_ _ _ ___ __ ____ _ _ _ _ _ (_) || | ( _ ) / /_ | _ \(_)___| |_ _ __ ___ | | (_)___| |_ | | || |_ / _ \| '_ \ | | | | / __| __| '__/ _ \ | | | / __| __| | |__ _| (_) | (_) | | |_| | \__ \ |_| | | (_) | | |___| \__ \ |_ |_| |_| \___/ \___/ |____/|_|___/\__|_| \___/ |_____|_|___/\__| by TheOuterLinux https://theouterlinux.gitlab.io Last updated: 2021/07/29 Discussion URL (Reddit): https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOuterLinux/comments/esgxnv/i486_gnulinux_distro_list/.compact Discussion URL (Linux Questions.org): https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/blog/theouterlinux-1169710/theouterlinux-m-se-i486-distro-list-38287/#comments This is not a complete list and more will be added as time goes on. .--------------. #########################| Introduction |############################### `--------------' I got curious one day and wondered what were the last/latest GNU/Linux distributions and other operating systems that could support an i486 computer but under the assumption that RAM wasn't really an issue. And instead of breaking an i486 or finding an alternative to watching grass grow, I used QEMU (https://www.qemu.org/) like so: qemu-system-i386 -cpu 486 -cdrom '/path/to/distro.iso' -boot d -m 256 If the Internet does not appear to be working, then the following was used: qemu-system-i386 -cpu 486 -cdrom '/path/to/distro.iso' -boot d -m 256 -net nic,model=pcnet -net user And if that did not work, then it was assumed that there was an architectural mix-up of some kind with the software as some of these supposed "i486" distributions also include i586 and/or i686 software. Criteria -------- A. 32-bit system B. CPU is set to i486 DX/4 (according to Knoppix in failsafe mode) C. Treat as though booting from CD-ROM D. Start with 256MB of RAM and go lower or higher as needed E. If GNU/Linux, XFCE takes priority with CD versions or floppies (no DVD) The listed distributions are ranked alphabetically in descending order. It may make since to rank based on RAM usage but just because a distro works with low RAM, it doesn't mean that it's better. .----------. ############################| Assembly |################################ `----------' [D, Assembly]=========================================================== Distro: DexOS 6 Assembly Language: FASM, 32-bit x86 Personal Rating: ? Download: http://dex-os.github.io/DexOS.zip Size: Compressed: 9.9MB | Uncompressed: 33.3MB MD5SUM: 63b09924c4dd005945bdaa5999edf256 Recommended RAM minimum: 1MB (technically 64KB) Notes: I did not give it a rating because I could only figure out how to get the ISO inside of the ISO_2012 directory running and then there is the issue of not being able to run everything else outside of itself. Why do people do this? [K, Assembly]=========================================================== Distro: KolibriOS Assembly Language: FASM, 32-bit x86 Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Download: https://builds.kolibrios.org/eng/latest-iso.7z Size: Compressed: 29MB | Uncompressed: 68MB MD5SUM (2020/02/07): c22207f87b423adf8b5ca56168a90d07 Recommended RAM minimum: 64MB Notes: This system is frequently updated and is one of the best OS's for a i486 that you will probably find as it also includes DOSBox if you feel compelled to defend the use of FreeDOS. However, not every application included will run on an i486. I do suggest a minimum or 64MB of RAM, but you will need at least a 128MB RAM chip for most things and 256MB if wanting to browse the web. This is because KolibriOS sets aside some of the RAM for temporary storage. You may get better results installing the IMG version (https://builds.kolibrios.org/eng/latest-distr.7z) instead of running it Live like I do. [M, Assembly]=========================================================== Distro: MikeOS 4.6.1 Assembly Language: NASM, 16-bit x86 real mode Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://mikeos.sourceforge.net/mikeos-4.6.1.zip Size: Compressed: 561KB | Uncompressed: 7.3MB MD5SUM: 1ae75e781a917d7847a4b5d7c56627d3 Recommended RAM minimum: 1MB Notes: MikeOS was last updated on 17 Mar 2019 and will run on 16-bit machines. It also includes a script so you can easily run it with QEMU. .-----. ###############################| DOS |################################## `-----' [F, DOS]================================================================ Distro: FreeDOS Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Download: https://www.freedos.org/download/download/FD12CD.iso Size: 418MB MD5SUM: d5584871b0e35bc1d6656dce9eb4af51 Recommended RAM minimum: 640KB Notes: I recommend 640KB but let's be honest, you're going to try to use it to play games and a number of other limit-pushing applications, so you probably want about 16-32MB to be safe. If you are wondering why the ISO is so large, it is because it includes a lot of software. However, you have to install them from the CD-ROM you burned as a repository on a disc kind of thing. With the CD inserted, run the command 'FDIMPLES'. .-----------. ############################| GNU/Linux |############################### `-----------' XFCE builds were chosen whenever possible as I believe this desktop environment is the most "well-rounded" for this purpose. If the option to run as Live was given, that was the only option tested; hence, the recommended minimum amount of RAM listed may be slightly higher than necessary. RAM usage in most cases were checked using 'top' and by running: more /proc/meminfo [A, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Alpine Linux Extended 3.11.4 Personal Rating: ★★ Download: http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.11/releases/x86/alpine-extended-3.11.3-x86.iso Size: 439MB SHA256SUM: 0a9676359dc69443612f2d8177d89715eb4292755e4f5395a1dee0b5f9260de2 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: After booting it up to "Live," there isn't much besides a console. You login as 'root' and then can install it from there. After installing, it will use about 30MB of RAM. However, after adding things such as a desktop environment, that RAM goes up and you will probably wish you had 256MB or 512MB of RAM to really do anything. If you want to run it on an older i486 machine and are comfortable using a command-line, it's not so bad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Anitaos (Puppy Linux) 4.31v3 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://liquidtelecom.dl.sourceforge.net/project/anitaos/Anitaos/LATEST%20LTS%20ANITAOS%20ISO/AnitaOS4.31v3.iso Size: 174MB MD5SUM: 03cf48c733d4f60dbc32cc104f97884d Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: Takes forever to boot. You may be able to get away with 128MB of RAM, but barely. [B, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: BeatrIX (Ubuntu Warty; 2005) Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/b/beatrix/BeatrIX_2005.1F.iso/download Size: 191MB MD5SUM: a05fb172f8149c55e41d42556807a747 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: When you see "boot:" use "failsafe." This is basically a "gutted-out" version of Ubuntu Warty with just a few programs installed. Includes OpenOffice. Internet does not seem to work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: blueflops 2.0.15 Personal Rating: ? Download: https://liquidtelecom.dl.sourceforge.net/project/blueflops/blueflops/blueflops-2.0.15/blueflops-2.0.15.zip Size: 2.8MB MD5SUM: 519a0c5bf3969ee3877d1ef2f5af5344 Recommended RAM minimum: ? Notes: This is one of those install using DOS sort of distros. I have not got it working in DOSBox yet to actually try it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Browserlinux (based on Lucid Puppy) Personal Rating: ★★ Download: https://www.browserlinux.com/iso/browserlinux501.iso Size: 98MB MD5SUM: 7791b08b31495f174b3b27baf50a625d Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: You could technically get away with 128MB of RAM but you aren't going to do much since this distro is meant for browsing the web, which unfortunately, most of the sites use SSL and this distro has trouble with. If you are going to attempt using the Puppy Package Manager (.desktop file in /usr/share/applications), you might want 512MB of RAM and I would use the ftp.nluug.nl or ibiblio repos when prompted. Go to https://www.browserlinux.com/ for Mplayer and Java jre-1.6.0_21. [C, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Clonezilla 1.2.3-27 Personal Rating: ???, but probably ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/clonezilla/files/clonezilla_live_stable/OldFiles/1.2.3-27/clonezilla-live-1.2.3-27.iso/download Size: 121MB MD5SUM: 3f79172dd7828fb74742d2128f25a79b Recommended RAM minimum: 128 minimum, but you'll probably need 256MB Notes: Technically, this is an i486 GNU/Linux distro but it is made for creating backups. It booted just fine in QEMU, though I couldn't actually test the distro's tools. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: CrunchBang Linux 9.04.1 Personal Rating: ★★★+0.5 Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/c/crunchbang/crunchbang-9.04.01-i386.iso/download Size: 635MB MD5SUM: 8ca9553235a18a691dcddf1f6f1dadae Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: I like this version of CrunchBang more than 11. It uses less CPU and seems to much more feature-full and well-rounded than version 11. It even has things like Skpe, which will open but I have no idea if it still works (or if ever did). I do think it is strange that they labled it as i386 when there is also i486, i686, and x86_64 versions of CrunchBang 11, but it would be silly to assume that this one would run on an actual i386. Maybe the archiver changed the original names of the ISO's for some reason. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: CrunchBang Linux 11-20130506 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/c/crunchbang/crunchbang-11-20130506-i486.iso/download Size: 789MB MD5SUM: 92675c5068f3f8d02a9294288bb4c52e Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: It's Debian Wheezy using Openbox and Conky. SSL-related errors keep you from going to most websites and none of the included repositories work anymore. It also uses a lot of CPU. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Crux 2.1 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://ftp.fukt.bsnet.se/pub/os/linux/crux/crux-2.1/contrib/ucrux-i486/ucrux-2.1.iso Size: 191MB MD5SUM: f02a02ed5615651921fd03b0dd3a5179 Recommended RAM Minimum: Somewhere between 16MB and 64MB, probably Notes: You can run it live but it is console only if you do and at that time only uses about 13MB of RAM. I did not install it, so I can only assume how much RAM you'll need after the install. I did take a look inside of /crux/* directories for what will/can be installed and it seems as though it has Window Maker (opt) and Blackbox (contrib) as optional desktop environments. README: http://ftp.fukt.bsnet.se/pub/os/linux/crux/crux-2.1/contrib/ucrux-i486/ucrux-2.1.README [D, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Debian 5.0.0 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://cdimage.debian.org/mirror/cdimage/archive/5.0.0-live/i386/iso-cd/debian-live-500-i386-xfce-desktop.iso Size: 515MB MD5SUM: d5fa1418cfbe7cd8425e2382066e2be2 Recommended RAM minimum: 512MB Notes: It's Debian?... But seriously, it's okay. Most of the Internet- related stuff doesn't work so you can give up on the idea of using the package manager or going to most websites because of SSL-related issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Deli Linux 0.8 Personal Rating: ?? Download Full: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/d/deli/deli_0.8.0-full.iso/download Size: 251MB MD5SUM: 3e45d38b7730dc3cdbec836ead43cb1c Download Core: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/d/deli/deli_0.8.0-core.iso/download Size: 60MB MD5SUM: bc2977751543ff57c5823ad3497ef569 Recommended RAM minimum: To install, probably 32MB but to run, probably 128MB would be great Notes: This is an installer only sort of situation, so I did not. However, supposedly it will also run on actual i386 machines and includes software such as AbiWord, GOffice, Lynx, ffmpeg and some codecs, VLC, Transmission, XChat, and more, or at least according to the "/pkg" directory of the ISO (use ISO Master to look inside). However, it may boot on an i386, but I doubt most of the software will run and I have no idea how to test for it as there is no i386 -cpu option for QEMU and using 'qemu-system-i386' seems to more or less be i686. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Dragora GNU/Linux-Libre Personal Rating: Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/d/dragora/dragora-2.2-i486.iso/download Size: 639MB MD5SUM: e66dd77cd68178a6c82358aa7bebd159 Recommended RAM minimum: ?? Notes: I don't really have anything to say about this distribution because I do not have the room to install it but after doing a bit of research it uses the libre kernel and it reminds me of Slackware for some reason. I tried the live i586 version (3.0 beta) and the username is 'root' and the password is 'dragora'; however, startx failed. [F, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Feather Linux 0.7.5 Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Download: https://liquidtelecom.dl.sourceforge.net/project/archiveos/f/feather/feather-0.7.5.iso Size: 125MB MD5SUM: e36104401cb47fb5bc0c1cf3994e067d Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: If after trying to boot you get errors, reboot and when you see "boot:", enter "failsafe". I would also like to note that though I recommend a minimum of 128MB of RAM, if you would like to use applications such as Firefox, you may want 256MB of RAM. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Floppyfw 3.0.15 Personal Rating: ? Download (IMG): https://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/download/floppyfw-3.0/floppyfw-3.0.15/floppyfw-3.0.15.img Size: 1.4MB MD5SUM (IMG): 9559257e739eac0ae415c83bde7a3f4b Download (ISO): https://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/download/floppyfw-3.0/floppyfw-3.0.15/floppyfw-3.0.15.iso Size: 10MB MD5SUM: (ISO): 77f740aa089db9c0843dade8c6860346 Recommended RAM minimum: 16MB Notes: This distro is for old 386 machines with FPU that has 16MB of RAM and the IMG version will fit on a single 3.5" floppy disk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Freeduc 1.7+b10 FR Personal Rating: ★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ofset/files/freeduc-cd/freeduc-science-fr-1.7/freeduc-physchim-fr-1.7%2Bb10.iso/download Size: 699MB MD5SUM: e19c95f06bd56ea2bf0f732f046e9fe0 Recommended RAM minimum: ?? Notes: It got me to an XFCE desktop environment, but I couldn't get any of the panel items to work. I hope it's just a QEMU issue, but I don't know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: FREESCO 0.4.2 Personal Rating: ★★ Download: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/freesco/freesco-045.tar.gz Size: Compressed: 20.5MB | Expanded: 26.2MB MD5SUM: 2961e13a8b824bafa00c6180dbe85e84 Recommended RAM minimum: 16MB Notes: Made for much older machines, but it's last release as of this posting is 2014/03/30 and the developer was looking for a successor to continue the project: https://www.freesco.info/support-forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17703. I really like the ASCII animations at boot. [G, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Gentoo Personal Rating: ★ Size: ? Instructions: https://github.com/yeokm1/gentoo-on-486/ Recommended RAM minimum: 64MB Notes: I did not even try. I found this guide for if someone else is brave enough to attempt. Hate me. Don't care. Not gonna anytime soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: GloblinX 2.5 Mini Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/g/goblinx/GoblinX.Mini-2.5.iso/download Size: 167MB MD5SUM: a4a95481cb9f1fc8dc1d83fc052c9b81 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: Use Globlinx Text Mode, log in, then use 'goxuse' when prompted and change the resolution to 800x600 and then pick XFCE. [K, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: KateOS 3.6 Live Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/k/kateos/KateOS_3.6-LIVE.iso/download Size: 698MB MD5SUM: 57050d518cf133417a2d9e3b2e712562 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB, but 512MB would be better Notes: Make sure to run 'failsafe' at the boot menu if using QEMU. Username: kate Password: kate (same for root) If this distribution was just a bit faster in opening programs, had modern SSL (https) support, and working repositories, it would have gotten four stars, easily. I really like the simplistic GTK2-based package manager, but search would have been nice. It sort of reminds me of GSlapt and uses .tgz packages except you can enable/disable, add, and remove multiple repositories much more easily. You can tell it is based off of Slackware and therefore could be to one's advantage if ever planning to update things because i486 Slackware packages are much easier to find than for any other GNU/Linux system. Honestly, the deciding factor for it not being four stars was that RAM usage didn't go down much after opening a few programs like Firefox, hence the "512MB would be better." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Kinneret Personal Rating: ★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/kinneret.berlios/files/Kinneret-0.7.4.iso/download Size: 733MB MD5SUM: d9f96d51105551e4f054aed92526a230 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: Don't bother unless you read Hebrew and even then, the KDE environment makes everything incredibly slow. And because it is in Hebrew, everything is written and displayed backwards compared to English setups. For instance, the applications launcher is in the right corner of the panel. And based on what little I could decipher from what was in the applications menu, the amount of programs are not diverse enough to justify the ISO size. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Knoppix 7.2.0 Personal Rating: ★★★★ Download: http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V7.2.0CD-2013-06-16-EN.iso Size: 701MB MD5SUM: 43e1bf11bd52d88d61379fdd38fe869c Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: When seeing a boot prompt, type "failsafe" to avoid a kernel panic. After login, Knoppix uses about 64MB of RAM. This are no passwords, so if you need root, you will have to use: su passwd ...and setup a root password from there. [L, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Legacy OS 2.1 LTS (Puppy Linux) Personal Rating: ★★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/legacyoslinux/files/Legacy%20OS%202.1%20LTS.iso/download Size: 730MB MD5SUM: ba37c23ae62bbe7927befe65ae639528 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: You still have to use the Xvesa driver like in the newer 2017 version, but make sure to switch it to 800x600x24 because the 16-bit color version looks aweful. Also, it does not have an actual package manager and clicking on the corresponding menu item for it only shows you a Kdialog box to tell you to go to a URL instead. Ohterwise, I would have given it five stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Legacy OS 2017 (Puppy Linux) Personal Rating: ★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/legacyoslinux/files/LegacyOS2017.iso/download Size: 732MB MD5SUM: 885e9859a432721c60f6f0345d6f3b59 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: I like the idea behind this; however, I have to use the Xvesa video option and 90% of the software it comes with, which it has quite a selection, does not actually run. It is as if the system uses an i486 kernel but the software requires i585 or i686 to run. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Local Area Security 0.5 (Knoppix) Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/l/las/las-0.5.iso/download Size: 189MB MD5SUM: 543fe2f42472f73cdba8378d9cb58579 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: When seeing a boot prompt, type "failsafe" to avoid a kernel panic. After login, L.A.S uses a little less than 60MB of RAM. This distro appears to be for "information security professionals." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Lucid Retro 525-2.6.30.5-v4 (Puppy Linux) Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://www.smokey01.com/JamesC/uploads/lucid-retro-525-2.6.30.5-v4/lupu-525-2.6.30.5-v4.iso Size: 136MB MD5SUM: 760e0e61fa24eb5f80d9c31a05d6b611 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: I would give this a much higher personal rating, but the winodws and menus respond in a slow enough way that it is aggravating; however, that could be QEMU's fault, but I don't know. This version of Puppy Linux is essentially 5.x but with the kernel and drivers from 4.3.1. Also, you may be able to get away with only 64MB of RAM, but doing so on QEMU makes it incredibly slow even though after loading the desktop, htop only reports ~38MB of RAM being used. Not all applications will run do to "Illegal instruction" errors (they aren't actually built for i486). [M, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Mutagenix 2.6.18.6-2 Personal Rating: ★★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/m/mutagenix/mutagenix_kde-2.6.18.6-i486-2.iso/download Size: 722MB MD5SUM: 096ffbaeb86c7a31decf6e6d8b4519dd Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: Out of all of the i486 distributions that I have tried, this is the only one with the KDE desktop environment (3.5.4) that is responsive and actually worth using. I also like how it has a package manager 'Gslapt'. It has lots of software too and even sets up a firewall for you at boot. My only complaint is applications related to the Internet, such as web browsers have a hard time because of SSL. [N, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: NimbleX 2008 RC Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/n/nimblex/NimbleX-2008RC.iso/download Size: 210MB MD5SUM: d04263f11bf8b9e68935b3264b5939ab Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: When you are presented with a login screen, login as 'root' with no password. I would give it a higher rating, but it's KDE and is much more graphics-hungry than I care for and slows things down quite a bit. The web browsers supplied are also a bit behind when it comes to connecting to SSL sites (https). [O, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Operator 3.3 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/o/operator/Operator.iso/download Size: 617MB MD5SUM: 74b08dab680b00ddec19070d2f8e9d00 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: Operator 3.3 is based off of Debian 3.2 and uses KDE. It's ok. It has the same SSL (https) issues as the rest of these distros. This distribution is mainly for network administrators and penetration testing. [P, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Plop Linux Live version Personal Rating: ★★ Download: https://download.plop.at/ploplinux/19.4/live/small/ploplinux-19.4-S-i486.iso Size: 312MB MD5SUM: 1b15655b262877a02846d396412ce877 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: This is a console/framebuffer version. If you would like to have one with a desktop environment, you will need to either be able to boot off of a USB or have a DVD drive. You can grab it here: https://download.plop.at/ploplinux/19.4/live/ploplinux-19.4-i486.iso ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: PsychOS486 1.6.5 Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Download: https://archive.org/download/PsychOS486-1.6.5/PsychOS486-1.6.5.iso Size: 687.6MB MD5SUM: dc6b6841766f83621af254ac88ab98bd Recommended RAM minimum: 32 for console, 64MB for GUI, and 128MB would be best Notes: I am a bit biased on this because I made this distro. Please visit https://psychoslinux.gitlab.io for more details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Porteus-XFCE-v3.1-i486 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://ftp.riken.jp/Linux/porteus/i486/current/Porteus-XFCE-v3.1-i486.iso Size: 169MB MD5SUM: c613ea3e16a149b7ceecb74399ecfc93 Recommended RAM minimum: 512MB Notes: This is essentially a Live version of Slackware using XFCE and reminds me a lot of TinyCore but a bit more "heavy." I tried editing and remastering and the packages I installed weren't included, though I'm pretty sure that is just user error. I might have given it 3.5 or 4 stars if the starting of the desktop environment didn't behave like it was having trouble. It takes a minute or so and when it does load, the mouse is invisible until you click a category in the applications menu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Puppy Linux 3.0.1 "Fat Free" version Personal Rating: ★★★★ Download: https://master.dl.sourceforge.net/project/puppylinux301updates/fat-free-3.01-xorg.iso Size: 66MB MD5SUM: abc5dd0b50d247fc08b9ae9946d07de6 Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: I recommended a minimum of 128MB or RAM, but 256MB would be better if you are planning to run "beafy" web browsers and things. And yes, the PET Package Manager still works. If trying to use 128MB of RAM, you'll have about 55MB of "wiggle-room" when running Live. If you need to go even older, try version 2.17 (technically "BonsaiOS"): https://liquidtelecom.dl.sourceforge.net/project/bonsaios/puppy-fat-free-pup-2.17.iso [S, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Slacko Puppy 5.3.1 Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Dowload: http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-5.3.1/slacko-5.3.1-SCSI-MAIN.iso Size: 126MB MD5SUM:448b72e9b3fbd0ebf834cd8491bc30ff Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Slackware 14.1 Personal Rating: ★★★★★ Download: https://slackware.uk/slackware/slackware-iso/slackware64-14.1-iso/slackware64-14.1-install-dvd.iso Size: 2.3GB MD5SUM: 805ebe2f2f748ab992ff10a843503d92 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB but 512MB would be much better Notes: At the the boot prompt, use "huge.s" This is my favorite i486 compatible GNU/Linux distribution so far, especially because of how they haven't "gentrified" package naming to having all of 32-bit just being "i386" like Debian did, making it much MUCH easier to know if a package is actually i486 or not when browsing through a repository, which there are still plenty of. And where that falls short, there is slackbuilds.org, to which I really like the sbopkg program (https://sbopkg.org/) that is a TUI front-end for the site. I just really wish they had made a Live version as well. The one thing about it I really don't like about it, though many may considerate a "feature," is that you only have root after installing and if you want most things like Network Manager, for example, to work properly, you have to create a normal user and place it in the correct groups and maybe add it to sudoers: Replace "theouterlinux" with your username... #Create the user with the proper groups: useradd -m -g users -G wheel,floppy,audio,video,cdrom,plugdev,power,netdev,lp,scanner -s /bin/bash theouterlinux #Give the user a password: su passwd theouterlinux I had issues mounting USB storage devices but adding the user "psychos" to the "disks" group and adding "psychos ALL(ALL) ALL" to "/etc/sudoers" and a reboot solved the issue. Then, log out and log back in with the new user and run 'startx' to get a graphical desktop environment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Source Mage GNU/Linux (2009-02-11) Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://mirror.sobukus.de/files/sourcemage/iso/smgl-stable-x86(i486).iso.bz2 Size: Compressed: 291MB | Uncompressed: 533MB MD5SUM: 34d13dd8c8952699c5564ab88ebef44b Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: RAM minimum was just an estimate as the only "Live" mode there seem to be is a console, aka install only. However, something did catch my eye and that is in the root directory there is a file called 'system.tar.bz2'. I looked inside of that file using 'tar -tvf system.tar.bz2' and it listed an entire roots worth of files. Meaning, that is probably how it actually installs itself and then adds information to the MBR afterwards. I wonder if you could just make a system.tar.bz2 of another i486 system and then use ISO Master to replace what is in Source Mage's ISO to make a "lazy-person's" backup tool? Personal distro installer? Hmmm..... [T, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: T2 SDE 8.0 minimal i486 Personal Rating: ★ Download: http://dl.t2-project.org/binary/stable/8.0/minimal-i486/t2-8.0-minimal-i486.iso Size: 200MB MD5SUM: fa466db8408d730fa54f75dcef17af1a Recommended RAM minimum: ? Notes: I'm only making the assumption that this works because QEMU sort of freaked-out while trying to boot it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Tomsrtbt 2.0.103 Personal Rating: ? Download: https://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/system/recovery/tomsrtbt-2.0.103.dos.zip Size: Compressed: 2.2MB | Expanded: 2.4MB MD5SUM: 382af2177c93921931201114f0935710 Recommended RAM minimum: 16MB Notes: I have yet to get it working in DOSBox. This is one of those install using DOS type of distros. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Tiny Core Linux (Current) Personal Rating: ★★★★ Download (Core; ~14MB): http://www.tinycorelinux.net/11.x/x86/release/Core-current.iso MD5SUM: 306ef2122ec2f7c212fe8476b5c71984 Download (TinyCore; ~19MB): http://www.tinycorelinux.net/11.x/x86/release/TinyCore-current.iso MD5SUM: 968b1e4296e313da15f959988e5677a6 Download (CorePlus; ~206MB): http://www.tinycorelinux.net/11.x/x86/release/CorePlus-current.iso MD5SUM: bfb3858bafd28b4f33e65fda871d612e Recommended RAM minimum: TinyCore: 64MB | CorePlus: 256MB ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: TXZ Pup Personal Rating: ★★★ +0.5 Download: https://archive.org/download/Puppy_Linux_TXZ_Pup/TXZ_Pup-4.50-7-13-2010.iso MD5SUM: 89f44e890470e19267f4cd329c5d29c0 Recommended RAM minimum: 64MB Notes: This is basically Puppy Linux built completely, or what seems like, using 'installpkg' from Slackware but also includes the Puppy Package Manager and so forth like most are used to seeing. However, I did not give it 4 or 5 stars because the kernel is old, which makes it harder to upgrade software, and the usual SSL issues. And yes, I have tried using slackbuildonly.org (sbopkg) and I get "GLIB_2.7" related errors. [V, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: VectorLinux 6.0 Lite Personal Rating: ★★ Download: http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/veclinux-6.0/iso-release/VL6.0-Light-LIVE-Final.md5sum Size: 675MB MD5SUM: 25de906155b9e8464ca82afa7efe34cb Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB Notes: I keep getting graphics driver-related issues using QEMU. So for now, I can only give it two stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Vigyaan 1.0 Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/v/vigyaan/VigyaanCD-v1.0.iso/download Size: 669MB MD5SUM: 834a4f1af53758dc1a597caf2ad27cb3 Recommended RAM minimum: 256MB Notes: When you see the "boot:" screen, use "failsafe." Internet does not work with QEMU if using '-cpu 486'. This is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Knoppix and is designed for biology and chemistry applications. It does use KDE, but the response isn't too bad. It also has most of what you would expect from a typical distro except no office suite; however, it does include GIMP, some text editors, PDF viewer, xcam, xscanimage, and so forth. It's main programs it seems to want you to focus on using is the EMBOSS software (http://emboss.sourceforge.net/what/), aka "The European Molecular Biology Open Software Suite." It does include FireFox 1.0, but I noticed something odd. If running it under a plain qemu-system-i386 it the About window for Firefox says i686 and if running with -cpu 486 flag, that window then says Firefox is i486. Does this mean Firefox used to include multiple architectures? [W, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: Wolvix 2.0.0 beta2 Personal Rating: ★★ Download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/w/wolvix/wolvix-2.0.0-beta2.iso/download Size: 681MB MD5SUM: 7bea8514062835621ce64a14e8f46f58 Download "Cub" version: Size: 378MB MD5SUM: 90dc9f6d958a5fe3b68b414c73c4f64e Recommended RAM minimum: Notes: Username: root Password: toor If trying it with QEMU, use 'wolvix vga=normal' at the boot: prompt. Takes forever to boot. However, I do like its simplistic and to- the-point boot options help if that's any consolation. It reminds me a lot of KateOS 3.6 Live, but maybe a little bit better with it's RAM and CPU usage and some of it's included software. It would have gotten a much better score if it wasn't for boot-related issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distro: Wormux 0.0.3 (Slax 5.1.8) Personal Rating: ★ Download: https://sourceforge.net/projects/archiveos/files/w/wormux/WLCD-0.0.3.iso/download Size: 72MB MD5SUM: 0fa72fe428253bd88d33746cf22ac394 Recommended RAM minimum: 32MB Notes: This is not your typical GNU/Linux operating system as all it does is boot into a game called "Wormux." I tried playing it, but it failed and shut itself down. However, you may be able to switch it to a console and build on it for your own purposes. I did recommend 32MB of RAM, but I would go at least 64-128MB but even then, it still might crash. [Z, GNU/Linux]========================================================== Distro: ZenEdu Christmas Edition Personal Rating: ★★★ Download: http://slackware.uk/zenwalk/i486/zenedu_specialed_2007.iso Size: 697MB MD5SUM: ea336375ebeb1916ce47337c2a300647 Recommended RAM minimum: 512MB Notes: ZenEdu runs Live with what looks like a 2007 version of XFCE. Distro: Zenwalk Linux 7.0 GNOME version Personal Rating: ★★ Download: http://slackware.uk/zenwalk/i486/zenwalk-gnome-7.0.iso Size: 665MB MD5SUM: bbbd8263bfe2d6afa0926c05bdd4d71b Recommended RAM minimum: 128MB when Live and probably 256MB when having a DE Notes: If you run this Live, which is all I did, you only get a console to mess around in. I guess you will have to install it to get a GNOME desktop environment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ .-------------------. ########################| i486 Repositories |########################### `-------------------' The following is a list of repositories that may or may not be package manager-friendly. Some may be "mixed" with other architecture types: [Slackware]------------------------------------------------------------- http://taper.alienbase.nl/mirrors/people/alien/sbrepos/14.2/x86/ http://download.nust.na/pub/SYS/ http://slackware.oregonstate.edu/slackware/slackware/ http://slackware.oregonstate.edu/slackware-14.1/slackware/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackware-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackware-extra-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackware-patches-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackware-testing-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slacky-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/alienbob-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/alienbob-restricted-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/alphageek-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/cinnamon-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/johannes-schopfer-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/johannes-schopfer-noarch/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/mate-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/microlinux-desktop-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/microlinux-extras-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/microlinux-server-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/ponce-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/salix-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackpack-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/slackonly-i486/ https://slackware.pkgs.org/14.1/rworkman/ [Maybe ?; Still needs testing] https://www.gnu-darwin.org/x86/packages/All/ or... http://gnu-darwin.sourceforge.net/x86/packages/All/