On Thu, Aug 08, 2013 at 12:06:23PM -0400, 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Googling around, I found one post that suggested it's been superseded by 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.
Newer kernels, as you've mentioned, use libata to interface with Parallel ATA devices (which is what most 486-era drives are). AIUI, this is a new set of code that works both with SATA and PATA drives. Common code means more people use it, less bit-rot etc. If does, however, come with the side effect that /dev/hd* is now /dev/sd* (even if it's not a SCSI disk. I suspect the initial S is now meaningless). If you need to access a drive that's pre-IDE (so MFM, RLL etc), then yes, you'll need the old code. However, the chances are very likely that CONFIG_ATA_GENERIC (aka ata_generic.ko) is the successor you want.
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