#### "The Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"

# The Answer Guy

#### By James T. Dennis, linux-questions-only@ssc.com
Starshine Technical Services, http://www.starshine.org/

### Hardware Info Under Linux: MSD.EXE Clone?

From Stephen P. Smith on Mon, 28 Dec 1998

Is there a linux program(s) to would be equivelent to the msd.exe program (in the dos/windows world).

I would like to know that interrupts, dma ranges, etc. my system is using so that I can add another ethernet card to my system. I currently have a 3Com 509B ISA card in the chasis and want to install a second ethernet card.

Can you point me to an article, how-to, or FAQ. I have done some searches and can't come up with anything.

Stephen Smith

> Quite a bit of that information is available from the output of the 'dmesg' (dump boot-time kernel messages) command, and from virtual files under the `/proc` directory.

> Most of the info under `/proc` can be gained using common shell commands, 'ls' and 'less' or 'cat' Some it is summarized using the 'procinfo' command.

> It's also possible to get additional info using the 'lsdev' command, the 'scanpci' command, and utilities from the ISAPNP (plug & play for the ISA bus), PCIUtils and PCMCIA packages. You can use 'SuperProbe' for video cards.

> Obviously there isn't a single, integrated and easy menu driven interface for this information. I'd love to see Quarterdeck and Symantec collaborate and put together a combined Manifest (TM) and NDiags (TM) for Linux. I personally think that these were the best utilities for DOS in their class (although "System Sleuth" was pretty good, too).

> Some of the availability of this info is dependent on how your kernel is configured. It's possible to compile a stripped down Linux kernel (which can be very compact very fast and somewhat more secure than a larger or more modular one). Such a kernel may not recognize many of the devices that you have installed, and Linux will generally leave anything it doesn't recognize completely alone.

> Generally, it is best to learn about your hardware from the documentation provided with it. Naturally I don't practice this as I'd like --- my systems are mostly hobbled together from spare parts. Unfortunately most systems that most of us purchase are woefully under-documented. The PC industry churns through component designs and chipsets so fast and furiously that most manufacturers can't keep track of what they're using from on day to the next. It's a sad and unnecessary state of affairs --- the naturally result of too much competition and commoditization.

> (However, without that competition and commoditization we'd all still be paying $5,000 US for XT's --- so I can't complain too much.)

> Incidentally the 'ifconfig' command should tell you which IRQ and I/O base your current card is using. If it's using IRQ 10 and I/O base 0x300 (the default for most 3Com cards) you can usually put the next one at IRQ 11, I/O base 0x280 or 0x320. It's pretty easy to run out of IRQ's on PC's. You can sometimes disable your printer ports to grab IRQs 5 and 7 --- and sometimes (especially on servers) you can nix the PS/2 mouse port to reclaim IRQ 12, and/or one or both of your serial ports to get back 3 and 4. That gives you a total of seven that you can distribute among SCSI and ethernet cards in a big server. If you can take out both IDE channels you might get back 14 and 15. Some systems will let you use 9 and 13. As for I/O address spaces. Those usually aren't too crowded.

##### Copyright © 1999, James T. Dennis
Published in The Linux Gazette Issue 37 February 1999

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22
23 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 37 | 38
39 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49