[linux-dvb] Re: Firmware wont upload - loading module solved itfor me

[Christoph Burger-Scheidlin <c.burger-scheidlin@iu-bremen.de>]

Hello,

I have a Nova-T card and experienced the same problem on a debian box. I
managed to solve it by simply compiling the code as modules and then
loading of the firmware worked.

As far as I understand your post, you compiled everything into the
kernel and tried to load the firmware during boot. If that is the case,
using modules should fix your problem.


Here are some thoughts on the problem as I experienced it, maybe someone
who has a better understanding on the bootup process can comment on it
to clarify it for me or even better lend a hand in fixing it.

The problem as I experienced it is not in the kernel not loading the
firmware, but simply that the filesystem on which the firmware is
residing is not mounted during initialization of the dvb-kernel part.
This prevents the kernel from accessing the file
/usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/tda1004x.bin. Having realized that problem, I
tried circumventing it by using an initrd image, which seemes to fail as
well, since the initrd is executed after kernel initialization, so also
after the kernel tries to load the firmware. The bootup process appears
the same when reading the error messages.

Digging in the 2.6 kernel features, I came accross an initial ramfs
filesystem which is loaded at the same time as the kernel is. This
initramfs is a cpio archieve. From what I understand about the
bootprocess, this is the place to put the firmware, since then the
kernel can load it when the kernel is initialized. However, I have not
managed to produce a working initramfs, so I haven't yet managed to
either put the firmware file in it nor be able to load it.


Although it is not ideal, I hope modularizing the code works for you as
well Q.


Hth,

Christoph Burger-Scheidlin