Re: FreeBSD on an old computer
From: David Lord (snews_at_lordynet.demon.co.uk)
Date: 12/18/03
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Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 10:28:55 +0000 (GMT)
On Thursday, in article
<1071735708.241023@ente.ipberlin.com>
read_the_sig@do.not.spam.it "jpd" wrote:
> In article <slrnbu253j.21j9.wblock@w0nkity.wonkity.com>, Warren Block wrote:
> > Kim André Akerĝ <kimandre@betadome.com> wrote:
> [snip: old hardware]
> > 8M of RAM and 270M of hard disk? Why bother? I recently put FreeBSD
> > 4.9 on a 486 DX2/50, but it has 32M and a 3G drive (it wouldn't
> > recognize 8G, and I didn't want a separate boot partition).
> >
> > It works fine, though even a kernel build takes a very long time. 16M
> > RAM would be okay, but that is just way too little disk space for
> > general use.
>
> As ObOtherPoster pointed out, NetBSD would be a viable alternative here.
> I've run my mail on nbsd for years without a hitch: 486SX25[4], 10MB ram,
> 120MB disk. Compiling a new kernel was really painful though; I had to
> NFS mount in some space a few hops away and 10MB just is not much room
> to compile in. Still, two days later it was finished and got me a bit of
> valuable room in return for drivers I didn't need.
>
> I do have to agree with you, though. Hardware that's fallen off the
> trailing edge is _not_ a good platform to start learning a new OS on.
> I'd say to OP to get at least a pentium of some sort with at the very
> least 16MB of memory (I'd aim for 64MB, more if possible) and say at
> least 2GB of disk. That kind of hardware can be picked up from the
> trash or gotten for free also, so I'd not bother with less.
>
> Unless it was something spiffy like a small VAX (say, 4000/108 or so),
> but then I'd still run NetBSD on it.
>
>
> > I also fought with getting the ISA NE2000 card recognized; it took three
> > tries: card #1 went into the trash, card #2 was a 3C515 (I think) and is
> > not-quite-supported by FreeBSD, card #3--a Kingston KNE20TX eventually
> > worked, but only in PNP mode. If you are lucky enough to have an old
> > card with jumpers, use that. PNP was ugly at the time that computer was
> > new; probably still is for ISA.
>
> My first *BSD install[0] was a NetBSD net-install[1]. It took five NICs:
> Two dead, two failing due to impossible or otherwise unsupported fixed
> address settings[3] and one for which the driver (and driver name) had
> recently changed -- and the supported hardware list /as distributed/
> hadn't been updated yet. Oh, and of course the obligatory /really good
> NIC/ that could easily have been accomodating all the addressing the
> installer could wish for, in any combination; it was just that the
> driver for it wasn't included on the install floppy.
>
> Finding out was painful, and it needed some kind NetBSD people to tell
> me the right two letters to look for in a hardware list fresh from cvs.
> It did work out in the end, though.
>
>
> [snip]
> > If the kernel will boot in 8M, it will run the CD-ROM. However, I don't
> > think the GENERIC kernel will even boot in 8M.
At least for NetBSD the install cd offers a selection of kernels and
TINY kernel has no problem booting in 8M. For my first install
however I took ram from another PC to give 20M then compiled a
minimal kernel before going back to 8M. This is a 486dx66 used as
firewall and I also have a 486dlc33 again with only 8M and both
NetBSD 1.6. Disk space used is 32M swap, 33M for / and 41M for /usr.
I don't think either of those systems would be useful for learning
about NetBSD. I'd go along with the sugestion other poster made to
grab an old version of FreeBSD from around same era as the hardware.
David
-- The Reply-To: is valid for 30 - 60 days after posting date David Lord - david@lordynet.demon.co.uk
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