ThinkWiki - User contributions [en]

How to enable the integrated fingerprint reader with ThinkFinger

2008-05-10T07:55:32Z

Rogerbinns: /* Ubuntu */ Add hardy section and deprecate gutsy

[[How to enable the fingerprint reader]] has a good explanation for using the fingerprint reader with the closed-source binary driver. But there is also an opensource project called [http://thinkfinger.sourceforge.net ThinkFinger] which does the same, but open.

However: The fingerprint reader is an INSECURE device and gives a false sense of security! There has been quite a bit of research by a hacker named Starbug, a member of the Chaos Computer Club, Berlin, Germany. He outlined in two very good talks how to forge each and every available fingerprint sensor available at the cost of a few euros, using materials from your local hardware store, a digicam and a laser printer! Here's some links:
* [http://www.ccc.de/updates/2007/umsonst-im-supermarkt?language=en Fingerprint recognition in supermarkets]
* [ftp://ftp.ccc.de/pub/video/Fingerabdruck_Hack/fingerabdruck.mpg?language=en Video tutorial for forging fingerprints]

== Installing ==
=== From source ===

Download thinkfinger-0.3.tar.gz from the [http://thinkfinger.sourceforge.net/ homepage] and unpack it somewhere, make sure you have the gcc compiler, libtool, pkg-config, libusb-dev and libpam0g-dev installed, then:

{{cmduser|cd thinkfinger-0.3}}

<code style="white-space:nowrap;color:#495988;background-color:white;"><nowiki>$</nowiki> ./configure --prefix=/usr --sysconfdir=/etc --with-securedir=/lib/security --with-birdir=/etc/pam_thinkfinger</code>

{{cmduser|make}}

{{cmdroot|make install}}

{{NOTE|/lib/security is the directory, where PAM assumes its modules on Debian and openSUSE, it may vary for your distro!}}

"make install" doesn't create the birdir we specified (where thinkfinger will store users' biometric info), so create it:

{{cmdroot|mkdir /etc/pam_thinkfinger}}

If everything went OK assert that you find pam_thinkfinger.so in /lib/security typing:

{{cmduser|ls /lib/security}}

=== From package ===

==== Debian ====
[http://packages.debian.org/source/experimental/thinkfinger Packages] arrived in Debian experimental on Aug 2nd, 2007 (cf. [http://bugs.debian.org/409563 bug #409563]). To access the experimental packages via apt, add the following lines to your sources.list:
<pre>
# experimental
deb ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/ experimental main contrib non-free
deb-src ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/ experimental main contrib non-free
</pre>
where of course you may replace mirrors.kernel.org with your mirror of choice. Just make sure that it hosts the experimental repositories.
<pre>
aptitude update
aptitude install libthinkfinger0 libpam-thinkfinger thinkfinger-tools
</pre>
should then get you up and running.

==== Ubuntu ====

===== Hardy =====

Hardy includes the latest thinkfinger and it is up to date with subversion. Install packages:

{{cmduser|sudo apt-get install thinkfinger-tools libpam-thinkfinger}}

Update the pam configuration files:

{{cmduser|sudo /usr/lib/pam-thinkfinger/pam-thinkfinger-enable}}

Enroll your fingerprint (creates $HOME/.thinkfinger.bir). If this gives an error about claiming the USB device then reboot. {{NOTE|Do not try to enroll using 'sudo' - it will cause hidden permission problems}}

{{cmduser|tf-tool --acquire}}

Check fingerprint enrollment

{{cmduser|tf-tool --verify}}

You can expect everything to work correctly. Note that you still have to enter your username if prompted but will be able
to swipe your finger instead of the password. The prompt will usually be "Password or swipe finger"

* Graphical login
* Text console login
* sudo
* screen lock/screen saver
* Administrative password prompt (eg for update or package managers). (Note no "or swipe finger" in prompt).

===== Gutsy =====

From https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ThinkFinger

Add PPA repositories to your sources.list:
<pre>
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/jldugger/ubuntu gutsy main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/jldugger/ubuntu gutsy main restricted universe multiverse
</pre>

Install necessary packages:

{{cmduser|sudo apt-get install thinkfinger-tools libpam-thinkfinger}}

==== Fedora/Fedora Core ====
*Packages for Fedora Core 6 are available in "extras" repository (# yum install thinkfinger).
*Packages for Fedora 7 are available in the "updates" repository (# yum install thinkfinger).

==== Gentoo ====
<pre>
emerge sys-auth/thinkfinger
</pre>

==== OpenSUSE ====
openSUSE 10.2 includes the package "libthinkfinger" (version 0.1-7) - you will find newer packages [http://beta1.suse.com/private/thoenig/10.2/thinkfinger/ here].

== Testing the driver ==

Now the driver is installed and should be working. You can try it (as root) with

{{cmdroot|tf-tool --acquire}}

and

{{cmdroot|tf-tool --verify}}

This will ask you to swipe your finger three times, save the fingerprint to /tmp/test.bir and then verify your fingerprint with the bir-file.

== Configuring PAM to use ThinkFinger ==
Now you can configure PAM to use ThinkFinger:

Open {{path|/etc/pam.d/common-auth}} (In FC6, F7, and Gentoo, this file is {{path|/etc/pam.d/system-auth}}):

{{cmdroot|nano -w /etc/pam.d/common-auth}}

Add this line before any pam_unix or pam_unix2 directives:
auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so

If your PAM uses the pam_unix and not the pam_unix2 module, you need to pass a specific argument in
the /etc/pam.d/common-auth directive to make it consider the password entered at the pam_thinkfinger prompt.
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass

For instance, {{path|/etc/pam.d/common-auth}} looks like this:
auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so nullok_secure try_first_pass

On openSUSE 10.2, it looks like this now:
auth required pam_env.so
auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix2.so

Now we are ready to add users to thinkfinger. You can add a fingerprint for a user with:

{{cmdroot|tf-tool --add-user $USERNAME}}

Now the user should be able to login with his finger instead of the password.

If you would like to use thinkfinger for su, you have to enroll the fingerprint for root user with:

{{cmdroot|tf-tool --add-user root}}

{{NOTE|You should see the "Password or swipe finger:" prompt when trying to sudo or su. If you don't, you probably do not have the "User level driver support" compiled into your kernel or the "uinput" module loaded!}}

== xscreensaver/gnome-screensaver ==
{{NOTE|In Fedora 7, the package has been modified in such a way as to make doing this unnecessary.}}

If you'd like to be able to unlock your screen using the fingerprint reader, you must have current versions of xscreesaver (>~5.03) or gnome-screensaver (>~2.18.2). Then you must give yourself access to the fingerprint reader and your bir-file, because unlike login/gdm/su/sudo, both gnome-screensaver and xscreensaver do not run as root. The following procedure will make the fingerprint reader accessible to members of the "fingerprint" group.

Make the group: {{cmdroot|groupadd fingerprint}}

Save the following as {{path|/etc/udev/rules.d/60-thinkfinger.rules}} (you may need to reboot for this to take effect):
#
# udev rules file for the thinkfinger fingerprint scanner
#
# gives access to the fingerprint reader to those in the "fingerprint" group
#
# Taken from:
# http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_enable_the_fingerprint_reader_with_ThinkFinger
# which was taken and modified from:
# http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.thinkfinger/329
#

# SGS Thomson Microelectronics Fingerprint Reader
SYSFS{idVendor}=="0483", SYSFS{idProduct}=="2016", SYMLINK+="input/thinkfinger-%k", MODE="0660", GROUP="fingerprint"

# the also-needed uinput device
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="fingerprint"

Finally, edit {{path|/etc/pam.d/gnome-screensaver}} so that it looks like this:
auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass nullok_secure

Per user:

# Add him to the group: {{cmdroot|gpasswd -a $USERNAME fingerprint}}
# Make him owner of his bir-file: {{cmdroot|chown $USERNAME:root /etc/pam_thinkfinger/$USERNAME.bir}}
# Give him read-only access to his bir-file: {{cmdroot|chmod 400 /etc/pam_thinkfinger/$USERNAME.bir}}
# Give "execute only" access to everyone for the /etc/pam_thinkfinger/ directory: {{cmdroot|chmod o+x /etc/pam_thinkfinger}} (WARNING: this opens up security a little).

== GNOME ==

{{NOTE|1=This problem should be solved if you're using sudo >= 1.6.9p9. Links: [http://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?19132], [http://www.sudo.ws/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=180], [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gksu/+bug/86843]}}

gksu/gksudo doesn't work correctly. It just stays invisible. When starting a su privileged application such as synaptics you will not get prompted for the password. Nevertheless you can swipe your finger and it should authenticate you. Starting synaptics twice makes gksudo visible.

There are two possibilities to solve it:
* Changing the string "Password or swipe finger:" to a plain "Password:" (like sudo normally would do) in the file pam/pam_thinkfinger.c of the thinkfinger source directory. Of course, in the console you will then only see a "Password:" instead of "Password or swipe finger:" but this is still more usefull than having gksu/gksudo crashing everytime.
* Patching libgksu with the following patch. This is also a nasty hack until a better solution is implemented.
<pre>
--- libgksu-2.0.3/libgksu/libgksu.c.orig 2007-06-17 16:00:24.000000000 +0200
+++ libgksu-2.0.3/libgksu/libgksu.c 2007-06-17 16:00:47.000000000 +0200
@@ -2663,7 +2663,7 @@
*/
for (counter = 0; counter < 50; counter++)
{
- if (strncmp (buffer, "GNOME_SUDO_PASS", 15) == 0)
+ if (strncmp (buffer, "GNOME_SUDO_PASS", 15) == 0 || strncmp (buffer, "Password or swi", 15) == 0)
break;

read_line (parent_pipe[0], buffer, 256);
@@ -2675,7 +2675,7 @@
if (context->debug)
fprintf (stderr, "brute force GNOME_SUDO_PASS ended...\n");

- if (strncmp(buffer, "GNOME_SUDO_PASS", 15) == 0)
+ if (strncmp(buffer, "GNOME_SUDO_PASS", 15) == 0 || strncmp(buffer, "Password or swi", 15) == 0)
{
gchar *password = NULL;
gboolean prompt_grab;
</pre>

== KDE ==

Integration in KDE and kdm seems not to be easily possible now. There is a filed [https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=116682 bug] at kde.org where you can vote for this.

Moreover, kdm in openSUSE 10.3 crashes when pam_thinkfinger is enabled. A possible "workaround" is downgrading to thinkfinger 0.2.2.

Another workaround is to use Fprint from [http://www.reactivated.net/fprint/wiki/Main_Page] which works quite nicely on my X61s and Kubuntu Hardy.

This Howto was copied from [[Installing Ubuntu 6.06 on a ThinkPad T43#Fingerprint_Reader]] and then slightly modified.

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on a ThinkPad T61

2007-09-07T21:06:04Z

Rogerbinns: Added power consumption section

==Installation Notes ==

If booting with the default options gives you a blank screen you should select the "Safe Graphics" menu choice when booting from the live CD.

If you are doing a text mode install such as PXE/network then your screen will be corrupted during the process. Workaround and details
are at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xresprobe/+bug/127008

== Video ==

'''Intel''' video works out of the box, but '''Nvidia''' accelerated 3D support is not installed by default. To install Nvidia 3D support click System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager

With Nvidia, you may experience a bug where the X server crashes or fails to start. Numerous solutions are provided (with mixed results) in the [https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/98641 Launchpad bug report] as well as [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=533557&highlight=Thinkpad+T61 this thread] on the Ubuntu forums.

Adding a second monitor may break your xorg.conf if you use the graphical interface. I haven't tried editing the xorg file manually to see if one can be added.

== Audio ==

Audio does not work out of the box, but will work once you apply all the updates.

Microphone may not work with applications (like sound recorder and skype) even though sound can be heard through the speakers or headphones.

===Enabling Sound and Fixing the Volume Controls===

By default, the sound may be disabled and the volume control buttons on the laptop (up by the ThinkVantage button) and the volume control applet (up by the clock) will not control the speaker volume (they actually control the microphone!). https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/136287

To fix this:

# Right-click on the volume control applet (by the clock) and select "Open Volume Control"
# In the "Switches" tab, make sure "Headphone" and "Speaker" are both checked.
# Close the Volume control.
# Right-click on the volume control applet again and select "Preferences".
# Make sure the device is set to "HDA Intel (Alsa mixer)" and highlight the "PCM" option.
# Close the preferences.
# Select System->Preferences->Sound.
# In the "Default Mixer Tracks" section, make sure "PCM" is highlighted.
# Close the sound preferences.

You should now hear sound and be able to control the volume using the laptop buttons or volume applet.

== Modem ==

The modem works with the Linuxant drivers available at http://www.linuxant.com

== Fingerprint Reader ==

The reader works with ThinkFinger. General instructions available [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_Fingerprint_Reader here].

Debian packages for i386 can be found at: http://www.rubixlinux.org/debian/thinkfinger/

After the package is installed add the following two lines to /etc/pam.d/common-auth

auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass

Note: Instructions in French available at http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/materiel/thinkfinger

* Recording fingerprints works
* Login works
* gksudo crashes : for example it is necessary to run synaptic twice and enter your password upon failure.

== Trackpad scrolling ==

Trackpad scrolling works out of the box in the standard thinkpad way: Slide your finger up and down the very right edge of the trackpad.

To enable using the middle mouse button to scroll, add the following lines to the "Configured Mouse" section in
{{path|/etc/X11/xorg.conf}}:

Option "EmulateWheel" "true"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"

== Hibernate/Suspend ==

=== Blank Screen Fix ===

You may get a blank screen when resuming from suspend or hibernate ([https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/134391 Launchpad bug report]). If so, try editing {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}, adding "acpi_sleep=s3_bios" (no quotes) to the "defoptions" list so that it looks something like this:

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash '''acpi_sleep=s3_bios'''

Once you have edited the line and added the acpi_sleep parameter, you need to run

$ sudo update-grub

Note that if you get the blank screen upon resume, a quick-fix is to switch to a console (Ctrl-Alt-F1) and then back to X (Ctrl-Alt-F7). This will usually bring the display back to life. However, the long-term fix is to add the acpi_sleep parameter as shown above.

=== Intel 3495ABG Wireless ===

Sometimes after a resume, the wireless card won't come back up. When the [[http://people.freedesktop.org/~hughsient/quirk/quirk-suspend-debug.html quirk checker script]] is run, it says:

CRITICAL ERROR: Use the mac80211 iwl3945 driver instead. ipw3945d is closed source sometimes hangs on resume.

The iwl3945 driver generally only works for about 30 minutes to an hour, though, so it's not a suitable replacement.

== Fonts on High-Res Screens ==

On high-res screens (e.g. 15" 1680x1050), the default fonts are too big. You can fix this by following these steps:

# Open System->Preferences->Appearance
# Select the "Fonts" tab
# Click the "Details" button (lower right)
# Adjust the Resolution down to 96dpi
# Make sure you have Subpixel (LCD) Smoothing enabled
# Save the preferences

== Brightness ==

The brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) don't seem to work reliably (if at all), and the brightness dialog box occasionally will pop up at random or "stick" on the screen, often causing the screen to flicker. Messing around with the brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) will usually make the dialog to go away and the flickering stop. [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/123854 Launchpad bug report].

With the Nvidia card to increase/decrease brightness hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 to drop to a virtual console, change the brightness and hit Ctrl-Alt-F7 to return to Gnome. This can be done without affecting running applications.

If you have an Intel card you can install the Gnome Brightness Applet to give you an easy way to change the brightness from within Gnome:

# Right-click on the top menu bar.
# Select "Add to Panel".
# Scroll down to the "System & Hardware" section.
# Highlight the "Brightness Applet" and click the "Add" button.

Using this applet often results in the "flickering screen syndrome" described above, but jiggling the brightness slider a little will cause this flickering to stop.

As an alternative, install the program xbacklight which requires using the command line, but doesn't suffer from issues with flickering screens. For example to set 50% brightness:

xbacklight =50

== Items that work out of the box ==

'''Intel Video:''' 2D and 3D acceleration works

'''Nvidia:''' 2D works, 3D requires the installation of the proprietary drivers

'''Wireless:''' Atheros and Intel work

'''Network Card'''

'''Firewire'''

'''Wireless switch'''

'''4-in-1 card reader'''

'''Headphones/Microphone jacks'''

'''Bluetooth:''' The bluetooth module is detected but I have no bluetooth device to check with.

'''Keyboard Shortcuts:'''

* Fn-PgUp activates/deactivates the thinklight
* Fn-Up will trigger stop on a media player
* Fn-Down will toggle pause and play on a media player
* Fn-Left/Right go to prev/next tracks on a media player
* Fn-F2 properly locks the screen
* Fn-F3 shows remaining battery
* Fn-F4 suspends (to ram)
* Fn-F12 hibernates (to disk)
* PrtSc opens the screenshot dialog

'''Docking Stations:'''

All docking station models should work and the following features have been tested:

* DVI or Analog video: You can switch to it using xrandr for Intel cards or using the Nvidia Control Panel with the Nvidia card.

{{HELP|Does the new displayconfig-gtk tool work for switching video with the Intel card?}}

* Network Pass-through: Works

* Modem Pass-through: Works

* USB ports: Connected upon docking

* PS/2 Ports: Untested, may require a reboot.

{{NOTE|Please see the Talk page for discussions on this category, if it is needed and alternatives}}

== Items that don't work ==

* Wireless USB/UWB - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/136287
* USB ports can end up temporarily disabled - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.22/+bug/126369

== Power consumption ==

Gutsy is the first version of Ubuntu to feature a tickless kernel (i386 only, not in AMD64 yet). Power consumption
can be monitored using the powertop tool under Ubuntu and using Lenovo battery monitor
under Windows.

$ sudo apt-get install powertop
$ sudo powertop

I couldn't find any difference in power consumption between the i386 tickless kernel (even with 70ms average sleep in C4)
and AMD64 kernel (2ms average sleep in C4). It would be expected that considerably less power would be consumed for the
i386 tickless kernel.

These are the figures measured on a T61 15.4" 1680x1050 screen 7300 processor (2GHz) 2GB RAM, Intel X3100 graphics
with 4965 wifi, Bluetooth and UWB.

{| border=1 cellpadding=5
|-
| 12.3W
| Windows XP Pro, all radios on, about 50% brightness
|-
| 16.7W
| Gutsy, all radios on, 50% brightness
|-
| 19.6W
| Gutsy, all radios on, 100% brightness
|-
| 14.2W
| Gutsy, all radios on, 10% brightness
|-
| -1.0W
| Turning the physical radio switch to off on the front reduces power consumption by 1 watt.
|}

[[Category: T61]] [[Category: Ubuntu 7.10]]

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on a ThinkPad T61

2007-09-07T20:49:14Z

Rogerbinns: /* Installation Notes */ text mode problems

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on a ThinkPad T61

2007-09-07T20:46:31Z

Rogerbinns: /* Enabling Sound and Fixing the Volume Controls */ - bug # for volume keys

==Installation Notes ==

If booting with the default options gives you a blank screen you should select the "Safe Graphics" menu choice when booting from the live CD.

== Video ==

'''Intel''' video works out of the box, but '''Nvidia''' accelerated 3D support is not installed by default. To install Nvidia 3D support click System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager

With Nvidia, you may experience a bug where the X server crashes or fails to start. Numerous solutions are provided (with mixed results) in the [https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/98641 Launchpad bug report] as well as [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=533557&highlight=Thinkpad+T61 this thread] on the Ubuntu forums.

Adding a second monitor may break your xorg.conf if you use the graphical interface. I haven't tried editing the xorg file manually to see if one can be added.

== Audio ==

Audio does not work out of the box, but will work once you apply all the updates.

Microphone may not work with applications (like sound recorder and skype) even though sound can be heard through the speakers or headphones.

===Enabling Sound and Fixing the Volume Controls===

By default, the sound may be disabled and the volume control buttons on the laptop (up by the ThinkVantage button) and the volume control applet (up by the clock) will not control the speaker volume (they actually control the microphone!). https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/136287

To fix this:

# Right-click on the volume control applet (by the clock) and select "Open Volume Control"
# In the "Switches" tab, make sure "Headphone" and "Speaker" are both checked.
# Close the Volume control.
# Right-click on the volume control applet again and select "Preferences".
# Make sure the device is set to "HDA Intel (Alsa mixer)" and highlight the "PCM" option.
# Close the preferences.
# Select System->Preferences->Sound.
# In the "Default Mixer Tracks" section, make sure "PCM" is highlighted.
# Close the sound preferences.

You should now hear sound and be able to control the volume using the laptop buttons or volume applet.

== Modem ==

The modem works with the Linuxant drivers available at http://www.linuxant.com

== Fingerprint Reader ==

The reader works with ThinkFinger. General instructions available [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_Fingerprint_Reader here].

Debian packages for i386 can be found at: http://www.rubixlinux.org/debian/thinkfinger/

After the package is installed add the following two lines to /etc/pam.d/common-auth

auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass

Note: Instructions in French available at http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/materiel/thinkfinger

* Recording fingerprints works
* Login works
* gksudo crashes : for example it is necessary to run synaptic twice and enter your password upon failure.

== Trackpad scrolling ==

Trackpad scrolling works out of the box in the standard thinkpad way: Slide your finger up and down the very right edge of the trackpad.

To enable using the middle mouse button to scroll, add the following lines to the "Configured Mouse" section in
{{path|/etc/X11/xorg.conf}}:

Option "EmulateWheel" "true"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"

== Hibernate/Suspend ==

=== Blank Screen Fix ===

You may get a blank screen when resuming from suspend or hibernate ([https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/134391 Launchpad bug report]). If so, try editing {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}, adding "acpi_sleep=s3_bios" (no quotes) to the "defoptions" list so that it looks something like this:

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash '''acpi_sleep=s3_bios'''

Once you have edited the line and added the acpi_sleep parameter, you need to run

$ sudo update-grub

Note that if you get the blank screen upon resume, a quick-fix is to switch to a console (Ctrl-Alt-F1) and then back to X (Ctrl-Alt-F7). This will usually bring the display back to life. However, the long-term fix is to add the acpi_sleep parameter as shown above.

=== Intel 3495ABG Wireless ===

Sometimes after a resume, the wireless card won't come back up. When the [[http://people.freedesktop.org/~hughsient/quirk/quirk-suspend-debug.html quirk checker script]] is run, it says:

CRITICAL ERROR: Use the mac80211 iwl3945 driver instead. ipw3945d is closed source sometimes hangs on resume.

The iwl3945 driver generally only works for about 30 minutes to an hour, though, so it's not a suitable replacement.

== Fonts on High-Res Screens ==

On high-res screens (e.g. 15" 1680x1050), the default fonts are too big. You can fix this by following these steps:

# Open System->Preferences->Appearance
# Select the "Fonts" tab
# Click the "Details" button (lower right)
# Adjust the Resolution down to 96dpi
# Make sure you have Subpixel (LCD) Smoothing enabled
# Save the preferences

== Brightness ==

The brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) don't seem to work reliably (if at all), and the brightness dialog box occasionally will pop up at random or "stick" on the screen, often causing the screen to flicker. Messing around with the brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) will usually make the dialog to go away and the flickering stop. [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/123854 Launchpad bug report].

With the Nvidia card to increase/decrease brightness hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 to drop to a virtual console, change the brightness and hit Ctrl-Alt-F7 to return to Gnome. This can be done without affecting running applications.

If you have an Intel card you can install the Gnome Brightness Applet to give you an easy way to change the brightness from within Gnome:

# Right-click on the top menu bar.
# Select "Add to Panel".
# Scroll down to the "System & Hardware" section.
# Highlight the "Brightness Applet" and click the "Add" button.

Using this applet often results in the "flickering screen syndrome" described above, but jiggling the brightness slider a little will cause this flickering to stop.

As an alternative, install the program xbacklight which requires using the command line, but doesn't suffer from issues with flickering screens. For example to set 50% brightness:

xbacklight =50

== Items that work out of the box ==

'''Intel Video:''' 2D and 3D acceleration works

'''Nvidia:''' 2D works, 3D requires the installation of the proprietary drivers

'''Wireless:''' Atheros and Intel work

'''Network Card'''

'''Firewire'''

'''Wireless switch'''

'''4-in-1 card reader'''

'''Headphones/Microphone jacks'''

'''Bluetooth:''' The bluetooth module is detected but I have no bluetooth device to check with.

'''Keyboard Shortcuts:'''

* Fn-PgUp activates/deactivates the thinklight
* Fn-Up will trigger stop on a media player
* Fn-Down will toggle pause and play on a media player
* Fn-Left/Right go to prev/next tracks on a media player
* Fn-F2 properly locks the screen
* Fn-F3 shows remaining battery
* Fn-F4 suspends (to ram)
* Fn-F12 hibernates (to disk)
* PrtSc opens the screenshot dialog

'''Docking Stations:'''

All docking station models should work and the following features have been tested:

* DVI or Analog video: You can switch to it using xrandr for Intel cards or using the Nvidia Control Panel with the Nvidia card.

{{HELP|Does the new displayconfig-gtk tool work for switching video with the Intel card?}}

* Network Pass-through: Works

* Modem Pass-through: Works

* USB ports: Connected upon docking

* PS/2 Ports: Untested, may require a reboot.

{{NOTE|Please see the Talk page for discussions on this category, if it is needed and alternatives}}

== Items that don't work ==

* Wireless USB/UWB - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/136287
* USB ports can end up temporarily disabled - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.22/+bug/126369

[[Category: T61]] [[Category: Ubuntu 7.10]]

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on a ThinkPad T61

2007-09-07T20:39:42Z

Rogerbinns: /* Items that don't work */

==Installation Notes ==

If booting with the default options gives you a blank screen you should select the "Safe Graphics" menu choice when booting from the live CD.

== Video ==

'''Intel''' video works out of the box, but '''Nvidia''' accelerated 3D support is not installed by default. To install Nvidia 3D support click System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager

With Nvidia, you may experience a bug where the X server crashes or fails to start. Numerous solutions are provided (with mixed results) in the [https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/98641 Launchpad bug report] as well as [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=533557&highlight=Thinkpad+T61 this thread] on the Ubuntu forums.

Adding a second monitor may break your xorg.conf if you use the graphical interface. I haven't tried editing the xorg file manually to see if one can be added.

== Audio ==

Audio does not work out of the box, but will work once you apply all the updates.

Microphone may not work with applications (like sound recorder and skype) even though sound can be heard through the speakers or headphones.

===Enabling Sound and Fixing the Volume Controls===

By default, the sound may be disabled and the volume control buttons on the laptop (up by the ThinkVantage button) and the volume control applet (up by the clock) will not control the speaker volume. To fix this:

# Right-click on the volume control applet (by the clock) and select "Open Volume Control"
# In the "Switches" tab, make sure "Headphone" and "Speaker" are both checked.
# Close the Volume control.
# Right-click on the volume control applet again and select "Preferences".
# Make sure the device is set to "HDA Intel (Alsa mixer)" and highlight the "PCM" option.
# Close the preferences.
# Select System->Preferences->Sound.
# In the "Default Mixer Tracks" section, make sure "PCM" is highlighted.
# Close the sound preferences.

You should now hear sound and be able to control the volume using the laptop buttons or volume applet.

== Modem ==

The modem works with the Linuxant drivers available at http://www.linuxant.com

== Fingerprint Reader ==

The reader works with ThinkFinger. General instructions available [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_Fingerprint_Reader here].

Debian packages for i386 can be found at: http://www.rubixlinux.org/debian/thinkfinger/

After the package is installed add the following two lines to /etc/pam.d/common-auth

auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass

Note: Instructions in French available at http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/materiel/thinkfinger

* Recording fingerprints works
* Login works
* gksudo crashes : for example it is necessary to run synaptic twice and enter your password upon failure.

== Trackpad scrolling ==

Trackpad scrolling works out of the box in the standard thinkpad way: Slide your finger up and down the very right edge of the trackpad.

To enable using the middle mouse button to scroll, add the following lines to the "Configured Mouse" section in
{{path|/etc/X11/xorg.conf}}:

Option "EmulateWheel" "true"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"

== Hibernate/Suspend ==

=== Blank Screen Fix ===

You may get a blank screen when resuming from suspend or hibernate ([https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/134391 Launchpad bug report]). If so, try editing {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}, adding "acpi_sleep=s3_bios" (no quotes) to the "defoptions" list so that it looks something like this:

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash '''acpi_sleep=s3_bios'''

Once you have edited the line and added the acpi_sleep parameter, you need to run

$ sudo update-grub

Note that if you get the blank screen upon resume, a quick-fix is to switch to a console (Ctrl-Alt-F1) and then back to X (Ctrl-Alt-F7). This will usually bring the display back to life. However, the long-term fix is to add the acpi_sleep parameter as shown above.

=== Intel 3495ABG Wireless ===

Sometimes after a resume, the wireless card won't come back up. When the [[http://people.freedesktop.org/~hughsient/quirk/quirk-suspend-debug.html quirk checker script]] is run, it says:

CRITICAL ERROR: Use the mac80211 iwl3945 driver instead. ipw3945d is closed source sometimes hangs on resume.

The iwl3945 driver generally only works for about 30 minutes to an hour, though, so it's not a suitable replacement.

== Fonts on High-Res Screens ==

On high-res screens (e.g. 15" 1680x1050), the default fonts are too big. You can fix this by following these steps:

# Open System->Preferences->Appearance
# Select the "Fonts" tab
# Click the "Details" button (lower right)
# Adjust the Resolution down to 96dpi
# Make sure you have Subpixel (LCD) Smoothing enabled
# Save the preferences

== Brightness ==

The brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) don't seem to work reliably (if at all), and the brightness dialog box occasionally will pop up at random or "stick" on the screen, often causing the screen to flicker. Messing around with the brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) will usually make the dialog to go away and the flickering stop. [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/123854 Launchpad bug report].

With the Nvidia card to increase/decrease brightness hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 to drop to a virtual console, change the brightness and hit Ctrl-Alt-F7 to return to Gnome. This can be done without affecting running applications.

If you have an Intel card you can install the Gnome Brightness Applet to give you an easy way to change the brightness from within Gnome:

# Right-click on the top menu bar.
# Select "Add to Panel".
# Scroll down to the "System & Hardware" section.
# Highlight the "Brightness Applet" and click the "Add" button.

Using this applet often results in the "flickering screen syndrome" described above, but jiggling the brightness slider a little will cause this flickering to stop.

As an alternative, install the program xbacklight which requires using the command line, but doesn't suffer from issues with flickering screens. For example to set 50% brightness:

xbacklight =50

== Items that work out of the box ==

'''Intel Video:''' 2D and 3D acceleration works

'''Nvidia:''' 2D works, 3D requires the installation of the proprietary drivers

'''Wireless:''' Atheros and Intel work

'''Network Card'''

'''Firewire'''

'''Wireless switch'''

'''4-in-1 card reader'''

'''Headphones/Microphone jacks'''

'''Bluetooth:''' The bluetooth module is detected but I have no bluetooth device to check with.

'''Keyboard Shortcuts:'''

* Fn-PgUp activates/deactivates the thinklight
* Fn-Up will trigger stop on a media player
* Fn-Down will toggle pause and play on a media player
* Fn-Left/Right go to prev/next tracks on a media player
* Fn-F2 properly locks the screen
* Fn-F3 shows remaining battery
* Fn-F4 suspends (to ram)
* Fn-F12 hibernates (to disk)
* PrtSc opens the screenshot dialog

'''Docking Stations:'''

All docking station models should work and the following features have been tested:

* DVI or Analog video: You can switch to it using xrandr for Intel cards or using the Nvidia Control Panel with the Nvidia card.

{{HELP|Does the new displayconfig-gtk tool work for switching video with the Intel card?}}

* Network Pass-through: Works

* Modem Pass-through: Works

* USB ports: Connected upon docking

* PS/2 Ports: Untested, may require a reboot.

{{NOTE|Please see the Talk page for discussions on this category, if it is needed and alternatives}}

== Items that don't work ==

* Wireless USB/UWB - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/136287
* USB ports can end up temporarily disabled - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.22/+bug/126369

[[Category: T61]] [[Category: Ubuntu 7.10]]

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on a ThinkPad T61

2007-09-07T05:19:50Z

Rogerbinns: /* Brightness */ xbacklight is also handy for setting brightness

==Installation Notes ==

If booting with the default options gives you a blank screen you should select the "Safe Graphics" menu choice when booting from the live CD.

== Video ==

'''Intel''' video works out of the box, but '''Nvidia''' accelerated 3D support is not installed by default. To install Nvidia 3D support click System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager

With Nvidia, you may experience a bug where the X server crashes or fails to start. Numerous solutions are provided (with mixed results) in the [https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/98641 Launchpad bug report] as well as [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=533557&highlight=Thinkpad+T61 this thread] on the Ubuntu forums.

Adding a second monitor may break your xorg.conf if you use the graphical interface. I haven't tried editing the xorg file manually to see if one can be added.

== Audio ==

Audio does not work out of the box, but will work once you apply all the updates.

Microphone may not work with applications (like sound recorder and skype) even though sound can be heard through the speakers or headphones.

===Enabling Sound and Fixing the Volume Controls===

By default, the sound may be disabled and the volume control buttons on the laptop (up by the ThinkVantage button) and the volume control applet (up by the clock) will not control the speaker volume. To fix this:

# Right-click on the volume control applet (by the clock) and select "Open Volume Control"
# In the "Switches" tab, make sure "Headphone" and "Speaker" are both checked.
# Close the Volume control.
# Right-click on the volume control applet again and select "Preferences".
# Make sure the device is set to "HDA Intel (Alsa mixer)" and highlight the "PCM" option.
# Close the preferences.
# Select System->Preferences->Sound.
# In the "Default Mixer Tracks" section, make sure "PCM" is highlighted.
# Close the sound preferences.

You should now hear sound and be able to control the volume using the laptop buttons or volume applet.

== Modem ==

The modem works with the Linuxant drivers available at http://www.linuxant.com

== Fingerprint Reader ==

The reader works with ThinkFinger. General instructions available [http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_Fingerprint_Reader here].

Debian packages for i386 can be found at: http://www.rubixlinux.org/debian/thinkfinger/

After the package is installed add the following two lines to /etc/pam.d/common-auth

auth sufficient pam_thinkfinger.so
auth required pam_unix.so try_first_pass

Note: Instructions in French available at http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/materiel/thinkfinger

* Recording fingerprints works
* Login works
* gksudo crashes : for example it is necessary to run synaptic twice and enter your password upon failure.

== Trackpad scrolling ==

Trackpad scrolling works out of the box in the standard thinkpad way: Slide your finger up and down the very right edge of the trackpad.

To enable using the middle mouse button to scroll, add the following lines to the "Configured Mouse" section in
{{path|/etc/X11/xorg.conf}}:

Option "EmulateWheel" "true"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"

== Hibernate/Suspend ==

You may get a blank screen when resuming from suspend or hibernate ([https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/134391 Launchpad bug report]). If so, try editing {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}, adding "acpi_sleep=s3_bios" (no quotes) to the "defoptions" list so that it looks something like this:

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash '''acpi_sleep=s3_bios'''

Once you have edited the line and added the acpi_sleep parameter, you need to run

$ sudo update-grub

Note that if you get the blank screen upon resume, a quick-fix is to switch to a console (Ctrl-Alt-F1) and then back to X (Ctrl-Alt-F7). This will usually bring the display back to life. However, the long-term fix is to add the acpi_sleep parameter as shown above.

== Fonts on High-Res Screens ==

On high-res screens (e.g. 15" 1680x1050), the default fonts are too big. You can fix this by following these steps:

# Open System->Preferences->Appearance
# Select the "Fonts" tab
# Click the "Details" button (lower right)
# Adjust the Resolution down to 96dpi
# Make sure you have Subpixel (LCD) Smoothing enabled
# Save the preferences

== Brightness ==

The brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) don't seem to work reliably (if at all), and the brightness dialog box occasionally will pop up at random or "stick" on the screen, often causing the screen to flicker. Messing around with the brightness controls (Fn-Home, Fn-End) will usually make the dialog to go away and the flickering stop. [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/123854 Launchpad bug report].

With the Nvidia card to increase/decrease brightness hit Ctrl+Alt+F1 to drop to a virtual console, change the brightness and hit Ctrl-Alt-F7 to return to Gnome. This can be done without affecting running applications.

If you have an Intel card you can install the Gnome Brightness Applet to give you an easy way to change the brightness from within Gnome:

# Right-click on the top menu bar.
# Select "Add to Panel".
# Scroll down to the "System & Hardware" section.
# Highlight the "Brightness Applet" and click the "Add" button.

Using this applet often results in the "flickering screen syndrome" described above, but jiggling the brightness slider a little will cause this flickering to stop.

As an alternative, install the program xbacklight which requires using the command line, but doesn't suffer from issues with flickering screens. For example to set 50% brightness:

xbacklight =50

== Items that work out of the box ==

'''Intel Video:''' 2D and 3D acceleration works

'''Nvidia:''' 2D works, 3D requires the installation of the proprietary drivers

'''Wireless:''' Atheros and Intel work

'''Network Card'''

'''Firewire'''

'''Wireless switch'''

'''4-in-1 card reader'''

'''Headphones/Microphone jacks'''

'''Bluetooth:''' The bluetooth module is detected but I have no bluetooth device to check with.

'''Keyboard Shortcuts:'''

* Fn-PgUp activates/deactivates the thinklight
* Fn-Up will trigger stop on a media player
* Fn-Down will toggle pause and play on a media player
* Fn-Left/Right go to prev/next tracks on a media player
* Fn-F2 properly locks the screen
* Fn-F3 shows remaining battery
* Fn-F4 suspends (to ram)
* Fn-F12 hibernates (to disk)
* PrtSc opens the screenshot dialog

'''Docking Stations:'''

All docking station models should work and the following features have been tested:

* DVI or Analog video: You can switch to it using xrandr for Intel cards or using the Nvidia Control Panel with the Nvidia card.

{{HELP|Does the new displayconfig-gtk tool work for switching video with the Intel card?}}

* Network Pass-through: Works

* Modem Pass-through: Works

* USB ports: Connected upon docking

* PS/2 Ports: Untested, may require a reboot.

{{NOTE|Please see the Talk page for discussions on this category, if it is needed and alternatives}}

[[Category: T61]] [[Category: Ubuntu 7.10]]