[mythtv-users] Debian USB funnies

[Mike Perkins]

On 17/03/2024 07:28, James Linder wrote:
> I have some arm64 hardware (rockPi5)
>
> booting ubuntu 22.04 on a m2 and everything works.
> changing for an m2 running bookworm and the (same) firmware is not loaded.
>
> [    5.182099] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 3 using ehci-platform
> [    5.380310] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=2040, idProduct=0265, bcdDevice= 1.00
> [    5.380331] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=1, SerialNumber=2
> [    5.380346] usb 1-1.2: Product: dualHD
> [    5.380359] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: HCW
> [    5.380371] usb 1-1.2: SerialNumber: 0014053495
>
> but the firmware is not loaded
>
> [sandypit] /home/jam [108]% /bin/ls /lib/firmware/dvb-demod-si2168-*
> /lib/firmware/dvb-demod-si2168-02.fw  /lib/firmware/dvb-demod-si2168-b40-01.fw
>
>   (the /bin bit is quick way for no colour)
>
> Does debian do something strange?
>
Depends how and where you built that bookworm M2.

In Debian 12 the devs relaxed their restrictions on non-free firmware, so that when you do an
install all the firmware required for the hardware /present at the time/ is loaded.

If you have then taken that M2 and plugged it into a different host where the hardware is different,
you won't have the required firmware.

This has just happened to me, incidentally, on a non-myth project. I had to move a HDD from one
motherboard to another, and the second one has Realtek NICs where the first had Intel. Workaround:
'apt install firmware-realtek', which I would have had to do anyway on previous releases.

--

Mike Perkins