Windows 7 Successfully Installed on a Pentium II

[brickhouse]

I'm gonna go load WOw on my linux box right now.

 

[ricardok]

I've tested Win7 Beta on an Athlon XP, 1.9ghz, 512mb ram DDR (2x256), ATI Radeon x1600.. It runs great.. Doesn't work for my kind of work tho (flashing bios chios/eeproms) on windows (cuz 7 doesn't allow the direct hardware access I need for that - and the processor can't handle virtualization).. So, back to XP..

Overal experience?? Great.. It was loading faster than my XP install.

Since I teach hardware, I'll bring 7 (RC) to the test lab to show my students that 7 will install on a AMD K6-II 450mhz, 128mb, 4mb graphic card. ^^ (XP takes one hour and 45 minutes to install, I hope I can get 7 done in about the same time).

 

[leafblower29]

Hmmm I have an old Celeron 725 Mhz and AMD K6 II 333 Mhz wonder how it would run.

 

[DXRick]

I would only be impressed if he posted that thread from that computer using IE 8.

 

[danimal_the_animal]

he doesn't get props until he runs it on a 386....

 

[Gin Fushicho]

Must... get...another...HDD...want...to....try... 7

 

[fulle]

Some people watch TV. Some people play Warcraft. Others worship the GYM. And, a small percentage of curious tinkerers do stuff like this.
-Good work, Pal. Sure beats actually knowing what happened on the Bachelorette.

 

[Hanin33]

[citation][nom]methal[/nom]meh, meh, and more MEH!! When they can get the latest version of windows to run on a 486 then I might say "hey look, windows can one more thing linux does with ease..."[/citation]

run linux with a fully comparable desktop environment and Compiz on a 486 and talk then. sure base line linux will run just fine on that 486 with no X server... but as soon as you layer on the stuff to make it usable as a desktop, then things quickly slow down. sure it won't be as slow as windows 7 would be on that 486 but it wouldn't be worth using either.

 

[DJ898]

But most importantly...
Can it run Crysis?

 

[tipoo]

[citation][nom]Dax Corrin[/nom]Somebody HAS to say it.... Will it run Crysis?[/citation]


Somebody HAS to say it, that joke is SO 2007.

 

[fooldog01]

I got Windows 7 running on a Tandy 2000. I use it for 3D CAD design.

 

[megamanx00]

Crysis? I think it's more like, will that thing run Solitaire .

 

[tpi2007]

[citation][nom]Hanin33[/nom]run linux with a fully comparable desktop environment and Compiz on a 486 and talk then. sure base line linux will run just fine on that 486 with no X server... but as soon as you layer on the stuff to make it usable as a desktop, then things quickly slow down. sure it won't be as slow as windows 7 would be on that 486 but it wouldn't be worth using either.[/citation]


I bet Windows 7 won't run on a 486. There is a site that shows an XP install on a Pentium Overdrive 83Mhz, subsequently underclocked right down to 8 Mhz! That's as low as it could get. When the guy tried a 486 it refused it. Windows XP, and I guess Vista and 7 need Pentium specific instructions.

I have a Cyrix 5x86 and I can also only run MSN Messenger up to version 5. The later versions require a Pentium. The Cyrix 5x86, while it performs on par with a Pentium 75Mhz, has almost no Pentium instructions support, which doesn't let it qualify.

 

[Hanin33]

[citation][nom]tpi2007[/nom]I bet Windows 7 won't run on a 486. There is a site that shows an XP install on a Pentium Overdrive 83Mhz, subsequently underclocked right down to 8 Mhz! That's as low as it could get. When the guy tried a 486 it refused it. Windows XP, and I guess Vista and 7 need Pentium specific instructions.I have a Cyrix 5x86 and I can also only run MSN Messenger up to version 5. The later versions require a Pentium. The Cyrix 5x86, while it performs on par with a Pentium 75Mhz, has almost no Pentium instructions support, which doesn't let it qualify.[/citation]

accursed SIMD instructions!

 

[sublifer]

but can it play Crysis?

hahaha I had to do it!

 

[dextermat]

1) How much time did the installation take ? 10 hours- 24 hours a week???
2) Getting in windows seven must take a lot of time (1 h- 2-h a week)Lol
3) When you open windows explorer, how much time does it take to pop
4) When you browse the Internet, does anything load at all?
5) If you install an anti-virus, does the computer respond.....

Can someone answer that??

 

[Ramar]

[citation][nom]rooket[/nom]A pentium II what's the point lol. I also have a Pentium 233mmx I guess I could try it out on if I thought it served any purpose but it doesn't. I'm about to scrap a pentium III 1ghz system and put at least a P4 in that, and even P4's are slow.[/citation]

Try not using bloated software. I've got a PII 450 with 128 MB RAM running 2000 as a server and it's quite quick. Every PIII I've used boots into xp faster than any other chip. Its performance isn't stellar for most applications, but it's definitely geared toward desktop use.

[citation][nom]fulle[/nom]Some people watch TV. Some people play Warcraft. Others worship the GYM. And, a small percentage of curious tinkerers do stuff like this.-Good work, Pal. Sure beats actually knowing what happened on the Bachelorette.[/citation]

lol =D

[citation][nom]Hanin33[/nom]run linux with a fully comparable desktop environment and Compiz on a 486 and talk then. sure base line linux will run just fine on that 486 with no X server... but as soon as you layer on the stuff to make it usable as a desktop, then things quickly slow down...[/citation]

He has the right of it. The only thing that beats the speed of 2000 on my server is Damn Small Linux and that's never really felt "stable" to me. Running Debian with any X system becomes horridly slow with more than one window open and isn't too zippy even with one.

 

[MU_Engineer]

[citation][nom]ProDigit80[/nom]I'm sure even a 166Mhz processor could boot Win7, but the user experience will be.. just terrible!With CPU speeds lower than our current RAM, graphics, PCIE, or FSB speeds, what can you expect?I bet it took all 24 hours to get that one installed!It'd be nice to see some specs![/citation]

I'm not so sure that a Pentium would boot. The minimum system specs are a 1 GHz x86 processor, almost all of which are i686-class CPUs (AMD Athlon, Intel PIII) or are i586-class with a few additional instructions (VIA C3/C7, Transmeta Crusoe). The Pentium is straight i586 and might get an "illegal/unsupported instruction" error on booting Windows 7.

 

[netbanshee]

I had Windows 7 Ultimate running on my Dell Latitude LS P3-500 256meg ram, 40gig HD, and 2meg video. It ran just as fast if not faster than XP. Very usable but no speedster. Obviously no Aero. I needed to see if it was possible. Not exactly easy but it can be done.

 

[john_smarty]

i have it installed on a p3 it runs smooth too

 

[jerreece]

If it'll actually run Win7 (load to desktop, etc) I'd be interested to see if any benchmarks could be done. Would be really interesting to see how it performs with such an old processor.

 

[matt87_50]

good, i'm glad to know i can buy a new pII rig in the confidence that it can handle win 7.

 

[dtemple]

This is nothing special, to be completely honest. I'm surprised he took the time to remove the minimum memory requirement, but I'm not surprised it worked. The lowest speed system that would likely execute Windows 7 (I do not say "Run windows 7" because run implies speed, which these setups clearly are lacking) is some form of 486DX. I'm pretty sure Windows 7 requires a coprocessor, but it probably doesn't need MMX to run in the most basic graphics mode. I say 486DX instead of 386DX with a 387 coprocessor because 386 systems typically used 30-pin SIMMs which wouldn't be available in sizable amounts (you wouldn't be able to get 96MB in 30-pin form, even on a motherboard with 8 slots).
If somebody has the time, I'd be willing to try. I'd try finding some 32MB modules of 72-pin SIMMs (hopefully four of them), a 486DX, and a hard drive that can hold an install of Windows 7 but is small enough to be supported by the motherboard.

 

[alextheblue]

[citation][nom]Hanin33[/nom]eh... everything that would run on a 'modern' pc will run under the system shown... just slower... there's nothing in the architecture that's lacking in between those series of processor/motherboards that would not allow a program to run. if you strip down the services and wot not, i bet it'd run just fine as a IM client and web browsing without flash crap... i think we're just too spoiled because there's still a great majority, worldwide, that uses pentium 2/3 class hardware...[/citation]IM clients, sure. But this machine doesn't have enough memory or processor oomph to provide a decent web browsing experience. There's more than just flash to be worried about - everything on the web has gotten bigger and fatter. Even with Win98SE, this machine wouldn't be that hot as a web browser. If you don't believe me, try it. See how much fun it is using it as your everyday browser. Open lots of tabs. Open tomshardware and browse some articles.

Oh, and as far as everything running on this machine but slower, that's not entirely true either. Some programs require intruction sets not available on the PII, like SSE. Google "requires SSE" for some common examples, many more (like games) have similar requirements.

 

[echdskech]

[citation][nom]Hanin33[/nom]eh... everything that would run on a 'modern' pc will run under the system shown... just slower... there's nothing in the architecture that's lacking in between those series of processor/motherboards that would not allow a program to run. if you strip down the services and wot not, i bet it'd run just fine as a IM client and web browsing without flash crap... i think we're just too spoiled because there's still a great majority, worldwide, that uses pentium 2/3 class hardware...[/citation]

you mean netbook owners? =p