A patch proposed by Linux kernel developer Ingo Molnar aims to remove support for 80486-generation processors 7.1 From the Linux kernel during the merge window. If accepted, the patch will be finished M486, M486SX, and MELAN Configuration options from kconfig, meaning that new upstream kernels will no longer be configurable for 486-class systems.
It will be the first processor architecture to be removed from the Linux kernel after support for the 80386 was removed in 2012. Linux 7.0 is expected to be released in the coming months, with version 7.1 potentially arriving in mid-2026. It is not yet confirmed whether the patch will make it through the merge window or not.
Why do Linux kernel maintainers want to drop i486 support?
Molnar initially proposed dropping support for 486 processors in April 2025, citing the ongoing maintenance costs of hardware emulation code for chips that are no longer used with modern kernels. “We have various complex hardware emulation features on x86-32 to support very old 32-bit CPUs that only a small number of users still run with current kernels,” Molnar explained in the patch notes.
“This compatibility layer sometimes causes issues that require effort to resolve, which could be better spent on other development.” Linus Torvalds shared a similar view in 2022 when the idea of removing support was first discussed.
Torvalds said at the time, “I really don’t think that i486-class hardware is relevant anymore.” “They are mostly kept as museum pieces, and they can also drive museum pieces.”
What are the Linux 7.1 patch changes for i486 CPUs?
The current proposal removes Kconfig options that allow kernels to be built specifically for 486-class systems. Earlier versions of Molnar’s proposal would have implemented the removal of support for the 486 by requiring support for a time stamp counter and the CMPXCHG8B instruction, neither of which are present in 80486-family chips or some 586 derivatives. The approach has been revised through several rounds of changes over the past year.
Impact on users still running i486 hardware
Molnar points out that no recent Linux kernel packages support 486 chips in practice, so active users are unlikely to be affected by the upstream change.
Those running 486-era hardware will need to stick with older kernel versions. “Legacy users can continue to use the old kernel,” Molnar said in the merge request. The patch has been queued but has not yet been confirmed for inclusion in Linux 7.1.
