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#1 2005-01-06 17:35:38

luisfelipe
Member
Registered: 2004-05-06
Posts: 96

ArchLinux on a i586

Hello,

recently a friend of mine (Caio) got a pentium 200 mmx, and we decided it would be
nice to have arch installed on it.
The problem is, the i586 arch repository is kind of lagging behind, and there
is stuff missing from there.
The setup/ directory on the ftp is missing, and so even the minimum installation
is impossible without some tweaking.
This is how we got around the missing setup dir. Inside the setup dir, should be two files :
1) pacman.pkg.tar.gz -> we just used the pacman-2.9-1.pkg.tar.gz that was available
and had no problems with that.
2) packages.txt -> this one was trickier. We have no idea how this file is generated,
so we made a script that gets the packages.txt from the i686 rep, downloads a list
of the files available on the i586 one and tries to create a new file that mixes those two.

During installation, Caio was just hacking the installation scripts by hand so that it
would search for packages.txt and the other stuff where we put it, not on the ftp.
But that is too time consuming.
If anyone here wants to try installing arch on a i586, we are creating a new repository
on our machine. Right now, only current is there, but we plan on putting all the packages
that we are compiling there (we are compiling lots of stuff from extra, that are not available
on any i586 repository out there).
The installation disk images (we haven't altered them) are on :
http://atum.lab.ic.unicamp.br/~lfelipe/arch/i586/images
and current is on :
http://atum.lab.ic.unicamp.br/~lfelipe/arch/i586

We haven't tested installing from that mirror yet, since it took a long time to get the
machine up and running, but if anyone tries, feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I have one question : we tried compiling a new glibc-2.3.4 package, but we compiled
it on another machine, that has the regular arch version. We changed the -march flag
on makepkg.conf, but it still compiled stuff with i686 only instructions. I think that this
is because glibc probably links with other stuff that was compiled for i686.
Anyone knows if this is correct ? Do you guys have any ideas of what I could do ?

PS: I'm still uploading stuff to the mirror, so it should only be functional about 2 to 3 hours
from the time I post this message.

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#2 2005-01-06 18:39:34

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

there are a whole host of reasons why it is better to build on the actual target architecture than cross compiling suffice it to say you found one of the problems (CFLAGs just don't cut it in every case). If you contact Xentac he had a far more current i586 repo for some time but then his i586 went down. It would be a bit behind but far less than the one on the Arch repos.

There is also a link to an old pre 0.7 i586 install iso somewhere on the mail list (some time in the spring).

As for generating a packages.txt there is script that Judd has for that so contact him.

As much as you don't want to have to compile on your i586 I would strongly recommend doing it as soon as possible. I should tell you though that if you want to offer a general i586 repo you wuill still have to watch out that no mmx code slips into your builds because they may not work on a regular i586. Some builds will auto detect processor features and set the build for those features regardless of what your build flags are.

hth


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

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#3 2005-01-06 19:35:37

luisfelipe
Member
Registered: 2004-05-06
Posts: 96

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Thanks for the reply, Sarah.

I don't know if we're going to be keeping an extra repository for the i586.
But at least that mirror of the current repository should already help someone
that wishes to do the base installation.

I'll try to talk to Judd later, to see if he can make his script available somewhere
to us. Ours was just a quick hack that still has quite some problems.

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#4 2005-01-12 05:10:36

Hum
Member
Registered: 2004-06-13
Posts: 46

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

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#5 2005-03-10 21:28:47

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Hey.

I now last activity in this thread, was sometime ago, but since i just got here so....

I am still new to linux, trying to make my way to Arch. My current box is i586, and i know it is not officily supported, but i got my hands on the pre-0.7 i586 install cd and it works good.

Then, after some searching, i found this "repo mirror"... wich, i can not use. I think it is due to the fact that it is http://.

From what i read in the pacman.conf, it doesnt support http://. I t could be of an old version, i don't know.

Just wanted to let u know, that it is not working for me. So, i gonna try to copy this repo off the http:// and put it on a ftp:// and see if it works any better.

Greetings.

Disc-Devil
==========

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#6 2005-03-12 15:06:25

FUBAR
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2004-12-08
Posts: 1,029
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Disc-Devil wrote:

Then, after some searching, i found this "repo mirror"... wich, i can not use. I think it is due to the fact that it is http://.

From what i read in the pacman.conf, it doesnt support http://. I t could be of an old version, i don't know.

I'd configure pacman to use wget instead of the built in downloader and then try the http-addresses again. I've got lots of http's in my [Server] lists and I can use them without any problems.

Let me know how your i586 adventure works out!


A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk I have a workstation.

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#7 2005-03-12 17:21:49

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

The latest pacman supports http, so if the version on the i586 mirrors don't support it, then that version probably doesn't support using wget either. sad

Dusty

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#8 2005-03-14 17:34:58

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Hey.

Well, my pacman supports wget.. and, i changed in the config file, so that pacman would use wget. But... it didnt seem to work.. or.. it did, but i didnt realize it..

Im still new to linux, and im even newer to Arch.. hehe... but, however.. i am at the moment, compiling pkg's from the current repo. I have allready compiled a large number of pkg's, and they seem to work fine, so i guess i must be doing something right...

It is kinda time consuming, but i have time so... I used abs, to get the PKGBUILD's, then i just used the makepk command. I did change the makepkg.conf properly... It is working for me so... smile

Some pkg's wouldnt build, either because of "wrong url" or some other error, but i will deal with those later....

My goal/mission is, to be able to use Arch on my system, and, hopefully i will manage to build atleast the pkg's in current, and put em out for anyone who feels like getting them.. big_smile


So far.. I have only good comments about Arch, but who knows... the might get better when im starting to use the system for "real" big_smile

Happy Arching. smile

//--// D-D

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#9 2005-03-14 18:39:14

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

If you're serious about building/sharing i586 packages, talk to Xentac on IRC. I know he's developing an automated build system for this kind of work, and I also know he's been given an i586 computer to test it on. I also know he tends to start projects like this and not finish them, so you might want to give him a reminder, or offer help, or ask for advice, I'm sure he can speed up or automate some of the mundane tasks.

Dusty

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#10 2005-03-14 18:54:21

FUBAR
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2004-12-08
Posts: 1,029
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Damn, I never realised "porting" Arch was so easy: I thought I had to have access to i586 packages, but all it takes is the ABS tree. Of course, this way you have to compile everything yourself and that's not very tempting on a Pentium 200.


A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk I have a workstation.

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#11 2005-03-14 19:24:06

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

*pow*

Yees, i am serious about making i586 pkg's... For now, i only use this box for "testing" purposes.. and to learn/teach myself linux.. smile

Anyway, it is kinda *hm*, timeconsuming... and a little more automation would be nice..  lol  But, i am moving forward in my progress, and i have soon accomplished to compile xorg... i did the entire /base (eccept a few pkg's), a bunch of pkg's from system and so on....

Keeping track of the dependecies, all by myself.. is really a pain.. However, im only needed to do this once, coz then my gensync'ed repo will do it for me.... smile (if i would have to re-install, that is) wich i prolly will need, as i tend to fook it up sometimes... big_smile

I will keep u updated on my progress, and prolly should post what pkg's are done so far... but that i will do when i have time... im not to happy about, typing that much txt at the moment... and since i don't know how to script.. i can not do a script.. but.. i will learn...

Untill next time... Do NOT push the powerbutton... wink

//--// D-D

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#12 2005-03-14 19:31:25

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Dusty wrote:

If you're serious about building/sharing i586 packages, talk to Xentac on IRC. I know he's developing an automated build system for this kind of work, and I also know he's been given an i586 computer to test it on. I also know he tends to start projects like this and not finish them, so you might want to give him a reminder, or offer help, or ask for advice, I'm sure he can speed up or automate some of the mundane tasks.

I have a couple of boxen laying around doing absolutely nothing. I could throw a distro on them and have them be compile systems. I should ask Xentac if he could send me the scripts he has setup...


"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#13 2005-03-15 12:54:10

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

I only i had new this from beginnig....


I've found out, that there is a command, 'makeworld' that actually build an hole part of the abs tree. And, it has the power, of solving dependecies, and some other handy things....

makeworld --help

it is living in /usr/bin/makeworld

Could be a good thing, for those that are compiling from the abs tree.

Once should also, take the time to study:

makepkg --help

That will also give some helpfull information.... big_smile

Cheers m8! big_smile

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#14 2005-03-15 17:01:12

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

I am surprised no one mentioned the makeworld option. the problem with doing using it though is that you need to log the building because when a package fails to build you will want to know why. Granted IF the builds in your ABS directory are current then you technically should be okay. That being said you are going to be building packages MOST of the time you use that computer and you will need to file ALOT of bug reports.

It gets old fast if the maintainers you file bug reports to don't care or don't fix them promptly. When I was trying to maintain the i586 repo many changes that I wanted never bother to be implimented and some devs were not willing to accept that the failure of a package to build with i586 instructions was a "bug". At that point I gave up because it was an even bigger task to maintain i586 patched packages.

Oh yeah you better learn real quick how to patch and find alternative sources for package sources because sometime non-actively developed source can sometime mysteriously disappear from its "homepage" and you will have to steal it from one of those distros that actually have the source in their repos such as Slackware.

Even with auto build tools that Jason had I think it was still a tedious thing to take on trying to maintain i586.


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

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#15 2005-03-16 08:57:12

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Hey.

Thanks sarah, for your advices.. I appreciate them very much. Yes, it is a bit of a struggle, to do this, but.. atleast i have finally got a "usable" system now.

There is still a lot of things, i need to do.. But, I have XFCE4 & Firefox & XChat right now.. big_smile
and, ofcourse a bounch of other pkg's...

What i don't know, i will have to learn...  wink Oh, btw.. i spotted one thing, when i looked at "codecs" PKGBUILD... cant remeber, if it is in /multimedia or /extra/multimedia, but anyway...

There is a comment, in it.. that states, that that pkg is have to be built withouh strip(p).. otherwise, mplayer wont find the codecs... or crash...

makepkg --nostrip

If i had just done makepkg -c as i have been doing with all other pkg's i've built, that one would prolly have failed, coz makepkg strip's if you don't tell it not to.

Maybe there should be possible, to, in the PKGBUILD, place some info, that tells the makepkg to use a special option like; --nostrip.

I dont know, how it is supposed to be implemented.. but just an idea.. smile


Oh and btw... Arch really works good here, still some things i have to fix though, but it is working really good big_smile

Thanks.

======
Disc-Devil

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#16 2005-03-18 02:39:12

PAPPPmAc
Member
From: Kentucky
Registered: 2003-07-07
Posts: 21

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Well, ive got a little cluster (real cluster, using AFAPI libraries and a WAPERS box) that im building from five (four and a head) IBM 300GL boxes (Pentium 166, 48mb RAM, 5gb harddrive in all but the the head, which has 12gb).  Using a redhat-like distrobution was reccomended, but neither i nor the hardwrae get along with that, so i switched to Arch using the ISO and mirror reccomended in this thread for the first box (the head), which is now hard at work compiling base from ABS to use in the installs of the rest.  Im posting both to offer thanks to luisfelipe and whoever authored that .7beta ISO for getting the groundwork for i586 systems down, and mention that (as soon as theyre clustered) ill have an unresaonably fast true i586 build system doing allmost nothing to work on porting, and an extremely fast (University of Kentucky, so i really cant host a public mirror, but i would be able to quickly and reliably upload to one) line.  I see a real "market" for a reasonably current and up-to date i586 port of Arch (the best linux distro ive ever seen), and would be glad to help make it happen.

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#17 2005-03-18 03:02:12

luisfelipe
Member
Registered: 2004-05-06
Posts: 96

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Well, even tough I'm not using arch on my i586 any more (some problems with the RAM, the machine is kind of dead right now), I can help you with the hosting problem. I have unlimited bandwidth and space here at my university smile
Send me a message and I'll set up an account for you there.

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#18 2005-03-18 22:41:50

Disc-Devil
Member
Registered: 2005-03-07
Posts: 33

Re: ArchLinux on a i586

Ta da....

Okay, time is much here, and i am tired.... I started uisng the makeworld command, instead of building manually, with makepkg as i've been doing so far...

I works good, im moving forward, some pkg's wont build thoug.. so far i encountered 2..

but i will sort that out later...

I think, that it would be really gr8, if we (all of us i586'ers), or anyone that in some way could help out, got together and talked about "how" we gonna pull this off.

If we gonna put this off, we gotta have a structure...

I will think out something, have some ideas laying around in my head, just need to sort out all the thinking.... then i will post 'em here at the board and we will go from there.

I don't wanna take credit, for other peoples work, and the author of this thread, was the one who got me started from the beginning. I also wanna thank, anyone that has given me tips, ideas, or just a kick in the right direction.

Regards.

Disc-Devil

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