Microsoft’s Windows 98 can run Meta’s Llama AI model on just 128MB of RAM: “We could have been talking to our computers for 30 years now.”

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AI technology powered by generation has certainly become the main attraction in contemporary computing, and Microsoft has made a strong commitment to seamlessly incorporate their Copilot AI throughout their technological infrastructure, notably within Windows 11.

In an unusual fusion of nostalgia and backward development, Marc Andreessen – a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and renowned entrepreneur – has disclosed that a compact AI model from Meta was recently able to operate on a Windows 98 computer with just 128MB of RAM. (This information was shared via Money Control.)

Up until now, it appeared that advanced AI models couldn’t run effectively on older operating systems (particularly without a Neural Processing Unit – NPU). However, this experiment seems to challenge that belief somewhat.

Although Andreessen didn’t reveal the exact Meta AI model employed during testing, it sparks numerous speculations and queries about potential possibilities.

It’s important to point out that the Llama AI model developed by Meta uses less computational resources than many other larger models, yet it boasts advanced and sophisticated abilities.

Andreessen proposed that if the technology behind Llama AI had been available on a 26-year-old Dell PC with Windows 98, it might have enabled us to engage in conversational exchanges with our computers as human-like as today’s, at least if such generative AI was developed back then.

According to the entrepreneur:

If only those outdated PCs had always been smart, we might have been conversing with them for the past three decades.

Indeed, Generative Artificial Intelligence is still quite novel in the technology sphere, and firms such as OpenAI and Microsoft are making substantial strides in this area, showcasing their AI capabilities through products like Copilot, which are now seamlessly integrated into a fresh wave of Copilot+ PCs.

Companies focused on artificial intelligence (AI) have devoted considerable effort and finances to ensure that their AI endeavors thrive successfully. Yet, according to Andreessen, if major stakeholders had taken advantage of the AI boom in the 1980s, we might be more advanced today in our AI development.

“A lot of smart people in the 80s thought all this was going to happen then.”

An early AI Era if Microsoft had dared

According to Marc Andreessen, his assertions appear to be based on a previous project by Exo Labs. They successfully ran a modified version of Meta’s Llama 2 on a Pentium II PC operating under Windows 98, as reported by Tom’s Hardware.

Overcoming this challenge wasn’t a walk in the park for Exo Labs. They had to locate suitable PS/2 peripherals that were compatible with their system, and then devise an effective method to move necessary files onto the older device, as USB technology hadn’t become widespread at that time.

The experiment also involved the challenging task of writing contemporary code for an outdated device operating on an old OS. Ultimately, they opted for Borland C++ 5.02, a 26-year-old integrated development environment and compiler that could be run directly on Windows 98.

Instead, the team ran into various compatibility problems when working with C++, leading them to switch back to an earlier edition of the C programming language instead. This change required a more labor-intensive approach involving functions and variables, which in turn resulted in a slower pace of development.

Additionally, the group faced complications due to hardware problems. To be specific, some of the outdated Pentium II computers came with only 128 MB of RAM, a limitation that caused challenges when running Meta’s Llama 2, an application designed to handle 70 billion parameters and typically requiring significantly more memory.

To meet this requirement, our team had to create a version of the AI model that was compatible with Windows 98 and had reduced hardware specifications. You can personally verify it in its entirety on GitHub.

Meta’s compact AI model shows that even outdated PCs running Windows 98 can accommodate generative AI. It’s intriguing to wonder what the AI world might look like if major tech companies had embraced AI earlier, say in the 1980s, and began using it on older home computers. As Microsoft celebrates its 50th birthday this week, it’s entertaining to ponder about such possibilities.

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2025-04-01 13:09