Re: Problem to turn DMA on
OK. Let's get simple first:
Check the bootup options--I mean boot, hit DEL and get the BIOS setups.
There is a "master DMA" somewhere, chipset options? Make sure that is
"enabled".
Then check the installed peripherals or such. There would be a PIO mode and
DMA setting for each IDE device. Make sure the DMAs are "auto". If they are
disabled here, well.... (Choices offered are "disabled" and "auto".)
If all this is OK, then there is the chipset issue I mentioned before. I do
not use an initrd so I had to compile the via ide driver module into the
kernel in place of the ide-generic which was there before. With no initrd,
some things must be compiled in sufficient to open your disks and file
system.
If you use an initrd, then the correct module needs be there. Check the config
file used to make the initrd. Run yaird --test as root can also yield useful
info. I never succeeded in making an initrd with yaird, always had to go back
to the trusty old mkinitrd and its config is in /etc/mikinitrd/mkinitrd.conf
and /etc/mkinitrd/modules. The modules would contain a list which such items
as ext3 for your file system if you use this and it is not compiled into the
kernel. The ide module might need to be there as well. (Having to circumvent
Debian's "new"default yaird in installing stock kernel images was one reason
I started rolling my own :-))
BTW Compiled-in modules do not show up in lsmod. Initrd ones may also not
appear--long time since I used one so do not remember.
Reply to: