Re: Problem with Intel WiFi card

[Tom Sweet <tesweet+netbsd-users%gmail.com@localhost>]

On Fri, Feb 10, 2017 at 7:11 PM, John D. Baker <jdbaker%mylinuxisp.com@localhost> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 10 Feb 2017, Rocky Hotas wrote:
>
> > > Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2017 at 9:24 PM
> > > From: "John D. Baker" <jdbaker%mylinuxisp.com@localhost>
> > >
> > > After following this thread, I didn't see one particular item
> > > mentioed. Does the affected machine's BIOS have a "Plug'n'Play OS"
> > > setting? If so, I have found that on such machines, it should be
> > > set to "No" for NetBSD.
>
> > I checked all the BIOS entries and no, that setting is not present.
>
> None of the ones you mentioned for yours seem to be related.
>
> Just to provide my own counter-example, the closest machine to hand (an
> HP Pavilion dv2000 laptop w/PhoenixBIOS) doesn't have such a setting
> either.  Nor does my ThinkPad T42, IBM eServer x306, Dell Optiplex 760,
> Optiplex GX260 or Optiplex GX110 .
>
Some HP Phoenix BIOS have a modifier key for BIOS entry, e.g. F1
presents a normal BIOS menu, and CTRL-F1 presents some enhanced
options.  The modifier combination may be pressed at the main entry
screen.  f2 & f11 with or without CTRL may also have been used.


> Of machines I can check easily, Intel D946GZIS and D845EBG2 boards have
>
> a "Plug & Play O/S" setting under the "Boot" section.  An ancient Sony
> VAIO (PCG-9401) has this setting under the "Advanced" section.
>
> Past experience with other machines which had this setting had me set
> it to "No" before ever trying to boot it with NetBSD.  The Intel D845EBG2
> board's help for this item describes it plainly.  Setting to "No" causes
> the BIOS to configure all PCI devices (a proper PCI BIOS).  Setting to
> "Yes" configures only those devices needed to boot and assumes the OS
> will configure anything else.
>
> > > I've also seen similar issues on a machine that had previously booted
> > > Linux. A subsequent boot of NetBSD would encounter similar problems,
> > > usually with network hardware.
> >
> > This machine had Linux before, but with the NetBSD installation I
> > erased all the hard disk contents, so I don't think it matters what
> > was the previous OS.
>
> In the case of the machines I worked with, the act of booting Linux left
> the machines in a state where a subsequent boot of NetBSD would produce
> a "can't map i/o space" or "can't map mem space" message for one or more
> devices--usually an ethernet interface.
>
> It persisted across power-cycles, so it was something Linux did to the
> battery-backed BIOS settings.  On these machines, resetting to BIOS
> defaults was the simplest solution as I didn't have time to research
> it (machines used in a classroom environment).
>
> > > I suspect the same setting, if available, will correct that although
> > > at the time our workaround was to reset to BIOS defaults (or reset
> > > ESC data if the option is available). Just my $0.02.
> >
> > Sorry, what do you mean by "reset ESC data"?  Being this BIOS maybe
> > different than yours, I don't know if a reset to defaults would be
> > useful.
>
> The "Reset ESC data" or "ESCD Reset" or "Reset Configuration Data" option
> was something some machines' BIOSes had.  "ESCD" is "Extended System
> Configuration Data".  I think it saved PCI configuration data in some
> non-volatile memory and would restore device configuration to that.  I
> have an IBM eServer x306 which has a "Reset Configuration Data" option.
> IIRC, an HP Pavilion "Lomita" has an "ESCD Reset" option.
>
> When I'd run into such a machine, I recall having similar failures unless
> I chose this option in the BIOS setup before the next boot.  It defaults
> to "No" and although it's presented as a "Yes/No" option, when set to
> "Yes", it resets the data upon exiting BIOS Setup and will again default
> to "No" the next time BIOS Setup is entered.
>
>
> Regardless of BIOS differences, performing a "Reset to defaults" operation
> and then choosing preferred settings may still be a useful exercise.
>
> Otherwise, you may have a machine that only works for its redmond masters.
>

TomS.