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linux on a 486...questions

I

imhotepmp

Golden Member
Im trying to set up redhat on a 486 but I =m having a little trouble. I cant hook a cdrom up to the computer so is there anyway I can install linux? I tried to use a boot image floppy and install over the network but all it says is something like "image found on ....etc etc" and then just sits there
How can I install it without a cdrom?
Can I copy the image of the cd on the drive and then boot up w/floppy and from dos run the setup program?


thanks
btw I cant use this for klinux in case anyone was wondering, it only has 4mb of ram 🙂
imhotepmp

 
That old of a CDRom would have problems trying to boot from.
You could try and find another 4MB if you have 4 memory slots left still.
There should be a CDRom image on your Linux CD to allow you to boot off a floppy, and call the CD to install.

Newer versions of Linux are optimized for 586 CPU's, but older versions should be OK.
I believe you'll need at least 8MB memory, and 500MB+ Hard Drive space to run even the old versions.

Get another 4MB memory, and run my Klinux. 😀
 


<< it only has 4mb of ram >>



imhotepmp, I hope you have an OLD OLD OLD version of Red Hat (like maybe pre-4.2) if you want to run it in 4MB RAM!!!! Seriously! I would agree with Kilowatt. I have Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 (an old one) that is running on my 486 DX4/100. I upgraded the machine from 4MB to 32MB (16 probably would have been okay). I was actually able to find 4, 8MB 30-pin SIMMs (I think they were like $11 each a year ago - they're probably cheaper now) to do the upgrade. Even with that, it took forever for it to install but it did.

When you tried to install over the network, it was probably just sitting there because of the RAM issue... 🙁 But you do have an option of trying a parallel-port based zip disk to get the stuff over.... I've done plenty of those types of installs... especially with windud.

Most of the floppy-based distros now want at least 8MB RAM, although one LOAF supposedly will boot with only 4MB (and the author says &quot;sortof&quot; as it is).

Again... do yourself a favor and follow Kilowatt's advice... 🙂 Get some RAM!
 
well ok ill try to get some more ram.....

Ill see if I can scrape some up, btw do they have to be put in pairs, i thought I read somewhere they did, althought right now its only one simm in there.

thanks

imhotepmp


 
4MB of RAM would be enough to do a (very tricky) install of Slackware 3.6 or lower (MAYBE 3.9, but that's a longshot). I managed to do it on a system that only reported 3.5MB, actually. You will almost certainly want to read ftp://ftp.freesoftware.com/pub/linux/slackware/slackware-3.6/LOWMEM.TXT

Your life will be made a LOT easier if you can throw in a second floppy drive (3.5 or 5.25, doesn't really matter as long as you can write the rootdisk to it 🙂. If you can scrounge up another 4MB of RAM you'll be good to go (I have some 4MB 72 pin SIMMs laying around if your system can take them that I can send for the cost of shipping plus a buck or something).

The jist of the LOWMEM.TXT document is boot to the point you get a shell, run fdisk, make a swap partition and manually activate it before trying to load the setup program. If I remember right, it assumes you're installing from CD, but Slack's a? and n* disk sets are arranged to fit on 1.44MB floppies, so you can do a Slack install that way.

Or if you can use one of my 4MB sticks, you can just use klinux I think. Not sure what the RAM requirements are there.

-edit- If you want the RAM, e-mail me at rendus@hushmail.com
 
imhotepmp,

What type of RAM does your board take? I have a stack of 4 meg 72 Pin simms if they are any good to you.
 
Mhhh looks Rendus is definitely hooked to TA and DC 🙂 Nice, and a valuable addition to the TeAm's &quot;knowledge base&quot; 😉

Again, glad you reconsidered things !


imhotepmp : 486s take 30 pin 8 bit simms by quartets, and 72 pin 32 bit simms by singles (32 bit memory bus) ; Pentium class take 72 pin 32 bit simms by pairs, and ?? pins 64 bit dimms by singles (64 bit memory bus). At least thats what I learned by experience.
 


<< Mhhh looks Rendus is definitely hooked to TA and DC Nice, and a valuable addition to the TeAm's &quot;knowledge base&quot; >>



I usually lurk, mostly because I want to get a feel for how things work first. But then I did the headfirst dive into the pavement, so hey, here I am 🙂



<< Again, glad you reconsidered things ! >>



Well, I was backpedaling anyway, so... 🙂



<< imhotepmp : 486s take 30 pin 8 bit simms by quartets, and 72 pin 32 bit simms by singles (32 bit memory bus) ; Pentium class take 72 pin 32 bit simms by pairs, and ?? pins 64 bit dimms by singles (64 bit memory bus). At least thats what I learned by experience. >>



Standard PC DIMMs are 168 pins. I THINK SODIMMs are typically 160, not sure. DDR is 184 pin.
 
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