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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!bunyip.cc.uq.oz.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!news.kei.com!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!usenet.ucs.indiana.edu!mimosa.astro.indiana.edu!pitts From: pitts@mimosa.astro.indiana.edu (Jim Pitts) Subject: Re: 386BSD on a cheap PC Message-ID: <CJs1zL.8x3@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> Sender: news@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu (USENET News System) Nntp-Posting-Host: mimosa.astro.indiana.edu Organization: Indiana University Astronomy Department References: <1547@thunder.lakeheadu.ca> Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 14:09:20 GMT Lines: 51 In article <1547@thunder.lakeheadu.ca>, Boris Ivanovic <bivanovi@thunder.LakeheadU.Ca> wrote: > > I have a 386/25 with a 80 MB hard drive. It seems to me that this system >is too lowsy to use 386BSD. Am I correct? >I have the whole system, and unless I did something wrong, full expansion >is 60MB... > > This is based on the assumption you want a full install. Looks like you might run into 2 problems. First, and most obvious is disk space. 80MB is lean if not enough. Even if you did manage a full install with swap space you would have little room for allpication software and expansion (like XFree86, emacs, etc). The 3 most active packages out there right now are FreeBSD, NetBSD, and Linux. If disk space is a concern Linux seems to be a favorite. I do not know how deeply integrated the NetBSD shared libraries are at the current time but they could make them a close second. FreeBSD with no shared libraries at the current release makes it the largest ... for now. If you DO want to install 386BSD regardless of its current status, you are about right on target for disk space consumption (altough I am not sure if this includes the 'etc' distribution or not which is rather large). So, if 60MB can be done: 80MB (base)-60(System Software)-8(10% file system size)-8(swap) = 4MB With some work you can get the 10% disk size down to 5% and still have a workable file system (there is currently a thread on this topic if you are intrested). That might get you 4 back. 8MB of swap is minimal for an 8MB system and good for a 4MB system. The next problem is memory. If you have less than 4 MB, forget it. If you have 4 MB buy 4 more. 8 is really a comfortable figure, expecially if you are planning to run X. The CPU itself is not -that- sad. I run FreeBSD on a 386-40 and I get quite good peformance. The XFree86 software is very impressive, expecially now that the S3 cards are supported. Well, my .02 which is seldom worth that much. -- - pitts@mimosa.astro.indiana.edu ^ | James J. Pitts - - Most people are sheep. /@\ | IU Physics Dept - - Only a select few are fit to rule. / \ | Voice: 812-855-8247 - - We are The Bavarian Illuminati. /_____\ | FAX : 812-855-5533 -