Thinkpads Forum

I'm currently using UBUNTU 7.10 and have it (mostly) running the way I want it, but there have always been some issues with the hardware in my T60. Specifically, my video is the ATI X-1400, and this first presented a problem with the initial install, and later with compiz, as the drivers were flakey. Then there was a issue with the resolution of my screen (1680x1050). Finally, there was a problem with the return from suspend/hibernate, where the system would totally stall.

So... Two versions of version 8, version 9, and presumably, some new ATI drivers later, my question is: Have these issues been sorted out? Recommendations as to what to install and what drivers to use (default ok?)? Obviously I can just try the basic system out, and troll around on the Linux forums, but maybe someone here has my setup and can simplify the process for me? Thanks in advance!

rmcder wrote:I'm currently using UBUNTU 7.10 and have it (mostly) running the way I want it, but there have always been some issues with the hardware in my T60.

I was running Ubuntu 7.10 on my R51 and had a few small issues, nothing major. They were all easily resolved. Then when 8.04 was released I upgraded to that and it worked flawlessly.

Next I decided that I wanted to install it on my T60, 2007-73U.
That install was a snap, less than an hour later I was up and running with everything functioning just like it's supposed to. Since it's Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron LTS (Long Term Support / 3yrs.) I decided to stick with it, even though six months later 8.10 was released and now 9.04. The differences in the newer versions are rather small and incremental, therefore I decided to stand fast with 8.04.

I've since installed Hardy Heron on nearly all my ThinkPads. It's fast, stable and comes with Firefox and OpenOffice, which you may already be aware of. So that would be my suggestion is download the ISO for 8.04, burn it to disk, do the install and then you will be up and running quickly. At that point you can simply enjoy it and learn more about Linux at your own pace.

Cheers...

I appreciate the response, but the main issue I'm having relates to the video combination of ATI and 1680x1050 resolution, and you didn't mention having systems that have that combination, so I'm not sure that your experiences relate to my question. Yes, I can install and hope for the best, but it'd be nice to know that someone has gotten it all to work before going to all that effort.

Alas, this is my biggest issue with Linux: while hardware support may be "bad", "good" or "outstanding", it's very difficult to determine that in advance. There is little hardware compatibility documentation available, so one is left with the options of either finding someone who has tried it with the same hardware -- or trying an install to find out whether or not it will work.

And it doesn't need to be that way ... FreeBSD actually documents hardware compatibility.

The ATI X-1400 is now in Legacy status by ATI. The latest and last ATI driver for this card is Catalyst 3. Catalyst 4 is now out, but does not support this card. X Server 1.6 recently came out and does not support Catalyst 3, but only Catalyst 4. So nearly all new Linux distros will not support your card using ATI's propriatary driver. You will be limited to using the open source driver.

Phoronix wrote:Effectively what this means is beginning with the next round of distribution updates (like Ubuntu 9.04 and Fedora 11) you will be unable to use the Catalyst driver [version 3].

AMD's Legacy Driver Will Not Support X Server 1.6

This is the reason I sugest 8.04 as it's a live CD and it allows you to run from the CD, without installing it on your computer. That's how you determine if there are any incompatibilities to sort out. Based on all that I've read I doubt you will have a problem.

archer6 wrote:This is the reason I sugest 8.04 as it's a live CD and it allows you to run from the CD, without installing it on your computer. That's how you determine if there are any incompatibilities to sort out. Based on all that I've read I doubt you will have a problem.

The live CD version of 7.1 worked fine; the install didn't, and after the install, the resolution and compiz didn't. If all you want is a basic configuration, then pretty much any distro will be ok. I'm not looking for a basic configuration.

I'm using Kubuntu 9.04 on T500 and the have no problem with the resolution or the ATI drivers. Although compiz isn't installed on Kubuntu by default and I haven't bothered to do so, the KDE compositing effects all work without an issue. Perhaps just upgrade to 9.04?
By the way, another good reason to upgrade to 9.04 is that the font rendering is so much better than it was in previous versions. At least with KDE (and I always thought that font rendering in KDE were better than Gnome anyway).

untitled_no4 wrote:I'm using Kubuntu 9.04 on T500 and the have no problem with the resolution or the ATI drivers.

This is precisely my point in advising to go to 8.04 (or higher). My T60 has the same ATI card as the OP and runs very well. My W500 is stellar, and I have a fully optimized & customized setup, not a basic configuration. In fact I'm composing this post from Ubuntu on my W500 at this very moment. I've been using Linux more and more as my main OS with only a few proprietary work apps running in Windows. Whereas in the past I would have a few different distros of Linux on my various ThinkPads, I'm gradually migrating them all to Ubuntu. At least for the short term until I test Mandriva Flash 2009.

Cheers...

tomh009 wrote:Alas, this is my biggest issue with Linux: while hardware support may be "bad", "good" or "outstanding", it's very difficult to determine that in advance. There is little hardware compatibility documentation available, so one is left with the options of either finding someone who has tried it with the same hardware -- or trying an install to find out whether or not it will work.

I just found out about that today:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam

It's not very extensive or up-to-date but it's something and if more people took the time to add information it could make a change.

Well, sounds as if maybe the video issues have been sorted out. I appreciate everyone's input, and I may just give 9.04 a shot.

tomh009 wrote:Alas, this is my biggest issue with Linux: while hardware support may be "bad", "good" or "outstanding", it's very difficult to determine that in advance.

While this holds true of some distros, Ubuntu and Mandriva for example are two that offer one the option to "run from CD" first to test your hardware without installing anything on your PC. I have used this quiet successfully to determine compatibility with my various ThinkPads. It's a fast & easy solution.

Cheers...

rmcder wrote: The live CD version of 7.1 worked fine; the install didn't, and after the install, the resolution and compiz didn't.

You're experience was unique to 7.1. Beginning with version 7.10 and higher the live CD will indeed produce an accurate result in terms of what works and what doesn't.

Cheers...

untitled_no4 wrote: I just found out about that today:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam

It's not very extensive or up-to-date but it's something and if more people took the time to add information it could make a change.

Just a thought, but it's my belief that now with the benefit of a Ubuntu live CD to use in determining if your hardware is compatible, the incentive to keep the written list up to date may have faded.

Cheers...

archer6 wrote: Just a thought, but it's my belief that now with the benefit of a Ubuntu live CD to use in determining if your hardware is compatible, the incentive to keep the written list up to date may have faded.

Cheers...

That's not my experience. In 9.04, for instance, I couldn't connect to wi-fi from the live CD but it works perfectly once installed. Actually, I wasn't going to install it at all because of the wi-fi but when both Debian and Sidux couldn't display the correct resolution for T-500 I decided to give 9.04 and I'm very happy I did.

untitled_no4 wrote:That's not my experience. In 9.04, for instance, I couldn't connect to wi-fi from the live CD but it works perfectly once installed. Actually, I wasn't going to install it at all because of the wi-fi but when both Debian and Sidux couldn't display the correct resolution for T-500 I decided to give 9.04 and I'm very happy I did.

Very interesting. So after you installed 9.04 on your T500, did everything work? Or did you still have to do a bit of troubleshooting to get everything working?

Cheers...

Once installed there was no problem connecting to the wi-fi and everything seems to work. I'm mostly impressed that I got the correct resolution out of the box as neither Debian Squeeze or Sidux got it right.

However, I just got my dock and I'm having problems getting dual external screens to work properly, but I think that reinstalling Kubuntu while the laptop is docked will probably solve that and I'm planning on doing that in the next few days. I will report back if you're interested.

untitled_no4 wrote: I just got my dock and I'm having problems getting dual external screens to work properly, but I think that reinstalling Kubuntu while the laptop is docked will probably solve that and I'm planning on doing that in the next few days. I will report back if you're interested.

Always interested, looking forward to your report....

Cheers...

Just in case anyone has the same concerns I did...

Took a while, but I finally got around to installing 9.04. As previously mentioned, the concern was the video driver for ATI x1400 at 1680x1050, which had previously been problematic with regard to compiz and coming out of standby.

The install went smoothly, everything worked right off the bat (although I haven't tried standby). Very easy, and none of the problems I had with video issues with 7.10. Highly recommended!

untitled_no4 wrote:
However, I just got my dock and I'm having problems getting dual external screens to work properly, but I think that reinstalling Kubuntu while the laptop is docked will probably solve that and I'm planning on doing that in the next few days. I will report back if you're interested.

Any news ?

I am in exactly the same position, (w500, jaunty) whenever I start - the system , X11 or gdm - if I am docked in (portreplicator as well as docking station) , X11, or gdm or gnome , not yet clear, hangs. mouse moves, no click possible, all activities on the desktop frozen.

I am absoutely able to start my system - undocked - with an external monitor plugged at the thinkpad's vga, as well with no external monitor. Docking with the external monitor on an already started sytem usually also works.

Reinstalled gdm, reinstalled gnome, didnt help.