Overview
- Ingo Molnar has queued a patch for the Linux 7.1 merge window that removes the CONFIG_M486, CONFIG_M486SX, and CONFIG_MELAN options, which are kernel build settings for 486-era chips.
- Without those Kconfig choices, new upstream kernels would no longer be configurable to run on 80486-class processors.
- Linus Torvalds has backed the shift, saying there is zero real reason to keep supporting 486 hardware in modern kernel development.
- Molnar says the x86-32 compatibility code for very old CPUs wastes developer time and can trigger bugs, and he advises 486 owners to stay on older long-term support kernels.
- If the change lands in 7.1, it would be the first removal of a processor generation since the kernel dropped 80386 support in 2012.