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I currently have BasicLinux (http://distro.ibiblio.org/baslinux/ http://distro.ibiblio.org/baslinux/) running on a 386SX with 8MB RAM. Last remaining thing I’m

I currently have BasicLinux (http://distro.ibiblio.org/baslinux/ http://distro.ibiblio.org/baslinux/) running on a 386SX with 8MB RAM. Last remaining thing I’m still puzzling over is getting its 10Mbit Ethernet card working.

jbuzbee 6y ago
You knew this was coming ;-) Back in 1993 I had SLS Linux running on a 386SX with 4MB of RAM. And that included X11 and gcc so I could compile my own kernels!
- guenthert 6y ago
  (almost) same here. Had the DX though and quickly upgraded to 8MiB (by adding 36 RAM chips in DIP). Still when compiling the kernel (took about 20m, iirc), I left X11. Swapping wasn't that much fun using a single 65MB RLL(!) drive.
rwmj 6y ago
What's the problem with the ethernet card? I'm guessing Linux has deprecated/removed the driver for it? Also I'm quite surprised that Linux still works on a 386SX, because support for 386 was removed some time ago (https://lwn.net/Articles/527396/ https://lwn.net/Articles/527396/).
- incanus77 6y ago
  Right, this was the first problem: “i386” distros actually pretty much all went 486+ some years back. So that severely limits the ecosystem. While you can always go back in the archive and get a bare kernel, I wanted a full system with init, package management, etc. The card is (unsurprisingly) an ISA slot, an Intel EtherExpress 16. I forget exactly where I was with it when last I poked at this earlier this year, but the promising thing is I have it worked in MS-DOS 6.22 without issue. There are some utilities from Intel that I found that write EEPROM on the card to setup its IRQ and all of that, which is how I got it working in DOS. Perhaps I’ll take another swing at it and document more precisely what the issues are and what I’ve tried so far. I wrote up the acquisition, repair, and resuscitation of the machine on a series of posts on my blog under “Project 386” beginning with https://justinmiller.io/posts/2020/04/26/project-386-part-1/ https://justinmiller.io/posts/2020/04/26/project-386-part-1/ so I have intentions of adding some more posts.
  - npongratz 6y ago
    Just wanted to say that your Project 386 posts are fantastic! Thank you so much for writing them up! I really enjoyed reading them. I was so happy you got it running, and seriously impressed with your troubleshooting and analysis of all system components, and the eventual fix of the motherboard traces.
    - incanus77 6y ago
      Oh, thank you! They are so niche, but I really wanted to convey the sense of adventure and persistence that I was wrapped up in while trying to revive the thing. It has since led to a new hobby (I recently acquired a working 1986 Mac Plus) as well as a side business project that I hope to share more about soon.
- pantalaimon 6y ago
  > I'm quite surprised that Linux still works on a 386SX The resolution is that BasicLinux is pretty old itself: > BL3 is a mini-Linux designed specifically for old PCs. It provides a slim 2.2.26 kernel

jbuzbee 6y ago

You knew this was coming ;-) Back in 1993 I had SLS Linux running on a 386SX with 4MB of RAM. And that included X11 and gcc so I could compile my own kernels!

guenthert 6y ago
(almost) same here. Had the DX though and quickly upgraded to 8MiB (by adding 36 RAM chips in DIP). Still when compiling the kernel (took about 20m, iirc), I left X11. Swapping wasn't that much fun using a single 65MB RLL(!) drive.

rwmj 6y ago

What's the problem with the ethernet card? I'm guessing Linux has deprecated/removed the driver for it? Also I'm quite surprised that Linux still works on a 386SX, because support for 386 was removed some time ago (https://lwn.net/Articles/527396/ https://lwn.net/Articles/527396/).

incanus77 6y ago
Right, this was the first problem: “i386” distros actually pretty much all went 486+ some years back. So that severely limits the ecosystem. While you can always go back in the archive and get a bare kernel, I wanted a full system with init, package management, etc. The card is (unsurprisingly) an ISA slot, an Intel EtherExpress 16. I forget exactly where I was with it when last I poked at this earlier this year, but the promising thing is I have it worked in MS-DOS 6.22 without issue. There are some utilities from Intel that I found that write EEPROM on the card to setup its IRQ and all of that, which is how I got it working in DOS. Perhaps I’ll take another swing at it and document more precisely what the issues are and what I’ve tried so far. I wrote up the acquisition, repair, and resuscitation of the machine on a series of posts on my blog under “Project 386” beginning with https://justinmiller.io/posts/2020/04/26/project-386-part-1/ https://justinmiller.io/posts/2020/04/26/project-386-part-1/ so I have intentions of adding some more posts.
- npongratz 6y ago
  Just wanted to say that your Project 386 posts are fantastic! Thank you so much for writing them up! I really enjoyed reading them. I was so happy you got it running, and seriously impressed with your troubleshooting and analysis of all system components, and the eventual fix of the motherboard traces.
  - incanus77 6y ago
    Oh, thank you! They are so niche, but I really wanted to convey the sense of adventure and persistence that I was wrapped up in while trying to revive the thing. It has since led to a new hobby (I recently acquired a working 1986 Mac Plus) as well as a side business project that I hope to share more about soon.
pantalaimon 6y ago
> I'm quite surprised that Linux still works on a 386SX The resolution is that BasicLinux is pretty old itself: > BL3 is a mini-Linux designed specifically for old PCs. It provides a slim 2.2.26 kernel