From 75d6c56d5d8a38290c8fdbe21bbe45522c634d21 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Frans Pop Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 14:42:49 +0000 Subject: Document support in the installer for loading missing firmware --- en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml | 133 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 133 insertions(+) create mode 100644 en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml (limited to 'en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.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..dad39ebda --- /dev/null +++ b/en/using-d-i/loading-firmware.xml @@ -0,0 +1,133 @@ + + + + + Loading Missing Firmware + + +As described in , 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. + + + +If a device driver requests firmware that is not available, &d-i; will +display a dialog offering to load the missing firmware. If this option +is selected, &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 (/lib/firmware) and +the driver module will be reloaded. + + + + +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. +On i386 and amd64 firmware can also be loaded from an +MMC or SD card. + + + + +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. + + + + +Support for loading firmware is still relatively basic and is likely to +be improved in future releases of the installer. Currently &d-i; will +for example not display any warning if you choose to load missing firmware, +but the requested firmware is not found. +Please report any issues you encounter. + + + + Preparing a medium + + +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 /firmware 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. + + + +Tarballs containing current packages for the most common firmware are +available from: + + + + + + + +Just download the tarball for the correct release and unpack it to the file +system on the medium. + + + +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: + + + + + + + + + +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. + + + + + Firmware and the Installed System + + +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. + + + +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 sources.list. +This has the advantage that the firmware should be updated automatically if +a new version becomes available. + + + +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. + + + + +If the firmware was loaded from loose firmware files, the firmware copied to +the installed system will not be automatically updated +unless the corresponding firmware package (if available) is installed after +the installation is completed. + + + + -- cgit v1.2.3