Does anyone still use a [486] or original [586/Pentium]? How about with Linux? What’s your usage look like?

[-]

electric_machinery@reddit

I have a Pentium 75 that I just installed debian on. The hardest part was getting apt to install packages from the server which had an expired signature. It boots up and I thought about using it as a DNS / DHCP server on my LAN.

[-]

echocomplex@reddit

I have a 486 and a pentium. I use them just to play old games. If I could access the modern Internet with them I'd use them as daily drivers!

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

I mean I think frogfind is a quick way to get around limitations with GUI browsers.

But yeah netsurf browser is tiny and works for that.

TUI/CLI tools pretty much all work.

[-]

echocomplex@reddit

I've heard of some of these methods but I don't think I'm going to be able to watch a YouTube video with 16MB ram on my 486

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

Oh THAT 486!

I was thinking like a desktop/mini tower 486 with 128MB RAM

[-]

sidusnare@reddit

My oldest Linux system is a PIII with real floppy drives in both sizes. My 486 systems are DOS and Windows 3.11.

However.

I do occasionally use Linux on 486 and even older to image and archive system drives on legacy machines. Sometimes you get hardware that will only work with itself, and the best backup option is to boot Linux in situ and image it that way.

[-]

mnlx@reddit

Yeah, I have a P54C mothballed since 2010. I used it for Linux too in the '90s and after that for writing and DOS related stuff, very quiet system. Never installed any 21st century distro or moved beyond W95A although it had loads of memory by old standards, it could/should have run NT4. I didn't know that back then so I wasted a lot of time tweaking it into stability. Never thought about putting newer Windows 9X versions in there because of that.

Oldest thing I would power on and only on occasion nowadays is a PIII, that's as good as it gets for DOS. I use it for anything that needs a CRT to look nice. For GUI use nothing below 866 MHz. Last distro I ran on a fast PIII could have been Slackware 13.37 and with a light wm that's pushing it.

[-]

1mrpeter@reddit

I do have a 486 built from new old stock parts. Mostly sentimental reasons but I also use it for provisioning / programming of payphones over the modem and a phone line. Original software runs on DOS and (another model) Windows 3.11.

[-]

dpdxguy@reddit

How about with Linux?

FWIW, it was announced this week that 486 support is being removed from the Linux kernel.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/linux-devs-start-removing-support-for-37-year-old-intel-486-cpu-head-honcho-linus-torvalds-says-zero-real-reason-to-continue-support

[-]

Low-Charge-8554@reddit

UH - 32 bit support was removed from Debian 13.

[-]

ryanrudolf@reddit

Pentium on my Thinkpad 760EL. Im running it for pure DOS (FreeDOS)

[-]

YogurtclosetOwn5322@reddit

I have a Packard Bell NEC Z1 that is a PIII 450Mhz that was able to run Ubuntu 10.04 without issues, but anything newer than that it was a no go and wouldn't even install.

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

Dang! I wonder why? Is it an Xorg issue?

The 32-bit GNU/Hurd distros should have support this year. 2026 seems to be the Year of The Hurd with Debian, GUIX, and Gentoo all having distros.

[-]

YogurtclosetOwn5322@reddit

I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't install (well at least any of the Ubuntu flavors newer than 10.04) any newer 32 bit *NIX distros, but you have given me an idea to check out AntiX and see if it like the Pentium 3 hardware I have in that system.

[-]

stuffitystuff@reddit

I have an IBM Palm Top PC 110 and I use it to take photos of my cat, mostly, because I have the Canon camera that went with it.

[-]

theytookmyeyes59@reddit

Mostly retro gaming and old drawing/music programs using MS-DOS, PC-DOS, Windows 3.1, and 95. I have messed around with tiny core Linux for a tiny amount of time (excuse the pun), but nothing serious.

[-]

rjh1981nz@reddit

I have a Pentium 100 - use it a couple of times per week. Mainly connect to an older Linux virtual machine install via telnet Generally games and fiddling with Win 3.1 and NT4

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

Is the 100Mhz Pentium pre-MMX still?!

(Heck yeah!)

Virtual Linux - any Linux or NetBSD planned on board?

Are you using Windows 3.1 with Win32 extensions, or are you rocking NT 3.1?!

Dualboot with NT 4.0 is super awesome

[-]

rjh1981nz@reddit

It sure is :) - I've had an attempt to get NT 3.1 working but I mainly have PCI video and network devices without support for that os - later versions of NT work just fine. The video card has vesa extensions on it so I can use the internal 800x600 16 colours vesa driver in NT 3.1

I don't dual boot but use CF cards and just swap em around - am using WIN32S on 3.1 and trying stuff out

The Virtual Linux runs on an old Win7 laptop using Virtualbox - it's an old copy of Redhat 8 and it's fun to play with - might try NetBSD - I've heard a bit about it but just haven't used it yet

[-]

wkjagt@reddit

I know you didn't mention this specifically but I have a 386 (SX 20 MHz with 4mb RAM) laptop that I use mainly with Borland C++ for programming in C (not C++). MS DOS programming is very fun, because MS DOS doesn't use protected mode, which means you have access to everything.

[-]

jmasterfunk@reddit

I have a 486. Just recently upgraded the RAM on it.

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

Oh heck yeah! How much are you at now? 128MB

[-]

jmasterfunk@reddit

20MB! Aiming for 32.

[-]

MasterJeebus@reddit

I don’t have one that old but I do appreciate the 32bit x86 builds. I have two old PCs one with Pentium 3 and Pentium 4.

[-]

Scoth42@reddit

I have a selection of older computers I use, including a 486, but solely for fun and games. Nothing serious

[-]

algaefied_creek@reddit (OP)

That’s super great! What are the specs on there?!

[-]

blakespot@reddit

Not nearly my oldest system, but my usage of my 486 looks like this.

[-]

anothercorgi@reddit

My 486DX4/75 runs Windows 95. Not running Linux because lots of unsupported hardware, and 16MB is a bit low.

My K6-233 with 256MB is running Linux. Technically I could drop in a P5/100 I have in my spare parts pile as it's a Socket7 but the K6-233 is slow enough.

[-]