Although I am no Linux wizard, I am not quite a n00b, and I feel its my duty to help this forum run along, maybe somebody will vote this for a sticky eh? As the title suggests this thread is meant to do one thing, and one thing only, help all you Uniwill 258kao (aka iBuypower S-Turbo, Cyberpower XPlorer X64, Mwave 256KA, etc) owners get linux up and running on your laptop.
My Story:
----------
I bought my iBuypower Battalion 101 S-Turbo [AMD-3] late August 2004, got it by mid September and it has been my main computer ever since. Since that time I've tried dozens of linux distributions, names of many which I cannot remember, and some of them were problematic, but some were pretty good. And I bring this experience to the table as I write this post.
My System:
------------
You can see the general chipsets and all that stuff on uniwill.com, but I'll give you an overview so you know what I am working with.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz 82w
GPU: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB
Hard Drive: Hitachi 7k60
Ram: 1024MB PC2700 (2x512) single channel.
CD-Drive: CD-RW/DVD (24x CD-ROM, 24x CD-R, 12x CD-RW, 8x DVD-ROM)
Screen: 15.4" WXGA (1280x800)
Wireless: Gigabyte GN-WPEAG (Atheros chipset)
Distros I tried whose names I can remember:
-------------------------------------------
Mandrake 10.0, Mandrake 10.1 AMD64, Red Hat 8, Fedora Core 2, Fedora Core 3 AMD64, Fedora Core 4 AMD64, Suse 9.1 Personal, Suse 9.1 Pro, Suse 9.3 Pro, SimplyMEPIS, ProMEPIS, Mepis 3 Test, Mepis 3.3.1-1, Ubuntu Warty 4.10, Ubuntu Hoary 5.04, CentOS, Amber Linux, PC-BSD 0.7.5, Kanoppix, Slackware 10, Kanotix, Linspire 5.0, Lindows 4.5, Damn Small Linux, Vida Linux OS 1.1, Gentoo 2005.0, aLinux, Peanut Linux, Vector Linux 5.0 SOHO, Foresight. Well..probably just about everythign on the DistroWatch top 50.
If you don't want to manual labor, stay away from:
-----------------------------------------------------
1 - Red Hat, Fedora Core and SUSE - These like to cause problems with the hardware given in the 258KAO. If you do install them, it will require tons and tons of manual labor, so I don't advice it.
2 - Only do Gentoo if you are ready for it, although I didn't encounter any problems during the build, and generally it should be good, its a long install and is a pain. If you want portage, try Vida Linux. Although 1.1 will not work well with the hardware, 1.2 will have many more advanced features, especially laptop support features and should work out OK. I'll test it and come back with the results when 1.2 comes out in a week or so and I get my copy.
3- BSD - The reasoning here is simple, almost too simple. There are no ATi drivers for BSD available at this time. Wireless doesn't work out of the box but can be easily configured.
Best Distro for the 258KAO:
---------------------------
From all the ones I tried to date, Ubuntu Hoary 5.04 has been the best. Breezy is scheduled for October 2005 and shall be even greater and more powerful.
So lets get to business: Installing Ubuntu on 258KAO (bits and pieces taken from ubuntuguide):
-----------------------------------------------------
1) go to http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/ and get your copy. I recommend the 32 bit version at this time because 64bit will need a little more manual work and there is no 64bit flash player yet for linux.
2) Burn the ISO to a disk using Nero, K3b or some other CD writing utility you have on your computer
3) Pop in the CD and follow on screen instructions. It is very clear and well documented. When it finds your network devices, it will ask you to configure one of then, try to configure your wireless (type in server name and wep key). If it fails, which it most likely will, don't worry about it and just select "Don't Configure network at this time" and keep going. Once everything is done you'll be ready to login into your very own ubuntu install. let the fun begin.
4) configure your install:
---------------------------
1 - WIRELESS - first things first, we need to get your wireless going. if you have atheros chipset (which you most likely should) its simple. If you don't, download the correct driver and kernel module and install them. Don't forget to do "uname -r" to make sure you get the right version for your kernel. But, if you are lucky enough to have atheros follow these simple steps:
\t\ta) click on Network Connection icon (in the upper right corner next to the clock)
\t\tb) in "NAME" write "ath0" (without the quotes)
\t\tc) press Configure
\t\td) enter your password (no root password, just same one as you entered to login)
\t\te) click Wireless Connection and click Properties
\t\tf)check "This device is configured"
\t\te) select from drop down menu, or type your ESSID
\t\td) enter wep key if you have one
\t\te) select DHCP or configure the rest manualy as needed. then click OK
2 - edit your sources.list - simply done. (prompt commands marked by $
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) $: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
\t\tc) replace with whatever you have in there with
\t\td) save and exit
\t\te) $: sudo apt-get update
3 - Install ATi Drivers - This is the easiest video card driver install you'll ever do.
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) $: sudo apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx fglrx-control
\t\tc) $: gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
\t\td) scroll down until you see a section talking about ATi drivers. One of the lines will read:
\t\t
\t\te) replace "ati" with "fglrx"
\t\tf) save and exit
\t\tg) press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace on the keyboard
\t\th) open terminal run run glxgears to confirm, you should be in the 2000-3000rpm range
\t\t
4 - MEDIA CODECS - One weak point of ubuntu is lack of media codecs, so lets add them.
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) make sure you get the latest stuff, $:sudo apt-get update
\t\tc)$: sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.8-plugins gstreamer0.8-lame gstreamer0.8-ffmpeg w32codecs libdivx4linux lame sox ffmpeg mjpegtools vorbis-tools
\t\td) $: gst-register-0.8
\t\te)$: sudo apt-get install xine-ui libdvdcss2
\t\t
Some other stuff to take care of:
---------------------------------
You should now be all set. You have installed the distro, you have configured your wireless and ATi, even got your media support going. What is left is personalize it. I highly recommend you visit gnome-looks.org for that. For further media enjoyment I recommend you install realplayer, mplayer, and gstreamer. To further your internet enjoyment make sure you have the latest version of firefox, gaim and thunberbird. Don't forget to "apt-get install mozilla-flashplayer and mozilla-mplayer" to improve your media love (remember 64 bit has no flashplayer).
like i said at the start, i am no linux wizard, but i hope this little thread helps to all of you who are interested in getting linux started on your uniwill 258kao laptops.
My Story:
----------
I bought my iBuypower Battalion 101 S-Turbo [AMD-3] late August 2004, got it by mid September and it has been my main computer ever since. Since that time I've tried dozens of linux distributions, names of many which I cannot remember, and some of them were problematic, but some were pretty good. And I bring this experience to the table as I write this post.
My System:
------------
You can see the general chipsets and all that stuff on uniwill.com, but I'll give you an overview so you know what I am working with.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz 82w
GPU: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB
Hard Drive: Hitachi 7k60
Ram: 1024MB PC2700 (2x512) single channel.
CD-Drive: CD-RW/DVD (24x CD-ROM, 24x CD-R, 12x CD-RW, 8x DVD-ROM)
Screen: 15.4" WXGA (1280x800)
Wireless: Gigabyte GN-WPEAG (Atheros chipset)
Distros I tried whose names I can remember:
-------------------------------------------
Mandrake 10.0, Mandrake 10.1 AMD64, Red Hat 8, Fedora Core 2, Fedora Core 3 AMD64, Fedora Core 4 AMD64, Suse 9.1 Personal, Suse 9.1 Pro, Suse 9.3 Pro, SimplyMEPIS, ProMEPIS, Mepis 3 Test, Mepis 3.3.1-1, Ubuntu Warty 4.10, Ubuntu Hoary 5.04, CentOS, Amber Linux, PC-BSD 0.7.5, Kanoppix, Slackware 10, Kanotix, Linspire 5.0, Lindows 4.5, Damn Small Linux, Vida Linux OS 1.1, Gentoo 2005.0, aLinux, Peanut Linux, Vector Linux 5.0 SOHO, Foresight. Well..probably just about everythign on the DistroWatch top 50.
If you don't want to manual labor, stay away from:
-----------------------------------------------------
1 - Red Hat, Fedora Core and SUSE - These like to cause problems with the hardware given in the 258KAO. If you do install them, it will require tons and tons of manual labor, so I don't advice it.
2 - Only do Gentoo if you are ready for it, although I didn't encounter any problems during the build, and generally it should be good, its a long install and is a pain. If you want portage, try Vida Linux. Although 1.1 will not work well with the hardware, 1.2 will have many more advanced features, especially laptop support features and should work out OK. I'll test it and come back with the results when 1.2 comes out in a week or so and I get my copy.
3- BSD - The reasoning here is simple, almost too simple. There are no ATi drivers for BSD available at this time. Wireless doesn't work out of the box but can be easily configured.
Best Distro for the 258KAO:
---------------------------
From all the ones I tried to date, Ubuntu Hoary 5.04 has been the best. Breezy is scheduled for October 2005 and shall be even greater and more powerful.
So lets get to business: Installing Ubuntu on 258KAO (bits and pieces taken from ubuntuguide):
-----------------------------------------------------
1) go to http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/ and get your copy. I recommend the 32 bit version at this time because 64bit will need a little more manual work and there is no 64bit flash player yet for linux.
2) Burn the ISO to a disk using Nero, K3b or some other CD writing utility you have on your computer
3) Pop in the CD and follow on screen instructions. It is very clear and well documented. When it finds your network devices, it will ask you to configure one of then, try to configure your wireless (type in server name and wep key). If it fails, which it most likely will, don't worry about it and just select "Don't Configure network at this time" and keep going. Once everything is done you'll be ready to login into your very own ubuntu install. let the fun begin.
4) configure your install:
---------------------------
1 - WIRELESS - first things first, we need to get your wireless going. if you have atheros chipset (which you most likely should) its simple. If you don't, download the correct driver and kernel module and install them. Don't forget to do "uname -r" to make sure you get the right version for your kernel. But, if you are lucky enough to have atheros follow these simple steps:
\t\ta) click on Network Connection icon (in the upper right corner next to the clock)
\t\tb) in "NAME" write "ath0" (without the quotes)
\t\tc) press Configure
\t\td) enter your password (no root password, just same one as you entered to login)
\t\te) click Wireless Connection and click Properties
\t\tf)check "This device is configured"
\t\te) select from drop down menu, or type your ESSID
\t\td) enter wep key if you have one
\t\te) select DHCP or configure the rest manualy as needed. then click OK
2 - edit your sources.list - simply done. (prompt commands marked by $
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) $: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
\t\tc) replace with whatever you have in there with
Code:
## Uncomment the following two lines to fetch updated software from the network deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary main restricted ## Uncomment the following two lines to fetch major bug fix updates produced ## after the final release of the distribution. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-updates main restricted deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-updates main restricted ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'universe' ## repository. ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## universe WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu security ## team. deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary universe deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary universe deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security main restricted deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security universe deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary-security universe deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary multiverse deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hoary multiverse ## Backports deb http://ubuntu-backports.mirrormax.net/ hoary-backports main universe multiverse restricted deb http://ubuntu-backports.mirrormax.net/ hoary-extras main universe multiverse restricted
\t\td) save and exit
\t\te) $: sudo apt-get update
3 - Install ATi Drivers - This is the easiest video card driver install you'll ever do.
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) $: sudo apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx fglrx-control
\t\tc) $: gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
\t\td) scroll down until you see a section talking about ATi drivers. One of the lines will read:
\t\t
Code:
driver "ati"
\t\tf) save and exit
\t\tg) press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace on the keyboard
\t\th) open terminal run run glxgears to confirm, you should be in the 2000-3000rpm range
\t\t
4 - MEDIA CODECS - One weak point of ubuntu is lack of media codecs, so lets add them.
\t\ta) open terminal
\t\tb) make sure you get the latest stuff, $:sudo apt-get update
\t\tc)$: sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.8-plugins gstreamer0.8-lame gstreamer0.8-ffmpeg w32codecs libdivx4linux lame sox ffmpeg mjpegtools vorbis-tools
\t\td) $: gst-register-0.8
\t\te)$: sudo apt-get install xine-ui libdvdcss2
\t\t
Some other stuff to take care of:
---------------------------------
You should now be all set. You have installed the distro, you have configured your wireless and ATi, even got your media support going. What is left is personalize it. I highly recommend you visit gnome-looks.org for that. For further media enjoyment I recommend you install realplayer, mplayer, and gstreamer. To further your internet enjoyment make sure you have the latest version of firefox, gaim and thunberbird. Don't forget to "apt-get install mozilla-flashplayer and mozilla-mplayer" to improve your media love (remember 64 bit has no flashplayer).
like i said at the start, i am no linux wizard, but i hope this little thread helps to all of you who are interested in getting linux started on your uniwill 258kao laptops.
