The most unusual hardware?

confusion · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 132

Come on guys, whats the most unusual hardware that people run gentoo (or even some other linux distribution) on? Personally im stuck to normal X86 systems for the meantime, but ive got an inkling for more obscure stuff in future.

--John

hds · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 1:10 pm Post subject:

i still have some old ibm microchannels (p90) in my cellar. if time permits, i will give those a try

aroma7herapy · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:51 pm Post subject: IBM PS/2 mod. 70

I used to have an IBM PS/2 mod. 70, 386DX (16MHz?), MCA and of course MFM/RLL discs... But it would run linux just fine...

the best part was the 4MB mem onboard, 4MB MCA Extended memory card, and and 4MB MCA _expanded_ memory card... (the expanded mem card was only seen by the BIOS after POST, the extended card was tested during POST), I never really figured out how that worked...

All in all pretty nifty computer, but you did not want to compile your kernel on it...

GenTimJS · Guru Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 406 Location: NH, USA

Japanese PC98

.. it was going to be the arch to replace x86 over in japan, but never really got off the ground. I had the chance to play with one recently, and messed around with netbsd and linux on it.

What I'd really like to get my hands on is a chinese DragonMIPS based system!!
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stonent · Veteran Joined: 07 Aug 2003 Posts: 1139 Location: Texas

The $199 boards? Yeah I'd love one of those. But I'll just have to settle for mips64emul for now.
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stefanonafets · l33t Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 644

I was trying to install linux on an IBM AS/400 (recent versions of OS/400 on some recent machines can do it), but with few results...
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iancognito85 · Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 6:24 pm Post subject: XBOX

I run my gentoo on an xbox

offie

mrPr0ky · n00b Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

Debian on a Macintosh SE/30.
Added an ethernet adapter and 128(!) megs of ram.
I wonder how long a stage 1 would take on a 16mhz 68030 :lol:

squawker · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:05 pm Post subject:

I'd like to get Linux running on a Sun 3/80 that's been sitting around for years. A whopping 16MB of RAM, although if I can get a new PROM burnt (yep, burnt, not flashed), and mod the motherboard it may be possible to use 40MB.

Running on a Sparc Classic X is pretty weird, as its meant to be an X-terminal. A little PROM tweaking makes it believe its a regular Sparc Classic

There's a pensioned off Vax 4000/300 that I'd love to run anything but VMS on, but so far the DSSI disks/controller have proved too much of a challenge for Linux and NetBSD hackers alike. The wife would have a fit if I dragged it home anyway.

porodzila · Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:26 am Post subject:

yeah, I was going to say, There this vax sitting in the lab at school . . .
what else? an apple ii/gs, though it is an apple ii, its 16 bit and has quite impressive specs. I'm sure people know how apple ii hardware works by now.
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Redhatter · Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2004 1:29 pm Post subject:

Best I can do is a Silicon Graphics Indy and a Gateway Microserver.

Indy's specs
CPU: MIPS R4600SC 133MHz
RAM: 256MB ECC 72-pin
HDD: 9.0GB IBM SCSI
Video: SGI Newport 8-bit (would love a 24-bit one ... but that will just have to wait )
Other Options: Indy Presenter 15" LCD monitor (max res 1024x768 -- which breaks X unfortunately, so I use a 17" Sync-on-green monitor most of the time)

Microserver's specs
CPU: QED (MIPS) RM5231 250MHz
RAM: 128MB EDO 72-pin
HDD: Internal: IBM Deskstar 10GB (IDE). External (all SCSI): 1x IBM DGHS 18.2GB, 2x Seagate ST118273LC 18.2GB, 1x Seagate ST13181WC 9.1GB
Other Options: Adaptec AHA-2940AU PCI SCSI card attached to external drive chassis. (actually a CD-ROM drive tower, but it fits 4 1.6" high drives just fine with room to spare)

The latter makes a very nice file server, as its nice and small to carry around. The server itself can just about fit inside my bag, the disk array however I usually have to lug around -- but it's a lot more portable (and scalable) than some fileservers I've seen.
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MxA · n00b Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 20 Location: Amsterdam, NL

I have a Digital XLT-300 that I am tooling up to become my home server:

My next Gentoo installation will be an xbox, for use as home entertainment center.

tosmo · n00b Joined: 11 Dec 2004 Posts: 1

I just got an AlphaServer 4100, fitted with :

dual 300MHz EV5 cpus ( 21164 I think )
7 * 2.1GB HDs
4 * 4.3GB HDs
3 * 1GB HDs
S3Virge graphics board

Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID board

scheduled to be sacrificed to the Gentoo Linux cult in a week or so

Also owned a SparcStation 20 with dual SM75 cpu modules, 9.1GB HD CD6 graphics, and compiled & ran gentoo nicely ( though a wee slow )

Spanik · Veteran Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 1008 Location: Belgium

Too late to try, I gave away my sparcstation IPC and PDP11/73.
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porodzila · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 7:35 am Post subject:

an 11/73 , no blinken lights :cry:

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multix · Apprentice Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 245 Location: Italy

Hmm. I think your question is flawed.
Linux is just a plain OS anf if something runs linux it isn't really so interesting...

I run gentoo on a HP-PA 715/50 'scorpio' and on a SparcSttion 10.
I run linux debian on a 68k mac (Q950 and IIfx)

But for real hardware I look for other OS's...

Like an original IBM RS/6000 320H.. Anyithing else than AIX would be a waste...

Some architectures are nice for the OS they can run.
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tom61 · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 07 Jan 2005 Posts: 111

Let's see I'm running Linux on a Sharp Zaurus, that's not too impressive considering it comes pre-installed (though I'm running a different version than official). I'd install X11 and Apt-get or portage, but I don't know of many apps that would translate to a small screen and usable with the limited processing ability it has.

Specs:
Intel StrongArm 206MHz (sometimes I overclock)
64MB of RAM (32MB used as RAM drive with the current ROM I'm using; TheKompany)
I'm not sure about how much Flash it has
Compact Flash slot (normally filled with a Wifi card)
Secure Digital slot (normally filled with a 1GB storage card, borrowed from my Pocket PC)
Built-in thumb keyboard

I've also run Linux on my Dreamcast using the CD from: http://www.m17n.org/linux-sh/dreamcast/ Slow and Lacked sound, but it was fun seeing X11 coming up on a TV using a game console. The CVS version of the kernel is supposed to support sound and other devices (such as the VMU flash memory), but no one has got it to compile that I've heard from. The project has been abandoned for some time. The slowness, according to what I read in the mailing-list archives is mostly casued by the fact they had a RAM disk setup so you you could transfer stuff to the Dreamcast using ZModem and a serial cable, and well, the Dreamcast doesn't have very much RAM.

Specs of Dreamcast:
Hitachi SH-4 200MHz main processor
16MB of RAM
Minimal built-in flash (enough to hold settings for using the modem)
ARM based sound processor at like 6MHz (official specs list it at 16MHz, but homebrew developers think it's alot slower than that)
Yamaha sound chip (connected to above)
PowerVR based video chip

How I had mine setup when I played with it:
Two Dreamcast controllers
An adapter that let me use normal PS/2 keyboards
An adapter that let me use normal PS/2 mice connected to an X10 mouse remote RF receiver (that way I could surf the web from my bed easily), then connected (as the X10 receiver needs a pass-through) to a small touch pad (like you'd have on a laptop)
The hard to find (as it was only sold online, and only two runs in the US) Broadband 100BaseTX ethernet adapter

I have pictures of the above setup if anybody wants it.

Once I get around to modding my X-Box, as it only needs a software hack to work now, I'll probably be running Linux on it. Should make a good Dist-CC box. :wink:

GenTimJS · Guru Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 406 Location: NH, USA

I have a macSE (upgraded to a whole 2mb ram! woot!) that I'd love to throw some kind of *nix on ... but sadly, I've found so little usefull documentation on how to accomplish this reliably (linux on mac68k with the yaboot type stuff is "evil" at best..) that the box is likely to become a casemod target before it becomes a thin-client-esque nix text terminal ....

I've also got a mac LC III, Centris somethingorother (with the useless LC040), Centris somethignorother AV (with a usefull 040, which supposedly runs netbsd .. just with no network), Powermac 7200 (slower than the centrisAV ..), and an iMac 233 (running yellowdog). I dont know what it is, but I have a tendancy to attract donations of old apple hardware even tho I generally am not a fan of apple.... I just cant justify throwing away a working computer lol ...

Now my sparcstation 2s .. THOSE are usefull boxes ;-)

.. if only the 13 year old nvram wasnt dead ...
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jecepede · Apprentice Joined: 19 Nov 2002 Posts: 239

Ho ho ho !

I had a 80386 (SX or DX can't remember) 20 Mhz with
32 Mb of internal mem,
100 Mb HD,
1 speed cdrom drive
adlib soundcard

1) I did a "Linux From Scratch on this machine" for a learning curve, a curve of a couple of months.
2) Debian 2.0 didn't wanna run (didn't see te HD)
3) gentoo STAGE1 (That is 1 as in ONE) took me about three weeks !

I had to put in a second HD of 512 Mb, just for swap !

(I never got the Adlib card working thow Confused )

But I have some normal stuff too :

AMD 2000 XP (overclocked from 1.6 to 2.0 ghz (had to undo that emerge is a good heater))
1 Gb internal
120 Gb HD (if funds > 0 then buy new HD)
NEC-3500 DVD writer
17" mon 1280x1024 80hz

Jessy
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displaced · n00b Joined: 18 Dec 2004 Posts: 5

Hmmm ...

I have a 4MB RAM/240MB HD Atari Falcon030 in the loft.

Wonder what I can get that do do....

(I'm guessing Linux on an Atari Jaguar would be futile

)
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RanDom_ErrOr · n00b Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 5

currently my weirdest pc is the HP 9000/c110, pa-risc thingy... fun to play with, hope the kernel finishes compiling soon... >.> 8 hours into gentoo from stage3, too lazy to do stage 1 and 2...

anyway, yeah, its chuggin along, dang thing has 512mb ram... ITS 10 YEARS OLD and has the same amount of ram that my current PC has... >.<

wtf is with that... um, some SCSI CDrom and like 6gb of storage... 1/110th of my fast box...

current system specs of my big boy is this
2700+ amd
512mb pc2100?? ram
128mb FX5600
650GB of HDD
2x 120gb
1x 160gb
1x 250gb
<3 hard drive space
currently at 410gb free
dual monitors on KVM 1 17"NEC LCD @ 1280x1024x32 1 19" Dell 1226H @ 1600x1200x32

only booting winXP because im a HUGE gamer, and dont want to bother with dual boot systems (thats why i hve the hp9000/c110)
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FGA · Apprentice Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 179

Time ago I tried ELKS - Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset on this machine:

Amstrad PC1512
Intel 8086 4mhz 16bit
512k ram. Not DDR
5 1/4" floppy <- boot device
3 1/2" floppy
EGA graphics, monochrome monitor
No harddisk
MSDOS 3.20 5 1/2" floppy disks :roll:

60 minutes per frame running doom3 :wink:

The kernel loads, but it freezes at some point i don't remember. I must try it again someday. Sad is ELKS project stopped development a long time ago

Not exactly loading linux in it but..on msdos I ran a serial console terminal, using a serial cable attached to my linux machine. It's cool to browse the gentoo forums using links2 on a 8086

I also have linux for dreamcast(the debian port), but without broadband adapter/serial cable it's useless. I heard sometime that there was going to be a port of gentoo to dreamcast. What happened to the project?

mmm..the sega megadrive(genesis) have a motorola 68000...
..nokia's smartphones, like my nokia 3650, have ARM9 cpus....
Pretty devices to put linux

Unusual linux hardware? http://www.ipodlinux.org/

Edit: Isn't it cool? :wink:

blaster999 · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject:

Well, there is a very old compaq notebook (CPU 80386, 80 Mb HDD, floppy drive, monochrome LCD and so on). I could try to install linux on it (not gentoo, as compiling the kernel would take ages). Maybe I'll turn it into some kind of terminal.
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lambda64 · n00b Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 12 Location: .se/.fi

Seems like I have real vanilla stuff among you guys:

Two AlphaServer 4100:s (identical) - tosmo you seem to be my fellow!
1 EV56 500MHz
1.5GB RAM
Some really weird card with the widest interface i've ever seen (no idea where to connect it to).
Some storageShelfs full to its limit with 4GB 7.2K disks

One AlphaServer 1200
1 EV 56 400MHz
356MB RAM
As many 4BG 7.2K disks as it can fit.

Two AlphaStation 500 (identical)
EV56 400MHz
512MB RAM
Some DAT and external disks (don't even remember)

I think my hardware makes more noise than the most of yours, though...

depontius · Advocate Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 3523

I have an Alpha Multia in the basement that a friend gave me. Currently it has the original WinNT, and the friend put on RedHat 5.2 or 6.2, forget which.

It would be fun to put something real and usable on this box, though I fear it's power consumption and heat output.

In that respect, I'd love to pick up one (or several) of the new Via mini-ITX boards.
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