/* Return what? */

https://elixir.bootlin.com/linux/v6.13.5/source/arch/x86/kernel/reboot.c#L932

Part 1/3
The continuing efforts with the #ThinkPad #W510:
A nice surprise is this has four (4) #DIMM slots, so I was able to upgrade the memory to 32GB (and tested out fine with #MEMTest86+ ver 7)!

Unfortunately, getting an #OS installed has been problematic. As I mentioned previously, to use this as my #workbench #laptop for testing, #imaging, and #wiping #HardDrives and #SSDs (leveraging that #eSATA port) all the manufacturer and optimal #opensource tools are on #Windows.
I started with the #Win11 LTSP: Booted up fine, initial install was fine – and the initial boot want to a black screen with a blinking cursor.
Ok, let me try #Win10 64-bit LTSP with the same results: Booted up fine, initial install was fine – and the initial boot want to a black screen with a blinking cursor.

#siliconValley #SillyValley #sanfrancisco #sanfran #sanfranciscocomputers #sanfrancomputers #sanfranciscovintagecomputers #sanfranvintagecomputers #sanfranciscovintagehardware #sanfranvintagehardware
#vintagecomputing #vintagecomputint #vintagecomputer #vintagecomputers #vintagecomputalk
#vintagehardware #computerHistory #retro #VCF #vintageComputerFestival
#retrocomputing #retroComputers #WallOfRetro #retroTech #retroTechnology
#nerdsOfVintage #happyNerding
#computer #tech #computerHardware #laptop #laptops
#IBM #thinkpad #thinkpads #VintageThinkPad #X86 #WindowsVista #IBMhardware #lenovoHardware #Thinkpadnium
#upcycle #restore #TechnologyRepair #ThinkPadRepair #WasteNoWantNot

Super-Lightweight Operating System boots off a 1.44MB Floppy Disk.

[KolibriOS lets you do simple tasks and even play games on your legacy PC.]

While most operating systems are written in C and C++, KolibriOS is written in pure x86 assembly and as a result small and lightweight enough to run off a standard 1.44 MB floppy disk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KolibriOS

I have just read "Why is Rosetta 2 fast?" from @dougall

https://dougallj.wordpress.com/2022/11/09/why-is-rosetta-2-fast/

very neat write-up on the issue. Apple people translate every x86 instruction to arm instruction. And it works. Isn't that so good?

Incredible 5-min lightning talk with live demonstration at #Ubuntu Summit.

CEO of @frameworkcomputer swapped motherboard and changed the laptop from x86 to RISC-V, while he was presenting the live talk.
What a multitasking

https://www.youtube.com/live/ZNK4aSv-krI?t=32188s

/* Pointless default required due to do gcc stupidity */

https://elixir.bootlin.com/linux/v6.11.7/source/arch/x86/kernel/apic/io_apic.c#L749

This: http://textfiles.com/programming/pcgpe10.txt

It is the "PC Game Programmers Encyclopedia 1.0" (ca. 1994) and it is a meta-text file containing *many* small guides. Here is a taste:

ASM0 TXT * VLA's assembly tutorial

MODEX TXT * Introduction to mode x
SCROLL TXT * VGA scrolling

STARS TXT * VLA's programming star fields
FIRE TXT * Programming fire effects

SPEAKER TXT * Programming the PC speaker (inc 8-bit sample playback)

DOOM TXT * DOOM techniques

/* Apparently some dimwit BIOS programmers don't know how to program a PM to RM transition, and we might end up here with junk in the data segment descriptor registers. The only way to repair that is to go into PM and fix it ourselves… */

https://elixir.bootlin.com/linux/v6.11.5/source/arch/x86/realmode/rm/wakeup_asm.S#L46-L49

An epic episode from @retrobytes on the Looong History of Intel and AMD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QEJC_ZPwWY [1h 09']

“At the beginning of the year, I wrote a bunch of articles on the various tricks DOS played to overcome the tight memory limits of x86’s real mode. There was one question that came up and remained unanswered: what were the various “models” that the compilers of the day offered?”

#DOS #x86 #Programming #Memory #RetroComputing
https://blogsystem5.substack.com/p/dos-memory-models

Archeo :
Cray XT4 Datasheet
The Cray XT4 (codenamed Hood during development)
November 18, 2006

Theor. peak performance
Per Processor 10.4 Gflop/s
Per Cabinet 998.4 Gflop/s
Max. Configuration 319 Tflop/s
Memory
Per Cabinet ≤ 768 GB
Max. Configuration 196 TB
No. of processors:
Per Cabinet: 96
Max. Configuration: 30508
Communication bandwidth
Point-to-point ≤ 7.6 GB/s
Bisectional/cabinet 667 GB/s
Power :
15 - 22.5 kW (15.3 - 22.9 kVA) per cabinet,

#AM2 #FPGA #2006 #DDR2 #AMD #Opteron #supercomputer #HPC
#GFLOP #TFLOP #x86 #PowerPC440 #PowerPC
PDF [ 748KB ] https://arq.pl/dl/Cray_XT4_Datasheet.pdf

#x86 #x87

i've been reading some things on bus access for the 8087-80487 series of co-processors and the way that the bus is handed in the 8087 is different from the 287 and later.

for the 8087, the co-processor has DMA and takes control of the bus when it needs to do a memory access. i note that the 8087 doesn't calculate the initial address itself - the 8086 executes a dummy read cycle when it sees a co-processor instruction and the 8087 intercepts that address to use for it's DMA.
this means that the CPU has zero idea how the FPU executes instructions.

on the 287 and the 387, the CPU has complete control of the bus. the CPU tells the FPU what kind of cycle is on the bus (is this a bus opcode cycle, a bus memory read cycle, a bus memory write cycle), and the FPU only has control over the bus's data lines which it uses when given the opportunity to write to memory.
the FPU is completely oblivious to the state of the bus's address lines.
this means that the CPU must know what kinds of instructions the FPU is executing and must partially decode the opcode in order to know what requires a memory read/write.

you can see why they decided to just put the fpu on-die for the 486.

AAA gaming comes to Apple M1 with the latest Asahi Linux build.

Asahi Linux's playing toolkit now supports x86 emulation and Windows compatibility with its Vulkan 1.3 drivers. Asahi Linux is the only distro that ships conformant OpenGL, OpenCL and Vulkan drivers for Apple ARM-based hardware, making x86 AAA gaming possible through Linux.

https://asahilinux.org/2024/10/aaa-gaming-on-asahi-linux/

When the threat is too large to face alone... "x86 Assemble!"

Intel and AMD form x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group to Accelerate Innovation for Developers and Customers (xEAGAIDC)... and you thought the SHIELD acronym was difficult to remember

#Intel
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/october-2024-intel-news.html

#AMD
https://www.amd.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-10-15-intel-and-amd-form-x86-ecosystem-advisory-group-to-accelerate.html

#ARM vs. #x86 - There can be only one! ("Highlander" reference)

End Credits Scene: Lurking in the outer regions, unbeknownst to our main characters, the #RISCV rebel alliance grows

AMD Optimizing C/C++ and Fortran Compilers (AOCC)
AOCC 5.0 is now available ( October 10, 2024 )
https://www.amd.com/en/developer/aocc.html

#AMD #C #C++ #Fortran #AOCC #compiler #clang #clang17 #programi #dev #development #software #opt #optimization #programming #code #C0DE #x86 #ZEN #LLVM #Zen5 #Zen4 #Zen3 #Zen2 #Zen1 #C17 #C++17 #Fortran

So #Intel and #AMD are working on future #x86 and #x64 development more closely, so its death is a bit premature and exaggerated.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241015336152/en/Intel-and-AMD-Form-x86-Ecosystem-Advisory-Group-to-Accelerate-Innovation-for-Developers-and-Customers/

This was on threads, but why do people really believe ARM uses less memory than x86. Thye literally compared Mac vs Windows in the same argument. This was on a thread of someone asking for recommendations on their video editing machine and if 8GB of RAM was enough on a MacBook