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I have an old computer, pentium 4 3GHz 32bit and 1GB of RAM, 250GB HDD (newer). The HDD was blank since I bought it separately, and I wanted to install Linux Mint on it. I made a bootable USB drive (linux mint) and booted the computer with it. I went through the install wizard, and after I had partitioned the drive (the HDD which was connected by a SATA to USB board as I didn't have a SATA cable lying around), an error popped up saying something like:
Error: Failed to create partition x of drive sdb
where x is the partition. I tried multiple ways of partitioning the drive and the only thing that changed was x.
I then tried debian. Everything went well until the end, where it said Failed to install GRUB bootloader and rebooted. I tried installing it on a different computer and a different drive and swapping the drive but GRUB gave an error:
Error: bad ELF magic. Starting rescue...
I tested the drive on another computer and it boots fine.
That's not the exact error (I can't remember it now, I'll get it to do it again and edit, or if anyone knows please comment).
All of the OSs I've tried to install are 32bit for the 32bit pentium 4.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. If I have missed any information please say and I will try to include it.
EDIT:
Downloaded files:
linuxmint-19-xfce-32bit.iso
debian-9.5.0-i386-netinst.iso
Made a bootable USB drive with rufus.
Jachdich
Posted 2018-07-27T20:48:41.503
Reputation: 135
Silly question: are you sure you're using i386 instead of x86-64? – RonJohn – 2018-07-27T20:53:25.783
Yes :) I downloaded i386 Debian & 32bit Mint. Learned the hard way :) The live USB boots into the trial desktop fine. – Jachdich – 2018-07-27T21:01:03.863
Not all USB2SATA adapters bypassing low level command, so probably it is a case. Try to find/barrow a cable and connect hdd directly to motherboard, anyway you need to do that if you want comfortable speed – Alex – 2018-07-27T22:01:01.150
1OK, I'll take one from my computer in the morning. Thanks for the suggestion – Jachdich – 2018-07-27T22:03:38.143
As much as I agree this is likely a USB adapter issue and you should use the hard drive natively on the motherboard, be aware that LM19 Xfce with only 1GB of RAM will be very disappointing to use (depending on your usage of course), especially with a full blown web browser like FireFox, Chrome, or Opera, not even the Mint team recommend at least 2GB of RAM. Consider an older Xfce (LM 18.3) or something more suited for this hardware like Bohdi, Linux Lite, Ubuntu Mate/Lubuntu, or Peppermint OS. – acejavelin – 2018-07-27T23:20:41.147
@acejavelin yes, I realised that :). I've ordered some more cheep RAM, and even then I might consider switching to LM18.3. – Jachdich – 2018-07-28T08:01:50.877
@Alex I have connected SATA power and SATA data cables to my HDD, however I can't install an OS on it ATM as I have a limited internet connection. I'll update on what happens when I do. – Jachdich – 2018-07-28T15:22:20.617