“As you may well know, the Intel Pentium 4 is not getting along
well with Linux these days. Unless you run a patch on your
distribution, or upgrade to the 2.2.18 kernel, Linux recognizes the
Pentium 4 as an “unknown processor.” Most Linux users see this as a
reason to attack Intel for not working closely with Linux
developers. The real reason for this processor problem is an odd
tale which has roots in Microsoft Windows NT….”
“Intel identifies its various processor using a combination of
the family and model codes. Pentium processors are identified by a
family code of 5. A family code of 6 covers the PentiumPro and all
of its variants. Since the PentiumPro, Pentium II, Pentium III and
Celeron are all based on the same processor architecture, they are
all part of the P6 family( hence, family code 6). The model code is
used to tell the various P6 processors apart, along with the cache
size and brand ID, depending on the CPU (it’s messy; don’t
ask).”
“Intel decided to make a new family code for the Pentium 4.
That’s where the fun begins.”