[ltp] X40 upgrade notes (SSD, Ubuntu Precise)

Richard Neill linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Sun, 17 Jun 2012 03:15:18 +0100


Dear All,

Having just upgraded an X40, I thought I'd share a couple of gotchas 
with the list.

0. To install, use "usb-creator-gtk" to turn the .iso into a USB stick 
image. I usually use unetbootin, but that doesn't have the flexibility 
to set boot options: turning off quiet/splash is useful.

1. On lid-close, the screen turns off; on lid open, the backlight 
returns but the screen remains stubbornly inactive, requiring a reboot 
to see it again. The system doesn't crash (an audio player keeps going). 
"xset dpms force off" cycles the backlight quite correctly.

Solution: append "nomodeset" to the kernel command line.


2. I purchased a PATA 1.8" SSD made by "Kingfast". The Ubuntu installer 
sees this fine, but, having installed it, the BIOS can't boot from it, 
saying "No operating system found".

Solution (rather oddly): remove the jumper cap on the drive, so that, 
rather than being in "IDE master" mode, it's in "cable select" mode.


Otherwise, everthing works very well - I'm happy with it, and it's 
really quite quick (using Xubuntu).

Best wishes,

Richard