This is a general question not related to any specific distribution.

I've searched the net for information on this and can't find a single thing other than x86_64 is for 64bit processors and 686 might be for P4's (varies).

So 386 - 686, which will run on which processors?

386 and 486 I'm assuming are literally for Intel 386 and 486 CPU's.
But what about 586? Is that for PIII's and Celerons? Or 64bit processors?
And 686's are for P4's?

I'm asking this mainly because I have a Mendocino Celeron 533MHz and I got a 586 distribution which told me (at bootup while attempting to install) that my CPU doesn't support long mode and I need to use a 32bit distribution instead. So because of that I'm assuming 586 is for 64bit because why would a 32bit distro tell me that I need to use a 32bit distro?

Little confused here..

386/486 are litterally for 386/486 or clones like you said.

586 is pentium classic and clones (the first pentium)

686 is pentium pro, celeron, and pentium II (and III I think? anyone know?)

786 is xeon and pentium 4


What distro did you try? 586 is definitely a 32-bit thing. Did it say anything more than just "long mode"? I'm not sure what "long mode" means.

heh, I found this in a search.............

<edit>http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...49#post1784249

<edit/>

Probably...

586 is intel pentium, intel pentium mmx, amd k5, etc...

686 is intel pentium pro and any x86 released after that, amd athlon/duron, etc...

there's no 786 yet...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86

regarding your issue: seems like long mode is a 64-bit feature:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_mode

so maybe you did indeed download a 64-bit distro unintentionally...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I786

That is where I was getting my 786 information from.

Again thought, regardless of if 786 exists or not, it doesn't matter, if it does exist it is not a normal requirement for linux programs, and if it doesn't exist then it doesn't matter for obvious reasons!

that's a nice post, but it does kinda give the impression that i686 refers exclusively to pentium 4 and after, which is not the case... rememeber that i686 includes anything from intel after pentium pro, this includes pentium 2, 3, and 4 as well as their amd counterparts...

honestly i had never heard of 786 before, thanks for the link...

i will proceed to stick a sock in my mouth now...

i386 works on everything you are going to be using if you have a PC.

i586 is optimized for everything up to a Pentium II. i586 works on every Pentium processor.

i686 is optimized for Pentium II and above. i686 works on every Pentium II and above.

I've never heard of any precompiled binaries in i786 format.

x86_64 works with every 64 bit processor for a PC.

There are different architectures than a PC.

Sun Micro has several different Sparc Processors.

DEC has several different alpha processors.

Linus is also made for HP-UX systems, and several other architectures, including IBM AS/400.

If you are using a system which can boot from a CD drive, i386 will always work.

i think you mean "up to Pentium Pro", right??

The distribution I ordered (Cost $35 for shipping plus the CD's) was Mandriva 2006 7 CD Set. The processor type it was for simply said "Intel".. This is from LinuxCentral (the site). Everything else in that category was for 386-686 and there was not a second option or package.
The first CD was unreadable in a CDRW drive so I'm assuming it's a DVD or the 32bit boot disc that's actually corrupted, and ALL the content on the other 6 discs have i586 in the filenames.
I know there's not something wrong with my CPU because it's run Mandrake 8, Windows XP, and is currently running a smaller Linux distro.
I'm just trying to get this right before I spend another $35 on Linux since it's doubtful the site I ordered from will exchange.