operating systems

From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead_at_retrocomputing.com>
Date: Wed Dec 31 19:19:55 1997

> > Errrr...not to quibble...but the primary restriction on using Linux is the
> > processor and the RAM not so much the hard drive. You can run a usable
> > linux system on a 386 with 4mb of RAM and 20mb of drive space. I know
> > because I ran a small FTP/web server on one...if I powered it up, it'd
> > still run and do ok...can't handle many simultaneous users and swaps
> > itself to death if you don't reboot it every morning but that's easy
> > with crond.
> >
> > You can't do ALOT of software development mind you...but you can have
> > full networking utilities...even run Lynx for web stuff...and write
> > shell scripts and editors and do all kinds of useful things.
> >
> > Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
>
> I've a LTE 386s/20 with 10mb ram/500mb HD. How bad the performance
> go if someone have successfully ran win X on it? Slow as cold honey
> or frozen? I have no luck getting very basic win X to work on that
> LCD display even included the scan H and V rates in there right off
> the original manual (34khz and 140hz respectively) with either SVGA
> (I know it will still be 16 colors "shades"), mono or VGA16 servers.
> After running the GUI-based program to configure X it says I have a
> working server but when after that, hung before I get the adjust
> screen part. I tried several graphics based games that were not
> required for X with same results. Is ther a way to force a old
> fashioned VGA mode on all of these stuff? Slackware 3.4 and XF86
> 3.3.1.

To run X you will want to have 16 megs, a reasonable size swap partition
and at least some variant of a 486dx processor. It's not bad on a
processor 33 mhz or above...

X has higher overhead than Windows 3.11 or Windows 95 because it is much
less integrated into the OS. It has the advantage, however, of allowing
multiple X terminals on the same unix box...IE multiuser GUI.

Wirehead - Anthony Clifton
Received on Wed Dec 31 1997 - 19:19:55 GMT