-----Original Message----- From: centos-bounces@centos.org [mailto:centos-bounces@centos.org] On Behalf Of Garrick Staples Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 4:32 PM To: CentOS mailing list Subject: Re: [CentOS] Centos 5 on i586
On Fri, Feb 08, 2008 at 12:40:55PM -0800, MHR alleged:
On Feb 8, 2008 9:02 AM, Ray Van Dolson rayvd@bludgeon.org wrote:
On Fri, Feb 08, 2008 at 05:47:58PM +0100, Matias Surdi wrote:
Is possible to install Centos 5 on a 586 CPU? (cpu_type = 5)
No. I think there was some interest in making this happen at some point:
http://wiki.centos.org/QaWiki/CentOS5PentiumSupport
However I'm not sure that it will end up happening:
Pardon me, but you CAN install CentOS 5.1 on any x86 CPU. If your CPU
is a valid 64-bit CPU, you can install either the i386 version (32-bit) or the x86_64 version. You may not get full support of specific CPU instructions that are available ONLY on your particular CPU, but the right one will run.
I had 586 CPUs on two different machines at work way back when 5.0 came out, and the x86_64 installation ran just fine on both.
There is no such thing as a 64bit i586 CPU.
With regards to Intel CPUs, the original Pentiums are i586. Everything
after that (PentiumPro, PentiumII, III, and IV) is i686. Earlier PentiumIV are >32bit only, later chips added the 64bit instructions and registers.
The CPUs are backwards compatible with older software.
So, what is a "valid" 64bit CPU? I have a DEC Alpha in the basement that is most certainly 64 bit, but can't install the i386 or x86_64 version on it. How about Sparc or HP-UX boxes? Are they valid 64 bit CPUs?