Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO

Steven Pritchard

Southern Illinois Linux Users Group / K&S Pritchard Enterprises, Inc.

<steve at silug.org>

3.2.4

2007-05-22

This document attempts to list most of the hardware known to be either supported or unsupported under Linux.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Notes on binary-only drivers
1.2. Notes on proprietary drivers
1.3. System architectures
1.4. Related sources of information
1.5. Known problems with this document
1.6. New versions of this document
1.7. Feedback and corrections
1.8. Acknowledgments
1.9. Revision History

2. Computers/Motherboards/BIOS

2.1. Specific system/motherboard/BIOS
2.2. Unsupported

3. Laptops

3.1. Specific laptops
3.2. PCMCIA

4. CPU/FPU

4.1. Intel
4.2. AMD
4.3. Cyrix
4.4. IDT
4.5. Transmeta
4.6. Misc. notes

5. Memory

6. Video cards

6.1. XFree86
6.2. Kernel Framebuffer (fbdev)
6.3. SVGALIB (graphics for console)

7. Controllers (hard drive)

7.1. Alpha, Beta drivers

8. Controllers (SCSI)

8.1. Supported
8.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
8.3. Unsupported

9. SCSI RAID Controllers

10. IDE RAID Controllers

11. Controllers (I/O)

12. Controllers (multiport)

12.1. Non-intelligent cards
12.2. Intelligent cards

13. Network adapters

13.1. Supported
13.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
13.3. Unsupported

14. Sound cards

14.1. Supported
14.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
14.3. Unsupported

15. Hard drives

15.1. Unsupported

16. Tape drives

16.1. Supported
16.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
16.3. Unsupported

17. CD-ROM drives

17.1. Supported
17.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
17.3. Notes

18. CD-Writers

19. DVD drives

20. Removable drives

21. Mice

21.1. Supported
21.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
21.3. Notes

22. Modems

23. Printers/Plotters

23.1. Ghostscript

24. Scanners

24.1. Supported
24.2. Alpha, Beta drivers
24.3. Unsupported

25. USB

25.1. Digital Cameras
25.2. Miscellaneous

26. IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.Link)

27. PCMCIA/Cardbus cards

28. Other hardware

28.1. Amateur Radio
28.2. VESA Power Savings Protocol (DPMS) monitors
28.3. Touch screens
28.4. Terminals on serial port
28.5. Joysticks
28.6. Video devices (capture boards, frame grabbers, TV tuners, etc.)
28.7. Digital Camera
28.8. UPS
28.9. Multifunction boards
28.10. Data acquisition
28.11. Watchdog timer interfaces
28.12. Miscellaneous

29. Appendix A. Supported Parallel Port devices

29.1. Ethernet
29.2. Hard drives
29.3. Tape drives
29.4. CD-ROM drives
29.5. Removable drives
29.6. IDE Adapter
29.7. SCSI Adapters
29.8. Digital Camera
29.9. PCMCIA parallel port cards

30. Appendix B. Linux incompatible Hardware

31. Glossary