Can't seem to boot any debian/based distro

argenisjimort

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I'm using a 32 bit pc, know as "Canaima", it may be known as the pc the Venezuelan government gave a time ago. The interesting thing is that these laptops used to come with a debian-based distro know as 'Canaima' (pretty awfull tbh). But when someone gave it to me it had windows 7.

As it was pretty slow, i wanted to install it linux mint. But when i selected the usb from the boot menu it didn't boot and just went with the default OS, i tried pretty much any configuration posible in the bios, but was uncapable of booting. Also, a person i know has the same pc model, and it has the same problem, so its not only My pc..

Some time later, i tried again with Endeavour OS, and it booted without any problem. However, i would rather use some ubuntu-based system, (preferably Lubuntu, cause this pc is too slow), and because most of the answers to problems, are for ubuntu-based systems, i've had many problems with arch-based distros, but i cant. I tried booting with Mint, Lubuntu, Debian, and zorin OS. All the same: black screen, and reboot with the already installed OS (if any), also if i placed the usb in the first boot order, the laptop just kept rebooting. Only Zorin OS was capable of booting, but when i used the installer, it gave an error, the grub, or an error when creating the partition (with either install alongside, or erasing the disk).

However, i was able to boot any arch-based distro without problems. (Endeavour, Manjaro, Archman), but want i need is a very lightweight distro, (like lubuntu).

And as i said, these pcs initially came with a debian-based system, so idk whats the problem.
 


Archbang is an arch based distro, and it is very lightweight, it uses openbox https://archbang.org/
You can install Endeavour with some window manager too, or the default XFCE, which is light.
Although, you already mentioned not having luck with Debian, this is a very good and lightweight distro too https://www.q4os.org/downloads1.html Try the one with trinity which is the lightest.

@MatsuShimizu "Canaima" is the OS, a Debian based distro. There are 3 variants; laptops, desktops and tablet pc, they were created mostly for educational purposes; create and edit documents, basic web browsing, etc. It is a very low specs machine, not designed for gaming, audio/video editing or any other heavy tasks. I think OP has a laptop, which the Venezuelan government gives for free to kids in schools, though most people(parents)formatted and install Windows 7, which is a waste because it performs very slow. I(as a teacher)have used them, and they work fine for the purpose they were made for. Take a look here(in Spanish) https://canaima.top/tipos/
 
So you have a basic 32 bit Canaima ... first of all it will only run 32 bit systems, these are becoming few and far between ,
I suggest you look at
Canaima-GNU-Linux [the one compiled especially for that machine,]
Puppy
Linux lite
Sparky linux
lxle
Debian stable
BUT IT MUST BE THE 32BIT VERSIONS

Bwiz

EDIT.. my particular favorite is Peppermint 10 -respin but it runs of support time in 2028 [no new version has yet been produced]
 
Last edited:
So you have a basic 32 bit Canaima ... first of all it will only run 32 bit systems, these are becoming few and far between ,
I suggest you look at
Canaima-GNU-Linux [the one compiled especially for that machine,]
Puppy
Linux lite
Sparky linux
lxle
Debian stable
BUT IT MUST BE THE 32BIT VERSIONS

Bwiz

EDIT.. my particular favorite is Peppermint 10 -respin but it runs of support time in 2028 [no new version has yet been produced]

Yeah, i know it has to be 32 bit, i also have another desktop pc with also 32 bit, it booted just fine, i first booted linux mint 32 bits mate, and right now has Lubuntu. They are the same ISOs i used for the laptop.
 
Yeah, i know it has to be 32 bit, i also have another desktop pc with also 32 bit, it booted just fine,
there is nothing in the mechanics of that machine that should be causing problems [unless something is broken], but you did say it was running W10 so we can discount that for now.
It has an Atom processor [not the best Intel produced] that may or not be the problem, I do know Peppermint 10-respin works with atom 32 bit [I run it myself]
so thoughts..
Is the Canaima set up for USB boot ? again around the time it was made we were beginning the change from optical to USB..
Has your installation medium got a clean installation on it? have you checked it in another machine?

As a hardware man that's all I can think of for now perhaps some of the other members may have other ideas

Bwiz
 
and right now has Lubuntu

The last 32 bit Lubuntu was 18.04. The support for that ended at the end of 21.04.

Now, the Ubuntu bits of the OS will continue to update. The Lubuntu-specific software will not update. There's also limited support options, as there's no support in the official channels.
 

there is nothing in the mechanics of that machine that should be causing problems [unless something is broken], but you did say it was running W10 so we can discount that for now.
It has an Atom processor [not the best Intel produced] that may or not be the problem, I do know Peppermint 10-respin works with atom 32 bit [I run it myself]
so thoughts..
Is the Canaima set up for USB boot ? again around the time it was made we were beginning the change from optical to USB..
Has your installation medium got a clean installation on it? have you checked it in another machine?

As a hardware man that's all I can think of for now perhaps some of the other members may have other ideas

Bwiz
Hello, yes. For what i know, it is setup for usb boot. I would say it does have a setup for usb boot. (I booted manjaro by usd just fine). And i remember, years ago, it was not allowed to change the OS it came with (came with gnu/linux Canaima). A debian-Based distro. And sometimes, the schools checked the pcs and formated them if they had windows and installed Canaima again, (which i guess, was installed by usb).
 
well i am running out of ideas then, except try Peppermint 10 re-spin 32bit
 

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