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-   -   14.1 on old hardware with 512M RAM (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-installation-40/14-1-on-old-hardware-with-512m-ram-4175515986/)

enine 08-22-2014 05:32 PM

14.1 on old hardware with 512M RAM
 
Is it still possible to install Slackware on some very minimal hardware?
I have an old board that I was trying to see if I could at least get it up and running.
If I use huge.s mem=512M that gets it past the PAE check and unpacking the kernel but now I get the message couldn't find valid RAM disk image starting at 0.

Didier Spaier 08-22-2014 05:49 PM

I think that 512M RAM is more than enough, and that "mem=512M" is useless and possibly hurts.

Try to just press [Enter] at the initial prompt.

enine 08-22-2014 05:57 PM

If I just press enter I get the message about the cpu not supporting PAE. So I tell it to use huge.s and then it hangs trying ti uncompress the initrd. telling it mem=512 gets past that from what my searching tells me but I couldn't find an answer to not being able to create the ramdisk.

ruario 08-23-2014 02:19 PM

Haven't tried 14.1 on such limited hardware but I do run 14.0 on an old eeepc (also with 512M RAM). Other than limiting the package selection somewhat (due to lack of disk space) I needed to do nothing special. I use the generic SMP kernel.

jefro 08-23-2014 03:09 PM

"Slackware Linux doesn't require an extremely powerful system to run (though having one is quite nice :). It will run on systems as far back as the 486. Below is a list of minimum system requirements needed to install and run Slackware.

486 processor
64MB RAM (1GB+ suggested)
About 5GB+ of hard disk space for a full install
CD or DVD drive (if not bootable, then a bootable USB flash stick or PXE server/network card)

Additional hardware may be needed if you want to run the X Window System at a usable speed or if you want network capabilities. "

I am surprised that they still claim this but OK. http://www.slackware.com/install/sysreq.php

metaschima 08-23-2014 03:55 PM

More accurate messages would be helpful, word for word. I've installed Slackware 14.0 on a much more minimal system e.g. P3 128 MB RAM, so it should work. More info on the system would also be helpful.

May I also recommend that with any old system you run memtest86 before doing anything with it. Every old system I have tried to install on have had at least 1 bad RAM stick.

enine 08-23-2014 04:50 PM

The actual message I get is:
Quote:

RAM: couldn't find valid RAM disk image starting at 0
It could not unpack initd if I didn't pass mem=512 at boot time.

I did a workaround of borrowing RAM from another box, completing the install then removing the RAM so I guess we can say solved by workaround but I'd still like to know how to install 14.1 with 512M.

Anyway, looking at this http://www.provantage.com/asus-am1i~7ASUS29A.htm and a processor and ram. I'm throwing together a little miniitx box to replace our crappy Samsung Bluray Home Theater box.

keefaz 08-23-2014 04:51 PM

The cpu not supporting PAE...

Are you installing slackware 64 bits version?

[edit]
Oops forget what I said, I made a confustion ;)

enine 08-23-2014 05:00 PM

No, its a really old board. I was at a local pc shop and saw this little miniitx case for $34 and my wife had been complaining about having to reboot the bluray player twice during one show so I decided its time to revive the media pc project I never got started. Threw the old board in that I had lying around to test it out.

metaschima 08-23-2014 05:03 PM

Sounds like a bad RAM stick to me. Run memtest86+ or you may have to reinstall the system again after you realize things aren't working properly.

enine 08-23-2014 05:13 PM

no, the RAMs fine, it installed fine once I borrowed more ram from another system, took the borrowed back out and the original 512M still works fine, system is running now. I'm just looking for a way to get the installer to run in 512M.
I actually had an old version of Slackware on it, just wanted to move to the latest.

ruario 08-25-2014 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enine (Post 5226049)
I'm just looking for a way to get the installer to run in 512M.

Sounds odd, it should just work. At some point I might get around to trying the 14.1 installer on my old Eee PC 4G Surf and confirm.

In any case, even if it does not work the easiest way around this is to use the 14.0 installer and point at repository of 14.1 packages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enine (Post 5226049)
I actually had an old version of Slackware on it, just wanted to move to the latest.

You could have also followed the upgrade steps.

enine 08-25-2014 06:30 AM

The old version I had wasn't complete though, I had done a bare minimal install so I figured by the time I upgrade what was there and then add the rest I could just as easy wipe and install everything in one step.

Anyway, new hardware is on the way. Its been probably a decade since I put together a non-laptop system, hopefully I remember how :)

onebuck 08-25-2014 11:00 AM

Member Response
 
Hi,
Quote:

Originally Posted by jefro (Post 5225991)
"Slackware Linux doesn't require an extremely powerful system to run (though having one is quite nice :). It will run on systems as far back as the 486. Below is a list of minimum system requirements needed to install and run Slackware.

486 processor
64MB RAM (1GB+ suggested)
About 5GB+ of hard disk space for a full install
CD or DVD drive (if not bootable, then a bootable USB flash stick or PXE server/network card)

Additional hardware may be needed if you want to run the X Window System at a usable speed or if you want network capabilities. "

I am surprised that they still claim this but OK. http://www.slackware.com/install/sysreq.php

Corrected in Slackware-HOWTO ;
Quote:

128 megabytes (128MB) or more of RAM. If you have less RAM than this, you might still be able to install, but if so don't expect the best possible experience. You also will need some disk space to install Slackware. For a complete installation, you'll probably want to devote a 10GB *or larger* partition completely to Slackware (you'll need almost 6GB for a full default installation, and then you'll want extra space when you're done). If you haven't installed Slackware before, you may have to experiment. If you've got the drive space, more is going to be better than not enough. Also, you can always install only the first software set (the A series containing only the basic system utilities) and then install more software later once your system is running.
Your concerns were valid, site http://www.slackware.com/install/sysreq.php information should be updated to reflect requirements.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:


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