76
Linux distro for an ancient Pentium PC
(lemmy.ml)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2024
76 points (95.2% liked)
Linux
45417 readers
2011 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Are you sure it's not a 686? Because apparently the Pentium Pro from 1995 is already a 686, by 2001 the Pentium 4 was already out.
Ya, that's exactly my thought. I had Penitum 1 and Pentium 3/4 during those years. Pretty sure they are 686 and beyond.
Yes I am sure it's not 686. 686 distros don't boot anyways
I'm still skeptical. At the time of the original Pentium (the last 586 from Intel, the fastest of which was 300 MHz), the usual amount of RAM was something like 16 or 32 MB. A 586 with 1 GB of RAM is extremely weird and probably impossible unless it's some sort of high-end server. This does not check out.
Oh and DDR is also from around the time of the Pentium 4. I don't think there exists a machine that has both DDR and an original Pentium (aka 586). Again, this does not check out and is probably impossible.
There could be another reason it won't boot.
Yeah, I'm with you. 2001 and DDR... there's something else going on with the failure to boot. I don't think the Pentium 3 ever supported DDR, so this is probably a Pentium 4. If truly a model released in 2001, it would be Willamette, but that required RDRAM. DDR support was introduced with Northwood in 2002. On the other hand, it could be the P4 that was new in 2004, Prescott, and the 2001 statement comes from the first year the P4 was released.
We really need to see info from the BIOS
exact CPU model, RAM speed, etc.
As others have pointed out, this is a pretty anachronistic build
i586 with DDR1 is just weird, so it's possible there's some really niche hardware and you may need an exotic kernel (or kernel options) to get anything to boot.
That said: have you just tried running a standard live or install CD from that time period? You could try booting a 2001 Slackware installer to see what happens.
Could even be Cryix or a VIA or something from back then. VIA lacked cmov and will not boot i686.