<CT> Linux or *NIX on old hardware
- From: "Martin B. Brilliant" <mbrilliant@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: calmira_tips@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 08:55:48 -0400
Bob Groves <bobgroves@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
(referring to my Toshiba T1000SE with an '086 processor)
> Ross Nelson wrote: Linux may or may not run on it! :D
>
> Yes, I think BasicLinux certainly would/should.
I looked up BasicLinux, and one of the minimum requirements is a 386
processor. That's the first processor with full 32-bit, virtual
memory, protected mode capability.
Also, Ross Nelson wrote: Maybe 1BSD or 2BSD?
I don't think so. One of the basic features of UNIX(tm) and all its
clones and versions is a flat address space.
A 16-bit address can't directly address any more than 64K of RAM.
That's why MS-DOS and all its applications (including Windows 3.x
and Calmira) depend on segment-offset addressing with 64K segments.
UNIX, Linus, etc. avoid that mess, and that means they need at least
a 32-bit processor. In the Intel line, that means 386 or better.
--
Marty
Martin B. Brilliant at home in Holmdel, NJ
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