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Freescale had announced new non volatile memory: Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM). They said it is possible to boot OS from MRAM and also quick shutdown and resume. How much ...
  1. 07-13-2006 #1
    xxqq
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    Question Running Linux On MRAM

    Freescale had announced new non volatile memory: Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM). They said it is possible to boot OS from MRAM and also quick shutdown and resume.

    How much MRAM is needed for booting and running Linux?

    I have good experience on running Knoppix LiveCD (with TWM GUI) on PC with 32 MB RAM, without any hard disk.
    Is 32 MB MRAM enough for running Linux with fast shutdown and resume?
    Thank you.

    From BBC:
    A microchip which can store information like a hard drive has been unveiled by US company Freescale. The chip, called magnetoresistive random-access memory (Mram), maintains data by relying on magnetic properties rather than an electrical charge. The benefit of Mram chips is that they will hold information after power has been switched off. Unlike flash memory, which also can keep data without power, Mram has faster read and write speeds and does not degrade over time.

    Mram chips could one day be used in PCs to store an operating system, allowing computers to start up faster when switched on.
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  2. 07-13-2006 #2
    burnit
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    Actually my Debian keep 3.8 GB on my root partition. Oh, yes, my two linux kernel directories not cleaned, my JDK and netbeans, and a lot of stuffs (like apt cache)...

    Maybe 32 MB are enought to store a minimal OS, but no OS with a GUI (only X binaries keeps 137 MB!).
    You should try to compile only required packages, preferring minimal resource keeping packages. The knoppix guide may help you in this task.

    And what about RAM when executing binaries?
    When using Windows, have you ever told "Ehi... do your business?"
    Linux user #396597 (http://counter.li.org)
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  3. 07-13-2006 #3
    xxqq
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    Smile

    > 137 Mb

    The Linux + X Windows + application is loaded into the memory from LiveCD/USB flash storage during initial boot time.
    When the PC is suspended/turn off, the entire memory is not erased.
    When the PC is turn on there is no need to load Linux + X-Windows +application again from LiveCD/USB Flash storage.

    According to Howstuffworks X-Windows need 64 Mb of RAM.
    With the current price of MRAM at US$ 6.25 / Megabytes, it cost: US$ 400.

    http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram2.htm

    There is a minimal DSL LiveCD distro with size of 48 Mb. This LiveCD can be stored and booted from an external USB flash storage.

    For GUI, i plan to use TWM, for browser: Dillo or Opera 5 static version.

    >Without X-Windows
    Svgalib consume less memory than X-Windows:
    1. Links 2.X graphic browser
    2. ZGV graphic viewer, mplayer: video , mp3blaster: mp3.

    Is the above system possible?
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