ThinkWiki - User contributions [en]

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T01:13:50Z

Dimm0k:

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

The thinkpad_acpi module reports the wrong number for the LCD brightness level. On mine, issuing '''cat sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/max_brightness''' shows 15 regardless of what I change it to. Because of this the LCD’s brightness always gets set to 15 when resuming from hibernation so we add a '''options thinkpad_acpi brightness_mode=2''' to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf'' fix. You can also disable it altogether and use ACPI with '''options thinkpad_acpi brightness_enable=0'''.

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''w520.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

* BIOS version was 1.25, which was buggy with Linux in terms of ACPI. I had reverted to 1.22 temporarily to get ACPI working fully, but it looks to be all fixed in 1.26, which is what I am currently running.

{{W520}}
--[[User:Dimm0k|dimm0k]] 03:13, 22 July 2011 (CEST)

Category:W520

2011-07-22T01:12:36Z

Dimm0k: /* Linux Installation */

__NOTOC__
{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top" |
<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
=== ThinkPad W520 ===

==== Standard Features ====

* One of the following [[Intel Core i7]] processors:
** Intel Quad Core i7-2920XM (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 55W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2820QM (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Dual Core i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2540M (2.60GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
* One of the following discrete graphics cards:
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 1000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 2000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 192 CUDA cores
* One of the following [[TFT display|TFT displays]]:
** 15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
* 2GB, 4GB or 8GB DIMMS [[PC3-10600]] memory standard
** 2 DIMM slots on dual-core models (up to 16GB)
** 4 DIMM slots on quad-core models (up to 32GB)
*One of the following storage options:
** 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 128GB Samsung SATA SSD
** 160GB Intel SATA SSD
* [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]]
* Intel HD Audio with a [[CX20585]] codec
* [[ThinkPad Modem (MDC-3.0, 56kbps HDA)]]
* [[Ultrabay|Ultrabay Enhanced]] with one of the following:
** [[Serial UltraBay Enhanced DVD Burner II]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 1 with one of the following:
** Thinkpad b/g/n
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205]] (2x2 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] (3x3 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 2 with one of the following:
** None (empty)
** [[Sierra Wireless MC8355]] Gobi 3000 WWAN
** Ericsson F5521gw WWAN
** LeadCore LC5730D WWAN
** Huawei EM660 WWAN
** Intel 310 mSATA SSD
* [[ExpressCard slot|ExpressCard/34 slot]]
* [[Lenovo Integrated Smart Card Reader]] (Optional)
* [[Ricoh 5-in-1 MultiCard Reader|5-in-1 MultiCard Reader]]
* 720p [[Integrated camera]] on select models
* [[Huey PRO Colorimeter]] by X-Rite on select models
* [[Embedded Security Subsystem|Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2]]
* [[Active Protection System]]
* [[Integrated Fingerprint Reader]] on select models
* [[ThinkPad Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate (BDC-2.1)|Bluetooth]] on select models
* [[UltraNav]] (TrackPoint / Touchpad combo)
* [[Firewire Port|Firewire 400]] (IEEE1394a)
* [[DisplayPort]]
* [[USB Port|USB 3.0]]
* [[ESATA Port|eSATA Port]]
* [[Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)]] on select models

</div>
|style="vertical-align:top" |
[[Image:ThinkPadW510.jpg|ThinkPad W520|300px]]
|}

==== Resources ====

* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76854.html Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM)]
* [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-77167 W520 Drivers and Software]
* [http://shop.lenovo.com/us/ww/pdf/w520_datasheet.pdf Worldwide_datasheet ThinkPad W520 notebooks - 1 Feb 2011 (PDF 2450382 Bytes)]

==== Reviews ====

* [http://www.storagereview.com/lenovo_thinkpad_t520_review StorageReview.com], 2011-04-11
* [http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-w520-mini-review.aspx Keith Combs' Blahg], 2011-03-28

==== Linux Installation ====

* {{Install|Fedora| 14|W520}}
* {{Install|Fedora| 15|W520}}
* {{Install|Debian| Squeeze|W520}}
* {{Install|Slackware| 13.37|W520}} updated 7/21/2011
* {{Install|OpenSuse|11.4|W520}}

=== Power Adapter ===

The W520 comes with a special [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 170W AC adapter (P/N 0A36227)] that is currently not shipped with any other Thinkpad. Note that it is different from the W700 [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 170W AC adapter (P/N 41R4421)]. The W520 AC adapter is larger but lighter than the W510 135W AC adapter.

Most newer (20V) Thinkpad AC adapters have a compatible plug with the W520, but not all of them will work due to power constraints. The following table shows which AC adapters can be used to run the W520:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
! Marketing P/N
! Rated power
! Works on W520
! Charge while off
! Comment
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 0A36227]
| 170W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W520
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 41R4421]
| 170W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cno}}
| Official AC adapter for W700, different plug diameter
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-74503 55Y9317]
| 135W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W510.
|-
| Various
| 90W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|-
| Various
| 65W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|}

The 135W adapter is sufficient to run the W520 without throttling. The 65W and 90W adapters can only be used to charge the battery while the W520 is not running, that is, powered off, hibernated, or suspended.

[[Category:W Series]]

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T01:12:00Z

Dimm0k: /* Misc notes */

Xorg.conf

2011-07-22T01:09:33Z

Dimm0k:

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T01:08:20Z

Dimm0k: /* Video */

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T01:03:18Z

Dimm0k: /* Audio */

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''w520.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

{{W520}}

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T00:59:15Z

Dimm0k: /* Networking */

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''alsa-base.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

{{W520}}

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T00:58:55Z

Dimm0k: /* Audio */

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''alsa-base.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to /etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

{{W520}}

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-22T00:58:30Z

Dimm0k: /* Networking */

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''alsa-base.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to /etc/modprobe.d/w520.conf. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

{{W520}}

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-22T00:57:32Z

Dimm0k: Blanked the page

Xorg.conf

2011-07-17T23:13:51Z

Dimm0k:

Xorg.conf

2011-07-17T23:12:36Z

Dimm0k:

Category:W520

2011-07-17T23:07:46Z

Dimm0k: /* Linux Installation */

__NOTOC__
{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top" |
<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
=== ThinkPad W520 ===

==== Standard Features ====

* One of the following [[Intel Core i7]] processors:
** Intel Quad Core i7-2920XM (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 55W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2820QM (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Dual Core i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2540M (2.60GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
* One of the following discrete graphics cards:
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 1000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 2000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 192 CUDA cores
* One of the following [[TFT display|TFT displays]]:
** 15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
* 2GB, 4GB or 8GB DIMMS [[PC3-10600]] memory standard
** 2 DIMM slots on dual-core models (up to 16GB)
** 4 DIMM slots on quad-core models (up to 32GB)
*One of the following storage options:
** 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 128GB Samsung SATA SSD
** 160GB Intel SATA SSD
* [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]]
* Intel HD Audio with a [[CX20585]] codec
* [[ThinkPad Modem (MDC-3.0, 56kbps HDA)]]
* [[Ultrabay|Ultrabay Enhanced]] with one of the following:
** [[Serial UltraBay Enhanced DVD Burner II]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 1 with one of the following:
** Thinkpad b/g/n
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205]] (2x2 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] (3x3 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 2 with one of the following:
** None (empty)
** [[Sierra Wireless MC8355]] Gobi 3000 WWAN
** Ericsson F5521gw WWAN
** LeadCore LC5730D WWAN
** Huawei EM660 WWAN
** Intel 310 mSATA SSD
* [[ExpressCard slot|ExpressCard/34 slot]]
* [[Lenovo Integrated Smart Card Reader]] (Optional)
* [[Ricoh 5-in-1 MultiCard Reader|5-in-1 MultiCard Reader]]
* 720p [[Integrated camera]] on select models
* [[Huey PRO Colorimeter]] by X-Rite on select models
* [[Embedded Security Subsystem|Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2]]
* [[Active Protection System]]
* [[Integrated Fingerprint Reader]] on select models
* [[ThinkPad Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate (BDC-2.1)|Bluetooth]] on select models
* [[UltraNav]] (TrackPoint / Touchpad combo)
* [[Firewire Port|Firewire 400]] (IEEE1394a)
* [[DisplayPort]]
* [[USB Port|USB 3.0]]
* [[ESATA Port|eSATA Port]]
* [[Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)]] on select models

</div>
|style="vertical-align:top" |
[[Image:ThinkPadW510.jpg|ThinkPad W520|300px]]
|}

==== Resources ====

* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76854.html Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM)]
* [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-77167 W520 Drivers and Software]
* [http://shop.lenovo.com/us/ww/pdf/w520_datasheet.pdf Worldwide_datasheet ThinkPad W520 notebooks - 1 Feb 2011 (PDF 2450382 Bytes)]

==== Reviews ====

* [http://www.storagereview.com/lenovo_thinkpad_t520_review StorageReview.com], 2011-04-11
* [http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-w520-mini-review.aspx Keith Combs' Blahg], 2011-03-28

==== Linux Installation ====

* {{Install|Fedora| 14|W520}}
* {{Install|Fedora| 15|W520}}
* {{Install|Debian| Squeeze|W520}}
* {{Install|Slackware| 13.37|W520}} updated 7/17/2011
* {{Install|OpenSuse|11.4|W520}}

=== Power Adapter ===

The W520 comes with a special [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 170W AC adapter (P/N 0A36227)] that is currently not shipped with any other Thinkpad. Note that it is different from the W700 [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 170W AC adapter (P/N 41R4421)]. The W520 AC adapter is larger but lighter than the W510 135W AC adapter.

Most newer (20V) Thinkpad AC adapters have a compatible plug with the W520, but not all of them will work due to power constraints. The following table shows which AC adapters can be used to run the W520:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
! Marketing P/N
! Rated power
! Works on W520
! Charge while off
! Comment
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 0A36227]
| 170W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W520
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 41R4421]
| 170W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cno}}
| Official AC adapter for W700, different plug diameter
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-74503 55Y9317]
| 135W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W510.
|-
| Various
| 90W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|-
| Various
| 65W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|}

The 135W adapter is sufficient to run the W520 without throttling. The 65W and 90W adapters can only be used to charge the battery while the W520 is not running, that is, powered off, hibernated, or suspended.

[[Category:W Series]]

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-17T23:06:01Z

Dimm0k: /* Audio */

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end. Kernel 2.6.37.6 was supplied with Slackware 13.37 so I compiled and installed 2.6.39.2 using the .config file from the testing/source/linux-2.6.39-rc4-configs/ directory on the Slackware install DVD. Made some minor changes to the config as follows:

{{NOTE|Sections with -[ ] were removed.}}
* Processor type and features
** Preemption Model > Preemptible Kernel
* Networking support
**-[Amateur Radio support]
**-[CAN bus subsystem support]
**-[IrDA (infrared) subsystem support
**-[WiMAX Wireless Broadband support]
*Device Drivers
**-[Parallel port support]
**-[Fusion MPT device support]
**-[I2O device support]
**-[Macintosh device drivers]
***Network device support
****-[ARCnet support]
****-[Token Ring driver support]
****-[ATM drivers]
****-[FDDI driver support]
****-[HIPPI driver support]
****-[ISDN support]
**-[Dallas's 1-wire support]
***Multimedia support
****-[Remote Controller adapters]
****-[Radio Adapters]

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology. Unfortunately because of NVIDIA's unwillingness to bring Optimus support to Linux, you have three choices. You can use the integrated Intel HD graphics, NVIDIA's discrete graphics, or look into the bumblebee project [https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee#readme here]. I went with the NVIDIA discrete graphics route with plans to try out the bumblebee project at a later time. Make sure to specifically set your graphics option in the BIOS to discrete, otherwise Slackware/Linux will select integrated.

Instead of the open source nouveau driver, which is limited to 2D graphics I went with NVIDIA's binary, version 275.09.07. Used xf86-video-nouveau-blacklist-noarch-1.txz in the extra/ directory on the Slackware install DVD to blacklist the loading of the nouveau driver, which causes conflicts with NVIDIA's binary. With X.Org's X Server 1.9.5 in Slackware, xorg.conf is pretty bare these days as detection is done pretty smoothly at start. Using NVIDIA's installer to create a default xorg.conf, the only things I edited were

{{xorg.conf}}

== Audio ==

Because I mainly use this notebook at home, I have an external LCD capable of HDMI video and audio attached via a DisplayPort to HDMI cable that allows me to not only display video, but also audio. To enable the HDMI audio, I needed to add the following to ''/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf''

'''options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xffff,0xfff2'''

Issue the command '''aplay -l''' in a console and it should hopefully list the sound devices you have on your system. For me it listed one for the sound device that controls the Lenovo speakers and a bunch for nVidia's HDMI interface. I do not have my machine in front of me now, but it was similar to this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 7: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 8: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 9: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

In the above you can see that the HDMI device is seen as card 1 so the above probe_mask is appropriate. If you have card number 0, remove the extra 0xffff so '''probe_mask=0xfff2''' would be more appropriate. If it was card number 2, add two 0xffff like '''probe_mask=0xffff,0xffff,0xfff2'''. After putting this in ''alsa-base.conf'' and reloading the snd_hda_intel module, '''aplay -l''' should list only one nVidia card. On mine it looks like this:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CONEXANT Analog [CONEXANT Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

To actually allow audio to play over HDMI and the analog headphone jack, you need to edit asoundrc. Either /etc/asoundrc or ~/.asoundrc should work. I went with the latter and used ALSA's dmix to do the magic.

# ~/.asoundrc or /etc/asound.conf
# ALSA configuration file from http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p=513810&postcount=4

##### USAGE #####
# Save this file as "~/.asoundrc" (for user-specific sound configuration) or
# "/etc/asound.conf" (for system-wide sound configuration) and specify ALSA
# device names ad described in the next section.

##### DEVICE NAMES #####
# This configuration file defines four devices for use by the user. Those
# devices are "analog", "mixed-analog", "digital", and "mixed-digital". The
# user may also re-define "default" to be identical to one of the above-named
# devices (i.e. to send all sound output to the digital output unless otherwise
# specified). Use the device names as described below:
# - "analog" outputs to the analog output directly and (at least on software
# sound cards) blocks other audio output. After playback completes, "queued"
# sounds are output in sequence.
# - "mixed-analog" mixes audio output from multiple programs into the analog
# output (so you can hear beeps, alerts, and other noises while playing back
# an audio stream).
# - "digital" outputs to the digital output directly. Since most (all?)
# digital outputs expect 48kHz PCM audio, this may not work for some playback
# (i.e. CD's--which are 44.1kHz PCM audio--or 32kHz audio streams from TV
# recordings, etc.).
# - "mixed-digital"

# All other devices created within this file are used only by the configuration
# file itself and should /not/ be used directly. In other words, do not use
# the devices "analog-hw", "dmix-analog", "digital-hw", or "dmix-digital".

##### IMPORTANT #####
# To make this ALSA configuration file work with your sound card, you will need
# to define the appropriate card and device information for the "analog-hw" and
# "digital-hw" devices below. You can find the card and device information
# using "aplay -l".

# Alias for (converted) analog output on the card
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which always exists and
# refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog" to access analog
# output on the card
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is different from "default" and
# allows playback while blocking other sound sources (until playback
# completes).
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) mixed analog output on the card
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and convert to the rate
# required for the dmix plugin (in this case 48000Hz)
# - Note that as of ALSA 1.0.9, "software" sound card definitions redefine
# "default" to do mixing, meaning this device is identical to "default" for
# "software" sound cards.
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Analog Output - Use analog outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
hint {
show on
description "Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Alias for mixed (converted) digital (HDMI) output on the card

pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
hint {
show on
description "Mixed Digital Output - Use digital outputs, converting samples, format, and rate as necessary. Allows mixing with system sounds."
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They require specific
# rates, channels, and formats. Therefore, you probably do not want to use
# them directly. Instead use of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Alias for digital (HDMI) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
device 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output on the card
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate, channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 8192
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 1
device 3
}

# Make joint analog/HDMI the default
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm multi
rate 48000
}
ttable.0.0 1.0;
ttable.1.1 1.0;
ttable.0.2 1.0; # front left
ttable.1.3 1.0; # front right
hint {
show on
description "Default - output using Mixed Analog AND Mixed Digital"
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the card
ctl.!default {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a.pcm "softvol"
slaves.a.channels 2
slaves.b.pcm "dmix-digital"
slaves.b.channels 2
bindings.0.slave a;
bindings.0.channel 0;
bindings.1.slave a;
bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;
bindings.2.channel 0;
bindings.3.slave b;
bindings.3.channel 1;
}

ctl.multi {
type hw
card 0
}

pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix-analog"
}
control {
name "Pre-Amp"
card 0
}
min_dB -5.0
max_dB 10.0
resolution 6
}

== Networking ==

The [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] Wi-Fi card and [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]] Ethernet card both worked right out of the box.

By default the Wi-Fi indicator flashes whenever there is activity, which I found to be quite annoying and distracting. You can change its behavior so that it will be on steady whenever the radio is powered on and off when the radio is off by adding "'''options iwlcore led_mode=1'''" to /etc/modprobe.d/iwlcore.conf. Setting '''led_mode=0''', the default, will cause the indicator to flash whenever there is wireless activity.

== Misc notes ==

* You can verify that Turbo Boost is working properly by using Intel's powertop or i7z to show the actual CPU state, including Turbo Boost and advanced C-states.

* You will need to make sure the following modules are loaded: ac, battery, button, coretemp, fan, processor, and thermal for proper ACPI and temperature monitoring.

{{W520}}

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-17T22:42:30Z

Dimm0k:

Category:W520

2011-07-17T22:34:03Z

Dimm0k:

__NOTOC__
{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top" |
<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
=== ThinkPad W520 ===

==== Standard Features ====

* One of the following [[Intel Core i7]] processors:
** Intel Quad Core i7-2920XM (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 55W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2820QM (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Dual Core i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2540M (2.60GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
* One of the following discrete graphics cards:
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 1000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 2000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 192 CUDA cores
* One of the following [[TFT display|TFT displays]]:
** 15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
* 2GB, 4GB or 8GB DIMMS [[PC3-10600]] memory standard
** 2 DIMM slots on dual-core models (up to 16GB)
** 4 DIMM slots on quad-core models (up to 32GB)
*One of the following storage options:
** 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 128GB Samsung SATA SSD
** 160GB Intel SATA SSD
* [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]]
* Intel HD Audio with a [[CX20585]] codec
* [[ThinkPad Modem (MDC-3.0, 56kbps HDA)]]
* [[Ultrabay|Ultrabay Enhanced]] with one of the following:
** [[Serial UltraBay Enhanced DVD Burner II]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 1 with one of the following:
** Thinkpad b/g/n
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205]] (2x2 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] (3x3 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 2 with one of the following:
** None (empty)
** [[Sierra Wireless MC8355]] Gobi 3000 WWAN
** Ericsson F5521gw WWAN
** LeadCore LC5730D WWAN
** Huawei EM660 WWAN
** Intel 310 mSATA SSD
* [[ExpressCard slot|ExpressCard/34 slot]]
* [[Lenovo Integrated Smart Card Reader]] (Optional)
* [[Ricoh 5-in-1 MultiCard Reader|5-in-1 MultiCard Reader]]
* 720p [[Integrated camera]] on select models
* [[Huey PRO Colorimeter]] by X-Rite on select models
* [[Embedded Security Subsystem|Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2]]
* [[Active Protection System]]
* [[Integrated Fingerprint Reader]] on select models
* [[ThinkPad Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate (BDC-2.1)|Bluetooth]] on select models
* [[UltraNav]] (TrackPoint / Touchpad combo)
* [[Firewire Port|Firewire 400]] (IEEE1394a)
* [[DisplayPort]]
* [[USB Port|USB 3.0]]
* [[ESATA Port|eSATA Port]]
* [[Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)]] on select models

</div>
|style="vertical-align:top" |
[[Image:ThinkPadW510.jpg|ThinkPad W520|300px]]
|}

==== Resources ====

* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76854.html Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM)]
* [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-77167 W520 Drivers and Software]
* [http://shop.lenovo.com/us/ww/pdf/w520_datasheet.pdf Worldwide_datasheet ThinkPad W520 notebooks - 1 Feb 2011 (PDF 2450382 Bytes)]

==== Reviews ====

* [http://www.storagereview.com/lenovo_thinkpad_t520_review StorageReview.com], 2011-04-11
* [http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-w520-mini-review.aspx Keith Combs' Blahg], 2011-03-28

==== Linux Installation ====

* {{Install|Fedora| 14|W520}}
* {{Install|Fedora| 15|W520}}
* {{Install|Debian| Squeeze|W520}}
* {{Install|Slackware| 13.37|W520}}
* {{Install|OpenSuse|11.4|W520}}

=== Power Adapter ===

The W520 comes with a special [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 170W AC adapter (P/N 0A36227)] that is currently not shipped with any other Thinkpad. Note that it is different from the W700 [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 170W AC adapter (P/N 41R4421)]. The W520 AC adapter is larger but lighter than the W510 135W AC adapter.

Most newer (20V) Thinkpad AC adapters have a compatible plug with the W520, but not all of them will work due to power constraints. The following table shows which AC adapters can be used to run the W520:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
! Marketing P/N
! Rated power
! Works on W520
! Charge while off
! Comment
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 0A36227]
| 170W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W520
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 41R4421]
| 170W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cno}}
| Official AC adapter for W700, different plug diameter
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-74503 55Y9317]
| 135W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W510.
|-
| Various
| 90W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|-
| Various
| 65W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|}

The 135W adapter is sufficient to run the W520 without throttling. The 65W and 90W adapters can only be used to charge the battery while the W520 is not running, that is, powered off, hibernated, or suspended.

[[Category:W Series]]

Installing Slackware 13.37 on a ThinkPad W520

2011-07-17T22:33:11Z

Dimm0k: â†Created page with '== Installation == Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W5...'

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-09T15:48:05Z

Dimm0k:

Category:W520

2011-07-05T17:52:28Z

Dimm0k: /* Linux Installation */

__NOTOC__
{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top" |
<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
=== ThinkPad W520 ===

==== Standard Features ====

* One of the following [[Intel Core i7]] processors:
** Intel Quad Core i7-2920XM (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 55W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2820QM (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Dual Core i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2540M (2.60GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
* One of the following discrete graphics cards:
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 1000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 2000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 192 CUDA cores
* One of the following [[TFT display|TFT displays]]:
** 15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
* 2GB, 4GB or 8GB DIMMS [[PC3-10600]] memory standard
** 2 DIMM slots on dual-core models (up to 16GB)
** 4 DIMM slots on quad-core models (up to 32GB)
*One of the following storage options:
** 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 128GB Samsung SATA SSD
** 160GB Intel SATA SSD
* [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]]
* Intel HD Audio with a [[CX20585]] codec
* [[ThinkPad Modem (MDC-3.0, 56kbps HDA)]]
* [[Ultrabay|Ultrabay Enhanced]] with one of the following:
** [[Serial UltraBay Enhanced DVD Burner II]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 1 with one of the following:
** Thinkpad b/g/n
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205]] (2x2 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] (3x3 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 2 with one of the following:
** None (empty)
** [[Sierra Wireless MC8355]] Gobi 3000 WWAN
** Ericsson F5521gw WWAN
** LeadCore LC5730D WWAN
** Huawei EM660 WWAN
** Intel 310 mSATA SSD
* [[ExpressCard slot|ExpressCard/34 slot]]
* [[Lenovo Integrated Smart Card Reader]] (Optional)
* [[Ricoh 5-in-1 MultiCard Reader|5-in-1 MultiCard Reader]]
* 720p [[Integrated camera]] on select models
* [[Huey PRO Colorimeter]] by X-Rite on select models
* [[Embedded Security Subsystem|Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2]]
* [[Active Protection System]]
* [[Integrated Fingerprint Reader]] on select models
* [[ThinkPad Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate (BDC-2.1)|Bluetooth]] on select models
* [[UltraNav]] (TrackPoint / Touchpad combo)
* [[Firewire Port|Firewire 400]] (IEEE1394a)
* [[DisplayPort]]
* [[USB Port|USB 3.0]]
* [[ESATA Port|eSATA Port]]
* [[Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)]] on select models

</div>
|style="vertical-align:top" |
[[Image:ThinkPadW510.jpg|ThinkPad W520|300px]]
|}

==== Resources ====

* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76854.html Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM)]
* [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-77167 W520 Drivers and Software]
* [http://shop.lenovo.com/us/ww/pdf/w520_datasheet.pdf Worldwide_datasheet ThinkPad W520 notebooks - 1 Feb 2011 (PDF 2450382 Bytes)]

==== Reviews ====

* [http://www.storagereview.com/lenovo_thinkpad_t520_review StorageReview.com], 2011-04-11
* [http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-w520-mini-review.aspx Keith Combs' Blahg], 2011-03-28

==== Linux Installation ====

* {{Install|Fedora| 14|W520}}
* {{Install|Fedora| 15|W520}}
* {{Install|Debian| Squeeze|W520}}
* [[Installing_Slackware_on_a_Thinkpad_W520]]

=== Power Adapter ===

The W520 comes with a special [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 170W AC adapter (P/N 0A36227)] that is currently not shipped with any other Thinkpad. Note that it is different from the W700 [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 170W AC adapter (P/N 41R4421)]. The W520 AC adapter is larger but lighter than the W510 135W AC adapter.

Most newer (20V) Thinkpad AC adapters have a compatible plug with the W520, but not all of them will work due to power constraints. The following table shows which AC adapters can be used to run the W520:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
! Marketing P/N
! Rated power
! Works on W520
! Charge while off
! Comment
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 0A36227]
| 170W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W520
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 41R4421]
| 170W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cno}}
| Official AC adapter for W700, different plug diameter
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-74503 55Y9317]
| 135W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W510.
|-
| Various
| 90W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|-
| Various
| 65W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|}

The 135W adapter is sufficient to run the W520 without throttling. The 65W and 90W adapters can only be used to charge the battery while the W520 is not running, that is, powered off, hibernated, or suspended.

[[Category:W Series]]

Category:W520

2011-07-05T17:51:05Z

Dimm0k: /* Linux Installation */

__NOTOC__
{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top" |
<div style="margin: 0; margin-right:10px; border: 1px solid #dfdfdf; padding: 0em 1em 1em 1em; background-color:#F8F8FF; align:right;">
=== ThinkPad W520 ===

==== Standard Features ====

* One of the following [[Intel Core i7]] processors:
** Intel Quad Core i7-2920XM (2.50GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 55W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2820QM (2.30GHz, 8MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Quad Core i7-2720QM (2.20GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
** Intel Dual Core i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2540M (2.60GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
** Intel Dual Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB, 35W)
* One of the following discrete graphics cards:
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 1000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores
** [[NVIDIA Quadro 2000M]] with 2GB DDR3 and 192 CUDA cores
* One of the following [[TFT display|TFT displays]]:
** 15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+) resolution with LED backlight
** 15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
* 2GB, 4GB or 8GB DIMMS [[PC3-10600]] memory standard
** 2 DIMM slots on dual-core models (up to 16GB)
** 4 DIMM slots on quad-core models (up to 32GB)
*One of the following storage options:
** 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA HDD
** 128GB Samsung SATA SSD
** 160GB Intel SATA SSD
* [[Intel Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) PCI-Express]]
* Intel HD Audio with a [[CX20585]] codec
* [[ThinkPad Modem (MDC-3.0, 56kbps HDA)]]
* [[Ultrabay|Ultrabay Enhanced]] with one of the following:
** [[Serial UltraBay Enhanced DVD Burner II]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 1 with one of the following:
** Thinkpad b/g/n
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205]] (2x2 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] (3x3 AGN)
** [[Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250]]
* [[MiniPCI Express slot]] 2 with one of the following:
** None (empty)
** [[Sierra Wireless MC8355]] Gobi 3000 WWAN
** Ericsson F5521gw WWAN
** LeadCore LC5730D WWAN
** Huawei EM660 WWAN
** Intel 310 mSATA SSD
* [[ExpressCard slot|ExpressCard/34 slot]]
* [[Lenovo Integrated Smart Card Reader]] (Optional)
* [[Ricoh 5-in-1 MultiCard Reader|5-in-1 MultiCard Reader]]
* 720p [[Integrated camera]] on select models
* [[Huey PRO Colorimeter]] by X-Rite on select models
* [[Embedded Security Subsystem|Trusted Computing Group TPM 1.2]]
* [[Active Protection System]]
* [[Integrated Fingerprint Reader]] on select models
* [[ThinkPad Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate (BDC-2.1)|Bluetooth]] on select models
* [[UltraNav]] (TrackPoint / Touchpad combo)
* [[Firewire Port|Firewire 400]] (IEEE1394a)
* [[DisplayPort]]
* [[USB Port|USB 3.0]]
* [[ESATA Port|eSATA Port]]
* [[Intel Active Management Technology (AMT)]] on select models

</div>
|style="vertical-align:top" |
[[Image:ThinkPadW510.jpg|ThinkPad W520|300px]]
|}

==== Resources ====

* [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76854.html Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM)]
* [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-77167 W520 Drivers and Software]
* [http://shop.lenovo.com/us/ww/pdf/w520_datasheet.pdf Worldwide_datasheet ThinkPad W520 notebooks - 1 Feb 2011 (PDF 2450382 Bytes)]

==== Reviews ====

* [http://www.storagereview.com/lenovo_thinkpad_t520_review StorageReview.com], 2011-04-11
* [http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/03/28/lenovo-thinkpad-w520-mini-review.aspx Keith Combs' Blahg], 2011-03-28

==== Linux Installation ====

* {{Install|Fedora| 14|W520}}
* {{Install|Fedora| 15|W520}}
* {{Install|Debian| Squeeze|W520}}
* Install[[Installing_Slackware_on_a_Thinkpad_W520]]

=== Power Adapter ===

The W520 comes with a special [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 170W AC adapter (P/N 0A36227)] that is currently not shipped with any other Thinkpad. Note that it is different from the W700 [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 170W AC adapter (P/N 41R4421)]. The W520 AC adapter is larger but lighter than the W510 135W AC adapter.

Most newer (20V) Thinkpad AC adapters have a compatible plug with the W520, but not all of them will work due to power constraints. The following table shows which AC adapters can be used to run the W520:

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
! Marketing P/N
! Rated power
! Works on W520
! Charge while off
! Comment
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-76762.html 0A36227]
| 170W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W520
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-70684 41R4421]
| 170W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cno}}
| Official AC adapter for W700, different plug diameter
|-
| [http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-74503 55Y9317]
| 135W
| {{Cyes}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Official AC adapter for W510.
|-
| Various
| 90W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|-
| Various
| 65W
| {{Cno}}
| {{Cyes}}
| Battery continues to drain, does not work
|}

The 135W adapter is sufficient to run the W520 without throttling. The 65W and 90W adapters can only be used to charge the battery while the W520 is not running, that is, powered off, hibernated, or suspended.

[[Category:W Series]]

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-05T17:45:15Z

Dimm0k: /* Networking */

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-05T17:34:17Z

Dimm0k: /* Misc notes */

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-05T17:33:52Z

Dimm0k: /* Networking */

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-05T17:30:23Z

Dimm0k: /* Misc notes */

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-05T17:26:51Z

Dimm0k: /* Installation */

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-03T03:31:49Z

Dimm0k:

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-03T03:29:29Z

Dimm0k:

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-03T02:13:37Z

Dimm0k: /* Installation */

2011-07-03T01:27:15Z

Dimm0k: â†Created page with 'Section "Device" Identifier "Device0" Driver "nvidia" VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation" BoardName "Quadro 2000M" Option "Ren...'

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "nvidia"
VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
BoardName "Quadro 2000M"
Option "RenderAccel" "true"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "true"
Option "HWCursor" "yes"
Option "CursorShadow" "yes"
Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-1, DFP-0, CRT-0"
EndSection

The ''Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"'' line allows you to change the brightness of the notebook's LCD via the Fn-HOME and Fn-END key combinations. DFP-0 is detected as the notebook's LCD and since I'm usually connecting this computer to my external LCD, I use ''Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-1, DFP-0, CRT-0"'' to set DFP-1 as the primary display.

Not recommended but to allow plugging in a monitor without restarting X, you can add
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0, DFP-1, CRT-0"

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
Option "TwinView" "1"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "Clone"
Option "TwinViewXineramaInfoOrder" "DFP-1"
Option "MetaModes" "DFP-0: NULL, DFP-1: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, CRT-0: NULL; DFP-0: 1920x1080 +0+0, DFP-1: NULL, CRT-0: NULL; DFP-0: nvidia-auto-select +0+120, DFP-1: nvidia-auto-select +0+0, CRT-0: NULL;"
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
EndSubSection
EndSection

Here I set up the 3 MetaModes:
- notebook LCD off, external LCD on, VGA off
- notebook LCD on, external LCD off, VGA off
- notebook LCD on, external LCD on, VGA off

By setting CRT-0: NULL, you can save some battery by turning off the VGA port.

Installing Slackware on a Thinkpad W520

2011-07-03T00:41:37Z

== Installation ==

Slackware 13.37 64-bit installed like a breeze on a hot, humid day! For the most part all of the essentials to get the system up and running on the W520 was detected and put into play with little or no intervention or editing of files on my end.

== Video ==

Coming from a W510, the W520 introduced me to the concepts of discrete and integrated graphics, as well as NVIDIA's Optimus technology.

The first decision is whether you want to use the NVidia discrete graphics (faster) or the Intel HD integrated graphics (more power-efficient). Both are more than fast enough for office graphics, the only noticeable speed difference is in 3D acceleration. You must set the graphics mode in the BIOS accordingly to discrete or integrated only. Do not leave it at the default "Optimus" as it is undocumented and unsupported.

{{NOTE|If you want stable 3D acceleration out of the box you should use the Intel integrated graphics.}}
The following notes refer to the NVidia discrete graphics only. Fedora uses the reverse-engineered Nouveau driver in this case, which currently is restricted to 2D graphics. If you need 3D acceleration, you have to install the binary-only NVidia drivers. The easiest way is to configure teh [http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration RPM fusion repository] and follow their [http://rpmfusion.org/Howto/nVidia NVidia HowTo]. This amounts to running

{{cmdroot|yum localinstall --nogpgcheck http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.rpm}}

{{cmdroot|yum localinstall --nogpgcheck http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.noarch.rpm}}

{{cmdroot|yum install kmod-nvidia}}

The backlight control does not work by default with the NVidia driver, to get it to work you have to add '''Option "RegistryDwords" "EnableBrightnessControl=1"''' to the Device section of your {{path|/etc/X11/xorg.conf}}.

== Networking ==

=== WiFi ===

I have the [[Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300]] card and it works out of the box.

=== Ethernet ===

The '''e1000e''' driver in Fedora 14 is too old for the ethernet chip. To get it to work you have to download and compile the [http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&DwnldID=15817 updated driver] from Intel's web page. You don't have to recompile the whole kernel; Just unpack, make, and {{cmdroot|insmod ./e1000e.ko}}