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| Thread ID: 21624 | 2002-06-30 01:25:00 | Linux for a 486 | forrest44 (754) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 58478 | 2002-06-30 01:25:00 | I've got a 486-25 overclocked to 50 Mhz with 8 MB RAM and a 500 MB HDD that I would like to run linux on. I can't seem to find any older versions anywhare. where can I download a version of linux that would run well on this machine? | forrest44 (754) | ||
| 58479 | 2002-06-30 03:23:00 | It's not so much the version, it's the installation programmes . I had exactly this problem . I wanted Linux on a 486DX33 with 8 MB and a 300 MB disk . I put in a CD drive and a RH7 . 2 disk . Told it NOT to instal X-Window, development, etc --- all the stuff that wants a GB or so . The installation doesn't seem to understand the word "No" . X-( It loaded as much as it could then complained about the disk being full . I thought of using RH6 . 2 but didn't want to waste the time if it behaved like that, so I dug out the 1996 CD from an English magazine which had Slackware 2 . 0 . I knew that would fit . . . I've still got it running on a 386SX20 with 6 MB memory and a 40MB disk . The DX33 works beautifully . (No keyboard, no monitor, though I have bumped up the memory a bit . It has an 8mm helical scan tape drive as a network backup device) . Although the documents for Linux still say you need "at least 2MB" of RAM, I don't think you can . 4MB doesn't work . 6 MB does --- I've got 2 machines with that: 4MB max on the motherboard, and 2MB on ISA cards . Try Slackware . If they *still* package it in pieces each sized to fit on one floppy, you can load exactly what you want . The further back you go in the versions, the less greedy any distribution is for disk space and memory . I found SW easy enough to install (I did the first fropm floppies) --- though I have had a bit of experience, including making OS/2 load on that same 386 when IBM said OS/2 needed about 80MB minimum disk . The same trick might still work with Linux --- it involved using ( abusing?) the multiuser OS (even during installation) by having an extra root session during the installation, and using that to delete unwanted directory trees immediately after they had loaded . Messy but it worked for OS/2 . It would probably foul up the interlocking scripts that Linux installation uses . An afterthought, many of the books about Linux include a CD . Check your Public Library, which may have several editions with different versions of RedHat . RedHat 4 . 2 would "probably" fit . |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 58480 | 2002-06-30 04:30:00 | Here's a 'floppy sized' Linux (http://mulinux.nevalabs.org/). Will work on a 386 with 8M. | wuppo (41) | ||
| 58481 | 2002-06-30 04:44:00 | The trouble with the single floppy versions is that they are *very* small. If you want to go to extremes, I've got one (ELKS) which works on a 8086. You wouldn't like it. One which is "usable" was distributed on 4 floppies as the user software for a Portuguese ISP. It unpacks into a 10 MB directory tree on a DOS disk. The trick was to use vi with the Portuguese Keyboard mapping to change the rc file to get a standard keyboard. | Graham L (2) | ||
| 58482 | 2002-06-30 04:59:00 | Is editing on unix really vi-able? :D Of course you won't get 'everything' with a small version (ask Bill about bloatware). But it can get you started while you wait for your 3 x CD download to finish! |
wuppo (41) | ||
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