[ltp] Boot problem solved

[Thomas Hood]

 --- Tino Keitel <tino.keitel@web.de> wrote:
> I greped around in my kernel sources and noticed that the CONFIG_PNP option 
> as well as the file "bootflag.c" exists only in the ac patches. Is this 
> correct? (I only have 2.4.9)

Yes, only Alan Cox's kernels have the PnP BIOS driver.

I can see why.  When I started looking into this problem I
found the driver in a rather pitiful state.  I found one little
bug and submitted a patch.  Then I started digging deeper
and found one bug after another.  Now in 2.4.10-ac[567] the
driver is in better shape, but I've submitted yet another batch
of fixes ... hopefully to go into -ac8.  

Even with all these bugfixes, though, some fundamental problems
with the driver haven't been addressed:
1) The driver scans the boot configuration at init time and
   assumes that this never changes, even though setpnp can
   be used to change resource assignments on the fly.
2) The driver allocates all "system peripheral: other" 
   resources for itself.  This prevents the drivers of system
   peripherals from loading.  This isn't a problem on my
   ThinkPad model, but it is a problem for some other people.

The PnP BIOS driver is marked "experimental" for good reason, ATM.

Thomas

=====
Linux on ThinkPad 600 page: http://panopticon.csustan.edu/thood/tp600lnx.htm

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