[ltp] Linux 2.4.9 trouble on a ThinkPad 600E

[Maarten de Jong]

Hi folks,

I have recently acquired a ThinkPad 600E and have had a very pleasant time 
installing and running Linux 2.4.9 on it. However, I have run into a few 
nasty problems I do not know how to solve. I appreciate any feedback in 
these matters.


Problem 1: floppy drive not working
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For some strange reason, whenever I boot up Linux with a floppy drive in the 
Ultrabay, I cannot mount any disk in there. Or at an unpredictable rate at 
best. Upon entering the command

    mount /mnt/a

with an /etc/fstab-entry of

    /dev/fd0   /mnt/a    msdos    defaults,noauto    0  0

and a proper mounting directory, I get the following error message:

    mount: /def/fd0 already mounted or /mnt/a busy

But there's nothing in my /proc/mounts- or /etc/mtab-files with respect to 
an already mounted /dev/fd0. Now I know there's a special option you need to 
pass along to the kernel, and it's sitting right there in the
global section of /etc/lilo.conf:

    append = "floppy=thinkpad"

Not being able to mount a floppy disk isn't too crippling; I almost never 
use them anyway. But it's such a basic feature of any computer system I 
simply have to get it working; there's no reason why it shouldn't. Does 
anyone have an idea of what is going on here and how to fix it?


Problem 2: PCMCIA Ethernet card locking up at 'ifconfig'
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The second problem I have is with my Xircom 28.8 Kbps modem + Ethernet card. 
During 'ifconfig' (always executed at boot time) the machine might or might 
not lock up. And with 'lock up', I mean freeze to the point where the only 
option is to turn the computer off and on again. The funny things is that 
sometimes, ifconfig works perfectly and I have a fully functioning Ethernet. 
At other times---apparently when the Moon has reached a certain phase---it 
doesn't and I have to remove the card to get the machine to boot at all. 
Inserting the card into a running machine doesn't present any problems: 
cardctl shows it being in normal use, and lsmod shows both modules for this 
card loaded. It's only when I issue a

    ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2 <.....>

that the machine might or might not lock up.
     Now I know there is some funny business associated with entering 
suspend mode with active cards and such---I do that in Windows all the time. 
But surely that cannot influence the behaviour with an initialisation 
command in a different OS which requires a cold boot (more or less)?? Any 
help would be appreciated here too.


With kind regards,
Maarten de Jong

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