diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'en')
| -rw-r--r-- | en/appendix/preseed.xml | 13 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml | 31 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/hardware/network-cards.xml | 37 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/using-d-i/components.xml | 8 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml | 131 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | en/using-d-i/using-d-i.xml | 1 |
6 files changed, 178 insertions, 43 deletions
diff --git a/en/appendix/preseed.xml b/en/appendix/preseed.xml index 19f5e1328..954639c6d 100644 --- a/en/appendix/preseed.xml +++ b/en/appendix/preseed.xml @@ -936,9 +936,7 @@ correct one will be selected before using preseeding. <informalexample role="example"><screen> # If the system has free space you can choose to only partition that space. -# Note: this must be preseeded with a localized (translated) value. -#d-i partman-auto/init_automatically_partition \ -# select Guided - use the largest continuous free space +#d-i partman-auto/init_automatically_partition select biggest_free # Alternatively, you can specify a disk to partition. The device name must # be given in traditional non-devfs format. @@ -959,13 +957,8 @@ d-i parman-md/device_remove_md boolean true d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true # You can choose from any of the predefined partitioning recipes. -# Note: this must be preseeded with a localized (translated) value. -d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe \ - select All files in one partition (recommended for new users) -#d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe \ -# select Separate /home partition -#d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe \ -# select Separate /home, /usr, /var, and /tmp partitions +# The standard recipes are: atomic, home and multi +d-i partman-auto/choose_recipe select atomic # Or provide a recipe of your own... # The recipe format is documented in the file devel/partman-auto-recipe.txt. diff --git a/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml b/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml index 027c6bb79..3be2ee004 100644 --- a/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml +++ b/en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml @@ -401,3 +401,34 @@ system. &supported-peripherals.xml; </sect1> + + <sect1 arch="not-s390" id="hardware-firmware"> + <title>Devices Requiring Firmware</title> +<para> + +Besides the availability of a device driver some hardware also requires +so-called <firstterm>firmware</firstterm> or <firstterm>microcode</firstterm> +to be loaded into the device before it can become operational. This is most +common for network interface cards (especially wireless NICs), but for example +some USB devices and even some hard disk controllers also require firmware. + +</para><para> + +In most cases firmware is non-free according to the criteria used by the +&debian; project and thus cannot be included in the main distribution +or in the installation system. If the device driver itself is included in +the distribution and if &debian; legally can distribute the firmware, +it will often be available as a separate package from the non-free section +of the archive. + +</para><para> + +However, this does not mean that such hardware cannot be used during an +installation. Starting with &debian; 5.0 the &d-i; supports loading +firmware files or packages containing firmware from a removable medium, +such as a floppy disk or USB stick. +See <xref linkend="loading-firmware"/> for detailed information on how to +load firmware files or packages during the installation. + +</para> + </sect1> diff --git a/en/hardware/network-cards.xml b/en/hardware/network-cards.xml index 5e9b1d741..de0968c6a 100644 --- a/en/hardware/network-cards.xml +++ b/en/hardware/network-cards.xml @@ -88,43 +88,14 @@ ISDN is supported, but not during the installation. </para> - <sect3 arch="not-s390" id="nics-firmware"> - <title>Drivers Requiring Firmware</title> -<para> - -The installation system currently does not support retrieving firmware. -This means that any network cards that use a driver that requires firmware -to be loaded, is not supported by default. - -</para><para> - -If there is no other NIC you can use during the installation, it is still -possible to install &debian; using a full CD-ROM or DVD image. Select the -option to not configure a network and install using only the packages -available from the CD/DVD. You can then install the driver and firmware you -need after the installation is completed (after the reboot) and configure -your network manually. Note that the firmware may be packaged separately -from the driver and may not be available in the <quote>main</quote> section -of the &debian; archive. - -</para><para> - -If the driver itself <emphasis>is</emphasis> supported, you may also be -able to use the NIC during installation by copying the firmware from some -medium to <filename>/usr/lib/hotplug/firmware</filename>. Don't forget to -also copy the firmware to that location for the installed system before -the reboot at the end of the installation. - -</para> - </sect3> - <sect3 condition="supports-wireless" id="nics-wireless"> <title>Wireless Network Cards</title> <para> -Wireless NICs are in general supported as well, with one big proviso. -A lot of wireless adapters require drivers that are either non-free or have -not been accepted into the official Linux kernel. These NICs can generally +Wireless networking is in general supported as well and a growing number of +wireless adapters is supported by the official Linux kernel, although many +of them do require firmware to be loaded. +Wireless NICs that are not supported by the official Linux kernel can generally be made to work under &debian;, but are not supported during the installation. </para><para> diff --git a/en/using-d-i/components.xml b/en/using-d-i/components.xml index 58bd8331b..05e99b4ee 100644 --- a/en/using-d-i/components.xml +++ b/en/using-d-i/components.xml @@ -37,6 +37,14 @@ at the hardware needed to load installer components (e.g. your CD-ROM or network card). As not all drivers may be available during this first run, hardware detection needs to be repeated later in the process. +</para><para arch="not-s390"> + +During hardware detection &d-i; checks if any of the drivers for the hardware +devices in your system requires firmware to be loaded. If any firmware is +requested but unavailable, a dialog will be displayed that allows to load the +missing firmware from a removable medium. +See <xref linkend="loading-firmware"/> for further details. + </para> &module-lowmem.xml; diff --git a/en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml b/en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..fcced447a --- /dev/null +++ b/en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml @@ -0,0 +1,131 @@ +<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking --> +<!-- $Id$ --> + + <sect1 id="loading-firmware" arch="not-s390"> + <title>Loading Missing Firmware</title> +<para> + +As described in <xref linkend="hardware-firmware"/> some devices require +firmware to be loaded. In most cases the device will not work at all +if the firmware is not available; sometimes basic functionality is not +impaired if it is missing and the firmware is only needed to enable +additional features. + +</para><para> + +If a device driver requests firmware that is not available, &d-i; will +display a dialog offering to load the missing firmware. If that question +is confirmed, &d-i; will scan available devices for either loose firmware +files or packages containing firmware. If found, the firmware will be +copied to the correct location (<filename>/lib/firmware</filename>) and +the driver module will be reloaded. + +</para> +<note><para> + +Which devices are scanned and which file systems are supported depends on +the architecture, the installation method and the stage of the installation. +Especially during the early stages of the installation, loading the firmware +is most likely to succeed from a FAT-formatted floppy disk or USB stick. +<phrase arch="x86">On i386 and amd64 firmware can also be loaded from an +MMC or SD card.</phrase> + +</para></note> +<para> + +Note that it is possible to skip loading the firmware if you know the +device will also function without it or if the device is not needed during +the installation. + +</para> +<warning><para> + +Support for loading firmware is still relatively basic and is likely to +be improved in future releases of the installer. Please report any issues +you encounter. + +</para></warning> + + <sect2><title>Preparing a medium</title> +<para> + +Although in some cases the firmware can also be loaded from a partition on +a hard disk, the most common method to load firmware will be from some +removable medium such as a floppy disk or a USB stick. +The firmware files or packages must be placed in either the root directory +or a directory named <filename>/firmware</filename> of the file system on +the medium. The recommended file system to use is FAT as that is most +certain to be supported during the early stages of the installation. + +</para><para> + +Tarballs containing current packages for the most common firmware are +available from: + +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><para> +<ulink url="&url-firmware-tarballs;"/> +</para></listitem> +</itemizedlist> + +Just download the tarball for the correct release and unpack it to the file +system on the medium. + +</para><para> + +If the firmware you need is not included in the tarball, you can also +download specific firmware packages from the (non-free section of the) +archive. The following overview should list most available firmware +packages but is not guaranteed to be complete and may also contain +non-firmware packages: + +<itemizedlist> +<listitem><para> +<ulink url="&url-firmware-packages;"/> +</para></listitem> +</itemizedlist> + +</para><para> + +It is also possible to copy individual firmware files to the medium. Loose +firmware could be obtained for example from an already installed system or +from a hardware vendor. + +</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2><title>Firmware and the Installed System</title> +<para> + +Any firmware loaded during the installation will be copied automatically +to the installed system. In most cases this will ensure that the device +that requires the firmware will also work correctly after the system is +rebooted into the installed system. However, if the installed system runs +a different kernel version from the installer there is a slight chance that +the firmware cannot be loaded due to version skew. + +</para><para> + +If the firmware was loaded from a firmware package, &d-i; will also install +this package for the installed system and will automatically add the non-free +section of the package archive in APT's <filename>sources.list</filename>. +This has the advantage that the firmware should be updated automatically if +new a version becomes available. + +</para><para> + +If loading the firmware was skipped during the installation, the relevant +device will probably not work with the installed system until the firmware +(package) is installed manually. + +</para> +<note><para> + +If the firmware was loaded from loose firmware files, the firmware copied to +the installed system will <emphasis>not</emphasis> be automatically updated +unless the corresponding firmware package (if available) is installed after +the installation is completed. + +</para></note> + </sect2> + </sect1> diff --git a/en/using-d-i/using-d-i.xml b/en/using-d-i/using-d-i.xml index 83db3f03c..03ac89cfe 100644 --- a/en/using-d-i/using-d-i.xml +++ b/en/using-d-i/using-d-i.xml @@ -387,6 +387,7 @@ report installer software problems to Debian developers later. </sect1> &using-d-i-components.xml; +&loading-firmware.xml; </chapter> |