From: Dazed_75 > Can anyone give a brief description of how the system knows what driver > to use for a given device? USB devices all have a vendor ID and product ID (16-bit numbers) that they can report via some standardized commands. IIRC, when a USB module sees a new USB device that has the right vendor and product ID for it on the bus, that module claims that device, and then does whatever that device needs (initialization, quirk detection, whatever). Then the higher-level subsystems like v4l or storage make that device available via block or char device files. If you have a helpful distro like Ubuntu, there might be udev rules that automatically modprobe the right modules when they see a vendor/product of 1234:abcd show up on the bus. All of this is controlled by the kernel code under /usr/src/linux/ , not by any userspace files that lsusb uses. Unless you've got one of those devices that uses libusb, which is possible, like with some scanners. > 3) If the generic answer is too complicated, how about specifically for a > webcam or a 3G modem? Webcams made in the last 2-3 years should all follow the USB Device Class "video" standards, and should all be supported by the uvcvideo module. You should check to make sure that module exists, and if it doesn't, you need to upgrade to the latest kernel you can get. No idea about 3G modems, since I've never used one. -- Matt G / Dances With Crows The Crow202 Blog: http://crow202.org/wordpress/ There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss