Linux Laptops Home

As I'm currently abroad for a 6 month research period, my laptop is the most valuable tool I have. And as my trusty Winbook 223II0 had an sudden death by memory card reader overload, and at the same time there was a rush at work, I was forced to walk into a PC World and buy a new lappy from the shelf. Here are my experiences so far with Kubuntu Gutsy, retrospectively.

Installing Kubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (7.10) on Packard Bell Easynote BG46

Last updated: 11/04/08

General Hardware Specifications:

Hardware Components	Status under Linux	Notes
Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 1.66GHz	Works
12 WXGA TFT Display, native 1280x800	Works	The external display port twists the resolution, corrected using this guide
Intel GM965 (X3100) integrated graphics	Works	The 'i810' driver does not support yet so flimsy 3D with 'intel' driver. Blacklisted by Compiz, runs with "SKIP_CHECKS=yes compiz"
2GB DDR2 667MHz 2SODIMMs	Works
160 GB SATA Hard Drive	Works	Model is Seagate Momentus 5400.3
Realtek RTL8101 Network Controller	Works
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG	Works	The kill switch is a bit tricky sometimes not registering the key hit correctly.
External USB 24X DVDRW	Not tested	Worked fine on the shipped Vista, the only time I used it to burn the Kubuntu CD :-)
82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller	Works	Needs alsa-driver >=1.0.15 and the line "options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo" in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
Memory card reader	Works	Tried with the too small size MemoryStickDuo, worked, hard to get out though. Supports officially MMCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and SD.
Built-in WebCam 1.3Mpxls	Not working	Kopete recognizes and shows video, but the picture is upside down. No other software found or even activated the camera. Uses 'uvcvideo' driver.
Battery 2600mAh	Working	Mere 2h of battery life, just a bit over without WiFi. Boo.

This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.22-14-generic.

Basic Installation of Kubuntu Gutsy:

The installation was done from the LiveCD's desktop.
Partitioning had to be done by hand to maintain the Vista installation.
The sound was not working out-of-the-box, see notes.

Setting up additional features

Suspend to disk works, suspend to ram does not. I use kpowersave.
CompizFusion works with Emerald. ~~without window decorations, related to the note above.~~
Wireless works with knetworkmanager.
Install 'kubuntu-restricted-extras' for DVD, mp3 etc.

Unresolved issues

Some of the function keys are not working: brightness, bluetooth, mute, sleep, volume. Hmm the only button that does work is the backlight on/off-button.

Configuration Files

/etc/apt/source.list, added the backports, universe and multiverse support.
/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base, added the line "options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo"
/etc/X11/xorg.conf, needed to get the resolution right. See notes.

Contact Information

Tuomas Rajala, tuomas (att) sokkelo . net

Links:

I have to add here that this laptop is not a very good buy: you get crappy battery life, a bit crambed keyboard and only just adequately bright screen. The shipped software in Vista is a joke (no decent CD burning software for example), there is NO MANUAL, and for some reason the cooler seems to be running most of the time on audible. Plus on top of that the Packard Bell theme in POST and in Windows looks like something from the 90's.