[ltp] PST Bootdisk for 600E

[wes schreiner]

Rob Smith wrote:

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "wes schreiner" <wes@infosink.com>
>
>  
>
>>Well why didn't you say so?  See on the page
>>http://www.enderak.com/linux/thinkpad600/ a link to some version of
>>PS2.exe: http://www.enderak.com/linux/thinkpad600/progs/ps2.exe.iso
>>
>>    
>>
>
>I've been there and done that. His disk wouldn't boot, and there was no way
>to verify the ISO. I was hoping to find someone with a WORKING copy. One of
>the guys who was at the last Linuxfest I attended had a functioning copy set
>up on a business card sized CD-ROM, but we didn't have time to duplicate it.
>  
>

OK, sorry about the link, it's not something I've used myself.

>  
>
>>However, if you ever want to use hibernation then you will need a FAT
>>partition for the hibernation file.  Once you have that you might as
>>well make it a few MB larger and include PS2.EXE as well IO.SYS and
>>MSDOS.SYS so you can dual-boot to MSDOS and your Linux installation.
>>
>>    
>>
>
>I'm not all that worried about hibernation. I keep an eye on battery usage
>and just shut down when it's getting close. I'd rather have the space
>available for data and apps. My hard drive's not all that big, and we
>installed most of the packages off the SuSe 9.0 Pro disk, so that I might be
>able to play with them and learn.
>  
>

Well, if you don't want to hibernate then just a small FAT partition for 
MSDOS and PS2.EXE wouldn't take up more than 2 or 3 MB.  Far less 
trouble than looking for PS2.EXE on a CD.

>  
>
>>Almost everything that PS2.EXE does for you can also be done by tpctl or
>>directly with lspnp/setpnp (given a PNP-enabled kernel).  Everything you
>>would want to do with the serial devices configuration (modem, external
>>port, IR port) can be done with lspnp and setpnp.  Still, I think there
>>are a few settings that can only be manipulated by PS2.EXE, so it is
>>good to have it available.
>>
>>    
>>
>
>I was told that tpctl lacked many of PS2.EXE's features, and that I
>shouldn't use it. Being new to Linux myself, I had taken their advise. I do
>know how PS2.EXE works. It's loaded on my other ThinkPad, a T20 running XP
>Pro.
>  
>

I've found that tpctl works very well on a 600E, and so does 
lspnp/setpnp.  Perhaps the warning you received was aimed at the user of 
a newer ThinkPad.  When you frob resource settings with tpctl it doesn't 
make permanent changes, so you can always reboot to get your original 
configuration back.  With setpnp you have the option of making changes 
that survive a reboot. 

>  
>
>>And remember, everything you will want to do with a ThinkPad 600E has
>>been done by lots of people already, and there are quite a few web pages
>>out there detailing the various tasks.  Google is your friend.
>>
>>    
>>
>
>Yes, I've been checking them out. Once I get IR disabled, they will be quite
>helpful in allowing me to get sound and modem functioning.
>  
>

OK.  You can start on sound right now though, because unless someone has 
really messed up your IRQ assignments then the sound settings have 
nothing to do with any of the serial port and modem settings.  You are 
probably aware that of the three serial devices, modem, external port, 
and IR port, you can only have at most two enabled.  While the usual 
configuration is to have the modem on the first serial port (ttyS0 or 
COM1), a while back I donated a little patch that made it possible to 
have the modem on the second serial port.  In my 600E I have the 
external port as ttyS0.  Have fun.

wes