Will this distro work on non-cmov, non-pae computer

[Member lurker123]

I have an older computer (Pentium MMX) that does not have cmov or pae. Which version should I install?

[Member Xecure]

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non-pae yes (antiX 19.3 i386 base and full come with non-pae kernel).

The problem will be other things probably (enough RAM, compatible graphic card with current xserver-sorg-video drivers, etc.).
antiX 15/16 worked on a Pentium MMX (https://antixlinux.com/forum-archive/antix-v386-base-iso-t5924.html) but it was extremely limited.

If you want to see if it is possible, burn a CD with antiX 17 base i386 first and see if it can boot to graphical environment. Probably you will have to use a 4.4 kernel (in the repos) once you have it installed.
I wouldn’t try antiX 19 yet until you are sure antiX 17 works. I believe 19 will be too much for your computer.

Probably someone with more experience with old machines can give us some more info.

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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From what I could see of the older thread I believe that Roki was able to get a similar system working using an even older version of antiX, I believe it was 13.2.

Take a look at both pages of the link.
Sometimes an old system works best with a very old computer.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Brian Masinick.

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Brian Masinick

[Member lurker123]

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Thanks to everyone for their comments; this seems like a friendly place :-). I’ll try 13.2.

I also need USB and PCMCIA support, and GRUB 2 for large hard disks. Will that be available in 13.2, or will I need to install additional software?

[Forum Admin anticapitalista]

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Just so you know, antiX-13.2 is no longer supported. It reached ‘end of life’, which means the repos are wrong/outdated.
Latest supported versions start from antiX-17.

Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.

antiX with runit - leaner and meaner.

[Member marcelocripe]

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Hi, lurker123,

Welcome to antiX Linux.

To revive a computer with a Pentium MMX processor is not an easy task these days.

It would be interesting to inform us what is the speed of the Pentium MMX processor, what is the amount of RAM that your computer has and also what is the technology of the RAM card (EDO – Extended Data Output ou DIMM Double In-Line Memory Module).

I found the link that BobC was kind enough to share in the topic https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/how-to-set-the-set-gfxmode-1024x768x16-1024×768/page/5/, for download old versions of antiX: https://sourceforge.net/projects/antix-linux/files/old/.

It was on 16-07-2020, when I needed to make a computer with a video card that was a chip set Via VT8237R Plus work with antiX, I had tested versions 19.2, 17.4.1, but only version 16.3 worked well with this video card, but that computer had 1 GB of DDR RAM, I believe it was three generations after MMX technology.

I only insisted on antiX because I was very well received here in the community. Yes, you are right, this is a friendly place, with lots of good people and willing to help, and that is not found in all communities.

As Anticapitalista explained, you will have to use the operating system the way you find it, that’s what happened to me on that computer.

If you can get it to work with one of the old versions available of antiX, please let us know and if possible, share your experience on the topic https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/system-requirements-for-antix -and-other-debians /

marcelocripe

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Olá lurker123,

Seja bem vindo ao antiX Linux.

Conseguir reviver um computador com processador Pentium MMX não é uma tarefa fácil nos dias de hoje.

Seria interessante você nos informar qual é a velocidade do processador Pentium MMX, qual é a quantidade de memória RAM que o seu computador possui e ainda qual é a tecnologia da placa de memória RAM (EDO – Extended Data Output ou DIMM Double In-Line Memory Module).

Eu encontrei o link que o BobC fez a gentileza de compartilhar no tópico https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/how-to-set-the-set-gfxmode-1024x768x16-1024×768/page/5/, para fazer download das versões antigas do antiX: https://sourceforge.net/projects/antix-linux/files/old/.

Foi no dia 16-07-2020, quando eu precisei fazer um computador com placa de vídeo que era chip set Via VT8237R Plus funcionar com o antiX, eu havia testado as versões 19.2, 17.4.1, mas só a versão 16.3 funcionou bem com esta placa de vídeo, mas aquele computador dispunha de paca de memória RAM DDR de 1 GB, acredito eu que era três gerações posteriores a tecnologia do MMX.

Eu só insisti com o antiX porque eu fui muito bem recebido aqui na comunidade. Sim, você tem razão, aqui é um lugar amigável, com várias pessoas boas e dispostas a ajudar e isso não encontramos em todas as comunidades.

Conforme a explicação do Anticapitalista, você terá que utilizar o sistema operacional do jeito que você encontrar, foi o que aconteceu comigo naquele computador.

Se você conseguir fazer funcionar com uma das versões antigas disponíveis do antiX, por favor nos informe e ainda se possível, compartilhe a sua experiência no tópico https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/system-requirements-for-antix-and-other-debians/

marcelocripe

[Member lurker123]

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> It would be interesting to inform us what is the speed of the Pentium MMX processor, what is the amount of RAM that your computer has and also what is the technology of the RAM > card (EDO – Extended Data Output ou DIMM Double In-Line Memory Module).

233 MHz, 11 MB DIMM RAM (which was huge in those days; I remember it was DIMM because I bought some extra RAM)

> I found the link that BobC was kind enough to share in the topic https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/how-to-set-the-set-gfxmode-1024x768x16-1024×768/page/5/, for download old > versions of antiX: https://sourceforge.net/projects/antix-linux/files/old/.

Thanks for the link, although I will also keep in mind the moderator’s comment about the repo links for 13.2.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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@lurker123: Though 13.2 is older and may work for certain older systems I would still recommend to use the newest version that works.

In particular 17.4 or newer are still supported so that is a big advantage as long as it can handle your system.

If not then using something else is an alternative, though not an ideal one, more like a last resort if current software drops support for the hardware.

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Brian Masinick

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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anticapitalista wrote:

Just so you know, antiX-13.2 is no longer supported. It reached ‘end of life’, which means the repos are wrong/outdated.
Latest supported versions start from antiX-17.

Yes, that is definitely true. Using really old computer systems sometimes (mostly) means no hardware and no software support.

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Brian Masinick

[Member lurker123]

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13.2 reports 104 Mb of ram (35.8 Mb with X/icewm running)
CPU load 15% with X/icewm running

Will try 17 just to see if that works, by some miracle. Lots of “illegal instruction” messages during boot and angry flashing status lights on the computer, so 17 didn’t work.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by lurker123.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by lurker123.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by lurker123.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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lurker123 wrote:

13.2 reports 104 Mb of ram (35.8 Mb with X/icewm running)
CPU load 15% with X/icewm running

Will try 17 just to see if that works, by some miracle. Lots of “illegal instruction” messages during boot and angry flashing status lights on the computer, so 17 didn’t work.

At least you got your answer and a version that works. The Linux kernel has support for a long time and has a lot of hardware that it supports but on occasion the support for really old hardware is dropped in favor of additional support for newer hardware.

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Brian Masinick

[Member lurker123]

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The install script GUI for 13.2 worked fine, and installed the system to hard disk, but GRUB 0.97 had problems with my 19 Gb hard drive (17 Gb after deducting 1 Gb for swap and ~1 Gb for the boot partition); hopefully I can use a GRUB2 CD-ROM to fix the problem. And I’ve got a pointer to the wheezy repo at http://archive.debian.org/debian/dists/ so I can add samba and other goodies. Thanks all for letting me know how far back I had to go for something that would work.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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Perhaps another boot loader would work if you have a way to get in.

The live image itself may provide you with a way, if you know how to get to the location of the installed image.

Grub 2 would certainly handle it.

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Brian Masinick

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