Re: Multiple ide DVD/CD devices question

Jens Axboe (axboe@image.dk)
Wed, 12 May 1999 23:51:19 +0200


On Wed, May 12 1999, Chuck Campbell wrote:
> I'm picking up a machine this afternoon, and it comes with a DVD drive.
>
> My understanding is that there are no drivers for these as of yet. I will
> need to install linux from my RH5.2 CD, so I am going to buy a CD-RW
> drive at the same time (I think).

DVD drives functions as normal CD-ROM drives, so it works with the
standard drivers too.

> Questions:
>
> 1)will the machine be happy under Linux with both devices in place?
> (It will be a quad boot, Linux, NT, Win98, Solaris)

Yes, that shouldn't be a problem.

> 2)are there any experimental/developmental drivers for the DVD?

There will be, I am working on it. I think you have things a little
confused, though, so I'll try and explain it a bit.

A DVD drive is works as a normal CD-ROM drive, in that it understands
the same commands. In addition to those, DVD drives support a number
of new commands. However, those are only needed for special DVD software.

> 3)do CD-RW devices work like CD for the purpose I stated above, or should
> I buy a plain CD device?

Yes, the same rules apply to CD-RW devices.

> 4)I need to add another disk for all these OSes. I assume 2 HD's and
> one DVD and one CD are all going to live happily here. Which devices
> need to be primary? I assume the HD's need to be if I want to boot from
> them?

Shouldn't matter all that much. To keep it simple, set the bootable
drive as master on the primary channel. The other devices don't have
to be in any order.

-- 
*  Jens Axboe <axboe@image.dk>
*  Linux CD-ROM Maintainer

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