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5.2.3: Installation under Linux-2.0.0 and up

You don't need to patch the v2.x.x kernels at all to use ftape but for pre-2.1 kernel it might be a good idea to do so. The patch is already included in later versions of the v2.1.x kernel (hopefully) and certainly isn't needed for Linux v2.2.x and later.

If you need it, then apply the patch

[/usr/src/ftape-4.05]/patches/v2.0/floppy.c.dif

to the floppy driver like follows:

cd /usr/src/linux
patch -p1 < /usr/src/ftape-4.05/patches/v2.0/floppy.c.dif

The problem with some versions of the floppy driver is that it accesses the I/O-ports of the floppy controller without checking whether they are in use. The patch contained in the ftape package changes the floppy driver to protect the I/O-port access by calls to `check_region()' which is the proper way to avoid such kind of conflicts. As a result, the floppy driver (when compiled as a module) will fail to load while your floppy tape is in use but will not disturb the operation of the tape drive.

Also, the floppy driver contained in Linux v2.0.x (at least until v2.0.35) grabs the floppy controller IO ports when loading and doesn't release them back to the system even when the floppy isn't used.


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