Need help trying to patch a driver

[John Dangler]

On Fri, 2007-11-23 at 12:21 -0500, John Toliver wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Dangler <jdangler at terremark.com>
> Reply-To: Ubuntu user technical support, not for general discussions
> <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com>
> To: Ubuntu user technical support, not for general discussions
> <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com>
> Subject: Re: Need help trying to patch a driver
> Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:33:10 -0500
> 
> On Fri, 2007-11-23 at 10:49 -0500, John Toliver wrote:
> > This is the first I am hearing of being able to do this.  My T23 has
> > has
> > a problem with trackpoint drift for a while and I googled a fix in
> the
> > form of a "driver patch"  clicking on the link to me to a document
> > with
> > code in it that is all.  I know I need to do something with the code
> > but
> > I haven't a clue how to "patch" a driver.  I have googled the
> subject
> > and all I get are hits on pages of other driver patches available
> but
> > not a howto on how to actually patch your driver.
> 
> I'd be interested to see the link.
> 
> > My question is:
> >
> > 1. is it possible to backup the driver you are going to patch and if
> > so
> > how?  Is this as simple as a file copy?
> Device drivers (I am assuming that this is what you are referring to)
> are (usually) a mix of 'C' and Assembler code which provide interface
> instructions between the OS and the particular device.  They should be
> able to be copied.
> 
> > 2. How do you actually patch a driver?
> Usually, 'patching' a driver would mean replacing the existing code
> with
> the updated code, since most people don't write this level of code.
> If
> the code you found is meant to be inserted into, or a replacement for
> certain parts of a particular driver, you'll need the source code for
> it
> (which is presumably available with the linux source).
> 
> > 3. Once the deed is done, how do you restore it if your system check
> > out
> > for a night cap?
> Since we're speaking of a relatively minor annoyance here, if the
> pointing devices simply go 'south' after the patch is applied and the
> system is restarted, going into a text terminal and moving the
> original
> back should suffice.
> 
> Caution: If the device driver is one that is built into the kernel,
> this
> would mean re-compiling the kernel.
> 
> > Please correct me if I'm approaching this wrongly.
> >
> > Thank you in advance.
> >
> >
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> 
> I'd be interested to see the link
>         jt- here it is:
> http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Patch_to_enable_advanced_trackpoint_configuration#Drift_Correction

The note on this page says - 
since 2.6.14-rc5 the patch is included in the mainline kernel
This leads me to believe that this patch is already included in the
currently running kernel.
In Gutsy, my current kernel is _Linux Nebo 2.6.22-14-generic_
> 
> Usually, 'patching' a driver would mean replacing the existing code
> with
> the updated code, since most people don't write this level of code.
> If
> the code you found is meant to be inserted into, or a replacement for
> certain parts of a particular driver, you'll need the source code for
> it
> (which is presumably available with the linux source).
> 
>         jt-here is what I think is the assembler and C you are talking
> about: http://paste.ubuntu-nl.org/45576/  Now is this source code?
The code looks to be 'C' code (although the code appears to be a header
file for inclusion in a 'C' program.
> 
> Caution: If the device driver is one that is built into the kernel,
> this
> would mean re-compiling the kernel.
> 
>         jt-how would I determine if the driver I'm using is a part of
> the kernel or if it's separate?
Since the code on this page is mentioned as being a part of the kernel,
I would assume it is built-in.  If it is a module which is loaded
outside the kernel, there would be a .ko file which would have to be
either loaded at startup via rc, or it would be modprobe+d when you want
to load it.
>        
> jt-Does a method (other than speaking assembler or C exist to
> determine if
> this was malware before I tried to add this to my system?
Not knowing all of the intricacies of what the default Ubu kernel should
or should not interface with, you probably wouldn't know on the surface.
That is a subject left to more knowledgeable minds than mine at the
moment.
>        
>        
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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