My primary work machine is a Gateway 200x notebook. The first thing I did when I got it was install Linux (currently running Fedora Core 2). Aside from the battery life, it’s a nice notebook, but quite a few things didn’t work in Linux. The wireless didn’t work even with ndiswrapper. Intel’s drivers for the 2200BG aren’t functional yet. ACPI is broken on this notebook and so I don’t have battery/ac detection. Most of the buttons such as the brightness adjustment don’t work once the kernel has booted. Sounds worse than it really was, though, since I was using this machine primarily at work where I don’t need the battery, and don’t need the wireless because we have a wired connection.
This week I decided to take the plunge and get these things working. I felt the wireless would work with ndiswrapper if I used an 8k stack kernel instead of the 4k stack kernel that ships with FC2. I read several reports that indicated I could get battery notification and other things working with a patched kernel and fixed DSDT. So I applied some patches and built the kernel, applied the DSDT, and rebooted. The stuff I care about works now. I can monitor my battery life, adjust my display brightness, and even use the multimedia shortcuts. And I can roam on an 802.11b or 802.11g network such as my home network. I feel a lot more mobile now.
On a side note, I’m amazed how many unsecured wireless networks there are in the office building where I work.
Tags: Linux
August 31st, 2004 at 11:12 pm
You should test the native ipw2200 driver (ipw2200.sf.net). It’s still pretty rough but it should work and the last version even has WEP if you need that.
September 29th, 2004 at 11:35 pm
Have you managed to get the left-click action activated by tapping the touchpad to work? I know its possible as I’ve had it work under knoppix.
September 29th, 2004 at 11:38 pm
And that scroll wheel too.
March 20th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Would you happen to have any notes that you made while applying the DSDT patch? I’m quite new to LINUX and the DSDT web site link in your post left me scratching my head as to what I needed to do. Any information that you provide would be much appreciated. Thanks!