Re: RFC: [2.6 patch] better i386 CPU selection

Dave Jones
2003-09-13T18:40:59Z

On Sat, Sep 13, 2003 at 02:21:59PM -0400, Jeff Garzik wrote:

> > > In 2.4 selecting e.g. M486 has the semantics to get a kernel that runs
> > > on a 486 and above.
> > > In 2.6 selecting M486 means that only the 486 is supported.
> >
> > What are you basing this on ? This seems bogus to me.
> > Last I checked, I could for eg, boot a 386 kernel on an Athlon.
>
> If you know that you're only booting on a 486, why include all the junk
> needed solely for later processors?

Reread. a kernel _compiled for 386_
Precisely what junk do you mean ?

> > If we boot a 386 kernel on a ppro with that bug, this goes bang.
> Echo my first comment.

Echo 2 lines above. People do use 386 kernels for install kernels
on distros. Removing errata workarounds means distros start randomly
exploding during installs.

Dave

--
Dave Jones http://www.codemonkey.org.uk