I’m trying to install 32 bit gnome openSuSe 13.2 on an ancient laptop, but after creating the flash drive install disk, I get the error that the disk contains a 64 bit copy (which is not the case, as far as I know). I’m assuming this is because dd is 64 bit on my machine? Is this the right assumption? How do I get this to work?
dd does only copy disk blocks. It does not change anything inside those disk blocks. Thus: no, it does not matter if the dd was compiled for a 64-bit system or not.
You should probably look again in what you exactly copied to where because the system is not convinced that you have a 32-bit installation on the device. And systems are often more precise then people.
BTW it would not be bad to explain when and where you get that error “that the disk contains a 64 bit copy”. And please cite it litteraly, we are not clairvoyant, nor is helping made easier by having your interpretation of error messages instead of the exact output.
And last: it is openSUSE, much less shift key manoeuvring needed then you seem to think 
Sorry, if it seems vague, I was not near the computer at the time. I downloaded the i686 gnome version of 13.2 from the openSUSE website, and ran dd on it successfully. When I boot it up on this laptop I get to the welcome screen, then get a pop up message that says something to the effect of: “Cool software, but this is a 32bit machine.” That is it…I double checked the version, it does have the 686 suffix.
It’s hard to know what went wrong.
I use USB flash drives for installing. I create them on a 64-bit machine. I have not run into any problems making a flash installer for 32-bit computers.
The one difference is that I use “dd_rescue” rather than “dd”. But that should not matter.
Hmm, is there any way to tell if the i686 version is actually i686? I’m trying to install on an Intel Core 2 Duo T2450 If that info helps. I’ll try dd_rescue as well to see if there is any difference.
I’m a KDE person, so I never checked that. However, I’m pretty sure that there would have been many complaints if it were not 32-bit.
What is the exact name of the ISO. AFAIK there is no installation ISO specialy for GNOME. There is (or were?) however Live ISOs for GNOME.
And just a thought. It is an old system, is it i586 or i686?
openSUSE-13.2-GNOME-Live-i686.iso from: http://mirror.datto.com/opensuse/distribution/13.2/iso/openSUSE-13.2-GNOME-Live-i686.iso
You are correct sir, it is the live ISO. There is a more distros link on the main downloads page of the website.
It may very well be an i586 computer…how would I tell? All I can gather is that it has a 32 bit proc from the processor information (http://ark.intel.com/products/29752/Intel-Core-Duo-Processor-T2450-2M-Cache-2_00-GHz-533-MHz-FSB). I can’t quite remember how to find this kind of info on Widows XP (which is what it is currently running). Is there even any way to find an i586 build if that is the case?
Thanks.
For as long as I can remember, 32-bit live images have been designated “i686” and the 32-bit DVD installer has been designated “i586”.
As far as I know, they mostly use the same packages. So there’s probably one component in the live media that depens on the i686 instruction set. You could try installing with the DVD installer. That’s a bigger download, but it is supposedly i586 (“openSUSE-13.2-DVD-i586.iso”).
I’m trying that now. I’ve never used the DVD install: Does that have an option for Gnome or KDE desktop? Everything I can find suggests the Core series is a i686. Do you think burning the LiveGnome ISO to a DVD would change anything?
Yes, there will be an option for Gnome or KDE. The default is KDE, but you can just check the Gnome box on the desktop screen.
I doubt that burning to a DVD would change anything. I’m scratching my head on what might have gone wrong.
Personally, I prefer the DVD installer. However it is a bit different from the live installer, though mostly you will recognize the various screens.
You MUST have the 32 bit ISO must have i586 in name. The full ISO has both Gnome and KDE you chose either or both to install. You can have multiple desktops installed or none
MMM the name of the live gnome has 686 in the name not 586. This is of course a different family. Exactly what processor in the machine and how much memory
Alright, awesome…thanks. I got everything set up and working much faster than previously. Just had to have the i586 DVD version (first dinosaur computer revamp I’ve done ;); goodbye Windows).