Problems with Dell Studio 1555

stefek · 2009-07-30 17:54:02

Hi!
I've just bought my first latop - new Dell Studio 1555 laptop. Of course I've got problems with it on Arch Linux(x86_64).

The main problem is Wireless Network. In this model is Broadcom BCM4322. On wiki is written that it works using broadcom-wl package. I've installed it, but I think it doesn't work. There aren't wlan0 interface or something like this. It's my first computer with wlan card, so it is possible that I cannot make it work.

The second: graphics card Ati Mobility Radeon 4570. I've tried to install proprietary drivers from AUR, but when i want to run X i've got backtrace with fglrx_drv.so . When I've installed xf86-video-radeonhd package, there are no problems form X but it didn't work and when i run KDM i've got blinking cursor. On xf86-video-radeon it works, but on glxgears I've got 300fps.

Sound also doesn't work.
Everything i've done as always, but there is no sound: not only in built speakers but also in headphones.

This is the most importnat things. There is also problems with functional/multimedia keys, card reader, but it is material for next post ;-)

Please help me to solve these problems.
stefek

miau · 2009-07-30 18:23:40

Have you loaded the neccesary modul for your Wireless card after you installed the driver package?

Square · 2009-07-30 18:34:24

By default the kernel will try to use the b43 module with that card. You're going to want to blacklist the b43 module before loading the modules for the wl drivers. Be sure to follow the wiki on broadcom-wl.

stefek · 2009-07-31 11:21:09

Ok. Audio works. I've tried in alsamixer changing mute/unmute using m and suddenly the sound has appeared.

I've blacklisted b43 and add lib80211_crypt_tkip and wl to modules in rc.conf. I've got new interface eth0 to wireless lan and eth1 to wired connection. I've installed networkmanager. In rc.conf eth0 and eth1 are dhcp and networkmanager works as daemon. At startup networkmanager says that eth0 and eth1 are attached. I've set to connect automatically to my access-point. Network Manager shows that it is connected. When i type route in konsole i've got non-empty routing table. Iwconfig gives Mode:Managed and my AP's MAC-address. But something goes wrong, because when i type ping google.com, it is returned "ping: unknown host google.com" I don't know what's going on. I'm newbie in Wireless Networking under Linux...

Here is Xorg log: http://pastebin.com/m66c02b40

Last edited by stefek (2009-07-31 20:05:30)

Angle · 2009-07-31 22:20:25

I also have the Studio 1555 and experienced the exact same problems you are. I'm at work right now but once I get off, I'll post what I did to get my wireless working, my Xorg information for my video card, and a few other tricks to make Arch run well on it.

For video, I have had the most success with the Catalyst/fglrx video drivers. The ATI driver worked pretty well except for the inability to work with pm-suspend. It would either not turn on altogether, or come back up with a corrupted display and only a reboot would fix it. I tried tons of combinations of quirks but none of them worked.

My wireless started working after I installed the broadcom-wl drivers as well as netcfg. I haven't tried Networkmanager but for me, netcfg has everything I need.

For various tweaks, I installed the Synaptics.
In order for the brightness keys to work, add "acip_brightness=vendor" to your /boot/grub/menu.lst on the kernel line.

I swear there were a few more things that I did so if I think of them, I'll let you know. Hopefully that helps a bit.

Last edited by Angle (2009-08-01 00:20:48)

stefek · 2009-08-01 13:09:26

OK. To my I've made my wireless card connect to my Access Point, but something happens with bandwidth. I've got 1Mbit, so I can download files with speed at most 128 kb/s. With wired connection I've got these 128kb/s, but using wireless firefox works normally, but I can download anything by pacman, because of the speed.

Thanks Angle for brightness keys ;-)

Finally I've made my graphics card work with proprietary drivers ;-) I've only deleted Xorg.0.log after the drivers installation ;-)

There are only two things that I want to change. First is Synaptics touchpad. I've changed xorg.conf, but on the official wiki is written that this configuration is deprecated. How can I change it to HAL policy?

And the last thing: Ricoh Card Reader. It is correctly detected, but there is no new device in /dev. Does anyone know how to make it work?

miau · 2009-08-01 17:08:09

Have you tried another pacman mirror? Maybe it's the mirror that is so slow.

stefek · 2009-08-01 18:43:04

Yes. But it's weird. On wired connection with the same mirror everything is ok....

It's magic! I've done nothing special, but my wireless work correctly ;-)

I've made my card reader work. I've created file /etc/hal/fdi/policy/preferences.fdi with:

 <merge key="volume.ignore" type="bool">false</merge>

I have also question: Does any owner of Dell Studio 1555 use suspend to RAM? I'm trying to enable this but it is hard. Console returns tak ma machine was unknown.

Is it correct that laptop starting from suspend to disk, starts slower than from turned off??

Last edited by stefek (2009-08-03 14:32:09)

mouse256 · 2009-08-05 10:14:41

I also have the studio 1555 laptop, so it nice to share experiences:

1) Network: I have the intel 5300 b/g/n card, and that worked without a problem
2) Radeon HD 4570:
*) xf86-video-radeonhd: It's not yet supported in the stable version, but experimental support is added in the trunk, so I hope the next stable will support it (http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver … ain/README)
*) xf86-video-ati: works without a problem, but slow.
*) catalyst: I also suffered the backtrace crash problem, but it had something todo with X -configure. Just adding the xorg.conf file made it work. But I already stopped using it because it broke again on the next pacman -Syu...
3) sound: I had to add "options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6" in modprobe.conf
4) multimedia keys: They work without anything special...
5) brightness: sometimes the keys work, otherwise they don't. The gnome-brightness-applet cannot get the status. I'm going to try acpi_brightness tweak from angle this evening.
6) synaptics touchpad: here is how to configure it: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syn … mmended.29
7) suspend to RAM: not tried.
8) suspend to disk: a new fast pc with a laptop disk and 4 gigs of ram, I would guess normal boot might indeed be faster.

stefek · 2009-08-05 17:35:27

In that case I give up suspend to RAM/disk and after closing lid my laptop will shutdown ;-)

My multimedia keys also sometimes work, otherwise don't;not only brightness keys but also other.

I know this page, but I've configured touchpad using deprecated method with xorg.conf. What should I do to change to recommended method?

mouse256 · 2009-08-06 10:25:02

That depends on what you want to customize. I basically wanted the side scrolling to work, and that's also what's described there. Just delete everyhing you have for your mouse in xorg.conf and follow that page should do the trick.

I did not use the multimedia keys a lot (the laptop is rather new), so it's possible that they only work occasionally but I did not notice it yet.

Last edited by mouse256 (2009-08-06 10:26:45)

stefek · 2009-08-06 18:10:42

Ok. I've commented everything connected with touchpad in xorg.conf and created /etc/hal/fdi/policy/11-x11-synaptics.fdi

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
       <deviceinfo version="0.2">
           <device>
               <match key="info.product" contains="Synaptics TouchPad">
                   <merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">synaptics</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.AlwaysCore" type="string">true</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.VertEdgeScroll" type="string">1</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.HorizEdgeScroll" type="string">1</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton1" type="string">1</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton2" type="string">2</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton3" type="string">3</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.protocol" type="string">event</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.touchpadoff" type="string">0</merge>
                   <merge key="input.x11_options.shmconfig" type="string">on</merge>

                <merge key="input.x11_options.MinSpeed" type="string">0.1</merge>
              <merge key="input.x11_options.MaxSpeed" type="string">0.4</merge>
              <merge key="input.x11_options.AccelFactor" type="string">0.002</merge>

               </match>
           </device>
       </deviceinfo>

Touchpad generally works, but edge scrolling doesn't.

I've also noticed that sometimes after restarts, my wireless card doesn't detect any network...

I think they are last "problems" with this laptop ;-)

Last edited by stefek (2009-08-06 18:11:03)

mouse256 · 2009-08-06 19:56:54

This is my version

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<deviceinfo version="0.2">
  <device>
    <match key="info.product" contains="ETPS/2 Elantech Touchpad">
        <append key="info.capabilities" type="strlist">input.touchpad</append>
    </match> 
    <match key="info.capabilities" contains="input.touchpad">
        <merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">synaptics</merge>
    <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton1" type="string">1</merge>
    <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton2" type="string">3</merge>
    <merge key="input.x11_options.TapButton3" type="string">2</merge>
        <!-- Arbitrary options can be passed to the driver using
             the input.x11_options property since xorg-server-1.5. -->
        <!-- EXAMPLES:
        Switch on shared memory, enables the driver to be configured at runtime
    <merge key="input.x11_options.SHMConfig" type="string">true</merge>-->

    <!--Maximum movement of the finger for detecting a tap-->
    <merge key="input.x11_options.MaxTapMove" type="string">2000</merge>

    <!--Enable vertical scrolling when dragging along the right edge-->
    <merge key="input.x11_options.VertEdgeScroll" type="string">true</merge>

    <!--Enable vertical scrolling when dragging with two fingers anywhere on the touchpad-->
    <!--<merge key="input.x11_options.VertTwoFingerScroll" type="string">true</merge>-->

    <!--Enable horizontal scrolling when dragging with two fingers anywhere on the touchpad-->
    <!--<merge key="input.x11_options.HorizTwoFingerScroll" type="string">true</merge>-->

    <!--If on, circular scrolling is used-->
    <!--<merge key="input.x11_options.CircularScrolling" type="string">true</merge>-->

    <!--For other possible options, check CONFIGURATION DETAILS in synaptics man page-->
    </match>
  </device>
</deviceinfo>

I can't help you with the wireless, as I have an intell card. But that with NetworkManager works fine.

kamilek · 2009-08-21 16:10:24

mouse256 wrote:

I also have the studio 1555 laptop, so it nice to share experiences:
1) Network: I have the intel 5300 b/g/n card, and that worked without a problem

Broadcom 4322, steps:
-add !b32 and !ssb to MODULES,
-from AUR add broadcom-wl
-add wl to modules
-remove from modules b43 and ssb and add wl, I have also lib80211_crypt_tkip (I am not sure for what they need that)
then it works, maybe after reboot

Follow steps in configuring your networkmanager, it works.

mouse256 wrote:

2) Radeon HD 4570:
*) xf86-video-radeonhd: It's not yet supported in the stable version, but experimental support is added in the trunk, so I hope the next stable will support it (http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver … ain/README)
*) xf86-video-ati: works without a problem, but slow.
*) catalyst: I also suffered the backtrace crash problem, but it had something todo with X -configure. Just adding the xorg.conf file made it work. But I already stopped using it because it broke again on the next pacman -Syu...

from AUR install both catalysts packages, creat xorg.conf per "aticonfig --initial" add lines about DRI rights and everything should work:

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "aticonfig Layout"
    Screen      0  "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0" 0 0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
    Option        "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
    Option        "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
    Option        "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
    Mode    0666
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
    Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
    Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

You MUST INSTALL AND LOAD HAL before running the X server!! (Add hal to your /etc/rc.conf)
Also add fglrx to MODULES and load the module per modprobe.

mouse256 wrote:

3) sound: I had to add "options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6" in modprobe.conf

Same here.

mouse256 wrote:

4) multimedia keys: They work without anything special....

Same here, in gnome, leter I willl try to install also Bluetooth which is under the multimedia key

mouse256 wrote:

5) brightness: sometimes the keys work, otherwise they don't. The gnome-brightness-applet cannot get the status. I'm going to try acpi_brightness tweak from angle this evening.

I always set it when my computer boots, later it out of box is broken, I will wait for kernel-fix. Gnome applet to adjust this is broken, we wait for bug fixes.

mouse256 wrote:

6) synaptics touchpad: here is how to configure it: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syn … mmended.29

Just install synaptics package for xorg, works out of box.

mouse256 wrote:

7) suspend to RAM: not tried.
8) suspend to disk: a new fast pc with a laptop disk and 4 gigs of ram, I would guess normal boot might indeed be faster.

Not tried.

Other:
9)webcamera
uvc driver works out of box, but you must be in some groups (probably video) to use the camera!

10)virtualbox
works out of box, but you must by in some groups for the full suport (like using an optical disc)

11)cpu scalling
add yourself to groups
add modules

12)GPM

GPM_ARGS="-m /dev/input/mice -t imps2"

in /etc/conf.d/gpm
works both USB mouse and synaptics in the text mode

13)Polish support

LOCALE="pl_PL.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Europe/Warsaw"
KEYMAP="pl2"
CONSOLEFONT="lat2-16"
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

and generate your locales

14)power
same like above, you need membership of some groups

my rc.con

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# USEDIRECTISA: use direct I/O requests instead of /dev/rtc for hwclock
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="pl_PL.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Europe/Warsaw"
KEYMAP="pl2"
CONSOLEFONT="lat2-16"
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=(fglrx fuse vboxdrv acpi-cpufreq cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_powersave !b43 !ssb lib80211_crypt_tkip wl)

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/hosts
#
HOSTNAME="arch-laptop"

# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
# 
# DHCP:     Set your interface to "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
# Wireless: See network profiles below
#

#Static IP example
eth0="dhcp"
eth1="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(lo !eth0 !eth1)

# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
 
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network.d
#
# This now requires the netcfg package
#
#NETWORKS=(main)

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng !network netfs crond dbus hal cpufreq gpm networkmanager fam gdm)

To be tested: BLUETOOTH, mini-cards support, VGA/HDMI output?

PROBLEMS:
No working mic, it's always muted, unable to change it. I urgently need my microphone for Skype. Please help.

Screenshot

Last edited by kamilek (2009-08-21 17:39:39)

stefek · 2009-08-21 20:04:38

I don't know what is going on, but my wireless card almost every reboot is unable to find any wireless network. Modules are loading correctly, there are no errors in kernel.org. NetworkManager says that eth0(wireless) and eth1(wired) attached, but when i drag on the icon there are "unavailable". I've tried to reinstall drivers(broadcom-wl from AUR), but to no avail. Here is my modules forum rc.conf:

MODULES=(!b43 !b43-legacy !ssb lib80211_crypt_tkip wl acpi-cpufreq cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_powersave)

Does anyone have an idea what could be wrong and how to solve it? It's the last and the most irritating problem with this laptop.
I really appreciate any help
stefek

qmanic · 2009-08-22 08:22:00

kamilek wrote:

PROBLEMS:
No working mic, it's always muted, unable to change it. I urgently need my microphone for Skype. Please help.

I found that enabling the first capture channel fixed this for me.

kamilek · 2009-08-23 11:04:57

qmanic wrote:

kamilek wrote:
PROBLEMS:
No working mic, it's always muted, unable to change it. I urgently need my microphone for Skype. Please help.
I found that enabling the first capture channel fixed this for me.

Show my please your options of alsamixer. I can't boot it, do you use external microphone or internal in the notebook?

luispa · 2009-10-14 05:33:59

stefek wrote:

I don't know what is going on, but my wireless card almost every reboot is unable to find any wireless network. Modules are loading correctly, there are no errors in kernel.org. NetworkManager says that eth0(wireless) and eth1(wired) attached, but when i drag on the icon there are "unavailable". I've tried to reinstall drivers(broadcom-wl from AUR), but to no avail. Here is my modules forum rc.conf:
MODULES=(!b43 !b43-legacy !ssb lib80211_crypt_tkip wl acpi-cpufreq cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_powersave)
Does anyone have an idea what could be wrong and how to solve it? It's the last and the most irritating problem with this laptop.
I really appreciate any help
stefek

Hi, I had the same problem and spent too many hours trying to solve it. Finally, the solution was really easy, the problem was to find the causes. These are a few points you should check:
- The F2 key is used for start/stop the wireless card. Sometimes works, sometimes not. You need to be sure the wireless card is working.
- The 'ssb' module could be loaded even if it's blacklisted, I experimented this with other distro and I'm trying to solve it. You may check this:
lsmod | grep ssb
You should get and empty output. Otherwise, the ssb module is loaded and you need to unload it using:
sudo rmmod ssb
And reload wl using:
sudo rmmod wl
sudo modprobe wl
- I use Wicd instead networkmanager. Wicd needs you define which interface is the wireless one and which is the wired one. My computer swap them often and I need to change the interface definitions manually. I guess something similar could happen with networkmanager, you can check that by changing them.
- Remember to add 'hal' before 'networkmanager' in the daemons string in rc.conf

Best regards,

Luis Pablo

mouse256 · 2009-11-23 17:02:47

The last update of bluez killed my bluetooth, here is what I needed to do to fix it:
edit /lib/udev/rules.d/97-bluetooth-hid2hci.rules and add the following:

#broadcom
ACTION=="add", ENV{ID_VENDOR}=="0a5c", ENV{ID_MODEL}=="4500" RUN+="/usr/sbin/hid2hci -v $env{ID_VENDOR} -p $env{ID_MODEL} --mode hci"

stefek · 2009-12-06 13:55:24

Bluetooth is the last thing, which doesn't work on my Dell 1555. I've added it to /lib/udev/rules.d/97-bluetooth-hid2hci.rules, and now i get:

hid2hci --mode=hci --method=dell --vendor=0a5c --product=4500
Attempting to switch device 0a5c:4500 to HCI mode failed (Broken pipe)

I don't know what is going on.
When i'm running /etc/rc.d/bluetooth start, i look at /var/log/messages.log and it returns:

Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek bluetoothd[4811]: Bluetooth daemon 4.58
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek bluetoothd[4811]: Starting SDP server
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bluetooth: L2CAP ver 2.13
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek bluetoothd[4811]: Starting experimental netlink support
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bridge firewalling registered
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek bluetoothd[4811]: bridge pan0 created
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bluetooth: SCO (Voice Link) ver 0.6
Dec  6 14:50:07 stefek kernel: Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized

Does anyone have any idea how to solve it?

mouse256 · 2009-12-06 17:07:34

It seems the post I added to add the line to the udev rules does not work after all...
What is needed is the following in /etc/conf.d/bluetooth

HID2HCI_ENABLE="true"

Nevertheless, sometimes my bluetooth does not work. If I experience this problem, I have to reboot (and most often a couple of times) and then it works again.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-07-30 17:54:02

Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#2 2009-07-30 18:23:40

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#3 2009-07-30 18:34:24

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#4 2009-07-31 11:21:09

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#5 2009-07-31 22:20:25

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#6 2009-08-01 13:09:26

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#7 2009-08-01 17:08:09

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#8 2009-08-01 18:43:04

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#9 2009-08-05 10:14:41

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#10 2009-08-05 17:35:27

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#11 2009-08-06 10:25:02

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#12 2009-08-06 18:10:42

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#13 2009-08-06 19:56:54

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#14 2009-08-21 16:10:24

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#15 2009-08-21 20:04:38

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#16 2009-08-22 08:22:00

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#17 2009-08-23 11:04:57

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#18 2009-10-14 05:33:59

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#19 2009-11-23 17:02:47

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#20 2009-12-06 13:55:24

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

#21 2009-12-06 17:07:34

Re: Problems with Dell Studio 1555

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