Ubuntu – Lubuntu 12.10 This kernel does not support a non-PAE CPU

dellkernellubuntunon-pae

I have a Dell Inspiron 600m and I tried to install Lubuntu 12.10 but encountered this message:

This kernel does not support a non-PAE CPU.

Is Lubuntu supposed to support old hardware and computers?

Best Answer

It is possible to trick the apt-get installation script (preinst) of the new kernel images into believing they are to be installed on a PAE enabled System. Then it will install flawlessly (and if it is a Pentium-M (even one of those early ones that are missing the pae flag) then it will boot and run without errors).

To do so do the following:

  • Install 12.04 Precise (maybe you have that already)
  • Install the package "fake-pae" from this repository
  • Do a normal distribution upgrade to 12.10 and enjoy the new Version :-)

As long as you have the fake-pae package installed there won't be any problems with kernel updates, these kernels run just fine on Pentium-M, even the early ones that do not announce their pae capability in their cpu flags. Just like the modified CD-boot images (the grub-trick) it is only a matter of circumventing these artificial installation restrictions, its not a problem with the kernel itself, you won't need custom built kernel images.

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