Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2018 12:24:19 -0800 From: C Gray <frankfenderbender@council124.org> To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: sound-card/driver question Message-ID: <09DEB81A-3DC1-4147-9249-0497C89F429B@council124.org> In-Reply-To: <20180201121251.95e345cf.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <8F08E935-33A8-4B5F-9057-51FAD51DA97D@council124.org> <20180201121251.95e345cf.freebsd@edvax.de>
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Much appreciation for sharing that wisdom.=20 Ordering the card now.=20 thanks and best wishes, chris On 01-February-2018, at 03:12 AM, Polytropon wrote: > On Wed, 31 Jan 2018 15:02:30 -0800, C Gray wrote: >> I have a Dell PowerEdge T300 server which has the following slots = available: >> slot 1: 3.3-V, full-length PCIe x4 with x8 connector >> slot 2: 3.3-V, full-length PCIe x4 >> slot 3: 3.3-V, full-length PCIe x8 >> slot 4: 3.3-V, full-length PCIe x8 >> slot 5: 3.3-V, full-length PCI-X >>=20 >> The system is based around: >> Xeon X3440 @ 2.50 GHz Quad core >> 2GB DDR3 RAM. >>=20 >> It's been said that a driver supported for Vista will work with for = FreeBSD. >=20 > That sounds very strange. Both systems are so fundamentally > different in architecture and binary interfaces. >=20 >=20 >=20 >> The card I am looking at works with Microsoft Windows7, Vista, and = XP. >> It's PCI-X based, and would, thus, be inserted into [my] slot 5: >> Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer SB0770 7.1-Channel >> PCI Sound Card >>=20 >> My question is whether the CD of sound card drivers are in a >> standardized format such that,=20 >> FreeBSD/TrueOS can use them, as is, just as the Microsoft-verified >> environments do? >=20 > Probably not. >=20 > But it's not needed. FreeBSD provides the drivers needed and loads > them automatically at system startup once the hardware has been > detected properly. There usually is no need to manually download > or install something. >=20 > I've been using Creative Labs SoundBlaster cards in the past, and > the OS automatically loaded the correct driver. You can easily > verify this with >=20 > # pciconf -lv | less >=20 > and >=20 > # cat /dev/sndstat >=20 > The sound card should then be listed, and the corresponding driver > right next to it. >=20 > SoundBlaster cards have a long tradition of out-of-the-box support > on FreeBSD. Even on Linux, ALSA seems to provide support for this > particular card. >=20 >=20 >=20 >> Do they even use the same suffix? >=20 > What kind of suffix are you talking about? >=20 >=20 >=20 >> Are they well-written enough to discover the platform whereon >> they are expected to run (*that is, to "drive"). >=20 > Probably not. Drivers made for "Windows" will only work on a > specific subset of "Windows" versions, i. e., the "driver system" > they have been created for. So their use is even limited within > the "Windows" ecosystem, and outside of it, they are more or > less useless. >=20 >=20 >=20 >> It the OS discovers the driver rather than the driver=20 >> discovering the OS, the same functional use may be achieved, >> however, I'm ignorant other than=20 >> guessing as to how drivers work and what is required for that >> to take place. >=20 > As I said, manually supplying drivers is not needed on FreeBSD > because the drivers are already there. The OS discovers the > hardware and loads the driver. Simple and easy. :-) >=20 >=20 >=20 >> Where are they stored in Windows and in FreeBSD, and how do I >> install the proper one from the=20 >> disk accompanying the card (most likely meant for Microsoft's >> toolset/installer. >=20 > You don't. The OS already has the drivers installed. >=20 >=20 >=20 >> Suggestions? >=20 > If you have the card at hand, install it as recommended into the > system and boot FreeBSD. With the commands mentioned above, check > if (a) the device has been recognized, and (b) the appropriate > driver has been loaded. There isn't much more you have to do, as > FreeBSD is a "plug & play" OS. :-) >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 > --=20 > Polytropon > Magdeburg, Germany > Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 > Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > https://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to = "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >=20 C Gray frankfenderbender@council124.org
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