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[qwms-avib AT dea.spamcon.org]

James Miller wrote:
>
> I recently acquired some old "luggable" 386 25's.  I can
> get at least 8MB of RAM in them.  I presume that they would 
> handle non-graphical BL 1 ok, but not BL2, right?  

It would be possible to use BL2 on those machines by using
the lowram kernel from Slackware 7.1.  But, they will perform
better with BL1.

> I don't know if 386's had coprocessors or not,

386s usually have an empty slot for a 387 chip (copro).  Some
premium computers came with copros already installed.  

> but if they do, would that make a difference?  

Yes, they could run the BL2 kernel (as long as they have 8mb
RAM or more).

> And, let's say I could max out that machine with 16MB RAM: 
> should I still stick with BL1?  

That depends.  If you are running other BL2 systems, then it
might be more convenient for you to use it on all the systems.
However, BL1 will perform better than BL2 on a 386.

> Would X work with that amount of RAM?  

Yes, I have run X on 386s myself.  They make pretty good
Xterminals.

> It's got some unusual video card (has a small LCD built in - 

Probably Hercules, but it could be CGA (bad) or EGA (good).

> but with an external plug for a regular monitor), 

Two rows of pins?  

> so I'm not sure I could get a very good display out of it, 

Hercules resolution is not too bad.  It's similar to VGA 
(but in monochrome).

> even if I could install X on it.

The mono Xserver (xmono.tgz) should work.  If you are lucky
and have EGA, you will probably be able to get 16 colors with
the default vga Xserver.

Cheers,
Steven