Version with 486

Torpille · 01-27-2002, 07:50 AM

Sorry to disturb with this question but I past a lot of time and don't find the solution.

Witch distribution can I install for a 486 (I don't mind about speed)

- new ones (redhat7.2 suse7.1, last of mandrake)
- or must I find a special one that is write specialy for 486)

(what mean i386 exactly ? sometime i see i386 and 2 pages later Puntium ....)

Thanks to be indulgent.

dorward · 01-27-2002, 08:11 AM

Debian is probably your best bet for a 486, you can install from floppy disk, network, cd, etc and a base install doesn't require masses of power (Red Hat needs 32MB+ of RAM to run the installer!)

If a program is for i386 then it will work on Intel 386DX and compatable chipsets.

barazor · 01-27-2002, 05:58 PM

try an older version of slackware, like slack 3, works great on my old 486

finegan · 01-27-2002, 06:50 PM

The only current version of the big 5: Debian, Slackware, SuSe, RedHat and Mandrake that will not run on that machine is Mandrake, which is compiled for the 586s (Pentium's) and above. None of them ill run fast if you plan on using X-windows. If you don't need a cute GUI, any of them will work alright. A lot of its going to depend on the amount of disk space you have available. Deb and Slack you can get down to about 300-400Mb without trouble or a lot of work... the others... uh, don't bother.

Cheers,

Finegan