1pcram(7D) Devices pcram(7D)
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6 pcram - PCMCIA RAM memory card device driver
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9 memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c
10 memory@<socket>/pcram@<technology>,0:c,raw
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16 The PCMCIA RAM memory card device driver supports disk-like I/O access
17 to any standard PCMCIA static random access memory (SRAM) card and
18 dynamic random access memory (DRAM) card. The driver supports standard
19 PCMCIA SRAM/DRAM cards that contain a Card Information Structure (CIS).
20 RAM card densities in the 512Kilobytes to 64Mbyte range are supported.
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23 If a PC card memory device is recognized, the pcram device driver is
24 automatically loaded, the physical address allocated, and special files
25 created (if they do not already exist).
26 Known Problems and Limitations
28 The Solaris pcmem driver is not capable of handling "combo" memory
29 cards with multiple types of memory on them (for example, combined SRAM
30 and nonvolatile FLASH). Inserting such a card into a system running the
31 Solaris software may cause a system panic.
32 Because the PC card memory device is designed as a pseudo-floppy
35 diskette type, the only utility that can be used for formatting is
36 fdformat(1).
37
39 Configuration topics include initial installation and configuration,
40 identifying an unrecognized device, special files, using PC card memory
41 devices, and hot-plugging.
42 Initial Installation and Configuration
44 1. Install the Solaris software.
45 2. Boot the system.
47 3. Insert the card.
49 Identifying an Unrecognized Device
51 If you insert a memory device and it is not recognized (no special
52 files created), use the prtconf command.
53 1. Become root.
55 2. Run the prtconf -D command to display the configuration rec‐
57 ognized by the system. A recognized device will appear in
58 the prtconf output. For example:
59 # prtconf -D
61 . . .
62 pcic, instance #0 (driver name: pcic)
63 . . .
64 memory, instance #0 (driver name: pcmem)
65 pcram, instance #0 (driver name: pcram)
66 3. If your memory device does not appear at the end of the prt‐
69 conf output, it is not supported and cannot be used with the
70 pcram driver.
71 Special Files
73 The special files created for PC card memory devices act like disks and
74 have names in the form /dev/dsk/c#t#d#p# or /dev/dsk/c#t#d#s#. Abbrevi‐
75 ations used in the names are:
76 o c# Controller #
78 o t# Card technology type #, defined as follows:
80 0 Null--no device
81 1 ROM
82 2 OTPROM (One Time PROM)
83 3 UV EPROM
84 4 EEPROM
85 5 Flash EPROM
86 6 SRAM
87 7 DRAM
88 o d# Device region of type #, usually zero
90 o p# fdisk partition #
92 o s# Solaris slice #
94 Note -
96 A device name can be specified either by a partition name (p#) or a
98 slice name (s#), but not both.
99 Using PC Card Memory Devices
101 Solaris recognizes a PC Card memory device automatically upon the
102 card's insertion. If you do not want automatic handling of a PC card
103 memory device, insert an entry for the device in /etc/vfstab and set
104 the mount at boot field to no. See vfstab(4).
105 PC Card memory devices do not need to have file systems on them, though
108 typically, before using a new PC Card memory card, you will want to
109 create a file system on it. DOS PCFS is the best format to use. (You
110 can use virtually any file system format on a PC card memory card, but
111 most other file system formats are platform-dependent, making them
112 unsuitable for moving data between different types of machines. See
113 "Using a PCMCIA Memory Card" in the OpenWindows Advanced User's Guide.)
114 Note -
116 If you want to redirect the output of a tar command (or dd or cpio)
118 to a PC card memory device, first create a file system on the card,
119 using the fdformat(1) command without arguments. The card must be
120 reformatted before it can be written on again.
121 Hot-Plugging
123 If a memory card is removed while in use, the device driver returns
124 errors until the memory card is inserted into the appropriate socket.
125 Close and reopen the device with the card reinserted, and the memory
126 card will work.
127 o If you remove the card while in use as a file system,
129 unmount the file system using the umount command. Then rein‐
130 sert the card and remount the file system using the mount
131 command.
132 o If you remove the card and interrupt a tar or cpio process,
134 stop the process, reinsert the card, and restart the
135 process.
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138 /kernel/drv/pcram pcram driver
139 /dev/dsk/cntndnsn block files
142 /dev/rdsk/cntndnsn raw fileswhere:
145 cn controller n
147 tn technology type n
150 0x1ROM,0x2OTPROM,0x3EPROM,
152 0x4EEPROM,0x5FLASH,0x6SRAM,
154 0x7DRAM
156 dn technology region in type n
159 sn slice n
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166 fdformat(1), pcmcia(7D), dkio(7I), pcmem(7D)
167SunOS 5.11 2 Mar 2007 pcram(7D)