I have been using Debian on my HP zd8000 laptop and wanted to use the built in sd-card reader. I searched the web for instructions on how to do that but did not find any clear method, so I am posting what I have managed to piece together.

I have tried this with the 2.6.18 and the 2.6.22 kernels. This method uses the sdhci module.

The zd8000 uses a Texas Instruments PCI6411/6421/6611/6621/7411/7421/7611/7621 Secure Digital Controller chip. From what I have read, there are two interfaces to the sd card controller and by default the one the sdhci driver works with is disabled. I've written a script that turns the right interface on. It is based on http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Gentoo_Acer_Ferrari_4005WLMi_Manual Since, I don't really understand the hardware and kernel internals, I can't say the script is 100%.

Here is the procedure to use an sd-card:

Run the attached script to turn the sd interface on. You will need root permission to do this.

As root: modprobe sdhci

insert a sd-card.

As root: mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt

The sd-card is now accessable.
...
umount /mnt

remove sd card.