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How can I install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 32 bit Desktop? I understand that 18.04 was the last version to support 32 bit, but at https://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04.5/ I only see 64 bit versions.

brewmanz
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  • Ubuntu Desktop 17.10 & later was only available for amd64, not i386 so you need to install Ubuntu Server 18.04, use the netboot i386 ISO (then add ubuntu-desktop), upgrade from an earlier release, or use a flavor of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Desktop. Two flavors went beyond 18.04 as well; and i386 upgrades were possible until disco or 19.04 reached EOL (as Lubuntu & Xubuntu offered i386 ISOs into the alpha stage of disco or 19.04; so if those were used; upgrades on packages were available until 19.04 reached EOL). – guiverc Sep 01 '21 at 12:17
  • FYI: I used pentium M, pentium D & pentium M i386 machines to QA-test i386 releases up to 19.04, but the last was 18.04.5 & I'd for sure not want to use Ubuntu Desktop on any of them... The last Ubuntu Desktop I booted on a pentium 4 for example was 16.04 & it was SLOW! and thus not fun so I sure didn't try and slower pentium M boxes, nor went later. But Lubuntu, even Xubuntu was great on those boxes (Lubuntu was great up to 19.04 where Xubuntu was slowing as it continued it's port to GTK3). – guiverc Sep 01 '21 at 12:37
  • @brewmanz What CPU model do you have? If you can please run lscpu | grep name on target hardware and show us the output. – N0rbert Sep 01 '21 at 13:00

2 Answers2

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i386 ISOs are available, however the last Ubuntu Desktop ISO for i386 was for Ubuntu 17.04.

eg. https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/bionic/

where you'll note a

i386 - For 32-bit Intel/AMD (x86)

There were just fewer options, namely no Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Desktop ISO.

Flavors too offered 18.04 i386 ISOs; however flavors only come with 3 years of support, thus they are now no longer fully supported.

Lubuntu & Xubuntu provided i386 ISOs for 18.10, and in fact further (into the disco or 19.04 cycle, but both dropped i386 prior to 19.04's release).

guiverc
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  • I'll admit now the question is closed; I still have Lubuntu 18.04 LTS running on a thinkpad t43 (i386 only laptop; it's not the only i386 device I still use). Given my usage of that device, I'm not worried about the EOL 18.04 flavor; if I was I'd switch to Debian as I used that device for pre-release testing of Debian 10/Buster & 11/Bullseye and know they'll run (a little slower maybe); but for my use of it - currently it doesn't warrant a change. My other i386 used devices do use Debian. – guiverc Sep 02 '21 at 01:11
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Although Ubuntu does not have a 32 bit ISO for version 18.04, you can use 32 bit ISOs for Ubuntu flavors like Ubuntu MATE, Xubuntu or Lubuntu.

If you need to use the GNOME desktop (Ubuntu's default desktop interface), you can later on install it with

sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

But if you have an old PC (which is likely, due to the 32 bit processor), I would suggest you to stick with Lubuntu or Xubuntu.

Alternatively, switch to Debian, which does not plan to drop 32 bit support anytime soon, and it is very similar to Ubuntu.

Archisman Panigrahi
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  • 18.04 flavors are EoL. – ChanganAuto Sep 01 '21 at 13:51
  • @ChanganAuto They are supported on this site. Practically, there is no difference between Xubuntu LTS and Ubuntu + XFCE. They would continue to get the same updates. (I deleted my comment by mistake, and again added it). – Archisman Panigrahi Sep 01 '21 at 14:04
  • It was just a statement of fact, also corroborated by the other answer. The inferences are all on your own. That said, the best service we can bring for this kind of questions is to point out that currently there AREN'T good alternative within the Ubuntu family. Users should be directed to one of the (rapidly dwindling) handful of distros that still support 32-bit. (re-added to preserve the logical order) – ChanganAuto Sep 01 '21 at 14:10