How to swap a laptop's floppydrive for a CDROM while running?

[MBMarduk]

I vaguely remember this being possible (this *IS* "hot-swapping", right?)
Or am I confusing this with PCMCIA?

It's a Compaq LTE5250 (yeah I know; the model doesn't tell you anything, i couldn't help myself) with 2 inter-changeable drives.
I just pull out one and place the othe in the same bay.
I have no idea whether the CD and floppy are IDE or proprietary.
The Laptop is 4 years old.
Here's a bit of the 'dmesg' (kernel 2.2.19):

hda: ST9810A, ATA DISK drive
ide2: ports already in use, skipping probe
ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7, 0x3f6 on irq 14
hda: ST9810A, 773MB w/128kB Cache, CHS=786/32/63
Floppy drive(s): fd0 is 1.44M
md driver 0.36.6 MAX_MD_DEV=4, MAX_REAL=8
linear personality registered

I can't figure out the IDE system. I mean, does it support the CDrom-bay?
:confused:

[Thanatos]

Hmm...tried this this week in windows and it crapped on me. If the hardware supports it (I'm not sure if it is inherently supported just because it is a laptop--i.e. it could do equivilent damage to installing a videocard in a PC while the PC is running)

then you should be able to umount /dev/fd0
or umount /dev/cdrom
than mount /dev/cdrom /dev/cdrom
or mount /dev/fd0 /floppy
(assuming dir floppy exists)
hmm...but considering your high post count, I'm guessing you tried that. If that didn't work, then my guess is that it isn't hot swappable...drivers need to be loaded for the CDROM and the Floppy at boot regardless, or it won't be able to find it.

That's my 2 cents worth...hope it helps!

[Thanatos]

incidentally, hot-swapping as I know it (from an industry standpoint)

refers to removing and replacing analogous devices while a system is running....i.e. you have a secondary hard drive crap out and you want to throw your backup in....
etc....

[MBMarduk]

Originally posted by Thanatos:
<STRONG>then you should be able to umount /dev/fd0
or umount /dev/cdrom
than mount /dev/cdrom /dev/cdrom
or mount /dev/fd0 /floppy
(assuming dir floppy exists)
hmm...</STRONG>

Thanx.
The way I see this problem is this:
(allow me to use the analogy of a human arm.)
mounting/umounting is to open or close your grip on an object in your hand.
Hot-swapping then should be like replacing the arm for e.g. a tentacle or bionic arm.
So I guess I should somehow numb the kernel as to not feel pain??

Awww man...I'm lost.

[rch-tech]

I used to work quite a bit with Compaq laptops and do not recall the 5250's BIOS to actually support the hot swap of the CDROM and 3.5" floppy. I think there may have been a compaq service pack that was supposed to have enabled it, but I don't recall ever getting to work. I used to have the 5300 and a patch was supposed to support it but it never worked either. Later on my company went the the 8000s and 7000 series laptops and they hadn't yet implemented the hot swap.
Now the new Compaqs might, (the black ones...) The 5250's were white correct? If so, I think ya may be SOL.

[MBMarduk]

Originally posted by rch-tech:
<STRONG>I used to work quite a bit with Compaq laptops and do not recall the 5250's BIOS to actually support the hot swap of the CDROM and 3.5" floppy. I think there may have been a compaq service pack that was supposed to have enabled it, but I don't recall ever getting to work. I used to have the 5300 and a patch was supposed to support it but it never worked either. Later on my company went the the 8000s and 7000 series laptops and they hadn't yet implemented the hot swap.
Now the new Compaqs might, (the black ones...) The 5250's were white correct? If so, I think ya may be SOL.</STRONG>

yeah, white.

[ 17 August 2001: Message edited by: MBMarduk ]