From 43cffa74e74e65820f8515392b534ba7993cbef5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: gferg <> Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 23:24:39 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] new --- LDP/howto/linuxdoc/Acer-Laptop-HOWTO.sgml | 244 ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 244 insertions(+) create mode 100644 LDP/howto/linuxdoc/Acer-Laptop-HOWTO.sgml diff --git a/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/Acer-Laptop-HOWTO.sgml b/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/Acer-Laptop-HOWTO.sgml new file mode 100644 index 00000000..00b28a02 --- /dev/null +++ b/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/Acer-Laptop-HOWTO.sgml @@ -0,0 +1,244 @@ + + +
+ +Linux Installation on an Acer LapTop HOWTO + +<author>Harish Thampi S, <tt/harish.thampi@wipro.com/ +<date>1.0, 2001-01-08 + +<abstract> +This document describes how to install Linux on a Acer LapTop and +Various issues related to this. The reader is expected to have some +knowledge about Linux Installation. +</abstract> + +<toc> + +<!-- Begin the document --> + +<sect>Introduction + +<sect1>Preface +<p> +This is version 1.0 of this document. We faced a lot of problems while +installing Linux on a Acer LapTop. We thought this information might be +useful to the Linux community. +<p> +This information is intended for Linux on the Intel platform. Much of +this information may be applicable to Linux on other processors, but We +have no first-hand experience or information about this. +<p> +This document may be outdated or some other document on this topic may +be available. Please check the +the <url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/" name="Linux Documentation Project"> homepage +to see if any other documents are available on this. +</sect1> + +<sect1>Copyright +<p> +<em>Copyright is a source of much and continuous debate on the +LDP mailing list. For more in depth information please consult +the Manifesto at the </em> +<url url="http://www.LinuxDoc.org/" name="LinuxDoc"> site. +<em> +The purpose of having a license is to allow appropriate distribution. +You can use any license that meets the Manifesto. +What follows is a boilerplate licence. +</em> + +Copyright (c) 2001 by Harish Thampi S. +<P> +Please freely copy and distribute (sell or give away) this document in +any format. It's requested that corrections and/or comments be forwarded +to the document maintainer. You may create a derivative work and distribute +it provided that you: + +<itemize> +<item> +Send your derivative work (in the most suitable format such as +sgml) to the LDP (Linux Documentation Project) or the like for posting +on the Internet. If not the LDP, then let the LDP know where it is +available. +<item> +License the derivative work with this same license or use GPL. +Include a copyright notice and at least a pointer to the license used. +<item> +Give due credit to previous authors and major contributors. +</itemize> + +<P> +If you're considering making a derived work other than a translation, +it's requested that you discuss your plans with the current maintainer. + +<sect1>Disclaimer +<p> +Use the information in this document at your own risk. I disavow any +potential liability for the contents of this document. Use of the +concepts, examples, and/or other content of this document is entirely +at your own risk. +<p> +All copyrights are owned by their owners, unless specifically noted +otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as +affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. +<p> +Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements. +<p> +You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system before +major installation and backups at regular intervals. +</sect1> + + +<sect1>Feedback +<p> +We welcome any feedback, good or bad, on the content of this document. +We have done our best to ensure that the instructions and information +herein are accurate and reliable. Please let us know if you find any +errors or omissions. +<p> +Send comments, corrections and questions to the author at +<htmlurl url="mailto:harish.thampi@wipro.com" name="harish.thampi@wipro.com">. +</sect1> + +</sect> + + + +<sect>The Procedure +<p> + +<sect1>Introduction +<p> + This document for installing Linux on a LapTop (Acer TravelMate 345T) + It comprises of the general difficulties you can run into while trying + an install on an Acer TravelMate 345T. I have a hand on experience only + on Acer TravelMate 345T. This may be applicable to other Models also. +<p> + This document assumes some basic familiarity with concepts of Linux + system administration. For example, you should know about directories + and filesystems. +</sect1> + +<sect1>Preparing the Disk +<p> + The document specifically tells about the installation of Linux on a + Laptop along with Windows 98. +<p> + First you should partition the disk according to your choice. You may + face problems when you want a dual boot machine. That is you have Windows + on <tt>/dev/hda1</tt> and Linux '/' on <tt>/dev/hda2</tt> +<p> + I faced some strange problem here. Initially I had a 5.3 GB disk on which + Windows 98 was installed and drive c: constituted the entire 5.3GB. +<p> + I wanted to repartition the disk to put Linux on to it. So I booted with + a RedHat CD and partitioned the disk as follows. + +<tscreen><verb> + /dev/hda1 3 GB For Windows 98 + /dev/hda2 200 MB For Linux / + /dev/hda3 128 MB For Swap + /dev/hda4 2 GB Extended + /dev/hda5 1GB /usr + /dev/hda6 1GB /home1 +</verb></tscreen> + +<p> + After installation of Linux, I found that Windows 98 was still running + fine on <tt>/dev/hda1</tt>. Even more interesting fact is that Windows is able + to see that entire 5.3 GB of the disk. I doubted that this could lead + to corruption of data and had no other way except formatting and start + again. Any feedback on this issue is welcome. Any links or references + are also welcome. +<p> +<bf/Note:/ When you list the partitions with a dos fdisk, the extended partition + made with Linux fdisk is shown as an EXT DOS partition. Later I + changed the type of Extended partition to Extended Linux. Still + Windows was able to see the entire 5.3 GB of the disk. +<p> + I have put <tt>/dev/hda2</tt> as the '/' partition and put <tt>/dev/hda5</tt> as '/usr'. + This approach will help in separating the files that change frequently + from those that doesn't. This is also useful for backup purposes. +</sect1> + +<sect1>Installation +<p> + Installation of RedHat Linux on a Laptop is pretty easy. This is almost + like installing Linux on a PC. The only problem we faced was that it was + not possible to install Linux from the RedHat CD in any mode other than + 'text mode'. Trying to install Linux on any other mode other than 'text' + will cause the installation to hang. +</sect1> + + +<sect1>Booting the Machine +<p> + The Acer LapTop had some PCMICA devices. While booting the LapTop, the + machine would hang looking for more pcmcia devices. If you face this + problem, you need to reboot the machine with the boot floppy and edit the + file <tt>/etc/sysconfig/pcmcia</tt> and set <tt>PCIC_OPTS="do_scan=0"</tt>. The next time you + reboot the machine, it should boot up with the newly installed Linux. +</sect1> + + +<sect1>Configuring X +<p> + This is problem for which I was not able to find an answer. After booting + up the machine, I tried to configure X using xf86config. +<p> + The Acer LapTop had an 800x600 LCD panel. I had selected S-VGA and 800x600 + resolution. When I tried starting X, I found that the mode is being + taken as 320x200. The boot message says that it is the built-in mode. Any + Pointers to this are welcome. The output of SuperProbe was: + +<tscreen><verb> + First video: Super-VGA + Chipset: Trident (chipset unknown) (PCI Probed) + Signature data: 95251023 (please report) + Memory: 2048 Kbytes + RAMDAC: Sierra SC1148{2,3,4} 15-bit or SC1148{5,7,9} 15/16-bit HiColor + (with 6-bit wide lookup tables (or in 6-bit mode)) +</verb></tscreen> +</sect1> + + +<sect1>Linmodem Source +<p> + The Laptop had a softmodem (Linmodem). The driver for this modem is not + given in the RedHat distribution. Lucent is providing the driver for + this modem in 'object' form. The source for this driver is not available. + It will be good if the Linux community can provide the source for the + Linmodem. The difficulty with the Lucent Linmodem driver is that, the driver + is written for Linux 2.2.12 Kernel. This is one of the reason why the source + code for Linmodem would be considered a great contribution. I have listed + some links that could proove to be useful in this venture. +</sect1> + +</sect> + + +<sect>Conclusion +<p> + This document has covered the problems faced during the installation of + Linux on a Laptop. The document may not be complete any feedback or + contribution towards this will be appreciated. The main area on which the + Linux community can work is in solving out problems in configuring X + and getting the source code for the Linmodem driver. +<p> + Please mail your contributions for this document to + <htmlurl url="mailto:harish.thampi@wipro.com" name="harish.thampi@wipro.com"> + so that I can come up with the next version of this document. + +<sect1>Useful Links +<p> +<itemize> +<item><url url="http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-08/lw-08-linmodem.html" name="http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-08/lw-08-linmodem.html"></item> +<item><url url="http://www.linmodems.org/" name="http://www.linmodems.org/"></item> +<item><url url="http://www.close.u-net.com/" name="http://www.close.u-net.com/"></item> +<item><url url="http://linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/" name="http://linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/"></item> +</itemize> +</sect1> + +</sect> + +</article>