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I have been trying (and failing) to install Linux to an SD card attached to my Pentium 4 machines (I have tested this on two, same issue on both).

I am able to install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS without fail, it reboots into the OS, and I am able to use the operating system as intended. However, as soon as I shut down and turn the machines back on again, I cannot boot into Ubuntu, as it does not see any "bootable drives".

I know my IDE to SD card adapter works since I am able to successfully install Windows 2000 and XP and boot into them, so I can only assume something with the MBR is having issues with the installation.

I have always just installed everything to the same drive during installation and never ran into any issues until now.

Any/all help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

DAN
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    Sorry but there are not any currently supported versions of Ubuntu for 32-bit only x86 hardware. I suggest you look at Debian because it is very similar to Ubuntu. If you have questions about using or installing Debian, you can ask on Unix & Linux. – Nmath Jun 01 '22 at 18:29
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    @Nmath The 32 bit mini.iso is still available for 18.04. – mchid Jun 02 '22 at 04:25
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    Which version are you trying to install? You should be using the i386 and not the amd64 version. The i386 version can be downloaded here. After installation, reboot. Make sure to remove the USB before the PC boots. If it does not boot, try booting with the USB drive connected. Sometimes, the GRUB bootloader installs to the USB instead of the target drive. – mchid Jun 02 '22 at 04:29
  • If this happens, it's easily fixed. However, you will need to install a desktop after installation as this install is minimal. Run the tasksel or sudo tasksel command and then choose a desktop. Xubuntu or Lubuntu is recommended for an older PC. Do not choose a "live" desktop. Also, never use tasksel to uninstall software, only use it once to install the desktop. In the future, you can use apt or the software center to install packages. – mchid Jun 02 '22 at 04:32
  • Alternatively, for a non-ubuntu distro, you might want to check out AntiXOS which is based on Debian and is super minimal. The desktops are very old school and use very little resources. – mchid Jun 02 '22 at 04:33
  • Does this answer your question? How do I find out which version and derivative of Ubuntu is right for my hardware in terms of minimal system requirements? Start by reading this answer. – karel Jun 02 '22 at 05:44

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