I use MX-15 32bit for desktop use, but would like to install
an updated system on at least one of my computers.

Does anyone have any insight, because they have perhaps
tested -almost- everything and can therefore recommend
a distribution?

It would be most interesting for me if someone uses one
of the following distributions and could tell me why they
use (and possibly recommend) exactly this one.

MX-23.1 i386
https://deac-riga.dl.sourceforge.net/project/mx-linux/Final/Xfce/MX-23.1_386.iso

Debian 12.2 i386
https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/i386/iso-dvd/debian-12.2.0-i386-DVD-1.iso

Kali 2023.4 i386
https://cdimage.kali.org/kali-2023.4/kali-linux-2023.4-installer-i386.iso

antiX 23 i486
https://deac-ams.dl.sourceforge.net/project/antix-linux/Final/antiX-23/antiX-23_386-full.iso

Mageia 9 i586
https://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/Mageia/iso/9/Mageia-9-i586/Mageia-9-i586.iso

Slackel 7.7.2 x86
https://netcologne.dl.sourceforge.net/project/slackel/openbox/slackellive-openbox-7.7.2.iso

Salix 15 x86
https://kumisystems.dl.sourceforge.net/project/salix/15.0/salixlive-xfce-15.0.iso

Puppy x86
S15Pup32-22.12-231111.iso
https://kumisystems.dl.sourceforge.net/project/pb-gh-releases/S15Pup32_release/S15Pup32-22.12-231125.iso

Tiny Core x86
http://www.tinycorelinux.net/13.x/x86/release/CorePlus-current.iso


Kind regards
Janko Weber

Janko, I don't think there's really any relevant reason to be using a 32 bit LInux or any 32 bit operating system in this day and age. Why exactly you're using a Wescam system is enough of a question for me to raise it.

They're being rapidly sunset for a reason and there's a few reasons why, including potentially turning into a pumpkin come 2038.

But if you insist, you can inquire with the oracle.

I currently use debian and also buildroot based custom builds. But I'm kinda hoping to roll my own sometime in the not too distant future.

Debian because it happened to ship with some hw. Buildroot because so far I haven't found an easier way to make a small system image.

The last time I installed Debian I found it too complicated and too time-consuming.
I created a 700 megabyte snapshot of my system with MX-Snapshot. This allows
me to reinstall my system from CD or USB stick in less than 9 minutes. And that
on different computers.

It's the age-old question: which distro? Except that you've limited your choices, because 32-bit x86 hardware is obsolete. I wish there were a good answer, but every distro has its downsides. I would recommend Gentoo if you insist on a "modern" distro, simply because a source-based distro has a greater likelihood of being fixed if you run into problems. It's also still easy enough to manage multiple architectures, so it's not as likely that the distro will be discontinued. for lack of space or build farms. Don't expect your distro to be well-tested on 32-bit hardware, though.

Salix is still around? Well that's good to know... unfortunately I'm hardly aware of its state these days, but 3-4 years ago it was a pretty sweet option for a lightweight OS.

Gentoo is probably powerful and flexible, but not easy to use. *?
People like me would rather use Calculate Linux.
But that is not available as a 32bit version. :(

I looked at Salix a few months ago. I think I still have it
installed on one computer, a computer I'm not using at the moment.
I had some problems which are probably due to the base system
Slackware. MX-Linux, which is based on Debian, in my opinion
offers more possibilities and is easier to handle. However,
the last version of MX-Linux I tried I had some problems with
my preferred desktop XFCE. :/

Still no answer to the question, why a 32-bit system?

Look, if yer stuck on 32bit (ie older hardware etc) and need something easy to use, get Zorin Lite. Its regularly updated too.

Debian and derivatives are definitely a lot more compatible and easy to find packages for these days, but you haven't told us what you intend to use this distro for? If it's just web browsing and office work, Salix is more than fine.

If you want something more in the lines of "I just want something easy to work with and don't have time to fiddle with it too much", maybe consider something like LMDE? It comes with Mint's awful (IMHO) Cinnamon desktop, but you are free to install and use whatever you want, including XFCE (I've installed MATE on it, since it's what I prefer the most).

The install experience of LMDE is a lot smoother than that of base Debian, although the latter has improved quite a bit too lately. Disk/partition level backup and clone utilities such as Clonezilla are a thing, You can backup and replicate any distro on as many computers as you like in minutes.

Quite true. Debian is almost a standard Linux distribution. And modern Debian installation is at a point where, to be simpler, it would have to decide for you and act as if it owned your computer (e.g. "this is the experience we provide, take it or go look elsewhere"). And it does provide sensible defaults, so I don't think you will feel overwhelmed (though I don't know how much have you used your MX-15 systems").

I have used Puppy long ago, but I thought they the team was no longer updating it. That is why I went for BusenLabs Linux on a still working Netbook some time ago. It is also limited, but it is adequate. Just don't compare it with modern distributions on modern hardware.

In my case it was because the target machine was an ancient laptop which had a 1-core 32bit CPU and 1GB of RAM. I just needed to set up as a simple ftp server for internal use, to update the firmware of a few hardware firewalls and shit. Even if it had had a 64bit CPU, I probably would have opted for the 32bit distro due to low amount of memory.

For the life of me, I don't recall which distro it was. It was some 32bit Linux distro that promised to get updates for the time being, and was marketed to have very low resource requirements, ie. 1GB of RAM was plenty for it even with a GUI. Maybe it is still working, I need to check it at work. I think I have mentioned the name of that distro in this forum before.

I am also running 32bit Linux Mint on my ancient desktop PC which has a 1-core 64bit CPU but only 1GB of RAM. In that case I specifically selected the 32bit distro due to low RAM, not the CPU. That distro is probably not receiving updates anymore, and I don't think Mint releases 32bit versions anymore.

Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu. However, I would like to use Linux. :)))

I don't want a special version for older computers but a distribution
from which I can create a snapshot that works on older computers as well
as on my newer computers. This is possible with my MX-15 snapshot. This
means that I also use this system on 64bit hardware.

I know the MATE desktop. That would also be my first alternative to XFCE.

The last time I looked at Debian as a distribution was about 5 years ago.
I still found the installation cumbersome and complicated.

I also used to have Puppy Linux installed on a computer for quite a
long time, but rarely used it. I used Windows Me on this computer.
That ended when this computer fell victim to cold damage in 2019.

About a year ago, I tried to start the BusenLabs live CD on the most
important computer for me. That didn't work.

I mainly use a computer from 2007 with 2 GB RAM and GeForce GT 710.
This is mainly a gaming computer!
I have more than 250 games here at GOG
that I could play or have played with this computer.
For example Tropico 3, The Guild 2, Anno 1404, Children of the Nile,
Banished, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Ittle Dew, Driftmoon, Din's Curse,
Shadowrun Returns, Still Life, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Botanicula,
Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride, Secret Files: Tunguska, 7.62.
However, I prefer to play older versions of the first three games.
I have newer games that work with this computer, but I find
them so stupid that I don't want to mention them here.

Then it is not worth giving it another try. Not a lot has changed on this front in the last 5 years, outside of a better integration of non-free firmware for network devices.

And since I see nothing cumbersome or complicated in the Debian installation process, I would clearly not be able to help you with this.