Arch Linux 2017.02.01 Available For Download — Last ISO Release With 32-bit Support

Short Bytes: The Arch Linux devs have rolled out their freshly baked Arch Linux 2017.02.01 ISO images. This release is an important one as it’s the last ISO shipping with the support for 32-bit architecture. After this, future releases will only run on 64-bit machines. Powered by Linux kernel 4.9.6, the users can grab the images from Arch’s download page. The existing users have the option to perform an upgrade by running a single command.

Arch Linux is famous for being a highly customizable Linux distribution. The die-hard Linux fans love it. Also, it’s a well-established fact that installing Arch Linux needs more time and commitment, as compared to other beginner-friendly Linux distros. However, this feature, surprisingly, makes it a recommended Linux distro for a beginner user. Well, that’s the beauty of Linux where learning is an integral part of the experience.

Last month, Softpedia reported that Official Arch Linux is dropping 32-bit support from March 2017. What did this mean? This meant that from March, the official Arch Linux ISO images wouldn’t be dual-arch images. Instead, they’ll be just 64-bit images.

Arch Linux 2017.02.01 is here as the last ISO with 32-bit support

Well, with the arrival of February, Arch Linux 2017.02.01 has been released, reports Softpedia’s Marius Nestor. This also implies that it’s the last ISO image with 32-bit support. You won’t be able to install the next release on older machines with 32-bit (i686) architecture.

This means that you have two options. Either you can download the latest Arch Linux 2017.02.01 ISO and keep it safe for use on 32-bit machines, or look for some other distro with 32-bit support.

Keeping it aside, what are the other changes arriving with Arch Linux 2017.02.01?

This release ships with Linux kernel 4.9.6. The size of the ISO image is 870MB. Also, as expected, all the main packages have been updated and polished.