NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › XPS2 full hardware support distro...
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

XPS2 full hardware support distro...

post #1 of 7
8/29/05 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, I've been using *nix on/off for 6 years or so, and was wondering what the best distro as far as hardware support goes "out of the box" for the XPS2? I know I'll most likely have to config some stuff, but some distros are easier than others at this, so I'd like something tested and working. So far on this machine I've tried Ubuntu and Gentoo. I could NOT get Ubuntu to work at all, and Gentoo I got working easily as I have used it previously, but I couldn't get my Audigy 2ZS to work at all with it [and also I got sick of Gentoo due to me using it alot previously]. So does anyone have any other suggestions? I'll probably end up sticking to Gentoo if anything because I'm so used to portage, but I like APT as well, and would welcome an Ubuntu install if someone has any steps to make it work with ALL my hardware [well, maybe not my USB TV tuner, but basically everything else]. Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 7
8/29/05 at 8:08pm
how about BSD.....PC-BSD 0.8 looks good, might work on your hardware. kinda sucks ubuntu doesn't work for you, i guess you can try other distros.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 7
8/29/05 at 8:19pm
Debian should definitely work with it, minus suspend support. The biggest issue is the SATA emulation that the ICH6 chipset provides. Because of this, you must load modules in a certain order to get linux to be able to detect the cd-rom/disk drive. Try either getting a debian net-installer cd (these are around 30MB in size, and download all packages you request for the install from the internet), or stick with ubuntu and try using "expert" on the boot prompt instead of just linux. This way the installer will let you choose which modules to load. Uncheck the intel_piix module the first time it asks (and only the first time) and then the install should work.

I did experience some flakyness of the broadcom 440x ethernet card in my i9300 when i used linux.. but I think the XPS2 might have an entirely different one. Just post back if you need more help!

BTW, did gentoo compile pretty quick on the XPS2? I remember back a year ago timing how fast I could get up to stage 3 or such. I wonder if now it only takes like 2-3 hours instead of an entire day.. hehehe

edit: if you'd like to go with debian (what ubuntu is based from) then check this guide out. Its the one I used to get linux going on my i9300! http://blog.blackdown.de/2005/06/26/...h-kernel-2611/
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 7
8/29/05 at 8:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by abf
how about BSD.....PC-BSD 0.8 looks good, might work on your hardware. kinda sucks ubuntu doesn't work for you, i guess you can try other distros.
I might be interested in messing with BSD actually... I have tried Dragonfly before, and it was definitely interesting. If anyone has gotten PC-BSD to work on an i9300 or XPS2, I'd be interested to hear...
Quote:
BTW, did gentoo compile pretty quick on the XPS2? I remember back a year ago timing how fast I could get up to stage 3 or such. I wonder if now it only takes like 2-3 hours instead of an entire day.. hehehe
I just did a Stage 3, as in the past I have NEVER found any speed increase by messing with flags and waiting a day for my system to get up and running. I'd assume it wouldn't take more than a couple hours to get the minimum stuff up. Stuff like KDE usually takes a bit, but I don't use KDE anyways [I'm a fluxbox fan myself]. Also, there is a new Gentoo installer, but most people on the forums haven't gotten it to work [including me], so be wary when messing with it.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 7
8/30/05 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 
Updates:

- tried PCBSD, works fine [save for my Audigy + touchpad drivers], but its too limited in terms of usability

- tried Mandy 2006... For some reason my 2nd CD was corrupt and was skipping over packages... After I finally got an install, it was broken, and its not worth my time for yet ANOTHER re-install

- tried Ubuntu again... Same problems. For some damn reason, it hangs while configuring my eth0, AND it can't detect my root partition I think. This is using the "Breezy" one BTW

- tried Mepis, and it would hang while detecting my Audigy, as well as some other problems

- tried Overclockix, and the install seems to break for some reason

So far, only Gentoo and PCBSD have actually "worked". I can get all my stuff working in Gentoo, but I really wanted to go to a Debian-based distro again instead. I could always try OpenSuSE and Fedora, but I pretty much don't like RPM-based distros, and only tried Mandy out of boredom. Mandy DID detect my soundcard and config it correctly, but thats as much good as it did. Any other suggestions? I'd try a real FreeBSD install, but I hear its a bitch to get certain hardware setup. Debian is the same way.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 7
8/31/05 at 3:55am
I know people are going to scream and yell but Linspire 5.0 works the best on my m6811.
Out of the box everything FGLRX,Broadcom Wireless,Synaptics touchpad,HotButtons etc.
Kde based and not optimized but it just works.Xandros close also , I know these are pay for distros(ugh) but I guess a price to be paid for conveniance.All can be found for free if not cheap. Mepis,Libranet,Kanotix(FREE) all work well also with a little tweaking. I'm am still looking for a desktop replacement that can handle games. OsX86 is sweet for an alpha to bad Apple won't sell it! So for now my boot menu looks like this (1.Linspire 5.0 2.XpPro 3.Xp64 4.OsX86) . Come on Steve maybe with the release of your IPOD phones you'll make enough money to give MS a challenge in the desktop market! RELEASE IT!
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 7
8/31/05 at 11:38pm
Thread Starter 

Success.

I have finally found a distro that WORKS for my system... SuSE 10-b3 works great with it, and no problems at all so far. I haven't used SuSE since 9.0, so its great to see how far its progressed along. Yast et al are much more robust. The Audigy 2ZS WAS detected, but unfortunately AFAIK it doesn't work with ALSA as of yet, so its useless at the moment. I also tried FC4, and while it worked, it was a lot more work to get set-up, and it really hasn't been improved since the LAST time I used it [FC2]. Anyways, here's a little list to show what does work:

- display/gfx card: after installing the nV drivers and configuring in SaX2, it works great with all resolutions, 3D enabled, etc

- touchpad: works fine

- network: both my ethernet [Broadcom] and wireless [Intel 2200] were detected and setup at install

- sound: not working right now, THOUGH I believe it is due to my booting with my Audigy and it causing a conflict, so thats why I am not worried.

UPDATE: Yes, I configured the integrated sound and it works fine. Any attempts to config the Audigy results in a freeze. Therefore, I'll have to wait til ALSA fixes the problems with compatibility.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Linux & Other OS's
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › XPS2 full hardware support distro...