Arch Linux

Deusdies

Member

Registered: 2010-09-13

Posts: 116

Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

Hey,

I have Asus A53U laptop which is somewhat low-end (AMD E-350, 3GB RAM, 320 GB HDD etc). I've just purchased a 4 GB memory stick so now I have 6 GB of memory. However, I have the x86 system on my laptop so I need to either enable PAE (meaning recompile kernel), or install x84.

Now, I've tried enabling PAE by downloading the linux-pae package from AUR. After 2 hours of compilation, it reported "No space left on device". I've changed the TEMPDIR in yaourtrc from /tmp (which was 100% full at that point) to /var/tmp and restarted the compilation.

While I wait for the compilation to finish, I have a few questions.

1. Most people advise me to replace the x86 and go with x64 instead of enabling PAE. Why?
2. Suppose that I do decide to replace it, how would I most painlessly replace the existing system with the x64 one? The bad news is that I've had this system for over a year, so as you may imagine there's a bunch of crap on it. The good news is that I have a separate /home partition. If I copy some (important) programs from /opt, can I expect them to work without reinstallation?

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My website - http://www.LinuxDistroReview.com - reviews all the linux distros out there

Here's the Arch Linux review: http://www.linuxdistroreview.com/arch-linux

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

3 + 4 = 7 GB RAM, not 6 ...

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mi … installing

Mordillo98

Member

Registered: 2012-03-09

Posts: 12

Re: Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

Answer #1:  Because your system will be much more faster doing so
Answer #2:  Good thinking, but no.    Just as a test, download an x686 package and manually install it with "Pacman -U filename" and you will see it won't work.  So just having programs over from /opt that is x86 shouldn't work either.  I am not 100% certain on that, but that would be my bet.

You're better off making a backup, do a clean install, and restore your data.  It will probably take a week to do all that, but much more worth it in the long run.

Deusdies

Member

Registered: 2010-09-13

Posts: 116

Re: Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

3 + 4 = 7 GB RAM, not 6 ...
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mi … installing

Except 3 GB = 2 + 1. There are 2 modules in a laptop. Remove 1GB one, insert 4 GB one 3 GB sticks don't exist.

@Mordillo98 thanks. You're probably right. I'll reinstall the whole system some time next week, when and I have time. In the meantime, I'll use the PAE enabled kernel.

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My website - http://www.LinuxDistroReview.com - reviews all the linux distros out there

Here's the Arch Linux review: http://www.linuxdistroreview.com/arch-linux

stqn

Member

Registered: 2010-03-19

Posts: 1,191

Website

Re: Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

There are always people who recommend 64 bit and others who recommend 32 bit. I'm part of the 32 bit crowd. There's no speed difference except in encryption, 64 bit uses more ram, it can cause problems, and it's a pain to convert a 32 bit install to a 64 bit one (I've done it). At the time I did it, it was explained on the wiki, but badly. I didn't fix the wiki.

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: Replacing x86 installation with x64 one

There are performance gains and hits to each architecture and most of them are irrelevant for day to day computing for most users. But, there's a matter of convenience if one wants to stick to the official repos and has four or more GB of RAM. 64bit can be much more simple for upgrades if one isn't dealing with compiling kernels and such. In fact, all performance gains that 32bit may provide in some areas are lost in all of the hours spent building kernels.

Last edited by skottish (2012-03-17 03:57:09)