32 bit x86 Gentoo - still use it?

eccerr0r · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:39 am Post subject: 32 bit x86 Gentoo - still use it?

People want to run Gentoo because it's one of the few distros that doesn't require systemd.

Did you know: Gentoo is also one of the last few distros that support 32-bit x86 too... It would be a shame if we end up having to run NetBSD (which I think also makes too many generalizations that was made to be compatible with as many architectures and also slows down the machine.)

Do you still run a 32-bit x86 box?

I still have 32-bit Linux laptops and even on a SC520 and GX1. I also have a 32-bit x86 server with 2TB disks that is solely used for backing up my main disk array.
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Ant P. · Watchman Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 6920

I have... 2 i686 machines still functioning.
One has Gentoo and I'm still using it daily. It's slow but I have a cross-distcc farm on my other boxes to back it up.

The other one ran Debian, it's now in storage after a bad update broke the wifi - systemd hijacked wpa_supplicant and it no longer reads its own config file. Used to be a useful machine, can't justify the effort that distro demands from me any more.

Goverp · Advocate Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 2191

I've two, an Asus netbook about 8 years old, a bit slow, but usable KDE for email and webbery when I'm away from home, and my wife's desktop machine, something like 20 years old, usable for email using LXDE, SeaMonkey and LibreOffice. Both currently run Arch linux; I was creating a Gentoo binpkg setup when some Arch guys set up www.archlinux32.org. I may try that, but I'd rather lose systemd by going (back) to Gentoo.
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fturco · Veteran Joined: 08 Dec 2010 Posts: 1181

I use 64-bit machines exclusively since 2008-2009.

Zucca · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:46 am Post subject:

I have Compaq Armada E500, 900MHz Pentium 3, 384MiB RAM.
I still keep it around mainly as a terminal for my server. Although it doesn't run Gentoo atm. It was my first PC I ran Gentoo on. :)
I'm planning to put Gentoo back into it. I just need to set up proper crossdev environment somewhere.
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NeddySeagoon · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:48 am Post subject:

eccerr0r,

I still use i686 on an Intel Atom N270 powered netbook from 2008.
I don't use it much and only update it every year or so, that keeps my hand in updating old installs. :)
I might even use my phone an a replacement one day.

My NTP server runs on an early 32 bit Raspberry Pi 1 (256Mb RAM). That won't change any time soon.

Everything that is 64 bit capable runs 64 bit, including my Pi 3.

I only run 64 bit because I don't have any 128 or 256 bit hardware :)
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NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

John R. Graham · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:18 pm Post subject:

AJM · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 3:53 pm Post subject:

I have a few 32 bit only machines in service, most of which are older Pi and some of these are running Gentoo.

None of the 32 bit PC-based hardware I have is running Gentoo though, it's just not worth the effort for me... the most useful of these devices, due to its form factor and high-res screen is probably my HP 2133 netbook which is truly glacial with its Via C7 CPU - I don't intend compiling more than absolutely necessary on that!

Fitzcarraldo · Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:21 pm Post subject:

My last 32-bit machine went four years ago. All 64-bit these days.
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Tony0945 · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:21 am Post subject:

Still have a 32-bit k6-3 Gentoo machine. Presently converting it for use as a router because of the extra features available over a commercial router.
Do not plan to update it to 17.0 so I guess I will have to stop updating or find another workaround for the profile.

CasperVector · Apprentice Joined: 03 Apr 2012 Posts: 156

Hu · Administrator Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 22893

If your router was running hardened, then it's probably already PIE and there is no need for a mass rebuild. Even if it wasn't PIE, if you don't mind the occasional break from mixing PIE and non-PIE, you can ignore the mass rebuild and update as normal.

Zucca · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:15 am Post subject:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:59 am Post subject:

Tony0945,

You can turn the (pie) off if you want. The profile changes a few other things too.
e.g. It unmasks a version of icu that needs gcc-6 to build. There may be others.
The /13.0/ profiles will be depreciated, then removed.

If you don't move profiles, there will come a time when you can't update any more.
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NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

eccerr0r · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:12 am Post subject:

oh...dang now we have a naming conflict, I was thinking about the email program "alpine"... :(

---

Anyway I also have the N270 Atom netbook (i945gm graphics), and due to its physical size/weight, it does have its use as a "disposable" portable. Running xfce4 with compositing turned off to make sure it doesn't spend cycles on eye candy. Xfce4 is still "ok" on this machine alas I can see some signs of GUI slowness on Audacity. Firefox is atrocious, barely usable. Its screen size is pitiful at 1024x600.

The Pentium-M 1.6GHz laptop (Radeon r200 graphics) I still use because it's the only portable I have that has a hardware rs232 port. It also runs xfce4 with compositing off. Barring the fact it has half the memory of the Atom and a mechanical HDD, the processor is noticeably faster than the Atom. Alas it too has trouble with Firefox but not quite as bad as the Atom. I'd miss this machine more than losing the Atom because of the serial port and its (highish resolution) LCD.

The 32-bit "server" at least is still fast enough for its purposes as it was not meant to be a client machine. Though bottlenecked by PCI (PCI RAID shared with PCI Gbit Ethernet) it's OK as they're mechanical spinners anyway, plenty of time for the P4 to do any computations.

The Atom necessarily gets updated somewhat frequently as if I'm carrying it around I'm likely connecting it to unknown wifi network connections, so it better be updated; unfortunately it's very slow, GUI and compiling :( The others get updates less frequently as they stay on my LAN and usually turned off.

I suspect I should convert my 32-bit VM first so it can help with distcc, or should I update the VM's 64-bit host first...
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njharris · n00b Joined: 17 Sep 2002 Posts: 13

I have a client with legacy HW running a common SW package on processors including a Pentium-M (32-bit) to Core 2. I've used Gentoo as a development base because it's stable and well supported.

Personal platform? A Core 2 laptop.

dweezil-n0xad · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:53 pm Post subject:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:46 pm Post subject:

dweezil-n0xad,

I use cross distcc. My main system is 64 bit only. The kernel won't run 32 bit code, so a chroot is out.
I like the cross distcc workflow too, since I got into it with ARM and ARM64 systems.
Adding an i686 cross toolchain was a natural step.
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NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

mv · Watchman Joined: 20 Apr 2005 Posts: 6780

One Laptop and one desktop are still x86 only.

KarlP · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:48 pm Post subject:

I still use 32 bit.
My main system is a HP d330 with a Pentium 4, 2.40GHz, 512 MB. And I have also a Gericom Masterpiece G732, with the same processor and memory.

The HP d330 is from 2003 and I have migrated starting with SUSE 8.2 to Archlinux (LXDE). As Arch has announced last spring that they would stop 32 bit support I searched for an alternative and found gentoo. So I hope that I can proceed with my long-term experiment some more years. :-)

Tony0945 · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:24 pm Post subject:

Tony0945 · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:43 pm Post subject:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:26 am Post subject:

Tony0945,

Its a /no-multilib/ install and 32 bit support in the kernel is off, so it won't even install grub without a kernel rebuild.
That's no hardship, grub was installed in 2009 and still works. Why change it :)

I'm aware its k6 compatible but I don't have anything that old any more.
Well, I have a 233 MHz P1 with Smoothwall installed as an emergency backup firewall/router but its not been powered on since 2011, so it probably won't go anyway.

I used to run a SETI farm in the days of Seti classic. When that stopped I made a deliberate decision to get rid of all the old stuff and move to a low power server.
All the individual servers I used to run on separate hardware are now KVMs in a HP Gen 7 Microserver. That's a single point of failure of course, hence the Smoothwall box.
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Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

Tony0945 · Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:42 am Post subject:

NeddySeagoon, IF you wanted to (and I gather that you don't), you could boot with sysrescuecd, rearrange your partitions and do 32-bit install with a grub installation to that partition.
Then you only have to add a chain load line to grub.conf. That's pretty much what I did when I put in an Ubuntu partition. grub legacy chain loads grub2 if you select that menu choice.

I installed Ubuntu to build SageTV which won't build on Gentoo. Something about Gentoo not supporting gradle whatever that is (I know nothing about java), but the developers give a script for building on Ubuntu. I've made several attempts to make an ebuild, but none succeeded.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 12:51 am Post subject:

Tony0945,

True.

I can also drop swap and install DOS and Win 3.1 just for old times sake :)
Swap is next to /boot at the front of the drives.
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Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.