I have an old notebook which I’ve been toying with a few smaller distros on (typically easy to install, liveCD types), and while I enjoy the tinkering aspects of this, I had a thought that I’ve been mulling.
In the past I’ve run distributions based on larger, better supported, systems (Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, etc.) and if or when they have folded, like crunchbang did, or PeppermintOS (however briefly), I just changed them out.
However, if I were to go back to peppermintOS, say, would it be feasible to ‘convert’ the system to the parent distribution? So, could I force peppermintOS to ‘become’ Debian, for example? Or is this overly simplistic? It’s a level of engagement with my operating systems that I just haven’t had!
It may just be a pre-configured Debian in which case there will be nothing to convert or it may have several additional repositories in which case it will be easier to install the new one.
So if there’s additional repositories does that mean that there is likely to be core functionality which would be broken if it stops being maintained?
check the distro’s changelist to find something like that since not all downstream distros are the same; some are more modified than others from their base.
Again it depends on what those repositories do.
EndeavourOS (Arch based) adds a repository which appears to be for their utilities, otherwise they use the Arch repositories. You could probably continue using it with minimal disruption although the utilities would be unmaintained.
Manjaro (also Arch based) uses its own mirrors of the Arch repositories and adds some of its own. If it vanished, it would quickly become out of date and full of security holes. A new install would be necessary.
In either case, I’d do a clean install of Arch because why give yourself the headache.