Difference between revisions of "Installing Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on a ThinkPad X200"

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(Display: detailed instructions on getting 12800x800 laptop display settings to work)
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==Display==
 
==Display==
  
Resolution problems with the "preconfigured" xorg.conf settings as well as the Intel drivers currently shipping with 8.10 - just won't give a 1280x800 resolution without messing up the dimensions of the screen.
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With 8.10 things don't work perfectly if you stick with the "preconfigured" xorg.conf settings: the default resolution is only 1074x768 and the highest setting that the laptop display is capable of (1280x800) doesn't even show up in the <em> System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution </em>applet.
  
Adding <drivers "vesa"> to the <Displays> section of /etc/X11/xorg.conf makes 12800x800 possible and facilitates suspend/hibernate capabilities, but it also seems to remove alternatives from the screen resolution applet.
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Here's how to improve the situaiton if you just want to get the laptop display working properly:
  
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First, make sure you've got the latest drivers for your Intel 4500MHD video card:
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$ sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel
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Once that's over and done with, open up your xorg.conf file (note: be careful with this file):
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$ sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
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Make the part that isn't commented out (i.e. that isn't preceded by a #) look like this:
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Section "Monitor"
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Identifier "Configured Monitor"
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EndSection
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Section "Screen"
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Identifier "Default Screen"
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Monitor "Configured Monitor"
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Device "Configured Video Device"
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DefaultDepth 24
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SubSection "Display"
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Modes "1280x800" "1024x768"
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EndSubSection
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EndSection
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Section "Device"
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Identifier "Configured Video Device"
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Driver "intel"
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EndSection
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Save your new xorg.conf file and quit the Gedit text editor. Also quit any other open programs and log-out from your session to reset the X-server and apply the new settings. When you log back in, don't be alarmed if things look a little weird - for some reason, the new settings aren't interpreted quite right off the bat.
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To finish the job, open the aforementioned Screen Resolution applet:  <em>System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution</em>
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Uncheck the box that says "Mirror Screens" and click the "Detect Displays" button. In the little colorful diagram thingy, there should now appear to be a few different rectangles (probably with the word "unknown" on them). Drag these around until you find one that says "laptop 12''" (or whatever portion of the word fits in the rectangle). Click on this "laptop" rectangle to activate it. Once you've clicked on it, look for the drop-down menu that says the resolution and re-set this to "12800 x 800 (16:10)." Then click on whatever other displays are activated and use the same drop-down menu to turn them to "Off." Click "Apply" at the bottom and close the applet. Log out again to activate the new settings and start a new session. If all goes according to plan, your 12800x800 display should now work like a charm!
  
 
==Suspend==
 
==Suspend==

Revision as of 03:14, 11 October 2008

Apologies in advance: The original author of this entry hopes that others will improve on this preliminary effort.

Overview

Undoubtedly, this post will age quickly as 8.10 nears final release. One place for additional information is this X200 owners' thread on the Ubuntu forums.

Started off working w. Ubuntu 8.04 install using the optical drive in the X200 ultrabase. Everything went swimmingly - ethernet worked out of the box as did the optical drive itself.

Wound up upgrading to the 8.10 beta b/c of wireless troubles. See below.


Ultrabay

Handles install without any problem - note: while the machine is in the bay, it forces you to use the ethernet port on the bay.


Ethernet

Intel GigE worked out of the box w. 8.04.

8.10 beta not supporting Intel GigE hardware yet, however (see this technical overview for more details), so unless you wanna try some serious hacking I wouldn't try to do a net install of 8.10 using the ethernet until the final release.


Wireless

Ah, the wireless.

run <lshw -C network> and sort out which wireless hardware you're working with.

For Atheros, check out this forum post

For Intel 5300 on 8.04, neither the recommended drivers (iwl5000) nor ndiswrapper did the trick. It's possible that manually-upgrading the kernel to 2.27 would do it.

On the other hand, with 8.10 the Intel 5300 works out of the box. Running <lshw -C network> again shows that it's the iwlagn driver (pre-loaded with the 2.27 kernel) that does the trick.

Fan

As reported elsewhere, the fan seems to run constantly while the machine is on under 8.04 and 8.10. Will report back if/when I find a fix in the next few days.

Power Mgmt

Not sure what's going on here yet, but the battery claims to have only ~3 hours of life after a full charge.

Display

With 8.10 things don't work perfectly if you stick with the "preconfigured" xorg.conf settings: the default resolution is only 1074x768 and the highest setting that the laptop display is capable of (1280x800) doesn't even show up in the System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution applet.

Here's how to improve the situaiton if you just want to get the laptop display working properly:

First, make sure you've got the latest drivers for your Intel 4500MHD video card:

$ sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel

Once that's over and done with, open up your xorg.conf file (note: be careful with this file):

$ sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Make the part that isn't commented out (i.e. that isn't preceded by a #) look like this:


Section "Monitor"
	Identifier	"Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"	
	DefaultDepth 	24	
	SubSection "Display"
		Modes "1280x800" "1024x768"		
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Device"
	Identifier	"Configured Video Device"
	Driver		"intel"
EndSection


Save your new xorg.conf file and quit the Gedit text editor. Also quit any other open programs and log-out from your session to reset the X-server and apply the new settings. When you log back in, don't be alarmed if things look a little weird - for some reason, the new settings aren't interpreted quite right off the bat.

To finish the job, open the aforementioned Screen Resolution applet: System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution

Uncheck the box that says "Mirror Screens" and click the "Detect Displays" button. In the little colorful diagram thingy, there should now appear to be a few different rectangles (probably with the word "unknown" on them). Drag these around until you find one that says "laptop 12" (or whatever portion of the word fits in the rectangle). Click on this "laptop" rectangle to activate it. Once you've clicked on it, look for the drop-down menu that says the resolution and re-set this to "12800 x 800 (16:10)." Then click on whatever other displays are activated and use the same drop-down menu to turn them to "Off." Click "Apply" at the bottom and close the applet. Log out again to activate the new settings and start a new session. If all goes according to plan, your 12800x800 display should now work like a charm!

Suspend

Without tweaking drivers and xorg.conf suspending through the Gnome desktop does not work - seems to be related to the problems with the video card.

Sound

Works out of the box under 8.04 and 8.10

Worth noting the apparent problems w. Skype and Medibuntu on 8.10 - some of this appears to have been resolved recently and will hopefully make it into the final release. Sound playback within Skype still failing despite the workaround.

Camera

Untested.

VGA

"Unclaimed"