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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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-04 at 23:29

For anyone who wants to play along, I've put the docker environment and my current Linux config here: https://github.com/FozzTexx/old-wheezer

I'll try to keep it updated as I progress.

[#]Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-06 at 16:12

Thanks to @nina_kali_nina I've switched to using PCem instead of qemu since it does a better job replicating the experience I get on the T5200. I've been going through old and older distros trying to find one that has a kernel that boots on the emulated 386DX. So far it seems that no distro with a 2.x kernel will work. Newest so far is Slackware 2.3 with a 1.2.8 kernel. Bumping the RAM up to 32MB doesn't get 2.x kernels working either. Very strange.

[#]Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Written by FozzTexx on 2025-01-06 at 18:24

Newest kernel I can get to boot so far is 2.0.18 from Debian 1.1 from here: https://grumbeer.dyndns.org/ftp/linux/dist/debian/1.1.11/buzz/disks-i386/SpecialKernels/

It will boot using the boot floppy, but if I extract the kernel from the floppy it will NOT boot with LOADLIN and instead the computer reboots.

Also not sure where to get the kernel config that was used for that v2.0.18 kernel. Or where to get the v2.0.18 linux kernel source either, git repo only goes back to v2.6.

[#]Linux #RetroComputing #VintageComputing

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Toot

Written by marcusb on 2025-01-06 at 18:48

@fozztexx the kernel source is here: https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.0/linux-2.0.18.tar.bz2

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