GentleOS – A pair of hobby OSes for vintage 32-bit and 16-bit PCs

Name: GentleOS – A pair of hobby OSes for vintage 32-bit and 16-bit PCs
Availability: InStock
Author: luke8086

by luke8086·Jun 7, 2026·4 points·0 comments

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AI Analysis

●●SolidNiche GemWizardry

Dual OS targeting 80186 under 192KB RAM and i386 with VGA graphics support.

Strengths

•GentleOS/16 runs on 80186+ with under 192KB RAM and CGA 320x200x4 display.
•Monolithic design with compile-time configuration for standard PC hardware.
•Supports VGA, PS/2 mouse, serial mouse, keyboard, and PC speaker.

Weaknesses

•Hobby OS space is well-trodden with many similar educational projects.
•No novel architectural innovations beyond standard OS development patterns.

Post Description

Hello HN,

I've been working on a simple OS for tinkering and running bare metal apps on vintage PCs.

Since I couldn't quite decide whether to target pure 16-bit, or slightly more capable 32-bit machines, I ended up with two separate versions:

- GentleOS/32 (https://github.com/luke8086/gentleos32) works on i386+, requires 4MB of RAM and VGA display supporting 640x480x16 mode or any 256-color VESA mode.

- GentleOS/16 (https://github.com/luke8086/gentleos) works on 80186+, requires less than 192KB of RAM and a CGA display supporting 320x200x4 mode.

You can find more details in the repos.

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