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Linux BSD 386 486 HOW-TO

Below there is a table with different 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating systems and their boot/install options and system requirements for x86 computers according to 386/486 compatibility:

OS, version	Boot methods	Installation source	Min CPU/RAM/HDD	Link
NetBSD 3.1.1 (Jul, 2007)	CD/DVD, FDD, DOS, PXE/LAN	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, Floppy, FS	80386SX CPU, 5-16 MB RAM, 72453 KB AT-MFM/RLL, EIDE HDD^{1),2),3),7),8)}	i386cd-3.1.1.iso
NetBSD 4.0 (Dec, 2007)	CD/DVD, FDD, DOS, PXE/LAN	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, Floppy, FS	80486SX CPU, 12-16 MB RAM, 81260 KB AT-MFM/RLL, EIDE HDD^{1),2),3),7),8)}	i386cd-4.0.iso
NetBSD 4.0.1 (Jul, 2008)	CD/DVD, FDD, DOS, PXE/LAN	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, Floppy, FS	80486SX CPU, 12-16 MB RAM, 81008 KB AT-MFM/RLL, EIDE HDD^{1),2),3),7),8)}	i386cd-4.0.1.iso
OpenBSD 4.1 (May, 2007)	PXE/LAN, CD/DVD, FDD	Local, CD/DVD, FS, NFS, FTP, HTTP	80386DX CPU, 16 MB RAM, 147 MB ESDI HDD	OpenBSD-4.1-i386.iso
OpenBSD 4.2 (Nov, 2007)	PXE/LAN, CD/DVD, FDD	Local, CD/DVD, FS, NFS, FTP, HTTP	80486DX CPU, 12-16 MB RAM, 143 MB AT-MFM/RLL⁵⁾,ESDI HDD	OpenBSD-4.2-i386.iso
OpenBSD 4.3 (05.01.2008)	PXE/LAN, CD/DVD, FDD	Local, CD/DVD, FS, NFS, FTP, HTTP	80486DX CPU, 24-32 MB RAM, 200 MB ESDI HDD	https://mirror.yandex.ru/openbsd/4.3/
FreeBSD 3.5.1 (Jul, 2000)	CD/DVD, FDD, PXE/LAN⁶⁾	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, FS, Floppy, Tape	80386SX CPU, 6 MB RAM, 77688 KB AT-MFM/RLL,ESDI HDD⁵⁾	3.5.1-install.iso
FreeBSD 4.11 (Jan, 2005)	CD/DVD, FDD, PXE/LAN⁶⁾	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, FS, Floppy, Tape	80386SX CPU, 8 MB RAM, 112 MB ESDI HDD⁵⁾	4.11-RELEASE-i386-miniinst.iso
FreeBSD 5.5 (May, 2006)	CD/DVD, FDD, PXE/LAN⁶⁾	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, FS, Floppy, Tape	80486DX CPU, 16 MB RAM, 136 MB EIDE HDD⁴⁾	5.5-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso
FreeBSD 6.4 (Nov, 2008)	CD/DVD, FDD, PXE/LAN⁶⁾	CD/DVD, FTP, HTTP, NFS, FS, Floppy, Tape	80486DX CPU, 24 MB RAM, 144 MB EIDE HDD	6.4-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso

Note 1: For booting 4 Mb systems you need netbsd-INSTALL_SMALL or netbsd-INSTALL_TYNY kernel and appropriate BOOT kernel nbnoacpi or nblaptop for installed system

Note 2: For booting IBM PS/2 systems you need netbsd-INSTALL_PS2 kernel and appropriate BOOT kernel for installed system

Note 3: You can remove unneeeded devices from kernel reducing its size by recompiling it

Note 4: FreeBSD for the i386 requires a 486 or better processor to install and run (although FreeBSD can run on 386 processors with a custom kernel) and at least 24 MB of RAM. You will need at least 150MB of free hard drive space for the most minimal installation.

Note 5: FreeBSD for the i386 requires an 80386 or better processor. The sysinstall(8) installation program requires 16MB of RAM; after installation, FreeBSD itself can be run in 4-8MB of RAM with a pared-down kernel. You will need at least 128MB of free hard drive space for the most minimal installation; a more realistic minimum is on the order of 250-350MB.

Note 6: FreeBSD need special configured FreeBSD server to perform PXE/LAN installation, some CD/DVD installation disks could boot over PXE.

Note 7: NetBSD and OpenBSD treats all AT-MFM/RLL drives with C/H/S = 1024/8/17, it could be changed by pathching installation media or modifying source code.

Note 8: NetBSD treats all ESDI drives as AT-MFM/RLL, see Note 7.

Debian GNU/Linux Installation Tips

1. Installation source:

CD/DVD/BD -ROM.
Mount installation ISO:
```
mount -t iso9660 image.iso /cdrom -o loop
```
Attach content to apt database:
```
# apt-cdrom add
```
DOS partition:
```
loadlin.exe linux initrd=initrd.gz
```

PXE.

kernel boot/debian/linux
append raw initrd=boot/debian/initrd.gz

kernel memdisk
append raw iso initrd=boot/debian/mini.iso

2. Additional install sources

Add "contrib" and "non-free" components to /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports distname-backports main contrib non-free

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname-lts main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname-proposed-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/backports.org/ distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-backports distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-security distname/updates main contrib non-free

deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian/ distname main contrib non-free
deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian-security distname/updates main contrib non-free

* * *

deb http://deb.freexian.com/extended-lts distname-lts main contrib non-free

* * *

deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian distname
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian distname-backports
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian distname-proposed-updates
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian distname-updates
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian-backports distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian-security distname main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror.mephi.ru/debian-security distname-security main contrib non-free


deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian distname main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian distname-lts main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian distname-proposed-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian distname-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/backports.org distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian-backports distname-backports main contrib non-free
deb http://mirror/debian-archive/debian-security distname/updates main contrib non-free

where distname can be one of:

#for Debian 3.0 woody (2002-2005)
#for Debian 3.1 sarge (2005-2008)
#for Debian 4 etch (2007-2010)
#for Debian 5 lenny (2009-2012)
#for Debian 6 squeeze (2011-2015) + squeeze-lts (up to 2016)
#for Debian 7 wheezy (2013-2016-2018) + e-lts (up to 2020)
#for Debian 8 jessie (2015-2018-2020) + e-lts (up to 2025)
#for Debian 9 stretch (2017-2020-2022) + e-lts (up to 2027)
#for Debian 10 buster (2019-2022-2024) + e-lts (up to 2029)
#for Debian 11 bullseye (2021-?) + e-lts (up to 2031)
#for Debian 12 bookworm (2023-?) + e-lts (up to 2033)

* * *

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-backports main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-proposed main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-security main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-updates main multiverse restricted universe

deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-backports main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-proposed main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-security main multiverse restricted universe
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu distname-updates main multiverse restricted universe

3. Localization (KOI8-R, CP1251, UTF8):

# dpkg-reconfigure locales
# dpkg-reconfigure console-tools
# aptitude install console-cyrillic
# dpkg-reconfigure console-cyrillic
# dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

To test different console fonts, run:

# consolechars -f fontname.psf (prf?)

4. Packet commands:

# aptitude install packetname
# apt-get install packetname
# apt-get remove packetname
# apt-get autoclean
# apt-get autoremove
# apt-get clean
# apt-get purge
# apt-get -o Acquire::Check-Valid-Until=false update
# apt-get -o Acquire::Check-Valid-Until=false upgrade

# base

mc unzip zip samba apt-file htop neofetch console-setup
pciutils hwinfo lshw dmidecode laptop-mode-tools memtest86 memtest86+
amd64-microcode intel-microcode
firmware-linux firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-linux-free
firmware-atheros firmware-realtek firmware-amd-graphics firmware-intel-sound
firmware-intelwimax firmware-misc-nonfree

# network

ftp ftpd ntpdate ssh telnet telnetd links elinks
gdebi debian-archive-keyring synaptic leafpad mousepad
rdesktop tightvncserver x11vnc xrdp xtightvncviewer
iperf ethtool iftop nload bmon net-tools 
firmware-iwlwifi wireless-tools network-manager-kde network-manager-gnome wicd
hdparm sdparm sg3-utils mt-st mtx smartmontools cdck wodim xorriso qpxtool parted gparted
mknbi (NBI boot)

# programming

gcc g++ mtools perl libc-dev nasm bcc make syslinux
mesa-common-dev libglu1-mesa-dev freeglut3-dev libglfw3-dev libgles2-mesa-dev
libgl-dev

# gui, multimedia, www

x-window-system xorg driconf libglide2 libglide3 fglrx-driver nvidia-driver
x-window-manager lightdm gdm xdm ( optional )
apt-transport-https lxde icewm xfce4 xfce4-goodies gnome kde ctwm twm
netsurf midori iceweasel iceape firefox firefox-esr chromium chromium-browser opera
alsa alsa-base alsa-oss alsa-utils pulseaudio pavucontrol
mpg123 mplayer mpv smplayer vlc youtube-dl
mesa-utils qemu
wine ttf-mscorefonts-installer wine-doc

# gaming

prboom vavoom freedoom xbill amoebax supertuxkart nexuiz openarena rtcw quakespasm quake2

5. Additional packages

https://get.geo.opera.com/pub/opera/desktop/
https://get.geo.opera.com/pub/opera/linux/

$ wget -c deb.opera.com/opera/pool/non-free/o/opera/opera_12.16.1860_i386.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i opera_12.16.1860_i386.deb

$ wget -c deb.opera.com/opera/pool/non-free/o/opera/opera_12.16.1860_amd64.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i opera_12.16.1860_amd64.deb

$ sudo apt-get install -f

Copy libflashplayer.so to the plugins directory.

wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main
apt-get install --yes google-chrome-stable

6. Mount physical hdd in VirtualBox (also possible in MS VirtualPC 2004)

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename PHYSHDD.vmdk -rawdisk \\.\PhysicalDrive0

7. configure static lan with additional ip's

/etc/network/interfaces

allow-hotplug eth0
auto eth0

iface eth0 inet static
        address ...
        netmask ...
        gateway ...
        hwaddress ether 00:11:22:33:44:55

iface eth0:0 inet static
        address ...
        netmask ...
        gateway ...

dhcp

ifconfig eth0 up
dhclient

where eth0...1...2...n stored?

/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

8. Disable UTC time

/etc/default/rcS: set UTC=no
or
/etc/adjtime: change UTC to LOCAL

9. NTP synchronization

apt-get install ntp
and
/etc/ntp.conf: change 'server'

10. NE2000 ISA non-pnp

sbin/modprobe ne io=0x300 irq=10
then
module is included in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules or /etc/modules

11. Disable graphical console boot
/etc/default/grub:

GRUB_TERMINAL=console
GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep or GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=text
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="vga=normal nomodeset"
GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480 or GRUB_GFXMODE=text

and then use

update-grub

12. Disable mail

apt-get remove exim4* default-mta

13. make xorg.conf

# Xorg -configure

. . .
Section "InputDevice" 
Identifier "Generic Keyboard" 
Driver "keyboard" 
Option "CoreKeyboard" 
Option "XkbRules" "xfree86" 
Option "XkbModel" "pc102" 
Option "XkbLayout" "us,ru(winkeys)" 
Option "XkbOptions" "grp:alt_shift_toggle,grp_led:scroll"
EndSection
. . .
Section "Device" 
Identifier "Generic Video Card"
Driver "vesa"
. . .
Section "Monitor"
Identifier     "Monitor0"
VendorName     "Generic Vendor"
ModelName      "Generic Monitor"
HorizSync       30.0 - 90.0
VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
Option         "DPMS"
Option "IgnoreEDID" "false"
Option "UseEDID" "true"
EndSection
. . .
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen" 
Device "Generic Video Card" 
Monitor "Monitor0" 
DefaultDepth 16 SubSection
"Display" Depth 16
Modes "1024x768" # up to
EndSubSection 
"Display" Depth 24 
Modes "1024x768" # up to
EndSubSection 
SubSection "Display" 
. . .
Section "dri"
Mode 0666
EndSection
. . .

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