Hardware detection

This article lists and describes the setup of tools to detect hardware.

Complete hardware list

lshw

lshw generates a structured list of detected hardware and their featues. Just install sys-apps/lshw:

→ Information about USE flags

USE flag	Default	Recommended	Description
gtk	No		Adds support for x11-libs/gtk+ (The GIMP Toolkit)
sqlite	No		Adds support for sqlite - embedded sql database
static	No		!!do not set this during bootstrap!! Causes binaries to be statically linked instead of dynamically

root # emerge --ask lshw

hwinfo

hwinfo is the hardware detection of OpenSUSE and shows a lot details. Just install sys-apps/hwinfo:

root # emerge --ask hwinfo

kudzu

kudzu is the hardware detection of Red Hat. Just install sys-apps/kudzu:

root # emerge --ask kudzu

Specific hardware

lspci

lspci lists all PCI devices. Just install sys-apps/pciutils:

→ Information about USE flags

USE flag	Default	Recommended	Description
static-libs	No		Build static libraries
zlib	Yes		Support compressed pci.ids database

root # emerge --ask pciutils

lspci detects the devices based on an ID database provided by sys-apps/hwids. To get a more recent database install a new version of hwids.

lsusb

lsusb lists all USB devices. Just install sys-apps/usbutils:

→ Information about USE flags

USE flag	Default	Recommended	Description
python	Yes		Adds optional support/bindings for the Python language
zlib	Yes		Support compressed pci.ids database

root # emerge --ask usbutils

lsusb detects the devices based on an ID database provided by sys-apps/hwids. To get a more recent database install a new version of hwids.

lpinfo

lpinfo (part of CUPS) lists all printers and the used drivers.

• List all connected printers:

root # lpinfo -v

• Lists all available drivers:

root # lpinfo -m

scanModem

scanModem finds for a connected modem a suited driver. scanModem is not in the Portage tree, so you have to download it yourself and extract it:

user $ wget http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/scanModem.gz
user $ gunzip scanModem.gz
user $ chmod +x scanModem
user $ ./scanModem

It will create a folder Modem and the file scanout.something contains the wanted informations. If a modem is detected, the driver is named next to Drivers, e.g. for a HSF modem:

File./Modem/scanout.something

Driver=hsfmodem-drivers

External resources

• Hardware4Linux