Chapter 7. Hardware Configuration

Hardware under Linux is a much-discussed topic. The most popular question I am asked is, "Will Linux run on my hardware?." This is a very broad question. You cannot refer to your computer as one piece of hardware, because it is composed of many hardware components. You must think about each individual hardware component, determine if it is supported, and assess how it fits into the overall picture.

This chapter discusses various hardware topics, ranging from the mouse to the video card.

Overview

Years ago, Linux enjoyed very limited hardware support. This was due in part to the narrow scope of hardware to choose from. For example, the two-button mouse was the de facto standard for a pointing device. Video hardware ...

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