Installing Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) on a ThinkPad X61

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Revision as of 08:20, 9 August 2011 by Jdthood (Talk | contribs) (DMI info)
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I installed Ubuntu 9.10 on the same ThinkPad X61 that I installed Ubuntu 8.10 on last year, a model 7673-CTO.

This time I installed from DVD+R using the Ultrabay Slim Multi-Burner III Drive in the ThinkPad X6 UltraBase.

I have since upgraded to Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), to 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) and to 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) but I haven't rechecked everything I wrote here after installing 9.10.

Info

# dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
LENOVO
# dmidecode -s system-product-name
7673CTO
# dmidecode -s system-version
ThinkPad X61

In August 2011 I upgraded the system program to version 2.22 7NETC2WW dated 2011-03-22; embedded controller firmware version 1.03. I did this with a bootable CD in the X6 UltraBase.

Accessories

Accessories I purchased for this laptop:

Other available Accessories Compatible with the X6 UltraBase:

Kernel

Worked-around problem: Kernel misdetects memory

Right at the beginning there was an important obstacle to overcome. The installed kernel would panic on boot.

I ran memtest+ from the installation disc to see if I had a memory problem. It reported errors above 4 GiB. That's odd, because I only have 4 GiB of RAM installed.

I surmised that the new kernel, version 2.6.31-14-generic-pae, errs in reckoning the amount of installed RAM. And indeed, the solution to the kernel panic was to add mem=4096M to the kernel boot parameter list.

Suspend & resume

(In Intrepid suspend & resume was unusable because the machine frequently locked up sometime after resume. Furthermore the WLAN card was unusable after resume.)

Having tried it repeatedly I can report that in Karmic suspend & resume does work more or less correctly. After resume the Atheros WLAN card is re-enabled and NetworkManager reconnects to my wireless network. That's progress!

There are still a couple of glitches, though.

  • Once I had to enter my password twice on resume. The password dialog appeared as usual, with a black background, but on this one occasion it did not disappear; instead the background was replaced by the desktop which was unresponsive until I entered my password into the dialog box a second time. Weird.
  • If suspended while playing an audio disk then, on resume, audio play does not continue. Instead the audio disk is detected as a new disk and the user is invited to start the music player, even though there is already a music player process running.

Docking & undocking

Docking

The ThinkPad X61 can be docked in an ThinkPad X6 UltraBase in which case the X61 can use the ports and drives in the UltraBase.

Undocking

Unlike with the previous versions of Ubuntu the X61 can be removed from the X6 UltraBase without danger of locking up. Formerly, drives installed in the Ultrabay had to be deleted before undocking in order to prevent a hard lockup, but now nothing has to be done to prevent a hard lockup on undock. That is progress.

It does seem, however, that the "prepare to undock" button (on the UltraBase, next to the eject lever) has to be pressed before undocking, otherwise USB devices connected to the UltraBase will not work after redocking.

After pressing the "prepare to undock" button the USB devices connected to the UltraBase and drives installed in the latter's Ultrabay cease to function—as expected. However, a monitor connected to the UltraBase's video port continues to function. The desktop remains the same size even after physical undocking; windows that were visible on the external monitor then become invisible.

I haven't done more thorough testing yet; e.g., I haven't checked to see what happens if, when undocking, volumes are mounted on devices connected to the UltraBase.

Redocking

After redocking, USB devices, external monitors and UltraBase drives work again. Nice.

Problem: Display configuration not restored on redock

However, there is a bug. After redocking the display is refreshed and the monitors do not have their original relative positions; furthermore the display appearance is different—different icons, etc.—as if the wrong theme is selected. Running System | Preferences | Appearances (without doing anything further) suffices to restore the display configuration.

Contents of /sys/devices/platform/dock.*/

Under /sys/devices/platform there are directories dock.0 through dock.3 with these contents:

/sys/devices/platform$ ls -l dock.0
total 0
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 18:59 docked
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:22 flags
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:22 modalias
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root    0 2009-11-22 19:22 power
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    0 2009-11-22 18:59 subsystem -> ../../../bus/platform
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:22 type
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:59 uevent
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:22 uid
--w------- 1 root root 4096 2009-11-22 19:22 undock

After pressing the "prepare to undock" button on the UltraBase the content of two of the "docked" files changes.

content of /sys/devices/platform/dock.n/ files
n type content of docked when docked content of docked after pressing "prepare to undock" button
0 dock_station 1 0
1 battery_bay 0 0
2 ata_bay 1 0
3 ata_bay 1 1

On the other hand, if the X61 is removed from the UltraBase without pressing the "prepare to undock" button the content of the docked files remains the same as when the machine was docked.

Keys

Table of keycodes for special keys and key combinations in Karmic

References:

Key combination Extra function symbol Scan code
(showkey -s)
(hex)
Linux key code
(showkey -k)
Input event
(input-events)
... on input device(*) ACPI event
(acpi_listen)
HAL event (lshal -m) X event
(xev)
Keyboard Shortcuts name
📢⃥ (loudspeaker icon with stroke) down: e0 20
up: e0 a0
113 KEY_MIN_INTERESTING 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = mute 121 XF86AudioMute
📢▾ (loudspeaker icon, down arrow) down: e0 2e
up: e0 ae
114 KEY_VOLUMEDOWN 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = volume-down 122 XF86AudioLowerVolume
📢▴ (loudspeaker icon, up arrow) down: e0 30
up: e0 b0
115 KEY_VOLUMEUP 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = volume-up 123 XF86AudioRaiseVolume
ThinkVantage down: e0 1f e0 9f 148 KEY_PROG1 (0x94) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001018 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = prog1 156 XF86Launch1
Fn up: e0 63 e0 e3 143 KEY_WAKEUP 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = wake-up 151 XF86WakeUp
Fn-F1 (none) 466 KEY_FN_F1 (0x1d2) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001001 (none) (none) (none)
Fn-F2 🔒 (padlock symbol) down: e0 12 e0 92 152 KEY_SCREENLOCK (0x98) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001002 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = coffee 160 XF86ScreenSaver
Fn-F3 🔋 (battery symbol) down: e0 71 e0 f1 236 KEY_BATTERY (0xec) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001003 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = battery 244 XF86Battery
Fn-F4 down: e0 5f e0 df
(but sometimes nothing?)
142 KEY_SLEEP (0x8e) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001004 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = sleep 150 XF86Sleep
Fn-F5 ⸨💻⸩ (radiating computer symbol) down: e0 73 e0 f3 238 KEY_WLAN (0xee) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001005 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = wlan 246 XF86WLAN
Fn-F6 (none) 471 KEY_FN_F6 (0x1d7) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001006 (none) (none) (none)
Fn-F7 ⎚|💻 (screen symbol, vertical bar, computer symbol) down: e0 56 e0 d6 227 KEY_SWITCHVIDEOMODE (0xe3) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001007 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = switch-videomode 235 XF86Display
Fn-F8 (trackpoint symbol, vertical bar, trackpad symbol) down: e0 79 e0 f9 192 KEY_F22 (0xc0) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001008 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = f22 200 0xc8
Fn-F9 💻 ⏏ (computer symbol, eject symbol) down: 6f ef 194 KEY_F24 (0xc2) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001009 computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = f24 202 0xc9
Fn-F10 down: e0 63
up: e0 e3
143 KEY_WAKEUP 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = wake-up 151 XF86WakeUp
Fn-F11 (none) 476 KEY_FN_F11 (0x1dc) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000100b (none) (none) (none)
Fn-F12 ⎚ ▶❍ (screen symbol, right arrowhead, diskpack symbol) down: e0 25 e0 a5
(but sometimes nothing?)
205 KEY_SUSPEND (0xcd) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000100c computer_logicaldev_input_4 condition ButtonPressed = hibernate 213 XF86Suspend (*)
Fn-Home ☀▴ down: e0 54 e0 d4 225 KEY_BRIGHTNESSUP (0xe1) 6 video LCD0 00000086 00000000 computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up 233 XF86MonBrightnessUp
Fn-End ☀▾ down: e0 4c e0 cc 224 KEY_BRIGHTNESSDOWN (0xe0) 6 video LCD0 00000087 00000000 computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down 232 XF86MonBrightnessDown
Fn-PgUp (illuminated overhead lamp symbol) (none) (none) (none) (none) (none) (none) (none) (none)
Fn-Space [🔍+] (screen with magnifying glass symbol and plus sign, i.e., "zoom" symbol) (none) 372 KEY_ZOOM (0x174) 10 ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001014 computer_logicaldev_input_4 condition ButtonPressed = zoom (none) (none)
Fn- ⏭ (barred right arrowhead, i.e., "next" symbol) down: e0 19
up: e0 99
163 KEY_NEXTSONG 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = next-song 171 XF86AudioNext
Fn- ⏯ (right arrowhead, double bar, i.e., "play/pause" symbol) down: e0 22
up: e0 a2
164 KEY_PLAYPAUSE 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = play-pause 172 XF86AudioPlay
Fn- ⏮ (barred left arrowhead, i.e., "prev" symbol) down: e0 10
up: e0 90
165 KEY_PREVIOUSSONG 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = previous-song 173 XF86AudioPrev
Fn- ∎ ("stop play" symbol) down: e0 24
up: e0 a4
166 KEY_STOPCD 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = stop-cd 174 XF86AudioStop
◂ ⎗ (left arrowhead, page icon) down: e0 6a
up: e0 ea
158 KEY_BACK 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = back 166 XF86Back
⎘ ▸ (page icon, right arrowhead) down: e0 69
up: e0 e9
159 KEY_FORWARD 4 (none) platform_i8042_i8042_KBD_port_logicaldev_input condition ButtonPressed = forward 167 XF86Forward
On UltraBase X6
(right arrowhead)
down: e0 56
up: e0 d6
227 KEY_SWITCHVIDEOMODE (0xe3) 6 video VID 00000080 00000000 platform_dock_0 property info.docked = false
computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = switch-videomode
235 ?


(*) /dev/input/eventn
n name
0 "Power Button"
1 "Lid Switch"
2 "Sleep Button"
3 "Macintosh mouse button emulation"
4 "AT Translated Set 2 keyboard"
5 "Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard"
6 "Video Bus"
7 "Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard"
8 "Logitech Trackball"
9 "hdaps"
10 "ThinkPad Extra Buttons"
11 "TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint"
12 "HDA Digital Beep"

Hotkey mask when the above table was compiled:

$ cat /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/hotkey_mask
0x008c7fff
$ cat /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/hotkey_all_mask
0x00ffffff
$ cat /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/hotkey_recommended_mask
0x008c7fff
$ cat /sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/hotkey_report_mode
1

Compare Default meanings of special keys.


In Lucid the "ThinkPad Extra Buttons" device is gone. These are the devices available in Lucid:

(*) /dev/input/eventn
n name
0 "Lid Switch"
1 "Sleep Button"
2 "Power Button"
3 "Macintosh mouse button emulation"
4 "AT Translated Set 2 keyboard"
5 "Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard"
6 "Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard"
7 "Logitech USB-PS/2 Trackball"
8 "Video Bus"
9 "TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint"
10 "ThinkPad HDAPS joystick emulatio" (sic)
11 "ThinkPad HDAPS accelerometer dat" (sic)
12 "HDA Digital PCBeep"

Problem: Zoom key not seen by X

The "Zoom" key (Fn-Space) cannot be assigned a function in GNOME. As shown in the table the key combination is seen and reported by ACPI

$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 00001014

but there is no corresponding X event.

Steve Langasek wrote on Ubuntu bug report log 217504:
X can only handly 256 distinct keycodes due to a protocol limitation, and due to evdev the keycodes are now standardized to match the Linux input layer - with no keycode below 256 that could reasonably be substituted for KEY_ZOOM.

The bug has been reported but there has not been any progress made (as of October 2010).

The tp-smapi module

The tp-smapi module allows, among other things, control of the battery charger as explained below.

Installing the tp-smapi module

$ sudo aptitude install tp-smapi-source
$ sudo module-assistant build tp-smapi-source
$ sudo module-assistant install tp-smapi-source
$ sudo rmmod hdaps # To remove factory hdaps module
$ sudo modprobe -a thinkpad_ec tp_smapi hdaps

This has to be done again each time a new kernel is installed.

Edit the file /etc/modules to add these lines:

 thinkpad_ec
 tp_smapi
 hdaps

Ubuntu 9.10 through 10.10 contain version 0.40 of tp-smapi. On 10.10:

$ uname -a
Linux triffid 2.6.35-22-generic-pae #34-Ubuntu SMP Sun Oct 10 11:03:48 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux
$ modinfo tp-smapi
filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.35-22-generic-pae/extra/tp_smapi.ko
license:        GPL
version:        0.40
description:    ThinkPad SMAPI Support
author:         Shem Multinymous
srcversion:     F73BBCBD87C5944FFE67105
depends:        thinkpad_ec
vermagic:       2.6.35-22-generic-pae SMP mod_unload modversions 686 
parm:           debug:Debug level (0=off, 1=on) (int)

There is currently (10 October 2010) no hdaps-utils package in Karmic and so no hdaps-gl application.

Increasing battery life

I am advised that, to make the battery cells last longer by reducing the number and depth of charge cycles, the charge thresholds should be set as follows.

Edit /etc/sysfs.conf to add the lines:

 # Make battery live longer
 devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/start_charge_thresh = 50
 devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/stop_charge_thresh = 90

The pakage sysfsutils must be installed for using /etc/sysfs.conf.

To effect the change either reboot or do:

$ sudo su 
# echo 50 > /sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/start_charge_thresh
# echo 90 > /sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/stop_charge_thresh


Sound & modem

Sound generally works well.

The ThinkPad 56K Modem (MDC-1.5) is softmodem which collaborates somehow with the HDA sound system.

Ubuntu doesn't support the modem out of the box. Extra drivers are needed.

Linuxant drivers

What work for me are the Linuxant drivers. I had to install driver packages for both the modem (hsfmodem) and the sound hardware (alsa-driver-linuxant); specifically:

alsa-driver-linuxant_1.0.20.3_all.deb
hsfmodem_7.80.02.05full_i386.deb

The drivers support 14.4 kbps as is. They support full 56 kbps and fax functionality when supplied with a license key which Linuxant supplies at a charge of 20 US$. I paid the money because I needed the fax functionality and I can report that faxing works well with efax-gtk.

Here is the log of the installation of the hsfmodem package:

jdthood@triffid:~/tmp$ sudo dpkg -i hsfmodem_7.80.02.05full_i386.deb
Selecting previously deselected package hsfmodem.
(Reading database ... 190767 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking hsfmodem (from hsfmodem_7.80.02.05full_i386.deb) ...
Setting up hsfmodem (7.80.02.05full) ...
Conexant HSF softmodem driver, version 7.80.02.05full

If you need license keys, assistance or more information, please go to:
	http://www.linuxant.com/

When reporting a problem for the first time, please send
us the file generated by "hsfconfig --dumpdiag".

No pre-built modules for: Ubuntu-9.10 linux-2.6.31-20-generic-pae i686-SMP

Trying to automatically build the driver modules...
(this requires a C compiler and proper kernel sources to be installed)

Building modules for kernel 2.6.31-20-generic-pae, using source directory
/lib/modules/2.6.31-20-generic-pae/build. Please wait...
done.

Automatically guessed region (using timezone): "NETHERLANDS"

Setting region for modem unit 0: "NETHERLANDS"

To change, use "hsfconfig --region" or "AT+GCI=<T35code>"
The current region can be displayed by entering "ATI9" in a terminal program.

Note: kernel module snd-via82xx-modem overridden by hsfmc97via
Note: kernel module snd-intel8x0m overridden by hsfmc97ich hsfmc97sis
Note: kernel module snd-atiixp-modem overridden by hsfmc97ati

Current parameters: ("hsfconfig --info")

Config for modem unit 0: /dev/ttySHSF0
	Device instance: 0-HDA-14f12bfa:17aa201b-1
	HW revision    : SSD=31 LSD=0x11
	HW profile name: hsfhda
	Registration ID: A16F-BBB1-4F55
	License owner  : unknown
	License key    : FREE
	License status : FREE (max 14.4kbps data only)
	Current region : NETHERLANDS (T.35 code: 007B)

The /dev/modem alias (symlink) points to /dev/ttySHSF0

To enable full 56K modem and FAX functionality, enter your license information
with "hsfconfig --license".

License owner and key data must EXACTLY match the information respectively
provided to and by Linuxant. Otherwise, license status will remain "FREE"!

Here is the log of the installation of alsa-driver-linuxant:

jdthood@triffid:~/tmp$ sudo dpkg -i alsa-driver-linuxant_1.0.20.3_all.deb
Selecting previously deselected package alsa-driver-linuxant.
(Reading database ... 190702 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking alsa-driver-linuxant (from alsa-driver-linuxant_1.0.20.3_all.deb) ...
Setting up alsa-driver-linuxant (1.0.20.3) ...

Removing hsf driver from /lib/modules/2.6.31-20-generic-pae/
Building modules for the 2.6.31-20-generic-pae kernel, please wait... done.
Conexant HSF softmodem driver, version 7.80.02.05full

If you need license keys, assistance or more information, please go to:
	http://www.linuxant.com/

When reporting a problem for the first time, please send
us the file generated by "hsfconfig --dumpdiag".

No pre-built modules for: Ubuntu-9.10 linux-2.6.31-20-generic-pae i686-SMP

Trying to automatically build the driver modules...
(this requires a C compiler and proper kernel sources to be installed)

Building modules for kernel 2.6.31-20-generic-pae, using source directory
/lib/modules/2.6.31-20-generic-pae/build. Please wait...
Warning: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec_conexant is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec_analog is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec is in use by snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_analog
Sending TERM signal to processes still using the driver:
  PID USER     COMMAND
18648 jdthood  /usr/bin/pulseaudio --start --log-target=syslog
Successfully stopped the Conexant HSF softmodem driver.
done.

Automatically guessed region (using timezone): "NETHERLANDS"
jdthood@triffid:~/tmp$ sudo dpkg -i alsa-driver-linuxant_1.0.20.3_all.deb
Selecting previously deselected package alsa-driver-linuxant.
(Reading database ... 190702 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking alsa-driver-linuxant (from alsa-driver-linuxant_1.0.20.3_all.deb) ...
Setting up alsa-driver-linuxant (1.0.20.3) ...

Removing hsf driver from /lib/modules/2.6.31-20-generic-pae/
Building modules for the 2.6.31-20-generic-pae kernel, please wait... done.
Conexant HSF softmodem driver, version 7.80.02.05full

If you need license keys, assistance or more information, please go to:
	http://www.linuxant.com/

When reporting a problem for the first time, please send
us the file generated by "hsfconfig --dumpdiag".

No pre-built modules for: Ubuntu-9.10 linux-2.6.31-20-generic-pae i686-SMP

Trying to automatically build the driver modules...
(this requires a C compiler and proper kernel sources to be installed)

Building modules for kernel 2.6.31-20-generic-pae, using source directory
/lib/modules/2.6.31-20-generic-pae/build. Please wait...
Warning: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec_conexant is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec_analog is in use
Warning: Module snd_hda_codec is in use by snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_analog
Sending TERM signal to processes still using the driver:
  PID USER     COMMAND
18648 jdthood  /usr/bin/pulseaudio --start --log-target=syslog
Successfully stopped the Conexant HSF softmodem driver.
done.

Automatically guessed region (using timezone): "NETHERLANDS"

Setting region for modem unit 0: "NETHERLANDS"

To change, use "hsfconfig --region" or "AT+GCI=<T35code>"
The current region can be displayed by entering "ATI9" in a terminal program.

Note: kernel module snd-via82xx-modem overridden by hsfmc97via
Note: kernel module snd-intel8x0m overridden by hsfmc97ich hsfmc97sis
Note: kernel module snd-atiixp-modem overridden by hsfmc97ati

Current parameters: ("hsfconfig --info")

Config for modem unit 0: /dev/ttySHSF0
	Device instance: 0-HDA-14f12bfa:17aa201b-1
	HW revision    : SSD=31 LSD=0x11
	HW profile name: hsfhda
	Registration ID: A16F-BBB1-4F55
	License owner  : unknown
	License key    : FREE
	License status : FREE (max 14.4kbps data only)
	Current region : NETHERLANDS (T.35 code: 007B)

The /dev/modem alias (symlink) points to /dev/ttySHSF0

To enable full 56K modem and FAX functionality, enter your license information
with "hsfconfig --license".

License owner and key data must EXACTLY match the information respectively
provided to and by Linuxant. Otherwise, license status will remain "FREE"!

Processing triggers for ureadahead ...
ureadahead will be reprofiled on next reboot
Setting region for modem unit 0: "NETHERLANDS"

To change, use "hsfconfig --region" or "AT+GCI=<T35code>"
The current region can be displayed by entering "ATI9" in a terminal program.

Note: kernel module snd-via82xx-modem overridden by hsfmc97via
Note: kernel module snd-intel8x0m overridden by hsfmc97ich hsfmc97sis
Note: kernel module snd-atiixp-modem overridden by hsfmc97ati

Current parameters: ("hsfconfig --info")

Config for modem unit 0: /dev/ttySHSF0
	Device instance: 0-HDA-14f12bfa:17aa201b-1
	HW revision    : SSD=31 LSD=0x11
	HW profile name: hsfhda
	Registration ID: A16F-BBB1-4F55
	License owner  : unknown
	License key    : FREE
	License status : FREE (max 14.4kbps data only)
	Current region : NETHERLANDS (T.35 code: 007B)

The /dev/modem alias (symlink) points to /dev/ttySHSF0

To enable full 56K modem and FAX functionality, enter your license information
with "hsfconfig --license".

License owner and key data must EXACTLY match the information respectively
provided to and by Linuxant. Otherwise, license status will remain "FREE"!

Processing triggers for ureadahead ...
ureadahead will be reprofiled on next reboot

Solved problem: Linuxant ALSA doesn't build with Lucid's kernel

With kernel 2.6.32-21-generic-pae, shipped with Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), the build of alsa-driver-linuxant fails.

/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/pci/asihpi/hpios_linux_kernel.c: In function ‘HpiOs_DelayMicroSeconds’:
/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/pci/asihpi/hpios_linux_kernel.c:34: error: implicit declaration of function ‘schedule_timeout_uninterruptible’
make[4]: *** [/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/pci/asihpi/hpios_linux_kernel.o] Error 1
make[3]: *** [/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/pci/asihpi] Error 2
make[2]: *** [/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/pci] Error 2
make[1]: *** [_module_/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.32-21-generic-pae'
make: *** [compile] Error 2

This was fixed in version 1.0.23.0 of alsa-driver-linuxant.

Problem: Linuxant ALSA doesn't build with Maverick's kernel

With Maverick's kernel 2.6.35-22-generic-pae the build of alsa-driver-linuxant version 1.0.23.0 fails with

/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/acore/pcm_native.c: In function ‘snd_pcm_hw_params’:
/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/acore/pcm_native.c:489: error: implicit declaration of function ‘pm_qos_remove_requirement’
/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/acore/pcm_native.c:492: error: implicit declaration of function ‘pm_qos_add_requirement’
make[3]: *** [/usr/lib/alsa-driver-linuxant/acore/pcm_native.o] Error 1

Solved problem: Linuxant ALSA breaks pulseaudio

When I first installed the alsa-driver-linuxant drivers, normal sound no longer worked: pulseaudio no longer recognized a sound card.

The solution was to upgrade the pulseaudio package to the version included in lucid.

Partially solved problem: No beep

After installation the system beep does not work. E.g., ringing the terminal bell with echo -e '\a' (under bash) has no effect. The problem has been thoroughly discussed in this Ubuntu bug report. The short story is that a host of bugs have prevented the system beep from working by default in recent Ubuntu releases.

Fix for GNOME Terminal

In natty it is necessary to do the following in order to have the terminal bell played through X, the window manager and pulseaudio:

pactl upload-sample /usr/share/sounds/gnome/default/alerts/glass.ogg bell.ogg
xset b 100

To automate these commands:

  • Put the pactl command in ~/.xprofile.
  • From a terminal run gconf-editor and at "desktop | gnome | peripherals | keyboard" change "bell_mode" from "off" to "on". This seems to have the same effect as xset b 50.

If you still don't hear the terminal bell make sure that sound output volume is turned up high enough and that in the GNOME Terminal menu, "Edit | Profile Preferences | General | Terminal bell" is ticked.

Don't put anything in .xinitrc or .xsession—they are no longer executed on Ubuntu. Don't put an xset command in .profile—it gets executed too early.

Fix for console terminal

(The console terminal is accessible from the GUI by pressing CTRL-ALT-F1.)

The console terminal bell plays without intervention of X. It requires the pcspkr driver but by default this is blacklisted. To un-blacklist it, comment out or remove the line "blacklist pcspkr" in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf. The module will be loaded on boot; to load it immediately do modprobe pcspkr.

A hitch

Unfortunately, alsa-driver-linuxant, the Linuxant version of ALSA, appears to be incompatible with thinkpad-acpi, the module that creates the /proc/acpi/ibm/beep file:

$ sudo modprobe thinkpad-acpi
FATAL: Error inserting thinkpad_acpi (/lib/modules/2.6.32-21-generic-pae/kernel/drivers/platform/x86/thinkpad_acpi.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
$ dmesg | tail -2 
[397468.354012] thinkpad_acpi: disagrees about version of symbol snd_card_create
[397468.354014] thinkpad_acpi: Unknown symbol snd_card_create

TPM

The X61 has a treacherous platform module (TPM) chip.

Solved problem: Hard locks

I installed tpm-tools to see if this version of Ubuntu can talk to the chip. After

sudo modprobe tpm
sudo modprobe tpm_tis

the tpm_version command was enough to hardlock the system after printing out the following information:

Tpm version hardlock.jpg

The solution was to load the tpm_tis modules with the interrupts=0 parameter. Then tpm_version displayed the following information:

  TPM 1.2 Version Info:
  Chip Version:        1.2.13.9
  Spec Level:          2
  Errata Revision:     1
  TPM Vendor ID:       ATML
  TPM Version:         01010000
  Manufacturer Info:   41544d4c

Ref: https://www.grounation.org/index.php?post/2008/07/04/8-how-to-use-a-tpm-with-linux

Fan

The machine started overheating. To fix this I created a file /etc/modprobe.d/thinkpad-acpi.conf with:

options thinkpad-acpi fan_control=1

and did

echo level 7 > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan 

as suggested at How to control fan speed.

While researching this I contributed Thermal_Sensors#ThinkPad_X61.