Why are two 32 bit machines using different distros

[Member Budgie]

I have two old 32 bit machines with essentially the same CPU and similar facilities except that one is an IBM T42 thinkpad the the other a Dell Inspiron. As I recall the IBM installation was built up from antiX base because of CD problems whereas the Dell was installed from a full iso.

I was under the impression that I had upgraded both systems using the control panel but I find on examination that the systems are as follows:-

Dell Distro: antiX-19_386-full Marielle Franco 16 October 2019 Kernel 4.9.193-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32
IBM T42 Distro antiX-19.2.1_386-base Hannie Schaft 29 March 2020 Kernel 4.9.212-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32
both machines have same compiler gcc v:8.3.0 and Desktop: IceWM 2.3.4

What prompted me to compare the two was a significant difference between behaviour of my password manager KeepassXC.
On Dell KeepassXC version is 2.3.4
on IBM T42 KeepassXC vesion is 2.6.2

I can understand that the route I had taken to get here was different but thought I had brought both systems up to the same state. Please could somebody advise my why I cannot upgrade the Dell system to the same Kernel etc?

[Member Budgie]

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Done some more reading and have an answer to my own question but when I selected Kernel 4.9.0-264-686-pae I received an error message which scrolled past before I could copy it but it was something about initrd not being able to handle ram.
Even so the line is now greyed out in the Package installer but reboot has not changed the kernel. I am only selecting what seemed appropriate and might have been put off by the -pae part but my kernels both have -686 not -486. Will play around a bit but guidance sought please.

I have the error even with the non pae version:-

Unable to find an initial ram disk that I know how to handle

Hope this helps.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 12 months ago by Budgie.

[Anonymous]

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essentially the same CPU

obviously not, if one (but not the other) is capble of fully utilizing the non-PAE kernel

error message which scrolled past before I could copy it
but it was something about initrd not being able to handle ram.

Yeppers, it if booted slow, we would complain. I suppose that’s why they invented logfiles
/var/log/live/initrd.log
/var/log/live/live-init.log

I was under the impression that I had upgraded both systems

Yeah, confusingly, the developers intend the reported O/S namestring from
cat /etc/lsb-release
to reflect “what version ORIGINALLY was installed”
and
even more generic are the details contained in /etc/lsb-release
so, when performing an examinatorization…
what “I find on examination” will depend on where/how you look

What prompted me to compare the two was a significant difference between behaviour of my password manager KeepassXC.

I would “apt show keepassxc” on both machines to verify that an identical version is installed.
If not, visit
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list
and check which repository sources are configured for each of the machines
(toward understanding how/why differing keepassxc versions are present)

[Member Budgie]

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Hi and thanks for your reply. To interrogate my systems I used the command:-

inxi -Fxz

I do not understand why you believe either system is not fully utilizing the installed kernels. How do you know this and from which symptom so I may understand? BTW both machines have 2GB installed memory.

As far as I am aware the message I tried to copy does not reflect an error but refers to use of ram which is not set up but in this case not required. Whatever the case, I am not using a live distro but an installed version of antiX on both machines.

The keepassxc versions are different and as I reported. As you advised I checked out the repo sources and yes some are different since some come from different countries!

I read the kernel upgrade announcements on this website and it suggests that I should upgrade to benefit from various patches using the package installer. I did this so that both machines would have the same kernel and the package installed but on rebooting nothing had changed. Is there a simple guide on how to upgrade the kernel please?

Thanks again for your reply.
Budgie

[Member Xecure]

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I remember recommending to install keepassxc from the buster-backports to get the newest version to fix the browser plugin error. That is the reason of the mismatch of versions between one system and the other. If you want to return to the previous version (the one in normal buster repos), do
sudo apt install keepassxc=2.3.4+dfsg.1-1

About kernel update. Because of the error seen here:
https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/problem-installing-libc6_2-28-10_i386-deb-while-doing-an-apt-get-dist-upgrade/#post-59264
anticapitalista created a 4.9.0-264 to trick the libc6 to thing that the kernel version has a smaller number. After installing it you need to select it from the grub boot menu in Advance boot options. After this, uninstall all 4.9.XXX except for the 0-264 version. This way it will be the one selected automatically on future boots.

About antiX version, the version number reflected in inxi will never change, so that it can help when figuring out problems.

I don’t know if I forgot something. I think this should answer most of the questions.

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member Budgie]

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Hi Xecure,
Your memory is clearly much superior to mine! Many many thanks for the help which was clear and succinct. I now have both 32 bit systems running on the same repo site with the same kernel. I have removed all the older versions as you advised.

Regarding KeepassXC I had forgotten the fix meant that my KeepassXC versions were different but the newer version is superior in how it may be configured so I shall repeat the backport trick on the other machine rather than revert to the repo version.

My only thought now is should I upgrade kernel further. I shall run it as is for now as return when I have ironed out all the other issues.
Many thanks once more,
Regards,
Budgie

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