What if you have a PC-98 machine and want to run Linux on it? Maybe CP/M, OS/2, or Windows (2000 and older) just don’t cut it for you. Well, it turns out that yes, you can run Linux on PC-98 hardware!
Thanks to a lot of work by Nina Kalinina — the same person mentioned just a few days ago — there’s now more information gathered in one place to help you get started.
### Plamo Linux on PC-98
Plamo Linux is one of the few Linux distributions that support the PC-98 series. Plamo 3.x is the latest distribution that can be installed directly on PC-9801 and PC-9821 models. Unfortunately, it is quite old and missing many useful features.
This repository was created to share “a-ha” moments and binaries specifically for Plamo on PC-98.
### Plamo98 Goodies and Upgrades
The repository also details upgrading Plamo Linux from version 3.x to 4.x. The process is a bit more involved than a simple upgrade, but it’s definitely not hard. Upgrading will give you access to newer software, such as:
– GCC 3.3 (over 2.95)
– KDE 3.x
– Python 2.3
– Custom BusyBox configuration files
– A newer version of make
– Several other useful tools and goodies
### Run Linux Like It’s 2003 — On Your PC-98!
Once everything is set up, you can enjoy running Linux like it’s 2003 on your vintage PC-98 machine.
The number of people for whom this is relevant might be extraordinarily small, but at some point, someone is going to want to do this—and find this repository of existing work. We’ve all been there.
https://www.osnews.com/story/143438/installing-linux-on-a-pc-98-machine/