#archlinux32 | Logs for 2022-11-15
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[00:49:54] <arraybolt3> Hey all. I realize this may be a silly question, and if I'm just not digging hard enough in the docs, let me know. I have an old Pentium III desktop here, 256 MB RAM and a 20 GB HDD. I have a plan for how to be able to install any 32-bit Linux distro I want on it even though I don't have rewritable CDs (only recordable ones), but part of it involves having a CD I can always boot the computer
[00:49:56] <arraybolt3> from in order to bootstrap it. How likely is it that ArchLinux32 will boot on something like this? Is the Pentium III supported? I don't want to just waste a recordable DVD and then find out that I can't boot the distro I burned to it.
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[02:27:04] <bill-auger> arraybolt3: computers "something like that" are the primary reason arch32 exists - it will boot
[02:37:58] <arraybolt3> Nice. That's awesome news.
[02:39:19] <arraybolt3> (In case it helps anyone, my idea for being able to install any 32-bit OS on the system without having to waste CD-Rs was to install two hard drives, then boot the computer from a CD with ArchLinux32, and use it to dd an ISO file from a flash drive onto one of the two HDDs. Then I can boot from that HDD and run the installer of whatever OS I choose on the other HDD. Then change the boot order
[02:39:21] <arraybolt3> and done.)
[02:41:12] <arraybolt3> (The system in question is so old it can't boot from USB or DVD.)
[02:41:24] <arraybolt3> (Or at least, I don't *think* it will boot from USB.)
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[12:57:30] <benpicco> Hi, can I install linux from i486/staging or should I better wait for it to land in the normal repo?
[13:00:06] <benpicco> arraybolt3: if you still have a floppy around, you can use https://www.plop.at to boot from USB
[13:00:07] <phrik> Title: Plop Boot Manager (at www.plop.at)
[13:05:00] <benpicco> (well, maybe - my PII machine just locks up when scanning the bus with either of the Plop versions)
[13:11:07] <benpicco> arraybolt3: a quick qemu check shows that 256 MiB is too little for the i686 image, it comes with a pretty hefty initd. The i486 image is a lot lighter and should work - you can still install i686 packages with it
[13:18:54] <arraybolt3> benpicco: I see. I can look this up, but do you know a way off the top of your head that I could instruct the kernel to use a swapfile at bootup?
[13:20:12] <arraybolt3> (I want to avoid the i486 image because of the imminent deprecation of i486 in the kernel, plus I don't see any checksumming or signing data for the i486 image, and I like to verify my ISOs.)
[13:22:10] <arraybolt3> s/deprecation/removal/
[13:33:51] <benpicco> tbh I don't know if it's even possible to enable swap before loading the inird - but it would sure be handy
[13:35:00] * arraybolt3 now wonders if I can chain initrd's
[13:35:23] <arraybolt3> I'm fairly advanced with Linux, so I'm not scared of doing things like hacking the installer in order to make it work right.
[13:35:53] <arraybolt3> Also, is it only the live environment that needs that much RAM? I bet I could rig something where I boot with Alpine or Tiny Core and then run pacman from there to bootstrap ArchLinux32.
[13:36:46] <benpicco> (btw, looks like the fate of i486 isn't decided just yet https://lore.kernel.org )
[13:36:48] <phrik> Title: Re: [PATCH v14 08/14] mm: multi-gen LRU: support page table walks - Arnd Bergmann (at lore.kernel.org)
[13:37:24] <benpicco> and on ArchLinux32 i486 is anything below PIII since the i686 build requires SSE
[13:38:10] <benpicco> yea but just booting the i486 image and letting the arch auto detection work it's magic during install would be a far easier option
[13:39:16] <arraybolt3> Right, but are there any SHA256SUMS files for the i486 images?
[13:40:26] <benpicco> https://mirror.archlinux32.org
[13:40:51] <arraybolt3> :facepalm: Right, because not every ISO has its own verification file.
[13:41:04] <arraybolt3> *Sigh.* This is what I get for being an Ubuntu tester I suppose.
[13:41:52] <arraybolt3> I do wish that the SHA512SUMS was GPG signed, but I guess I can live without that.
[13:42:33] <arraybolt3> Especially since wget shows me that the SHA512SUMS file comes directly from the archlinux32 site, not an external mirror. OK, that's secure enough for me.
[13:44:33] <arraybolt3> benpicco: So just to clarify, I can still install graphical packages with the i486 ISO? I'm hoping to put IceWM and a web browser on the machine (with plenty of swap space!).
[13:46:50] <benpicco> sure most packages are available for i486, i686 and pentium4, but you can just put Architecture = i686 in your /etc/pacman.conf
[13:53:03] <benpicco> web browser will be a challenge with that kind of RAM - maybe Dillo
[13:55:30] <arraybolt3> Eh, I've actually tested on Arch Linux itself, Chromium + IceWM barely pushes the system above 300 MB to begin with, and to ~500 MB when I have a page loaded. Probably can't go crazy with tabs, but it might work for the occasional JavaScript-laden page.
[13:55:35] <arraybolt3> And for everything else, NetSurf.
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[22:28:34] <benpicco> Is there some way to trim down the memory used by journald? according to htop it's consuming 10% of my RAM