Linux/PC-98 v0.3.0
Linux/PC-98 disk images
This release provides four bootable CF-card/disk images for NEC PC-9800 series systems and qemu-pc98. The boot partition contains an uncompressed ELF kernel, so booting does not require a large temporary buffer for bzImage decompression.
Images
| Image | CPU/userland | Minimum RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
linux-7.1-pc98-i386-busybox.img.xz |
i386 Linux 7.1 + i386 BusyBox | 5 MiB | Small experimental system with 32 MiB swap |
linux-7.1-pc98-i486-busybox.img.xz |
i486 Linux 7.1 + shared i386 BusyBox | 5 MiB | Small experimental system with 32 MiB swap |
debian13-pc98-i486-live-cfcard.img.xz |
i486 Linux 7.1 + Debian 13 i486 port | 64 MiB | Full kernel and 128 MiB swap; requires an i486DX-class CPU with an FPU |
debian13-pc98-i686-live-cfcard.img.xz |
i686 Linux 7.1 + Debian 13 | 64 MiB | Full kernel; uses official Debian i686 packages |
The public images use the PC-98 text display and keyboard as the system console. The Debian root password is pc98.
Boot loader changes
- Added a PC-9800-style kernel loading screen with transfer progress.
- Added an 80 x 120 monochrome calibration logo at the lower-right corner.
- Added GDC and palette initialization for both the compatible BIOS and NEC BIOS.
- Load kernels as uncompressed ELF files directly from the FAT16 boot partition.
qemu-pc98 examples
i386 BusyBox:
qemu-system-i386 -M pc9801 -cpu 386 -m 5M \
-drive if=ide,bus=0,unit=0,format=raw,file=linux-7.1-pc98-i386-busybox.imgi486 Debian 13:
qemu-system-i386 -M pc9801 -cpu 486 -m 64M \
-drive if=ide,bus=0,unit=0,format=raw,file=debian13-pc98-i486-live-cfcard.imgi686 Debian 13:
qemu-system-i386 -M pc9821 -cpu pentium2,-apic -m 64M \
-drive if=ide,bus=0,unit=0,format=raw,file=debian13-pc98-i686-live-cfcard.imgDecompress an image with xz -d IMAGE.img.xz, then write the resulting raw image to a CF card or another disk device.