7.3. How Do I Obtain Driver Media?
Driver images can be obtained from several sources. They may be included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or they may be available from a hardware or software vendor's website. If you suspect that your system may require one of these drivers, you should create a driver diskette or CD-ROM before beginning your Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation.
For users with x86-based systems, the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD #1 includes driver images (including images/drvnet.img — network card drivers and images/drvblock.img — drivers for SCSI controllers) containing many drivers (both common and obscure).
Tip
It is also possible to use a driver image via a network file. Instead of using the linux dd boot command, use the linux dd=url command, where url is replaced by an HTTP, FTP, or NFS address of the driver image to be used.
Tip
It is also possible to use a driver image via a network file. Instead of using the linux dd boot command, use the linux dd=url command, where url is replaced by an HTTP, FTP, or NFS address of the driver image to be used.
Another option for finding specialized driver information is on Red Hat's website at
Another option for finding specialized driver information is on Red Hat's website at
https://www.redhat.com/support/errata/
under the section called Bug Fixes. Occasionally, popular hardware may be made available after a release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux that does not work with drivers already in the installation program or included on the driver images on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux CD #1. In such cases, the Red Hat website may contain a link to a driver image.
7.3.1. Creating a Driver Diskette from an Image File
To create a driver diskette from a driver diskette image using Red Hat Enterprise Linux:
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Insert a blank, formatted diskette (or LS-120 diskette for Itanium system users) into the first diskette (or LS-120) drive.
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From the same directory containing the driver diskette image, such as drvnet.img, type dd if=drvnet.img of=/dev/fd0 as root.
Tip
Red Hat Enterprise Linux supports using a USB pen drive as a way to add driver images during the installation process. The best way to do this is to mount the USB pen drive and copy the desired driverdisk.img onto the USB pen drive. For example:
dd if=driverdisk.img of=/dev/sda
You are then prompted during the installation to select the partition and specify the file to be used.
