PCMCIA and Laptops

A separate package, Card Services, is used for PCMCIA support on laptops; this package is included on the accompanying CD-ROM. We’ll cover the topic in more depth in Chapter 2 (including the installation of Card Services), but for now, all you need to know is that all the common PCMCIA controllers (including those built around chips from Databook, Intel, Cirrus, Ricoh, Vadem, and VLSI), as well as custom controllers found in IBM and Toshiba laptops, are supported. In addition, the PCMCIA-HOWTO reports that the package is used on desktop computer systems with PCMCIA card adapters.

Be warned that the Motorola 6AHC05GA controller used in some Hyundai laptops and the proprietary controller used in Hewlett-Packard Omnibook 600 subnotebooks are not supported.

Learning About PC Hardware

You’ve probably noticed references in this chapter to things like interrupts and IRQ settings. If you’re a PC hack, you know what these nasty things mean. If you’re not a PC hack—you are in for a rude awakening.

Simply put, the PC architecture assigns addresses to peripheral devices. If these addresses conflict, you have problems. Some peripherals, such as network cards, need to be set to specific addresses, while others don’t.

Our goal here isn’t to turn you into a hardware hack (and, quite honestly, discussions of interrupts and IRQ settings really depress us), so we suggest checking into a more specifically angled PC hardware book like Jim Aspinwall’s IRQ, DMA & I/O (MIS:PRESS). PC hardware doesn’t have to be intimidating, but you should be prepared for a high level of detail if you start messing around with the innards of your personal computer, especially if you’re a UNIX hack who doesn’t know much about PCs in general. For your convenience, we list several good books on PC hardware in Appendix A.

Summary

This chapter outlined the hardware requirements for running Linux. Linux actually runs on a wide assortment of PC hardware, which tends to be unusual for PC UNIX. Still, there are many places where you may be tripped up by an oddball or misadvertised component, bringing your nascent Linux experience to a screeching halt. The point of this chapter was to highlight any potential problem areas and to give you some guidance if you’re thinking about buying a new or used computer expressly for Linux and want to know what hardware to purchase.

In the next chapter, we’ll cover a typical Linux installation from beginning to end.