Linux 7.1 ends Intel 486 support and cleans up legacy code

On his way to Mumbai for the Open Source Summit India, Linus Torvalds announced Linux 7.1. The release brings a native NTFS implementation, enables Intel's FRED by default, and removes long‑standing legacy support — including for 486‑class processors. The new in‑kernel NTFS driver replaces both the NTFS‑3G FUSE layer and the Paragon NTFS3 contribution, a change Torvalds called an "NTFS resurrection." Built on modern filesystem primitives like iomap and folios, the driver aims for robust read‑write behavior and better error handling under heavy parallel I/O.

Multi‑threaded writes can be 35–110% faster than earlier drivers, and mounting a 4TB NTFS volume is reported to be roughly four times faster, which should help users who move data between Windows and Linux. On the CPU and security fronts, FRED is now the default on supported Intel platforms, streamlining handling of interrupts, exceptions and system calls to simplify control‑flow transitions and reduce reliance on legacy entry stacks.

India, Mumbai

linux 7.1, linus torvalds, ntfs, ntfs driver, ntfs-3g, paragon ntfs3, iomap, folios, fred, 486 processors