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Looking for a new OS

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Dr.Grumbles

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Aug 16, 2007
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I have a 386 based computer that currently has DOS and Windows 3.1 on it. I find that I have no reason to use that computer anymore, so I'm trying to find something interesting to use it for. Does anyone know of any operating systems that would run on a computer like that? These would have to be loaded on floppies because the computer has a 5'1/4 floppy and 3' 1/2 floppy drive.

I figure theres probably a Linux OS that could run on it, or maybe even an Amiga based OS since they tend to be so lightweight.
 
Hmmm...a lot is going to come down to what you want the machine to do.

There are quite a few different options. We've been kicking around PC-Mos here for a little while now. It's like DOS, but multi-tasking/multi-user.

Of course, if you want something a little more comprehensive in the MT/MU area, old versions of SCO unix are available dirt-cheap on eBay. Of course, setting these up isnt' a walk in the park. Well, maybe a park in a bad neighborhood.

If you don't need MT/MU, an early version of OS/2 is easy is kind of interesting. I've run Version 1.1 & 1.2 without the graphical shell, it's a Multi-Tasking but NOT Multi-User DOS-like environment.

Of course, we get back to what you want to do with the machine. Write letters? Write programs? Play vintage games? Learn more about hardware in general?

Start a wish list of things you would like to do with the system, then we can help you pick an OS that will meet your needs...
 
Unfortunately, the AROS Research Operating System requires a Pentium CPU or better, or so it says on their Wiki. Perhaps a 486DX could work, but your 386 seems not to qualify. I don't know if there are much older versions of AROS that you could be interested in.

By the way, wasn't there just another thread like this, but related to 8088 computers? Maybe a few of the suggestions there would apply to you as well, although a 386 is much more capable than a 8088.

The guys at Wikipedia have also compiled a very long list of operating systems for all kinds of computers, ordered by OS type. You might find a gem or two there if you spend your time browsing the list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operating_systems
 
Just to clarify, Amiga OS is proprietary to the Amiga hardware (680x0 series) so although you're correct about it being nice and light it's not for x86 systems.

Let's see.. os/2 is worth playing with (you'll probably like that a bit since it's sort of like an odd mix of unix and dos) .. infact one of the os/2 user groups I somehow became a member of for a while in Wisconsin has hosting their web site on a 386 with 4MB of RAM running os/2 v3 until just recently when they upgraded to some low end pentium machines I think.

I'm not sure how far back BeOS goes but that was an interesting OS before it died.. although being a lot of graphics it may be a pentium or above OS only.

Obviously some linux may still be able to run on there, although most folks have wandered away from compatability and most linux distro's can't run on anything less than a beefed up pentium with lots of ram and disk space. Last time I checked (this was quite a few years ago) the only few that could run on pre-pentium ware (I was trying to run it on a 486 and it pissed me off because of the vendors not supporting pre-586 systems) TurboLinux (who was even nice enough to send me a .1 version old copy in the box with manuals for free), Debian, I think slackware and I can't remember anyone else. I know Redhat, Mandrake, Suse, and a lot of the other big company driven linuxes are all bloated and require 586+.

An older version of Freebsd will likely run which is a nice free way to play with unix.

I dunno.. I would hunt around some local goodwills or other resources and try the OS/2 aspect. It'll probably be the most powerful OS you can run on the hardware.

- John
 
Dr.Grumbles said:
I figure theres probably a Linux OS that could run on it, or maybe even an Amiga based OS since they tend to be so lightweight.
Click to expand...

You are correct, as well as FreeBSD. The only problem is, no recent/modern distribution will work because they require Pentium and higher, and 16MB of RAM or higher.

Does the 386 have 5MB of RAM or more, 80MB hard drive or more, and a network card? If so, then you can install FreeBSD 2.x on it. I did this a few years ago; you boot the first floppy, it sets up the network, and then proceeds to download the rest of the packages over the internet and installs the system. After some quick checking, I found this distro here:
ftp://ftp4.us.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/i386/2.2.9-RELEASE/
...and you should be able to point to it when installing over the internet. Better yet, put it on an FTP server on your own network, so that it will install at local LAN speed.

EDIT: I went ahead and grabbed it; you can download it from ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/misc/FreeBSD_2.2.9.tar.gz if you'd like to give it a shot.

If you don't have a network card, the floppies are there too... but that's somewhat painful, especially if you get a bad sector 15 floppies into the install...

I have held onto my old Redhat CDs; I have 5.x and 6.x, and I believe 5.x will install on a 386 with 4MB of RAM just fine from floppies. I can make the floppy images available, if you like.
 
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I second the motion on an older version of Linux or OS/2.

Redhat 6.1 was a fairly good distribution that can be squeezed onto a 386. It is based on the 2.2 series of kernels, which while outdated, had more than enough functionality to be useful. It was a fairly small distro too - no more than 1 or 2 CDs. You will get a reasonable development environment with Linux - C compilers, etc.

OS/2 2.11 or Warp 3.0 would be ok for a machine of that vintage. There is plenty of old shareware running around. The IBM C/C++ compiler will be a little hard to find now - you might be able to find a port of the GNU toolchain for OS/2. Go with Warp 3.0 if you want something at least slightly functional .. OS/2 2.11 is going to be very very dated now.

For both operating systems you should have a minimum of 8MB of RAM. OS/2 Warp 3.0 claims to install on a 4MB machine, but it will be very painful. 16MB would be fat for either operating system.

Consider adding a CD drive. While I think you can install either OS from floppies, that is another painful process you can avoid. Otherwise, get a pile of diskeetes. :)
 
I can verify that Debian will work. I have a Dell 325D (the one with the cute 4 digit multi-LED display, not those cheap 7 segment jobs) running, as one would expect, a 80386 with 16MB of RAM. It has a co-pro as well but, I don't think that matters too much.

I can't recall the version number as it's on the "repaired" rack in the basement, but, if you are seriously interested in getting that OS, I'll fire it up and look at the version.

It's pretty snappy on a 386 though.
 
BasicLinux

BasicLinux

Runs in as little as 3MB RAM and can be installed either to a DOS system (2.8 zip file that uncompresses to a ready-to-run folder on your c: drive) or a version that loads from two 1.44 floppy disks. http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/baslinux/. Starts out as a very, very basic little system, but older Slackware packages can be added for greater functionality. I'm running it in a VM right now, throttled down to 12MB of memory and the GUI is surprisingly usable...
 
Stick with DOS

Stick with DOS

I advocate sticking with MS-DOS (or FreeDOS) on that machine. DOS gives you avenues for playing around that you just don't find in more "modern" operating systems. One of the things I like about DOS is the quantity of free (or almost free) programming languages available. While not up to the abilities of GCC or other modern compilers, you can easily use one of the free Borland C or C++ compilers and/or Turbo Pascal compilers to learn programming.

A nice thing about doing this on DOS is it is more tolerant to catestrophic crashes! Just a three-finger salute (Ctrl-Alt-Del) or a flip of the power switch, and you're back in business! :)

I wanted to pick back up with my old assembly language programming recently, so I installed MS-DOS 6.2 on my old Dell laptop, and am happily messing things up with MASM 6 :)

Besides, for nostalgia, you just can't beat running DOS on an old desktop computer. I still keep (and run!) an old Packard Bell 386sx-16 system, just for those times. There are tons of old games and programs all around the Internet that run on older x86 systems and DOS. Lots of nostalgia there!

Seriously, I run Linux and Unix on the systems I can, but I really don't try to cram 10 lbs. of you-know-what in a 5 lb. bag (IE: try to run Linux on anything < a 486). If you just have to try something Unix-y on this system, give Minix a shot:

http://www.minix3.org/

If you don't have at least 8 MB of RAM, you won't be able to run Minix 3, but then again, you probably won't be able to run any version of Linux either, unless you find the original version Linus wrote for his old 386 :)

Just my $0.02
 
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