Official thinkpad x61 thread. Questions & tips'n'tricks! (i686)

bredin · 2008-10-18 11:50:01

Get X running:

pacman -S xorg xf86-video-intel hwd

hwd -xa (will autoconfig a xorg.conf)

Editing the autoconfigured xorg.

nano /.../X11/xorg.conf (forgot what folder xorg.conf is placed in)

In xorg.conf you can change the keyboard layout to "thinkpad60" and scroll to the bottom and change the color depth to 24bit.

And now you should be able to start X.

Getting the wireless wifi to work.

pacman -S iwlwifi-4965-ucode (the popper wifi drivers)

Changing the sensitivity and speed of the trackpoint

echo -n 250 > /sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio1/sensitivity
echo -n 160 > /sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio1/speed

Put this in your rc.local . 250&160 are the numbers that decides what sensitivity and speed the trackpoint will have. And you can of course change them after your demands.

[I dont't have linux installed on my thinkpad atm so it's a little hard to help. But I will install arch on my thinkpad later and edit&complete this guide.]

Last edited by bredin (2008-10-18 11:50:37)

Runiq · 2009-03-15 18:01:23

zorg wrote:

Hi, is there an arch-newbie friendly account of how to install arch on a X61, somewhere ?
I'd like to try Arch but I wonder if that might not be a bit too much for me to chew and whether I should go with something more beginner friendly like Ubuntu ?

There's the Beginner's Guide, which is a detailed step-by-step instruction manual to get to grips with Arch. With the information supplied above to complement it, you should be up and running in no time at all. (Well, maybe not - there's a bit to read if you're installing the first time, but might just as well get used to it if you want to stick with Arch. )

Archieman · 2011-01-09 02:34:11

zorg wrote:

Hi, is there an arch-newbie friendly account of how to install arch on a X61, somewhere ?
I'd like to try Arch but I wonder if that might not be a bit too much for me to chew and whether I should go with something more beginner friendly like Ubuntu ?

Hi zorg -

This is my first post on the Arch forums. I am a seasoned windows systems engineer with passable *nix skills. I recently (not sure what came over me) decided to give Linux a shot and started out with Ubuntu. It was ok but as a command line guy and someone who likes to do stuff manually and automate his environment, I didn't appreciate all the "autoconfig" and wizards in Ubuntu. I am also a rogue individual by nature and try to blaze my own trail so I wanted to use something different. Next distro I tried was Mepis, which is excellent for beginners and I actually liked it but had a lot of issues with hardware compatibility. I only had it running about a week but I can say that it is an excellent inroad into Linux and very easy to setup.

Now on to Arch What drew me (and countless others) to this distro was a few simple principles:

1. By and large, the EXTREMELY detailed and well organized documentation. I have learned so much not just about Arch but about Linux in general by reading these Wiki's, many of them several times over.

2. Choice. You get to choose what you want. Arch is a bare-bones install and comes with limited software/addons. It also comes with no gui bu default. Everything that goes on the system is a choice you get to make personally. This might be viewed as a downside by some but for me it is a huge plus. It may seem complicated and scary to a newbie but it is my opinion that, coupled with the excellent documentation, it is actually very newbie friendly (assuming you are willing to tinker a bit and download/edit some files). Arch Linux developers and users believe that trying to hide the complexities of a system actually results in an even more complex system, and is therefore to be avoided.

3. Everything just works. Hardware was detected easily, wireless worked relatively easily, dual monitors, etc.

4. Stability. Arch is one of the more stable distros and is well supported. It is also a "rolling release" distribution which means you can update as often or not as you please.

5. Arch is smoking fast! (boots up in less than 30 seconds).

I have been running Arch on my office desktop for two weeks now and I am loving it. Compiz is quite nice as well and puts MS Aero to shame. I even installed it on an old T43 Thinkpad lying around at home. I run it as a server with no DE (uses just 40MB RAM!)

I'll try to post more later but I do recommend you at least give Arch a try and let everyone know how it goes.

jasonwryan · 2011-01-09 04:02:46

Welcome to the boards Archieman. One of the things we are quite keen on is to ensure that old threads don't get necrobumped:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fo … Bumping.27

Please take a moment to read the Forum Etiquette, and I trust that you will enjoy your time with Arch.

This topic is covered by the Wiki now.

Closing

Arch Linux

#1 2008-10-18 11:50:01

Official thinkpad x61 thread. Questions & tips'n'tricks! (i686)

#2 2009-03-15 18:01:23

Re: Official thinkpad x61 thread. Questions & tips'n'tricks! (i686)

#3 2011-01-09 02:34:11

Re: Official thinkpad x61 thread. Questions & tips'n'tricks! (i686)

#4 2011-01-09 04:02:46

Re: Official thinkpad x61 thread. Questions & tips'n'tricks! (i686)

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