GNU/Linux Mageia and ROSA: Two great contenders for 32bit UEFI Lenovo netbook 

1.  Article Relevance

Instructions meant for a Linux user with little-to-no expertise wishing to install & configure a personal computer for the home, the office or on-the-go.

2. Background

Hardware – minimal netbook:

  • Lenovo Ideapad 100S – 32bit UEFI boot only
  • Atom Intel CPU – 64Bit capable
  • RAM 2GB – cannot be upgraded
  • SSD 32 GB – cannot be upgraded

Software requirements:

  • Reliable & stable internet browsing, communication, mail
  • Word processing, graphic manipulation, video, audio playback
  • Optimal use of low memory & disk capacity
  • Language input options (Asian, Middle-east, other)
  • Full OS encryption with an intuitive mounting of system, home, swap, TF card slot memory

In the context of Debian’s breach of free software principles of inclusion and freedom, all Debian software was excluded from testing.

3. – 64Bit candidates

 

Fedora 30 (64Bit)

32bit UEFI compatible (Select & DL from here)

Individual live iso is provided for all the popular desktops. Input methods are installed depending on region – multiple languages can be installed for UI of the system.

Con

  • Freezing randomly.

Mageia 7.1 (64Bit)

Pros:

  • classic installation (larger sized iso) 32bit UEFI compatible
  • the classic installation allows selecting of input method & multiple languages during installation.
  • USB will serve as a recovery tool in some cases of boot failure.
  • hand-pick from a range of desktops: GNOME, Plasma & lightweight desktops MATE, LXQt, XFCE, LXDE
  • select the individual software packages during installation
  • stable and polished – near-perfect desktop once it’s up and running
  • The more recent kernel may be considered an advantage or a small disadvantage over ROSA if some detachable USB drivers need dkms building, etc. This depends on your requirements so do some research. This may be the main consideration for you

Cons:

  • Mageia netapplet!! I found the rumours to be true about this being a clumsy, piece of code which doesn’t get the job done for even the most-common & general uses. Establishing connections to home Wi-Fi took such a long time, I would not dare rely on it for modern on-the-go connections. Fortunately, I fathomed a solution to this and will describe it in my next post ’10 things to do after installing Mageia’!
  • It was necessary to pull the two 32Bit UEFI files from a Mageia 32bit boot/efi in order to get the 64bit iso to be found by the Lenovo’s 32bit UEFI Bios. I have archived those files here just in case anyone needs them.
  • The more recent kernel may be considered a small disadvantage over ROSA if some detachable USB drivers need dkms building, etc.
  • Booting time clocked the 2-minute mark. This was probably caused by an error before the option is given to enter a passphrase for decrypting the root disk
  • Random freezing (solved by going 32bit)

 

ROSA Fresh 11 (64Bit)

Fresh 64 bit iso is not 32bit UEFI compatible.

 

 

4. – 32Bit candidates

Fedora and most other distributions do not provide an iso that is 32bit and UEFI bootable.

The uefi hack is unnecessary with 32bit system iso – these are 32bit uefi bios-recognizable straight away.

There is no freezing. The rest of the notes above,  apply to the 32bit candidates below.

Mageia 7.1

(get the classic installation iso – here)

Con

  • Slow booting time (nearly 3 minutes).

 

 

ROSA Fresh 11 (32bit)

Visit the ROSA official site (link in my side bar). Use the Rosa Image Writer to create the USB disk. Scroll through this list here for the uefi.iso

 

Pros:

  • The older kernel may be considered an advantage or a small disadvantage over Mageia if some detachable USB drivers need dkms building, etc. This depends on your requirements so do some research. This may be the main consideration for you.
  • Booting time faster than Mageia although.
  • Polished, intuitive default settings make for almost zero post-installation procedures. For example, the TF memory card which I encrypted using gparted in a previous test system, decrypts automatically using the passphrase entered during booting (for the system, home and swap logical volume). If the card is needed, the user can mount it. This is both convenient and smart – having it unmounted at login, will extend the lifetime of the chip (mounted only when needed).
  • The applications & themes provided for XFCA and MATE are polished and functional. LXQt is also available for a light and modern alternative.
  • sudo is already setup and the user can follow guidelines to add ‘no password’ using visudo very easily (see my next post)

Cons:

  • Asian input is NOT supplied out of the box.
  • Both IBUS and FCITX input installation required complex solutions such as building the software and dependencies from source. Nabi installed from the repo, but didn’t work.
  • Limited UI language list
  • A new kernel installation during upgrade did not boot. Easily rescued by selecting the first kernel.
  • Random freezing (solved by installing the 32bit iso)

 

Conclusion

Your choices are ROSA 32Bit and Mageia 64Bit