Which Linux version lazarus / 32-Linux ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-06-14 06:11 Hi, Not sure if this question belongs here, but what is a good Linux variant to start with? And of course Lazarus is doing well. I see many variants but understand that Linux Mint and Ubuntu are widely used. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- munair · 2025-06-14 06:50 I can only speak from my own experience. I use both Debian and Manjaro. Debian is conservative if you limit your packages to the repo, but in turn you get quite a stable system. Manjaro is a rolling release distro and adds the latest packages after some testing and is reasonably stable as a result. If you are waiting for the latest Lazarus in a tested environment, Manjaro is a good option. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2025-06-14 07:06 Hi Hans PCLinuxOS - Easy, stable, newest software but still conservative(rolling release), fpc 3.2.2 & Lazarus 3.8 in the repo (but 4.0 is in the works) and a very helpful, friendly & funny forum. The people in the forum are even testing a 'Debian'-based edition... It has been my "daily driver" since 2006  - Radically Simple and Just Works - You should really give it a go... Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-06-14 09:41 I usually use a current Debian or an Ubuntu lts (now 24). I noticed, probably because the release has not been updated, for a long time, Ubuntu seems to have dropped FPC. That is not a problem, because you can add Debian repositories to the the sources.list or sources.list.d of Ubuntu. If it is indeed true, - I can't get fpc nor fp-compiler from apt - the lack of a current point release begins to bite very hard! Ubuntu x86_64 24 TLS running in WSL2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dzandaa · 2025-06-14 09:50 Hi, Personally, I've tried several versions of Linux: Fedora, Ubuntu, KDE, Slackware, Debian, Kali, Slax, Bohdi, ReactOS. And ultimately, Linux Mint is my favorite. It's an Ubuntu derivative with some interesting tools. The base installation includes LibreOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird. "Software Manager" that allows you to easily install and uninstall new programs. "Time shift", a program like "Time machine" on MacOS to helps create incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals, which can then be restored at a later date to undo all changes to the system. "Nemo" a dual windows file manager. "Warpinator," a tool that allows you to transfer files VERY QUICKLY from one Linux to another. For Lazarus, don't install it from the "Software manager", but from https://www.lazarus-ide.org/index.php?page=downloads B-> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-06-14 11:58 Yes, but you want a GUI and I don't care much about that, since 80% of my programming is server related and have little to do with component style programming anyway. So your choice also depends on what you want to do with Linux. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Leledumbo · 2025-06-14 13:00 Quote from: Hansvb on June 14, 2025, 08:11:19 amNot sure if this question belongs here, but what is a good Linux variant to start with? Doesn't matter. Distro is not a relevant discriminator unless you use distro supplied packages (but don't, they're often behind the latest release). I got Lazarus installed at least in 3 different distros: Ubuntu on ChromebookKDE NeonManjaro (my main machine)All three works just fine, I'm quite experienced in *buntu family as well as ArchLinux (derivatives). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-06-14 15:27 Too many versions to choose  . I saw that you can play around with it while it is on a usb without installing. Must be slow but that seems like a good option. QuoteThe base installation includes LibreOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird That sounds good. Have been using all 3 under Windows for a few years. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CM630 · 2025-06-14 20:47 It took me about 2 hours to make Mint Cinnamon use the native resolution of my display. I do not remember having such troubles with Xubuntu and Lubuntu, but they used to selfdestruct too often. And booting the Mint takes about a century. And bear in mind, *nix handles file systems as case sensitive, except partially FAT. I have found no cure so far. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mercurhyo · 2025-06-14 23:13 SMH hehehe Linux : Fedora is a RedHat++  (Ferrari Linux) KDE plasma is kinda Rolls Royce ! ok, you'll need the right modern PC , tiny calculators are not allowed...  or maybe to compile multiplication tables with integers LoOoL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dbannon · 2025-06-15 01:51 Quote from: Thaddy on June 14, 2025, 11:41:19 amI usually use a current Debian or an Ubuntu lts (now 24). I noticed, probably because the release has not been updated, for a long time, Ubuntu seems to have dropped FPC. That is not a problem, because you can add Debian repositories to the the sources.list or sources.list.d of Ubuntu. That seems very unlikely. Ubuntu gets most packages from Debian Unstable and the Debian Pascal eam appears very tolerant of FPC slow release program.  It still appears available on my clean U24.0 VM, no extra repos enabled. Davo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dzandaa · 2025-08-22 09:48 Hi everybody: For those interested, Linux Mint now has a LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) version that runs on 32-bit or 64-bit computers. https://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php Have a good day. B-> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- srvaldez · 2025-08-22 11:34 I only toy with Linux every now and then, but for me I don't like the Ubuntu desktop or the default Debian desktop, I find Xfce much more agreeable I like easy access to apps and folders, also I want to be able to right-click to "open terminal here" including on the desktop another pet-peeve about the default Ubuntu and Debian desktops is the 4 steps to shutdown Debian with Xfce is Ok but I prefer Zorin or Mint LMDE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Aruna · 2025-08-22 12:07 Quote from: Hansvb on June 14, 2025, 08:11:19 amHi, Not sure if this question belongs here, but what is a good Linux variant to start with? And of course Lazarus is doing well. I see many variants but understand that Linux Mint and Ubuntu are widely used. Hi Hansvb. You can test drive most distros here: Test Linux Distros Online ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-08-22 12:17 Yeah, right. Where is Debian trixy? Years behind that website But good for orientation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Aruna · 2025-08-22 12:36 Quote from: Thaddy on August 22, 2025, 02:17:07 pmYeah, right. Where is Debian trixy? Years behind that website But good for orientation. Have a heart, Thaddy! You know exactly when it dropped—Debian 13 was released on August 9th, 2025. That’s just 13 days ago, not decades! It may not be all encompassing but it has what it takes to give somone a feel for what exactly he/she is getting into? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Aruna · 2025-08-22 12:43 Quote from: srvaldez on August 22, 2025, 01:34:16 pmanother pet-peeve about the default Ubuntu and Debian desktops is the 4 steps to shutdown Code: Text  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i sudo shutdown -h now Be careful: running this will close everything without saving work! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dbannon · 2025-08-23 01:42 Quote from: Aruna on August 22, 2025, 02:43:26 pmCode: Text  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i sudo shutdown -h now Be careful: running this will close everything without saving work! I strongly suggest - Code: Text  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i sync; sync; sudo shutdown -h now To at least make sure the things you think are saved, have, in fact, made it to disk. Davo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- duralast · 2025-08-23 03:29 Multiple syncs is legacy. Modern Linux handles it automatically. There is no real difference between reboot, shutdown, halt, and poweroff when using systemd. The init system (using systemd) catches the halt command and begins a graceful shutdown sequence. It is the init system that sends signals, such as SIGTERM and later SIGKILL, to other running processes to allow them to shut down cleanly. Applications can use sigaction to catch these SIGTERM signals and perform cleanup tasks. Under sysvinit, the halt command typically invokes shutdown to perform a controlled and graceful shutdown. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-23 18:51 Installing a Linux variant will be something for the winter and only after I have been able to find a good installation manual. I can't even get through the installation now. I thought to start with Linux Mint. That's a beginner-friendly version as far as I read it. But it doesn't seem to run well next to windows 11 because of Secureboot. It must be enabled for win 11 and disabled for Linux mint. (As far as I have been able to find it). So I thought I'd try Ubuntu, which can run with secure boot on next to win 11. I already get stuck when installing. I have 2 ssd's in the laptop, 1 with a few partitions and 1 new empty one. I can't trace the names that Ubuntu shows me back to the correct blank disk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- srvaldez · 2025-08-23 20:17 @Hansvb have you tried the live CD/DVD ? you can try it that way before you invest time in installing installing alongside Windows can be tricky, I don't risk it, when I want to install Linux on a drive I first unplug all the hard-drives except the one I want to install Linux on, then afterwards I plug the drives back in although that's not 100% foolproof, if on a Linux update, Linux may install Grub where it's not wanted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-24 08:46 I start from a usb with an iso and can try/test and/or install ubuntu with it. Since I have space I want to install it. This morning I made a new attempt. I had previously taken a wrong turn in the installation process. You have to choose "erase disk" And then you only see the disks that are in the PC. Choose the right one, installed it and boom, gone is Windows  . The dualboot menu only saw Ubuntu. Using chatgpt a some sudo.... Commandos further I have it working. Windows and Ubuntu side by side. Windows now starts automatically after 10 seconds unless I choose Ubuntu. I can change that now. If im gonna use Ubuntu more the that will be the new default . So I am one step further. Tonight I'll see if I can get Lazarus on it. I saw that I could install Lazarus 3.8. And then buy a good Ubuntu book. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2025-08-24 10:24 Hi Hans Whoa-hahaha.... Welcome to the Dark Side mate \o/\ö/\o/  ...Now the fun begins... Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-24 11:29 Hi Benny, I didn't start with PCLinuxOS. I want to keep Windows 11 next to it for the time being and Ubuntu can handle bitlocker. (I still have to activate it because it had to be turned off during the installation). When it is dark again in the evening in a few weeks, I will work on it. Have to go all the way back to basics, I don't even know how to create a folder yet. All i ever used on a pc is msdos and then windows. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2025-08-24 11:54 Hi Hans Don't worry mate ...'With a little help from your friends'.... Unix/Linux: To create a directory in the terminal/CLI => 'mkdir' pascal ('md' pascal) To remove an empty directory in terminal => 'rmdir' pascal ('rd' pascal) To delete a file => 'rm' unit1.pas ('rm' -f unit1.pas means force, don't ask) 'cd' ~  means change directory to /home/hans/ 'pwd' => (p)rint (w)orking (d)ir   writes the working dir your standing in 'exit' closes the terminal (or exits root-mode SU) 'cat' unit1.pas writes a textfile to screen 'ls -l' shows the content of the current directory (dir in dos) regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-24 12:46 ha cool, some of them i know from the windows cmd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- olatov · 2025-08-24 14:24 Also note, you can easily get a fully functional Linux system (any major Distro) just inside your Windows terminal. Recent versions allow both console and GUI apps as far as I remember. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/faq ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-24 16:16 It looks like I chose the wrong Ubuntu version. 25.04 doesn't support GTK2. And  Lazarus needs it. That's about it for now. maybe later i will install ubuntu 24 which is a long term release. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-08-24 16:26 Hans, Lazarus does not need it... Lazarus is not bound to gtk2, although it is the very conservative default, you can build Lazarus with gtk3 or versions of Qt. You can also install gtk2 on Ubuntu 25... So the options are there. Higher Qt versions also work better with Wayland. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-24 17:27 With the prerequisites mentioned here Quote https://wiki.freepascal.org/fpcupdeluxeI seem to get somewhere. Lazarus 3.8 works now but I have already removed it. Tomorrow or later this week I'll see if I can get lazarus 4.0 to work as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dbannon · 2025-08-25 01:29 Hansbv, did you look at the wiki page on Installing Lazarus ? https://wiki.freepascal.org/Installing_Lazarus_on_Linux Lists dependencies and how to install from source. I just added a line or two about building a Qt version.  On the other hand, having got Lazarus 3.8 gtk2 version working, you now have the appropriate gtk2 installed, so that will work with any version of Lazarus too. GTK3 is looking promising but I have not tried to build Lazarus with it yet. Davo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2025-08-25 15:15 @Davo, thanks, I hadn't seen that one yet. It has it all but I need to get used to the "Linux language." I'm a spoiled Windows user who clicks on an EXE or MSI, clicks "next, next," and done  . But I'm now running Lazarus 4.2 on Ubuntu and added two packages using the package manager. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-08-25 15:31 Aptitude, click, done... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-08-26 10:22 Quote from: cdbc on June 14, 2025, 09:06:03 amPCLinuxOS - Easy, stable, newest software but still conservative(rolling release) ... You should really give it a go... Incidentally I am resurrecting an old HP Compaq 6730s laptop with Intel 575 CPU and 3GB RAM. I decided to give PCLinuxOS a go after a long time. The live image booted from USB stick fine. Then I started the "Install Me". It shows a list of countries with flags and then freezes. It does not react to mouse or keyboard. The desktop otherwise works. This was a KDE darkstar edition. Then I decided to try the XFCE edition. I started with the new image and the same thing happened. The exact same "Install Me" window was there and it froze. It was not related to KDE. I will try installing it in my main computer under VirtualBox later and I believe it will work there. PCLinuxOS devels should test old hardware. This HP is not even very old, only some 17 years. Then I installed MxLinux XFCE edition and it works OK. I experienced this problem :  https://www.reddit.com/r/MXLinux/comments/uynll4/problem_with_blank_s creen_when_idle/ meaning it is not perfect either but quite close. I am now writing this using the HP laptop. Its Wifi circuit doesn't work but I have ordered a Linux compatible USB Wifi adapter. I was able to login to Gitlab unlike when using my eMachines mini- laptop. The mini-laptop becoming obsolete is super annoying. It also has MxLinux and is otherwise usable but super-heavy internet pages with tons of Javascript are too much. Its 1GB RAM is enough for Lazarus development, compiling and linking and all, but not for internet any more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-08-26 10:27 Increase the swap size. (although 3 GB seems more than enough) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-08-26 10:51 Quote from: Thaddy on August 26, 2025, 12:27:14 pmIncrease the swap size. (although 3 GB seems more than enough) This HP Compaq 6730s works perfectly well with its 3GB mem. The eMachines mini-laptop with 1GB has a problem. It has a swap partition but cannot process data fast enough as it starts to swap with heavy internet pages. I guess its Intel Atom CPU is also slower than the Intel 575. They were made around the same time. The Gitlab page is the most annoying. It is for software development including FOSS projects. I would assume they had interest in high quality optimized code but no, their pages are made with some interpreted language and are very heavy for a browser. The mini-laptop does not get past the "I am a human" checkbox. An animated circle just rolls there eternally... On the other hand this HP Compaq 6730s is quite usable for anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2025-08-26 12:31 Hi @Juha: I think 17 years is a bit too old for PCLinuxOS... I suspect it is a 32bit machine?!? ...and you tried to install the latest PCLinuxOS on it -- Alas PCLinuxOS' only come in 64 bit versions nowadays    I'll bet, that's the reason for the freeze... I have an old Lenovo spare lappy from 2010 32 bit 2Gb ram and it runs the last 32 bit version PCLinuxOS-LXDE. (Hasn't had an update in many years) I had to buy new lappies when we stopped supporting 32 bit  They're getting old now too, but still going strong \o/ Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-08-26 13:44 Quote from: cdbc on August 26, 2025, 02:31:10 pm@Juha: I think 17 years is a bit too old for PCLinuxOS... I suspect it is a 32bit machine?!? No, it is 64bit! You can check Intel 575 CPU specs from the net. I installed the 64bit version of MxLinux there and it works well. The minilaptop's Atom CPU is 32bit. Fortunately Debian and MxLinux still support 32bit systems. Most other distros have dropped the support. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dzandaa · 2025-08-26 13:51 Hi, For info: I installed Linux mint LDME 6 Faye 32 bits on two notebooks with 2Gb ram from 2008  (MSI Wind 100 and Toshiba) and it's working. They are not "lightning bolts of war" but they work. B-> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-08-26 14:00 Quote from: JuhaManninen on August 26, 2025, 03:44:14 pm Fortunately Debian and MxLinux still support 32bit systems. Most other distros have dropped the support. Debian dropped native i386 support for lack of a supported kernel (kernel.org dropped it)  in trixie (latest release). multi-arch from x86_64 is still supported. For native i386, stick to bookworm. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-08-26 16:56 So Linux Mint restored 32bit support but Debian dropped it? Amazing! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dzandaa · 2025-08-26 17:17 Hi, Yes I was also surprised. B-> https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=308 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-08-27 08:54 Yes, PCLinuxOS works OK under VirtualBox. I wonder what GUI lib is used for the "Install Me" window. It clearly does not use QTx / GTKx which are used by KDE / XFCE. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dbannon · 2025-08-28 02:44 Quote from: JuhaManninen on August 26, 2025, 06:56:02 pmSo Linux Mint restored 32bit support but Debian dropped it? Amazing! That surprises me. I was told less than a year ago (?) that my project needed to compile and work on 32bit x86 hardware . Anyway, Juha, I'd suggest Debian Bookworm, it has LTS until mid 2028. Mate or XFCe desktop. You will find dates a problem by 2038  Davo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2025-08-28 07:56 Hi @Juha: The PCLinuxOS uses "MyLive-Install" since 2023 MyLive-Install = 17g is (also called ggggggggggggggggg) written Python and Gtk. It is better for gtk based desktop environments. Which is a bit funny since PCLinuxOS' main DE is KDE  IIUC Arch-Linux uses it too... Anyway, I'm glad you got it to work, it's been my OS of choice since 2009 and "I'm as happy as a piglet playing in slurry"  Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tetrastes · 2025-08-28 17:18 Quote from: JuhaManninen on August 26, 2025, 06:56:02 pmSo Linux Mint restored 32bit support but Debian dropped it? Amazing! LMDE 6 was released in 2023 and is based on Debian 12. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- munair · 2025-09-04 06:59 HP/Compaq systems are generally well supported by Debian derived distro's. I have Bookworm running without issues on two Compag Evo machines from around 2003. According to Debian, the full architecture list for the LTS version is still to be determined. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-09-04 08:04 Debian dropped 32 bit i386 systems but not  support for 32 bit code: it supports x86_64-32 multiarch even in trixie, afaik. Main reason is driver support being often unmaintained/abandonware. Debian does support other 32 bit architectures, e.g. ARM. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- munair · 2025-09-05 05:33 I was referring to Bookworm, whereby the set of supported architectures is reduced during the LTS term. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2025-09-05 05:45 Quote from: munair on September 05, 2025, 07:33:21 amI was referring to Bookworm, whereby the set of supported architectures is reduced during the LTS term. Yes. More or less forced: the lack of maintained drivers. That was done with great reluctance. The core team usually does not do drivers... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-09-20 20:53 Quote from: cdbc on August 28, 2025, 09:56:13 am@Juha: The PCLinuxOS uses "MyLive-Install" since 2023 The HP Compaq 6730s had more problems and is scrap now.  I got a Wifi USB stick working but right after that its keyboard stopped working. At least the 2 lower lines of keys didn't work. I opened it and cleaned the keyboard's flat connector but it didn't help. Maybe some driver IC fried or whatever. That machine is toast now. I have now another laptop, HP 255 with an advanced dual core AMD E2-1800 CPU (published in 2012) and 4GB memory. I gave PCLinuxOS another chance and tried to run the live image from USB. This time it froze before the desktop even showed up. There was some (maybe KDE) image but the computer did not respond to anything. Even Capslock didn't work AFAIR. Finally I installed Manjaro + KDE without problems and it works well. Even the Gitlab site opens OK. I know cheap HP laptops are very low quality. I believe there is some piece of HW that PCLinuxOS does not recognize or support. Still, both Manjaro and MxLinux support such HW without problems. PCLinuxOS developers should test their OS with more hardware! Oldish computers are the main target for Linux distros after all. From old to new computers: My son (now 27 years) praised Apple's new Airbooks. The base model is passively cooled. No buzzing propellers. They are super-fast and the usability is superior according to him. Touchpad, hibernation feature etc. He said even the high end Windows laptops are no match. Sure Apple knows how to suck money from people using their ecosystem but the ecosystem is so good people don't want to leave. OK, I believe. It would be nice to try such Airbook but what will I do with so much computing power? If I start to edit videos, it would be handy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dbannon · 2025-09-21 02:15 Quote from: JuhaManninen on September 20, 2025, 10:53:47 pmThe HP Compaq 6730s had more problems and is scrap now.  I recently purchased a new keyboard, quite cheaply,  for my Dell I13 laptop, its seven or eight years old. But a HP/Compaq must be a very old machine. Its not an HP, its a Compaq.  HP "merged" with Compaq in 2002. It was really just a takeover, HP wanted Compaq's consumer environment. So, a laptop branded HP-Compaq must have been one sold only a few years after that. From memory,they sold DEC/Compaq stuff branded just HP quite quickly. Incidentally, HP also got Compaq's HPC division, itself "merged" from DEC. And the first thing they did was kill of the DEC Alpha chip because of HP's heavy commitment to Intel's Itanium. Personally, I believe they continued steadily down hill from there on. Davo ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2025-09-21 06:55 Quote from: dbannon on September 21, 2025, 04:15:01 amHP "merged" with Compaq in 2002. It was really just a takeover, HP wanted Compaq's consumer environment. So, a laptop branded HP-Compaq must have been one sold only a few years after that. Intel 575 CPU was released in 2008, I guess the laptop is from the same year. https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Celeron_M/575.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2026-08-12 19:44 Not a question but just a positive announcement. I've had Linux Ubuntu installed for almost a year now and to be honest, I didn't use it much in the beginning. However, a few weeks ago I installed Lazarus trunc with gtk 3 and I don't know if this is due to this version or if I'm slowly starting to learn but I catch myself in the past 2 weeks that I don't start Lazarus on Windows anymore. On Linux Ubuntu, Lazarus feels faster. And the tool I'm trying to make works better. And I don't have any strange Lazarus crashes anymore I'm happy with it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2026-08-12 21:22 Hi Hans That's -so- cool to hear \o/\ö/\o/ (I was just waiting for exactly that to happen) Most of us Linux + FPC + Lazarus -users, experience the same as you do...  I think "It just works" sums it up nicely  I left 'Michaelsoft Binbows' behind in 2005 and I haven't looked back since! Nowadays 'winders' just annoys me  (although i still make some money off of the poor souls, caught in microslut's claws - hehehe)  Anyway, glad to hear you're having fun  Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mig-31 · 2026-08-13 13:25 I use different Linux distributions. At home prefer Mageia Linux now in version 10, one of the best KDE Plasma and simple multimedia codecs installation from box. At work I use a set of it CentOS 7, OpenSuse 15.x, RHEL 9 and last I try Debian 13 and 14. A little disappointed by Debian, because I need to install the MOXA PCI-e serial card driver, which distributed in source code with build and make scripts, and need manually add symbol links to required files from kernel headers package. When I do such installation under OpenSuse 15.6, I don't have such pain. Maybe I missed something. I don't like that Enterprise distributions RHEL, SUSE Enterprise stopped support KDE Plasma, which is my favorite desktop. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thaddy · 2026-08-13 13:52 Quote from: mig-31 on August 13, 2026, 03:25:32 pmMaybe I missed something. Yes, Debian policy does not allow proprietary drivers (which have a license model that is not F.O.S.S.) But Debian allows such drivers in derived distributions, like Ubuntu and Mint. RHEL, Suse and the likes do not have that discipline. RHEL is commercial. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2026-08-14 12:28 I installed a rolling OpenMandriva Rome into the HP 255 laptop with AMD E2-1800 CPU, mentioned also earlier in this thread. I like rolling distros. Updating "normal" distros is often a pain. Manjaro had some issues. They switched to Wayland and window positions were screwed. I had to install X11 separately to make it work. Their X11 version is not maintained, but OpenMandriva has XLibre now which is maintained. Then it happened I could not update Manjaro after ~half a year pause in the laptop and decided to hop to another distro. I can recommend OpenMandriva. Its KDE is very snappy, clearly optimized well. Package installation GUIs are totally weird but the cmd line "dnf" works well. I even wrote about it in their forum.  https://forum.openmandriva.org/t/experiences-of-a-new-om-user/9102 OpenMandriva is not a derivative of any other "main" distro which makes it even more interesting. They use .rpm package format. Lazarus version in their repo is old. Somebody should build a new one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fred vS · 2026-08-14 13:11 Quote from: JuhaManninen on August 14, 2026, 02:28:51 pmSomebody should build a new one. Hello Juha. You may use alien converter. To install from deb os: Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i $ sudo apt update && sudo apt install alien -y From Manjaro/rpm os: Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i $ pamac build alien_package_converter then Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]window.onload = function(){var x1 = document.getElementById("main_content_section"); if (x1) { var x = document.getElementsByClassName("geshi");for (var i = 0; i $ sudo alien -r package_name.deb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2026-08-14 13:47 Hi @Juha: Yeah, dnf CLI is pretty awesome, we use that too in PCLinuxOS + we've developed our own GUI, that works pretty well too \o/ kinda like /synaptic/ back in the day... I like Open-Mandriva too, well i should, 'cause they're sort of family to us in PCLinuxOS  Regards Benny edit: added a screenshot of dnf-gui ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2026-08-14 17:51 Quote from: Fred vS on August 14, 2026, 03:11:07 pmYou may use alien converter. I don't know the details of alien but I doubt it would work in this case. OpenMandriva packages are not compatible with RedHat packages although they use the same .rpm format. Dependencies and maybe directories differ. I may learn to build those packages myself in the winter if I have time and motivation. Let's see... Quote from: cdbc on August 14, 2026, 03:47:53 pm... we use that too in PCLinuxOS + we've developed our own GUI, that works pretty well too \o/ kinda like /synaptic/ back in the day... I like Open-Mandriva too, well i should, 'cause they're sort of family to us in PCLinuxOS  edit: added a screenshot of dnf-gui dnf-gui looks nice. I found it is made with Python. Maybe OpenMandriva should copy it and dump dnfdrake + the other GUIs. I remember PCLinuxOS used Synaptic with .rpm packages. I don't understand how that can work but no problem. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- JuhaManninen · 2026-08-14 17:54 I also attach a screenshot. Something happened to my desktop. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2026-08-14 18:57 Hi Whoa... Now that's proper vintage mate \o/ Me Likey  Regards Benny ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hansvb · 2026-08-15 17:31 Hi Benny Well, "It just works" isn't exactly my experience. I’ve spent a few frustrating evenings staring at a terminal screen. But that’s where LLMs really come in handy, though. The worst incident—which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise—was a 'kernel panic' screen. I couldn't get the system running again, so I had to perform a clean install. The upside is that a lot of the messy tinkering I did early on is gone now, and I have a pretty clean setup. In the meantime, I’ve discovered Virtual Machine Manager and currently have two virtual machines installed: one running Mint and another running Pop!_OS, just to see what they’re like. That way, I can test things out without actually breaking anything. It was (still is) a learning curve, you could say, but fun nonetheless. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dsiders · 2026-08-15 17:56 Quote from: JuhaManninen on August 14, 2026, 07:54:30 pmI also attach a screenshot. Something happened to my desktop.  The only give away that it's not vintage CDE is the rounded edits and buttons. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cdbc · 2026-08-15 18:28 Hi Hans Well you know, it is as they say: "Rum wasn't drunk in one day" ...or something like that  In *nix families, there several ways to skin the bear, once you get it shot  ...and it can take some gettin' used to, while making all the mistakes in the damn book, along the way  QuoteI’ve spent a few frustrating evenings staring at a terminal screen. But that’s where LLMs really come in handy, though. That or you should just holler here, we're a few(if not many) nix'ers in here, who'd love to help a mate out ...At least try to avoid getting you a "Kernel Panic" on your hands... Quoteand I have a pretty clean setup. That sure has its advantages, once you get over -- how you got there --  :'( QuoteI’ve discovered Virtual Machine Manager and currently have two virtual machines installedYup, they can be pretty nice in sparing you a reinstall, here and there... Quoteone running Mint and another running Pop!_OS:: I'm not /green/ enough for mint :: Pop!_OS is based on Cachy isn't it? Will be nice to hear what you think about it, once you get a feel for it, so please do spill, what you learn... =^ Quotebut fun nonetheless. There you go mate, that's the spirit \o/\ö/\o/ I run my linuces on real-metal and thus get a lot of experience in "What not to do" ...and how to get myself out of my own mess(es)  Right now Juha is playing with 'OpenMandriva', which is doing things its way, but I'll bet he's having fun too    I find it refreshing, sometimes to step out of your comfort-zone and learn something new or different =^ Regards Benny