Kernel Seed Settings

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Page 8:

This page covers Device Drivers.

This is where you put the information you got back from lspci -n and http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/ to good use. If it's a device driver you seek, this is where you'll find it. You can also use the output from lsusb to find USB-based drivers.

In cases where I specifically know or prefer a certain way of setting up the drivers, I will note these choices and the reasons behind them. This is where I break away from what < Help > says, and let you in on my experience with the Linux kernel.

Arrow key down to the area shown. When you hit <Select> at this point, you will bring up the following sub page:

Reading this page:

This page is meant to be a reference for the symbols you receive from http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/. Because of this, all drivers will be listed. They will be represented as magenta text. The symbols will appear next to the magenta as right-justified, bold yellow text in all caps. To aid in visualization, the data is presented in border-less table form.

Unfortunately for Opera users, that particular browser does not render the tables properly. I suggest you use Chrome or Firefox. IE also works well with the setup. Hopefully, Opera will fix that little glitch so you folks can enjoy the page as it was made to look.

LEGEND:

< > the device driver can be either a module <M> or compiled in <*>.

[ ] the device driver or sub-option can only be turned on [*] or off [ ].

--- the device driver is turned or modularized on by another process, symbol, or separate kernel section. In most cases, it is the setting immediately above the --- that hard-wires that driver into the kernel. It will show up as -*- or -M- under make menuconfig. It has been generalized for this page.

Due to the length of this page, please use these jumps to navigate between device driver sections. Of course, those who wish it are free to look over the entire page.

Block devices ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support SCSI device support Serial ATA IEEE 1394 Networking Wireless LAN WAN Input devices Character devices I2C support SPI support Hardware Monitoring support Watchdog Timer support Multimedia support Graphics support Sound card support HID devices USB support Ultra Wideband devices LED support Real Time Clock Staging drivers x86 Platform Specific Device Drivers

Generic Driver Options --->

The Generic Driver Options settings tree is as follows:

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

(/sbin/hotplug) path to uevent helper

This setting is hardwired into the kernel. Even though I don't have /sbin/hotplug, the kernel doesn't seem to care. It is what it is.

[*] Select only drivers that don't need compile-time external firmware
[*] Prevent firmware from being built

These setting will cause the kernel to fail compilation if unset. For that reason, they default to on.

<*> Connector - unified userspace <-> kernelspace linker --->

The Connector - unified userspace <-> kernelspace linker settings tree is as follows:

The connector module is a kernel module which reports process events such as fork, exec, and exit to userland. This is extremely useful for process monitoring. Both settings in this tree default to on.

< > Memory Technology Device (MTD) support--->

The Memory Technology Device (MTD) support settings tree is as follows:

RAM/ROM/Flash chip drivers--->

Flash cmd/query data swapping (NO)--->

Mapping drivers for chip access--->

Self-contained MTD device drivers--->

< > NAND Device Support--->

< > OneNAND Device Support--->

LPDDR flash memory drivers--->

UBI - Unsorted block images--->

Additional UBI debugging messages--->

Memory Technology Devices are flash, RAM and similar chips, often used for solid state file systems on embedded devices. If you have any of the above listed devices, turn on the required trees. These settings default to off.

< > Parallel port support --->

The Parallel port support settings tree is as follows:

Even though the number of external devices that require the parallel printer port is growing smaller, there are still many out there, as well as computers with parallel ports. For most users, turning on <*> PC-style hardware and [*] Use FIFO/DMA if available (EXPERIMENTAL) will do the trick, if this device is desired or needed. These settings default to off.

The Plug and Play support settings tree is as follows:

Plug and play is hardwired into the kernel. The only real option you have is whether or not you get debugging messages. That setting is turned off by default.

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[*] Block devices --->

The Block devices settings tree is as follows:

Block devices are special files that connect to physical devices. Addressable devices such as CDROM drives, hard drives, and other special devices, such as USB Stick drives are all block devices. Block devices move data through the system in blocks, hence the name. You turn the main setting off at your own peril. [*] Block devices defaults to on. If you have any of the above mentioned devices, turn on the required settings.

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

<*> Loopback device support

Loopback device support allows for the creation of virtual devices that can be used as standard block devices. This allows for mounting of iso images, and other things. While this is very important while creating a bootable Linux CD/DVD, in general, it is not needed for proper operation of your machine. While this setting currently defaults to on, experimentation has shown this setting is not needed for proper machine operation. It will default to off in the future.

<*> Packet writing on CD/DVD media

This is a good setting to have turned on if you plan on burning optical media. Since most modern computers come with DVD burners of some sort, this setting defaults to on.

[ ] Misc devices --->

The Misc devices settings tree is as follows:

< > Silicon Labs C2 port support (EXPERIMENTAL) --->

EEPROM support --->

If you have any of the above devices, these are the drivers that make them work. I'm not sure why they're called miscellaneous, but I do know that I have yet to run across any of the above in any of the .configs I've created. These settings default to off.

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< > ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support --->

The ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support settings tree is as follows:

Use these settings if and only if you are using only PATA drives, and the drives listed in your /etc/fstab file are hda, hdb, hdc, or hdd. Since that is few people anymore, these settings default to off. It is better to change over to using the libata (SATA) drivers below.

Do not mix these settings and the libata settings, especially if you have Intel ICH5 or greater hard drive controllers. To do so will cause hangs, crashes, and lockups. If you have ICH5 or greater, use the libata drivers below to insure continuous error-free operation.

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SCSI device support --->

The SCSI device support settings tree is as follows:

SCSI Transports --->

[ ] SCSI low-level drivers --->

< > SCSI Device Handlers --->

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a set of standards for connecting a computer and its disks. SATA drivers are actually SCSI drivers as far as Linux is concerned. Since this is the case, there has to be a minimal SCSI support so that SATA drives, and anything else using libata drivers, including PATA interfaces, works as expected.

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] legacy /proc/scsi/ support

While the 2.6 kernel has moved SCSI functionality to the sysfs, there are numerous legacy packages that require this setting to be turned on. Since I prefer not to run into crashes, this setting defaults to on.

<*> SCSI disk support

Since the libata drivers are effectively SCSI drivers, it goes without saying you want to have this setting on so you can address them as such. This setting is essential, and it defaults to on.

<*> SCSI CDROM support

What is a computer without optical disk support? Usually fairly dull. Since most people want to be able to use their optical drives, this setting defaults to on. Optical drives take on the block device name, sr(x), when using this setting.

<*> SCSI generic support

This is an essential setting if you want SCSI support of any kind. This setting defaults to on.

[*] Probe all LUNs on each SCSI device

This is one of the settings that makes it possible for optical drives and USB stick drives to be accessed automatically via hal/dbus. This setting defaults to on, and is best kept that way.

[*] Asynchronous SCSI scanning

Asynchronous scanning allows SCSI devices to be scanned out of order. That allows faster drives and devices to not be held up waiting for slower devices to scan. Because of the different types of devices that get labled as SCSI, and their varying speeds of scanning, this defaults to on.

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The Serial ATA (prod) and Parallel ATA (experimental) drivers settings tree is as follows:

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] ATA ACPI Support

This setting adds support for ATA-related ACPI objects. Since I have set the kernel seed for full ACPI operation, it follows this setting would also be turned on.

[*] ATA SFF support

This setting allows for all the disk controllers to be listed. If turned off, the options end at Silicon Image 3124/3132 SATA support. Since turning off this setting severely limits your options, it defaults to on.

Notes on the SATA, also known as libata drivers:

As was noted above, these settings should never be mixed with the ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL drivers. Since there is an analogue for each ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL driver in the libata driver tree, there is no need to use both. Since the libata drivers are SCSI, the block device name listed in /etc/fstab would be sd(x), the standard SCSI disk nomenclature. For a general how-to on the topic of using the libata drivers, steer your browser to NeddySeagoons' Rough Guide to Intel ICH7 Chip Set. That should pretty much answer all the questions on using the libata drivers. These settings should be your defaults.

[*] Multiple devices driver support (RAID and LVM) --->

The Multiple devices driver support (RAID and LVM) settings tree is as follows:

The acronym RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. If you're not sure what that means, you really don't need RAID support.

The kernel seed default is as follows:

<*> Device mapper support

This lone setting is turned on as a silencer. Without this setting, an incomplete shutdown resulting in an automatic fsck at reboot will throw up a non-fatal error message. Turn this setting on, that message goes away. For that reason, this setting defaults to on.

[ ] Fusion MPT device support --->

The Fusion MPT device support settings tree is as follows:

LSI Logic Fusion(TM) Message Passing Technology (MPT) device support provides high performance SCSI host initiator, and LAN interface services to a host system. If you have a device that supports this, these settings must be turned on. You will also have to make other driver choices to get full support. These settings default to off.

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IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support --->

The IEEE 1394 (FireWire) support settings tree is as follows:

The IEEE 1394 interface is a high speed serial bus. If your machine has one of these devices, you have the choice of two different kernel configurations, or both on. These settings default to off.

This device causes confusion for some users. The reason for this is the ohci_hcd driver. The ohci_hcd is a USB port driver. It is not, in any way, an IEEE 1394 interface. Unfortunately, sometimes http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/ adds to the confusion. To help clear the confusion, if you see, "1394," you're looking at a firewire device, and you want to use these settings. If you see nothing, or "ohci," that's a USB port.

< > I2O device support --->

The I2O device support settings tree is as follows:

Intelligent Input/Output (I2O) is a defunct computer input/output (I/O) specification. It was used in Proliant servers from 1996 to 2000. Turn these settings on if you have one of these devices. Since they are so one shot, these settings default to off.

[ ] Macintosh device drivers --->

The Macintosh device drivers settings tree is as follows:

If you have need of this support, turn this setting on. This setting defaults to off.

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[ ] Network device support --->

The Network device support settings tree is as follows:

[ ] Ethernet (10 or 100Mbit) --->

[ ] Ethernet (1000 Mbit) --->

[ ] Ethernet (10000 Mbit) --->

< > Token Ring driver support --->

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Wireless LAN --->

WiMAX Wireless Broadband devices --->

USB Network Adapters --->

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[ ] Wan interfaces support --->

Notes on this group of driver settings:

As a general rule, it is better to set your network device drivers as modules. While wired NIC devices tend to not care whether their drivers are compiled into the kernel or set as modules, wireless devices will not operate unless their drivers are set as modules.

Don't just turn settings on to turn them on. The results of lspci -n are concrete. If they indicate a certain device driver, use only that driver. It is a waste to turn on drivers for devices that don't exist.

The only exceptions to the above are 8139CP and 8139TOO. In many instances, the driver listed in the Debian page comes through as both. In this case, modularize both, find out which one loads, and turn the other one off.

Most of the wireless drivers shown above require < > Generic IEEE 802.11 Networking Stack (mac80211) support under Networking support ---> Wireless ---> to be turned on as well. See page 7 for details and options.

Finally, for network speed, if your driver allows you the option to use MMIO, go ahead and turn that on as well. It helps speed things along.

[ ] ISDN support --->

The ISDN support settings tree is as follows:

< > Old ISDN4Linux (deprecated) --->

ISDN feature submodules --->

*** ISDN4Linux hardware drivers ***
Passive cards --->

Active cards --->

< > CAPI 2.0 subsystem --->

[ ] Active Eicon DIVA Server cards --->

< > Siemens Gigaset support --->

All of the listed devices are ISDN input cards for your computer. These devices are used in lieu of an external ISDN modem. If you have one of these devices, these are their drivers. These settings default to off.

< > Telephony support --->

The Telephony support settings tree is as follows:

These settings allow you to use the "magicJack" USB VoIP phone device. If you have one of these devices, and wish to use it under Linux, these are the settings you desire.

I have seen many people set these settings thinking they will do something with the modem. This is a fairly common mistake. While it doesn't really hurt things, it is better to keep these settings turned off unless you have one of the devices that use these drivers. These settings default to off.

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Input device support --->

The Input device support settings tree is as follows:

[ ] Mice --->

[ ] Joysticks/Gamepads --->

[ ] Tablets --->

[ ] Touchscreens --->

[ ] Miscellaneous devices --->

Hardware I/O ports --->

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] Provide legacy /dev/psaux device

According to < Help >,"say Y here if you want your mouse also be accessible as char device 10:1 - /dev/psaux." Since there are some packages that like /dev/psaux, this defaults to on.

(1024) Horizontal screen resolution
(768) Vertical screen resolution

If you're using a digitizer, these settings define the X/Y resolution of the digitizer with respect to the screen. Contrary to popular belief, these settings have no effect on any devices other than digitizers/pads. If you have a standard mouse or touchpad, these settings are ignored. These settings are as they were from the original make defconfig. Since they are effectively moot unless you have a digitizer, I see no reason to change them.

<*> Event interface

According to < Help >,"Say Y here if you want your input device events be accessible under char device 13:64+ - /dev/input/eventX in a generic way." Since evdev support is a part of X, having this setting turned on is a very good idea. This setting defaults to on.

<*> PS/2 mouse

The PS/2 port remains a very popular thing, despite all efforts to try to change that fact. Most motherboards still have the PS/2 ports in their port clusters. Even laptops contain this interface, albeit slightly hidden. The synaptics touchpad is a PS/2 device, as is the standard laptop keyboard. Because the PS/2 port remains as ubiquitous as ever, this setting defaults to on.

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Character devices --->

The Character devices settings tree is as follows:

Character devices are special files like block devices. They transfer data one character at a time. Terminals, serial ports, and modems are all considered character devices. The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] Legacy (BSD) PTY support
(64) Maximum number of legacy PTY in use

These settings are another group of silencers. Without these settings, starting a terminal session will result in the non-fatal error: "Out of pty devices." Set up in this fashion, you can open 64 terminal sessions without seeing the error. The number is adjustable. These settings have defaults as shown above.

[*] HPET - High Precision Event Timer

The High Precision Event Timer is a hardware timer inside most modern computers. It is used, among other things, as a means of synchronizing multimedia streams. This setting defaults to on.

<*> Hangcheck timer

The hangcheck timer checks for system hangs. When one is found, either a message is printed, or the system is rebooted. This setting is turned on just in case there is a system hang, and you need a way out.

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--- I2C support --->

The I2C support settings tree is as follows:

Miscellaneous I2C Chip support --->

I²C (I2C, Inter-Integrated Circuit) is a multi-master serial computer bus invented by Philips that is used to attach low-speed peripherals to a motherboard, embedded system, or cellphone. The System Management Bus (abbreviated to SMBus or SMB) is a simple two-wire bus, derived from I²C and used for communication with low-bandwidth devices on a motherboard. This device will show up in lspci -n. When you turn on this support, set it as a module, since X loads it as a module.

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

<*> I2C device interface

These devices have existed for quite some time, and have shown themselves in almost every lspci -n I've ever seen. Since the device is going to show up in your lspci -n as well, this is a gentle reminder to be on the lookout for an I²C device.

[*] Autoselect pertinent helper modules

If you're going to turn it on, you might as well turn it all on. That's the thinking behind this setting's being turned on.

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[ ] SPI support --->

The SPI support settings tree is as follows:

The Serial Peripheral Interface Bus or SPI is a synchronous serial data link standard named by Motorola that operates in full duplex mode. If you have the above device, turn this support on. Since this is a one shot sort of device, these settings default to off.

PPS support --->

The PPS support settings tree is as follows:

PPS (Pulse Per Second) is a special pulse provided by some GPS antennae. If you have need of this operation, turn them on. These settings default to off.

[ ] GPIO Support --->

The GPIO Support settings tree is as follows:

General Purpose Input/Output (a.k.a. GPIO) is an interface available on some devices. The list of those devices is above. If you have one, turn it on here. I have yet to run into one in any of the .configs I've set up. For this reason,these settings default to off.

< > Dallas's (sic) 1-wire support --->

The Dallas's (sic) 1-wire support settings tree is as follows:

1-wire Slaves --->

1-Wire is a device communications bus system designed by Dallas Semiconductor that provides low-speed data, signaling and power over a single signal, albeit using two wires, one for ground, one for power and data. If you have need of this support, turn on the required settings here. These settings default to off.

< > Power supply class support --->

The Power supply class support settings tree is as follows:

Basic support for this option is hardwired into the kernel. The above options allow you to set for specific hardware. I have a feeling these are best set as modules. These settings default to off.

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<*> Hardware Monitoring support --->

The Hardware Monitoring support settings tree is as follows:

The kernel seed defaults is <*> Hardware Monitoring support. This main setting is turned on as a reminder to you to check for the presence of hardware monitoring devices in your machine. These settings are best turned on as modules, since lm_sensors loads them as needed, as modules. While the CPU temperature sensors jump out at you, the devices listed here do not show up on lspci -n. You need lm_sensors installed in order to find out what you need to select here.

Special note: With the advent of the .31 kernel family, the non-CPU sensors listed here usually won't work because of a "fix" in the kernel. In order to get them to work, you need to add the line: append = "acpi_enforce_resources=lax" to your /etc/lilo.conf or /boot/grub/grub.conf file. See this Gentoo thread for more details.

--- Generic Thermal sysfs driver --->

The Generic Thermal sysfs driver settings tree is as follows:

This setting allows for generic mechanisms for thermal management. It's always sounded like a good idea to me. This setting, and its sub-setting default to on.

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[ ] Watchdog Timer Support --->

The Watchdog Timer Support settings tree is as follows:

Turning on the main setting and selecting one of the devices in the sub-settings creates a special device that monitors the computer, and forces a reboot after a certain period of time if it senses a lockup. While anyone can use this, it's really important to production servers. The watchdog devices usually show up with lspci -n. These settings default to off.

Sonics Silicon Backplane --->

The Sonics Silicon Backplane settings tree is as follows:

The Sonics Silicon Backplane is a mini-bus used on various Broadcom chips and embedded devices (USB). It is turned on automatically by the b43 and b44 Broadcom drivers. It needs to be set as a module, or its associated devices will fail. It should not be turned on if using the broadcom-sta wireless driver, as this can cause slow wireless operation, or stop it completely. This setting defaults to off.

Multifunction device drivers --->

The Multifunction device drivers settings tree is as follows:

As the name implies, the above listed devices perform multiple functions. If you have any of the above devices, these are the drivers for them. These settings default to off.

[ ] Voltage and Current Regulator Support --->

The Voltage and Current Regulator Support settings tree is as follows:

This framework is designed to provide a generic interface to voltage and current regulators within the Linux kernel. This is another one of those things I see and wonder why it was done. Having the kernel in charge of such things as these just seems like a not so good idea. For that reason, these settings default to off.

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< > Multimedia support --->

The Multimedia support settings tree is as follows:

[ ] Video capture adapters (NEW)--->

[ ] V4L USB devices (NEW)--->

[ ] Radio Adapters (NEW)--->

Customise DVB Frontends--->

If you have any of the multimedia devices listed above, turn on the respective drivers as modules. Gentoo users will also need to emerge -av xf86-video-v4l, and set up v4l support under VIDEO_CARDS= in your /etc/make.conf file. These settings default to off.

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Graphics support --->

The Graphics support settings tree is as follows:

< > /dev/agpgart (AGP Support) --->

<*> Direct Rendering Manager (XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support) --->

<*> Support for frame buffer devices --->

[*] Backlight & LCD device support --->

Display device support --->

Console display driver support --->

[*] Bootup logo --->

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

<*> Direct Rendering Manager (XFree86 4.1.0 and higher DRI support) --->

This setting is a reminder to Intel and ATI GPU users, and a few others, to set things appropriately at this point. If you are using an nvidia video card, this section can be turned off without issue. There is nothing needed for the proper operation of nvidia video cards in this section.

<*> Lowlevel video output switch controls

This setting insures that people with Intel GPU based laptops can use their external VGA connection. While this may seem out of sync with my philosophy on one-shot devices, I turned this setting on because I had two laptops with Intel GPU's, of which one remains. There are a lot of laptops with Intel GPU's, and this setting is definitely a good thing to have if you own one. It can be safely turned off for other video devices, or ignored.

<*> Support for frame buffer devices --->

If you want to watch your system boot, or be able to use the CLI, you need a frame buffer. If you don't have a frame buffer, you don't see anything on the screen until you start X. This is an essential setting. Without it, a Linux computer is pretty much useless.

[*] Enable firmware EDID

This is an essential setting for proper X operation. Enabling EDID allows the monitor and video card to work together with X to set up for maximum resolution as dictated by the video card/monitor combination. It also requires a userspace application called read-edid. Because X works best with it, this setting defaults to on.

[*] Enable Video Mode Handling Helpers

This enables functions for handling video modes using the Generalized Timing Formula and the EDID parser. It is another essential, since it is a part of the EDID system. For the same reasons above, this setting defaults to on.

[*] VESA VGA graphics support

Any video card that follows the VESA standard, ie anything after a 486 with VESA Local Bus (VLB), should use this driver for basic frame buffer setup. In some cases, such as nvidia-drivers, you have only VESA or uVESA as options. Since I do not support uVESA, I set all kernel seeds to use the VESA VGA frame buffer. If you can't see your screen while booting from a kernel seed, you've turned this support off, or your computer is dead. Since this driver works with pretty much everything that's out there, it is the kernel seed default.

[*] Backlight & LCD device support --->

This allows for backlight control on some devices such as laptops and PDA's. Since this is fairly important, this setting defaults to on.

<*> Lowlevel LCD controls

This setting allows for low level control of LCD monitors. Since most people want this operation, this setting defaults to on.

<*> Lowlevel Backlight controls

This framework adds support for low-level control of the LCD backlight, including support for brightness and power. This is an essential setting for LCD control. This setting defaults to on.

<*> Display panel/monitor support

This framework adds support for low-level control of the LCD backlight, including support for power. It's another essential setting for LCD control. This setting defaults to on.

(256) Scrollback Buffer Size (in KB)

The number in parentheses is the amount of memory, in kilobytes, to be used to store scroll back data. This setting allows you to use <shift> <PgUp> to scroll back and view boot time issues. Note that it does not take you all the way back to kernel initialization. It takes you back to the starting point of the init scripts. This setting defaults to 256k.

<*> Framebuffer Console support

Yet another very essential setting for those who wish to watch their computer boot, or do anything on the CLI. This setting defaults to on.

[*] Bootup logo --->

[*] Standard 224-color Linux logo

This is the verification that the frame buffer system is set properly. If you can see the Tux, then you can also see text, and you can see your computer booting. Because Tux is cool, this setting is on, and the full color Tux is selected.

Important notes on Intel GPU setup:

a. Use of KMS, Kernel-based Mode Setting with the i915 driver as follows:

<*> Intel 830M, 845G, 852GM, 855GM, 865G (i915 driver) --->
i915 driver
[*] Enable modesetting on intel by default

is not recommended or supported by me. I do not support KMS in any way. I use VESA VGA frame buffer and the above drm setup with [ ] Enable modesetting on intel by default. This disables KMS, compiles the Intel drm into the kernel, and makes X more stable, even when switching between X and CLI sessions with <Fn> keys.

b. Users with Intel GPU's that are less than i915 should consider sticking with .27 kernels until support for them stabilizes again. Considering that the .27 kernel version at the time of this writing is 2.6.27.45, and the fact that there seems no end to the work on video in the kernel, that may have a long-term meaning. I don't recommend using anything greater than the .27 kernel with an i830M, i845G, 852GM, 855GM, or 865G GPU.

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<*> Sound card support --->

The Sound card support settings tree is as follows:

--- Sound card support
< > Advanced Linux Sound Architecture--->

[ ] ISA sound devices --->

[ ] PCI sound devices (NEW)--->

[ ] USB sound devices (NEW)--->

< >ALSA for SoC audio support--->

< > Open Sound System (DEPRECATED)--->

The only default setting for <*> Sound card support ---> is the main setting itself. This one setting is turned on to point interested parties where to set up their sound cards. Presently, I am considering changing the settings here to reflect functional settings for ALSA, since it is the most popular Linux sound system used.

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[*] HID Devices --->

The HID Devices settings tree is as follows:

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] HID Devices --->

Human Interface Devices, HID's include things like keyboards, mice, digitizers, and joystick/game controllers. Since it stands to reason you want to be able to interface with your computer, this is a good setting to have. Because being able to tell your computer what to do is a good thing, this setting defaults to on.

[*] /dev/hidraw raw HID device support

While this is more for not-so-classic HID's such as Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS's), it is turned on for completeness, and because it is recommended in < Help >.

<*> USB Human Interface Device (full HID) support

This is the main setting to turn on to insure your HID's work. This is an essential setting, and defaults to on.

[*] /dev/hiddev raw HID device support

Once again, this setting covers not-so-classic HID's such as Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS's). It defaults to on with [*] /dev/hidraw raw HID device support above.

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[ ] USB support --->

The USB support settings tree is as follows:

< > USB Gadget Support--->

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

<*> Support for Host-side USB

If you have Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, this is one of the essential settings used to make them work. This setting defaults to on, and shouldn't be turned off.

[*] USB device filesystem (DEPRECATED)

Apparently, this setting is going away soon. It currently defaults to on, but that will most likely change.

<*> USB Monitor

This setting functions as a means to collect I/O traces on the USB bus. This is acutally a complex process, and out of the realm of need for the kernel seed. This setting currently defaults to on, but will be under test soon.

<*> EHCI HCD (USB 2.0) support

The Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) is standard for USB 2.0 "high speed" (480 Mbit/sec, 60 Mbyte/sec) host controller hardware. It works on top of the ohci and UHCI USB controllers, if the system is equipped with both low and high speed USB ports. This setting defaults to on, but should definitely be turned off if there are no EHCI USB ports. There are cases where this can cause issues, so be alert for this with your system.

<*> UHCI HCD (most Intel and VIA) support

This setting allows for the operation of the Universal Host Controller Interface, UHCI. This device exists in Intel and VIA chipset motherboards. Because every computer I have has UHCI, this setting defaults to on.

<*> USB Printer support

This setting is turned on to allow the use of USB printers. Note that you also need to set up the proper printer drivers via CUPS, or another Linux printing package. This setting defaults to on.

<*> USB Mass Storage support

If you have any of the following, you want this setting on: USB floppy drives, optical drives, hard drives, tape drives, or generic USB memory sticks. You also need to turn on various SCSI settings. Said SCSI settings are already set properly for this sort of operation, and have been discussed above.

Notes on USB settings: Use only the USB host driver(s) for your host device(s) listed in lspci -n. If you have ohci hosts, use the ohci driver, and vice versa. Sometimes the Debian device database is less than forthcoming about USB drivers. Remember, if it's Intel or VIA, UHCI. Any other motherboard, it's ohci. Turning EHCI support on for machines without EHCI devices has been known to shut down the USB ports completely. Compiling the USB drivers into the kernel prevents a tendency for the USB drivers to shut down unexpectedly. You should only use modules if your host devices demand you pass arguments to the module for proper operation. Otherwise, compile those drivers into the kernel. ohci support is turned off because it has been noted for conflicting with UHCI.

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--- Ultra Wideband devices (EXPERIMENTAL) --->

The Ultra Wideband devices settings tree is as follows:

According to < Help >,"UWB is a high-bandwidth, low-power, point-to-point radio technology using a wide spectrum (3.1-10.6GHz)." If you have one of the listed devices, these are the settings you want. These settings default to off.

< > MMC/SD/SDIO card support --->

The MMC/SD/SDIO card support settings tree is as follows:

These settings turn on MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital and Secure Digital I/O support. This support allows for the reading of discrete memory devices, such as memory sticks for digital cameras. These devices can be either PCI or USB in nature, depending on the configuration of your machine. If you have these devices, and they don't show up under lspci -n, try lsusb. These settings default to off.

< > Sony MemoryStick card support (EXPERIMENTAL) --->

The Sony MemoryStick card support settings tree is as follows:

These settings turn on support for MemoryStick readers contained in Sony laptop computers. If you have one of these machines with these devices, turn them on here. These settings default to off.

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[ ] LED Support--->

The LED Support settings tree is as follows:

These settings control the functioning of various special purpose LED's contained in your machine. If you have one of the above devices, use these settings. In the case where you select extra LED support for your wireless devices, other settings open up and turn themselves on. If you have one of the listed devices, or if you have turned on extra LED support for your wireless device, turn them on here. These settings default to off.

[ ] Accessibility support --->

The Accessibility support settings tree is as follows:

This setting allows for the use of Braille monitors and keyboards as well as speaking devices. Turn this on if you require one of these devices.

< > InfiniBand support --->

The InfiniBand support settings tree is as follows:

These settings turn on core support for InfiniBand (IB) devices. If you have one of these devices, turn on the required settings here, then turn on any desired protocols. These settings default to off.

[*] EDAC (Error Detection And Correction) reporting--->

The EDAC (Error Detection And Correction) reporting settings tree is as follows:

Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) is designed to report errors in the core system. This includes the CPU and memory. If you have EDAC, the devices listed above will show up with lspci -n. This support is mostly for server motherboards. If you have a machine that supports EDAC, select the proper device above. These settings default to off.

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< > Real Time Clock--->

The Real Time Clock settings tree is as follows:

The kernel seed defaults are as follows:

[*] /sys/class/rtc/rtcN (sysfs)

This setting is turned on because it creates the above listed file (usually rtc0). This allows various packages to get system time through the /sys/class/rtc/rtc0. Since there are going to be lots of packages expecting this support, it defaults to on.,/p>

[*] /proc/driver/rtc (procfs for rtc0)

This setting allows you to use rtc0 through the /proc interfacec. Other rtc devices are ignored. This setting defaults to on.

[*] /dev/rtcN (character devices)

Turn this setting on if you wish to use our RTC's through the /dev interface. Udev sets them up as /dev/rtcN>. This is required for certain packages, and defaults to on.

<*> PC-style 'CMOS'

This is the setting to allow you direct support for the CMOS RTC found in every PC. This uses your CMOS RTC as the preferred RTC.

[*] DMA Engine support--->

The DMA Engine support settings tree is as follows:

The main setting is turned on as a way of saying, "go ahead and play with this stuff." DMA engines can do asynchronous data transfers that do not involve the main CPU. This can mean a slight speed increase. This supports networking and RAID operations. I've experimented with these settings, and found no seeming difference one way or another. Perhaps others will have better luck.

[ ] Auxiliary Display support--->

The Auxiliary Display support settings tree is as follows:

As you can see, there is really only one device supported by this driver. If you have this device, this is where you do the setup for it. Note that in order for the sub-settings to be visible, you need to have parallel port support turned on. Since this is a complete one shot device, it defaults to off.

<*> Userspace I/O drivers--->

The Userspace I/O drivers settings tree is as follows:

According to < Help >,"This code allows userspace programs easy access to kernel interrupts and memory locations, allowing some drivers to be written in userspace." If you have the devices listed, and the need, this is where you find the settings. Since this is another one-shot setup, these settings default to off.

TI VLYNQ --->

No idea

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[ ] Staging drivers--->

The Staging drivers settings tree is as follows: