Re: Loading firmware for USB device after boot

["Thomas Mueller" <mueller6724%bellsouth.net@localhost>]

> On Fri, Jun 06, 2014 at 04:27:00AM +0000, Thomas Mueller wrote:
> > Is it possible to load firmware for a USB device subsequent to boot?
        
> This is the drivers responsability (via the firmload(9) API).
        
> > In this case, the USB device is a wireless network adapter, Atheros
> > AR9271, on motherboard but apparently the boot process is too
> > impatient.  Sometimes the firmware is loaded, but most of the time not.
        
> Please file a PR with useable details, this is a driver bug.
        
> Martin

I lost the needed dmesg.boot message because I used the USB-stick installations 
of NetBSD-current amd64 and i386 to install NetBSD-current on the new 
replacement hard drive on the other computer, but finally got back to it.

Does the firmload(9) API give up too soon, before the device has time to 
respond?

Again, sending this is delayed now by the FreeBSD wireless connection, Hiro 
H50191 USB-stick wireless adapter, device rsu, bugging out.

But sometimes athn0 loads and connects successfully with

ifconfig athn0 up
wpa_supplicant -B -i athn0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
dhcpcd athn0

I am now at 6.99.43

I notice there was no reference at all to athn0 on the live USB built from 
source 6.99.13, so I don't know when this was added, couldn't find it in 
CHANGES file.

When athn firmware fails to load, message is

athn0: could not load firmware (35)

I can also say I'm having difficulty with this message because of flaky USB: 
messages about keyboard and mouse being disconnected even when the pkysical USB 
connection is fully intact.  This can happen in FreeBSD too, but apparently not 
Linux.

Tom