Arch Linux

ocram

Member

Registered: 2004-09-27

Posts: 14

thinkpad?

hy everyone..

I want to buy a new laptop because, even if my old thinkpad a21p still works perfectly (with archlinux of course!), it is a "bit" old.. so I decided to buy another thinkpad and I think that the T61 (not the T61p, just T61) suits my needs.. but I'm a little worried because, visiting linuxlaptops.com and on tuxmobil.org, I've noticed that there are more linux compatibilities issues with the T61 than I expected.. anyway I would like to know from an archlinux user with a T61, if any, what is his experience with that laptop..

thanks in advance!

ocram

p.s. sorry for my crappy english

gemidjy

Member

Registered: 2007-06-29

Posts: 10

Re: thinkpad?

hy everyone..

I want to buy a new laptop because, even if my old thinkpad a21p still works perfectly (with archlinux of course!), it is a "bit" old.. so I decided to buy another thinkpad and I think that the T61 (not the T61p, just T61) suits my needs.. but I'm a little worried because, visiting linuxlaptops.com and on tuxmobil.org, I've noticed that there are more linux compatibilities issues with the T61 than I expected.. anyway I would like to know from an archlinux user with a T61, if any, what is his experience with that laptop..

thanks in advance!

ocram

p.s. sorry for my crappy english

If I had the money I'd buy x61 now

However, a month ago I bought T60 and it is rocking...I love it!

ArchLinux is customized to its optimums to work smoothly on the laptop. It pwnz!

Back2Cali

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-02-26

Posts: 223

Re: thinkpad?

Hi ocram!

I'm using arch64 on a T61 (7662-CTO). Currently there's only very little that's buggin me about the device. First of all the recovery partition with vista on it. I'd love to change that in a rescue arch system, but right now I don't have time to mess around with it. Also the fact that you access your BIOS through that rescue system is kinda annoying to me. Anyway, maybe it can be exchanged by a (arch)linux rescue system somehow.
As mentioned I'm using arch64 with the 2.6.22 default kernel from testing. There are 2 things that don't work yet, One is the bluetooth adapter, the other thing is the hard disk protection. Also one thing that doesn't work correct is the soundcard. I can get it to work with amarok for example and the microphone would not work. Starting Twinkle causes the speaker to stop working and the mic does. And switching over to Skype bouth, the speaker and the mic, won't work.
Other than that, everything works. From the Intel Wireless to the Nvidia Quaddro Graphics card, even the fingerprint reader works.
The wireless device doesn't work with (k)networkmanager atm, but using the network daemon with some wireless script works like a charm in 64bit arch. I'm really looking positive into the future that everything else will work flawless soon.
Asking me I would definitely buy this device again. I searched for a laptop for a long time and currently this is the only device that I wasn't worried about quality and service. So I'm really satisfied with it and even if some things won't work yet, I'm sure it's just a matter of time till you can find some howtos at thinkwiki.org or in here.

I hope this helps you choosing the right device!

BYE
Back2Cali

ocram

Member

Registered: 2004-09-27

Posts: 14

Re: thinkpad?

thank you for speedy the feedback!

so Back2Cali you say that bluetooth and the hard disk protection don't work.. not too bad.. what leaves me a little bit disappointed are the sound card issues.. are you sure there's no way to fix that problem? on http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Installin … inkPad_T61 there's an audio section that talks about applying a couple of patches to alsa.. have you ever tried it?

another thing.. could you explain better what's the situation with the bios? what do you mean by "access the BIOS through the rescue system"? there's no way to throw the vista rescue system? that would be _really_ annoying..

thank you!

Back2Cali

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-02-26

Posts: 223

Re: thinkpad?

The problem with the soundcard seems to be fixed within the corrent CVS version of alsa. So it's only a matter of time till it works. The patches mentioned at thinkwiki.org are already applied within arch afaik. Unfortunately I wasn't able to fix that issue described above, yet.
Bluetooth and harddisk protection will work if you add some patches to the current kernel manually or if you use the thinkpad-ol kernel from AUR.
The thing with the BIOS is that during boot you will see the messagt that, in order to get to the rescue system, you need to press the ThinkVantage button. Pressing this button starts the Vista Recovery System from the hidden partition which is preinstalled. One of the things you can do in there (besides all the other rescue features that are available) is entering the BIOS. Choosing this opiton will let the Laptop restart and entering the BIOS. I didn't check out any other option (like pressing the F1 button or something like that) the enter the BIOS. You can still bypass the ThinkVantage Option by pressing F12 to enter the boot menu and there is also an option to enter the setup which will directly send you to the BIOS. I'm currently not aware of any other option but also during the lack of time I could not spend to much time on that now. I created some rescue DVDs and deleted the hidden partition installed Arch64 and that's it. As soon as I know some more things especially about the BIOS issue, I'll let you know.

BYE

ocram

Member

Registered: 2004-09-27

Posts: 14

Re: thinkpad?

ok, now I understand.. I thought you were saying that the bios setup could not be opened without the vista recovery system.. so the only real issue seems to be the sound card but I hope it will be fixed soon

so.. thank you again for the support.. now I'm almost sure that my new laptop will be a thinkpad!

cya!

marco

bboozzoo

Member

From: Poland

Registered: 2006-08-01

Posts: 125

Re: thinkpad?

just for the record, have you removed your vista recovery partitions from hard disk?

Back2Cali

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-02-26

Posts: 223

Re: thinkpad?

@ocram:

Yep, currently the only real problem is the soundcard. Everything else that is important is working more or less... So good luck finding a great deal for it. Maybe this site here is also valid for your country:
http://www.xpbargains.com/st_deals.php/ … oupons.htm

@bboozzoo

Yes I removed the partition. But as soon as I will have more time I'm going to get the original system back on and mess around with the BIOS tool that seems to create this partition (which unfortunately is a Windows Tool afaik).... Maybe I can get a Linux system running instead of Vista. But this has to wait till I will have finished some current projects. So again right now I don't have this partition (but I have created some recovery DVDs to restore it in case of emergency)...

ocram

Member

Registered: 2004-09-27

Posts: 14

Re: thinkpad?

finally i bought my thinkpad (I'm using it right now!!)
now i'm gonna install arch64.. but there's something I don't understand.. I've seen that at boot time if I press the thinkVantage button the recovery system boots up and gives me some nice recovery features etc (something similar happens if I press F8 when vista starts) .. how can I backup all this stuff before formatting the hard disk? and how can I get a dual boot (vista/arch) system? this isn't clear because I expected to receive some original vista cd or dvd with the laptop but I didn't..

thank you again!

marimo

Member

Registered: 2006-08-17

Posts: 5

Re: thinkpad?

Hi Ocram

The following link tells you how to backup the predesktop area:

http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/Ordering_Reco … lled_O.2FS

Last edited by marimo (2007-07-19 15:00:20)