i386 with Mandrake 10.1

[el__sid]

Hi all,

This is my first post, so please be kind, I'll probably be back here in the future bugging you for more answers . So lets start

I have a laptop, and an old one at that, 2001, possibly 2002.

I'm looking to install a Linux distro to it in dual-boot with WinXP, and after the hassle of using Debian Live CD's, I've decided that Mandrake looks better as a permanent install.

But just before I downloaded I noticed that all the cds look like they were made for the i586 architecture, and this has got me worried.

My laptop is still only i386, will this present any major problems? or any problems at all?

I only have a 300K adsl connection, so downloading 2gig of cd iso's for a Linux distro that won't work is a huge waste of time for me.

Any advice greatfully received,

El Sid

P.S. When I install, do I HAVE to install Grub/LILO? I already have a version of lilo installed and customised to my needs, and I don't want to have to ruin it

[redbeard]

I have a laptop, and an old one at that, 2001, possibly 2002...

But just before I downloaded I noticed that all the cds look like they were made for the i586 architecture, and this has got me worried.

My laptop is still only i386, will this present any major problems? or any problems at all?

I can't imagine that your laptop from 2001 or 2002 isn't at least of the original pentium class (586). I would say you will be fine here.

I don't know the answer for sure to your Lilo/Grub question. I was able to skip the bootloader step for my Debian partition, but I can't recall if Mandriva would have let me do this. If it does you would need to know where your lilo config file is and how to add the right lines to it. I'm more familiar with grub so all I can offer here are the lines in my own grub menu.lst file for Mandriva 10.2. You would likely have to modify the partition reference, and perhaps the kernel and initrd links to the specific files you have in your /boot folder. Hopefully someone else on these boards can offer you more info on this, but here is what I have for Mandriva 10.2 in grub:

title Mandrake
kernel (hd0,5)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda6 resume=/dev/hda5 splash=silent vga=788
initrd (hd0,5)/boot/initrd.img

title linux-nonfb
kernel (hd0,5)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda6 resume=/dev/hda5
initrd (hd0,5)/boot/initrd.img

title failsafe
kernel (hd0,5)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda6 failsafe resume=/dev/hda5 devfs=nomount
initrd (hd0,5)/boot/initrd.img

[el__sid]

Ok thanks for shedding some light on that

[GNU_man]

Your laptop from 2002 has a 386 in it
are you sure it's not from 1992?

Anyway if it is a 386 your choices are going to be somewhat limited for more reasons than the just the CPU. One critical factor is how much RAM does it have?

... they were made for the i586 architecture, and this has got me worried. My laptop is still only i386, will this present any major problems?

Any of the pentium optimized distro's really do require a pentium(i586)

[el__sid]

I'm Running Celeron in it, and I've seen a folder for I386 in the c drive in windows, so I assumed its an I386 Architecture, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm more of a software guy than a Hardware guy.

Any of the pentium optimized distro's really do require a pentium(i586)

I've got 300 and something MB RAM, I assumed that was enough for Mandrake, but again, I could be wrong, and I'm willing to learn

So Mandriva wouldnt work well on a Celeron?

[GNU_man]

Celeron with 300+ MB RAM should be fine. (must be 256+128= 384MB) i386 is just the name intel gave to their 32bit x86 arch. CPU's. Since the 386 was the first one, they just it 'i386' architecture.

Mandrake is a nice easy to use distro, perfect if you're new to Linux. Enjoy!

[el__sid]

Celeron with 300+ MB RAM should be fine. (must be 256+128= 384MB) i386 is just the name intel gave to their 32bit x86 arch. CPU's. Since the 386 was the first one, they just it 'i386' architecture.

Mandrake is a nice easy to use distro, perfect if you're new to Linux. Enjoy!

Beautiful

Thanks a lot for your help guys,

El Sid