Redhat Linux 5.2 on 25yr old PC

#retrocomputing #linux #redhat

This video is about Redhat Linux 5.2 and my 25 yr old Intel Pentium 100Mhz.
I got this boxed Redhat Linux 5.2 lying here and wondered what I would do it ... then I saw this unused business-like boring pentium 100Mhz on my self and thought this could be match made in heaven.

I decided to install Linux on the old PC and re-create my feelings towards Linux that I had when I installed that very same version of Redhat in 1998, most likely on very similar hardware.

Join me on this journey back in time, where we install Redhat 5.2 and play around with window managers like FVWM2, Gnome and Enlightment.

Enjoy......

[jayminer]

This was so fun to see, I'm starting to get a bit tired of all the DOS and Windows content out there so it's really fun and refreshing to see some retro Linux instead, and 1998 was right about when I got into Linux myself. I did run Slackware though.

[nneeerrrd]

*6:21** "Intel Pentium with F0 0F bug" LOL*
"Intel - we deliver you bugged CPUs since 1976"

[MisterRorschach]

You should call the number for customer support and act like you need help installing.

[HighwinderShow]

This is the version of Linux that got the world's attention. It actually says on the box, ""Systems running Red Hat Linux are able to run continuously for months on end". If you look carefully you'll see it under the "Desktop Environment" paragraph on the back of the box at 0:35. I never forgot that epic brag was actually written on the box. What's awesome is that this old version of Linux looks fantastic on screen even today. Boy do I miss the days when Linux took itself seriously enough to come in boxed versions with epic printed mauals. Nobody even got close to the old days of SUSE Linux - I still have all my complete boxed sets, those are treasures to me now.

[RobReynolds]

Massive nostalgia watching this.

Enlightenment was amazing. I wasted loads of hours playing with ethemes. I've not seen anything today that looks as cool.

[jeffcullen]

This very box changed my life and made my career. I begged my mother to get it for me for Christmas when I was 14 in 1998, and spent many sleepless nights getting it up and running on a HP Vectra 486/66N so I could use it to share out the 56k dialup connection with all 4 PCs on the 10BASE-T LAN in the basement. This channel sure brings back memories. Thank you!

[catherined.]

Oh man, RedHat 5.x was my first exposure to Unix-like operating systems as a kid. Someone threw out an old 486DX 33MHz machine, and the library had gotten a copy of some Linux reference book with the install CD in the back. We didn't have internet, so when we wanted to install anything that we heard about or saw at the library online we would have to download it and carry it back home via floppies.

RPM Dependency became a special kind of hell when all you had was bicyclenet.

Edit: or was it faster I can't remember

[awesomefacepalm]

When the harddrives are identified by hda instead of sda, you know it's old

[markinhosmrk]

This brings memories! I used to play with Linux, tried many ones (RH, Caldera, a Brazilian distro called Conectiva)... was always formatting my machine back then!

[harunobu]

This video brings me back sweet memories !
I remember a lot of things those days.
25 years ...
I don't know what to say this kind of feeling.
What a long time i lived...

[joejoezidane]

I have the exact same box and you have no idea the memories you brought back with your video. I have a picture as proof! This was my first Linux distro and it was amazing back in the day... Thanks for this content...

[RuSrsbro]

I love the scrolling boot text in Linux, it's helped me diagnose several bios and hardware setup issues on older systems

[EposVox]

Heyyy! This was my first Linux experience! I still have the manual

[BrianBoniMakes]

Well that brings back a flood of memories. I remember waiting for 5.2 to be released and then I must have done a couple hundred installs when I worked for a server company. We did our development work on Sparc Stations as we waited for the dual Pentium Pro motherboards which was the first Intel machine to challenge the Unix world. You could have also done this install on your Alpha box, we had a number of those too. Thanks!

[zingyyellow]

This was my first install of Linux, had it off a magazine. As you say, it was amazing at the time. Thanks for putting it up, really took me back!

[KochamGry]

Cool video😷 My first Red Hat distribution was 7.3 on 800 Mhz Duron and 128 Mb ram. I remember when I compiled the mplayer program and my own 2.4 kernel.
I was extremely proud of myself. Nice memories and nostalgia.

[nemoincognito]

My first Linux came with "Teach yourself Linux in 24 Hours" late 90's

[StefanJohansson]

This brings back so many memories. I bought the boxed version of Red Hat 5.0 and ran it on a Pentium 166 machine back in the day. Spent hours just tweaking it and messing around with different software. My favorite window manager back then was window maker.

[peteuk]

Wow.... That Escom PC brings back memories. We had a 486 DX4 100Mhz one that was upgraded many times.
Always had a soft spot that Case :)

[paulodelgado]

Not sure why I decided to look up RedHat 5.2 after all this years. It was my first distro back in 1998. Loved the trip down memory lane. Thank you.