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
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