Debian Linux on a Packard Bell EasyNote E2316.
This report is listed at TuxMobil - Linux on laptops, notebooks, PDAs and mobile phones
At the time this laptop was purchased, from PC-World, July 2005, there wasn't a single linux success or failure report on the internet about this machine (an E2316) - and there still isn't, hence this writeup. Therefore, on the basis that PC-World do not quibble about returns, I took a risk and purchased one to try, because one of the things that gives me no greater pleasure in the world is to destroy Windows installations. I used to really get a kick out of saying "No" at the License Agreement but am now a really well-adjusted individual who laughs manically at the BIOS boot screen as I enable CD Boot or PXE boot, instead. I've since given the machine to its intended victim, who is absolutely delighted with it. Suffice to say that Debian/Linux (unstable as of July 2005) installs and runs on it with absolutely zero problems, but of course I now don't have the machine so I can't provide the usual boring lspci output. The installation was performed from a modified Debian Network boot CD, using Hands Free Debian. I can thoroughly recommend this technique for installation over PXE/Netboot, USB-Dongle/Netboot or CD/Netboot because phil has set up an "unattented" Debian Install infrastructure, and it's really cool and Going Places. So, the signs are good that any modern CD/DVD-based Linux Distribution (involving at least a 2.6 kernel, hotplug, udev, etc.) will work fine, out-of-the-box, on this hardware. In case you run into any niggles, here are some hints: 802.11 Wireless: detected, runs, no problem. Intel i810 XFree86 Driver: not detected (chipset is an 855), configured it anyway as an i810, runs, no problem. DVD+RW: detected (k3b), configured, runs, read a CD, no problem. Read a DVD, no problem. Burned a DVD (an entire 4.3gb one), ERROR. Subsequent DVD reads: ERROR. Subsequent CD reads: no problem. Haven't tried a CD Write. (This type of behaviour is usually an alarm-bells sign that the stupid dickheads have deployed "DRM" in the Firmware of the DVD player). ACPI and battery status stuff (KDE): configured, runs, no problem. The only piece of hardware that I did not bother with was the AC97 Modem. Just... just... so last... century. In short, for £499.00, this is a damn good buy - especially as PC-World have no quibbles about product returns. The only quibble is a hardware failure with the DVD+RW, which i am HOPING is not one of those utterly insane DRM "we haven't received a proprietary undocumented pointless IDE messages indicated by the software that you're not copying copyrighted material, therefore we're going to deliberately destroy this DVD+RW's ability to burn or read DVDs" attempts. I'll keep you informed as to the success, or otherwise, of the attempts (and the number thereof) to obtain working DVD+RW drives.