Re: Loading kernel modules
"Bill" == Bill Wagner <bwagner@gory.org> writes:
Bill> One of my boxes uses the eepro100 kernel module for its
Bill> network interface. As I migrate more from Red Hat based
Bill> boxes, the more I like Debian. But one thing that is really
Bill> getting me is that this kernel module is not getting loaded
Bill> when the machine comes up.
I'm glad you like Debian. I switched to it about 18 months ago after
almost 6 years in Slackware upgrade hell.
Bill> At least in a RH based distro, I would typically have an
Bill> entry like this in my /etc/modules.conf:
Bill> alias eth0 eepro100
Bill> And that should do it. But even if I make that modification
Bill> in Debian, it gets blown away the next time it comes up.
Bill> Therefore, networking doesn't come up and being a headless
Bill> box, that's not too handy.
/etc/modules.conf is created from the files in /etc/modutils/. It says
so at the top of the file ;-)
### This file is automatically generated by update-modules"
#
# Please do not edit this file directly. If you want to change or add
# anything please take a look at the files in /etc/modutils and read
# the manpage for update-modules.
So, you could put 'eepro100' in /etc/modules which will ensure it is
loaded in every time you boot. Or you could create an entry like the
one you suggested above in /etc/modutils/aliases and run
update-modules. Just do 'man update-modules'
Bill> Of course I can always recompile my kernel and build that
Bill> kernel module straight in, but I'm just curious what people
Bill> normally do in this situation.
Since I switched to Debian's 2.4.x kernels I've simply quite
recompiling my kernel unless I knew the standard kernel just would not
work. I've *had* to recompile just once, to patch a SCSI driver for a
very broken PCI bus on a very old and broken Tecra 700ct laptop. I
strongly recommend to everyone I know *not* to recompile the the
2.4.18 kernel unless there is a compelling reason to do so ("it just
won't work").
Cheers!
Shyamal
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