[Gllug] Are i386 & i586 rpm's interchangeable?

[Paul Brazier]

I've just installed a cut-down version of Mandrake 8.0 (no X etc) on a
486 machine (I installed on a Pentium II then swapped the hard disk
over). It sems to work fine, ethernet is up, telnet client/server works
etc.

However, I've just noticed that all the rpm's are for i586's.

Would i586 binary rpm's always work on a 486?
Does the i586.rpm just mean it was optimized for a 586 when compiled,
but should still work on a 486 (albeit unoptimized)?
Or might it use 586 instructions that aren't present on 486 chips?

If not, what are the options for installing linux on 386 or 486's?
Just use an old distro (not ideal)
Install from source code (time consuming)
Manually replace the i586 rpm's with i486 ones?
Are there distros that supply up-to-date packages compiled for 486's?

I've had a look at the "Linux From Scratch" HOWTO which looks
interesting and instructive but I don't really have the time at the
moment  - has anyone tried this and is it straightforward or are there
many hidden pitfalls?

I've only got a 56k dialup connection so my download options are
limited.

--
Paul Brazier
Cosmos UK 


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