BIOS updates still matter

[Mark Komarinski]

So I got myself a new IBM X40 from work a few weeks ago and under Linux
suspend and resume would cause the display to just plain freak.  The
various HOWTOs suggested that it was a result of ACPI not working properly,
so I turned ACPI off and turned APM on.  No change.  Or rather, instead of a
corrupted display, I got a REALLY corrupted display.  One that restarting
X would not cure - the only solution was to reboot.

Now I've always been under the impression that Linux doesn't really need
or use the BIOS as its own drivers take over and talk directly to the
hardware.  But now it seems that the hardware is getting its own firmware
and that needs updating.  Once I updated the BIOS, the problem went
away.

So remember kids, maybe not all your hardware problems are the result of
a buggy driver or misconfigured kernel.  Make sure your BIOS and firmware
is up to date!

-Mark
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: Digital signature
Url : http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/private/gnhlug-discuss/attachments/20040831/d21ec556/attachment.bin