Troubles installing 7.6 on Intel Atom

[Mcewena]

So to prefix this, I’m not a Linux guy.

I’m trying to repurpose an old Intel Atom based laptop, it needs to run a browser and low volume stream to Twitch.   I first chose Bionic Puppy32 19.03 from an usb stick and it works OK but the browser is funky and I can’t get flatpak to install so I moved on to Linux Lite 7.6.  

Booting from an LL USB stick I get one of 2 outcomes (and I can’t figure out the pattern):

90% of the time booting live, direct install or in compatibility mode I get an feather desktop with no control over my mouse (either from the onboard touch pad or a Logitech usb cordless).  The mouse pointer is in the centre of the screen so I assume that’s indicating the system thinks I have a pointer?   Compatibility mode shows the Logitech driver loading fine but an error with the Bluetooth drivers.

10% (or less) the install ends at a screen asks me for a username/pwd, tried root/admin and other randomness, no joy.  But the mouse works!?!  (Screen shot below)

I’ve tried Blue Star and I get as far as the splash screen and then hangs, I’m assuming I’m out of resources.   Fossapup64 9.6 hangs at nearly the 1st hurdle (initrd.gz).


Fool’s errand?

Tia

[stevef]

What are the system specification, year of manufacture and what OS did it run when new ?
In my limited experience excess patience is needed when installing 7.x and using it on old/under-spec systems. Interesting as an experiment, but impractical for everyday use.

90% of the time booting live....

How long are you waiting ?

10% (or less) the install ends at a screen asks me for a username/pwd

Never experienced this.

Fool’s errand?

If the live media doesn't boot then yes.
If the live media boots (eventually) then you may be ok.
How good the user experience will be depends on the spec of the hardware and user expectation/tolerance.

[Mcewena]

>What are the system specification, year of manufacture and what OS did it run when new ?

Intel Atom n450 @ 1.6ghz, 1gb ram, 2010. Started life on windows 7, migrated to 11 currently Bionic Puppy 32 v19.03. https://liliputing.com/asus-eee-pc-1005pe-review/

> How long are you waiting ?

With a good usb that screen comes up in 30 minutes but I’ve waited overnight more than once.  Re flashed 2 different usb sticks multiple times.

> Never experienced this.

Happened probably 3 times in maybe 20 attempts, can’t figure pattern. I did once get the install menus described in the help site but couldn’t get past language question.

[stevef]

That spec is really bottom end. If it ever installed, I'd doubt it would be usable in practice.
I'd expect the wait for the Live media to boot up on a W7 era machine to be several minutes, so it would seem something else is wrong.

You might try LL 6.6.
It is supported until April 2027.
Chrome is the bundled browser but adding Firefox is easy enough.