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#1 2022-11-01 06:45:49

amc252
Member
From: Italy/México
Registered: 2021-01-16
Posts: 51  

Select only needed firmware

Hi,

The Debian/Devuan installer has a rather neat feature (which I haven't seen in any other installer AFAIK), that is to detect and install only the firmware needed by the computer in use.
I was wondering if this feature can be replicated by some commands on the terminal, I mean at least determining precisely what firmware drivers the system needs.

Thanks.

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#2 2022-11-01 06:59:44

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
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Re: Select only needed firmware

# apt install isenkram
# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware

EDIT: or perhaps

# isenkram-pkginstall

I've never actually used it though.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2022-11-01 07:00:44)


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#3 2022-11-01 07:03:57

amc252
Member
From: Italy/México
Registered: 2021-01-16
Posts: 51  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
# apt install isenkram
# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware

EDIT: or perhaps

# isenkram-pkginstall

I've never actually used it though.

I have seen the suggestion about isenkram on the Debian wiki. Is that what the installer use?
It's a 10mb download and I was wondering if there was a commandline alternative.

Last edited by amc252 (2022-11-01 07:06:15)

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#4 2022-11-01 12:11:13

Kelsoo
Member
Registered: 2016-12-09
Posts: 56  

Re: Select only needed firmware

isenkram-cli

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#5 2022-11-01 13:38:46

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
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Re: Select only needed firmware

Another alternative is to check dmesg and see what the kernel says is missing then find those files and place them under /lib/firmware/.

amc252 wrote:

Is that what the installer use?

I don't know. I haven't used the chimaera installer.


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#6 2022-11-01 13:53:24

Evenson
Member
Registered: 2022-09-08
Posts: 58  

Re: Select only needed firmware

I believe it is a setting in /etc/initramfs.conf

#
# initramfs.conf
# Configuration file for mkinitramfs(8). See initramfs.conf(5).
#
# Note that configuration options from this file can be overridden
# by config files in the /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d directory.

#
# MODULES: [ most | netboot | dep | list ]
#
# most - Add most filesystem and all harddrive drivers.
#
# dep - Try and guess which modules to load.
#
# netboot - Add the base modules, network modules, but skip block devices.
#
# list - Only include modules from the 'additional modules' list
#

MODULES=most

"A stop job is running..." - SystemD

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#7 2022-11-01 14:19:00

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
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Re: Select only needed firmware

That's just for the initramfs. Setting MODULES=dep wouldn't cause any firmware packages to be installed or removed.


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#8 2022-11-01 14:27:30

Evenson
Member
Registered: 2022-09-08
Posts: 58  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

That's just for the initramfs. Setting MODULES=dep wouldn't cause any firmware packages to be installed or removed.

No that just determines the device drivers to load, not the packages to have available which is what i thought OP was querying?


"A stop job is running..." - SystemD

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#9 2022-11-01 14:33:31

Head_on_a_Stick
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From: London
Registered: 2019-03-24
Posts: 3,125  
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Re: Select only needed firmware

Hmm, I thought the opposite hmm

We'll have to wait for the OP to clarify.


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#10 2022-11-01 14:40:11

Evenson
Member
Registered: 2022-09-08
Posts: 58  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

Hmm, I thought the opposite hmm

We'll have to wait for the OP to clarify.

Bit of both i think. I was of the opinion that the installer made all free and non-free firmware like network firmware available at install and you had to choose non-free sources to have those packages available after the install. Particularly when using expert installation, im not sure about guided installs?

Last edited by Evenson (2022-11-01 14:41:09)


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#11 2022-11-01 15:01:08

golinux
Administrator
Registered: 2016-11-25
Posts: 3,340  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Official Devuan policy from https://www.devuan.org/os/install:

Non-free firmware packages are available on all install media. These packages will only be installed if required by your wifi adapter. To avoid the automatic installation and loading of needed non-free firmware, choose the Expert install option during the installation process.

The desktop-live and minimal-live images have non-free firmware packages pre-installed. These packages may be removed after boot using the remove_firmware.sh script available under /root.

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#12 2022-11-01 15:55:22

amc252
Member
From: Italy/México
Registered: 2021-01-16
Posts: 51  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Thank everybody for your suggestions.

I think my question was twofold:
1) I was curious as to how the installer checks which firmware drivers (whether free or non-free - by the way Debian installer asks permission if non-free drivers are needed whereas Devuan just installs them, both on expert and guided mode) and then proceeds to install them.
2) I wanted to know if there was a way to do the same after the install doing some commandline magic, maybe using grep or something.

I tried isenkram on a test install, and efectively it detects and installs some missing firmware. It just requires to install isenkram + deps, which on my system was about 10mb.
Somehow, my question is a bit academic, since Devuan does what I need and Devuan is what I use, but I might want to do the same if I install some other distro for testing.

Last edited by amc252 (2022-11-01 15:56:16)

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#13 2022-11-02 12:36:49

Ogis1975
Member
Registered: 2017-04-21
Posts: 307  
Website

Re: Select only needed firmware

amc252 wrote:

Hi,

The Debian/Devuan installer has a rather neat feature (which I haven't seen in any other installer AFAIK), that is to detect and install only the firmware needed by the computer in use.

Hello. This not a new feature. This feature has been around for a long time.


What economists call over-production is but a production that is above the purchasing power of the worker, who is reduced to poverty by capital and state.
            ----+- Peter Kropotkin -+----

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#14 2022-11-02 17:01:55

amc252
Member
From: Italy/México
Registered: 2021-01-16
Posts: 51  

Re: Select only needed firmware

Ogis1975 wrote:
amc252 wrote:

Hi,

The Debian/Devuan installer has a rather neat feature (which I haven't seen in any other installer AFAIK), that is to detect and install only the firmware needed by the computer in use.

Hello. This not a new feature. This feature has been around for a long time.

Yes, when I said I haven't found it in any other installer I was referring to other distros. One of many reasons why I love Debian and love Devuan even more.

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