Re: Strange boot message

[Florian Kulzer <florian.kulzer+debian@icfo.es>]

On Fri, Jan 25, 2008 at 14:31:53 -0800, Bob McGowan wrote:
> Frank McCormick wrote:
>> Can anyone tell  me what this message in syslog is all about ???

[...]

> intel_rng:
>   Firmware space is locked read-only.  If you can't or don't want to  
> disable this in firmware setup, and if you are certain that your system  
> has a functional RNG, try using the 'no_fwh_detect' option.
>
> See  
> http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-559170-highlight-.html?sid=a7efc65428c708b5d3986e327046a049
> for some info on RNG (Random Number Generator).
>
> Since the error is that the space is locked, rather than missing (not  
> detected), it may be safe to use the no_fwh-detect option for loading  
> this kernel module.
>
> The only issue now is how to do it.  I've never done anything with  
> options on autoloaded modules, so I have no suggestions, perhaps others  
> can help here.

According to "modinfo intel-rng":

parm:           no_fwh_detect:Skip FWH detection:
 positive value - skip if FWH space locked read-only
 negative value - skip always (int)

So I would try to create a new configuration file in /etc/modprobe.d/;
call it, for example, "local-intel-rng". The name does not matter as
long as you avoid special characters (hyphen and underscore are OK), but
it is advisable to choose a name that indicates the relevant module and
the fact that you created the file yourself. This configuration file
should contain one line (see "man modprobe.d"):

options intel-rng no_fwh_detect=1

Then reboot (or unload/reload the module) and check if the message is
gone.

-- 
Regards,            | http://users.icfo.es/Florian.Kulzer
          Florian   |