435 lines
7.5 KiB
HTML
435 lines
7.5 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>Linux Compatibility Check</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="HOME"
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TITLE="Linux on the Road"
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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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REL="UP"
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TITLE="Which Laptop to Buy?"
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1-which-laptop-to-buy.html"><LINK
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REL="PREVIOUS"
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TITLE="Sources of More Information"
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s5-sources-of-more-information.html"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Writing a Device Driver"
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s7-writing-a-device-driver.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="sect1"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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ALINK="#0000FF"
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVHEADER"
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><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TH
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COLSPAN="3"
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ALIGN="center"
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>Linux on the Road: </TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s5-sources-of-more-information.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="80%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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>Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy?</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s7-writing-a-device-driver.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="mobile-guide-p1c1s6-linux-compatibility-check"
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></A
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>1.6. Linux Compatibility Check</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN388"
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></A
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>1.6.1. Related Documentation</H2
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><P
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>
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<P
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></P
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><OL
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TYPE="1"
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><LI
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Hardware-HOWTO/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>Hardware-HOWTO</A
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>
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Kernel-HOWTO/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>Kernel-HOWTO</A
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>
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/doc/PCMCIA-HOWTO.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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><SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>PCMCIA</SPAN
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>-HOWTO</A
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>
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/PCI-HOWTO.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>PCI-HOWTO</A
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>
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> <A
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HREF="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Plug-and-Play-HOWTO.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>Plug-and-Play-HOWTO</A
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>
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</P
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></LI
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></OL
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>
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect2"
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><H2
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CLASS="sect2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN408"
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></A
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>1.6.2. Check Methods in General</H2
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><P
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> If you can't find the necessary information through the above mentioned
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sources, you are on your own. Luckily, Linux provides many means to
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help. For details see the section
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<A
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HREF="mobile-guide-p2-mobile-hardware.html"
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>Part V in <I
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>Linux on the Road</I
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></A
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> Hardware In Detail
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below. In general you may use:
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</P
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><P
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>
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<P
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></P
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><OL
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TYPE="1"
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><LI
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><P
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> First of all the kernel itself. Look up what kind of hardware is
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detected by the kernel. You get this information during boot time or
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by <B
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CLASS="command"
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>dmesg</B
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> or by looking into
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<TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>/var/log/messages</TT
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>. For the very first boot messages
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check <TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>/var/log/boot</TT
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>.
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> If your kernel supports the <TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>/proc</TT
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> file system you
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may get detailed information about PCI devices by
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>cat /proc/pci</B
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> Please read the kernel documentation
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<TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>pci.txt</TT
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>. You may get further information about
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unknown PCI devices at the
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<A
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HREF="http://pciids.sf.net/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>Linux PCI ID Repository</A
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>,
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the home of the pci.ids file. From 2.1.82 kernels on you may use the
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>lspci</B
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> command from the <B
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CLASS="command"
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>pci-utils</B
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> package.
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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>
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To retrieve information about Plug-and-Play (PNP) devices use
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>isapnp-tools</B
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> .
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> Use <B
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CLASS="command"
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>scsi_info</B
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> by David Hinds for SCSI devices or
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>scsiinfo</B
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>.
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</P
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></LI
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></OL
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>
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</P
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><P
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> If you don't want to install a complete Linux you may retrieve this
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information by using a micro Linux ( see
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<A
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HREF="mobile-guide-a1-other-operating-systems.html"
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>Appendix A</A
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> Appendix A).
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The package <B
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CLASS="command"
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>muLinux</B
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> provides even a small
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>systest</B
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> program and <B
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CLASS="command"
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>TomsRtBt</B
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> comes
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with <B
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CLASS="command"
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>memtest</B
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>. To use <B
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CLASS="command"
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>memtest</B
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> you
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have to copy it on a floppy
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>dd if=/usr/lib/memtest of=/dev/fd0</B
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>
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and to reboot from this floppy.
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</P
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><P
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> If your laptop came with Windows, you may determine a lot of hardware
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settings from the installation. Boot into DOS or Windows to get the
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information you need.
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</P
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><P
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> Using Windows9x/NT to get hardware settings, basically boot Windows,
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then <B
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CLASS="command"
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>Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System
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-> Device Manager</B
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> and write down everything, or make a
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hardcopy from the display using the <B
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CLASS="command"
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><PRINT></B
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>
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key, plus keep a log of settings, hardware, memory, etc.
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</P
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><P
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> Using MS-DOS and Windows3.1x you can use the command
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>msd</B
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>, which is an akronym for MicroSoft Diagnostics.
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Or you might try one of the numerous DOS shareware utilities:
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<B
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CLASS="command"
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>CHECK-IT</B
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>, <B
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CLASS="command"
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>DR.HARD</B
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> and others.
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</P
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><P
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> Sometimes it's difficult to know what manufacturer
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has built the machine or parts of it actually. The
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<A
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HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/help.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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>FCC</A
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>
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"Federal Communications Commission On-line Equipment Authorization
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Database may be used, if you are having problems identifying the
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manufacturer of a laptop or notebook computer (or other electronic
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device,) this site lets you search the FCC database based on the FCC ID
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number you can usually find on the equipment if it was marketed in the
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United States of America."
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</P
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><P
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> Many laptops are no more compatible with Windows than Linux. David
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Hinds, author of the <SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>PCMCIA</SPAN
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> drivers, points out that
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Toshiba notebooks use a proprietary Toshiba <SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>PCMCIA</SPAN
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>
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bridge chip that exhibits the same bugs under Windows as under Linux.
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<SPAN
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CLASS="trademark"
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>IBM</SPAN
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>™ Thinkpads have serious
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<SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>BIOS</SPAN
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> problems that affect delivery of events to the
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power management daemon <B
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CLASS="command"
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>apmd</B
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>. These bugs also affect
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MS-Windows, and are listed in <SPAN
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CLASS="trademark"
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>IBM</SPAN
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>™'s documentation
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as <EM
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>considerations</EM
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>.
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</P
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><P
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> Some incompatibilities are temporary, for instance laptops that have
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Intel's <SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>USB</SPAN
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> chip will probably get full
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<SPAN
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CLASS="acronym"
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>USB</SPAN
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> support, eventually.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s5-sources-of-more-information.html"
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>Prev</A
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HREF="index.html"
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>Home</A
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1s7-writing-a-device-driver.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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WIDTH="33%"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Sources of More Information</TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="mobile-guide-p1c1-which-laptop-to-buy.html"
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ACCESSKEY="U"
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>Up</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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>Writing a Device Driver</TD
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></TR
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> |