Installing Debian 3.1 (Sarge) on a ThinkPad 600X
Install process: Burn DVDs or CDs of Debian Sarge...you need Jigdo to create the .ISOs. I did this the easy way and bought a DVD set from eBay. Alternately you can download the Net Install CD-ROM image and do the install completely via the Internet.
Linux functionality by part:
PCMCIA | Works perfectly in Debian Sarge |
USB port | Worked in Debian Sarge Release Candidate, not tested yet in stable 3.1. |
Serial port | Worked in Debian Sarge Release Candidate, not tested yet in stable 3.1. |
Parallel port | Worked in Debian Sarge Release Candidate, not tested yet in stable 3.1. |
Video port | Worked in Debian Sarge Release Candidate, not tested yet in stable 3.1. |
Modem | I honestly don't care about Modem functionality. If I'm on the road I will likely have my Orinoco 802.11b card in. At home, it's my Intel 100e Cardbus NIC. |
Sound | 600E works but the 600X studders. |
Floppy Drive | Works perfectly in stable Debian Sarge 3.1. |
Trackpoint | Works perfectly (emulates a ps/2 mouse) |
Internal Combo Drive (Matsushta Kotobuki slot-loader) | Reads fine, write not tested yet. |
Video | Video took a little massaging.
I needed to add these lines: Under Section "Device" Option "OverlayMem" "820000" Under Section "Screen" DefaultDepth 16 Subsection_"Display" Depth 16 Modes "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480" You can run this in 24 bit mode, but it doesn't do a lick of good. The LCD is just not good enough to truly render 24 bit color. And you won't be able to use any program which requires a xv overlay like oKle or Kaffeine or xine. The "OverlayMem" statement is there to allow for allotment of VRAM for the overlay. |
(My thanks to the guy who did the Fedora install guide, I borrowed his format)
External Sources
- This guide is listed at the TuxMobil Linux laptop and notebook installation survey (IBM/Lenovo).