Baslinux mailing list

[Sindi Keesan <keesan AT iamjlamb.com>]

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 3aoo-cvfd AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:

> Sindi Keesan wrote:
> >
> > What other capabilities omitted from BL3 
> 
> The config for the BL3 kernel is on the BasicLinux homepage.
> 
> > 30MB drive.  
> 
> Ouch.  That's small.  If it were mine, I'd do:
> -----------------------------------
> /dev/hda1    DOS              20mb 
> /dev/hda2    Linux swap        3mb
> /dev/hda3    Linux native      7mb
> -----------------------------------

DOS does not need to be that large, just a text editor and lxpic and lynx 
and kermit.

> After installing BL3, delete the entire /usr/X11R6 tree
> plus any other large executables/modules you don't need.
> 
> > I will see if we can find a larger drive among the dead 
> > 386 and 486 laptops that is compatible with that computer.
> 
> You might be able to bring one of those dead laptops to 
> life with a little tweaking.  I recently got an old laptop 
> which appeared to be dead (the power light came on but 
> nothing happened).  Just for fun I put an HD from another 
> dead laptop into it and it came to life and booted perfectly.  
> It is now my best laptop.

My partner has a pentium laptop given to him because the HD was dead.  
Someone gave him a 500MB hard drive that works in it.  But I think the
older laptop drives are less exchangeable.  He already tried fixing about
20 other laptops and recycled most, but got two XTs working (one with 2
floppy disks, one with a small HD) and one 286 (no FD) and this 386 with
3MB RAM.  Also one 486 in which the floppy drive can be used as an off
switch - it apparently lowers the voltage sufficiently when you insert a
floppy disk to turn off the machine unless you are really slow and careful
and don't have the HD running at the time.  He likes to carry that one
around to compile on - DOS and BL1.  No room to add BL3.  The other 486
has 2MB RAM - maybe we can find more RAM for it.  100MB hard drive.  
There are about 5-10 other laptops that might be usable for parts.

Is RAM in 386s and 486 laptops at all standardized?  Are HDs?  



> 
> Cheers,
> Steven