Better linux distro for an EBOX 3350MX

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Lory1908

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Hi, hope this is the right section.
As stated in the title: I have an old EBOX: DMP - eBox 3350MX-AP x86 Compact PC with Auto Power On (robot-domestici.it)
It features an i586 processor and I have some problems putting it to work:
I currently use Ubuntu 10.04 in the system but I would prefer switching to a still supported distro. I tried a lot of different distros but my kernel rejects them all.
Any advice on which distro I can use?

I want to use the ebox mostly for server hosting, like a web server or something like this. Also I normally use windows so I would prefer having a desktop interface, if possible. Anyway I could use a only-terminal version.
 


From your link, "supports x86" so any 32 bit Linux should work. I'm not sure what you mean by "my kernel". Each distro comes with its own kernel. Your kernel should have no bearing on this as you'd be removing everything and reinstalling. x86_64 is not going to work.

Am I missing something?
 
Hi, thank you for replying
So, I tried ubuntu, lubuntu, archlinux, debian and a couple of other OS, all at 32 bit, and all gave me an error with the kernel, cause I have a i586 cpu or, in the case of debian, freeze on the install screen.

My current version of ubuntu come from an iso titled ubuntu 10.04 LTS i386, so I picked the debian i386

But, as all the other that I tried it not worked, in this case freezed.

I'm having some problems getting things ready and install drivers etc on a dead version, and I don't really understand why the other OS haven't worked.

In the end, am I doing wrong with the 32 bit versions? For the "kernel rejects" it's my bad, I meant the errors from the various install kernels given for the cpu, in fact I'm reinstalling them from zero every time, formatting my drive also.

Any advice? What am I doing wrong?
 
I can't think of anything. The link you shared clearly indicates that 32 bit OSes should work.

Are you 100% certain that you downloaded the 32 bit ISOs?

Maybe if I knew some of those kernel errors I could figure out what was going on. I don't suppose you've captured and stored those error messages somewhere?
 
Lory1908 said:
My current version of ubuntu come from an iso titled ubuntu 10.04 LTS i386, so I picked the debian i386

But, as all the other that I tried it not worked, in this case freezed.
Any advice? What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Arch doesn't support i386, there is a separate website archlinux32.org that offer a 32 bit version of Arch but AFAIK they aren't part of the Official Arch. I wouldn't try an outdated Ubuntu such as 10.04 because of no more security updates, I would try the i386 version of MX Linux.
 
No, I didn't store anything, most because often the install would freeze or it says that the os doesn't "support" an i586 processor and need something newer.
Anyway today I restricted my problem with the 32 bit os to the fact that I miss the pae technology in my Pentium. And almost all recent linux need that in order to start, so I think I'm stuck, at least from what I red until now
 
Grab the 32 bit (i386) version of MX Linux that @f33dm3bits linked. Verify the download's integrity. Write it to a USB with Balena Etcher, and then try to boot with it.

When it fails, assuming it fails pre-boot into a GUI, take a picture of the error message and share that pic.

Normally, I'd say don't take pics of text - but we'll make an exception when it's otherwise difficult.
 
Lory1908 said:
No, I didn't store anything, most because often the install would freeze or it says that the os doesn't "support" an i586 processor and need something newer.
Anyway today I restricted my problem with the 32 bit os to the fact that I miss the pae technology in my Pentium. And almost all recent linux need that in order to start, so I think I'm stuck, at least from what I red until now
Click to expand...
So you have an i586 process not an i386? Try Mageia they support i586 and otherwise one of these.
 
IIRC, i586 just means Pentium *something* (MMX, maybe?) and any 32 bit distro should work on it.

Still, it's worth trying.

Hmm... Before pressing the reply button, I dug up this:

www.linuxquestions.org

What is i586

I want to try out a different distro but it appears to only be available in i586. I thought 586 was for the Mac. Is i586 appropriate for Intel (PCs)
www.linuxquestions.org www.linuxquestions.org

Yeah, any i386 should do the trick - at least according to them and my memory. Though my memory was a little faulty - it's just Pentium (not anything special). So, who knows! ;-)
 
Ok, so, I already tried Mageia and MX Linux this morning, MX doesn't work cause I have a Pentium that not have PAE technology, and even the i386 version needs it, as stated in the site @f33dm3bits linked, in fact I previously downloaded it from the site. For Mageia, I'll try.
My problem is that most, or all, of the modern linux distro require cmos PAE that is a feature in Pentium II cpus and above, and I have a Pentium without it, I think the first Pentium processor.

If it could be useful I'll try them again preparing my usb drive with Etcher, cause I was using rufus.
For all the suggestions from distrowatch, I used the site, but reading across the internet seems that linux distros after ubuntu 10.04 are no longer supporting non-PAE cpu.

Correct me if there is anything wrong, and if the fact that I was using rufus instead of Etcher is important. Also can you confirm my non-PAE processor worries?

And thank you for the replies guys, really appreciated, I'm without new ideas.
 
I find Etcher to be much, much more reliable in writing images that actually work.

Also, I think LMDE is supposed to work with non-PAE computers?

https://linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php (https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=280)

Try that one and, really, try writing it with Balena Etcher. Don't forget to verify the download's integrity. The directions to verify the integrity of the ISO are linked from the second link I posted.

If LMDE works, that'd be pretty awesome. It's a great distro, albeit fairly resource intensive.

"To guarantee compatibility with non-PAE processors, the 32-bit versions of Linux Mint Debian come with a 486 kernel by default." from here.
 
Ok, just tried LMDE 4 Debbie 32 bit, as you linked
Error: This kernel requires the following features not present on your CPU: cmov
I'll post a pic of the error.

PAE error solved, but now cmov missing...

er.jpg
 
You can still try the i386 version AntiX and otherwise you could still try the i386 version of Puppy.
 
I already tried AntiX, but I can't remember if it gave me an error or just freezed, anyway it ddidn't work. I'll try Puppy, but I red that the latest versions needs PAE, I'll try something old, but not too old and let you know
 
Also try Porteus, it's based off slackware and they also have an i586 version of the distribution.
 
Lory1908 said:
As stated in the title: I have an old EBOX: DMP - eBox 3350MX-AP x86 Compact PC with Auto Power On (robot-domestici.it)
It features an i586 processor and I have some problems putting it to work:
Click to expand...

Lory1908 said:
Ok, just tried LMDE 4 Debbie 32 bit, as you linked
Error: This kernel requires the following features not present on your CPU: cmov
I'll post a pic of the error.

PAE error solved, but now cmov missing...

View attachment 8407
Click to expand...
Here's your processor based on the link you posted.
en.wikipedia.org

Vortex86 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

This explains quite a bit about this little box and the cmov error.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you @Nelson Muntz, but it makes me think that my cpu is too old for everything.
I can't find the i586 version of Porteus @f33dm3bits, it shows some x86_64 versions, but distros with _64 won't work on my cpu
 
You're welcome @Lory1908, and welcome to Linux.org.

It may be to outdated and no longer supported I haven't seen much about i586 processors in quite some time.

These little boxes appear to have been used for proprietary projects however I may be wrong.
 
I don't really know, I have some of those as part of an old security system. I think they used them to control the alarms and some IP cameras. I have a bounce of them and I'm trying to not throw them away. They deserve a new life
 
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