General questions about hardware under Linux/Unix. Use a more specific tag if applicable.
23
votes
7answers
45k views
How do I find out what hard disks are in the system?
I need to know what hard disks are available, including ones that aren't mounted and possibly aren't formatted. I can't find them in dmesg or /var/log/messages (too much to scroll through). I'm hoping ...
16
votes
4answers
836 views
Why does Linux scale so well to different hardware platforms?
Why does Linux run well on so many different types of machines - desktops, laptops, servers, embedded devices, mobile phones, etc? Is it mainly because the system is open, so any part of it can be ...
13
votes
5answers
954 views
Getting information on a machine's hardware in Linux
How can I check what hardware I have? (With BIOS version etc.)
12
votes
3answers
3k views
How can I reserve a block of memory from the Linux kernel?
I have a device that needs a block of memory that is reserved solely for it, without the OS intervening. Is there any way to tell BIOS or the OS that a block of memory is reserved, and it must not ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Detecting headphone connection/disconnection in Linux
I am trying to detect a signal when a headphone is connected or disconnected from the system.
What is the best way to do this?
If there is a special board with drivers, that will be my preferred ...
9
votes
2answers
346 views
How to measure light?
I've got a Dell Latitude E6410 notebook which changes lcd light intensity in response to ambient light levels, so it has to have some photocell. How can I access the data from this photocell? I tried ...
8
votes
4answers
455 views
How do I disable or change the caps lock key on my keyboard?
We have ergonomic keyboards at work which I'm not entirely used to. I seem to keep hitting the capslock key while I'm in vim and it's starting to annoy. How can I disable this key, and or change to to ...
8
votes
3answers
2k views
How to detect memory type under Linux?
Which Linux utility can tell me if I have registered or unbuffered ECC memory in my server? Lshw and dmidecode do not work for me; dmidecode provides no information about registered vs. unbuffered:
...
7
votes
5answers
258 views
Can I see what HDD I have installed? [duplicate]
I use lspci for pci devices and lsusb to list the usb hardware devices, is there something similar to list my SATA HDD model ?
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How to Determine the Amount of RAM Slots In Use?
I forgot how many RAM modules are installed on my laptop. I do not want to unscrew it but want to look it up on the console. How do I gather this information?
7
votes
6answers
498 views
Linux Programmable Controller
I'm looking for a programmable Linux controller for home automation and general fun projects.
Requirements:
Controlling electric appliances - On/Off switches and dimmers (perhaps using relays)
...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I make my disk unmap pending unreadable sectors
I have a disk with some pending unreadable sectors, according to smartd. What would be the easiest way to make the disk remap them and stop smartd from complaining?
Today, I get two of these every ...
7
votes
4answers
8k views
No framebuffer device: how to enable it?
I'm trying to make a PCMCIA tuner card work in my headless home server, running Debian Squeeze. Now, as I have very big troubles finding the correct command line to capture, transcode end stream the ...
7
votes
1answer
888 views
Hard disk labels
How do I add a label to a partition on a disk, and how do I then mount it by label (manually and via fstab)?
note: this is an external hard drive
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Serve files over USB
I would like to be able to serve a section of my box's file system over USB to another computer. For example, if the files are on box A and I am reading from box B, then B would mount A, see those ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How to check which GPU is active
I have 2 GPU's in my netbook. How do I know which one I'm actually using at any given moment?
7
votes
2answers
477 views
Any relatively new binary distro causes kernel panics
I'm having trouble using any relatively new binary distro on this machine. The last binary distro to work without issue was Ubuntu 8.04. I'm currently using Gentoo with the latest 3.2.1 kernel and ...
6
votes
3answers
720 views
Linux-compatible 56k modem
I have a client who wants to set up a fax server in their office. I'd like to use HylaFAX under Ubuntu, but I'm a little shy to spend money on hardware for Linux, particularly a modem given the whole ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
How to know if /dev/sdX is a connected USB or HDD?
How can I know if /dev/sdX is a local HDD or usb key ? best doing this without root privileges.
OK , udevadm helped a lot:
For local HDD:
udevadm info --query=all --name=sdb | grep ID_BUS
E: ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
How do you use badblocks?
I can never remember the specific incantations for using badblocks, and apparently google isn't much help either. Yes I could read the man page but I remember it's like 4 options I have to use to get ...
6
votes
6answers
1k views
How to flash firmware under Linux in practice?
Well, I am feeling too old for jumping through several burning hoops to upgrade several firmwares via the usual vendor-specific way: Download some DOS tools, waste some time creating a (Free-)DOS boot ...
6
votes
1answer
176 views
Detecting computer models , e.g the vendor
How can I detect the model of a computer, like Leveno or Sony?
Is there any program can do this, for both PC & Laptop?
(I just want to load a specific driver when the target model is detected.)
...
6
votes
1answer
341 views
Linux kernel 2.6 on ARM
I have compiled and installed the 2.6 kernel on an ARM board. I am using the ARM mini2440 board.
I would like to know if there is already a way to access the General Purpose I/O port pins?
Or will ...
6
votes
2answers
263 views
Overclocking tools in Linux
I am trying to overclock my machine. All the changes are made on the BIOS level, but then one needs to check all the temperatures, voltages, etc and test the stability of the overclock. Most tutorials ...
6
votes
2answers
482 views
Information about a laptop fan
Can you help me with finding all the hardware information (parameters) and configuration files about the fan in my laptop?
I'm interested of the fan's parameters and configuration files that I can ...
5
votes
5answers
503 views
Small inexpensive *nix box?
I'd like to learn more about Unix & Linux and would like to set up a little home test server/ headless box. (I'm thinking of compiling from scratch, to learn how that works; either Gentoo Stage II ...
5
votes
2answers
565 views
How do I test hardware components to find out which one is bad?
Question
How do I test hardware components to find out which one is bad?
Details
I have an old machine running debian as a file server using samba. The other day I was unable to login to my file ...
5
votes
3answers
256 views
File size of 60.0 PB is wrong. Can deleting it cause data loss?
While backing up some data (a 200 GB home directory) with rsync, I got an I/0 error for a particular file, after which rsync continued on "normally" with its backup. The problem source file showed as ...
5
votes
3answers
578 views
Why does one linux distro run hotter than another on laptop?
I had been using Arch Linux 64 bit on a Gateway P6860FX for about two years, and recently switched to Ubuntu (also 64 bit). When I type on the keyboard, my left hand feels a lot more warmth than ...
5
votes
2answers
618 views
External tablet input devices for Linux (Inkscape/Gimp)?
What are good external tablet input devices for Linux?
It should be used for more convenient use of Inkscape and Gimp.
Some characteristics that are useful, I guess:
connected via USB
included pen ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
How can I tell if my hard drive is PATA or SATA?
I have an ATA hard disk in my laptop, running Fedora 11, kernel 2.6.30.10-105.2.23.fc11.i586. I am looking to upgrade the disk in here (would love to get an SSD) but I forgot if it's a serial ATA or ...
5
votes
3answers
203 views
How to check why the cdrom cannot be open exclusively
Sometimes when I try to burn an ISO image, the message that "/dev/sr0" cannot be open exclusively appears. lsof does not shows any program that opens "/dev/sr0" (I checked for aliases too).
5
votes
1answer
128 views
Get monitor make and model and other info in human readable form
I have extracted the shorthand version of the current monitor attached to the computer.
Here is an example: vendor "VSC", prod id "18500"
In Ubuntu's Monitor Preferences, it is identified as ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Support for usb 3.0?
I could not seem to find the question here but I was wondering what experience if any users have had with USB 3.0?
My asus p5x58d has usb 3 on it but I have yet to try it out and also do not know ...
4
votes
2answers
131 views
When is it safe to disconnect my external HDD?
In Windows, there's an option to "safely remove hardware".
Ignoring the fact that it almost always fails, and that most of the time I simply have to plug the device out, I get the initiative behind ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
My laptop cannot adjust brightness
I have a problem adjusting my laptop's brightness. This is a hardware problem but I can solve it with ccsm, but other programs do not work for me, e.g., xgamma, etc.
Now I am running Fedora 15 and ...
4
votes
2answers
860 views
Remove a corrupted file in a Linux system
How to remove a file that is corrupted?
In Linux (Fedora based), when I type: ls -l I get
drwxr-xr-x. 2 dmiller3 dmiller3 4096 Jul 26 13:57 SomeFile
?????????? ? ? ? 4096 ...
4
votes
3answers
159 views
How to list all hardware supported by kernel
I want to see all hardware supported by the kernel in use. For example, if I have the 3.8.x.x version of the Linux kernel, how will I know what hardware is supported there. Tools like lspci, lshw, ...
4
votes
5answers
396 views
What can I use that is small, has linux, an ethernet port, and a hard drive?
I see that David Braben has created a $25 USB stick that can run linux. Check out the website at http://www.raspberrypi.org/
That's not available yet - so what's a low power *nix device that I can ...
4
votes
2answers
590 views
Are there any issues using 2TB hard drives with 4k sectors
I'm thinking of purchasing a 2TB hard drive (probably a Seagate F4), but I've read reports of Linux not being compatible with 4k sectors on these drives.
Do I have to do anything specific when I ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Slow down the CPU
I tried to slow down my CPU with powernowd and cpufreq-selector. I hoped that with lower frequency it will be less hot and I won't hear my fan every time I will run internet radio.
I used the ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Is my USB 2.0 device running at full speed?
How can I tell if my USB flash drive is running at full USB 2.0 speed? Currently I'd just like to verify that the drive is plugged into a 480 Mbps port, but in the past I've been unsure if a given ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
How to verify hardware acceleration settings on Nvidia GeForce 9800
How can I verify whether hardware acceleration is available and whether it is enabled for my video card.
If it makes a difference I am using Ubuntu 10.04.
4
votes
2answers
415 views
Can hardware be accessed directly from user space?
At work we have some embedded devices controlled by DOS software. I have been tasked with the responsibility of assessing the use of Linux as a replacement OS for DOS on a next generation of hardware. ...
4
votes
2answers
633 views
*nix working on eBox 3300
I'm not sure if hardware questions are alright here, I didn't see many. I am trying to install any Linux operating system on an eBox 3300. I am having trouble, and the only thing I have been able to ...
4
votes
1answer
379 views
Capturing OS/hardware communication / reverse engineering drivers
This may be too broad of a question, but I'm not really sure what exactly I'm looking for. My main question is how the open source community reverse engineers windows drivers (for say, video cards) to ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
TWAIN API support on FreeBSD
Does FreeBSD support in any way the TWAIN API? If not, what is the API that could be used to read data from imaging devices (webcams) - preferably in a portable way.
4
votes
1answer
223 views
How to monitor RAM ECC errors on Ivy Bridge Xeon E3 processor in Linux?
How can I monitor if there are any errors in RAM that get corrected by ECC? The processor is an Intel Xeon (Ivy Bridge) processor, the operating system is Scientific Linux 6.3. On a previous system I ...
4
votes
1answer
89 views
Why Nmap fragmented scan on Linux is only working from virtual environment?
OLD QUESTION AND TITLE (Look further down for the updated question):
Why Nmap fragmented scan is only working on Backtrack?
I spent quite a few hours today trying to capture and study some ...
3
votes
2answers
110 views
Reference material about device management
Can anybody recommend materials about device management in the Linux environment? From the point where I insert a cdrom or usb device to the point where it is mounted in /media/somedir.
I know that I ...
