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A Science Project: "Make the 486 Great Again!" - Modern Linux in an ancient PC
What is the oldest x86 processor that is still supported by a modern Linux kernel in present time? I asked the above quiz question during the Geekcamp tech conference in Nov 2017 during my emcee role. The theoretical answer as you can glean from the title of this post is the 486 which was first released in 1989. I determined that fact from this article where support for the 386 was dropped in Dec 2012. To get you interested, here is the result of my effort.
Unlike a binary software distribution, the source code is compiled locally according to the user’s preferences and is often optimized for the specific type of computer. If you have seen the video, I installed the latest versions (available in the Portage repository) of Git, Python, nginx, ALSA and MOC (console music player). Disconnect CD-ROM drive as primary slave Replace the CF card as I thought it was faulty Trying different 80-pin conductor cables Recompiling the Linux kernel many times with different SATA/PATA options in case I chose the incorrect one.
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