Specifications

uncomment the appropriate lines in /etc/isapnp.conf. Don't forget to uncomment the (ACT
Y) command near the end.
Make sure that isapnp is run when your system boots up, normally done by one of the startup
scripts. Reboot your system or run isapnp manually.
•
If for some reason you cannot or do not wish to use the isapnp tools, there are a couple of other options. If
you use the card under Microsoft Windows 95 or 98, you can use the device manager to set up the card, then
soft boot into Linux using the LOADLIN program. Make sure Windows and Linux use the same card setup
parameters.
If you use the card under DOS, you can use the icu utility that comes with SoundBlaster16 PnP cards to
configure it under DOS, then soft boot into Linux using the LOADLIN program. Again, make sure DOS and
Linux use the same card setup parameters.
True ISA PnP support is implemented in the 2.4 and later kernels. Some of the sound card drivers now
support automatically detecting and configuring the cards without the isapnp tools. Check the documentation
for the card's driver for details.
4.3. Configuring the Kernel
You need the appropriate device drivers for your sound card to be present in the kernel. The kernel running
on your system may already include the drivers for your sound card. In most cases the drivers would have
been built as kernel loadable modules. You can check which drivers are available as modules by looking in
the /lib/modules directories. For the 2.4.4 kernel, the sound drivers would normally appear in
/lib/modules/2.4.4/kernel/drivers/sound/. If you see the driver(s) for your sound card, you
can try using the module directory and skip recompiling the kernel.
If the sound drivers are not already built, you will need to configure and build a new kernel. You can either
build the sound drivers into the kernel or build them as kernel loadable modules. In most cases building as
modules is preferred, as it allows you to easily experiment with loading different drivers if unsure which one
to use and the drivers can be unloaded when not needed, freeing up memory. Building the drivers into the
kernel itself may be desirable if you are unfamiliar with kernel modules and want a simpler solution.
The Linux Kernel HOWTO should be consulted for the details of building a kernel. I will just mention here
some issues that are specific to sound cards.
If you have never configured the kernel for sound support before it is a good idea to read the relevant
documentation included with the kernel sound drivers, particularly information specific to your card type.
The files can be found in the kernel documentation directory, usually installed in
/usr/src/linux/Documentation/sound. If this directory is missing you likely either have a very
old kernel version or you have not installed the kernel source code.
Follow the usual procedure for building the kernel. There are currently three interfaces to the configuration
process. A graphical user interface that runs under X11 can be invoked using make xconfig. A
menu−based system that only requires text displays is available as make menuconfig. The original
method, using make config, offers a simple text−based interface.
When configuring the kernel there will be many choices for selecting the type of sound card you have and the
driver options to use. The on−line help within the configuration tool should provide an explanation of what
The Linux Sound HOWTO
4.3. Configuring the Kernel 10