Custom Mint-19.2 with Linuxcnc

Mint 19.2 is not compatible with either stretch or buster package wise. Libbost-python is the first one that comes to mind and there were one or two others that I saw.
So like I mentioned it’ll leave users up in the air upgrade wise, even tho I had that in mind and attempted to make pulling in the build deps easy.
So I thought it would be wise to pull the pin, for the sake of users and Linuxcnc. Users will bitch and moan and blame Linuxcnc when they can’t get an updated package. And I can see this being an issue with those coming from Windows who are use to regular updates and the 25.5 hours it takes to turn on a computer, wait for the updates to be applied and a couple of reboots just to check or send an email.
Anyways I don’t use Mint for my mill, it’s Debian. Nice, simple and no fluff, just what you want for a dedicated machine doing a dedicated job. Even it’s connection to the outside world is via sneakernet.
I really get supporting one Distro, a Linuxcnc isn’t just a monolith like a text editor or other General Purpose app.
And honestly apart from Mint and the likes having an easier time supporting some hardware, it’s the same basically under the hood. But people be people.
I’ll just go back into my corner now and look at my collection of bright shiny things.

I just really want to thank you for your efforts. I'm not worried about updates and was lucky enough to get one of your Mint ISOs when they were available.

I understand your position. I have no problem with Debian being the distribution of choice its Wheezy I have a problem with. As a parallel port user with a gantry machine I was stuck there. Yes I could wade through the documentation and figure out how to build my own. In my world life is too short to spend it on such endeavors, My passion is building things of all kinds. My CNC machine is just one of many tools I use. I'd rather spend my time on one of my many projects rather than developing a Linuxcnc software build.

It seems the future of a simple parallel port CNC router is doubtful. I have no concerns about the cost of a Mesa board but I hate the thought of having to rewire and test the machine.

Maybe someday there will actually be a release of 2.8 on something other than Wheezy. I'm not holding my breath.

Again thanks. Have fun playing with your shiny things and say hi to the Butter Dog from Brewster and Blush.

If uninformed questions played some part in the frustration evident here please accept my apologies.
The Mint iso downloaded will be put to use as-is for the foreseeable future unless something shows up in the LCNC release notes that can't be passed up. If or when
that happens I'll do the reading that should have been done in the first place.

How about using this?
cdimage.debian.org/images/unofficial/non...ee/amd64/iso-hybrid/
It is non-free version of Debian 10, with a choice of every DE, although i would insist on using Mate for new PC's and XCFE for older ones as they are very user friendly and easier for new users.
"Standard" is the version without any DE, and it is over 1GB, the others are in the 3GB range.
I just tested the Mate version, it boots and everything works out of the box, even with a USB WiFi.

P.S.
I have to agree with some of the above, there is no need to update a working machine, ever, even if it is wired to the internet. But i am aware of why all that fuss about it is, wind......
Also noticed that 32Bit support is going the way of the DoDo, Linux Mint 20 will have no such thing any more, and i do agree with that also, a PC is the cheapest part on a machine, there are plenty of used ones from 30 to 100$ a piece, and they all do 64Bit.

That’s the way to go Tommy.
I used a Stretch version last year when I did my install.
I did had it so I could get a pre seed file that I modded from a local server, it took a few goes to get it right, the pre seed file contained all the bits I wanted to get the installation just so.
But any official ISOs will have to take into account UEFI installations. For a successful install efivars needs to be mounted or grub will fail during installation.

cncbeagle wrote: It seems the future of a simple parallel port CNC router is doubtful. I have no concerns about the cost of a Mesa board but I hate the thought of having to rewire and test the machine.

There is no plan to cease support for the parallel port in LinuxCNC.

Maybe someday there will actually be a release of 2.8 on something other than Wheezy. I'm not holding my breath.

2.8 will be released as an ISO based on Debian Buster in both RTAI and preempt_rt flavours. It will be available as an upgrade for machines that currently run Precise, Wheezy, Jessie, Stretch and Buster. Support for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx will be dropped.

LinuxCNC has appointed a new release manager for 2.8 so hopefully things will move a bit faster.

Andy thank you for the update. It sounds encouraging.

Sorry for the negativity. I was somewhat frustrated with my machine and probably should not have replied while in that frame of mind.

I am pursuing the Mesa approach but not only to reduce dependence on the RTAI kernel. After a closer look the rewiring necessary to move to a Mesa card won't be as bad as I feared (I hope). It will also give me a chance to fix a few things.

rodw wrote: The only problem I have is the Baytrail chipset overheats and the PC shuts down without notice every now and again. It needs power removed to restart. I think its due to some incompatibility with the BIOS and Linux so the OS does not reduce power consumption as it gets up near a critical temperature or something..If anybody has a solution, it would be great if you could share it...

"If it were me," I'd open the case, find the hot chip with my finger, or maybe with one of those Harbor Freight IR-reading guns (with the laser! just there to show aim), and when I found it, I'd fashion an ad hoc heat sink and some way to keep it in place to see if the problem lessened. I admit "some way to keep it in place" is problematic, but my first goal would be to see if it could actually reduce the heat load.

RTAI+debian sounds perfect. Selfish me ... it'll allow me to run devuan+tde out of the box on my machines

@Beagle,
Did you try these by any chance ?
packages.debian.org/buster-backports/lin...4.0-0.bpo.4-rt-amd64
packages.debian.org/buster-backports/lin....0-0.bpo.4-common-rt
For some reason on my big PC, they work only on one core, although there are 4 of them, so it is utterly unusable. Maybe has to do something with Nvidia drivers, will do some more testing if i get a chance. Now i am testing on a Dell laptop, it also has an Nvidia graphic cars but no proprietary drivers installed.
back in a few.