Abstract
The HardDrake project
has been developed to simplify hardware detection and configuration
under GNU/Linux by providing a user-friendly interface.
HardDrake is a service for hardware detection, run at system boot time, and also a full GUI-based tool which ties together many of the tools already included in a GNU/Linux distribution. It automates and simplifies the process of installing new hardware. For the most part, HardDrake will be able to detect most devices.
On one hand, HardDrake is used to display information, and on the other, it can launch configuration tools. With its easy-to-use interface, you can browse all the hardware your system contains.
HardDrake uses the
“ldetect” engine, so if your new hardware is not detected,
you may try to upgrade the ldetect
library itself
and its hardware database, located in the
ldetect-lst
package.
To launch HardDrake, you can start it through:
the Mandriva Linux Control Center: click on the Hardware category, and then on the icon.
a terminal: type
harddrake2 as root
. You can also pass
parameters to HardDrake through the command line (type
harddrake2 -h to get a list of possible
parameters).
the desktop: go to the main menu. The HardDrake entry is in the + + → sub-menu.
After all devices have been detected, the main HardDrake window will appear (see Figure 14.1, “Selected Device”).
On the left, you can see the device tree showing you all of the hardware categories.
By selecting a device, you will see additional information about it in the right frame. To better understand the meaning of the information presented, you can consult the help page accessible by choosing → from the menu.
Depending on the device selected, two other buttons may appear:
For experts only!
. This pops up a window with all the module device parameters listed.Mandriva Linux configuration tool (available through the Mandriva Linux Control Center) associated with that device.
. Launches theA special
category called Unknown/Others
might also
show up, containing all the currently unknown hardware in
your system, as well as known hardware that does not fit
into the existing categories (such as thermal sensors,
random number generators, etc.).
You can also toggle the entries in the menu to enable automatic detection of some hardware which wouldn't have been detected otherwise. You need to restart HardDrake for those changes to have effect.
If you have a Mandriva Online account and want to help us improve hardware support under Mandriva Linux, or want to see your hardware better supported in the future, you can choose → from the menu and fill the form with your account data, then click on the button: your hardware list will be uploaded. You need a working Internet connection.
If you think you have found a bug related to HardDrake, report it using the Mandriva Linux bug reporting tool (see Section 3, “The Drakbug Reporting Tool”).
HardDrake does
not probe for ISA PnP
devices. If you have an ISA
PnP sound card, run
sndconfig or alsaconf from
the command line. You may need to install the
sndconfig
package or the
alsa-utils
package.