what exactly does "init_module: No such device" mean?

[Daniel Barclay <daniel@fgm.com>]

When trying to load a driver reports "init_module: No such device",
what exactly does that mean?

Does it mean that the module couldn't find any instances of the type
of hardware device that the module handles, using whatever degree of
scanning or probing that that particular module performs?

(Does "device" means devices at the hardware level with PCI bus
locations and Vendor and Device IDS, or does it means devices at
the level of ide0, lo0, etc., listed /proc/devices?)

If a driver reports "init_module: No such device", does that
necessarily mean that the driver doesn't recognize your hardware,
or do you sometimes have to tell the driver an I/O address or IRQ
number so it can find your hardware?


Thanks,
Daniel