3

I want to install Lubuntu on an old ASUS tablet that has a 32-bit UEFI and came with 32-bit Windows but has a x64-capable CPU. I tried everything (using rEFInd, setting the .efi file via the UEFI shell, etc.) but the UEFI refuses to boot any 64-bit .efi file. The i386 debian installer seems to work, though.

Some claim it is possible to run a 64-bit Linux kernel on a system with a 32-bit UEFI but there isn't much information available about how to do it. While writing this question, I copied the grubia32.elf file from the Debain installer for i386 to the same location in the Lubuntu installer (EFI/boot/). rEFInd detected it and GRUB presented me with a shell (not sure why it didn't use the boot/grub/grub.cfg file) in which I typed:

insmod linux
linux /casper/vmlinuz
initrd /casper/initrd
boot

...and it booted to the "Live CD" version of Lubuntu without any issue, as far as I can tell!

So now my question is: how do I install and configure a 32-bit GRUB to load the installed Lubuntu? (Assuming this is the most appropriate way to do it and the Lubuntu installer will try to install a 64-bit GRUB.)

D. Pardal
  • 311
  • Yes it is possible; there was a recent question on Lubuntu's IRC which led to numerous trials; on some devices success was easier than on others. Some suggestions for the difficult machines involved adding packages which made some boxes that weren't booting boot.. Yes it's possible & complications/issues were addressed on recent IRC discussion, but I was observer & have no such 32bit-uefi device so wasn't involved. (the discussion was in multiple rooms; support room for user discussion which continued in -devel etc) – guiverc Jul 07 '22 at 22:42
  • Please provide release details; no 32-bit debian installer ISO has been created since April-2018 and it's no longer supported. (the di ISO was intended for BIOS boxes only with hardware having less than 768MB which pre-date uEFI of any sort) – guiverc Jul 07 '22 at 22:43
  • 2
    @guiverc I copied the file from https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/i386/iso-cd/debian-11.3.0-i386-netinst.iso (that installer seems to work fine, btw). As far as I can tell, Debian, unlike Ubuntu, still supports i386. I will try to install Lubuntu temporarily and see if I can use the grubia32.efi to boot the Lubuntu installation tomorrow. – D. Pardal Jul 07 '22 at 23:00
  • if you can get it to boot and install, then what's left is to check before restarting that the installer put a 32-bit grub in the boot partition, and if it didn't then copy the one you used to boot the drive into there iirc – Esther Jul 08 '22 at 03:41
  • Some info: 32 bit UEFI https://askubuntu.com/questions/775498/ubuntu-on-32-bit-uefi-only-based-tablet-pc & https://askubuntu.com/questions/392719/32-bit-uefi-boot-support Linux on the HP Stream tablet http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Windows/Linux-on-the-HP-Stream-tablet/td-p/4829188 – oldfred Jul 08 '22 at 04:09

1 Answers1

2

Lubuntu installed the 32-bit version on GRUB on the EFI system partition and everything works as expected!

Maybe I should have tried to install it before asking this question but this information might still be useful to someone else.

D. Pardal
  • 311