[ltp] TP600X, RH7.3, modem, internet, sound WORKS

JC WOODWARD linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Tue, 15 Oct 2002 07:08:24 -0400


__________________________________________________________________
OVERVIEW

If you make the right selections during installation, and invest an
hour or two to compile the LTmodem driver, Red Hat 7.3 installs
effortlessly on the ThinkPad 600X laptop.  No special settings, no
kernel compile, no command line editing of system files, no hacks.
Just a plain vanilla install.  GNU/Linux has come a long way, indeed!

I present my install notes in the hope that they may be a useful tool for 
helping newcomers to get started, and as a documented baseline so 
others with the same equipment can know what should  be working on 
their computers.

WHAT WORKS:
. Printer 
. Floppy drive, internal & external, via mtools and ext2 system mount.  
. CD drive (hot swap in the UltraSlim bay not tested - See Thomas Hood)
. USB external Zip100 drive 
. Trackpoint mouse (lower button acts as the middle on a 3-button mouse)
. Sound
. CD audio player
. External PS2 mouse
. External monitor display
. Hardware hibernate, suspend, and screen blank via the blue Fn keys
. Modem
. Internet via PPP dial-up

NOT TESTED:
. Serial port
. PCMIA card slot
. Infrared port
. External keyboard (see Thomas Hood's page for an implementation)

HARDWARE NOTES: 
. Hardware hibernation relies on the existence of a hibernation file
  in a Windows partition created with the Windows control panel or
  IBM's PS2.EXE DOS command line utility.  Implemented in hardware,
  hibernation is not controlled by Linux, although the Linux ThinkPad
  Control Utility, tpctl (See Thomas Hood), can invoke it.

. The external monitor display works, but you must press FnF7 to
  activate it.  Press FnF7 repeatedly to cycle between LCD, external,
  or both.  Interestingly, X activates the external display
  automatically when loaded, then deactivates it when unloaded.

. To get maximum audio volume you must use both the hardware Fn-PgUp
  key and the audio mixer applet to maximize both master and device
  sliders.

__________________________________________________________________
QUICK SUMMARY FOR EXPERTS

. Split your Windows partition using FIPS as described at
  /dosutils/fipsdoc on the RH Installation CD 1

. During the Red Hat install, make the following choices:
    . Keyboard: Microsoft Natural
    . Mouse: Generic PS2 3-button
    . Install type: Laptop
    . Firewall: Medium security, default rules
    . Time zone: Select "Use Daylight Savings Time" 
    . Use "Select individual packages" 
      . to exclude "lm-sensors", and 
      . to incude "kernel source", plus
      . the tools necessary to compile the LTmodem driver.
    . Graphics card:  NeoMagic-256(Laptop) with 4MB memory
    . X Monitor: Generic Laptop 1024 X 768 LCD

. Install the Lucent LTmodem driver as decribed below under
  LUCENT LTMODEM DRIVER INSTALLATION.
  
. Configure your internet account, dialer, e-mail client, and printer
  spool using your preferred utilities or as described below under
  POST-INSTALLATION CONFIGURATION.

__________________________________________________________________
REDHAT 7.3 INSTALLATION

. SPLIT WINDOWS PARTITION 
  If you plan to create a dual boot system and keep Windows installed,
  do this step, otherwise skip to LINUX INSTALL step.
    . Use the DOS program FIPS to split your patition.
         .Mount RH Install CD 1 and open the directory:
            d:\dosutils\fipsdoc
         . Read files readme.1st and fips.doc
         . Prepare a bootable floppy and copy FIPS files to it.  
    . Defragment your C: drive to push everything to the front.  Since
      some defragmenters do not touch the swap file (and maybe the
      hibernate file, too) it is suggested that you disable the swap and
      hibernate features before defragmenting and then renable them.
    . Run FIPS per the documentation file.
        . I left 2000MB for windows which is plenty for a usable system.
        . Be sure to save the backup/undo records to the diskette.

. INSTALL LINUX FROM CD SET 
  The vast majority of this process requires little more than clicking
  the "Next" button on the install window.  I have documented, screen
  by screen, those inputs necessary for a successful installation on
  my ThinkPad 600X.  

    . Boot from the RH Install CD 1
      (Press F12 during boot to force boot from CD)
    . Intro screen: press <enter> for GUI installation
    . Install Language screen: English
    . Keyboard screen: select Microsoft Natural, English, and "enable
      dead keys"
    . Mouse screen: select Generic 3-button PS2
    . Install type screen: Laptop
    . Disk Partition Setup: select "Manually with Disk Druid"
    . Disk Druid: create the following three partitions, accept
      default suggestions for file system type, etc.
        . /boot   50MB
        . /     4000MB
        . swap   521MB
        The 4GB root partition should be plenty for a typical home
        user.  I chose 512MB for swap since I have 256MB installed
        RAM.  On my 12 GB disk this leaves 2GB for Windows, roughly
        4.5GB for Linux and a whopping 5.5GB available for future use
        on either.  I leave for others the spirited debate over how
        many and which partitions should be allocated for a well
        formed Linux system.  Red Hat has gotten away from that and
        now suggests lumping it all together in one root partition.

        Note: My disk has one bad block which Disk Druid found while
        formatting, but hung attempting to repair it. I had to start
        all over and deselect the  "Check for bad blocks" box. 
    . Boot Loader screen: 
        . I selected LILO because it includes extensive well-written
          documentation including a partitioning primer.  I found the
          GRUB boot loader documentation to be undecipherable.
        . Accept default selections on the rest of the screen.
    . Firewall screen: Medium security level, use default rules
    . Language screen: accept default English (USA)
    . Time Zone screen: Note: it's easy to miss the second tab.
        . Location tab: Select your city or zone
        . UTC Offset tab: Check "use Daylight Savings Time"
    . Account configuration screen: remember to add an account for
      yourself as non-root user.
    . Package groups screen: 
        . Check "Select individual packages" which enables you to fine
          tune the broad categories of software to be installed.
        . I selected Gnome which provides many post-installation
          configuration aids.
        . Since you will need to compile the Lucent modem driver you
          must also select "Software Development".  Unfortunately, this
          installs a massive amount of additional software, most of
          which you will never use.  Perhaps some one can identify the
          actual packages needed just for that task.
    . Individual package selection screen:
        . Check "Flat View" then scroll down the list 
        . Uncheck "lm-sensors" which has a known bug that can scramble
          your CMOS.  See the Linux-Thinkpad.org web site for details.
        . Check "kernel-source" which you will need to compile the
          LTmodem driver.
        . This is the time to select any additional packages you plan to
          install.  Use "Tree View" to browse the many folders and
          subfolders.
    . Graphic interface screen: 
        . Accept the selection found by the probe - NeoMagic-256(Laptop)
        . Verify the probe identifed the correct (4MB) amount of video ram.
    . Final pre-install screen:  This is the point of no return.  
        . If you click "Next" the intall will run for some half
          hour plus using the settings accumulated so far.  
        . If you press ctrl-alt-delete instead, the program will do an
          orderly shutdown without having written anything to your disk.
    . X monitor configuration screen: 
        . Select Generic Laptop 1024 X 768 LCD

__________________________________________________________________
LUCENT LTMODEM DRIVER INSTALLATION

This is documented in detail on Thomas Hood's extensive TP600 page:
    http://panopticon.csustan.edu/thood/tp600lnx.htm#secmodem
  as a text file download:  
    http://panopticon.csustan.edu/thood/ltmodem
   
__________________________________________________________________
POST-INSTALLATION CONFIGURATION

The following steps were all performed using built-in Gnome
configuration tools and other GUI programs included in the default
installation.  "Foot" means click the "foot" taskbar icon and select
from subsequent pop-up menus. 

. Setup Internet connection
  . Click Foot/programs/system/internet connection wizard
  . Select Modem connection then, as prompted, enter phone #, device
    /dev/modem, password, and username.  
. Setup internet dialer
    . Click Foot/applets/network/RH PPP dialer which installs a taskbar 
      connect icon, just click to dial up.  Click again to hang up.
    . See also Foot/applets/network/modem lights for similar
. Setup mail account
    . Run Mozilla (the dragon head icon in taskbar)
    . Clicking menu/tasks/mail starts up the new account wizard
    . If not, click menu/edit/mail&newsgroups settings
    . As prompted enter account and server info.
. Setup printer
    . Click Foot/system/printer configuration 
    . Select printer manufacturer and model
    . Select driver - if more than one listed, click the "Printer
      notes" button for advice on which to choose.
    . Accept suggested device as /dev/lp0
. Setup and test audio
    . Insert music CD
    . Click Foot/applets/multimedia/CD player
    . To get full volume you must 
        1) Use FnPgUp to maximize hardware volume control, 
        2) Use Foot/applets/multimedia/mixer to maximize both master
           and CD volume