From owner-freebsd-hackers Wed Jan 3 07:06:50 1996 Return-Path: owner-hackers Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id HAA12257 for hackers-outgoing; Wed, 3 Jan 1996 07:06:50 -0800 (PST) Received: from localhost.cdrom.com (localhost.cdrom.com [127.0.0.1]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id HAA12239 Wed, 3 Jan 1996 07:06:42 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199601031506.HAA12239@freefall.freebsd.org> X-Authentication-Warning: freefall.freebsd.org: Host localhost.cdrom.com [127.0.0.1] didn't use HELO protocol To: Poul-Henning Kamp cc: "Jordan K. Hubbard" , obrien@cs.ucdavis.edu (David E. O'Brien), freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org (FreeBSD Hacker's list) Subject: Re: X for install In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 03 Jan 1996 09:13:14 +0100." <509.820656794@critter.tfs.com> Date: Wed, 03 Jan 1996 07:06:41 -0800 From: "Justin T. Gibbs" Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org Precedence: bulk >> That's how it *should* work, and as far as I can see, much of the >> "magic" comes from a little utility named `NTDETECT' - It apparently > >NTDETECT runs in real mode and probes the HW. > >> when probed is a black art. Any black magicians out there interested >> in starting a `FreeBSD Detect 1.0' project? :-) > >We should do this. I thought the plan was to define a consistant probe "policy" for drivers and have a "configuration manager" load lkms one by one to determine the presence of hardware. I don't think we need to be in real mode for the configuration manager part although having access to int13 and int15 via vm86 would be really nice. (int15 is for EISA info). >This is the only way we can hope to solve the bios-geometry problem >for instance. I think the the BIOS issue is a job for the third stage boot loader. We need BIOS geometry -> partition checksum mapping to do it right. As Terry pointed out, NT writes an identifying number in an unused spot at the beginning of partitions so that it can ensure unique mapping. >-- >Poul-Henning Kamp | phk@FreeBSD.ORG FreeBSD Core-team. >http://www.freebsd.org/~phk | phk@login.dknet.dk Private mailbox. >whois: [PHK] | phk@ref.tfs.com TRW Financial Systems, Inc >. >Future will arrive by its own means, progress not so. -- Justin T. Gibbs =========================================== FreeBSD: Turning PCs into workstations ===========================================