Are certain kernel modules permanent?

[davidgurvich]

Every time I try to kldunload if_ipw in FreeBSD7 there is a message that a new device has been detected. Then the interface is automatically configured. I would like to unload the wireless module to turn off the radio and save battery power. That is because the sysctl is no longer adjustable.

[radcapricorn]

Emm, if I got you right, you want to turn off the interface? You can just use ifconfig <interface> down.
What do you mean by 'sysctl is no longer adjustable'?

[davidgurvich]

I didn't realize that the radio control has been moved to ifconfig. Just tested with ifconfig ipw0 down and see that the radio is now 0. In looking at if_ipw, I couldn't find anything like ipwcontrol from the 6.3 version. I was wondering why battery life is so short with FreeBSD and assumed the wireless radio was always on, but it seems not.

[halber_mensch]

cpufreq(4) may help you tune for more battery life. if your processor is running noop's at full blast when idle, you'll zip through your battery. You can aid the situation by having your processor speed scale up to meet demand and scale back down when not needed.