[9fans] Install: SATA

[9fans] Install: SATA

[Aaron Griffin]

Hey all,
I have been messing with plan9port on linux for a bit, and recently
got around to freeing up a box to install plan9 on.

It seems the install disk does not recognize my SATA disk.  Is there
any way around this? I also had issues with a USB keyboard, but those
can be circumvented.

Thanks, in advance,
Aaron

Re: [9fans] Install: SATA

[Dave Eckhardt]

> It seems the install disk does not recognize my SATA disk.

While SATA controllers speak essentially the old IDE
protocol over the new wire to the disk, most/many of
them speak an entirely different protocol over the PCI
bus to the CPU than the old IDE register/value set,
meaning you need not just a new driver but N new drivers,
one per SATA chipset manufacturer.  Progress!

The one exception I know of is the "Silicon Image SiI
3112 SATALink" which you can buy in cards from SIIG
(doubtless others).  A trivial patch to the existing
Plan 9 IDE driver makes that chip *almost* work for
me (DMA is busted).  If somebody wants I'll submit it
(before poking at the DMA problem, which is why I've
been holding off, which will take a while).

Dave Eckhardt