Dropbear

Day: December 30, 2006

  • Debian GNU/Linux on Compaq nx6320

    Last updated: 30 December 2006

    ##General Hardware Specifications of Compaq nx6320:

    Hardware Components
    Status under Linux
    Notes
    Intel Core Duo, 2GHz Works No special procedure required during installation.
    1024×768 15″ TFT Display Works Select Generic LCD Display in Installer
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Works Used Standard Xorg drivers
    2GB, DDR2 Works No special procedure required during installation
    100 GB SATA Hard Drive Works Requires recent kernel, eg 2.6.18 for driver
    10/100/1000 Integrated Network Card Works Installer found the Tigon driver for it fine
    24X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive Works No special procedure required during installation
    Internal Intel Wireless Networking Works Need to download specific driver, see below.
    59 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery Works No special procedure required during installation
    Intel 82801G Sound Card Works Used ALSA driver snd_hda_intel

    This laptop is operating under Kernel version 2.6.18

    ##Basic Installation of Debian:
    I used Debian Etch RC3 as I wanted to test the installer and also get Linux on a small partition of this laptop. It is only used for network testing and as a remote Xserver, so it doesn’t have much installed.

    The sarge installer won’t work, the kernel is too old and it will not find your SATA drives.

    ##Setting up additional features for Debian
    The wireless port was the trickiest part. You need to install some packages to get it going. Make sure you have contrib and non-free in your apt archives as these drivers are not in main.

    Then install ipw3945d, firmware-ipw3945 and the module. The exact name of the module depends on what kernel you have installed. I have kernel from the package linux-image-2.6.18-4-686 so the module package is ipw3945-modules-2.6.18-4-686.

    Nothing else needed to be done, no other module packages are required. It started off kinda weird but a depmod -a and reboot later I had solid link and, once I go my wireless key on, connected fine.

    ##Unresolved issues
    None really, except I have not tried out the bluetooth, modem or smartcard reader. With the exception of the modem all are found.

    ##Links
    * [Linux on Laptops](http://www.linux-on-laptops/)
    * [Intel 3945ABG Driver](http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/)
    * [Installing Linux on nx6320](http://www.linlap.com/wiki/Hewlett-Packard+nx6320)