On Mon, 01 Jun 2015 23:39:15 -0400 Gary Dale <garydale@torfree.net> wrote: > On 01/06/15 10:10 PM, Martin Read wrote: > > On 02/06/15 01:56, Jose Martinez wrote: > >> The question is, will jessie install and run on these old systems? > >> If not, can I still get a debian distro that will? I expect that > >> the processors on at least one of them will be at least i386 or > >> better, so I also expect that jessie will install and run, but > >> that my main problem will be with drivers for the legacy > >> peripherals. > > > > https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch02s01.html.en says: > > > > "However, Debian GNU/Linux jessie will not run on 486 or earlier > > processors. Despite the architecture name "i386", support for > > actual 80386 and 80486 processors (and their clones) was dropped > > with the Sarge (r3.1) and Squeeze (r6.0) releases of Debian, > > respectively. The Intel Pentium and clones, including those without > > an FPU (Floating-Point Unit or math coprocessor), are supported. > > The Intel Quark is not supported, due to hardware errata. " > > > > > Where you will also find problems is with various distros that > supposedly support Pentiums but that require PAE, which is missing > from a lot of them. > > Another huge issue is finding a windowing system that will be > lightweight enough to run in the memory older Pentium-based computers > are likely to support. Look around and see if you can find a copy of fvwm 1.24r - I ran that for years on a 386 with little RAM without any problems. Version 2 is a little heavier, but you can compile it yourself and leave out options you don't need, like pixmap support for the titlebars etc. Petter -- "I'm ionized" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive."
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