Linux for IBM PS2 9533 808

On Mon, 03 Apr 2006, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.linux.misc, in article

Actually, if you looked at the SIMMs, the 30 pin devices of the time only had 11 address bits multiplexed (4,194,304 8 or 9 bit words). That was the reason 4 MB was the largest 30 pin SIMMs made. 72 pin SIMMs have another address bit, but are 32 or 36 bits wide, so the maximum size was 128 Megabytes in a single stick. Ignoring the ancient 386SX which only used 16 bit wide external data, the standard memory arrangement was one or two banks of 4 30 bit SIMMs, or one or two 72 pin devices. Also remember that the system EPROMS reside at the very top end of addressable

The major limitation at 64 Megs was the memory cache. There was an earlier limit at 16 Megs as well. I remember getting some (Dell or Compaq) 486s with 128 Megs of RAM, and downgrading them by removing the upper 64 Megs because they were Ssssslllllloooooooowwwwwwww when using un-cached RAM. I think we later reinstalled the RAM, but used it as a RAM-disk, rather than system memory.

As for RH 6.1 - we gave that one a miss - our 5.2 systems were updated to 6.2. I can't remember what it was that we didn't like with 6.1 but I don't think we even tested it that long. By the same token, we also never installed 7.0 or 7.1.

Old guy