Unnecessary, but funny: Enthusiast reprograms Windows XP for 486 processor
Some people put together what doesn't really belong together: A computer hobbyist has managed to get Windows XP running on an old processor from the 1990s.
Why would you want to run a popular but outdated operating system on a popular but completely outdated computer? There are no rational reasons for this - apart from the fun of tinkering. That's what MSFN user Dietmar from Germany apparently had when he set his mind to installing Windows XP on a "Shuttle Hot 433" mainboard with a 486 processor. On 20 May Dietmar reported that he had actually got his modded version of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 to run on a system with a 486 processor. Sound and network should also work. He writes that the complete boot process takes 90 seconds when the CPU is overclocked to 160 megahertz. The CPU actually clocks at 133 megahertz.
Back in March, Dietmar presented his project to other tech enthusiasts in the MSFN forum and reported on the numerous problems he had to solve. You can read about the ordeal of this process in the long forum thread. Caution: it's very nerdy. You can see the partial successes in this thread. On 4 May, Dietmar posted an interim result:
However, no PCI-to-SATA or IDE controllers were running at the time.
Two systems that don't belong together
The 486 processor belongs to the fourth generation of Intel's x86 CPU with 32-bit architecture. The first chip was introduced in 1989. The processor series was very successful due to its speed until it was replaced by the first Pentium CPUs in 1993. AMD produced its own model in cooperation with Intel and developed the processor even further: in 1995, the AMD Am5x86 processor appeared, which Dietmar used for his Windows XP experiment. The processor still belongs to the 486 series, but at 133 megahertz it clocks a little higher than the Am4x86 processors with 120 megahertz.
Windows XP was released in 2001 and received official support from Microsoft until 2014. The operating system was very popular with private users and companies. The minimum requirement for installations for the 32-bit version of the programme was a Pentium processor with a clock speed of 233 megahertz.
There were several years between the replacement of the 486 processor and the introduction of Windows XP, during which computer technology made progress. The two systems were not compatible with each other - and didn't need to be. Dietmar reports that the machine instructions, so-called opcodes, of Windows XP cannot communicate with the processor. For this reason, installation was initially not possible.
Building a modded version of Windows XP
Dietmar dissected his version of Windows XP and rewrote all the commands that didn't work for the processor. He also used feedback and help from the forum community. In some cases, he had to bypass functions or write emulators for them. The result is a specially modded Windows XP that supports a processor that is actually far below the minimum requirements. You can download the ISO file for German and English here - if you happen to need Windows XP on your old 486 processor.
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.