Help for Linux on bare-bones 386

[jabr at tarnhelm.blu.org (John Abreau)]

On Mon, 4 Jan 1999, jethro wrote:

> 
> For recycled machines, I would have at least 8MB RAM and a 100MB hard
> disk, with CDROM (even if only borrowed for the duration of the install,
> and returned afterwards) and 3-1/2" floppy.  I have never seen linux
> successfully running on a 386, so I suppose that's a recommendation in
> itself.  A smaller hard drive is possible, but then you wouldn't have
> enough space for applications such as emacs and other miscellanious stuff. 
> And don't forget a swap partition!  At 40MB, using 8MB of that as swap 
> will seem like a huge amount.

I did a side-by-side comarison a few years ago that illustrates the
importance of memory. I had a 16-MHz 386 with 16MB or RAM, and a 33-MHz
486 with 8MB of RAM. I installed identical Slackware systems on the two
boxes, and the 386, at half the speed but with twice the RAM, ran circles
around the 486. When I upgraded the 486 to 16MB, of course, the 486 then 
ran much faster than the 386. I found 8MB to be unuseable when running X.

--
John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix 
Email: jabr at blu.org / URL: http://www.blu.org
ICQ#26171446
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