Linux on the laptop Dell Latitude D830

with the Mandriva 2009 distribution

Specifications

• Model: DELL Latitude D830 (model no. PP04X; product no. FR075 A01)
  
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T 9300 @ 2.5 GHz, 64 kB L1 cache, 6 MB L2 cache
• RAM: 4 GB, DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz
• Graphic card: nVidia Quadro NVS 140 M

Linux distribution: Mandriva 2009 One

Summary

Software  (from Mandriva 2009)

• Linux kernel: version 2.6.27 
• System library: glibc 2.8 
• Graphical environment: KDE 4.1.2, Gnome 2.24  

Installation of Mandriva 2009

The laptop has been bought from Dell without any OS pre-installed :-)

The Linux installation has been performed from the live CD Mandriva 2009 One (KDE version), asking to the BIOS to boot on the CD and then choosing "Live Install". The installation proceeded smoothly, except for the hissing noise from the loudspeakers (see below).

Graphics

Screen: 15.4" TFT, WUXGA (1920 x 1200); graphic card: nVidia Quadro NVS 140 M, 256 MB

Software: Xorg 7.3 + nvidia driver
Works nicely (Xorg configured by the install to use the driver nvidia; here is the resulting xorg.conf file). The maximum resolution (1920 x 1200) is used by default and results in a very nice display. At such high resolution, the default fonts looks quite small. But their apparent size can be changed easily from the menu

Configurer votre bureau -> Apparence -> Polices -> Forcer le PPP des polices

replace 96 PPP by 120 PPP

(I guess the English menu is something like Configure desktop -> Appearence -> Fonts -> Force DPI)

The 3D rendering works well: OpenGL OK (checked with glxgears and Wherever Racer) and 3D effects in Compiz Fusion work.

VGA output to a beamer or external monitor

Hardware: nVidia Quadro NVS 140 M graphic card

Software: Xorg 7.3 + nvidia driver + nvidia-settings

The only configuration to perform "by hand" is to edit the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf to change the line

Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"

to

Option "DynamicTwinView" "true"

in the Section "Device" (see the attached xorg.conf file) (for some reason, Mandriva people had disable the dynamic twin view in the xorg.conf and it has be restored to allow for the nvidia X server settings to work properly).

Then, each time to plug a video projector (beamer) or an external monitor, press Fn F8 to switch to the dual screen mode. After this, launch the application

Main menu -> Tools -> System tools -> NVIDIA Display Settings

or type nvidia-settings in a console.

This opens a window labelled "NVIDIA X Server Settings". Click on "X Server Display Configuration". You should be able to select two items in the "Model" section:

• LPL (DFP-0 on GPU-0) (the laptop screen)
• the beamer or the external monitor

1. set the resolution to that supported by the beamer/external monitor, for instance 1024x768
2. click on the "Configure" button and make sure "TwinView" is selected
3. click on the "Advanced..." button and set the Panning parameter to the same value as the resolution (e.g. 1024x768)

Sound

Software: module snd_hda_intel of linux kernel 2.6.27

The major problem during the install was a lound noise (hissing) arising from the loudspeakers at some point in the boot sequence and staying permanently afterwards. This is actually a feedback from the microphone; it is a well known problem (also present with Mandriva 2008 Spring), reported in Mandriva Bugzilla: bugs 44877, 44703, 40816 and 38895, as well as in various forums (e.g. here).

A simple workaround is to run kmix (either by typing 'kmix' in a console or from the sound button in the task bar of the desk), then in kmix menu, select

Configuration->Configurer les canaux

Update (12 November 2008): the bug has been corrected by Mandriva who delivered an official update of the sound-scripts package

Tracking devices

Software: module synaptic of Xorg

Works out of the box. Both the touchpad and the trackpoint can be used.

However the cursor motion from the touchpad is too slow (certainly because the 1920x1200 screen is too big for the default settings). This can be easily improved by adding/changing the following lines in the Section "InputDevice" of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:

Option "MaxSpeed" "1.50"

Option "MinSpeed" "0.7"

Option "AccelFactor" "0.3"

See the attached xorg.conf file.

I have also added

Option "MaxTapTime" "0"

in order to suppress taping, i.e. touching/tapping will not be taken as a mouse click (but this is a personal taste).

Ethernet

Software: module tg3 of linux kernel 2.6.27
Works out of the box.

Wireless (WiFi)

Software: module iwlagn of linux kernel 2.6.27
Works out of the box.

Modem

Hardware: Conexant MDC RD02-D330 (operates through the Intel HDA audio controller)
Software: module hsfhda of linux kernel 2.6.27

As for most (all ?) laptops, the internal modem of the Dell D830 is not a real modem, but a "soft modem" (also called a "winmodem"), i.e. a device which depends on software to perform the functions traditionally handled by modem hardware. For further details, see the Linmodem web page.

The type of modem is identified via the command

cat /proc/asound/card0/codec#1

which returns

Codec: Conexant ID 2c06

Address: 1

Vendor Id: 0x14f12c06

Subsystem Id: 0x14f1000f

Revision Id: 0x100000

Modem Function Group: 0x2

It is supposed to be supported by the hsfmodem driver. So I have installed the dkms-hsfmodem rpm from Mandriva 2009 and run the command

modprobe hsfhda

to load the hsfhda module in the kernel. Everything seemed to work well (no error message and a symbolic link /dev/modem -> /dev/ttySHSF0 is created by the module). But when I launch kppp, I have got the error message "Modem is busy".

I have not spent much time to figure out what the problem is. Some relevant pages are

Tech/Modems on Dell Linux and Linuxant HSF modem.

PCMCIA

USB 

FireWire (IEEE 1394)

Hardware: Firewire 02 Micro, Inc.
Software: modules ohci1394, ieee1394 of linux kernel 2.6.27

Not tested.

Power management (suspend and hibernate)

Suspend to RAM : works out of the box via the command

su -c pm-suspend

By default, closing the laptop's lid does not trigger a suspend to RAM. To change this, I've modified the file /etc/acpi/actions/lm_lid.sh so that it becomes

#! /bin/sh

test -f /usr/sbin/laptop_mode || exit 0

# lid button pressed/released event handler

if grep -q closed /proc/acpi/button/lid/LID/state; then

/usr/sbin/pm-suspend

fi

exit

Then, closing the lid triggers a suspend to RAM. After opening, the system resumes and a black screen appears. Touch the touchpad and you will be prompted for your password to return to your session.

Suspend to disk (hibernate) : does not work

The command su -c pm-hibernate does trigger a suspend to disk, but the system fails to resume when pressing the power on button.

Control buttons:

• Fn-Esc : suspend to RAM : does not work (use instead the command su -c pm-suspend or close the lid, see above)
• Fn-F1 : suspend to disk : does not work
• Fn-F3 : show the battery level : does not work (use the KDE icon instead)
• Fn-F7 : change the display aspect ratio : does not work
• Fn-F8 : activate the video output to external monitor or beamer : works (see above for usage)
• Fn-up arrow : increase the screen luminosity : works
• Fn-down arrow : decrease the screen luminosity: works
• Loudspeaker buttons: works, but not out of the box due to some bug in KDE 4 (see bug no. 43130). A solution is as follows: open the system settings of KDE 4, select 'keyboard and mouse' and then 'keyboard shorcuts'. There 'KDE component: KMix'. Then for 'Volume decrease - Front HDA Intel' select 'Personalized' instead of 'Default', click on the tool icon and press the loudspeaker decrease button. The latter is then selected. Do the same for 'Volume increase' and 'Mute'.

Usefull links

• Linux on Laptops
• Dell Linux Wiki
  
• Mandriva 2009 Errata
• Mandriva 2009 Bugfix and security updates
• Mandriva hardware compatibility list
• Hardware4Linux