1.6 KiB
linux-486
This repo provides the files necessary to build a modern Linux-based "operating system" for old i486 systems with at least 8MB of RAM. Build scripts for all components of the system are provided. An i486-linux toolchain is also built, enabling you to compile other programs for use with the system.
The generated boot floppy disk provides you with a Busybox system that is kept entirely in memory. uClibc's shared library files are also loaded into memory, allowing other programs to save on memory (as opposed to using static binaries).
A second floppy containing additional kernel modules can also be generated. Both floppies are ext2 formatted.
Build requirements
- building tools (make, gcc, linux kernel's requirements, etc.)
- bash
- wget
- tar, xz, bzip2
Build steps
Run the build scripts in this order:
build-toolchain.sh
(after this script, add ~/i486-linux/bin to your PATH)build-linux.sh
build-busybox.sh
build-floppy.sh
build-modules.sh
On my machine (Ryzen 1700x, 16GB RAM), building the toolchain takes around ten minutes; building Linux takes around a minute, and the remaining steps take less than a minute each.
After successful execution of all scripts, you should have floppy.img
(boot image) and modules.img
(modules). These can be dd
'd to a 1.44M 3.5" floppy disk.
Booting the system
The system requires an i486 or better processor, a 3.5" floppy drive, and at least 8MB of RAM (8320K for QEMU).
Notes:
- Once the system is booted, the boot floppy can be removed.
- root's password is
toor
. - Mount the modules floppy to
/lib/modules
; then, usemodprobe
for loading and unloading.