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I want to know if it is possible to update to Xubuntu 20.04 since I can't find a 32-bit version.

If I update through the terminal with

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y dist-upgrade

will the system break?

Thank you!

Zanna
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Gustavo
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2 Answers2

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sudo apt dist-upgrade will only upgrade your system packages keeping it at 18.04.

In quick answer - No. You should remain on Xubuntu 18.04 LTS if you need to use x86 or 32-bit, as it will be fully supported until April-2021 (3 years from release, 5 years applies to main Ubuntu only)

Xubuntu 18.10 was released in x86/32-bit, as was Lubuntu 18.10.

Xubuntu 19.04 and Lubuntu 19.04 were also producing 32-bit or x86 (i386/i686) ISOs during the start of the development cycle for disco, but were only available in the alpha phasewith both stopping December 2018 (Xubuntu early Dec-2018, Lubuntu just prior to Christmas-2018).

The upgrade path to 19.10 was stopped prior to 19.10's actual release, so whilst it was possible to release-upgrade during the development cycle, the infrastructure that created the packages was being turned off (then turned on again for specific packages only), and it made no sense to be running 19.10 on x86. No system packages exist for 20.04, outside of x86 packages required for specific packages.

I'll suggest you read these posts for more information.

https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/intel-32bit-packages-on-ubuntu-from-19-10-onwards/11263

https://ubuntu.com/blog/statement-on-32-bit-i386-packages-for-ubuntu-19-10-and-20-04-lts

guiverc
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  • Ubuntu supported x86 for the entire life of the 19.04 ( http://fridge.ubuntu.com/2020/01/23/ubuntu-19-04-disco-dingo-end-of-life-reached-on-january-23-2020/) even though x86 ISOs were only produced during the alpha stage for Xubuntu (ceased early Dec-2018) and Lubuntu (ceased mid-late Dec-2018). I upgraded one of my test systems to eoan and watched as it fell behind (in package updates) in the ~final week before 19.10's actual release as infrastructure turned off.. – guiverc Jul 13 '20 at 00:10
  • Thank you! . Your answer was very useful. – Gustavo Jul 13 '20 at 01:20
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    Oddly, my (X)ubuntu 18.04 32bit offers upgrading to 20.04 on desktop. – jarno Oct 04 '20 at 05:12
  • @jamo If you were offered that upgrade, I'd suggest you file a bug as https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/update-manager/+bug/1845690 was intended to prevent that from occurring. (I'd suggest filing a new bug using ubuntu-bug update-manager and reference the bug I mentioned in your description; it'll save someone from needing to look it up) – guiverc Oct 04 '20 at 05:44
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    When I ran update-manager again, I got notification like https://launchpadlibrarian.net/475882446/bug-1845690-verification.png – jarno Oct 04 '20 at 18:27
  • As it still occurs (upgrade being offered to 20.04 for it386) a new bug has been created, but not yet assigned developer to fix - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-release-upgrader/+bug/1901725 – guiverc Nov 29 '20 at 21:17
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You can update the KERNEL to 5.4 which will help tremendously on 18.04. (That's an HWE kernal by the way) That kernel is supported for 6 years. Some 32-bit software may not be able to be updated later on, but the libraries at least will be updated for a few more years. You'll have to change some settings in your update manager in order to enable the HWE update. Search for that solution.

fixitmanarizona
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    Thanks, this seems like it may be a suitable alternative for some users. It would be great if you could give some information on the benefits of the new kernel (e.g. it might improve support for some newer hardware) and a basic outline of how to install, instead of advising us to search for the solution. – Zanna Oct 09 '20 at 17:57
  • I believe that's covered here: https://askubuntu.com/questions/248914/what-is-hardware-enablement-hwe/1265302#1265302 Also, I read that: "Get Ubuntu 18.04.5 / Ubuntu 16.04.7 For Ubuntu 18.04.4 and previous, you’ll be automatically update to v18.04.5 after installing all system updates. " http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2020/08/ubuntu-18-04-5-released-5-4-kernel/ – fixitmanarizona Oct 10 '20 at 23:48