From 5330abfe2785291648dca87312e1cd860300c09a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Frans Pop Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 19:11:55 +0000 Subject: Update of untranslated documents --- en/hardware/hardware-supported.xml | 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ en/hardware/network-cards.xml | 37 ++++--------------------------------- 2 files changed, 35 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-) (limited to 'en/hardware') 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; + + + Devices Requiring Firmware + + +Besides the availability of a device driver some hardware also requires +so-called firmware or microcode +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. + + + +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. + + + +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 for detailed information on how to +load firmware files or packages during the installation. + + + 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. - - Drivers Requiring Firmware - - -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. - - - -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 main section -of the &debian; archive. - - - -If the driver itself is supported, you may also be -able to use the NIC during installation by copying the firmware from some -medium to /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware. Don't forget to -also copy the firmware to that location for the installed system before -the reboot at the end of the installation. - - - - Wireless Network Cards -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. -- cgit v1.2.3