[ltp] Linux 2.4.9 trouble on a ThinkPad 600E

[Brad Langhorst]

Quoting Maarten de Jong <cymric73@hotmail.com>:

> 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
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> 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?
actually i don't think you need that option on modern thinkpads...
have you tried without it?  if so it might just be flaky hardware...
> 
> 
> Problem 2: PCMCIA Ethernet card locking up at 'ifconfig'
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> 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.
sorry i'm stumped on that one - does the machine free up when you remove the 
card?  can you try a different card of the same type?

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