Howto - Acer Aspire 1400 and Linux

Lukas Valle

lukivalle@gmx.ch

home

Version 1.7

7.10.2003

  1. Introduction

    2. 1.1 Preface
    1.2 Copyright
    1.3 The authors
    1.4 Feedback
    1.5 Acknowledgements
  2. Hardware
  3. Installation
  4. Boot-Problem
  5. X11 (KDE3)
  6. 3D-Support
  7. Sound
  8. Network
  9. USB
  10. CD-R and DVD
  11. PCMICA
  12. Todo
  13. TuxMobil
  14. RedHat
  15. Backlight

  1. Introduction

    2. 1.1 Preface

    This is version 1.4 of this document. I faced a few of problems while installing Linux on my Acer Aspire 1400. I thought this information might be useful to the Linux community.

    This information is intended for Linux on the Acer Aspire 1400. Much of this information may be applicable to Linux on other laptops, but I have no first-hand experience or information about this. The description is based on a SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional with kernel version 2.4.18. It should run on most other systems and with any 2.x kernel although I haven't tested it.

    1.2 Copyright

    Copyright © 2003 Lukas Valle. Permission to distribute and modify this document is granted under the GNU Free Documentation License

    1.3 The authors

    Valle Lukas: Student from Univerity of Applied Sciences for Architecture, Technology, Business and Language in Winterthur (Switzerland). Finishing study computer science in November 2001. Works as Administrator and SW-Engineer for V-ZUG AG since April 02.

    1.4 Feedback

    I welcome any feedback, good or bad, on the content of this document. I have done my best to ensure that the instructions and information herein are accurate and reliable. Please let me know if you find any errors or omissions.

    Send comments, corrections and questions to the author at lukivalle@gmx.ch,

    1.5 Acknowledgements

    I would like to thank:

    The X Development-Team

    The KDE Development-Team

    The SuSE-Team

    Many other authors who have wrote usefull linux and laptop howto's.

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  2. Hardware

    3. Laptop: Acer Aspire 1400
    Display: 14.1" XGA TFT LCD
    Grafik: ATI Radeon Mobility M6 LY
    Processor: Intel Pentium4 1.7GHz
    Memory: 256MB SDRAM
    Harddisk: 20GB Ultra ATA/100
    Atapi: DW-28E DVD/CD-RW
    Floppy: 1.44MB
    Network: Intel 82801BA Ethernet Controller
    Audio: Intel 82891BA AC'97 Soundcard

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  3. Installation

    4. I've made a normal Standard SuSE installation with X11 and KDE3. SuSE-Setup will reduce the Windows-Partion and make a new Reiser-FS Partion in the freee part of the Disk. Windows seems to work well after all that.

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  4. Boot-Problem

    5. During the first reboot linux hung after lilo with a black screen. This causes, because SuSE-Kernel is compiled with APM-Support which isn't supported by the Aspire 1400. You can resolve that problem with start linux with the lilo-optio apm=off. For automatic loading with this option, you can add this in the /etc/lilo.conf file and running as root lilo after that. Or you compile a new kernel without APM-Support.
    If you have troubles with the display after switch between X and one of the linux consoles, try to comment out the vga = 788 option and run lilo as root again.

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  5. X11 (KDE3)

    6. I had a few troubles, to get run X11 stabil. Now, it seems to work stable. At the moment, I boot without the vga = 788 option in /etc/lilo.conf. I've configured X11 with Sax2 which is deliverd with the SuSE-Distribution. Instead of the radeon-driver, I use the ati driver. And for the Screen, I don't use XGA. At the moment I use VESA with a resolution of 1024x768 and 60Hz. Sometimes after change from the linux console to the X Server the screen starts to flicker then I've to go back to the console with crtl-alt-F1 and back to X with atl-F7.
    My /etc/X11/XF86Config file If anybody else know more about the X11 configuration, all input is welcome.

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  6. 3D-Support

    7. I don't have tested the 3D-Support yet.

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  7. Sound

    8. The soundsystem works well with the alsa drivers, after I've configured the soundcard with YaST2. The standard pcm-volume is normally configured on an very silent value. You can change this value in YaST2 soundconfig by the mixer-option.

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  8. Network

    9. Ethernet-Adapter: Works well with the e100 Modul
    Modem: The installed Modem is a PCI-Modem, which needs special drivers from Smart Link ftp-Server. I used the slmdm-2.6.13_i386 driver. For installion help see the readme file, which is distributed with the driver. Note, that this are not offical supported driver from Smart Link.
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  9. USB

    10. At the moment I use an USB mouse and a Logitech USB Keyboard. Sometimes after boot up I can't use the mouse with X. After switch to the console and back to X the mouse start to work well. With the keyboard I've some troubles with the Alt Buttons. I don't think that it is a problem of the notebook. For exaclty Infos how to get run your USB Hardware look at the USB-Guide
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  10. CD-R and DVD

    11. You can olny burn your own CD's using Linux with a SCSI CD-Recorder or use the IDE-SCSI emulation for the Atapi Drive. SuSE does use the IDE-SCSI emulation as default for the CD-Recorder. So you can burn your CD's without any Problems.
    But if you want to see DVD's you have to use an Atapi nativ driver, because for some DVD's with the SCSI-emulation activated you don't can read fast enough from the DVD an you have very bad sound quality and the pictures are moving slowely. I solved the problem in the way, that I have two lilo configuration. One with IDE-SCSI (append = "apm=off acpismp=force hdc=ide-scsi") emulation one without (append = "apm=off acpismp=force"). After boot up using the Atapi nativ mode you should activate DMA for the DVD-Drive. That can you do easy with YaST.
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  11. PCMCIA

    12. Sebastien Brennion is runing a Lynksys PCMCIA network adapter without any problems using Mandrake 9.

    Stefan Champailler wrote me, that he had some problems to solve during installing a PCMCIA network card ("3Com Corporation", "3CCFE575CT", "LAN Cardbus Card)") which was conflicting with his USB Mouse (Logitech) on SuSE 8.1.
    His solution is to edit /etc/sysconfig/pcmcia . He modified two lines (you'll easily recognize them):

    PCMCIA_SYSTEM="external" (which was set to kernel by default)
    PCMCIA_PCIC_OPTS="irq_list=3,4,7,9,10,11" (which was empty by default)

    It's looks like that there is a IRQ conflict with USB. So he decided to prevent the PCMCIA stuff to use the IRQ of the USB-mouse. This IRQ is IRQ 5 and that's why it doesn't show up in "irq_list". However, to be able to use PCMCIA_PCIC_OPTS, you have to use the "external" PCMCIA_SYSTEM Parameter.
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  12. Todo

    13. The following things I don't have tested untli now. Has anybody done it?
    Video-Out
    external Display
    ACPI (Powermanagement)
    Translation (If somebody want, for German I can do. For French Sebastien Brennion could do it. For translation to spanish and portugues please contact Isaac López.)
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  13. TuxMobil

    14. You can find more Howtos about Linux on Laptops on TuxMobil.org
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  14. RedHat

    15. For running Acer Aspire 1400 with RedHat see at http://www.palmod.uni-bremen.de/~anma/aspire1400/linux.html written by Andreas Manschke
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  15. Backlight

    16. A hack if you will turn off Backlight and external video output. Not tested by myself, but maybe useful to safe same battery power. Thanks for sending the link to Erik Dokic. http://fdd.com/software/radeon/ Homepage of Frederick Dean.
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