Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 07:17:51 +1100 From: Sue Blake <sue@welearn.com.au> To: taxman <taxman@acd.net> Cc: Wizard of Wor <wauf@hello.hu>, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: minimum memory [was: A simple question about FreeBSD] Message-ID: <20030316071751.B77240@welearn.com.au> In-Reply-To: <200303142128.14193.taxman@acd.net>; from taxman@acd.net on Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 09:28:14PM -0500 References: <E18u0OT-0003qv-00@armada.prim.hu> <200303142128.14193.taxman@acd.net>
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On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 09:28:14PM -0500, taxman wrote:
> On Friday 14 March 2003 08:23 pm, Wizard of Wor wrote:
> > I was unable to find the minimum requirements on x86 platform. Can I
> > run FreeBSD on mz 486dx2 8Mb laptop smoothly?
>
> The install documentation or the FAQ does have this answer, but yes you should
> be able to run fine on this machine. Just don't try to install X windows,
> unless you set up a *lot* of swap. It also depends a little bit on if there
> is any noncooperative hardware on the machine. Laptops tend to have some of
> that. Best bet is to try it. 4.x will probably work the best for you.
This memory question comes up a lot, and I'm not sure how up to date
that part of the documentation is. Has anyone _definitely_ run an
install on a machine with only 8MB in the last couple of years?
Twice I have failed to install (boot floppy with CD) to machines with
only 8MB RAM. It could have been FreeBSD 4.4, but I think it was
FreeBSD 3.3. I'd love to discover that I'm wrong here.
Of course the alternative is to put the disk in another machine to do
the install, then it should run OK back in the 8MB machine. As for X,
forget trying it. If it was installed it "would run" but not usably,
no matter how much swap. Without X and with plenty of swap you can do
a lot with your 8MB in text mode if you can get an installation going.
I had a 386 with 8MB running FreeBSD 2.x (without X) that ran much
faster than the NT4 pentium beside it. The 486 CPU should be fine.
--
Regards,
-*Sue*-
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