tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post8149963571659918564..comments2024-03-28T16:31:54.494-04:00Comments on Borepatch: Linux: still runs on a 486 computerBorepatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029434172945099693noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-65129044315195696972018-01-10T18:20:20.935-05:002018-01-10T18:20:20.935-05:00Going the other way, I have a copy of Walnut Creek...Going the other way, I have a copy of Walnut Creek CDROM's "Linux Toolkit" from 1997. 5 disks, a bunch of distros.<br /><br />I managed to get an ancient Debian installed on a Virtualbox Virtual. I couldn't get the networking working, or I would have tried to "apt-get" my way to current. <br /><br />And I was reminded what a royal PITA those old Linuxes were to get oddball hardware working in.lee n. fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01652025469454858807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-30095716474377965842018-01-09T21:37:17.234-05:002018-01-09T21:37:17.234-05:00I've run modern linux on a 486DX/66. The bigg...I've run modern linux on a 486DX/66. The biggest issue is that most 486s are rarely more than 32MB and that is a handicap for modern distros. To do it its better to create a limited distro or use Puppy<br />or DSL. There are rare few 486 boards that supported more than 64mb.<br /><br />It was however much faster than NT3.51 to boot to shell and a simple gui ran ok. However as a piece of dedicated hardware it was<br />stable and ran a backup server application smoothly. Its also <br />immune Spectre and Meltdown. I still have it for air-gapped backup.<br /><br /><br />Eck!Eck!https://www.blogger.com/profile/13890237094647111653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-78157947599407162202018-01-09T20:49:49.987-05:002018-01-09T20:49:49.987-05:00Rick C, it's not that the bear dances so well,...Rick C, it's not that the bear dances so well, but that it dances at all.<br /><br />;-)Borepatchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05029434172945099693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-35909725055510710492018-01-09T20:47:33.194-05:002018-01-09T20:47:33.194-05:0011.5 minute boot time. Do not want.11.5 minute boot time. Do not want.Rick Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10992428161064901136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-41383402970248441052018-01-09T19:23:07.626-05:002018-01-09T19:23:07.626-05:00I spent $4K on my first 486DX-66. That sort of ca...I spent $4K on my first 486DX-66. That sort of cash stands out in my memory.<br /><br />Later, I also remember getting the original Quake to run in a postcard size window on that box. :P<br /><br />486DX-66, VESA video and a >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SCSI hard drive. Totally rocking at the time.Arthurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09289639279717534292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-58147392847046832018-01-09T17:50:13.696-05:002018-01-09T17:50:13.696-05:00Ah the 486: remember when that was state of the a...Ah the 486: remember when that was state of the art speed.<br /><br />Such a step up from the 286!!!<br /><br />Now thanks to Windows 10, my i7 still stalls and pauses like an overworked 486.<br /><br />Plus ca change.cecilhenryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06295507329028875050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-35331981118892332722018-01-09T14:52:08.615-05:002018-01-09T14:52:08.615-05:00The multitude of linux distros can be a giant PITA...The multitude of linux distros can be a giant PITA, but it is really sweet that you can tart up the UI as much or as little as you want to fit various hardware.<br /><br />I'm personally a big fan of mint's XFCE version because it's pretty light on hardware requirements while still being usable.<br /><br />I do wish there was a common, distro-agnostic folder layout so users didn't need to get good with various search tools to find out where a specific system file was located. For instance - https://www.tecmint.com/linux-directory-structure-and-important-files-paths-explained/. It's a great graphic. Too bad not all distros agree.<br /><br />Arthurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09289639279717534292noreply@blogger.com