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-   -   Driver Updates with Linux? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/driver-updates-with-linux-37781/)

SML 12-09-2002 07:14 PM

Driver Updates with Linux?
 
I own an IBM notebook X22. Previously when using a Microsoft OS, I would regularly visit the IBM website for driver updates such as BIOS, video, sound, networking, USB etc etc.

Now that I am running linux (RedHat 8.0), am I correct in guessing that the only relevant updates that I should install would be for the BIOS? Are the BIOS updates still useful with linux?

neo77777 12-09-2002 07:58 PM

Well with RH under belt you have their utility to upgrade current software packages, you could browse a weekly submissions made by unSpawn in security forums to learn about the current and past weeks vulnarebilities found there and there, so back to RH - it is shipped with up2date client, the way you invoke it is first you visit RH website http://www.redhat.com and register (I don't know if it's free service anymore or not, but I bought RH7 some time ago and I registered for free when I provided a product number shipped in the box set, so when you registerd with RedHatNetworks you run and rhn_register profiler on your system to get your setup listed on RH side, you can access it at any time and modify the profile if the need arises, so once rhn_register is ran you run up2date, all the operations are performed as a priveleged user - root, so you need to become root first with /bin/su command than issue rhn_register and then run up2date. All the commads are performed from console or a terminal (Xterm/Konsole etc.)
As for drivers you should visit the manufacturer's websites for any updaes, it is petty that most of them are windows aware only, but hackers all over the world do their best to write appropriate drivers for anything that market offers, and sometimes it is impossible to do b/c the manufacturer won't release even specs of their products.
P.S. The most general and sometimes the most exact method of getting appropriate drivers for your hardware is to compile newest stable release of kernel, or the older one b/c some drivers can be more supported in earlier versions of kernel and become obsolete in newer ones.

born4linux 12-10-2002 04:35 AM

rhn_register in 8.0 is now up2date --register. redhat doesn't want its users using the same names for their tools foreach release :D


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