Re: 2.6.24: Serial disabled in BIOS but serial modules still loaded(probably PnP related)

From: Robert Hancock
Date: Sun Nov 25 2007 - 13:40:16 EST


Andrey Borzenkov wrote:
I have no COM port on notebook (without port replicator which I do not have)
so COM is disabled in BIOS. No ttyS* is detected during boot (and no device
created) but I just noticed that serial modules are still loaded. Well, this
partially defeats the purpose of disabling COM port - the intention was to
free resources by *not* loading unneeded modules ...

This may have something to do with (ACPI) PnP which apparently believes COM is alive.
Notebook is Toshiba Portege 4000.

Probably a BIOS bug. It still lists the port in PnP data even though the hardware is disabled, so the kernel still tries to load the serial driver for it, which finds there's no port there.

--
Robert Hancock Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Home Page: http://www.roberthancock.com/

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