Recently I bought a version of HP Pavillion 9500 laptop. Basically, it's a core 2 duo, based on a intel chipset and a nvidia video card with dedicated memory. When it comes to hardware, I think it was a good choice. However, I am stuck trying to deploy a decent version of GNU/Linux to this laptop. My first try was Kubuntu Feisty Fawn, which is the distro I run on my desktop. My problems began early: I couldn't boot the default Kubuntu Live CD. It simply wouldn't come up. Then, I switched to Kubuntu Alternate CD, which relies on debian installer. This time, the installation process was quick and fine. Upon first boot, X wouldn't come up. I realized the stock version of open source nvidia drivers (nv) wouldn't support my video card (GeForce 8600m GS). Therefore, I tried to install nvidia propietary drivers (nvidia), but they didn't work as well (screen goes black/blank). Also, I I had neither sound nor wireless. It was getting too painful, hence I decided to switch to the development branch of Ubuntu (Ubuntu Gutsy), which is schedule to be released in October. This time, open source nvidia drivers worked out of the box (even though I don't 3d accel, I can't care for it later, at least I got a usable system). Wireless, bluetooth, and almost everything worked out of the box. That was good! However... no sound at all. After spending hours searching and searching, I was quite sure it was not a driver/alsa issue. If I tried to play an audio file, it would play "muted", i.e. there was no error messages and the equalizer would work properly. But the sound simply does not come out of the speakers. Interestingly, the "mute" button on the notebook panel is activated (lit to orange) upon boot (when module snd-hda-intel is loaded). It works, it mutes and unmutes correctly alsa mixer, but itself does not turn into "blue" (unmuted). Something is auto muting my audio hardware and I don't know why. Also, there's no "External Amplifier" switch on alsa/gnome mixers I can turn on. So far, I got no sound, which sucks because I need skype to work. Another issue, which I did not dig into yet, is the DVD RW drive which does not seem to work either. Eventually, I will try to switch to Gentoo and cheer for it. Otherwise, I will be stuck with badvista. On 8/12/07, Allan Fields <afields [ at ] ncf [ dot ] ca> wrote: > While X-Window shopping for laptops, I've come to some conclusions: > > There are two target laptops: > 1. Mini/mid-sized business laptop (12" screen, long battery life w/ > power-saving) > - Suitable for lower-power/low-heat computing on the go > - Used to work on documents, presentations and browsing/email/SSH > mostly > - Powerful enough to support decent multimedia playback, but not > content creation > - Small profile, light-weight > 2. Enterprise ready desktop/workstation replacement (15"-19" > screen, high-speed processor, extra RAM, fast HD) > - Suitable for compiling code and Linux packages/kernels > - Used to run virtualized (Xen and/or VMWare, etc. guest VMs), > supports multiple Operating Systems > - Excellent for heavy disk IO, CPU and memory intensive tasks > - Suitable for tasks such as heavy office/document processing, > graphics and video editing > > (nice to haves) > - Multiple battery packs > - Multiple Hard-drives (RAID?) > - Rugged construction > > While I'm not a fan off small screens on a laptop and so am pleased > at the 15"-19" models on the market, I think each size has its > specific niche/fit and it would be nice to have the best of both > worlds: power-savings and large display/resolution. > > The following must be true. > * The Laptop must run recent Linux kernels and have half-decent > driver support (no broken hardware), ongoing support in recent > kernels would be nice; > * full power management/ACPI support, suspend/resume (suspend-to- > ram, etc.); > * supported WiFi and ethernet; > * fully supported video with proper graphics chipset support and > X.org configs for all supported resolutions/modes > * preferably able to use internal and external video (for > presenting) with minimal hassle (like Apple laptops) > * audio and capture devices (pre-installed and properly > configured drivers); > * able to close the laptop lid and re-open it, with appropriate > power-management. > > Way back when, there was a presentation by a local computer company > selling Linux installed machines. Can someone please confirm the > name, I believe the present was from Mooney's Bay, though I see > nothing on their website indicating they sell pre-configured Linux > laptops or systems. (http://www.mooneysbay.com) > > A google search for companies selling Linux Laptops turns up: > * http://www.system76.com/ (USA) > * http://www.linuxcertified.com/linux_laptops.html (USA) > * http://www.emperorlinux.com/ (USA) > * (the one canadian online retailer I found was a tad dated: > System500 or something) > > What I don't want is a laptop I end up spending hours/days screwing > around with, as that is not my primary motivation. The primary goal > being to use the machine in production to get actual work done vs. > meta-work. IT management at a large company, would/should roast > Hardware Vendors / Microsoft if they ship broken base Windows install/ > drivers and they needed to outfit their employees with laptops for > critical business on which significant contracts/deals were dependent > on. > > A general consensus seems to have been reached that Lenovo models are > the most tried and tested Linux Laptops (IBM ThinkPad line). The > following URL was suggested: > * http://www.google.com/products?q=sxga%2B+thinkpad > +x61&hl=en&client=iceweasel-a&rls=org.debian:en- > US:unofficial&um=1&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title > > I was actually looking at Eurocom (http://www.eurocom.com), for > flexibility of hardware choice, however I didn't get a final/official > word on Linux support. Their line looks nice (comments?) and they > are a local/Ottawa-based retailer. So it would be really nice, if > they could sell Linux Laptops w/ full support through some sort of an > arrangement with local Linux skilled worker knowledge base/local > support companies. From the looks of it, support is not full, and in > many cases the official vendor word is unsupported: [ http:// > www.eurocom.com/support/linux/comchart.htm ] > > No sound, or video in generic VESA only, isn't reassuring to someone > who is going to ostensibly cough up $2k-3k for a Linux laptop. I > would more likely laugh in their faces if they claim that is a Linux- > supported laptop. > > The following are informational URLs: > * http://tuxmobil.org/ (Hardware compatibility and HOWTOs) > * http://www.linux-laptop.net/ > > Here are some flash based light-weight Linux (sub-)notebooks with > custom pre-installed OS (availability?): > * http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9292516116.html > * http://www.olpc.com > > > Aside: > > The thing with true to blue Linux techs, is they'll get it running > even if there was no support previously, a little proprietary > hardware cannot frighten anyone, right? Well it helps when you have > vendor backing and a team of programmers working on the inside. > > And then there is the Make It Work option:. That's when they cheat > on you and, you don't care, you take the abuse and continue writing > yet another proprietary video driver and hack up a kernel patch in > two nights. > > But the price to be paid: your life temporarily goes from, hmm.. I > think I'll use this machine for __ to; look <IrcBudy> I finally made > this obscure chipset work and it only took 3 weeks, it'll only take > another month to get the rest working! (Congrats to you, a superb > hack which deserves just reward, but I'm not so easy sold on this > plan, myself hacking it would be the wrong domain of pursuit in many > ways.) > > > Thanks, > Allan Fields <afields [ at ] ncf [ dot ] ca> > Tel: 613.825.8658 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Linux mailing list > Linux [ at ] lists [ dot ] oclug [ dot ] on [ dot ] ca > http://oclug.on.ca/mailman/listinfo/linux >