The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

Checking for Drivers from the OS Publisher

Particularly for less-common OSs such as BeOS, one critical source for drivers is the OS's publisher. Indeed, despite the fact that Linux is rising in popularity, most Linux drivers come not from the hardware manufacturers but from Linux enthusiasts who write the drivers and then donate them for inclusion in the Linux kernel. Most manufacturers who make Linux drivers available simply provide a specific version of the standard Linux drivers that are known to work with the manufacturer's hardware. An increasing number of hardware manufacturers, however, write Linux drivers themselves. These generally find their way into the Linux kernel.

As with drivers provided by the hardware manufacturer, there ...