Ancestors

Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-03 at 20:53

Checked out #Linux kernel v3.7.10 to see if I can strip it down enough to run on the 386 with 4MB of RAM in the Toshiba T5200. My plan is to do something very similar to what I did in my blog post where I targeted a 486 (https://www.insentricity.com/a.cl/283), but this time use LOADLIN.EXE to load the kernel from DOS since I don't have a working floppy drive.

[#]RetroComputing #VintageComputing.

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-03 at 21:02

No make tinyconfig on v3.7.10. That's going to make stripping it down a lot more work. #Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-03 at 22:46

Setup a Debian 7 Wheezy docker environment to build in. But already running into compile problems which seem to be caused by lack of 386 support:

In file included from include/linux/irq_work.h:4:0,

             from arch/x86/kernel/irq_work.c:8:

include/linux/llist.h: In function 'llist_add':

include/linux/llist.h:160:11: error: 'boot_cpu_data' undeclared (first use in this function)

[#]Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 02:22

Looks like v3.3.8 was the last version that could be built for 386. After that there's some change that prevents the kernel from compiling. #Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 03:08

Hey, an error message is progress, right? #Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 03:30

I’m not sure that’s better. No error messages at all. #Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 17:48

Still can’t get my kernel to boot. Went and got the Slackware 1 kernel and used LOADLIN and that’s at least something! Maybe I should try to fix the floppy drive so I can do a traditional Linux install? #Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 19:58

If I change the BIOS Memory config so that everything above 640k is Extended instead of some being Expanded then my custom kernel doesn't immediately reboot. Instead it just hangs with a cursor on the screen and doesn't print anything. Getting annoyed with the lack of a reset button on the T5200 too.

Would be nice if there was a way I could get qemu to act exactly like the T5200 so I don't have to keep testing on the real hardware.

[#]Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Toot

Written by Andrew Golding on 2025-01-04 at 21:41

@fozztexx Do you have your kernel configuration and build environment docker file posted anywhere? I would be curious to try this out on my Compaq 386 and see if anything interesting / enlightening happens.

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Descendants

Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 23:05

@huronbikes I didn't, but I do now. Hopefully I'll keep it updated as I progress.

https://github.com/FozzTexx/old-wheezer

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