config for usb harddrive, 2.6 new to me...it works in livecd

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

I have a seagate usb hard drive I am trying ot get working on my machine. I plugged it in and none of the modules loaded. I know hotplug is working, cause I can plug in a mouse and it loads it right up. I checked my kernel config, and it looked like I had everything there. I have the following configured as modules: USB support, ehci, ohci, uhci, usb-storage, scsi support and scsi hard drives.

Like I said, the drive works properly on the live cd's kernel configuration, so I am sure my system is just misconfigured. I am not very familiar with the 2.6 kernel series so if people could point me in the right direction, that would be swell.

Thanks,
Jimmy Tango

wilburpan · l33t Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 977

There seems to be issues with hotplug and 2.6.7 kernels. I just finished troubleshooting my mm-sources-2.6.7 kernel and hotplug problems, after tackling what I thought was a gdm issue.

What might help you:

1. If you don't really have USB 2.0 hardware, then don't compile EHCI.

2. Figure out if you need either ohci or uhci and use the appropriate one. lspci -v should help you there.

3. Compile USB support, ehci, ohci, and/or uhci, as appropriate, directly into your kernel instead of as modules.

Hope this helps.
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jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

thanks for the reply!

everything works on the livecd (using the SMP kernel which is 2.6). The hard drive is USB 2, so I need that for sure. I dont think its an issue with hardware, or compatibility, since I have seen it working here already...

I think I just dont have enough modules compiled or something. Like I said I'm not very familiar with 2.6.

Ateo · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 10:02 pm Post subject:

If you don't run into the USB2 driver/2.6.7 issues that many have, then you'll need to enable the following:

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

it seems that i have those modules compiled and installed...is there anythign else that i would need to do to get it detected? It doesnt show up in /proc/bus/usb/devices...but when using the 2.6 kernel from the live cd it works just fine. Any other reasons why this wouldnt work?

Ateo · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 6:44 pm Post subject:

Are they built into the kernel or built as modules? If you built them as modules, you will need to add those modules to /etc/modules.autoload/kernel-2.x (x being the kernel series).

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

ive tried modules, and right in the kernel. Anyways, isnt hotplug supposed to add them? they did on the livecd and on my 2.4.26 machine...

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

it's the strangest thing...when compiled into the kernel, the /proc/bus/usb filesystem is empty...even though the gentoo scripts mount it. When it is compiled as a module, the usb modules are automatically added. Then when I plug in a mouse, hotplug detects it, loads the module and powers it up. I can find the mouse in the /proc/bus/usb/devices file. But when I plug in the hard drive, the usb-storage module will not load (i have even tried compiling the scsi parts into the kernel and leaving the rest as modules) and there is no mention of any device in the devices file. the scsi modules are loaded already and all the usb ones. Again....I checked with the 2.6 kernel on the 2004.1 livecd and the drive works fine there...hotplugged.

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

sorry, i was mistaken about what happens when i compile support in for all drivers. The proc/bus/usb filesystem works just fine, but the usb hard drive is still not in the devices file. The kernel loads the driver properly, but the machine never detects the drive itself on the bus. What in the world?

wilburpan · l33t Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 977

As I said earlier, it's the 2.6.7 kernels that seem to be having hotplug issues. Try an earlier version of the kernel, and see if that works. I think the LiveCD's are using 2.6.1 or thereabouts.
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Ateo · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 7:34 pm Post subject:

I also mentioned issues with the EHCI driver in the 2.6.7 kernel series. I also suggest dropping down a version. Try a 2.6.x kernel and see if that's the issue. It's worth a shot because it *should* be recognizing that USB drive...

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

good idea...ill try that... Is there a specific version you might reccomend?

jimmytango829 · n00b Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 9

well...it seems 2.6.6 worked....whew... at least it wasnt something entirely ridiculous. Thanks so much for all the help...i never would have assumed that it was just a gimp kernel problem. I just thought it was somehting i screwed up.

Thanks a lot Ateo