diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 20f5cba82b1..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-{stdenv, fetchurl, kernelHeaders, installLocales ? true}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  name = "glibc-2.5";
-  builder = ./builder.sh;
-  substitute = ../../../build-support/substitute/substitute.sh;
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/glibc/glibc-2.5.tar.bz2;
-    md5 = "1fb29764a6a650a4d5b409dda227ac9f";
-  };
-
-  linuxthreadsSrc = fetchurl {
-    url = http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/glibc/glibc-linuxthreads-2.5.tar.bz2;
-    md5 = "870d76d46dcaba37c13d01dca47d1774";
-  };
-
-  patches = [ ./glibc-pwd.patch ];
-
-  inherit kernelHeaders installLocales;
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/builder.sh b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/builder.sh
similarity index 79%
rename from pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/builder.sh
rename to pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/builder.sh
index 0219e30c4ba..2007235ab76 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/builder.sh
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/builder.sh
@@ -37,12 +37,6 @@ preConfigure() {
     cd ../build
     
     configureScript=../$sourceRoot/configure
-    # `--with-tls --without-__thread' enables support for TLS but
-    # causes it not to be used.  Required if we don't want to barf on
-    # 2.4 kernels.  Or something.
-    configureFlags="--enable-add-ons \
-      --with-headers=$kernelHeaders/include
-      --with-tls --without-__thread --disable-sanity-checks"
 }
 
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e87d1416553
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, kernelHeaders
+, installLocales ? true
+, profilingLibraries ? false
+}:
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "glibc-2.5";
+  builder = ./builder.sh;
+  substitute = ../../../build-support/substitute/substitute.sh;
+
+  /*
+  src = fetchurl {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/glibc-2.3.6.tar.bz2;
+    md5 = "bfdce99f82d6dbcb64b7f11c05d6bc96";
+  };
+
+  linuxthreadsSrc = fetchurl {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/glibc-linuxthreads-2.3.6.tar.bz2;
+    md5 = "d4eeda37472666a15cc1f407e9c987a9";
+  };
+  */
+
+  src = fetchurl {
+    url = http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/glibc/glibc-2.5.tar.bz2;
+    md5 = "1fb29764a6a650a4d5b409dda227ac9f";
+  };
+
+  linuxthreadsSrc = fetchurl {
+    url = http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/glibc/glibc-linuxthreads-2.5.tar.bz2;
+    md5 = "870d76d46dcaba37c13d01dca47d1774";
+  };
+
+  patches = [ ./glibc-pwd.patch ];
+
+  inherit kernelHeaders installLocales;
+
+  # `--with-tls --without-__thread' enables support for TLS but causes
+  # it not to be used.  Required if we don't want to barf on 2.4
+  # kernels.  Or something.
+  configureFlags="--enable-add-ons
+    --with-headers=${kernelHeaders}/include
+    --with-tls --without-__thread --disable-sanity-checks
+    ${if profilingLibraries then "--enable-profile" else "--disable-profile"}";
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/glibc-pwd.patch b/pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/glibc-pwd.patch
similarity index 100%
rename from pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-2.5/glibc-pwd.patch
rename to pkgs/development/libraries/glibc-new/glibc-pwd.patch
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel-headers/kernel-headers-2.6.18.1.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel-headers/kernel-headers-2.6.18.1.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..73311a40920
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel-headers/kernel-headers-2.6.18.1.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{stdenv, fetchurl}:
+
+assert stdenv.isLinux;
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "linux-headers-2.6.18.1";
+  builder = ./builder.sh;
+  src = fetchurl {
+    url = ftp://ftp.nl.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-2.6.18.1.tar.bz2;
+    md5 = "38f00633b02f07819d17bcd87d03eb3a";
+  };
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bash b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bash
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..259e3ffe163
Binary files /dev/null and b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bash differ
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bunzip2 b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bunzip2
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..3f3f810e77e
Binary files /dev/null and b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/bunzip2 differ
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/cp b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/cp
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..06de68ad9a8
Binary files /dev/null and b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/cp differ
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/curl.bz2 b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/curl.bz2
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..f1d4e421693
Binary files /dev/null and b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/curl.bz2 differ
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/default.nix b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..695039692f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  bash = ./bash;
+  bunzip2 = ./bunzip2;
+  cp = ./cp;
+  curl = ./curl.bz2;
+  tar = ./tar.bz2;
+
+  staticToolsURL = {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/stdenv-linux/i686/r6800/static-tools.tar.bz2;
+    sha1 = "18c5e93a23a16282a12e9af05f4dc28254dc9013";
+  };
+
+  binutilsURL = {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/stdenv-linux/i686/r6800/binutils.tar.bz2;
+    sha1 = "4bf2859aa705acdcc08d333200f0e55754fab4a9";
+  };
+
+  gccURL = {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/stdenv-linux/i686/r6800/gcc.tar.bz2;
+    sha1 = "bd69a67b779014a683fa93706497eef0afede2b2";
+  };
+
+  glibcURL = {
+    url = http://nix.cs.uu.nl/dist/tarballs/stdenv-linux/i686/r6800/glibc.tar.bz2;
+    sha1 = "9f3f3f1248d672d5a845326ed36d8ca470de0094";
+  };
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/tar.bz2 b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/tar.bz2
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..26ea95b4440
Binary files /dev/null and b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/bootstrap/i686/tar.bz2 differ
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/builder-stdenv-initial.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/builder-stdenv-initial.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f753667d260
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/builder-stdenv-initial.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+set -e
+
+PATH=$staticTools/bin
+
+mkdir $out
+
+cat > $out/setup <<EOF
+PATH=$staticTools/bin
+EOF
+
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/download.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/download.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1d010f88d1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/download.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+set -e
+echo "downloading $out from $url"
+$curl/bin/curl --fail --location --max-redirs 20 "$url" > "$out"
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/prehook.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/prehook.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4ba81f1eef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/prehook.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+export NIX_ENFORCE_PURITY=1
+
+if test "$param1" = "static"; then
+    export NIX_CFLAGS_LINK="-static"
+    export NIX_LDFLAGS_BEFORE="-static"
+fi
+
+havePatchELF=1
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack-curl.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack-curl.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..147edcebe04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack-curl.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+set -x
+set -e
+
+# Tricky: need to make $out/bin without mkdir ;-).  So use cp to copy
+# the current (empty) directory.
+$cp -prvd . $out
+$cp -prvd . $out/bin
+
+$cp $curl curl.bz2
+$bunzip2 -d curl.bz2
+$cp curl $out/bin
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ef3eaf6349c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new-scripts/unpack.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+set -e
+
+$cp $tar .tar.bz2
+$bunzip2 .tar.bz2
+
+$bunzip2 -d < $tarball | ./.tar xvf -
+
+$cp -prd * $out
diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new.nix b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..31a78ec2057
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/linux/new.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+# This file constructs the standard build environment for the
+# Linux/i686 platform.  It's completely pure; that is, it relies on no
+# external (non-Nix) tools, such as /usr/bin/gcc, and it contains a C
+# compiler and linker that do not search in default locations,
+# ensuring purity of components produced by it.
+
+{system, allPackages}:
+
+rec {
+
+  bootstrapTools = import ./bootstrap/i686;
+
+
+  # The bootstrap process proceeds in several steps.
+
+  
+  # 1) Create a standard environment by downloading pre-built
+  # statically linked binaries of coreutils, gcc, etc.
+
+  # To fetch the pre-built binaries, we use a statically linked `curl'
+  # binary which is unpacked here.
+  curl = derivation {
+    inherit system;
+    name = "curl";
+    builder = bootstrapTools.bash;
+    inherit (bootstrapTools) bunzip2 cp curl;
+    args = [ ./new-scripts/unpack-curl.sh ];
+  };
+
+  # This function downloads a file.
+  download = {url, sha1, pkgname}: derivation {
+    name = baseNameOf (toString url);
+    builder = bootstrapTools.bash;
+    inherit system curl url;
+    args = [ ./new-scripts/download.sh ];
+    outputHashAlgo = "sha1";
+    outputHash = sha1;
+  };
+
+  # This function downloads and unpacks a file.
+  downloadAndUnpack = pkgname: {url, sha1}: derivation {
+    name = pkgname;
+    builder = bootstrapTools.bash;
+    inherit (bootstrapTools) bunzip2 tar cp;
+    args = [ ./new-scripts/unpack.sh ];
+    tarball = download {inherit url sha1 pkgname;};
+    inherit system;
+    allowedReferences = [];
+  };
+
+  # The various statically linked components that make up the standard
+  # environment.
+  staticTools = downloadAndUnpack "static-tools" bootstrapTools.staticToolsURL;
+  staticBinutils = downloadAndUnpack "static-binutils" bootstrapTools.binutilsURL;
+  staticGCC = (downloadAndUnpack "static-gcc" bootstrapTools.gccURL)
+    // { langC = true; langCC = false; langF77 = false; };
+  staticGlibc = downloadAndUnpack "static-glibc" bootstrapTools.glibcURL;
+
+
+  # A helper function to call gcc-wrapper.
+  wrapGCC =
+    {gcc ? staticGCC, glibc, binutils, shell ? ""}:
+    (import ../../build-support/gcc-wrapper) {
+      nativeTools = false;
+      nativeGlibc = false;
+      inherit gcc binutils glibc shell;
+      stdenv = stdenvInitial;
+    };
+
+
+  # The "fake" standard environment used to build "real" standard
+  # environments.  It consists of just the basic statically linked
+  # tools.
+  stdenvInitial = let {
+    body = derivation {
+      name = "stdenv-linux-initial";
+      builder = bootstrapTools.bash;
+      args = [ ./new-scripts/builder-stdenv-initial.sh ];
+      inherit system staticTools curl;
+    } // {
+      # !!! too much duplication with stdenv/generic/default.nix
+      mkDerivation = attrs: (derivation ((removeAttrs attrs ["meta"]) // {
+        builder = bootstrapTools.bash;
+        args = ["-e" attrs.builder];
+        stdenv = body;
+        system = body.system;
+      })) // { meta = if attrs ? meta then attrs.meta else {}; };
+      shell = bootstrapTools.bash;
+    };
+  };
+
+
+  # This function builds the various standard environments used during
+  # the bootstrap.
+  stdenvBootFun =
+    {gcc, staticGlibc, extraAttrs ? {}}:
+    
+    import ../generic {
+      name = "stdenv-linux-boot";
+      param1 = if staticGlibc then "static" else "dynamic";
+      preHook = ./new-scripts/prehook.sh;
+      stdenv = stdenvInitial;
+      shell = bootstrapTools.bash;
+      initialPath = [
+        staticTools
+      ];
+      inherit gcc extraAttrs;
+    };
+
+
+  # Create the first "real" standard environment.  This one consists
+  # of statically linked components only, and a minimal glibc to keep
+  # the gcc configure script happy.
+  stdenvLinuxBoot1 = stdenvBootFun {
+    # Use the statically linked, downloaded glibc/gcc/binutils.
+    gcc = wrapGCC {glibc = staticGlibc; binutils = staticBinutils;};
+    staticGlibc = true;
+    extraAttrs = {inherit curl;};
+  };
+  
+
+  # 2) These are the packages that we can build with the first
+  #    stdenv.  We only need Glibc (in step 3).
+  stdenvLinuxBoot1Pkgs = allPackages {
+    inherit system;
+    bootStdenv = stdenvLinuxBoot1;
+  };
+
+  
+  # 3) Build Glibc with the statically linked tools.  The result is the
+  #    full, dynamically linked, final Glibc.
+  stdenvLinuxGlibc = stdenvLinuxBoot1Pkgs.glibcNew;
+
+  
+  # 4) Construct a second stdenv identical to the first, except that
+  #    this one uses the Glibc built in step 3.  It still uses
+  #    statically linked tools.
+  stdenvLinuxBoot2 = removeAttrs (stdenvBootFun {
+    staticGlibc = false;
+    gcc = wrapGCC {binutils = staticBinutils; glibc = stdenvLinuxGlibc;};
+    extraAttrs = {inherit curl; glibc = stdenvLinuxGlibc;};
+  }) ["gcc" "binutils"];
+
+  
+  # 5) The packages that can be built using the second stdenv.
+  stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs = allPackages {
+    inherit system;
+    bootStdenv = stdenvLinuxBoot2;
+  };
+
+  
+  # 6) Construct a third stdenv identical to the second, except that
+  #    this one uses the dynamically linked GCC and Binutils from step
+  #    5.  The other tools (e.g. coreutils) are still static.
+  stdenvLinuxBoot3 = stdenvBootFun {
+    staticGlibc = false;
+    gcc = wrapGCC {
+#      inherit (stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs) binutils;
+      binutils = stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs.binutils217;
+      glibc = stdenvLinuxGlibc;
+      gcc = stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs.gcc.gcc;
+    };
+    extraAttrs = {inherit curl;};
+  };
+
+  
+  # 7) The packages that can be built using the third stdenv.
+  stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs = allPackages {
+    inherit system;
+    bootStdenv = stdenvLinuxBoot3;
+  };
+
+  
+  # 8) Construct the final stdenv.  It uses the Glibc, GCC and
+  #    Binutils built above, and adds in dynamically linked versions
+  #    of all other tools.
+  stdenvLinux = (import ../generic) {
+    name = "stdenv-linux";
+    preHook = ./new-scripts/prehook.sh;
+    initialPath = [
+      ((import ../common-path.nix) {pkgs = stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs;})
+      stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs.patchelf
+    ];
+
+    stdenv = stdenvInitial;
+
+    gcc = wrapGCC {
+#      inherit (stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs) binutils;
+      binutils = stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs.binutils217;
+      glibc = stdenvLinuxGlibc;
+      gcc = stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs.gcc.gcc;
+      shell = stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs.bash + "/bin/sh";
+    };
+
+    shell = stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs.bash + "/bin/sh";
+    
+    extraAttrs = {
+      curl = stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs.realCurl;
+      inherit (stdenvLinuxBoot2Pkgs) binutils /* gcc */ glibc;
+      inherit (stdenvLinuxBoot3Pkgs)
+        gzip bzip2 bash coreutils diffutils findutils gawk
+        gnumake gnused gnutar gnugrep patch patchelf;
+    };
+  };
+
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index ee45b6c1fa4..f0c282e3dca 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -1253,6 +1253,11 @@ rec {
       installLocales = true;
     });
 
+  glibcNew = import ../development/libraries/glibc-new {
+      inherit fetchurl stdenv;
+      kernelHeaders = kernelHeadersNew;
+  };
+
   glibmm = import ../development/libraries/gtk-libs-2.6/glibmm {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv pkgconfig libsigcxx;
     inherit (gtkLibs26) glib;
@@ -2083,6 +2088,10 @@ rec {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv;
   };
 
+  kernelHeadersNew = import ../os-specific/linux/kernel-headers/kernel-headers-2.6.18.1.nix {
+    inherit fetchurl stdenv;
+  };
+
   kernelHeadersArm = import ../os-specific/linux/kernel-headers-cross {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv;
     cross = "arm-linux";