Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

msephton wrote: post #3

HardwareLust wrote: post #2

Original title: It’s Linux, On A Sega Megadrive

Really odd decision for it to be changed away from this original title. And if I'm being pedantic (and I am) it's Sega Mega Drive. Repo, which says Sega MegaDrive, is at: https://github.com/LinuxMD/linuxmd

(Disclaimer: I'm partial to "Mega Drive" myself.)

Wikipedia has this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mega_Drive_vs_Genesis.gif

blue = Mega Drive, red = Genesis

Linked here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Vid...

(didn't find the sales numbers, for those wondering. Sorry!)

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#5

Post by nommuenjoyer » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 9:35 PM UTC

HardwareLust wrote: post #2

Original title: It’s Linux, On A Sega Megadrive

And it really is on a MegaDrive as I only tested this stuff on a Japanese MegaDrive.

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#6

Post by dang » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

HardwareLust wrote: post #2

Original title: It’s Linux, On A Sega Megadrive

It's a cool project! but best to use the original title and original source - see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

I've changed the title and URL to match https://github.com/LinuxMD/linuxmd and put the other URL in the toptext so people can look at it too.

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#7

Post by croes » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 4:47 AM UTC

dormento wrote: post #4

msephton wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really odd decision for it to be changed away from this original title. And if I'm being pedantic (and I am) it's Sega Mega Drive. Repo, which says Sega MegaDrive, is at: https://github.com/LinuxMD/linuxmd

(Disclaimer: I'm partial to "Mega Drive" myself.) Wikipedia has this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mega_Drive_vs_Genesis.gif blue = Mega Drive, red = Genesis Linked here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Vid... (didn't find the sales numbers, for those wondering. Sorry!)

I guess parent is pedantic about Megadrive instead of Mega Drive

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#8

Post by bitwize » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 5:11 AM UTC

Absolutely nuts and squirrels.

Then again, I did know that the Mega Drive's CPU loadout (68000 and Z80) is the same as the first Unix machine I ever used (a TRS-80 Model 16), so running some form of Unix on it was therefore, theoretically, possible...

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#9

Post by aussieguy1234 » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 5:59 AM UTC

It runs Doom, now it runs Linux

Re: Linux for the Sega MegaDrive

#10

Post by HerbManic » Tue, Jun 30, 2026, 6:25 AM UTC

Very cool to see, so pointless it just had to be done.

I was wondering how it was squeezed into 64KB of RAM but it uses the 4MB on the Everdrive cart. With that it makes sense, considering Linux can run on an N64 with 4MB of RAM.