Running Linux on a device is usually the first step toward whatever goal a user has in mind, but if there's one thing the penguin can't escape, it's its own evolution. That means Linux has ended support for a lot of hardware in recent years, favoring more robust, faster, and safer platforms. However, that doesn't stop us from asking a simple question: What's the oldest computer that can receive a modern version of Linux? Engineer Yeo Kheng Meng decided to find out…
We've seen Linux running in the strangest places. Modified routers and smartphones are barely the tip of the iceberg. Enthusiasts don't rest, and the best part is that all the effort ends up published for others to reproduce. At the same time, a common expression is that Linux can revitalize an old computer and give it a few extra years of life outside the Windows universe. Now, our question is… how old could that computer be? The answer depends on the number and kind of compromises we're willing to make, but if the plan is to limit ourselves to a “new version” of Linux, engineer Yeo Kheng Meng has already done the test.
His final result is a 486 computer with Gentoo Linux. Previously he had installed Damn Small Linux on that hardware, but its last stable build is from 2008, and its kernel is ancient. The Linux kernel dropped 386 support with version 3.8 in 2013, six years after Intel ended its official production. The problem is that what is established at the kernel level doesn't necessarily appear at the distro and package level. For example, Debian gave the thumbs down to “586” chips in 2016, marking Pentium Pro as the new minimum base. That's where Gentoo comes in: because the code is compiled locally with the parameters specified by the user, Yeo Kheng Meng carried out the compilation process on a Thinkpad T430, enabled the 486 flag, and after struggling for a long time, got a stable environment…
…which nonetheless is a nightmare, because this hyper-customized Gentoo takes almost 11 minutes to boot. 11 minutes! Even with an AMD 486 clone running at 133 MHz and 64 MB of RAM (crazy for any computer in the early ’90s), you could watch a mini documentary while the “cart” gets to its destination. Still, we appreciate the experiment.
