Installing 32 bit OS on a 64 bit machine?

[Simon]

I recommended Kubuntu to my friend and gave quick introduction on my PC. We burnt Kubuntu 16.04.3 LTS the 64-bit version to a disk and he installed it himself. Now he says it is crashing, refusing to run programs, major issues... I am going to his place this weekend and here are the specs, as much as I know about the machine.

• HP Desktop exact model unknown
• Intel Core i-3 3.1 Ghz
• 4GB RAM
• 1TB HDD

He went with a full format so there is nothing to lose, if we start from scratch. I am currently running 32 bit OS on mine and have no issues. Should I burn another Live CD and install 32 bit or just try an older 64 bit version such as 14.04 (Trusty)? This machine is an older model. As I understand, the 32 bit can only access a maximum of 4GB RAM but that is his current amount of RAM. Would there be issues with the processors?

He lives over in Chatham-Kent, which is about an hour drive. I will know more details by this weekend about his PC.

Thanks for your opinions.

[Snowhog]

I'd want to see and inspect said PC, to see what changes have been made to it.

[oshunluvr]

I've never heard of 64-bit being more buggy than 32-bit or vice versa. First thing I suspect is a bad ISO or burn. You did do the checksum thing, right?

Kubuntu
Recommended
The following are recommended requirements based on this article with poorly cited source on Wikipedia and partially copied from Ubuntu 16.04. The amount of system memory and free disk space are found similarly in the release note of KDE Neon User Edition 5.6.

• 1 GHz dual core processor or better
• 2 GB of system memory (RAM)
• 10 GB of free disk space (the more hard disk capacity, the better)
• VGA capable of 1024x768 screen resolution. If desktop effects are desired, a supported GPU is required.

[Simon]

@snowhog: I don't think he had time to mess anything up. He told me over the phone some of the issues, and he just installed it and had this running for 2-3 days at most. First thing he said, he was watching youtube videos and the whole system locked up the screen froze and even the clock stopped responding. I am sure he has not attempted to install extras or tweak anything because we are talking about someone who is just doing the basics. He was tired of having Windows infected with malware and dragging his machine to the local repair man just to pay him to blow off viruses, etc.. Also when I handed him the disk, I told him to use the "try it" option and he installed it instead. I gave him the disk on Sunday and I believe he installed on Monday evening. He probably went with the default options, so at this point, without seeing it, I really only know he said it is not running properly. I know he did install the Google Chrome browser, I told him to try the default web browsers and get back to me.

@oshunluvr: Yes, the disk is good, but I plan to take some fresh copies. I currently run my old 32-bit on my new 64 bit system (I am too lazy) and don't have any physical need to swap OS at the moment. Since my friend also has "simplistic needs" would I be hurting him in the long run by installing Kubuntu 16.04 32-bit or Kubuntu 14.04 64-bit on his machine? His computer serves him to surf Facebook, YouTube, and home office usage. He is not a high end gamer, for gaming he has a PS4.

I called him up and got the model; HP 6200 SFF
https://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c02779491

I plan to head out his way on Friday evening. I guess we are about to be relatives soon, since I am getting married to his sister later this month. I have to impress the parents this weekend too, and not set the cat on fire or something stupid like that.

Thanks for the help guys!

[oshunluvr]

I be hurting him in the long run by installing Kubuntu 16.04 32-bit or Kubuntu 14.04 64-bit on his machine?

My answer is Yes. There's no upgrade path to 64-bit from a 32-bit install and more and more distros are dropping 32-bit support. In the short or even medium term this is not a big deal, but once developers stop supporting 32 bit you're out in the dust. IMO, a much better path is to discover the actual issue and resolve it. Nothing wrong with attempting 14.04 64 bit though.

More specifically to the issue, I can think of no reason to assume the 32 bit version is somehow better or more stable than the 64 bit version - there's no evidence I know of to draw that conclusion. In the absence of direct evidence indicating otherwise, doing an entire re-install of a less capable version of the same OS only to find out the version wasn't the issue seems likely a waste of time.

Based on your more detailed description above, I would look at the video driver first. What likely happened is his Plasma desktop froze. At the very least, review xorg logs, dmesg, syslog, and xsession-errors before you wipe out the evidence of what went wrong. Likely it's video card needing a better driver. If you have your laptop with you, install and set up ssh server on his computer and log in to his with yours. When his desktops locks, you should still be able to access it through ssh. If not, it's a larger problem than the video driver.

As far as the cat goes, they're an invasive, murderous, and destructive species. Still, I wouldn't advocate burning one but hey, accidents happen! LOL

[Simon]

Thanks Oshunluvr, I will take your advice and burn the both 64 bit OS disks. I don't believe he has added a graphics card so it is more than likely on board shared VGA. I will know more when I see it on Friday night.

At the very least, review xorg logs, dmesg, syslog, and xsession-errors before you wipe out the evidence of what went wrong.

I do plan to see if the system has any error messages, personally I would rather figure it out but just in case, as a last resort, I can use the Live CD to do a fresh install.

Thank you.

[GreyGeek]

My first thought was "Oh no, HP!
I installed Linux on a lot of friends computers, Kubuntu since 2009, and HPs alway gave the most trouble. One biggie was that the webcam always gave an upside down image. I even considered going into the display panel connection and reversing the vertical leads but decided to wait for a software solution.

If he was watching YT videos and it locked up that suggests that his video driver is misconfigured, , or he needs some stanzas in his xorg.conf file (if he has one), or he may have to use nomodset in his kernel boot line.

[Simon]

I brought 2 disks with me and an old Graphics card to test, but his case is "low profile" so this card won't fit... I am going to wait to see what the heck he is talking about and then look for answers. Meanwhile I am not seeing any cat around here, whew! lol Maybe I can set the computer on fire instead.

==Update==

I started his PC and guess what...? He never actually installed this. Oh boy! He stuck the DVD in the tray and rebooted but has been running the whole time on the Live CD. He can't get things to install or function properly without actually installing it. So now it is officially installed. I am on my laptop getting ready for bed, he is set up with YouTube and I even put some games on it for him. He is now getting the full features. Also as I mentioned above, the graphic card might fit in his case, if I remove the cosmetic chrome face plate, there are 3 screws holding that on there. The card is my old 1GB Radeon not much, but that is something.

I told him I would ask before we try surgery on the card.

I will be here until Sunday afternoon then heading back home.

[jglen490]

Low profile PCI brackets are available and might be available for specific uses like a video card, you'll have to look for specific use or modify a blank one.

Something like this: https://www.ebay.com/p/Low-Profile-B...d=202000650025

[GreyGeek]

...

I started his PC and guess what...? He never actually installed this. Oh boy! He stuck the DVD in the tray and rebooted but has been running the whole time on the Live CD. He can't get things to install or function properly without actually installing it. ....

A man went to a hardware store looking for a tree saw. The salesman suggested he try the latest chainsaw, so the man took it home. He came back the next day and complained that he could cut a tree down faster with his old saw. The salesman sharpened his saw and told him to try it again. The next day the man came back and said that sharpening the chain didn't help. It still took a long time to cut a tree down. The salesman took the chainsaw and pulled on the starter cord. The chainsaw came to life with a loud roar! The man exclaimed "What's that noise?"

[claydoh]

I have a older 6000 series HP SFF (dual core pentium) that ran Kubuntu just fine, until the power supply then the drive failed. I also have a slightly newer 8000 series with an i5 I got for 100 dollars to replace it. Just about any graphics card will be a major improvement over the on board Intel one, but you do have to make sure it is a lower wattage card, and be the long and skinny low profile card.The power supply is 250 watts and not easily upgradable, so lower power is necessary. It will look like this size wise.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16814125571

Anyway, if the card fits, and he experiences problems specifically after that, don't assume it is the drivers. The card, even though it may be older, may be trying to suck more power than is available. I'd suggest certain newr cards that will work wonderfully with that HP, but it seems that the prices on these have gone up by 50 to 100 percent since December because of all those pesky cryptocurrency miners buying them all up, even many of the lower end models