Re: replacement for ide-generic in Wheezy?
Hi,
On 08/08/13 18:06, Gary Dale wrote:
> On 08/08/13 06:28 AM, Jerome BENOIT wrote:
>> Hello Gary,
>>
>> On 08/08/13 11:39, Gary Dale wrote:
>>> The various ide modules (ide-generic, ide-cdrom, etc.) seem to be missing in the Wheezy kernel. However they still compile a 486 kernel so I'm assuming there is some intent to continue to support older hardware.
>>>
>>> In my case, I have an old laptop that I could run Squeeze on by including ide-generic in the /etc/initramfstool/modules file. However the same thing doesn't work in Wheezy because there is no ide-generic module.
>>>
>>> Googling around, I found one post that suggested it's been superseded by libata but I can't find that either.
>>>
>>> Is 486-era hardware still supported in the newer kernels or is this a lost cause?
>>>
>>
>> I guess that it is still supported by the kernel, but not by the kernel deb package as distributed by debian.
>> You may build your own kernel, and the following link is a good place to start:
>>
>> http://kernel-handbook.alioth.debian.org
>>
>> hth,
>> Jerome
>
> Thanks. This would be a truly bizarre situation - creating a 486 kernel package for people but omitting the basic hardware drivers for hardware of the that vintage.
>
> The basic difference between the 486 and 686 kernels is support for PAE. Pentium processors lack PAE but would generally need the IDE drivers.
>
> In my case, I'm talking about Pentium-MMX @ 200MHz, which is far less powerful than a Raspberry Pi but still useful. However the CD-ROM and disk drives of that time need IDE drivers.
>
> It wasn't long after that PAE was added (in the Pentium Pro and later). Why would anyone make a 486 kernel and not include the drivers? I could understand, but not agree with, dropping 486 support as some distros have done. But to simply not compile the drivers seems silly.
>
>
It is a very good idea to build specific kernels:
building a kernel deb package is easy within Debian.
For the choice of driver of the distro default, you may ask to the package maintainer.
Jerome
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