4. Installation

4.3.1. Sbpcd Driver

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

sbpcd=<io-address>,<interface-type>

where the first parameter is the base address of the device (e.g. 0x230), and <interface-type> is one of "SoundBlaster", "LaserMate", or "SPEA". See the file sbpcd.h for hints on what interface type to use. Using sbpcd=0 disables auto-probing, disabling the driver.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/sbpcd b 25 0

Up to four drives per controller are supported. The next three drives on the first controller would use minor device numbers 1 through 3. If you have more than one controller, create devices with major numbers 26, 27, and 28, up to a maximum of 4 controllers (this is 16 CD-ROM drives in total; hopefully enough for most users :-).

See the file sbpcd for more information on this driver.

If you recently bought a CD-ROM drive, don't assume that if it connects to a SoundBlaster card it should use this kernel driver. Most CD-ROM drives being sold by Creative Labs are now EIDE/ATAPI drives.

4.3.2. Sonycdu535 Driver

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

sonycd535=<io-address>

where <io-address> is the base address of the controller (e.g. 0x320). Alternatively you can set the address in the file sonycd535.h and compile it in.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/sonycd535 b 24 0

Some Linux distributions use /dev/sonycd for this device. Older versions of the driver used major device number 21; make sure your device file is correct.

This driver was previously distributed as a patch but is now part of the standard kernel. See the file sonycd535 for more information on this driver.

4.3.3. Cdu31a Driver

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

cdu31a=<io-address>,<interrupt>,PAS

The first number is the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340). The second is the interrupt number to use (0 means to use polled i/o). The optional third parameter should be "PAS" if the drive is connected to a Pro-Audio Spectrum 16 sound card, otherwise left blank.

If the driver is loaded as a module, it uses a slightly different format. When loading the driver using the modprobe or insmod command, the parameters take the form:

cdu31a_port=<io-address> cdu31a_irq=<interrupt>

The base io-address is required while the interrupt number is optional.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/cdu31a b 15 0

See the file cdu31a for more information on this driver.

4.3.4. Aztcd Driver

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

aztcd=<io-address>

where the parameter is the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340).

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/aztcd0 b 29 0

Note that this driver is for the CDA268-01A only. Other models, including the CDA268-03I and CDA269-031SE are not proprietary and should use the IDECD (ATAPI) kernel driver.

See the file aztcd for more information on this driver.

4.3.5. Gscd Driver

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

gscd=<io-address>

specifying the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340).

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/gscd0 b 16 0

See the file gscd for more information on this driver.

4.3.6. Mcd Driver

This is the older driver for Mitsumi drivers that has been available for some time. You might want to try the newer mcdx driver, which has some new features but is possibly less stable.

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

mcd=<io-address>,<irq>

specifying the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340) and the IRQ request number used.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/mcd b 23 0

See the file mcd for more information on this driver.

4.3.7. Mcdx Driver

This is a newer driver for Mitsumi drivers. The older and possibly more stable mcd driver is still available.

This driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

mcdx=<io-address>,<irq>

specifying the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340) and the IRQ request number used.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/mcdx0 b 20 0

If you recently bought a Mitsumi CD-ROM drive, don't assume that it should use this kernel driver. New Mitsumi drives are now EIDE/ATAPI compatible and should use the idecd kernel driver instead.

See the file mcdx for more information on this driver.

4.3.8. Cm206 Driver

The driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

cm206=<io-address>,<interrupt>

where the first number is the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340). The second is the interrupt channel.

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/cm206cd b 32 0

See the file cm206 for more information on this driver.

4.3.9. Optcd Driver

The driver accepts a kernel command line of the form

optcd=<io-address>

to specify the I/O base address of the card (e.g. 0x340).

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/optcd0 b 17 0

See the file optcd for more information on this driver.

4.3.10. Sjcd Driver

The driver accepts a kernel command line of the form:

sjcd=<io-address>,<interrupt>,<dma>

indicating the base address, interrupt, and DMA channel to be used (e.g. sjcd=0x340,10,5).

The device file can be created using:

# mknod /dev/sjcd b 18 0

See the file sjcd for more information on this driver.

4.3.11. Paride Driver

This is the driver for various types of storage devices that attach to a parallel port. Normally the driver will auto-detect the parallel port device. The documentation describes parameters that can be used to specify the device parameters if auto-detection does not work.

The device file for the first drive can be created using:

# mknod /dev/pcd0 b 46 0

See the file /usr/src/linux/Documentation/paride.xt for more information on this driver. Note that this replaces the bpcd driver that was present in older kernels.

4.3.12. SCSI Driver

There are kernel command line option specific to each type of SCSI controller. See the SCSI HOWTO for more information.

Multiple drives are supported (up to the limit of the maximum number of devices on the SCSI bus). Create device files with major number 11 and minor numbers starting at zero:

# mknod /dev/scd0 b 11 0 # mknod /dev/scd1 b 11 1

While the kernel driver itself does not support reading digital audio frames, some SCSI drives have the capability and will work with the cdda2wav program (which uses the generic SCSI kernel interface).

Also see the discussion of the IDE SCSI emulation driver earlier in this document.

4.3.13. IDECD Driver

This is the driver for ATAPI CD-ROMS. The driver accepts a kernel command line of the form

hdx=cyls,heads,sects,wpcom,irq or hdx=cdrom

where hdx can be any of {hda,hdb,hdc,hdd}, or simply hd, for the "next" drive in sequence. Only the first three parameters are required (cyls,heads,sects). For example hdc=1050,32,64 hdd=cdrom.

Getting the IDE driver to recognize your CD-ROM drive can be tricky, especially if you have more than 2 devices or more than one IDE controller. Usually all that is required is to pass the right command line options from LILO. The file /usr/src/linux/Documentation/cdrom/ide-cd explains how to do this. Read it carefully.

Recent Linux kernels have better support for multiple IDE devices. If you have problems with an older kernel, upgrading may help.

Some IDE controllers have hardware problems which the kernel driver can work around. You may need to pass additional parameters to the driver to enable this. See the documentation for details.

4.6.1. Step 1: Make sure you are really running the kernel you compiled

You can check the date stamp on the kernel to see if you are running the one that you compiled with CD-ROM support. You can do this with the uname command:

% uname -a Linux moe 2.4.4 #1 Sat Apr 28 10:30:45 EDT 2001 i686 unknown

or by displaying the file /proc/version:

% cat /proc/version Linux version 2.4.4 (root@moe) (gcc version 2.95.2 20000220 (Debian GNU/Linux)) #1 Sat Apr 28 10:30:45 EDT 2001

If the date stamp doesn't match when you compiled the kernel, then you are running an old kernel. Did you remember to reboot? If you use LILO, did you re-install it (typically by running /sbin/lilo)? If booting from floppy, did you create a new boot floppy and use it when booting?

4.6.2. Step 2: Make sure the proper kernel drivers are compiled in

You can see what drivers are compiled in by looking at /proc/devices:

% cat /proc/devices Character devices: 1 mem 2 pty 3 ttyp 4 ttyS 5 cua 7 vcs Block devices: 3 ide0 22 ide1

First look for your CD-ROM device driver. These are all block devices, in this case we can see that the idecd driver with major number 22 was present.

Also make sure that ISO-9660 filesystem support was compiled in, by looking at /proc/filesystems:

% cat /proc/filesystems ext2 nodev proc nodev devpts vfat iso9660

You can also see what i/o port addresses are being used by a driver with the file /proc/ioports:

howto % cat /proc/ioports ... 0230-0233 : sbpcd ...

If any of the drivers you thought you compiled in are not displayed, then something went wrong with the kernel configuration or build. Start the installation process again, beginning with configuration and building of the kernel.

4.6.3. Step 3: Did the kernel detect your drive during booting?

Make sure that the CD-ROM device was detected when the kernel booted. You should have seen a message on bootup. If the messages scrolled off the screen, you can usually recall them using the dmesg command:

% dmesg

or

% tail /var/log/messages

If your drive was not found then something is wrong. Make sure it is powered on and all cables are connected. If your drive has hardware jumpers for addressing, check that they are set correctly (e.g. drive 0 if you have only one drive). ATAPI CD-ROMS must be jumpered as "single" or "master", and not "slave" when only one IDE device is attached to an interface. If the drive works under DOS then you can be reasonably confident that the hardware is working.

Many kernel drivers using auto-probing, but some do not, and in any case the probing is not always reliable. Use the kernel command line option listed for your kernel driver type. You may want to try several different values if you are not sure of the i/o address or other parameters. LILO can be (and usually is) configured to allow you to enter the parameters manually when booting.

Another possibility is that you used the wrong kernel driver for your CD-ROM driver. Some documentation may refer to proprietary interfaces as IDE, leading some to mistakenly believe they are ATAPI drives.

Another possibility is that your drive (or interface card) is one of the "compatible" type that requires initialization by the DOS driver. Try booting DOS and loading the vendor supplied DOS device driver. Then soft boot Linux using Control-Alt-Delete.

If your drive is not listed in this document, it is possible that there are no drivers for it available under Linux. You can check with some of the references listed at the end of this document for assistance.

4.6.4. Step 4: Can you read data from the drive?

Try reading from the CD-ROM drive. Typing the following command should cause the drive activity light (if present) to come on and no errors should be reported. Use whatever device file is appropriate for your drive and make sure a CD-ROM is inserted; use Control-C to exit.

# dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/dev/null bs=2048 ^C 124+0 records in 124+0 records out

If this works, then the kernel is communicating with the drive and you can move on to step 5.

If not, then a possible cause is the device file. Make sure than the device file in the /dev directory has the correct major and minor numbers as listed previously for your drive type. Check that the permissions on the device file allow reading and writing.

A remote possibility is a hardware problem. Try testing the drive under another operating system, if possible, to determine if this could be the case.

4.6.5. Step 5: Can you mount the drive?

If you can read from the drive but cannot mount it, first verify that you compiled in ISO-9660 file system support by reading /proc/filesystems, as described previously.

Make sure you are mounting the drive with the "-t iso9660" and "-r" options and that a known good ISO-9660 CD-ROM (not Audio CD) is inserted in the drive. You normally must mount drives as user root.

Make sure that the mount point exists and is an empty directory.

If you are automatically mounting the CD-ROM on bootup, make sure that you have correct entries in the /etc/fstab file.

If you are running the syslog daemon, there may be error messages from the kernel that you are not seeing. Try using the "dmesg" command:

% dmesg SBPCD: sbpcd_open: no disk in drive

There may also be errors logged to files in /var/log, depending on how your system is configured.

4.6.6. Debugging Audio Problems

If the drive works with CD-ROMs, but not for playing audio CDs, here are some possible solutions.

You need an application program to play audio CDs. Some applications may be broken or may not be compatible with your drive. Try other applications and/or try recompiling them yourself. A good place to look for software is ftp://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/apps/sound/cdrom/.

A few of the CD-ROM drivers do not support playing Audio CDs. Check the documentation file or source code to see if that is the case.

Check if the audio can be played through the headphone jack. If so, then the problem is likely related to your sound card. Use a mixer program to set the input device and volume levels. Make sure you have installed an audio cable from the CD-ROM drive to the sound card. Make sure that the kernel sound card driver is installed and working (see the Sound HOWTO).

4.6.7. When All Else Fails

If you still have problems, here are some final suggestions for things to try:

• carefully re-read this HOWTO document

• read the references listed at the end of this document, especially the relevant kernel source files

• post a question to one of the comp.os.linux or other Usenet newsgroups

• send a question to the Linux mailing list

• try using the latest Linux kernel

• contact your computer dealer

• contact the CD-ROM manufacturer

• send mail to the maintainer of the relevant kernel driver (look in the file /usr/src/linux/MAINTAINERS)

• send mail to me

• fire up emacs and type Esc-x doctor :-)