Cannot load speaker.ko

[Phil Schulz]

Hello List!

  When trying to load device speaker using `kldload speaker` on my 
laptop which runs FreeBSD 5.2.1-Release-p9, I get the following output 
on the console and no /dev/speaker:

> Sep  5 15:30:44 mars kernel: fdc0: ready for input in output
> Sep  5 15:30:44 mars kernel: fdc0: cmd 3 failed at out byte 1 of 3 

  When doing the same thing on my desktop, running 5.3-Beta2 from last 
Monday, I get

> Sep  5 15:38:38 earth kernel: fdc0: cmd 3 failed at out byte 1 of 3
> Sep  5 15:38:38 earth kernel: device_attach: fdc0 attach returned 6
> Sep  5 15:38:38 earth kernel: speaker0 port 0x61 on acpi0

and I can access /dev/speaker.

  The only change to /sys/i386/isa/spkr.c between 5.2.1-Release and 
5.3-Beta2 I can see seems to be the dev_t-to-struct cdev *-switch by 
phk@, but I don't see how this would make a difference.

  This may sound dumb, but is it possible that there is not PC speaker 
in my laptop? But pressing ctrl+f on the console makes the thing beep 
quite loudly actually...

  What other ways are there to make a background application beep w/o 
going through /dev/speaker? I tried curses' beep(3), but that somehow 
doesn't work neither on my desktop nor on my laptop...

Thanks in advance,

Phil.

-- 
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but what's worse is when you play it forward....
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