NAME

       hotswap - register and unregister hotswappable  IDE hardware

SYNOPSIS

       hotswap  [  -c | --ide-controller N] [-h | --help] [-n | --nocheck] [-v | --verbose] [-V |
       --version] [ACTION]

DESCRIPTION

       hotswap allows you to register  and  unregister  hotswappable  IDE  devices,  for  example
       notebook computer modules, with the Linux kernel.

       It  has  been developed on and for a Dell Latitude C600, but does not rely on any specific
       properties of that machine.

       By  default,  the  command  line  utility  guides  you  through  the  hotswapping  process
       interactively.  It  is  also  possible to specify an ACTION, for example unregistering the
       current device, rescanning the IDE bus, &c. This feature is  primarily  intended  for  use
       with scripts and GUI frontends such as xhotswap(1).

       By  using  an  XML  configuration  file, system administrators can specify arbitrary shell
       scripts to be run  before  and  after  registering  and  unregistering  devices.  This  is
       particularly  helpful  for  automatic  configuration  of  CD-RW drives, which require SCSI
       emulation and bypass normal access via the IDE subsystem. By  default,  the  configuration
       file is located at /etc/hotswaprc; its syntax is described in hotswaprc(5).

OPTIONS

       The program follows the usual GNU command line syntax, with long options starting with two
       dashes (`-').

       -c, --ide-controller N
              Use IDE controller N.

       -h, --help
              Print a brief help text and exit successfully.

       -n, --nocheck
              Do not perform sanity checks before attempting an action. Use with  care,  as  this
              option may cause some steps to fail silently.

       -v, --verbose
              Print more information.

       -V ,--version
              Print version information and exit successfully.

ACTIONS

       Besides  the above options, the program allows you to specify one of the following actions
       on the command line:

       probe-ide
              Detect the currently configured IDE device.

       mounted-ide
              Detect whether a file system on the currently configured IDE device is mounted.

       unregister-ide
              Unregister the currently configured IDE device.

       rescan-ide
              Scan the IDE bus for a new device.  If a device has been found,  register  it  with
              the kernel.

       If  no  ACTION  is specified, interactive mode is entered. In this mode the program guides
       you through the hotswapping process as appropriate for the current configuration.

NOTES

       There is generally no need to manage floppy disk devices.  The FDC is always  present  and
       configured.  Floppy disk drives do not connect to the IDE controller, even if they come in
       the same modules as IDE devices and use the same connector.

       The Linux kernel requires hotswappable devices to be the only device  connected  to  their
       IDE controller.

       The  mounted-ide action assumes file systems have been mounted as /dev/hdc. If this is not
       the case (i.e., you've used a symbolic link such as /dev/cdrom) the command will not work.

FILES

       /etc/hotswaprc
              The default location for the XML configuration file.

REPORT BUGS

       Report bugs to t.stadelmann1@physics.ox.ac.uk.

AUTHOR

       Written by Tim Stadelmann.

       This manual page is based on an earlier version kindly contributed by Wouter Verhelst.

SEE ALSO

       xhotswap(1), hdparm(8), hotswaprc(5).

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Wouter Verhelst, Tim Stadelmann.

       Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the  terms  of
       the GNU General Public License (GPL), Version 2 or any later version published by the Free
       Software Foundation.

                                        4th November 2002                              HOTSWAP(1)