasing, cruft tacked on to the distro. I currently run Arch on my main firewall which is an Intel Atom N270-powered system that (unfortunately?) is only 32-bit capable. However, it is such a solid and stable piece of equipment that I would be very sad to have to let it go (not a crash in the more than 10 years it has been in service) and it has only 2gb of RAM (which is plenty for a fw/mailserver anyway) so no real need for 64-bit architecture tbh.

I could obviously install the x86_64 version and subsequently convert / recompile it to 32-bit using (patched) yauourt and a 32-bit (or hybrid 32/64 kernel). Has anyone done this? (is it even feasible?). I am guessing there are some more tweaks required to the packages other than simply a recompile in order to make them available.

Appreciate any thoughts on this, and also; thanks for a wonderful distro!

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #6 –
https://wiki.parabola.nu/Get_Parabola

I believe they have the only 32bit system still going, I haven't tried.  I thought hyperbola too had 32b but they don't.
They have a wiki page for arch conversion.  Just make sure you follow it for OpenRC and not systemd :)

The other alternative that is close to arch is void:

    http://alpha.de.repo.voidlinux.org/live/current

The i686 images have these requirements:
    Pentium 4 CPU (SSE2), 96MB RAM, 350MB disk, Ethernet / WiFi for network installation.

You can make a void installation on a new partition from void without using an .iso as their package manager is in aur (xbps) and it will install the core system to a mounted partition (wiki installation). 

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #7 –
Uplos is interesting as a dedicated 32 bit only distro, but reading on their forum they are concerned as Linus is discussing removing 32 bit support.
http://www.liberainformatica.it/forum/showthread.php?tid=1294
That would make a rolling 32 bit distro difficult to update. Probably the long term future for 32 bit is a maintained fork from an earlier point in time when software was still optimized for 32 bit I would guess. Even very early PC's still have free OS's around, although kernel support has been dropped for their CPU's.

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #8 –
Even with discontinued kernel updates, 32-bit boxes will still run for years; there has to emerge a really bad kernel bug or security exploit to make them unusable and I bet in such case we'll see patches and fixes pop up immediately.

Artix on i686 is still doable, but obviously not officially supported.

Re: Might there be a 32-bit version?

Reply #9 –
Thanks for the info @fungalnet , @####### & @nous . I will try Parabola's repos as a starting point (failing that, a reinstall to Parabola). Hopefully there is some easy pacman-way to replace 64-bit pkgs with their 32-bit counterparts. ;)

Sorry for the late reply – I thought I had email notification for the thread set up, which apparently wasn't the case.