AIC(4)

📦 version 12.2, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 AIC(4) 💖

okay bestie, buckle up, we're doing the i386 Kernel Interfaces Manual today and this one is a whole vintage moment ✨

✨ NAME ✨

aic — the Adaptec AIC-6260 and AIC-6360 SCSI driver 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

device aic

and then, in /boot/device.hints, you gotta write:

hint.aic.0.at="isa"

like that's it, that's the whole vibe check 🎀

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so the aic driver is out here providing support for the Adaptec AIC-6260 and AIC-6360 SCSI controller chips 💅 and here's the tea, bestie — a LOT of systems rockin' these controller chips simply don't have a boot ROM, which means… yeah, you literally cannot boot from them 😭 no cap. that's not a skill issue, that's just the hardware being what it is.

✨ HARDWARE ✨

the adapters that aic is obsessed with and will absolutely support are, in no particular order (ok fine it's in a particular order, it's this one):

  • Adaptec AHA-1505 (ISA)
  • Adaptec AHA-1510A, AHA-1510B (ISA)
  • Adaptec AHA-1520A, AHA-1520B (ISA)
  • Adaptec AHA-1522A, AHA-1522B (ISA)
  • Adaptec AHA-1535 (ISA)
  • Creative Labs SoundBlaster SCSI host adapter (ISA) 🎵 iconic behavior honestly
  • Adaptec AHA-1460, AHA-1460B, AHA-1460C, AHA-1460D (PC Card) 💳

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

go read these next, bestie, they're all part of the same friend group 🫶

✨ BUGS ✨

okay so this is the part where we have to be real 😭

  • the driver does not work well with multiple devices on the SCSI bus 💀 like it gets overwhelmed, it's not a group project girlie.
  • BUT it works well with devices like CDROMs and Tape drives 🎀
  • it works not so well with disk drives 🙈
  • the PC Card version appears to work better than the ISA version — but ngl that may just be because of differing levels of testing of the devices 👀 so don't come for us, that's literally what it says.
fr fr: multiple devices on the bus = chaos. single chill device = slay. that's the whole arc.

and that's the page, bestie!! this one came from Debian and it's dated November 8, 2003 — a true vintage icon 👑 so if you're reading this in the year of our lord, just know the driver has been out here doing its little ISA-era thing since way back. periodt 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from