Updating Kubuntu

I have resurrected, - no, not myself - but so-to-speak a Dell desktop computer - Model GX1. It's OS is Kubuntu 8.10 with KDE 4.1;  it has been literally years that the machine was mothballed and consequently it took me quite a while to recall what was on that machine.  My first problems were that I have not yet been able to connect to the Internet, nor have I been able to get Kubuntu set to the correct time here in Thailand.  I did get the calendar dates and years updated, but getting the time to be correct has not yet happened as I do not see any way of manipulating the digital clock's time setting.

This is somewhat of a priority in order to update Kubuntu to a more recent version.  I am hoping that members might be able to steer me in the right direction to get the Dell and Kubuntu connected to the Internet, so that particular topic is what needs to be corrected as soon as possible with the help of the members who have some time to guide me in the process.

Once connected to the Internet, I intend to update Kubuntu with its ancient 8.10 OS to a version that works well with the 32-bit infrastructure of the Dell.  Whether the upgrade can be done in one fell swoop or in steps may depend on suggestions from the site's members.

I look forward to this new encounter with the Bleeping Computer members,

Regards from Thailand

I've been looking for a 32 bit distro for an old Dell desktop. I'm considering replacing Mint which is

no longer supporting 32 bit with MX Linux.

MX Linux - Google Search

The issue could be that your Ethernet device is not supported by your specific version of Kubuntu.  List your devices or provide the exact DELL model so more knowledgeable people can help you out.

God in Heaven, Peter. Where DID you dig this dinosaur up from?

TBH, you're not going to be able to "update" this in the normal course of things. Notwithstanding the fact that Kubuntu 8.10 was one of the short-term support, "nine-month wonders", its support window would have expired in July 2009! This means it's been out of support for more than 14 years.....

The only way to upgrade it will be to re-install from scratch.....and frankly, you're going to be on a hiding to nothing. This was released in 1998, with a Pentium II processor along with 256 MB SDDR RAM as standard. A Pentium II doesn't have the required instruction sets for an internet connection to even run, much less connect. It only has MMX, not even SSEs, and most modern browsers/package management systems require at least SSE2, if not SSE3. The wget/curl that package managers need today wouldn't even get out of the starting gate; web standards HAVE moved on somewhat over the last quarter of a century...

I wouldn't even attempt to try running Puppy on there, and you can't get much more lightweight than that!

A 25-26 yr-old computer is about as much use as a chocolate teapot (for a "daily driver"). I don't want to pour cold water on your enthusiasm, but I'd give this a one-way ticket to the nearest recycling center... For modern computing, it's useless.

Sorry an' all that, but I'm just telling it like it is. Forget it; it's an antique. The only OSs that will run properly on there will be period-specific ones, that can't interact with the modern world.

Mike. 

Edited by Mike_Walsh, 29 December 2023 - 05:57 AM.

MX  Fluxbox will be pretty slick on 32 bit stuff.  Uses about 1 gig of ram while running firefox.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/mx-linux/files/Final/Fluxbox/

If it bogs down. You might have consider running antiX sysvinit 23.1 Full iso version instead.

With this laptop. I consume 800 mb of ram while posting this while running antiX.

Command I use to see what is going on with processes running and ram consumption. Not real detailed though.

sudo ps_mem.py 

But if Mike hit the nail on the head. You are dreaming.  antiX base or core install may boot up on that rig.

Browsing will be done with links2 browser.

No youtube.

Be prepared to learn mc file manager and vim or nano for text editing.  mocp will play music for you though.

Have fun maybe making it a command line type of a Jukebox.

A Pentium II doesn't have the required instruction sets for an internet connection to even run, much less connect.

Are you sure about that, Mike?  Ethernet is handled by a network card, not by the CPU.  From the DELL OPTIPLEX GX1 manual, it's a Pentium 2 or 3 with a 3COM 10-100 network card.  It supports Win95-98-NT4.

If the network card is no longer supported by current Linux distros, an older version of Linux might.

If the computer had network access before, but no longer now, and nothing else changed, perhaps the network card died.  That's not uncommon with old PCs.

Edited by Dominique1, 29 December 2023 - 03:28 PM.

I think it's just a lack of up-to-date security certificates and encryption algorithms combined with the old domains no longer existing.

It's still a really old computer that has no chance of handling the modern Internet. Depending on how much RAM it has, maybe something ultra-lightweight like antiX or Tiny Core would run on it, but I doubt it. 256MB of RAM was a lot in 1998.

If it has a decent (for the time) graphics card, it would make a good Windows 98 "retro gaming" system (using the word "retro" incorrectly). That's one of the few uses I can think of. Maybe there's someone looking for a similar system to run some old software.

@ Dominique :-

Perhaps that initial statement WAS misleading. Whatever the case, yes; the network card might indeed have died.

I think it's more likely that protocols have changed over the years, and the network card can no longer communicate with the DHCP server, due to lack of support for a sufficiently up-to-date TLS handshake mechanism. That's most likely at the bottom of it.

Nit-picking aside, I still stand by my final statement. That thing would never survive in the current global computing environment.......it's just TOO OLD.

Mike. 

Protocols haven't changed I have a card just as old as the 3com still working.

Intel Pro 10/100 from about the same era.

Okay. I stand corrected......and will withdraw from this thread, since I obviously don't know what I'm talking about.

It's all yours, guys...

Mike. 

Edited by Mike_Walsh, 30 December 2023 - 05:15 AM.