[wplug] Re: linux on sony vaio PCG FRV 26

[Vanco, Don]

Dileep Padinjarae Vangasseri [dileep.pv at operamail.com] wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I was working hard
> on it and even with my nominal knowledge on installations I
> could make some of the stuffs work.
> 
> First, I could install an ntfs module in RH 9 kernel and
> could mount windows. Got the "free" driver (capable of giving
> only 14 kbps) from linuxant and made the modem work.
> 
> However, I am still unable to get the 2D acceleration for my
> radeon card. The problem with the monitor also remain
> unsolved. (Yes, I had used laptop display on generic). I
> contacted many who has tried RH 9 on sony PCG FRVs but all of
> them are having the same problem.
	If that's the case you will likely not have 3D until the drivers (in
X) mature.

>> It would be best to upgrade to the latest packages, but that's going
>> to be difficult to do unless you've got an Ethernet based
> broadband connection available.  Not saying that you'll have
> your issues solved by this, but on a fresh install you are
> quite a bit behind on XFree86 (and a skew of other) updates.
> You say you've set your monitor to "generic" - is that
> generic CRT or generic LCD?  It needs to be the latter.
> redhat-configure-xfree --reconfig
> 
> It is possible for me to get an ethernet broad band
> connection. Could you please suggest me what can I do to get
> the monitor functioning better?
	Well, if others are having the same issue then what you're
experience is likely not due to user error but rather to lack of support for
the hardware you have.  It's likely you can't do anything for now.  Possibly
run unstable code (like Fedora / RH's "rawhide") but even that is no
guarantee unless someone tells you there's a fix for your hardware in
"PackageX".  You might join the Fedora list (http://fedora.redhat.com) and
post a question there.  The more hardware specifics you can give the more
likely you are to get a reply.  It is an exceptionally "busy" list - I
recommend digest mode until the test traffic dies down a bit.

>> Vaio's are arguably some of the most difficult laptops to
>> load linux on - but it can be done in most cases. Sony is
>> notorious for making WinPuters.
> 
> Oh...I did not know that. I would have gone for something
> else if I had known this. A bit off the topic, which notebook
> would a better buy if one is interested for a linux OS? I
> know that IBM support linux very well but it is often unaffordable.
	Most manufacturers will at least tell you that their hardware is
"designed for WIndowsXP" if not come right out and say that they wont run
Linux.  What I did was to look at the support chipset of "Laptop X" and
investigate Linux support for that chipset.  SiS chipsets are inherently bad
(my opinion) at working under Linux (on laptops).  Again my opinion, but I
have been extremely satisfied with Dell - there was a thread here not too
long ago.... others have had issues with quality / durability & Dell, my
only issue (thus far) has been weight.
	I found that the more a laptop was capable of doing (optical audio,
firewire and USB2, TV out, etc) for a low price the more likely it was a
WinPuter design and would likely pose issues for a happy Linux OS

> Yes, I have never tried Fedora. I think I should have a look at it.
	Doesn't sound like it will help you - but it will be a year newer
than RH9.  
	FYI - there is a first release of Fedora Core 2 in testing now.  It
is _very_ broken (as I would expect a first test release to be) but it is
based on 2.6 and much more current packages for GNOME, KDE, X, etc - it may
be worth your time (pull it from the torrent
http://torrent.dulug.duke.edu/).

Good luck -
Don