Re: [vox-tech] Laptop Install

[Gabriel Rosa <grosaMAPS@ucdavis.edu>]

On Wed, 7 Mar 2001, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:

> AFAIK, laptop cdroms use an IDE interface and don't need pcmcia service.
> 
> pcmcia (among other things) implements laptop "card services", including
> "hot swapping" for most cards.  hot swapping refers to inserting and
> removing cards from the laptop after the kernel has initialized.   IIRC,
> laptop cdrom's aren't managed by card services, although i suppose that
> some bozo out there designed a laptop with cdrom card interface.  probably
> compaq; i think they have company-wide contests to see who can come up with
> the most poorly designed hardware.
> 

actually, my sony has an external pcmcia dvdrom drive, and it's managed by
card services. I ended up doing a net install because I didn't have any
distro cd's, so my install was painless. Regardless, whenever I pop my dvd
drive in, it loads cs_ide (i believe), and asigns the drive to hdsomething.

It's pretty obvious what happens when I unplug it :)

Compaq might be a bunch of bozos, but I think there is a very real advantage
to having a pcmcia interface to the cdrom drive...  it's truly hotswappable
(afaik, removing hot ide devices is a no no :) ), it power manages very well
(the socket itself turns off, not just the drive) and it allows for a very
modular nature. Maybe those bozos actually thought of something we didn't :)

well, on a related note, card services is so seamless that it beats the hell
out of the windos pcmcia services. On the windos side, unless I stop the
device first, then tell it i'm unplugging it, then unplug it, it bitches and
hangs. Under linux, i can do whatever pleases me, and it deals with it
appropriately.

-Gabriel