Linux-kernel mailing list archive 1999-23,: Re: 2.3 wish: integrate pcmcia into mainstream kernel

# Re: 2.3 wish: integrate pcmcia into mainstream kernel

Albert D. Cahalan (acahalan@cs.uml.edu)
Mon, 7 Jun 1999 20:50:32 -0400 (EDT)

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Gerhard Mack writes:
> On Sat, 5 Jun 1999, Albert D. Cahalan wrote:

>> Typical 8 MB computers can not boot _any_ kind of CD-ROM. Since they
>> will need a boot floppy anyway, the CD-ROM boot can use a 2.88 MB
>> image and assume that the user has at least 16 MB.
>>
>> The boot floppy for older machines can drop support for many of the
>> motherboard and BIOS features that were introduced after CD-ROM boot.
>>
>> Systems that support CD-ROM boot have features like this:
>>
>> at least 16 MB of RAM
>> Pentium or later processor
>> no XT disks
>> better than color VGA
>> no Microchannel
>> no VLB or EISA (?)
>> PnP BIOS features
>> may have I2O
>> may have CardBus
>>
>> There might be a few things wrong on that list, but exceptions should
>> be rare. Don't pull out SIMMs to prove me wrong. :-)
>
> 90 mhz Pentium
> Crappy via chipset
> Ati Mach64
> isa/pci
> ...
> 8 meg ram
>
> And a bootable cdrom drive heh

The linux-kernel mailing list has about 10000 people, doesn't it?
Only two people disagreed with me over the RAM, along with a third that
disagreed over some other features. I'd say there is no big problem
having old 8 MB machines require a boot floppy.

The alternative (expect only 8 MB; use a 1.44 MB image) is bad for
all modern machines. There is something _wrong_ when Linus himself
has trouble installing Linux, don't you think?

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