New HOWTO: Plug-and-Play-HOWTO - page 6

Table of Contents

  5.  How to Deal with PnP Cards

  5.1.  Introduction to Dealing with PnP Cards

  Today most all new internal boards (cards) are Plug-and-Play (PnP).
  There are 5 different methods listed below to cope with PnP (but some
  may not be feasible in your situation).  If the device driver
  configures it, then you don't need to do anything.  If the BIOS
  configures it, you hope that the driver can find out what the BIOS did
  (you may need to tell it this in a configuration file or the like).


  �  ``Device Driver Configures''

  �  ``BIOS Configures PnP'' (For the PCI bus you only need a PCI BIOS,
     otherwise you need a PnP BIOS)

  �  ``Disable PnP''  by jumpers or DOS/Windows software (but many cards
     can't do this)

  �  ``Isapnp'' is a program you can always use to configure PnP devices
     on the ISA bus only

  �  ``PCI Utilities'' is for configuring the PCI bus but the device
     driver should handle it

  �  ``Windows Configures'' and then you boot Linux from within
     Windows/DOS.  Use as a last resort

  Any of the above will set the bus-resources in the hardware but only
  the first one tells the driver what has been done.  How the driver
  gets informed depends on the driver.  You may need to do something to
  inform it.  See ``Tell the Driver the Configuration''


  5.2.  Device Driver Configures

  Many device drivers (with the help of code provided by the kernel)
  will use PnP methods to set the bus-resources in the hardware but only
  for the device that they control.  Since the driver has done the
  configuring, it obviously knows the configuration and there is no need
  for you to tell it this info.  This is obviously the easiest way to do
  it since you don't have to do anything if the driver does it all.

  For PCI devices, most drivers will configure PnP but for ISA devices
  it's problematical.  This is because PCI has always been inherently
  PnP even though PnP was called "PCI Configuration" (and still is).
  For ISA, the kernel provided no functions for PnP configuring until
  version 2.4.  So if you have a late version of both the kernel and the
  driver then the driver is more likely to configure PnP (bus-
  resources).  But if you have older versions (or if the driver
  maintainer didn't add PnP to it) then the driver will likely not
  configure PnP.

  Unfortunately, a driver may grab bus-resources that are needed by
  other devices (but not yet allocated to them by the kernel).  Thus a
  true PnP Linux kernel would be better where the kernel did the
  allocation after all requests were in.  See ``How Linux Does PnP''.


  5.3.  BIOS Configures PnP

  5.3.1.  Intro to Using the BIOS to Configure PnP

  If you have a PnP BIOS, it can configure the hardware.  This means
  that your BIOS reads the resource requirements of all devices and
  configures them (allocates bus-resources to them).  It is a substitute
  for a PnP OS except that the BIOS doesn't match up the drivers with
  their devices nor tell the drivers how it has done the configuring.
  It should normally use the configuration it has stored in its non-
  volatile memory (ESCD).  If it finds a new device or if there's a
  conflict, the BIOS should make the necessary changes to the
  configuration and may not use the same configuration as was in the
  ESCD.

  Your BIOS must support such configuring and there have been cases
  where it doesn't do it correctly or completely.  An advantage of using
  the BIOS is that it's simple since in most cases there is nothing to
  set up (except to tell the BIOS's CMOS menu it's not a PnP OS).  While
  many device drivers will be able to automatically detect what the BIOS
  has done, in some cases you may need to determine it (not always
  easy).  See ``What Is My Current Configuration?'' Another possible
  advantage is that the BIOS does its work before Linux starts so that
  all the bus-resources are ready to be used (and found) by the device
  drivers that start up later.

  According to MS it's only optional (not required) that a PnP BIOS be
  able to PnP-configure the devices (without help from MS Windows).  But
  it seems that most of the ones made after 1996 ?? or so can do it.  We
  should send them thank-you notes if they do it right.  They configure
  both the PCI and ISA buses, but it has been claimed that some older
  BIOSs can only do the PCI.  To try to find out more about your BIOS,
  look on the Web.  Please don't ask me as I don't have data on this.
  The details of the BIOS that you would like to know about may be hard
  to find (or not available).  Some BIOSs may have minimal PnP
  capabilities and seemingly expects the operating system to do it
  right.  If this happens you'll either have to find another method or
  try to set up the ESCD database if the BIOS has one.  See the next
  section.


  5.3.2.  The BIOS's ESCD Database

  The BIOS maintains a non-volatile database containing a PnP-
  configuration that it will try to use.  It's called the ESCD (Extended
  System Configuration Data).  Again, the provision of ESCD is optional
  but most PnP-BIOSs have it.  The ESCD not only stores the resource-
  configuration of PnP devices but also stores configuration information
  of non-PnP devices (and marks them as such) so as to avoid conflicts.
  The ESCD data is usually saved on a chip and remains intact when the
  power is off, but sometimes it's kept on a hard-drive??

  The ESCD is intended to hold the last used configuration, but if you
  use a program such as Linux's isapnp or pci utilities (which doesn't
  update the ESCD) then the ESCD will not know about this and will not
  save this configuration in the ESCD.  A good PnP OS might update the
  ESCD so you can use it later on for a non-PnP OS (like standard
  Linux).  MS Windows does this only in special cases.  See ``Using
  Windows to set ESCD''.

  To use what's set in ESCD be sure you've set "Not a PnP OS" or the
  like in the BIOS's CMOS.  Then each time the BIOS starts up (before
  the Linux OS is loaded) it should configure things this way.  If the
  BIOS detects a new PnP card which is not in the ESCD, then it must
  allocate bus-resources to the card and update the ESCD.  It may even
  have to change the bus-resources assigned to existing PnP cards and
  modify the ESCD accordingly.

  If each device saved its last configuration in its hardware, hardware
  configuring wouldn't be needed each time you start your PC.  But it
  doesn't work this way.  So all the ESCD data needs to be kept correct
  if you use the BIOS for PnP.  There are some BIOSs that don't have an
  ESCD but do have some non-volatile memory to store info regarding
  which bus-resources have been reserved for use by non-PnP cards.  Many
  BIOSs have both.


  5.3.3.  Using Windows to set the ESCD

  If the BIOS doesn't set up the ESCD the way you want it (or the way it
  should be) then it would be nice to have a Linux utility to set the
  ESCD.  As of early 1999 there wasn't any and now in late 2000 no one
  has told me about any.   Thus one may resort to attempting to use
  Windows (if you have it on the same PC) to do this.

  There are three ways to use Windows to try to set/modify the ESCD.
  One way is to use the ICU utility designed for DOS or Windows 3.x.  It
  should also work OK for Windows 9x/2k ??  Another way is to set up
  devices manually ("forced") under Windows 9x/2k so that Windows will
  put this info into the ESCD when Windows is shut down normally.  The
  third way is only for legacy devices that are not plug-and-play.  If
  Windows knows about them and what bus-resources they use, then Windows
  should put this info into the ESCD.


  If PnP devices are configured automatically by Windows without the
  user "forcing" it to change settings, then such settings probably will
  not make it into the ESCD.  Of course Windows may well decide on its
  own to configure the same as what is set in the ESCD so they could
  wind up being the same by coincidence.

  Windows 9x are PnP operating systems and automatically PnP-configure
  devices.  They maintain their own PnP-database deep down in the
  Registry (stored in binary Windows files).  There is also a lot of
  other configuration stuff in the Registry besides PnP-bus-resources.
  There is both a current PnP resource configuration in memory and
  another (perhaps about the same) stored on the hard disk.  To look at
  this in Windows98 or to force changes to it you use the Device
  Manager.

  In Windows98 there are 2 ways to get to the Device Manager: 1. My
  Computer --> Control Panel --> System Properties --> Device Manager.
  2. (right-click) My Computer --> Properties --> Device Manager.  Then
  in Device Manager you select a device (sometimes a multi-step process
  if there are a few devices of the same class).  Then click on
  "Properties" and then on "Resources".  To attempt to change the
  resource configuration manually, uncheck "Use automatic settings" and
  then click on  "Change Settings".  Now try to change the setting, but
  it may not let you change it.  If it does let you, you have "forced" a
  change.  A message should inform you that it's being forced.  If you
  want to keep the existing setting shown by Windows but make it
  "forced" then you will have to force a change to something else and
  then force it back to its original setting.

  To see what has been "forced" under Windows98 look at the "forced
  hardware" list: Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools
  --> System Information --> Hardware Resources --> Forced Hardware.
  When you "force" a change of bus-resources in Windows, it should put
  your change into the ESCD (provided you exit Windows normally).  From
  the "System Information" window you may also inspect how IRQs and IO
  ports have been allocated under Windows.

  Even if Windows shows no conflict of bus-resources, there may be a
  conflict under Linux.  That's because Windows may assign bus-resources
  differently than the ESCD does.  In the the rare case where all
  devices under Windows are either legacy devices or have been "forced",
  then Windows and the ESCD configurations should be identical.


  5.3.4.  Adding a New Device (under Linux or Windows)

  If you add a new PnP device and have the BIOS set to "not a PnP OS",
  then the BIOS should automatically configure it and store the
  configuration in ESCD.  If it's a non-PnP legacy device (or one made
  that way by jumpers, etc.) then here are a few options to handle it:

  You may be able to tell the BIOS directly (via the CMOS setup menus)
  that certain bus-resources it uses (such as IRQs) are reserved and are
  not to be allocated by PnP.  This does not put this info into the
  ESCD.  But there may be a BIOS menu selection as to whether or not to
  have these CMOS choices override what may be in the ESCD in case of
  conflict.  Another method is to run ICU under DOS/Windows.  Still
  another is to install it manually under Windows 9x/2k and then make
  sure its configuration is "forced" (see the previous section).  If
  it's "forced" Windows should update the ESCD when you shut down the
  PC.



  5.4.  Disable PnP ?

  Many devices are PnP only with no option for disabling PnP.  But for
  some, you may be able to disable PnP by jumpers or by running a
  Windows program that comes with the device (jumperless configuration).
  If the device driver can't configure it this will avoid the possibly
  complicated task of doing PnP configuring.   Don't forget to tell the
  BIOS that these bus-resources are reserved.  There are also some
  reasons why you might not want to disable PnP:


  1. If you have MS Windows on the same machine, then you may want to
     allow PnP to configure devices differently under Windows from what
     it does under Linux.

  2. The range of selection for IRQ numbers (or port addresses) etc.
     may be quite limited unless you use PnP.

  3. You might have a Linux device driver that uses PnP methods to
     search for the device it controls.

  4. If you need to change the configuration in the future, it may be
     easier to do this if it's PnP (no setting of jumpers or running a
     Dos/Windows program).

  5. You may have (or will have) other PnP devices that need configuring
     so that you'll need to provide for (or learn about) PnP anyway.

     Once configured as non-PnP devices, they can't be configured by PnP
     software or a PnP-BIOS (until you move jumpers and/or use the
     Dos/Windows configuration software again).


  5.5.  Isapnp (part of isapnptools)

  Unfortunately, much of the documentation for isapnp is still difficult
  to understand unless you know the basics of PnP.  This HOWTO should
  help you understand it as well the FAQ that comes with it.  isapnp is
  only for PnP devices on the ISA bus (non-PCI).  Running the Linux
  program "isapnp" at boot-time will configure such devices to the
  resource values specified in /etc/isapnp.conf.  Its possible to create
  this configuration file automatically but you then must edit it
  manually to choose between various options.

  With isapnp there's a danger that a device driver which is built into
  the kernel may run too early before isapnp has set the address, etc.
  in the hardware.  This results in the device driver not being able to
  find the device.  The driver tries the right address but the address
  hasn't been set yet in the hardware.

  If your Linux distribution automatically installed isapnptools, isapnp
  may already be running at startup.  In this case, all you need to do
  is to edit /etc/isapnp.conf per "man isapnp.conf".  Note that this is
  like manually configuring PnP since you make the decisions as to how
  to configure as you edit the configuration file.  You can use the
  program "pnpdump" to help create the configuration file.  It almost
  creates a configuration file for you but you must skillfully edit it a
  little before using it.  It contains some comments to help you edit
  it.  If you use "isapnp" for configuring and have a PnP BIOS, you you
  may want to tell the BIOS (when you set it up) that you don't have a
  PnP OS since you may want the BIOS to configure the PCI devices.
  While the BIOS may also configure the ISA devices, isapnp will redo
  it.

  The terminology used in the /etc/isapnp.conf file may seem odd at
  first.  For example for an I0 address of 0x3e8 you might see "(IO 0
  (BASE 0x3e8))" instead.  The "IO 0" means this is the first (0th) IO
  address-range that this device uses.   Another way to express all this
  would be: "IO[0] = 0x3e8" but isapnp doesn't do it this way.  "IO 1"
  would mean that this is the second IO address range used by this
  device, etc.  "INT 0" has a similar meaning but for IRQs (interrupts).
  A single card may contain several physical devices but the above
  explanation was for just one of these devices.


  5.6.  PCI Utilities

  The package PCI Utilities (= pciutils, incorrectly called "pcitools"),
  should let you manually PnP-configure the PCI bus.  "lspci" or
  "scanpci" (Xwindows) lists bus-resources while "setpci" sets resource
  allocations in the hardware devices.  It appears that setpci is mainly
  intended for use in scripts and presently one needs to know the
  details of the PCI configuration registers in order to use it.  That's
  a topic not explained here nor in the manual page for setpci.


  5.7.  Windows Configures

  If you have Windows9x (or 2k) on the same PC, then just start Windows
  and let it configure PnP.  Then start Linux from Windows (or DOS).
  But there may be a problem with IRQs for PCI devices.  As Windows
  shuts down to make way for Linux, it may erase (zero) the IRQ which is
  stored in one of the PCI device's configuration registers.  Linux will
  complain that it has found an IRQ of zero.

  The above is reported to happen if you start Linux using a shortcut
  (PIF file).  But a workaround is reported where you still use the
  shortcut PIF.  A shortcut is something like a symbolic link in Linux
  but it's more than that since it may be "configured".  To start Linux
  (from DOS you create a batch file (script) which starts Linux.  (The
  program that starts Linux is in the package called "loadlin").  Then
  create a PIF shortcut to that batch file and get to the "Properties"
  dialog box for the shortcut.  Select "Advanced" and then check "MS-DOS
  mode" to get it to start in genuine MS-DOS.

  Now here's the trick to prevent zeroing the PCI IRQs.  Check "Specify
  a new MS-DOS configuration".  Then either accept the default
  configuration presented to you or click on "Configuration" to change
  it.  Now when you start Linux by clicking on the shortcut, new
  configuration files (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat) will be created per
  your new configuration.

  The old files are stored as "Config.wos and Autoexec.wos".  After you
  are done using Linux and shut down your PC then you'll need these
  files again so that you can run DOS the next time you start your PC.
  You need to ensure that the names get restored to *.sys and *.bat.
  When you leave Windows/DOS to enter Linux, Windows is expecting that
  when you are done using Linux you will return to Windows so that
  Windows can automatically restore these files to their original names.
  But this doesn't happen since when you exit Linux you shut down your
  PC and don't get back to Windows.  So how do you get these files
  renamed?  It's easy, just put commands into your "start-Linux" batch
  file to rename these files to their *.bat and *.sys names.  Put these
  renaming commands into your batch file just before the line that loads
  Linux.

  Also it's reported that you should click on the "General" tab (of the
  "Properties" dialog of your shortcut) and check "Read-only".
  Otherwise Windows may reset the "Advanced Settings" to "Use current
  MS-DOS configuration" and PCI IRQs get zeroed.  Thus Windows erases
  the IRQs when you use the current MS-DOS configuration but doesn't
  erase when you use a new configuration (which may actually configure
  things identical to the old configuration).  Windows does not seem to
  be very consistent.



  5.8.  PnP Software/Documents

  �  Isapnptools homepage http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/

  �  Patch to  make the Linux kernel PnP http://www.astarte.free-
     online.co.uk

  �  PnP driver project http://www.io.com/~cdb/mirrors/lpsg/pnp-
     linux.html

  �  PnP Specs. from Microsoft
     http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/respec/pnpspecs.htm

  �  Book: PCI System Architecture, 3rd ed. by Tom Shanley +, MindShare
     1995.  Covers PnP-like features on the PCI bus.

  �  Book: Plug and Play System Architecture, by Tom Shanley, Mind Share
     1995.  Details of PnP on the ISA bus.  Only a terse overview of PnP
     on the PCI bus.

  �  Book: Programming Plug and Play, by James Kelsey, Sams 1995.
     Details of programming to communicate with a PnP BIOS.  Covers ISA,
     PCI, and PCMCIA buses.