NEW WORLD RECORD! XP SP3 on 2MHz rig! \ VOGONS

NEW WORLD RECORD! XP SP3 on 2MHz rig!

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First post, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-17, 23:17

lazibayer Offline

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The record of lowest CPU frequency that runs XP I can find online is 8MHz and I just got my rig running XP SP3 on a whopping speed of 2MHz:

Filename: xp_2mhz.jpg
File size: 90.3 KiB
Downloads: No downloads
File license: Fair use/fair dealing exception

Here are some facts and issues:

Booting takes a hour or two.
PS/2 keyboard and mouse refuse to work, so I can only put things I wanted to execute in the startup folder. I am not sure if it's possible to run more sophisticated benchmark software.
Most utilities do not show CPU speed, or show incorrect speed.
The original XP can boot with 18MB of RAM but SP3 won't boot with 20MB of RAM.
XP doesn't recognize any ISA video card I tried on this board and the screen resolution is stuck with 640x480. PnP BIOS might solve this problem but I can't find one for the board.

Reply 1 of 10, by leileilol

Posted on 2015-01-18, 00:21

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Interesting on the RAM part, as I can't even install Windows2000 on 24mb.

long live PCem

Reply 2 of 10, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-18, 00:35

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leileilol wrote:
Interesting on the RAM part, as I can't even install Windows2000 on 24mb.

I installed with 64MB and pulled some out afterwards.

Reply 3 of 10, by sliderider

Posted on 2015-01-18, 05:57

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This reminds me of a user on the AppleFritter website called Danamania who tried to get OS X running on a 68k Mac using a PowerPC emulator. She got as far as the gray startup screen with the Apple logo but the hard drive in her Centris 650 burned out before it could fully load.

https://web.archive.org/web/20060219183346/ht … les/68kpanther/

Reply 4 of 10, by Dropcik

Posted on 2015-01-18, 06:07

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Congrats dude, I thought the thread originally read XP SP3 on 2GHz. I'm guessing you used either a 486 or a Pentium overdrive, but how did you get it THAT slow?

Ayy LMAO

Reply 5 of 10, by carlostex

Posted on 2015-01-18, 09:06

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I'm most interested in the hardware you used for this. I would also like some DOS benchmarks. Depending on the CPU you used i wonder if it running at 2 MHZ would be equivalent to a 8 or 12MHz 286.

Reply 6 of 10, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-18, 17:37

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carlostex wrote:
I'm most interested in the hardware you used for this. I would also like some DOS benchmarks. Depending on the CPU you used i wonder if it running at 2 MHZ would be equivalent to a 8 or 12MHz 286.

CPU: Pentium Overdrive
Mobo: FIC 486-GAC-2

LM6 thinks it's as fast as a 16MHz AT! The frequency part is a little off.

Filename: lm6_pod2.jpg
File size: 156.64 KiB
Downloads: No downloads
File license: Fair use/fair dealing exception

Last edited by lazibayer on 2015-01-22, 16:47. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 7 of 10, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-18, 17:40

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Dropcik wrote:
Congrats dude, I thought the thread originally read XP SP3 on 2GHz. I'm guessing you used either a 486 or a Pentium overdrive, but how did you get it THAT slow?

The mobo uses VT8225N that can generate 2MHz clock.
file.php?id=16367

Reply 8 of 10, by smeezekitty

Posted on 2015-01-18, 18:20

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Amazing!

Honestly, I expected it would take more than an hour to boot.

Speaking of slow, here is somebody that ran Linux on an AVR:http://dmitry.gr/index.php?proj=07.+Linux+on+ … t&r=05.Projects

They used a CPU emulator on an 8 bit mcu and connected it to a 30 pin SIMM for RAM

Reply 9 of 10, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-18, 18:58

lazibayer Offline

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smeezekitty wrote:
Amazing! […]
Show full quote
Amazing!

Honestly, I expected it would take more than an hour to boot.

Speaking of slow, here is somebody that ran Linux on an AVR:http://dmitry.gr/index.php?proj=07.+Linux+on+ … t&r=05.Projects

They used a CPU emulator on an 8 bit mcu and connected it to a 30 pin SIMM for RAM

That's some real deal hardcore hardware and coding work!

Reply 10 of 10, by lazibayer

Posted on 2015-01-19, 00:35

lazibayer Offline

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Driven by boldness I did a manual "SpeedStep" on the jumpers and made a video about this. Now I can boot with much faster speed and use keyboard/mouse to setup everything before dropping the frequency.

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