Hi. I'm a total Linux noob.
I want to install the OS in an old desktop computer with a Pentium 4 CPU and 2 GB ram. The motherboard is 32 bit.
My main aim is to incorporate DDRescue into the system, to do some repairs on a faulty hard drive.
So I don't need any other add-on software. No browser, no office, no video player etc etc.
But I do want to build-in DDRescue, and, if possible, the DDRescue GUI.
And I'm happy to install Linux, rather than just run a live-cd. In fact, I'd prefer the install option because I want to learn more about Linux.
Advice, please :-)_
Hello clonix
You will need a 32bit iso. As far as I know Ubuntu and all its flavours currently no longer provide 32bit ISOs (although you could install an older, but still supported release where a 32bit ISO was still available).
Therefore, you might want to try:
https://mxlinux.org/download-links/
or
https://www.debian.org/distrib/netinst
as they do still have 32bit ISOs. 
Welcome to the community! It's true that 32-bit (i386) Ubuntu MATE ISOs are being phased out, but 18.04 LTS is the last 32-bit release and will still be supported until April 2021, as it's an LTS (Long Term Release).
You should check if your motherboard supports booting from USB flash drives. If it does, you can image the ISO to a USB flash drive but if it's like my old Pentium 4 desktop which didn't, you can burn the ISO to DVD.
When installing, there is an option for a "minimal install" which takes out most of the multimedia applications.
Whether you install or run off a live session, you'll need an internet connection to acquire the packages for DDRescue.
-
gddrescue - is the command line tool
-
ddrescueview - a GUI for reading ddrescue log files
The quickest way to install would be the Terminal:
sudo apt install gddrescue ddrescueview
But if you prefer a GUI, use a package manager like Synaptic. You can get this in the "More Software" tab of Software Boutique, or [sudo apt install synaptic] in the terminal.
If you use any other Ubuntu or Debian-based Linux distribution, the package names would be the same. Other Linux distributions will have different packaging systems (and commands) and perhaps may have different package names.
2 Likes
Thanks for the welcome and tips 
I've installed Ubuntu Mate 18.04 LTS 32 bit (full, not Minimal) onto its own 80GB IDE drive and it seems to be running OK.
It wanted to install some updates, so I culled the list (unwanted office stuff etc) and it's doing the job now.
I'm not sure what lah7 means (above) about installing ddrescue and its GUI. Is Terminal the linux equivalent of the Windows command line or is it software?
Similarly, does Synaptic need to be downloaded or is it inbuilt in Ubuntu?
Presumably from your post, you're looking to install GNU's ddrescue tool, right? My understanding is that it's a command line tool, and ddrescueview is a GUI.
The Terminal is the equivalent of Windows' command line, but it's a lot more powerful since it can perform the same tasks a graphical program can do. The shell is known as bash, so you may hear others talking about "bash scripts" or "shell scripts" (.sh) that automate or perform tasks speedily.
The Terminal can be found under Menu → System Tools, or by pressing CTRL + ALT + T.
Synaptic is a graphical package manager for Apt, which is Ubuntu/Debian's packaging system. Your system is made up of many individual packages that makes up the system (kernel, drivers, etc) and software (MATE desktop, text editor, etc).
Ubuntu MATE ships with Software Boutique, which is our own curated collection of tried & tested applications. It doesn't (yet) search the Ubuntu archives for all the other packages, like ddrescue.
So it's up to you if you'd like to take a graphical or command line approach to install additional software.
1 Like
lah7, thanks again for your tips. Now I understand the significance of the Terminal commands.
May I suggest that your basic instructions for longtime Windows users converting to, or experimenting with, Linux, include a sentence or two about this facility? In Windows terms?
IMHO, it would never occur to a Windows user that they can conjure up Linux software or program updates simply by using a command line. For a start, they wouldn't automatically expect the operating system to contain network drivers, and while they might be aware that the computer was connected to a network cable, they wouldn't be expecting to be connected to the Internet without some further action on their part.
Next, Windows users, while some are familiar with the command line system (most aren't), they expect to 'search' online for software, click to download it, click to unpack it (from zip or rar) and click to install it.
So this sort of instruction wouldn't initially make a lot of sense:
[The quickest way to install would be the Terminal : sudo apt install gddrescue ddrescueview]
Don't get me wrong - I think it's a great system 
But puzzling to newcomers.
Not to be snarky--but as a long-time Unix user, and DOS before that, and JCL!! before that-- It is the Windows way of never using the command line that seems puzzling to me. Why forgo and hide all the flexibility completely? 
