[LinuxBIOS] Please explain why is some hardware not supported even though it runs fine in linux

Russ Whitaker russ at ashlandhome.net
Fri Mar 9 02:57:03 CET 2007



On Fri, 9 Mar 2007, Michal Pomorski wrote:

>
> Take for instance nForce2 chipset and please correct me if i am wrong.
> Linux have full hardware support for it right ? (it should since i use one)
> Linux doesnt use bios functions because it controlls all the hardware on
> the motherboard right?
> So if there is a way for linux to controll the hardware why is it
> impossible to implement it in a free bios?
>
> What is so special about linux bios that needs special vendor support
> that linux os doesnt?
>
When you turn on your computer the only thing working is the power supply,
the cpu, and the bios chip. Everything else is a pile of junk. So the cpu
runs a little program that resides in the bios to initialize enough of the 
hardware to turn the box into a working computer.

In the old days the bios chip contained a part of the operating system in 
addition to the startup code. Linux does not use that old os.

Linux bios needs the same information that was given to the factory bios
people: How to do the initial turn-on of "xxx".

   russ





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