For certain reasons, I still keep using an old openSUSE distro, which is 10.3, running the kernel 2.6.22.19-0.4-default which is the last one that the updater installed on the system. The kernel is dated August 14th, 2009. There is, however, the possibility to run the kernel 2.6.25.20-0.7-default (taken from openSUSE 11.0) dated March 1st, 2010.
I intend to buy a newer intel motherboard for the computer, using the socket 1366 and the x58 chipset. So my questions are:
Is it possible to operate this type of motherboard with this kernel(s)?
If not, is there any chance to get the required drivers into this kernel(s)?
I did lots of research on the internet but I did not find a clear statement, nor did I find something on the intel site. Only thing I know is that the kernel 2.6.22 was released in June 2007 and he x58 chipset debuted in November 2008 and I am wondering if the openSUSE people backported the driver or not.
I’m replying just so you know your post is not being ignored. I don’t have an answer.
My view is you won’t get a positive answer. 10.3 is no longer supported, nor has it been supported for sometime. If there was a back port, IMHO its likely no longer available (as there is no 10.3 support).
IMHO if 10.3 is that essential, you are better off installing 12.1 on this PC, and then putting 10.3 in a Virtual Session (using vmware or virtual box).
Nevertheless, just being curious: Is it possible to backport the required drivers by myself?
I am sorry if i am naive, but it is an easy thing to compile the newest nvidia gpu kernel module for this old kernel, so it might be possible to do the same thing with a chipset driver. And where can I get the driver sources? Do I have to ask Intel? They do not seem to be downloadable, though.
On the other hand, what would happen if I just replace the motherboard and start the 10.3? Are there some generic drivers that allow the system to run soemhow, or would it not even start up?
On 01/29/2012 04:56 AM, moldmaker wrote:
>
> Thank you for your reply. That’s what I expected.
>
> Nevertheless, just being curious: Is it possible to backport the
> required drivers by myself?
> I am sorry if i am naive, but it is an easy thing to compile the newest
> nvidia gpu kernel module for this old kernel, so it might be possible to
> do the same thing with a chipset driver. And where can I get the driver
> sources? Do I have to ask Intel? They do not seem to be downloadable,
> though.
>
> On the other hand, what would happen if I just replace the motherboard
> and start the 10.3? Are there some generic drivers that allow the system
> to run soemhow, or would it not even start up?
The likelihood that the 2.6.22 kernel would boot on the hardware you describe is
quite small. Yes, the required changes could be backported, but it would not be
easy. These changes exist only as patches to the kernel that was running when
they were introduced. As the code for the chipset needs to be active as soon as
the kernel starts, it is hard to debug - very few diagnostic tools are active at
that point. If you have a year (full time) to devote to the project, then you
might try it. If you really need to run 10.3, then you should put it in a
virtual machine. It should boot on that simplified (simulated) hardware.
Isn’t it possible to run suse using generic drivers?
Windows XP was released back in 2001 and still it works on new machines without any additional drivers. Of course new drivers are required if you need to use 3D graphics or SATA AHCI mode, etc.
Isn’t it possible to use newest kernel from Index of /repositories/Kernel:/stable/standard
repository?
It’s not distribution-specific, and I’m using it with 11.4 since Tumbleweed has gone to 12.1.
Of course it’s unsupported system, but you can give it a try.
That said, it would be better to resolve your “certain reasons” and update to x64 version of 12.1 if you can. It will be much better suited for modern machine.
I managed to compile a kernel 2.6.31-14 that suits my needs. The old opensuse is running just fine with it.
This kernel was released in september 2009. The X58 chipset debuted in november 2008. I think switching to a socket 1366 board with x58 chipset should be safe.
Can anyone acknowledge that?
What does ‘can anyone acknowledge that’ mean ? I don’t think you can get any guarantees. There are MANY different X58 implementations. IMHO this could be highly dependent on the X58 implementation by Intel.
I want to give you an update on what I did after switching to kernel 2.6.31 for the old openSUSE 10.3.
I did purchase an Asrock X58 Extreme-Mainboard, an Intel i950-CPU and some matching memory. Put it all together and pressed the button. It started up flawlessly. The only thing missing was sound, so I had to compile and install the Realtek driver - no problem with that, sound is ok now. The system is running as smoothly as I know it, and faster, that is.
So now I have what I wanted. Thank you again to everybody who participated in this thread.