ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

Thinkpol · 2010-09-24 00:20:38

I picked up an x100e and have spent a fair amount of time (weeks, but it's my first Arch) tweaking things to get Arch up and running properly. There are still hiccups but not so many or critical.

I'm working on a wiki page but am posting a link to my notes as well. They are updated live as I edit them (gdocs). While not complete yet I think they are pretty comprehensive and should serve as a good guide for anyone else interested in this laptop.

x100e Arch Linux Install Instructions at:

http://ethanschoonover.com/x100e

I need to post some sample /etc files as well (some of the critical configs) but that will be in a day or two.

-Ethan

edit:
Just to clarify the notes linked to above: the main issues were getting hotkeys working as desired and wifi issues. Most of those have been worked through and are detailed on that page. I'll be posting the hotkey ACPI script samples along with the actkbd configuration for reference.

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-09-24 00:37:53)

kgas · 2010-09-24 07:14:55

check another thread for the same note book. I did not check your last post on the said thread before posting this. you can create a wiki page for that.

Last edited by kgas (2010-09-24 07:20:44)

Thinkpol · 2010-09-24 16:30:02

Thanks, yes, I've already started a wiki article on this notebook. The notes I'm drafting to are going to have to be cut down significantly before I post that content to the article (the SSD stuff and much of the notes material is so specific to my own system configuration) and I'm still sorting out the best power management options. Once I'm done I'll convert and cut down to the wiki format. In the meantime, if anyone is struggling with the x100e, the working notes are worth checking.

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-09-24 19:00:44)

nicebloom · 2010-10-12 13:01:56

Hi Guys,

just installed ARCH x86_64 on my brand new x100e and have some trouble with it. The kernel panics. It's all about the WiFi. I had followed you working notes and have done some testing for my self so I could figure out, that the wifi module is crashing.
WOnder how you could get it running.

Have also read this threads:
- https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=85504
- https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=101110
and the WiKi article, biut still have no clue.
Should I use i686?

Cheers,
...:::nIcE:::...

Thinkpol · 2010-10-12 18:09:50

nicebloom wrote:

Hi Guys,
just installed ARCH x86_64 on my brand new x100e and have some trouble with it. The kernel panics.It's all about the WiFi.

Ok, I'd recommend that you get everything running on ethernet first. Troubleshoot from there. I haven't had any kernel panics at all, wifi issues or not, so it sounds like there is something else going on.

(have you tested your ram, btw? eliminate possible HW issues first)

Which of the two wifi cards are you using, the realtek or intel?

No reason to use i686. x100e runs great on x86_64.

nicebloom · 2010-10-12 19:58:40

I don't have the Intel card at all in my device. Nevertheless the machine runs well when I unload the kernel module for the realtek card. Also running on ethernet is rocking stable. Only when I switch to wifi you can count on a kernel panic. Also the dump shows that module r8192se_pci.ko is failing.

Have no ideal what is going on...

Last edited by nicebloom (2010-10-12 20:24:18)

Thinkpol · 2010-10-12 20:23:48

If you load the realtek module without connecting to a network, do you see problems?

Also, just to double check, are you using the realtek drivers that are included with 2.6.35? (they don't work) I'm assuming you are using the downloaded drivers from realtek.,

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-10-12 20:25:20)

nicebloom · 2010-10-12 20:26:08

Yes. They are appearing not that mutch, but it is the same behaviour.

nicebloom · 2010-11-17 16:43:17

I still have the issue of random lock ups. Have tracked it down. It only occurs when I connect to ad-hoc networks.
Screenshot of the PANIC shows, it is an issue with r8192se_pci.

Hope somebody can point me in the right way. Have helped myself with unloading the driver each 2 MInutes but it isn't a satisfying solution at all.

Thanks a loooot...

Thinkpol · 2010-11-17 17:06:58

Tried different clocksources yet? I switched to jiffies and it solved my iwlagn issues for the time being.

nicebloom · 2010-11-17 21:05:23

Yes. I have done everything that you mentioned in your install instructions and the wiki still in panic mood.

Thinkpol · 2010-11-17 21:36:25

What kernel are you on? I'm using the latest off testing. Would encourage the same if you aren't already...

nicebloom · 2010-11-19 15:01:47

I will try this. Maybe this will do the trick. It also seems it still only occurs when in ad-hoc mode (which I use quite often :'(). USing the card in normal client mode is working fine.

nicebloom · 2010-11-23 16:36:05

Have tried the testing kernel, but nothing changed. It is working perfect in managed mode, but not in ad-hoc. Seems to be a bug in the source. Maybe it hasn't been noticed, becaus ad-hoc mode isn't used quite often...

eldragon · 2010-11-23 17:11:44

i dont know about the wireless module crashing. i found it to connect at 30Kbps max. but it works. drivers are at a staging stage so there's that. we will have to wait

anyway, these crashes might be related to heat, these beasts run pretty hot.

ive been using arch on this x100e for about a month without mayor issues.

edit: im using rtl8192se from aur for the wireless adapter

Last edited by eldragon (2010-11-23 17:13:13)

Thinkpol · 2010-11-23 17:28:03

eldragon wrote:

these beasts run pretty hot.

I recommend undervolting. It's made a significant impact on my x100e and I'm much happier with it on my lap.

nicebloom · 2010-11-23 18:04:19

I will try this as well. But one thing is strange, I can use it connected to an managed Access Point the hole day, without any trouble. Switching to ad-hoc will result in a kernel panic.
Have you tried it yourself? I want to be sure, it isn't caused by my hardware.

Last edited by nicebloom (2010-11-23 20:59:25)

eldragon · 2010-11-23 21:04:17

Thinkpol wrote:

eldragon wrote:
these beasts run pretty hot.
I recommend undervolting. It's made a significant impact on my x100e and I'm much happier with it on my lap.

will try this, thanks for the idea.

Thinkpol · 2010-11-23 21:07:56

FWIW: I'm running cpupowerd at the following voltages, stable:

800 0.7000
1600 0.9000

eldragon · 2010-11-24 13:37:48

Thinkpol wrote:

FWIW: I'm running cpupowerd at the following voltages, stable:
800 0.7000
1600 0.9000

thanks for the tip. im actually using it right now. but...

how do i know if those are being applied?

i cant find where to read the voltages.
i got the defaults from cpupowerd -a filename (1v at 800 and 1v at 1600)

im using your values right now cause im lazy

EDIT: # cpupowerd -s shows the current state..

EDIT2: and of course, pushing the voltage beyond 0.8 at 1600 hangs the system, so im sticking with 0.8
i will try lower voltages for the 800mhz freq

Last edited by eldragon (2010-11-24 14:50:17)

Thinkpol · 2010-11-24 16:49:06

eldragon wrote:

pushing the voltage beyond 0.8 at 1600 hangs the system, so im sticking with 0.8
i will try lower voltages for the 800mhz freq

I stopped at 0.7v-800/0.9v-1600 but if you got it down to 0.8 stable at 1600 I may give it another round of tests.

Did you do load testing at that voltage? I remember when I did load testing on cpupowerd (using mprime) I consistently crashed it (not the machine, just cpupowerd), but in real world use that has never happened. I was going to monitor cpupowerd via cron to make sure this didn't happen, but instead I just piped out the current voltage/freq values to dzen to monitor.

What's your average power consumption at that voltage? I have a real-world minimum use range of 11.2W-12.4W. I've had it drop below that of course but that's a realistic working range (as long as I'm mosty just doing light web, vim, etc...)

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-11-24 16:51:07)

eldragon · 2010-11-24 17:56:45

Thinkpol wrote:

eldragon wrote:
pushing the voltage beyond 0.8 at 1600 hangs the system, so im sticking with 0.8
i will try lower voltages for the 800mhz freq
I stopped at 0.7v-800/0.9v-1600 but if you got it down to 0.8 stable at 1600 I may give it another round of tests.
Did you do load testing at that voltage? I remember when I did load testing on cpupowerd (using mprime) I consistently crashed it (not the machine, just cpupowerd), but in real world use that has never happened. I was going to monitor cpupowerd via cron to make sure this didn't happen, but instead I just piped out the current voltage/freq values to dzen to monitor.
What's your average power consumption at that voltage? I have a real-world minimum use range of 11.2W-12.4W. I've had it drop below that of course but that's a realistic working range (as long as I'm mosty just doing light web, vim, etc...)

i used cpuburn to stress the cpu

i cant get average power consumption with powertop with this laptop and i dont know why.

anyway, im not aiming at battery life, just at working temperature.

Thinkpol · 2010-11-24 18:05:55

eldragon wrote:

i cant get average power consumption with powertop with this laptop and i dont know why.

Have you tried pulling the info from proc/acpi? powertop works for me, so I can't say if this method will also have issues on your system, but here's a watt-reader script I threw together to dump current power consumption to conky/dzen (only returns values if running on battery):

#!/bin/bash

WATTS=`cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT1/state | grep rate | awk '{print $3*.001}' | sed -n 's/^\(.*\..\).*/\1/p'`

if grep -q discharging /proc/acpi/battery/BAT1/state
then
echo -n $WATTS"W" 
fi

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-11-24 18:06:25)

eldragon · 2010-11-24 18:23:10

$  discharge 
14.8W

thats with firefox running gmail and outlook anywhere.

Thinkpol · 2010-11-24 18:33:25

eldragon wrote:

$  discharge 
14.8W
thats with firefox running gmail and outlook anywhere.

If I'm doing gmail or other heavy pages I'm usually up around 15.2 (though in testing just now I'm on 14.9), and that's on 75% brightness. Hard to say since we're not doing an accurate comparison but your power consumption numbers sound pretty good.

I haven't yet set up proper usb/device power management. I thought I had but I am able to shave another watt off consumption by having Powertop turn on usb and device power managment (P/U keys in powertop when prompted). Have to check this.

Time to drop the voltage in cpupowerd to your level and see how my system fares.

Last edited by Thinkpol (2010-11-24 18:34:36)

Arch Linux

#1 2010-09-24 00:20:38

ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#2 2010-09-24 07:14:55

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#3 2010-09-24 16:30:02

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#4 2010-10-12 13:01:56

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#5 2010-10-12 18:09:50

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#6 2010-10-12 19:58:40

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#7 2010-10-12 20:23:48

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#8 2010-10-12 20:26:08

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#9 2010-11-17 16:43:17

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#10 2010-11-17 17:06:58

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#11 2010-11-17 21:05:23

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#12 2010-11-17 21:36:25

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#13 2010-11-19 15:01:47

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#14 2010-11-23 16:36:05

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#15 2010-11-23 17:11:44

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#16 2010-11-23 17:28:03

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#17 2010-11-23 18:04:19

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#18 2010-11-23 21:04:17

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#19 2010-11-23 21:07:56

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#20 2010-11-24 13:37:48

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#21 2010-11-24 16:49:06

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#22 2010-11-24 17:56:45

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#23 2010-11-24 18:05:55

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#24 2010-11-24 18:23:10

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

#25 2010-11-24 18:33:25

Re: ThinkPad x100e - Arch Install

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