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#1 2009-02-15 13:42:57

raf_kig
Member
Registered: 2008-11-28
Posts: 143

Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi,
as there are probably more people than me out there using this laptop i thought it might be a good idea to collect problems/workarounds etc in a nice thread.
For my old Inspiron 6000 there used to be such a thread on the gentoo forums and it was really a great help to get things working.

(I am using the nvidia version, so if there are some problems with the intel graphics please post, so that we can collect them :-))

So lets get to it.

Known Problems:
Video
quick seems to have problems with the intel video, so if anyone has the intel version and has everything running, please help us out

Input
Q: The dualpoint produces erratic movement when eg touching the touchpad while using the trackpoint.
A: There is a patch at the lkml, it implements the 9 byte package format and seems to fix the issues for me[0]. Compiles against 2.6.27-29

Q: Pointstick settings, scrolling with 3rd mouse button
A: add the following to an appropriate hal fdi file

   
    <match key="info.product" string="DualPoint Stick">
        <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateWheel" type="string">true</merge>
        <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateWheelButton" type="string">2</merge>
        <merge key="input.x11_options.EmulateWheelTimeout" type="string">200</merge>
    </match>

Audio related
As of 2.6.29-rc7 : add the following line to eg /etc/modprobe.d/options to make everything work

options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m4-1

If you don't want to upgrade your kernel: have a look here

Q: The Internal mic doesn't work.
A: in the playback tab of alsamixer set 'input source' to 'digital'
   in the capture tab enable one of the capture lines and set the apropriate 'input source' to 'front mic'

Q: The in/out jacks of the dock don't work
A: use import0/import1 from the capture tab of alsamixer to get the output of front/headphone cloned to the dock output,
ex: you want to have output only from the dock: mute front, enable headphone, enable mixer1

misc
Q: Bluetooth - Dell Wireless 370 isn`t working.
A:

$ pacman -S bluez
$ /etc/rc.d/bluetooth start
#make sure bluetooth led shine
$ hid2hci
$ hcitools dev

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Bluetooth

These are all problems i've had so far, if you encountered others or have solutions, please share them :-)

regards

raf

[0] Im a heavy keyboard user and if i use the mouse i only use the trackpoint, so i might have missed something

changelog (newest first):
added solution for doc, internal mic, thanks  w1rele55
fixed typo in bt stuff, thanks golwin
added scrolling with trackpoint
added bluetooth from quick :-)


and thanks moderators for moving this to the aprop section :-)

Last edited by raf_kig (2009-03-19 14:39:46)

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#2 2009-02-26 23:59:56

quick
Member
Registered: 2009-02-10
Posts: 4

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi,

special topic is good idea. http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_Latitude_E6400 for this great notebook is too empty.

Q: Overall volume levels are to low.

I havent this problem, try in alsamixer rise Master, Headphone, PCM, Front. Simply everything :))


I also have some questions.

Q: I cant user intel drivers for my x4500HD. hwd -s for graphic returs:
Video: Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller server: Xorg (vesa)
Driver: xf86-video-vesa

Q: Pointstick settings.
Is possible change settings for pointstick? In xorg.conf, I disable touchpad, but I want change sensitivity for pointstick. Also use middle button for scrolling would be amazing.

Q: Bluetooth - Dell Wireless 370 isn`t working.
A:

$ pacman -S bluez
$ /etc/rc.d/bluetooth start
#make sure bluetooth led shine
$ hid2dci
$ hcitools dev

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Bluetooth

regards

quick

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#3 2009-02-28 19:34:20

raf_kig
Member
Registered: 2008-11-28
Posts: 143

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi :-)

quick wrote:

special topic is good idea. http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_Latitude_E6400 for this great notebook is too empty.

Exactly :-)

quick wrote:

I havent this problem, try in alsamixer rise Master, Headphone, PCM, Front. Simply everything smile)

There is still a _big_ difference between output levens on linux and on windows.


quick wrote:

Is possible change settings for pointstick? In xorg.conf, I disable touchpad, but I want change sensitivity for pointstick. Also use middle button for scrolling would be amazing.

Have to look into it, i recall having seen something about that :-)
/e found it, updated post above

regards

raf

Last edited by raf_kig (2009-02-28 19:47:45)

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#4 2009-03-01 01:04:01

blackhole
Member
From: Karlsruhe, Germany
Registered: 2008-12-14
Posts: 148
Website

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

raf_kig wrote:

P: The Internal mic doesn't work.
S: None so far

Okay, maybe I'm too naive, but I'm using Arch on a Dell Latitude D620 which is the pre-predecessor of the E6400, so this might help you as well.

My mic didn't work at first either, but I just went to my KDE 4.2 Mixer --> configure channels and ticked the checkbox "Capture" and "Digital". Then back in the mixer interface I chose "front mic" from the input source dropdown menu and ticked the "Capture" checkbox.

These might help you as well when it comes to sound:
http://ubuntu-utah.ubuntuforums.org/sho … p?t=616845
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=51246

In my /etc/rc.conf the modules look like this:

MODULES=(slhc tg3 snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-hwdep snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-timer snd snd-hda-intel 
soundcore !pcspkr !snd_pcsp !bcm43xx ndiswrapper)

That worked for me under KDE 4.2. From your post I realize that you're probably a far more experienced user than I am, but maybe my noobish tipps might help you anyway (if you're using KDE 4). Sometimes it's the small things...

Take care,
Blackhole


Coming closer and closer to the ultimate goal: replacing boring old Windows XP desktop with shiny new Arch KDE 4 desktop. ^^
Already registered? Your vote counts!

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#5 2009-03-16 11:00:40

golwin
Member
From: Germany, Aachen
Registered: 2009-03-12
Posts: 35

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

raf_kig wrote:

P: Bluetooth - Dell Wireless 370 isn`t working.
S:

$ pacman -S bluez
$ /etc/rc.d/bluetooth start
#make sure bluetooth led shine
$ hid2dci
$ hcitools dev

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Bluetooth

Shouldn't "hid2dci" better be "hid2hci"? wink


arch64 | awesome | screen | ranger | vim | cmus | weechat | bitlbee

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#6 2009-03-19 11:53:54

raf_kig
Member
Registered: 2008-11-28
Posts: 143

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Thanks :-)

btw internal mic and doc output are now working! updated above :-)

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#7 2009-03-19 17:40:23

hightower
Member
Registered: 2006-04-02
Posts: 182

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

quick wrote:

Q: I cant user intel drivers for my x4500HD. hwd -s for graphic returs:
Video: Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller server: Xorg (vesa)
Driver: xf86-video-vesa

Shutdown X-server. Remove /etc/X11/xorg.conf (or similar), but make a backup beforehand. Install xf86-video-intel. Restart X-Server.
The X-Server should configure itself.

I hope this helps,
hightower

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#8 2009-03-23 13:36:16

loudtiger
Member
Registered: 2009-01-08
Posts: 68

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

does anyone else get a speaker pop when suspending? i have HD-audio power-saving disabled but it still happens. Happened when i switched to 2.6.28.

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#9 2009-04-09 19:31:27

loudtiger
Member
Registered: 2009-01-08
Posts: 68

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

bump, anybody?

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#10 2009-04-27 21:40:42

raf_kig
Member
Registered: 2008-11-28
Posts: 143

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Sorry for not answering that long - yes i have that popping sound as well (at the line-out)
I'll investigate further as soon as I have some free time.

regards

raf

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#11 2009-05-19 13:22:13

golwin
Member
From: Germany, Aachen
Registered: 2009-03-12
Posts: 35

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Well I've got no pop-noise when suspending, but I have got problems to get my desktop back after supending. Most times the screen just stays black (but the backlight is obviously on) after waking the notebook. I'm not sure where this comes from. Sometimes it just works fine.

What do you use to suspend your e6400? Everything working fine?


arch64 | awesome | screen | ranger | vim | cmus | weechat | bitlbee

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#12 2009-05-19 16:07:53

ataraxia
Member
From: Pittsburgh
Registered: 2007-05-06
Posts: 1,553

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

I have the E6500 (almost the same machine) and I get the pop as well. I get it any time the power is cut off to the speakers, including hibernate and regular shutdown. It doesn't bug me - think of it as feedback (no pun intended) that your machine is actually going down like you intended it smile

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#13 2009-05-19 16:54:38

raf_kig
Member
Registered: 2008-11-28
Posts: 143

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

@golwin: Suspend works reliably here (as in _never_fails).

What specs does your e6400 have?
What bios version are you using?


Regarding the speaker popping - haven't had any success in getting rid of it.

regards,

raf

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#14 2009-05-19 20:13:36

hightower
Member
Registered: 2006-04-02
Posts: 182

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi,

Sound pops: YES
Suspend black screen: YES EDIT: Actually works properly with hal enabled and using pm-suspend (fresh install) tested without X and without KMS
BIOS: A12
Kernel: 2.6.29.3
Special hardware: smartcard reader, bluetooth, Intel wifi, P8600 processor, PLDS dvd-drive, express expansion port, ricoh card reader

I suggest collecting configurations and the state of working suspend (popping sound).

A note the the black screen: The machine is actually responsive, as I can shut it down (by typing w/o seeing).

hightower

Last edited by hightower (2009-05-19 21:11:49)

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#15 2009-05-21 13:02:56

Duologic
Member
From: Belgium
Registered: 2007-11-11
Posts: 249

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Previously I have made an article on the Inspiron 1525, http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dell_Inspiron_1525
I know a few people who had a great help just from the wiki. You could use this as a template for your laptop.

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#16 2009-05-29 13:15:09

hvannentir
Member
From: France
Registered: 2009-01-26
Posts: 5

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi
I've installed Arch on my Dell E6400 and it is working great.

But I have an annoying little problem : When I shutdown the computer from Xfce, all I get is a flashing white line at top of the screen during shutdown procedure.

I assume that all shutdown messages are displayed but the screen render them on few lines on top.

Did you ever have this kind of thing ? Maybe related to the xorg intel driver ?

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#17 2009-06-01 23:25:30

loudtiger
Member
Registered: 2009-01-08
Posts: 68

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

suspend doesn't pop anymore! (i just did a -Syu yesterday)

and hotplug will pick up the scroll area on the touchpad. in fact, i only have my NVIDIA stuff in my xorg.conf now. it's nearly blank : )

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#18 2009-06-02 00:20:36

ataraxia
Member
From: Pittsburgh
Registered: 2007-05-06
Posts: 1,553

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

I confirm that hibernate doesn't make a 'pop' in the speakers any more with my E6500. It confused me, since I thought it wasn't actually hibernating - I used the noise as a progress indicator wink

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#19 2009-06-02 12:26:22

loudtiger
Member
Registered: 2009-01-08
Posts: 68

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

i think i spoke too soon. it always happens the first time, but not the subsequent times. maybe i have something configured wrong...

also, this is a bit weird, but does anyone have the e-series port replicator? for some reason when it's on the dock, fsck will report a corrupted filesystem.

Last edited by loudtiger (2009-06-02 12:30:00)

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#20 2009-06-03 15:14:44

shakin
Member
Registered: 2008-08-07
Posts: 24

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

How to get an eSATA hard drive working:

The e6400 ships with the SATA controller in ATA mode, which disables the eSATA port. If you put the drive into AHCI mode before installing Arch you'll be ok, but if you already have Arch installed it's a bit more complicated because the system will refuse to boot after you switch the SATA controller to AHCI mode (note: if it fails to boot you can switch back to ATA mode to get a bootable system again).

1. Boot normally and edit /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

2. Add the ahci module to the MODULES= line. In my case I changed it from MODULES="" to MODULES="ahci"

3. As root run mkinitcpio -p kernel26

4. Reboot and go into the BIOS config (F12 while on the Dell boot logo). In the menu item named SATA Operation you will find radio boxes with the current mode likely set to ATA. Change this to AHCI and apply the changes before exiting.

5. If your system fails to boot you only need to change the SATA Operation mode back to ATA to get your system running again. If your system does boot you should have a working eSATA port.

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#21 2009-06-16 13:21:50

loudtiger
Member
Registered: 2009-01-08
Posts: 68

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

does anyone know which modules to include in make menuconfig to boot without initramfs? i've done it before, but i've lost that config and i can't find the right option to check off again. i have ext4 and ahci_sata checked.

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#22 2009-07-17 09:08:13

golwin
Member
From: Germany, Aachen
Registered: 2009-03-12
Posts: 35

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

raf_kig wrote:

@golwin: Suspend works reliably here (as in _never_fails).

What specs does your e6400 have?
What bios version are you using?

Sry for not answering that long. I didn't have much time. Anyway I think I solved the problem (the next days will show). The wiki helped out:
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sus … ing_Wakeup

I found out, that suspend seems to work fine as long as I didn't close the lid. Waking up via powerbutton always worked fine, waking up by opening the lid only never worked. So I disabled the lid in /proc/acpi.

But I have no clue what causes this problem...


arch64 | awesome | screen | ranger | vim | cmus | weechat | bitlbee

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#23 2009-07-24 00:23:47

Dethredic
Member
Registered: 2009-01-24
Posts: 361
Website

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hey guys, just got this laptop (nVidia version)
How many FPS do you get with glxgears?
-I get 3020. Seems alright.

How many watts do you use?
-I get ~18 when I boot up on battery and ~14 when I boot up on AC then unplug. That seems kinda weird to me.

When I close my lid, it doesn't turn off. Is there a fix for this?

Last edited by Dethredic (2009-07-24 01:37:46)

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#24 2009-07-24 10:53:37

hightower
Member
Registered: 2006-04-02
Posts: 182

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

You need at least hal and pm-utils installed and hal running to achieve a working suspend/standby. Furthermore some applications prevent the laptop from entering the various sleep modes in their default configuration. For example: transmission. Additionally you have to configure your power management software accordingly.

Edit: Typos

Last edited by hightower (2009-07-24 10:54:42)

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#25 2009-07-27 17:17:35

pH
Member
Registered: 2009-06-25
Posts: 8

Re: Linux on the Dell Latitude E6400

Hi,
What battery life do you get with this laptop ? (with what usage and battery ?)
Thanks

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