Debian Linux on a Fujitsu Lifebook P7120
This report is listed at TuxMobil - Linux on laptops, notebooks, PDAs and mobile phones
A wonderful friend allowed me to install Debian on their P7120, and,
fortunately, it all went well. The machine is cute - lightweight, 1280x768
12in screen, all the usual stuff you'd expect of a decent machine.
Pentium M 1.4ghz, 1gb RAM, Pro/Wireless 2915ABG etc.
Debian / Testing. Again
I seem to have this thing about installing Debian / Testing rather than
Stable - usually by mistake but often upgraded anyway. As part of the
install I did "tasksel install kde-desktop" and then the usual
"apt-get --purge remove libgnome*" and "apt-get --purge remove .*gnome*"
because I cannot bring myself to inflict gnome onto innocent users,
and especially as KDE now has E.U funding.
It wasn't until after I'd done the install that I found that half a
dozen other users have P7120's and you can find them on Tuxmobil's Fujitsu page.
You would do well to read them all - they're pretty much the same, and
make sure that what you need is actually done successfully.
xorg and 915resolution tweaks
edit /etc/default/915resolution and set:
MODE=4d
XRESO=1280
YRESO=768
Then check xorg.conf and make sure that if it says a Mode 1280x800
that you change it to 1280x768 and you'll get the right screen behaviour.
cpufreqd
Also I have a preference for cpufreqd to run the ondemand module,
not the performance module, even and especially on AC. I don't
care if it takes a while to kick in: the silence of the fan and
the reduced temperature far outweighs the benefit of having the CPU
run at "convenient" speeds.
It seems that I spoke too soon about cpufreq being up to the task of
always autodetecting everything, so I had to add speedstep-centrino to
/etc/modules. If you're interested, this is the /etc/cpufreqd.conf used.
random useability configuration...
I made my usual edits to make the system useable. /etc/default/rcS
I changed fsckfix="no" to "yes"; I added export KDE_IS_PRELINKED="1"
and KDE_EXEC_SLAVES="1" to /etc/profile, and I ran
"prelink -q -v -a --random --conserve-memory". These are important
changes for two reasons: one, KDE runs a lot faster when you switch
off the stupidity that was added for coping with when Pentium II
500mhz systems were All The Rage. two: having fsck fix a filesystem
that you're only going to do by running fsck -a and then holding your
finger down on the "y" key - I mean, the only sensible thing is to
let it be done automatically.
Also, I have to admit: I am a fan of debian-multimedia.org
for libdvdcss2 and w32codecs (which don't exist for amd64. damn.)
And, also, of adding nonfree and contrib to /etc/apt/sources.list
(included here for convenience). Then you can add flash and mozplugger
"apt-get install libflash-mozplugin flashplugin-nonfree mozplugger"
You will find mozplugger to be very useful: pdfs for example will appear
in a firefox window rather than having to be downloaded and run by a
separate program.
sound
Sound works except for the stereo microphone.
card reader
The Texas Instruments card reader didn't work - don't know why.
Didn't have an SD card to find out, either.
wireless
The IPW 2945 is supported by the ipw2200 module, as Intel have this
thing about making sure that their hardware is supported on Linux.
the only fly in the ointment is having to manually download and install
the firmware and install it
("tar -xvzf ipw2200-firmware.tgz; cp ipw2200-firmware/* /lib/firmware")
manually. Once that's done, however, it works fine.
Also, I have found that wlassistant is incredibly useful: it works,
it detects networks, it allows you to configure them, including WEP
and passwords - just run it, and get on with it. remember to install
with "apt-get install wlassistant", and remember to run it with
"sudo wlassistant" rather than run it as an ordinary user.
for convenience.
which reminds me... kdesu...
kdesu
One of the most useful desktop-based configuration tips I've ever
found, for ordinary users, is to set up kdesu. This avoids the need
to give users a root password, especially when you set up sudo for
them with no password. Just... bear in mind that doing that makes
for a thoroughly-compromisable system! (So, whatever you do, don't
roll that out en-masse across hundreds of systems if you're an OEM
reading this!) I do it for a few dozen users, for their convenience,
because I don't want them ringing up asking for the root password.
If you do sudo in the standard way (i.e. not adding NOPASSWD) then
they only need to know their own password.
Search on google for "kdesu sudo" gives these:
mkdir -p ~/.kde/share/config
cat < ~/.kde/share/config/kdesurc >> EOF
[super-user-command]
super-user-command=sudo
EOF
conclusion
An install of Debian on this machine was pretty straightforward, and,
as it turns out, there are half a dozen other reports, listed on
Tuxmobil's Fujitsu page that contain useful tips.
For example, Joey's page outlines that he has stereo-mic issues, which I also
found to be the case on a Samsung Q1: the mics don't work at all on there.
I believe it to be because, although the audio chipset is well known, very
few machines have stereo microphones.
Other than that, everything that's actually useful and necessary actually
works, and it's a thoroughly good - and lightweight - useable machine.
The fact that four very experienced linux technical experts have bought
this machine should give you much confidence in it, and in being able to
resolve any issues.
The cpuinfo can be found here.
The meminfo can be found here.
The lspci info can be found here.
The lspci -v info can be found here.