Re: configuring ISA PnP devices with kernel 2.4 & isapnptools

["Steve M. Robbins" <steven.robbins@videotron.ca>]

On Sun, Apr 29, 2001 at 03:28:53PM -0400, Steve M. Robbins wrote:

> There isn't any kind of formal standard for hardware configuration
> that I can find --- I looked in Debian policy, Filesystem Hierarchy
> Standard, and Linux Standards Base.  What is the best current
> practice?
> 
> The immediate problem that I am facing is: what should the init script
> for isapnptools do?  The status quo is:
> 
>   * if /proc/isapnp exists, the script does nothing, 
>   * otherwise isapnp runs (if its config file exists)
> 
> The check for /proc/isapnp is there to detect kernel support for PnP
> configuration (added in kernel 2.3.something).  I can think of two
> problems with this approach.
> 
> 1. This assumes that the user has actually re-worked the system
> configuration to use the /proc/isapnp interface.  If not, then upon
> the first boot into kernel 2.4, the system may be in a bad state
> (i.e. some cards not configured).
> 
> 2. This does not detect isa-pnp compiled as a kernel module, since the
> /proc file does not exist until the module is loaded, and that happens
> *after* isapnp init script runs.
> 
> 
> 
> I think that issue #2 is not a real problem.  I believe that running
> the isapnptools' isapnp *and* also using the kernel's /proc/isapnp
> interface (when the isa-pnp module gets loaded) is harmless.

Well, I was wrong about this.  

If you build a kernel with the isa-pnp module and, say, a soundblaster
module, the module dependencies are such that loading the soundblaster
module causes the isa-pnp module to be loaded and the card doesn't
get configured properly (until you write something appropriate into
/proc/isapnp, that is).


So let me repeat my appeal: what did you all do about configuring ISA
PnP cards when you moved to kernel 2.4?  I ended up crafting something
that I can cat to /dev/isapnp, but only after a lot of
trial-and-error.  I'm not sure I got it completely right.

> I would greatly value other's experience with PnP cards.  I have just
> one, myself, and only just installed a 2.4 kernel on Friday to see
> what the new interface is like.  It took me most of the evening to
> figure out how to re-create the old configuration.  An upgrade to 2.4
> shouldn't break a working system this badly!  I'd really like a way to
> ease this transition for others.  Is there, for example, a script to
> translate /etc/isapnp.conf into the new form?

Thanks,
-Steve


-- 
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by throwing back the blanket and laying down the legs ...
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