Re: [tlug-digest] Re: [tlug] PC Card Slot memory suddenly unusable."invalid block device"

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

>>>>> "David" == David Riggs <dariggs@example.com> writes:

    David> So, I guess that attempted install of sane last week, which
    David> I aborted because it was trying to replace the kernal (and
    David> aptitude nicely warned me), maybe messed up my pcmcia
    David> support?

FWIW, I've done about 30 dselect and aptitude kernel upgrades over the
years, and _never_ wedged myself.  It takes a homebrew kernel to do
that.  ;-)

An aborted upgrade shouldn't change anything, but when working with
kernel-level stuff that can get pretty hairy (dependencies as
conventionally understood tend to cycle when working iwth low-level
packages, requiring that you replace everything in a single operation,
ie, disabling or uninstalling a group of packages, unpacking,
installing, configuring, and then reboot).

    David> Do I really want to install a new kernel image?

Yes, you do.  Take the usual precautions: make sure anything that is
backed up gets backed up first.  Think of it as a mnemonic; you
_should_ be backing up, but not because of the kernel.  :-)  Second,
learn to use the boot menu; even if you only have one kernel now,
reboot, force the menu to pop up, select the kernel.  Installing a new
kernel always backs up the old one to a place that's on the menu.

    David> Is this normal, or the warning from aptitude when I tried to
    David> install sane,

The warning is correct, but excessively severe.  However, the kernel
as currently configured is _not working_.  So fix it.  It's easy and
low risk.


-- 
School of Systems and Information Engineering http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp
University of Tsukuba                    Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN
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