Linux-Hardware Digest #410, Volume #13 Sun, 13 Aug 00 02:13:05 EDT
Contents:
Re: Linux and USB support (softrat`)
What's the best internal modem to get? (piddy)
Re: SCSI hangs with 2.2.1(4|6) on heavy I/O (sideband)
Re: Trackballs. Anyone using one? (sideband)
Gpm and X problems MS Intellimouse ("Prophete J. Charles")
Re: 45 GB HD - How to get past BIOS limitation? (sideband)
Re: Defrag in Linux? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: What's the best internal modem to get? ("David ..")
Re: Defrag in Linux? ("Peter T. Breuer")
Re: What's the best internal modem to get? (Mike Frisch)
Re: i810, AC '97, sound (Hammer)
Re: Ultra 66 Support ("Charles Sullivan")
Re: Using Promise Technology's Bios upgrade and ATA-66 boards with Linux ("Terje
Bjerkelia")
Re: Sound Card Reccomendation (Christian Huebner)
Re: Trackballs. Anyone using one? ("John E. Garrott Sr")
Re: X on compaq Elite 4/40C laptop? need help (pangaea)
Re: Defrag in Linux? (Elliott)
Can't get IDE controller (IDE3) on SB AWE32 to work ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: softrat` <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: Linux and USB support
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 15:39:14 -0700
E J wrote:
>
> There is full USB support in Kernel 2.4 but it is the testing phase now.
> You can download it and try it but it is still in testing.
>
> "Kent R. Frazier" wrote:
>
> > I've been away from the Linux scene for awhile, and would like to build
> > another Linux box. How is the support for USB now? Any distro. supporting
> > this more than the others? I was probably going to build on Red Hat, since
> > this is what I am use to, but I am open to any and all suggestions.
> >
I would not call it 'full' USB support. For example, there is no support
for my UMAX Astra 2100U USB TWAIN-compliant scanner.
--
the softrat
mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
---
Uncertain fortune is thoroughly mastered by the equity of the
calculation.
- Blaise Pascal
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (piddy)
Subject: What's the best internal modem to get?
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 22:44:19 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
It has to work with all versions of Linux
------------------------------
From: sideband <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.redhat
Subject: Re: SCSI hangs with 2.2.1(4|6) on heavy I/O
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 18:53:37 -0400
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > On 19 Jul 2000 00:11:32 -0700, Linus Torvalds
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > wrote:
> > >In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> > >Chris Adams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>I went from 2.2.14 to 2.2.16 (both Redhat's RPM and a manual compile
> with the
> > >>Initio support compiled into the kernel instead of as a module) with
> no change.
> > >>Since I had little left to lose, I installed 2.4.0-test4. Build &
> install was
> > >>seamless and the system has yet to so much as hiccup.
> > >
> > >Btw, thanks. It's sometimes quite depressing to only get bug-reports
> > >for the new kernels. Good to get a virtual pat on the shoulder every
> > >once in a while,
> >
> > Uhoh. Now I feel pretty bad mentioning that I just managed to get
> 2.4.0-test4
> > to hang, even though it took ~30 simultaneous heavy I/O processes to
> do it (vs.
> > one before). I'll have to see if I can track down just where it's
> going wrong.
> > Fortunately, this system won't run into that sort of load under normal
> usage.
> >
> I was using the same card with Linux-2.2.16 ext3
> and have had the same problems. As far as I can
> tell the problem is on the side of the SCSI bus. I
> don't think this is a software related problem...
> When I tried the card with a single drive, all
> seemed to work fine. As soon as I added more than
> 3 drives, I ran into all kinds of problems. Has
> anyone tried this card under Window$ to see if it
> works with more than 4 drives?
> -Neil-
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Before you buy.
It worked fine for me under 98 with 3 HDD's, a tape and a CD-ROM...
Could be bus termintation/term power/card BIOS settings.
-SSB
------------------------------
From: sideband <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Trackballs. Anyone using one?
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:00:35 -0400
Mel Moore wrote:
> Is anyone using a trackball with there system? If so, which one, how
> have you set it up as far as ports and drivers are concerned. I'm
> currently using Redhat 6.0 on a system that does not support USB on the
> motherboard so I would like to know if any are available that work on
> serial port.
>
> Thanks for the info in advance.
>
> Mel Moore
I'm using a Logitech TrackMan Marble Wheel with no problems on two
different systems, one PS/2 and one Serial.
HTH
-SSB
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:00:14 -0400
From: "Prophete J. Charles" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux.mandrake
Subject: Gpm and X problems MS Intellimouse
I am trying to get a MS Intellimouse to work with both gpm and X but when
I switch between the two I run into problems. I am not trying to
do anything fancy right now (such as using imwheel), I just want the basic
functionality to work (copy and paste). Here is the problem.
I added an Intellimouse to my Mandrake 7.1 installation and adjusted the
Pointers section of my XF86Config to read:
Section "Pointer"
Protocol "IMPS/2"
Device "/dev/psaux"
BaudRate 1200
Resolution 100
ZAxisMapping 4 5
Buttons 3
EndSection
I then adjusted the /etc/sysconfig/mouse to read:
MOUSETYPE=imps2
XMOUSETYPE=IMPS/2
FULLNAME="Microsoft IntelliMouse (PS/2)"
XEMU3=no
WHEEL=yes
device=psaux
Both gpm and X automatically start at bootup from system init scripts.
So now, when I boot the machine, gpm starts first and the mouse works
fine.
When X begins the mousealso works. When I go back to the console, the
mouse acts erratic.
If I go back to X the mouse is erratic again (it flases color).
Anyone, know what the proper configuration is?
------------------------------
From: sideband <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: 45 GB HD - How to get past BIOS limitation?
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:03:32 -0400
Gene Montgomery wrote:
> Jake wrote:
> >
> > Gene Montgomery <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > > A little added info. From the mini HOW-TO called Large-Disk, I
> > > note that in addition to the BIOS limitation, there is a Linux
> > > limitation in older kernels. Does anyone know where the break
> > > comes in? That is, does 2.2.14 handle disks larger than the 33.8
> > > GB limitation mentioned in the mini-HOWTO?
> >
> > I has able to attach/see/access two 75 GB drives using RedHat 6.2,
> > which I beleive ships with kernel 2.2.14, without any modification
> > on both the primary and secondary motherboard IDE channels.
> >
> > ASUS CUV4X motherboard
> > IBM Deskstar 75 GB
> > RedHat6.2
> >
> > I ened up upgrading the kernel to 2.4.0test5 to get it to
> > work with a RAID controller card though.
> >
> > Jake
>
> Thanks, Jake. I will concentrate on the BIOS limitation,
> under the assumption that RH6.2 (2.2.14) has solved the 33.8
> GB limitation.
>
> Gene
Gene:
The what the BIOS detects, and what Linux can use are two wholly
different things... Linux goes straight to the drive to determine its'
size and attributes, rather than using the BIOS, so you should be able to
do exactly what you want to do with that 45G drive regardless of what the
BIOS says.
HTH
-SSB
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Defrag in Linux?
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 23:19:23 GMT
Elliott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Ok. When I first brought my brand new computer home, it ran fast. It
> screamed. Now it takes longer to load stuff (programs). On other os's
> I have simply booted Norton Speed Disk, and the speed was back. I'm
> running RH 6.1 with a 4 gig ATA/IDE hard drive as well as 2 ~400mb
> ata/ide drives. (Small, I know.)
ext2fs doesn't really fragment until it's nearly full. Run e2fsck on
an unmounted drive; it will tell you what percent of files are
fragmented. I've never seen this number go above 8%.
> When I shut down, I get this message (its a normal thing, I think,
> but I want to know what it is): Stopping Auto-defragmentation What
> is that?
It could mean a number of things. For example, TCP guarantees that
you get packets in the order they were sent, but they may not arrive
at your system in that order. Thus, the kernel must defragment a
bunch of packets.
> Anyway, another reason why I want to
> defrag is this (from the df -h command):
> Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
> /dev/hda8 387M 317M 50M 86% /
> /dev/hda1 23M 2.6M 19M 12% /boot
> /dev/hda7 2.9G 938M 1.8G 34% /usr
> /dev/hda5 387M 31M 337M 8% /var
> /dev/hdd 390M 4.6M 365M 1% /mnt/drive3
> /dev/hdb1 393M 16k 373M 0% /mnt/drive2
> all the partitions appear to be fragmented.
What? Where do you get that?
> I would think, that "size" minus "used" should equal "Avail".
Something like 10% of disk space is reserved for the superuser, and
will not show up as available under df.
> I checked my partition tables with fdisk, and all cylinders and
> heads are accounted for. Thus leading me to think that I really need
> to defrag.
Fragmentation is when files are spread around the disk. This is bad
because the head has to move back and forth around the cylinder. A
contiguous file is where the head can do a track-to-track read.
On your CD player, when you change tracks, there's a noticeable delay,
right? But when you just play past the end of one track and on to
another, there isn't. That's because the laser (functionally similar
to a hard drive head) has to much a much smaller distance and doesn't
have to wait for the sector it wants to spin back around again.
If your file system is 100% fragmented, it will still not result in
less disk space.
> (then what the heck is auto-defrag?) True, for a web server or
> fully networked computer, defragmenting may not make a difference,
> but for my computer, I think it would.
It will not. And it would, in fact, make a far greater difference on
any kind of server, which sees heavier use every hour of the day than
your computer probably does in a week.
--
Eric McCoy ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
"There once was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost
deserved it." - C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
------------------------------
From: "David .." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: What's the best internal modem to get?
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 18:48:18 -0500
piddy wrote:
>
> It has to work with all versions of Linux
I use the 3Com Courier V.Everything V.90 56K x2 ISA internal.
It works great!
--
Confucius say: He who play in root, eventually kill tree.
Registered with the Linux Counter. http://counter.li.org
ID # 123538
------------------------------
From: "Peter T. Breuer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Defrag in Linux?
Date: 12 Aug 2000 23:57:05 GMT
Elliott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
: /dev/hda8 387M 317M 50M 86% /
: /dev/hda1 23M 2.6M 19M 12% /boot
: /dev/hda7 2.9G 938M 1.8G 34% /usr
: /dev/hda5 387M 31M 337M 8% /var
: /dev/hdd 390M 4.6M 365M 1% /mnt/drive3
: /dev/hdb1 393M 16k 373M 0% /mnt/drive2
: all the partitions appear to be fragmented. I would think, that "size"
: minus "used" should equal "Avail". I checked my partition tables with
Then you'd be wrong, wouldn't you! AFAIR this is a unix FAQ. Reread the
man page for mke2fs, paying particular attention to the bit about space
reserved for root on each file system. Use tune2fs if you want to play
with it.
Then go and read the linux FAQ. The bit about fragmentation not
happening in ext2fs.
Peter
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Mike Frisch)
Subject: Re: What's the best internal modem to get?
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:34:55 GMT
On Sat, 12 Aug 2000 22:44:19 GMT, piddy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>It has to work with all versions of Linux
Any of USR's Sportster series will work.
------------------------------
From: Hammer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: i810, AC '97, sound
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:32:22 GMT
AWESOME! Thanks Bartek.
-=hammer
In article <39952ffe$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
"Bartek Kostrzewa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hammer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
> 8murc3$3g$[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Potentially dumb question here, sorry. I have a (stupid) Dell
system
> > here with the i810 and the AC '97. If I were to go into the BIOS
and
> > off the onboard sound support, and toss an SB PCI128 (or similar) in
> > the box, would that eliminate the need for ALSA support of the
AC'97??
>
> Yep. Just watch that you disable the PnP OS option in your BIOS too.
After
> that you can use the kernel sound driver (module) for your respective
sound
> card.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
From: "Charles Sullivan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Ultra 66 Support
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 02:05:24 GMT
Jake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:hW%i5.4670$[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>
> Kenneth R�rvik <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > Not really :) My suggestion is to get the latest 2.4.0-test kernel
(test5
> > at the moment). Works like a charm on my system, the test-kernels
havebeen
> > very stable (K6-2/400).
>
>
> When I select the Promise drivers via make config, the kernel build
> for 2.4.0-test5 fails.
>
> <snip>
>
gcc -D__KERNEL__ -I/usr/src/linux/include -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -O2 -fom
> it-frame-pointer -pipe -march=i686 -fno-strict-aliasing -c -o
> pdc202xx.o pdc202xx.c
> pdc202xx.c: In function `ide_init_pdc202xx':
> pdc202xx.c:865: structure has no member named `tri_proc'
> pdc202xx.c:865: `pdc202xx_tristate' undeclared (first use in this
function)
> pdc202xx.c:865: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once
> pdc202xx.c:865: for each function it appears in.)
> make[3]: *** [pdc202xx.o] Error 1
> make[3]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux/drivers/ide'
> make[2]: *** [first_rule] Error 2
> make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux/drivers/ide'
> make[1]: *** [_subdir_ide] Error 2
> make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux/drivers'
> make: *** [_dir_drivers] Error 2
>
> Anyone else encounter this? Is this a bug in pdc202xx.c
> or do I need to patch this too?
>
> Jake
I had the same compile error and emailed the author of the
pdc202xx.c code about it. He replied that the offending line
865 (with the tri_proc and pdc202xx_tristate) should be deleted
from the code. I did that and everything thereafter compiled OK.
One other thing: Under RH 6.2 (kernel 2.2.14-5.0) I had been
using append="hde2=0x1440" in my /etc/linux.conf file. I replicated
the entry for the new kernel 2.4.0-test5 (substituting the new kernel
name) but found I had to leave off the append=... for it to boot.
------------------------------
From: "Terje Bjerkelia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Using Promise Technology's Bios upgrade and ATA-66 boards with Linux
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 04:10:39 +0200
"James Knowles" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > The ultra100 also works if you patch the kernel see
http://www.linux-ide.org
>
> Thanks for the pointer. Bought an Ultra100 earlier this wee. I actually
> tested with the 2.4 pre-release kernels. Quite impressive!
I've tried both the patch and the 2.4 kernels, but I can't get it to work.
The boot stops after PDC20267 is found, it seems like the HD attached
to the controller can't be found.
The HD attached to the Ultra100 is a IBM ATA100 75GXP 75 GB.
Any help help will be highly appreciated, I'm going nuts here :-)
Terje Bjerkelia
------------------------------
From: Christian Huebner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Sound Card Reccomendation
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:00:27 -0700
jeff kucharsca wrote:
>
> Guys and Gals,
>
> What are you recommendations for a sound card....
> I will be doing MP3s and Games, I want it to be easy to use in Linux w/o any
> major complications,
> Price is no object..
I can recommend the Soundblaster Live!
Works flawlessly for me.
Chris
------------------------------
From: "John E. Garrott Sr" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Trackballs. Anyone using one?
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:42:55 -0700
Mel Moore wrote:
>
> Is anyone using a trackball with there system? If so, which one, how
> have you set it up as far as ports and drivers are concerned. I'm
> currently using Redhat 6.0 on a system that does not support USB on the
> motherboard so I would like to know if any are available that work on
> serial port.
>
> Thanks for the info in advance.
>
> Mel Moore
I've been using a Logitech marble for three years now
and love it.
Doesn't have the wheel, but works fine. The system
just thinks it's a mouse.
Have fun,
John
------------------------------
From: pangaea <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.x,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: X on compaq Elite 4/40C laptop? need help
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:15:19 -0700
check out http://www.redhat.com/mirrors/laptop/welcome.html
this is a mirror of the linux on laptops page it may help you find the
X86Config file you need or something close that can be tweeked.
Don't forget to check the manual for the computer and for the chipset for
the video and other info.
kiran
"Richard J. Freedman" wrote:
> Does anyone know how to setup X on the subject computer? I have no idea
> what video chipset is in the beast.
>
> --
> Dick Freedman
------------------------------
From: Elliott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Defrag in Linux?
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 05:35:21 GMT
Thank you all for answering my 8 questions in one. Just out of curiosity, how
is it that defragmentation is almost never goes over 8%?
Back to performance, here is the output of my free:
[root@localhost /root]# free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 62992 61528 1464 60664 1532 26340
-/+ buffers/cache: 33656 29336
Swap: 313228 4632 308596
Wow! I didn't realize that much ram was used! I thought I had 64megs of ram....
62.992 is close enough for me. If I bought 64 more megs of ram, do you guys
think that my performance would increase significantly? thanks!
J Bland wrote:
> >Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
> >/dev/hda8 387M 317M 50M 86% /
> >/dev/hda1 23M 2.6M 19M 12% /boot
> >/dev/hda7 2.9G 938M 1.8G 34% /usr
> >/dev/hda5 387M 31M 337M 8% /var
> >/dev/hdd 390M 4.6M 365M 1% /mnt/drive3
> >/dev/hdb1 393M 16k 373M 0% /mnt/drive2
> >
> >all the partitions appear to be fragmented. I would think, that "size"
> >minus "used" should equal "Avail". I checked my partition tables with
> >fdisk, and all cylinders and heads are accounted for. Thus leading me to
> >think that I really need to defrag. (then what the heck is auto-defrag?)
> >True, for a web server or fully networked computer, defragmenting may
> >not make a difference, but for my computer, I think it would. So what
> >program should I use? I have looked high and low, and I can't find one
> >(except for auto-defrag, whatever that is). Any help would be nice
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Ext2fs (which you are almost certainly using) does not fragment in the same
> way that windows filing systems do. Ext2fs is intelligent and arranges its
> data in such a way as to reduce fragmentation. The only time this really
> breaks down is when your disc is almost full, and all your partitions are
> quite a way from this.
>
> The small amount of fragmentation (of the order of a % or two) that you get
> on a standard ext2fs system will not produce a system performance drop that
> you could see. As for df; it only reports disc usage, there is no indication
> of fragmentation in its output so I wonder where you think it is saying your
> partitions are fragmented. Any differences between the allocated size of a
> partition and the reported size in df are due to:
>
> a) Space taken by formatting
> b) by default 5% of a partition is reserved for the root user only. So even
> when the disc is supposedly 5% full there is still some space for root to
> play around in. A godsend when users fill your disc accidentally.
>
> If you are experiencing performance drops it is much more likely to be a RAM
> factor, or more the usage of it. Once you start using up your RAM and hit
> the swap partition or file, performance nosedives.
>
> What are you running? How much RAM do you have? What does 'free' report?
>
> Linux doesn't 'degrade' with time like certain other systems. If there's a
> problem with performance it's to do with what you're doing, not the state
> the OS has got itself into.
>
> Frinky
>
> --
> John Bland MPhys(Hons) GradInstP Webmaster and Sys Admin.
> http://ringtail.cmp.liv.ac.uk/ Condensed Matter Group
> Email: j.bland at liv.ac.uk Liverpool University
> "And it can suck a monkey through 30ft of garden hose!!"
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Can't get IDE controller (IDE3) on SB AWE32 to work
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 05:34:18 GMT
I've done this before, but I cannot for the life of me remember how to
do it!
First off, I am using SCSI emulation since I have an IDE CD-RW. The
CD-RW is on ide1 as hdd.
The Sound Blaster AWE32 IDE port is apparently ide3 with irq 10, and I/O
0x168 and 0x36e.
Under lilo.conf, I have an append statement as follows:
append="ide3=0x168,0x36e,10 hdg=ide-scsi"
When Linux boots up (RedHat 6.2, kernel 2.2.16-3), I see the following
messages:
Linux version 2.2.16-3 (root@naboo) (gcc version egcs-2.91.66
19990314/Linux (egcs-1.1.2 release)) #12 Sat Aug 12 00:14:33 EDT 2000
Detected 199880 kHz processor.
ide_setup: ide3=0x168,0x36e,10
ide_setup: hdg=ide-scsi
But, if I do a cat /proc/ioports or cat /proc/interrupts, I don't see
any of the resources for the ide controller there.
In the /etc/isapnp.conf, I have ensured that I uncommented the lines
pertaining to the ide controller on the SB AWE32, including the (ACT Y)
line, but this doesn't help either.
Currently, I have removed the CD-RW because it's being sent back for a
replacement. However, I want to leave that slot open for the new drive
and want my spare CD ROM to reside on the SB AWE32 IDE controller.
Under Windows 98, it works fine. Windows 98 can see and access the drive
on the SB IDE port. But, for some reason, I cannot get Linux to do it.
I've searched all the HOWTOs as best as I can, and I cannot find out how
to do this.
Again, I have SCSI emulation turned on and I do not have IDE ATAPI/CDROM
enabled in my kernel. That is set to N in the configuration when I
compiled my kernel as the following messages show on boot up:
scsi0 : SCSI host adapter emulation for IDE ATAPI devices
scsi : 1 host.
scsi : detected total.
Thanks for any help in this matter.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
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End of Linux-Hardware Digest
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