Hey, Emacs, we're -*-Text-*- mode!

This directory contains a patch to the

[/usr/src/linux/]drivers/block/floppy.c 

floppy driver for Linux v2.1.115 and earlier. Maybe it will be fixed
in v2.1.116.

********************************************************************
*                                                                  *
* Don't apply this patch if you are running other kernel versions. *
*                                                                  *
********************************************************************

Unluckily, the v2.1.x floppy driver (as of Linux v2.1.115 and earlier
versions) requests the floppy interrupt before grabbing the floppy IO
regions. This can lead to problems in case there is a floppy interrupt
pending, because in this case the floppy interrupt handler will be
called immediately after registering it, and it will access the floppy
IO ports to determine the cause of the interrupt.

The patch this directory changes the order in which the IO resources
are requested. After applying the patch, the floppy driver will
request the interrupt line AFTER grabbing the IO regions.

Of course, if you don't want to plug your tape drive into the standard
floppy controller, then you don't need this patch and can live with
the buggy floppy driver.

To apply this patch, change to the directory where the Linux v2.1.x
kernel sources are located. Probably this is `/usr/src/linux/' or
similar and use the `patch' command like follows:

cd /usr/src/linux/
patch -p1 < /usr/src/ftape-4.00/patches/v2.1/floppy.c.dif

where you have to replace

/usr/src/ftape-4.00/patches/v2.1/floppy.c.dif

by the real pathname of the `floppy.c.dif' which is located in the
same directory as this `README' file.

Afterwards you have to recompile your kernel and reinstall it. The
safest way to do so is the following

cd /usr/src/linux/
make dep
make clean
make zImage
make modules
make modules_install

You probably will have to replace the `make zImage' by the proper
command to make and install your kernel image. Possibilities are `make
zlilo' or `make zdisk'. But this depends on your setup. If you got
your Linux system as a CD distribution, then you probably also got a
handbook where the necessary steps how to compile and install a new
kernel version are explained.



Claus-Justus Heine <heine@math1.rwth-aachen.de>

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 LocalWords:  usr src linux FDC DBROKEN MCONFIG ftape cd dif README dep zImage
 LocalWords:  zlilo zdisk Justus heine rwth aachen LocalWords
